Well, we made it to another issue, and almost through another year. Seems like most of the time since we last gathered, the old ship was passing through a meteor shower. But at least we finally shook those rabbits. It wasn’t easy, either, until the Captain had an idea.
There’s a lot of work goes on running a ship like the old Planetary Stories Express. You got decks need swabbing, you got hulls need to be cleared of space barnacles, you got dents in those hulls need to be hammered out. You got brightwork needs polishing, storage bays that need to be organized and straightened; meals need to be prepared; portholes need to be scrubbed. Get the picture? The Captain got it. And he put the bunnies to work doing it. I mean, it wasn’t as if any of the crew was. So a couple of weeks of that and then we hit port and all the rabbits rabbitted – last I heard they’re all living on Klystra now, running farms and raising carrots and cabbages. I wish them well. Stew pots full of “well.”
We’ve been running a contest in Planetary Stories, asking readers to send in entries consisting of photos that illustrate the concept of the Unholy Triumvirate of Space Opera Tradition – the Bum, the Babe, and the BEM. The Bum, of course, is our stalwart hero, the Babe being our luscious heroine, and the BEM being the indispensable Bug-Eyed Monster. The prize is a story in which the folks in the picture are featured as characters.
Our first official winner was a picture of Wendy Webb and her friend Katy, and the prize story about them back in PS vol. 2 no. 2. It was such a great photo that not even Carleton Grindle could screw up the story he wrote around it. Furthermore, it inspired Lee Morris, because just look at the great photo she sent in as her entry. It features her and her pal Victoria.
This is the letter she sent with the photo:
Lee Morris
Attached is my entry in the Unholy Trinity Contest. I am on the right and I am the Babe. My companion, Victoria, is on the left and she is the BEM.
We would like to be in a cameo in Planetary Stories. We would especially like to be described as beautiful, lovely, charming, delightful and so on.
Victoria feels that she should be described in pleasant adjectives because, even though she is the BEM, she is quite attractive for her species. Please do not write anything unflattering about Victoria.
Thank you.
Lee Morris
Well, you should have seen the writers lining up for the privilege of writing that story. I had to beat them off with a stick, which is just about the only fun I’ve had lately.
The Captain finally decided the only fair way to decide who got the honor of writing a story around Lee’s photo was to hold an old-fashioned free-for-all on the hull of the ship while we were in deep orbit. Most of our writers are so full of hot air he figured they wouldn’t be bothered by a little vacuum, but just in case he assigned Mule-ears the duty of fetching back those who passed out and floated away from the ship.
Since Carleton Grindle had written the last prize story – “The Upgrade Anomaly” – he was declared ineligible and named referee. He was agreeable and began the show by demonstrating his impartiality and declaring a foul on Jerry Page for having too many personalities to be called just one contestant. Well, to make a long story short (unlike some of our writers), the winner was Leo Tifton. He started off the festivities by whopping Michael Shack with a two by four, and in a few hours it was just him and Eric Lee in a no-holds-barred all out wrestling match on the ship’s rear stabilizer, with the rocket tubes blazing hot. Leo pinned Eric two straight and won the honor of writing a story around the photo.
And to the Captain’s surprise, Mule-ears did an excellent job of retrieving those who got knocked out and drifted away from the ship. The only writer we’re afraid you might not see again here on the Good Ship Planetary is Ralph 124SJ41 +.
Leo’s story is called “Raiders of the Scattered Worlds” and you can find it in this issue.
Of course Lee Morris got to see it before anyone else – even Leo hadn’t seen it because the Captain made him write it with his eyes closed. This was her reaction:
Lee Morris:
It was absolutely thrilling to read our story in Raiders of the Scattered Worlds. Victoria and I were delighted. Every word was precious to us!
Victoria was so very pleased by the mention of her huge, soft brown eyes (they really are a beautiful feature for her) and of her wit, intelligence, decisiveness, stolid manner, and strength. She says she is proud to be well-built.
Victoria says she has never thought of herself as witty before, but she thinks of herself as witty now. She has started making quips about Brahmas.
Victoria loved the new spelling of her name. She wants to be called V'c Torya from now on.
V'c Torya was also pleased that she got to dispatch the very worst of the bad guys with a head butt. V'c Torya is a gentle girl and has not head butted since she was very young, but she knows how it is done.
I was thrilled to see myself as a woman of action. It was a first for me. Drawing pistols, flashing pistols, blasting pistols, crouching, kicking doors, blasting pirates (really!!!) and slamming pirates around are all way outside the realm of my usual experiences. Plus I was an amazing shot!
