Wonder Stories facts for kids
The first issue of Air Wonder Stories, July 1929. The cover is by Frank R. Paul.
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| Founder | Hugo Gernsback |
|---|---|
| First issue | July 1929 |
| Final issue | January 1955 |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
Wonder Stories was an early American science fiction magazine. It was published under different names from 1929 to 1955. Hugo Gernsback, a very important person in science fiction, started the magazine. He did this after he lost control of his first science fiction magazine, Amazing Stories.
In 1930, two magazines, Air Wonder Stories and Science Wonder Stories, joined together. They became one magazine called Wonder Stories. These magazines were not making enough money. So, in 1936, Gernsback sold Wonder Stories to Ned Pines. Pines' company, Beacon Publications, changed the name to Thrilling Wonder Stories. It continued to be published for almost 20 more years. The very last issue came out in Winter 1955. After that, it combined with Startling Stories, which was another science fiction magazine owned by Pines.
The main editors when Hugo Gernsback owned the magazine were David Lasser and later Charles Hornig. David Lasser worked hard to make the stories better.
Contents
The Story of Wonder Stories
Starting with Hugo Gernsback
Hugo Gernsback's first science fiction magazine, Amazing Stories, was very popular. However, the company that published it ran into financial trouble. In February 1929, Gernsback lost control of it.
He still wanted to publish science fiction. So, he quickly started two new magazines: Air Wonder Stories and Science Wonder Stories. Gernsback believed that science fiction was not just fun, but also educational. He thought it could teach readers about science and new ideas.
The first issue of Air Wonder Stories came out in July 1929. Science Wonder Stories started a month earlier, in June 1929. David Lasser was the editor for both of these new magazines.
Merging into Wonder Stories
In 1930, Gernsback decided to combine his two magazines. He merged Science Wonder Stories and Air Wonder Stories into one magazine called Wonder Stories. The first issue of this new, combined magazine was published in June 1930. David Lasser continued to be the editor.
Wonder Stories also had a quarterly version, meaning it came out four times a year. This was called Science Wonder Quarterly at first, then Wonder Stories Quarterly.
Even with the merger, Wonder Stories struggled financially. In 1934, about 25,000 copies were sold for each issue. This was not enough to make it a big success.
In late 1933, Charles Hornig took over as editor from David Lasser. Hornig continued as editor until Gernsback sold the magazine in 1936.
Becoming Thrilling Wonder Stories
When Ned Pines bought Wonder Stories in 1936, he changed its name. Pines owned many magazines that had "Thrilling" in their titles, like Thrilling Detective. So, Wonder Stories became Thrilling Wonder Stories.
The first issue of Thrilling Wonder Stories came out in August 1936. This was four months after the last Wonder Stories issue from Gernsback. Over the years, several different editors worked on Thrilling Wonder Stories. These included Mort Weisinger, Oscar Friend, Sam Merwin, Samuel Mines, and Alexander Samalman.
Thrilling Wonder Stories continued to be published for almost two decades. The very last issue was published in the Winter of 1955. After that, the magazine was combined with another science fiction magazine called Startling Stories.
Images for kids
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The first issue of Science Wonder Stories, June 1929. The cover is by Frank R. Paul.
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The first issue of Science Wonder Quarterly, Fall 1929. The cover is by Frank R. Paul.
See also
In Spanish: Wonder Stories para niños
