PLANET STORIES

   US PULP MAGAZINE. 71 issues. Winter 1939-Summer 1955, published by Love Romances Publishing Co.; ed Malcolm Reiss (Winter 1939-Summer 1942), Wilbur S. Peacock (1915?-1979) (Fall 1942-Fall 1945), Chester Whitehorn (Winter 1945-Summer 1946), Paul L. Payne (Fall 1946-Spring 1950), Jerome BIXBY (Summer 1950-July 1951), Malcolm Reiss (Sep 1951-Jan 1952), Jack O'Sullivan (Mar 1952-Summer 1955). (Reiss was always in control, however, acting as Managing Editor when he was not named as editor.) The schedule was quarterly Winter 1939-Fall 1950, bimonthly Nov 1950-Summer 1954, quarterly Fall 1954-Summer 1955.Subtitled in its early years "Strange Adventures on Other Worlds - The Universe of Future Centuries", PS was theepitome of PULP sf. Its covers were garish in the extreme, and its story titles promised extravagantly melodramatic interplanetary adventures (which the stories themselves frequently provided). A typical selection offeatured stories (from 1947-8) includes "Beneath the Red World's Crust", "Black Priestess of Varda", "The Outcasts of Solar III", "Werwile of theCrystal Crypt", "Valkyrie from the Void" and "The Beast-Jewel of Mars", The authors of these epics include such PS regulars as Erik Fennel, Gardner F. FOX and Emmett McDowell; Fennel and McDowell, like Wilbur S. Peacock (?1915-1979), were frequent contributors whose magazine appearances were largely confined to PS. The magazine's artwork was mostly crude and lurid; A. LEYDENFROST was the most individual of its regular artists.Other authors who appeared often in later issues included Poul ANDERSON and Alfred COPPEL. The most popular contributor, and the onewhose work characterizes PS's appeal at its best, was Leigh BRACKETT, with her many colourful PLANETARY ROMANCES of love and adventure on MARS and VENUS. PS's other short stories were more varied and less easilyclassifiable. All but one of the issues from which the story titles listed above were taken contained also short stories by Ray BRADBURY, including "Zero Hour" (Fall 1947) and "Mars is Heaven!" (Fall 1948). Later PSpublished Philip K. DICK's first story, "Beyond Lies the Wub" (July 1952). One of the many sf magazines to come into being around 1940, PS was one ofthe longest survivors, and one of the last sf pulps to continue in that format. A UK edition, published by Pemberton, consisted of 12 numbered, undated, truncated and initially irregular issues Mar 1950-Sep 1954. A Canadian edition published 12 issues, identical to the US issues, Fall1948-Mar 1951.The reprint magazine TOPS IN SCIENCE FICTION (2 issues 1953) came from the same publisher and drew its material wholly from earlier issues of PS. The Best of Planet Stories I (anth 1975) ed Leigh Brackett, \#1 in a book series that never had a \#2, assembles 7 typical PS stories.

   MJE