Thank you, thank you for this glorious piece of fantasy! I do not know how Leo Tifton got so detailed a piece together in so short a time but V'c Torya and I are very grateful, very pleased, and very honored. We love his dedication "For Lee and Victoria." We feel very glamorous to be from Rigius although neither of us know where it is.
Lee Morris and Victoria
Leo is known aboard the Good Ship Planetary as one of our top astrogators – he can find a pizza place on just about any planet you care to name – so he sent Lee this letter.
Leo Tifton:
Lee,
Thank you for your kind words about the story. I'm pleased to have made you and Victoria happy. And believe me, I had lots of fun writing "Raiders of the Scattered Worlds" and your letter made it even better.
Now, as to the location of Rigius. I could, of course, show it to you on a really up-to-date starmap, but that would require time travel.
So I'll have to tell you how to locate it yourself.
You'll have to pick a clear evening when the sky is star filled. I realize Victoria might go to sleep a little early for this so you might
have to do it for her. Just go outside look up into the sky and pick out a star. Make it a star that strikes you as comfortable and interesting, filled with wonder and adventure and amazement. Take as much time as you
like -- or as little. The only important thing is to make sure you feel good about that star.
That's the star that the planet Rigius orbits.
And it comes as a bonus prize along with the story.
"Leo Tifton"
Reply by Lee Morris:
“Leo”
What an enchanting note you sent me!
It reads like a fairy tale with its description of a star “filled with wonder, adventure, and amazement.”
I read your instructions carefully and intend to select my star tonight.
Once again, thank you so much for your kindness in contributing your talent to the story you dedicated to V’c Torya (Victoria) and me.
V’c Torya asked me to send her thanks and to tell you that she is very pleased by her new name.
Lee Morris
Of course, as Leo later on told me, he always thought writing for the fans of Planetary Stories is a fairy tale occupation, and this just shows it’s true!
If you care to join in the fun, we don’t intend to officially close the contest. At present we plan to let it end itself when no one sends in anything suitable as an entry. Or when our writers give out.
One thing, though. The captain had this checked in the ship’s computer just to verify his math, and he’s pretty sure the two entries that won so far have not had three subjects. Just Babes and BEMs. Of course I pointed out to him that our readers were showing a real spirit of equality because fully half the participants so far have been non-humans. That pleased him but he’s still edgy about the math. “Some of our readers can count,” he said. I told him that all our readers count.
So have at it, Kaydets! All it takes to win our contest is a good camera and a better imagination. And, oh yes, some people and/or animals or other objects to pose with you.
Ron Fortier:
Yo Lt. Luna,
It's a quiet Sunday morning and I'm brewing up a hot pot of Dunkin Donuts coffee (Starbucks can shove it up the kazoo!). So, let me see, what's new and fun on the net?
Holy smokes, a brand new edition of PLANETARY is ready to fly! Wow, but that was quick. Only seemed like yesterday when I perused the last issue.
Well okay then, I pour myself a big cup of coffee, turn the stereo on and drop in a couple of Star Wars John Williams discs. Come on, how can you read PLANETARY tales without the appropriate background score? Impossible.
Now, a few hours later (and several trips to the john...I mean, hell, that liquid has to go someplace...right) I'm a very happy Space Cadet.
You guys have once again outdone yourselves with a truly wondrous collection of sci-fi adventure yarns, both serious and whimsical.
This time around I want to comment on a few that made me chuckle and applaud. THE HIVE OF THE FLARE BEASTS was a terrific Space Ranger thriller start to finish and was totally like all those classic 50s yarns I enjoyed so much as a kid. Rocket sockem adventure on Mercury. Bravo! Hope this crew of characters will come again soon. Good job,
Tenilor.
Whereas if any one story completely was pulp heaven, it was THE MAN WITH TWO MINDS by Donald Sullivan. Again, I could imagine reading this in some sci-fi mag off a 30s newsstand and the ending was perfect, convincing the aliens of the "ammonia" threat. Just plain fun.
Now I also liked Lou Antonelli's FERMI'S FRATERNITY, but have to tell you guys, the ending was way-way too abrupt!! I kept wanting to scroll down to read more. I mean, really, the plot is a group of human spacefarers get invited to join an alien fraternity.
All well and good, but gee there should be more after they join. Hardly the climax-resolution we were thought in English 101. Maybe there will be a part two? Hope so.
As much as I was thrilled to be a part of this issue, what with those gawd awful Ackerman Punsters, the one item that had me falling out of this chair (onto a hardwood floor mind you.. ouch) was HOLLYWOOD ARMADILLO. Now as a true pulp fanatic, this one had me going from the opening paragraph, and the accompanying art was just rich. Perfect. Goofiest avenger costume I've ever seen.
Yes sir, another dandy issue under your space suspenders. What can I say, but thanks for the fun and keep ’em flying.
