MARVEL SCIENCE STORIES

   US PULP MAGAZINE. 9 issues 1938-41; 6 further issues 1950-52; published by Postal Publications (\#1 and \#2), then by Western Fiction Publishing Co. for the remainder of the 1st series, finally by Stadium Publishing Co.; ed Robert O. Erisman (uncredited in 1st series).An sf pulp magazine from achain which included such fringe-sf titles as UNCANNY TALES, MSS was the first of the many new sf magazines of the late 1930s and early 1940s. It was notorious for the mildly erotic approach of its early issues, to which Henry KUTTNER contributed several stories, including "The Time Trap" (Nov1938). The Feb 1939 issue featured Jack WILLIAMSON's After World's End (1961). After 5 issues the title changed in Dec 1939 to Marvel Tales, and for 2 issues the magazine leaned more heavily towards titillating sex and sadism, like "Lust Rides the Roller Coaster" (Dec 1939) by Ray King and "World without Sex" (May 1940) by Robert Wentworth (Edmond HAMILTON). Thetitle then changed again in Nov 1940 to Marvel Stories, and the magazine returned to straightforward sf. Although initially successful enough to generate a companion, DYNAMIC SCIENCE STORIES, MSS, which began as a quarterly, became less and less frequent through 1939-40, ceasing with the Mar 1941 issue. It was revived in Nov 1950 under its original title,switched to DIGEST size after 2 issues, appeared 3 times in that format, and reverted to pulp size for its final issue; it was Marvel Science Fiction for the last 3 issues. Daniel KEYES was an assistant editor forsome of these later numbers, which were generally unmemorable. The Feb 1951 issue was published in a UK reprint May 1951.

   MJE