Fantastic Science Fiction facts for kids
| Editor | Howard Browne |
|---|---|
| Categories | Fantasy fiction, science fiction |
| Format | Digest size |
| Publisher | Ziff Davis |
| Founded | 1952 |
| Final issue | 1980 |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Fantastic was a magazine from the United States. It published exciting stories about fantasy and science fiction. The magazine was printed from 1952 until 1980.
It was a "digest-size" magazine. This means it was smaller than a regular magazine, easy to hold and read.
Contents
The Start of Fantastic
The company Ziff Davis started Fantastic in 1952. It was meant to be a partner magazine to their popular Amazing Stories. At first, Fantastic focused on fantasy stories.
Changes in the Early Years
After a few years, not many people were buying Fantastic. The editor, Howard Browne, had to make a big change. He switched the magazine's focus from fantasy to science fiction.
Even with this change, Browne lost interest in the magazine. In the mid-1950s, the stories often weren't very good. This was true under Browne and the next editor, Paul W. Fairman.
New Editors and Great Writers
Things got better for Fantastic at the end of the 1950s. A new editor named Cele Goldsmith took charge. She also edited Amazing Stories.
Goldsmith was very important for new writers. She helped start the careers of famous authors. These included Roger Zelazny and Ursula K. Le Guin.
The Magazine Gets Sold
In 1965, Fantastic and Amazing Stories were sold. The new owner was Sol Cohen. He hired Joseph Wrzos as the new editor.
Cohen made a big change: the magazine only printed old stories again. This is called a "reprint-only" policy. This idea saved money and made the magazine successful for a while.
Later Years and End
At the end of the 1960s, Ted White became the editor. He stopped the reprint policy. White worked very hard to make Fantastic a great magazine again. He even brought in cool artwork from comics artists.
The Final Years
In 1978, Sol Cohen sold his part of the business. His partner, Arthur Bernhard, took over. Ted White resigned soon after this change.
Elinor Mavor became the last editor of Fantastic. But after only two years, Bernhard decided to close the magazine. He combined Fantastic with Amazing Stories. Amazing Stories had always been more popular.
See also
In Spanish: Fantastic (revista) para niños