Ron Fortier
And, hey, look who else showed up? Donald Sullivan!
Dear Lt Luna,
PLANETARY STORIES was, as usual, chock full of great stories and great illos. Here's my take on the stories. I enjoyed them all.
The Man With Two Minds.....Donald Sullivan...I'm not qualified to comment on this one cause it's mine.
I, Nadir….Michael Shack….This wacky space adventure brings out the chuckles. A fun read.
The Hive of the Flare Beasts….Lee Tenibar….Buckle your seat belts for this one, Non-stop action and adventure with a heaping helping of suspense. Great read.
Fermi's Fraternity….Lou Antonelli….This one was fascinating. Some really good ideas here that will cause the reader to pause and think. Could it happen?
Out of the Woodwork….Doug Kaye……Doug Kaye tells us that he dabbles in off-beat fiction. This one is certainly off-beat, to say the least. Off-beat and very entertaining.
Last and First Scientifiction Magazine……Ralph 124SJ41 +….Nonsense and good fun. Educational, too. Here are the answers to your questions about…what?
100 Ferocious Little Forry Stories…Shelby "Blame Forry" Vick and others….What can I say? Here are four fun-and-pun filled stories. If you like surprise endings, this is for you.
Entry from the Journal of the Last Sancren Man……Amanda Lawrence Auverigne….An unusual twist in this tale of an alien visitor. Good story; good read.
Hollywood Armadillo….Gerald W Page…..Another gripping, action filled, fun filled adventure of that greatest of all crime fighters, Army. You're sure to stay glued to the story, always wondering what's coming next, while at the same time getting your funny bone tickled.
The other features and articles in PS were also enjoyable. The illos by Bill Jackson, Paul McCall, Wm Michael Mott, and Jim Garrison were great.
Lieutenant, give my congrats to Shelby Vick for showcasing all these super-talented writers and artists.
Donald Sullivan
And we also heard from Dee Jarvis:
Dear Lt. Luna,
Congrats to you and the intrepid editorial staff on another great issue! I just have one quibble/question. Doug Kaye's "Out of the Woodwork" is presented as a work of fiction. Are you absolutely certain this is fiction?
Ordinarily I wouldn't dream of questioning you guys' commitment to your responsibility as publishers to distinguish between fiction and nonfiction (unlike other media outlets that routinely blur the line in order to boost their ratings), but ... It's just that lately there've been a *lot* of these little insects with a thousand legs attacking my door and windows. It's like a miniature version of D-Day. So... are you sure?
From the trench,
Diana D. Jarvis
Well, Dee, we can only paraphrase Hugo Gernsback: “Extravagant fiction this morning; scientific fact this afternoon.”
Donald Sullivan is back, this time to comment on our companion magazine.
Donald Sullivan
Dear Lt. Luna,
Here's my take on the stories in Wonderlust
The Black Star…Donald Sullivan…I'm not qualified to comment on this one cause it's mine. I can, however, comment on the illos by Jerry Burge. I couldn't ask for better likenesses of Hiram and Storm. Thanks, Jerry.
Yellow Light….Edmund Shirlan…A battle between good and evil sorcerers. A sorcerer pays a heavy price to increase his power, only to find that his powers seem to have diminished, and that he has the aid of two demonic-appearing devil hounds that turn out to be of less-than-pit bull stripe. We're treated to an exciting battle royal between the sorcerers.
A Visitor to Boot Hill….Carleton Grindle…There's lots of ways to deal with vampires, such as crosses, garlic, wooden stakes, etc. But here's a new way, and what better man to do it than Doc Holiday?
Invocation: Klarkash-ton…..Anthony Larson…I don't know much about poetry, but I do know what I like. Nice fantasy/myth atmosphere, rhyme, and rhythm. Enjoyed the read.
Thanx,
Sully
And from legendary science fiction fan and letter writer Gregg Calkins:
I don’t want to disappoint an old fan friend, even if I’m not into that area of the world any more at the present time...
I went and looked at Planetary Stories, thinking it might be the fanzine we all dreamed about if we had had the ability to publish it back in our mimeograph days. (No printed fanzine since then has truly qualified, of course. I admit to using a copy machine for The Rambling Fap for several years. I couldn’t get Twiltone paper, however, and had to do with colored covers and white interiors...it just wasn’t the same.) Looks like you are having great fun, though, ShelVy, and that’s all that matters!
Aside: the world keeps changing for the worst sometimes, huh? Who thought that Lee Hoffman would ever die on us. I really feel old sometimes.
