WEINBERG, Robert E(dward)

(1946-)

   US editor, publisher, bookseller and author of FANZINES focusing on his main interest, the PULP-MAGAZINE world. Much of his task as an editor and publisher has been to rediscover and reprint magazine stories from the pulps which would otherwise have disappeared utterly. His earliest work seems to have been bibliographical - e.g., An Index to Analog (January 1960 to June 1965) (c1965 chap) - and privately printed;other untraced titles have almost certainly survived. (A sign of his interest in ongoing bibliograpgical projects is the much later publication, through his Robert Weinberg Publications, of Mike ASHLEY's The Complete Index to Astounding/Analog [1981].) Further bibliographicaland critical guides include The Robert E. Howard Fantasy Biblio (1969 chap) and its sequel, The Annotated Guide to Robert E. Howard's Sword \& Sorcery (1976), the valuable Reader's Guide to the Cthulhu Mythos (1969chap; rev 1973 chap) with Edward P. Berglund, and The Hero-Pulp Index (1971 chap) with Lohr McKinstry. The climax of his bibliographical work isalmost certainly A Biographical Dictionary of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists (1988), whose 279 entries cover the field very amply; thoughmarred by some inaccuracies, it remains the central resource for researchers in the field.As the 1970s began, REW moved from privately produced pamphlets and fanzines into SMALL-PRESS publishing proper, becoming associated with T.E. DIKTY, who founded in 1972 both STARMONT HOUSE, for which REW worked for about a year (long before it actuallybegan to issue books), and FAX COLLECTOR'S EDITIONS, in which REW's involvement was late and short-lived, though he issued 3 anthologies through the firm: Famous Fantastic Classics \#1, 1974 (anth 1974) and \#2, 1975 (anth 1975), and Far Below and Other Horrors (anth 1974; republished1987 by Starmont). He also part-wrote and edited The Weird Tales Story (anth 1977), but by then he had left to found his own firm.Robert Weinberg Publications (1974-81) concentrated on the reprinting of weird and fantasy fiction. Series included the Pulp Classics, reprint booklets ed REW; out of the 22 published, those of direct genre interest include Pulp Classics \#1: Gangland's Doom (1973 chap) by Frank Eisgruber Jr; \#2: Captain Hazzard(1938 Captain Hazzard as "Python Men of Lost City"; 1974 chap) by Chester Hawk; \#3: Revelry in Hell (coll 1974 chap); \#5: The Moon Man (coll 1974 chap); \#6: Dr Satan (coll 1974 chap) by Paul ERNST; \#8: The Mysterious Wu Fang (1975 chap) by Robert J. Hogan (The MYSTERIOUS WU FANG); \#9: Dr.Yen Sin (coll 1975 chap) by Donald E. Keyhoe (DR. YEN SIN); \#11: The Octopus (1939 The Octopus as "The City Condemned to Hell"; 1976 chap) (The OCTOPUS) and \#12: The Scorpion (1939 The Scorpion as "Satan's Incubator"; 1975 chap) (The SCORPION), both by Randolph Craig (Norvell W. PAGE); \#13: Death Orchids \& Other Bizarre Tales (coll 1976 chap); \#17: The Secret Six (coll 1977 chap) by Robert J. Hogan; \#19: Dr Death (1935 Dr Death; 1979 chap) and \#20: Phantom Detective (coll 1979 chap). Similarly, the Lost Fantasies series republished work by Otis Adelbert KLINE and JackWILLIAMSON as well as several REW anthologies: Lost Fantasies \#4: Lost Fantasies (anth 1976 chap); \#5: Lost Fantasies (anth 1977 chap); \#6: Lost Fantasies (anth 1977 chap); \#8: The Lake of Life (anth 1978 chap) and \#9: The Sin Eater (anth 1979 chap). The Weird Menace Classics series comprised several REW anthologies: Weird Menace Classics \#1: The Corpse Factory (anth 1977 chap); \#2: Satan's Roadhouse (anth 1977 chap); \#3: The Chairwhere Terror Sat (anth 1978 chap); \#4: Devils in the Dark (anth 1979 chap); \#5: Slaves of the Blood Wolves (anth 1979 chap) and \#6: The Dance of the Skeletons (anth 1980 chap). In homage to Lester DENT REW ed The Man behind Doc Savage (anth 1974). WT50 (anth 1974) was a homage to WEIRD TALES, the rights to which he owned, eventually forming Weird TalesLimited to protect and license the name. It was through REW that George H. SCITHERS arranged to continue Weird Tales. Some of the contents of WT50 reappeared as The Weird Tales Story (noted above).Other small presses in which REW has been involved include Science Fiction Graphics (1977) and Pulp Press (1979-82); but as the 1980s advanced he became less directlyinvolved in publishing activities, concentrating for some time on a mail-order book business. He has ed 1 anthology with Martin H. GREENBERG, Lovecraft's Legacy (anth 1990), plus 7 with Greenberg and Stefan R.Dziemianowicz: Weird Tales: 32 Unearthed Terrors (anth 1988), Rivals of Weird Tales: 30 Great Fantasy \& Horror Stories from the Weird Fiction Pulps (anth 1990) and Famous Fantastic Mysteries: 30 Great Tales of Fantasy and Horror from the Classic Pulp Magazines Famous Fantastic Mysteries and Fantastic Novels (anth 1991); Weird Vampire Tales (anth 1992); The Mists from Beyond (anth 1993); 100 Creepy Little Creatures (anth 1994) and 100 Wild Little Weird Tales (anth 1994). Solo REW ed The Eighth Green Man \& Other Strange Folk (anth 1989). More interestingly, with the Alex and Valerie Warner series of horror tales he began to publish fiction in his own right. The Devil's Auction series - The Devil's Auction (1988), The Armageddon Box (1991), The Black Lodge (1991) and TheDead Man's Kiss (1992) - shows a vast knowledge of generic tricks and baggage, and considerable wit.

   JC

   Other works: the Today's Sorcery sequence of fantasies, beginning with A Logical Magician (1994; vt A Modern Magician 1995 UK) and A Calculated Magic (1995).

   See also: LOVECRAFT, H P.