--Gregg
Lee Hoffman is the legendary science fiction fan who published the fanzine Quandry in the early fifties – which some hold to be the finest science fiction fanzine ever, and of a certain type, it was. Many fans were unaware of the fact that Lee was a young woman, and when she showed up at the World Science Fiction Convention in 1952, it was quite a surprise to some of them.
Quandry (the misspelling is correct in this case) was an informal publication that ran a lot of humor pieces and attracted writers like Walt Willis, Bob Shaw, Robert Bloch, Wilson “Bob” Tucker and Shelby Vick.
Many consider the period Quandry was published to be the Golden Age of Science Fiction Fandom. Lee, who passed away not long ago, is sorely missed. (Actually, of the ones named above the only one left is ShelVy – and we ain’t letting nothing or nobody take him!)
Now let’s hear from Everett Lange.
Dear Luna,
I suppose the sort of space opera Planet Stories used to publish grew out of Weird Tales back in the nineteen thirties as much as it did Amazing Stories and Astounding Stories of Super Science. Certainly Leigh Brackett’s wonderful stories of Eric John Stark show as much influence of C.L. Moore’s Northwest Smith from Weird Tales, as they do of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Mars stories and, if only stylistically, the private eye stories of Raymond Chandler.
It’s my understanding that Ms. Moore was working as a secretary when she encountered the name “N.W. Smith” on a letter she was typing, and began to wonder what sort of man might be called “Northwest Smith.” For a time she considered writing a Western about him. But those of us who love a good space opera got lucky and she ended up writing “Shambleau,” one of the great space fantasies of all time, a haunting horror story of a new and more desolate frontier.
The great pulp adventure writer, E. Hoffmann Price used to talk about walking into the offices of his old friend Farnsworth Wright (who edited Weird Tales) and being told he was just in time because Wright was about to go out and celebrate. “Celebrate?” Price asked. “What’s the occasion?”
“It’s a holiday. It’s C.L. Moore Day.”
“I never heard of him,” Price said, so Wright passed him the manuscript to the first story that had ever come in from Moore. Price read the story, handed it back to Wright and said, “You’re right. It’s a holiday. Close the office and let’s go celebrate.”
Neither of course was aware that Moore was a young woman (in her early twenties) and that the “C.” stood for “Catherine.” She would later on marry another young writer who began his career in Weird Tales, Henry Kuttner, and they could become one of the most celebrated and prolific writing teams in the history of science fiction, under more than a dozen pennames. She wrote all or part of several classic sf stories including “Vintage Season” and “No Woman Born.”
Her two series of stories from Weird Tales, the space adventures of Northwest Smith, and the medieval fantasy adventures of Jirel of Joiry, the original (and most intense) Warrior Princess, are still among her most popular stories. For a time it seemed as if every ten or twelve years some small press publisher in the sf and fantasy field would arrange to issue those series in a limited edition hardback, often illustrated.
The Northwest Smith series was space adventure, and it was also pure fantasy, often of a horror nature. Since the Kuttners under names like Lewis Padgett and Lawrence O’Donnell were regular contributors to John Campbell’s Astounding SF during it’s so-called Golden Age run in the forties, there’s no doubt of her ability to write science fiction. But good space opera can be fantasy as well as sf, and a wise editor is always aware of that fact.
Planet Stories had a number of wise editors in its too short run, and the space opera it published included sf by writers like Ross Rocklynne, Nelson Bond, Poul Anderson and Neil R, Jones, alongside the fantasy-based space adventures of Leigh Brackett, Ray Bradbury and Gardner Fox. Leigh Brackett’s Eric John Stark stories from Planet are still being published. So, of course, are Bradbury’s Mars stories.
Interestingly, Brackett, like Moore, was married to another great sf writer, Edmond Hamilton. Hamilton for some reasons never appeared in Planet with a story of his own (he and Leigh frequently collaborated, though they only acknowledged one story, “Eric John Stark and the Star Kings” as being a collaboration).
But Henry Kuttner appeared in Planet a couple of times and his stories, “What Hath Me?” and “Crypt-City of the Deathless Ones” are recalled fondly by old-time space opera fans such as me, alongside “Shambleau” and “Dust of the Gods” by Moore, “Black Amazon of Mars” and “The Veil of Astellar” by Brackett, “The Star Kings” and “Return to the Stars” by Hamilton, and “Man Nth” and “The Man the Sun Gods Made” by Gardner Fox. I wish more of your writers would aim at doing stories like those.
Everett Lange
The Captain assures me, Ev, that when we get offered that kind of cargo, we’ll sure lay it aboard.
Now, this issue’s missive from Rebecca Brayman:
Dear Lt. Luna
I don't know a lot about Forry Ackerman, so I may not be a good judge
of this issue, but I do know I greatly enjoyed "100 Ferocious Little Forry Stories - Abridged". Reminisced my favorite story about the rambling rack from King George's attack and the elephant engineer.
"Last and First Scientifiction Magazine" was too long, I never finished it.
Communicate with tubeworms at the bottom of the ocean? Aren't they related to millipedes? The question really is Will intelligent life find us intelligent?
Wisely yours (or is that Wisely Cracks),
Rebecca Brayman
And now one of your favorite authors, Bob Bolin, contributes a letter.
Dear Lt Luna
I read the entire issue of Planetary Stories, and thought all of the stories, articles, and other parts were good. I particularly liked The Man with Two Minds and kept wondering which mind would win out, the alien's or the Earthman's, but was pleased with results, and thought Donald Sullivan did an excellent job of writing it.
I also liked the story, Hive of the Flare Beasts, by Lee Tennibor. It was well done.
Bob Bolin
And here’s something from Curt Phillips.
Dear Lt. Luna,
I don't get it. Maybe you can explain it to me. The Halloween season is upon us as I write and of course it should be the festive holiday of laughter and joy that it is for all good stf fans. But this year as I scan the program listings for my favorite old-movie tv channel I find myself pondering the same question over and over: why has no one ever made a great zombie science fiction movie? Oh sure, there have been plenty of great zombie movies in the *horror* genre, but I'm talking about a zombie *science fiction* film with zombies and spaceships and space battles and such. We've all seen the classic zombie westerns like THE ZOMBIE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON, ZOMBIE IN THE SADDLE, and ZOMBIES AT THE O.K. CORRAL; or the great zombie war films like ALL QUIET ON THE ZOMBIE FRONT, THE ZOMBIES OF NAVARONE and GONE WITH THE ZOMBIES; as well as the zombie detective films like "I WAS A ZOMBIE FOR THE F.B.I", or even the mushy zombie romance films like "ZOMBIE LOVE STORY", or "A ZOMBIE TO REMEMBER". But why has there never been a "FORBIDDEN ZOMBIE PLANET", or "THE DAY THE ZOMBIE STOOD STILL", or even a "ZOMBIE TREK"? Well, I think I know the answer. All of these obvious blockbuster films have never been made simply because in all of the history of Hollywood there has never been an actor of sufficient depth and emotive ability who could portray a scientifictional zombie on the silver screen and make us love him. No one, that is, until now. Because as I read the lettercol of PLANETARY STORIES # 8 with the photos of some of the readers, one photo jumped out at me and screamed, "here, is your zombie, Curt!" I refer of course, to the photo of Jerry Page. True, Jerry has a beautiful woman draped across his arm in that photo, but look again and notice the terror in *her* expression and the dull, waxy look of ancient eldritch evil in *his*. Now *that 's* a zombie if I've ever seen one! I've attached a photo to further demonstrate my point. It shows the zombie-master Page using his leaden stare to control the mind of all who fall under his gaze. Now that I've pointed out this obvious connection I trust that you'll use the entire influence of the PLANETARY STORIES organization to send Jerry Page out to Hollywood so he and his inner zombie can be "discovered".
I like the cover by Bill Jackson quite a lot, particularly the thickly populated star field. I do question the "fishbowl" space helmets since I expect the wearers would get overly warm pretty quickly is they didn't have something to deflect most of the sunlight those fishbowls would be subjected to. But the colors and the overall composition are very stefnal and that's my meat and potatoes, right enough. Now on to the stories...
"I, Nadir", by Michael Shack was all right - but I couldn't finish reading it. I was ok until I hit page 7 with Paul McCall's illo, and then I found that I was unable to scroll on past that illustration. It's, uh, you know, interesting from an artistic viewpoint. I mean, the illo demands a closer scrutiny than most of the visual parts of PLANETARY STORIES. Who modeled for this, Lt. Luna's sister? I'd better take a break from writing this letter and go and study that illo some more...
"The Hive of the Flare Beasts" by Lee Tenibor. Good story. Maybe a little more dialog to soften up the opening would have been a good thing, but still a good story. Very nice illustrations by Jim Garrison. The one on page 4 reminds me of the way that Kelly Freas designed the covers for the old Laser Books covers with the figure in the foreground. Achieves a sort of two-level effect that works quite well.
"The Man with Two Minds" by Donald Sullivan is first rate. Very well written, and a good clean plot. Alien invasion stories are a staple of SF but this one stands out for its good use of dialog and a very nice prose style.
"Fermi's Fraternity" by Lou Antonelli is fascinating and very well written but stops much too soon. I want to know what happens next. Is this the first installment of a series for PLANETARY STORIES? I hope so.
"Out of the Woodwork" by Doug Kaye is superb! I have to give it my vote for best story of the issue. Very cute story with a nice twist at the end. More from Doug Kaye please!
"Last and First Scientifiction Magazine" by Ralph 124SJ41+ was a delight to read with it's Tuckerizations of several well known fannish institutions and personalities in the Atlanta area and with it's chillingly realistic sounding death-knell for the printed SF magazine. I have to admit that it's becoming easier every year to imagine that some sad day within my expected lifespan we will indeed see the end of printed books and magazines as anything other than a very small specialist hobby. Already younger people today are finding printed books intolerably inconvenient for research and study, and the percentage of the population that actually reads books for any other purpose has been frighteningly low for quite some time. I hope Forry writes in with a comment on this one.
"100 Ferocious Little Forry Stories"... YAAARRRGH! 'Nuff said.
The eldritch "Entry From the Journal of the Last Sancren Man" by Amanda Lawrence Auverligne is a gloomy little mood-piece. H. P. Lovecraft meets Prof. Quartermass, perhaps. A good story.
"Hollywood Armadillo" by Gerald W. Page would seem from the title and opening illo to be another of the celebrity bodice-ripper semi-autobiographical tell-all murder & mayhem confession stories that Page is all too famous for - yet such a curt appraisal - however accurate - would leave an incomplete impression on Page's all-too impressionable readers. It is also a ripping good hammer murder story and who doesn't enjoy a good hammer murder story? Page completely fails to explain why his central character - The Armadillo - spent most of the story disguised as an ordinary aardvark, but perhaps he'll explain that tantalizing bit of misdirection in some future Armadillo story. I know how this fellow Page thinks, after all. So it *must* mean something...
The lettercol was enjoyable and I like the photos of readers - particularly the one of the pretty girl with the ray-gun who's obviously gunning for Jerry Page. I guess she read one of his puns. And there's my old friend from Myriad, Daniel Taylor. Good to see him looking well. In that same spirit I hereby attach a photo of me taken on my last visit to Atlanta many years ago. I had hoped to meet up with The Blazing Armadillo on that trip but he failed to show up, so I had to go and set the town on fire all by myself...
Marching onward,
Curt Phillips
That’s not just any raygun Jessie Taylor was gunning for Page with. It’s a genuine, official Daisy Buck Rogers Disintegrator Pistol from 1942. And while I don’t think Jessie was actually gunning for Jerry, it is interesting we didn’t see that much of him last issue. And as for your comments on Paul McCall’s illustration for “I, Nadir,” some guys will use just about any excuse not to finish one of Michael Shack’s intrepid stories. What are you, one of our editors?
John Thiel writes:
Lt. Luna:
Bek-Horan! The second volume of Planetary Stories looks as good as the first, and expanded features make it even better! I knew that Ghu and Roscoe would keep the SF flag flying, and I'm pleased to find
where it is aloft and waving--in other words, the place where this is being done.
I'm also pleased to see people I know coming into their own in the magazine, such as Bob Bolin, Lou Antonelli and Kevin Duncan. It
seems to me they have egoboo from appearing here, that will put them on to further writing and drawing.
Reading "Write" put me in mind of submitting to Planetary Stories, but then I realized I already had when I began reading it--I'd submitted to its sense of wonder as a magazine.
That's some mighty good art by William Mott on the cover of Wonderlust, and it speaks for the title well in that it is provocative of lust. Good art makes a magazine shine! I experienced a bit of unease seeing the pterodactyls in the sky, though. I suppose comment on the issue should include a pun, so it occurs to me to say that the
punishment for lust appears to be vain aerial disease. (The trip portrayed is obviously in vain--it could be the crew of Asimov's ill-fated Caribbean cruise.)
Good observation in Larson's poem--the spells of the elder fantasy masters are lasting far into the future.
Hollywood Armadillo seems like a science fictional Shell Scott. It seems appropriate there should be one; I believe the Scott books
were by Richard S. Prather.
Keep up the good work.
-John Thiel
Thanks for the nice words, John. The Cap says it’s becoming more and more fun to put together each issue of PS because of the great new writers and artists we keep finding. Check out Doug Kaye, for instance, and Ron Butler who was supposed to be in this issue but will probably be in the next one. And we keep finding new readers, too.
You lost us though, when you said “Hollywood Armadillo” seems like a science fictional Shell Scott because we can’t find anything in that story that’s science fiction except the movie that’s being filmed as part of the plot. And Page tells us that he’s never read a Shell Scott story or novel.
When you press Page about influences for Army, he takes the easy way out and cites The Shadow and The Spider, and it is obvious those characters are the butt of a lot of the humor in the stories (the steel mask idea actually occurs in some of the Spider stories). But if you keep after him he’ll admit to a fondness for classic pulp private eye stories of the 30s and 40s, not the paperback series of the 50s and 60s. He likes Raymond Chandler, of course, and admits a special fondness for Frederick Nebel’s “Tough Dick” Donahue, George Harmon Coxe’s Flash Casey, and anything by James M. Cain.
But we suspect there are a couple more “sources” for Army’s eccentricities. One is the old Sam Spade radio series that starred Howard Duff. It was fast-paced and filled with wordplay and wild ideas, and Page is old enough to have heard it on the radio when he was a child.
The other source is old movie private eye series filmed in the 40s. If you press Page on it he’ll admit that Ronald Faldaytonworthington looks a lot like the 40s film actor Tom Conway. (Both Paul McCall and Peggy Ransom have done drawings of Ronald that look suspiciously like Conway). Conway starred in nine movies based on Michael Arlen’s The Falcon (replacing his brother George Sanders who starred in the first three). The Falcon was a Robin Hood sort, not a masked crime fighter, but Page obviously recalls those flicks with fondness.
Of course the idea of “Pulp Spirit” is that the stories there are pulp type stories but not science fiction – because we run pulp science fiction type stories in Planetary Stories. This issue, in addition to the Armadillo, you’ll find an actual western in Pulp Spirit, like something right out of the pages of Street & Smith’s Western Stories Magazine, or Standard’s Texas Rangers.
And if you like private eyes – and private eyefuls -- come back next issue and meet “The Diamondville Dolls.”
So that’s it for now, happy reader. But remember when you’ve read this issue, we need to hear from you about it. Send in those raves and brickbats. Otherwise we’ll have to publish more pictures of Page.
--Lt. Luna
Attached is my entry in the Unholy Trinity Contest. I am on the right and I am the Babe. My companion, Victoria, is on the left and she is the BEM.
We would like to be in a cameo in Planetary Stories. We would especially like to be described as beautiful, lovely, charming, delightful and so on.
Victoria feels that she should be described in pleasant adjectives because, even though she is the BEM, she is quite attractive for her species. Please do not write anything unflattering about Victoria.
Thank you.
Lee Morris
The Captain finally decided the only fair way to decide who got the honor of writing a story around Lee’s photo was to hold an old-fashioned free-for-all on the hull of the ship while we were in deep orbit. Most of our writers are so full of hot air he figured they wouldn’t be bothered by a little vacuum, but just in case he assigned Mule-ears the duty of fetching back those who passed out and floated away from the ship.
Since Carleton Grindle had written the last prize story – “The Upgrade Anomaly” – he was declared ineligible and named referee. He was agreeable and began the show by demonstrating his impartiality and declaring a foul on Jerry Page for having too many personalities to be called just one contestant. Well, to make a long story short (unlike some of our writers), the winner was Leo Tifton. He started off the festivities by whopping Michael Shack with a two by four, and in a few hours it was just him and Eric Lee in a no-holds-barred all out wrestling match on the ship’s rear stabilizer, with the rocket tubes blazing hot. Leo pinned Eric two straight and won the honor of writing a story around the photo.
And to the Captain’s surprise, Mule-ears did an excellent job of retrieving those who got knocked out and drifted away from the ship. The only writer we’re afraid you might not see again here on the Good Ship Planetary is Ralph 124SJ41 +.
Leo’s story is called “Raiders of the Scattered Worlds” and you can find it in this issue.
Of course Lee Morris got to see it before anyone else – even Leo hadn’t seen it because the Captain made him write it with his eyes closed. This was her reaction:
Lee Morris:
It was absolutely thrilling to read our story in Raiders of the Scattered Worlds. Victoria and I were delighted. Every word was precious to us!
Victoria was so very pleased by the mention of her huge, soft brown eyes (they really are a beautiful feature for her) and of her wit, intelligence, decisiveness, stolid manner, and strength. She says she is proud to be well-built.
Victoria says she has never thought of herself as witty before, but she thinks of herself as witty now. She has started making quips about Brahmas.
Victoria loved the new spelling of her name. She wants to be called V'c Torya from now on.
V'c Torya was also pleased that she got to dispatch the very worst of the bad guys with a head butt. V'c Torya is a gentle girl and has not head butted since she was very young, but she knows how it is done.
I was thrilled to see myself as a woman of action. It was a first for me. Drawing pistols, flashing pistols, blasting pistols, crouching, kicking doors, blasting pirates (really!!!) and slamming pirates around are all way outside the realm of my usual experiences. Plus I was an amazing shot!
Thank you, thank you for this glorious piece of fantasy! I do not know how Leo Tifton got so detailed a piece together in so short a time but V'c Torya and I are very grateful, very pleased, and very honored. We love his dedication "For Lee and Victoria." We feel very glamorous to be from Rigius although neither of us know where it is.
Lee Morris and Victoria
Leo is known aboard the Good Ship Planetary as one of our top astrogators – he can find a pizza place on just about any planet you care to name – so he sent Lee this letter.
Leo Tifton:
Lee,
Thank you for your kind words about the story. I'm pleased to have made you and Victoria happy. And believe me, I had lots of fun writing "Raiders of the Scattered Worlds" and your letter made it even better.
Now, as to the location of Rigius. I could, of course, show it to you on a really up-to-date starmap, but that would require time travel.
So I'll have to tell you how to locate it yourself.
You'll have to pick a clear evening when the sky is star filled. I realize Victoria might go to sleep a little early for this so you might
have to do it for her. Just go outside look up into the sky and pick out a star. Make it a star that strikes you as comfortable and interesting, filled with wonder and adventure and amazement. Take as much time as you
like -- or as little. The only important thing is to make sure you feel good about that star.
That's the star that the planet Rigius orbits.
And it comes as a bonus prize along with the story.
"Leo Tifton"
Reply by Lee Morris:
“Leo”
What an enchanting note you sent me!
It reads like a fairy tale with its description of a star “filled with wonder, adventure, and amazement.”
I read your instructions carefully and intend to select my star tonight.
Once again, thank you so much for your kindness in contributing your talent to the story you dedicated to V’c Torya (Victoria) and me.
V’c Torya asked me to send her thanks and to tell you that she is very pleased by her new name.
Lee Morris
Of course, as Leo later on told me, he always thought writing for the fans of Planetary Stories is a fairy tale occupation, and this just shows it’s true!
If you care to join in the fun, we don’t intend to officially close the contest. At present we plan to let it end itself when no one sends in anything suitable as an entry. Or when our writers give out.
One thing, though. The captain had this checked in the ship’s computer just to verify his math, and he’s pretty sure the two entries that won so far have not had three subjects. Just Babes and BEMs. Of course I pointed out to him that our readers were showing a real spirit of equality because fully half the participants so far have been non-humans. That pleased him but he’s still edgy about the math. “Some of our readers can count,” he said. I told him that all our readers count.
So have at it, Kaydets! All it takes to win our contest is a good camera and a better imagination. And, oh yes, some people and/or animals or other objects to pose with you.
Ron Fortier:
Yo Lt. Luna,
It's a quiet Sunday morning and I'm brewing up a hot pot of Dunkin Donuts coffee (Starbucks can shove it up the kazoo!). So, let me see, what's new and fun on the net?
Holy smokes, a brand new edition of PLANETARY is ready to fly! Wow, but that was quick. Only seemed like yesterday when I perused the last issue.
Well okay then, I pour myself a big cup of coffee, turn the stereo on and drop in a couple of Star Wars John Williams discs. Come on, how can you read PLANETARY tales without the appropriate background score? Impossible.
Now, a few hours later (and several trips to the john...I mean, hell, that liquid has to go someplace...right) I'm a very happy Space Cadet.
You guys have once again outdone yourselves with a truly wondrous collection of sci-fi adventure yarns, both serious and whimsical.
This time around I want to comment on a few that made me chuckle and applaud. THE HIVE OF THE FLARE BEASTS was a terrific Space Ranger thriller start to finish and was totally like all those classic 50s yarns I enjoyed so much as a kid. Rocket sockem adventure on Mercury. Bravo! Hope this crew of characters will come again soon. Good job,
Tenilor.
Whereas if any one story completely was pulp heaven, it was THE MAN WITH TWO MINDS by Donald Sullivan. Again, I could imagine reading this in some sci-fi mag off a 30s newsstand and the ending was perfect, convincing the aliens of the "ammonia" threat. Just plain fun.
Now I also liked Lou Antonelli's FERMI'S FRATERNITY, but have to tell you guys, the ending was way-way too abrupt!! I kept wanting to scroll down to read more. I mean, really, the plot is a group of human spacefarers get invited to join an alien fraternity.
All well and good, but gee there should be more after they join. Hardly the climax-resolution we were thought in English 101. Maybe there will be a part two? Hope so.
As much as I was thrilled to be a part of this issue, what with those gawd awful Ackerman Punsters, the one item that had me falling out of this chair (onto a hardwood floor mind you.. ouch) was HOLLYWOOD ARMADILLO. Now as a true pulp fanatic, this one had me going from the opening paragraph, and the accompanying art was just rich. Perfect. Goofiest avenger costume I've ever seen.
Yes sir, another dandy issue under your space suspenders. What can I say, but thanks for the fun and keep ’em flying.
Ron Fortier
And, hey, look who else showed up? Donald Sullivan!
Dear Lt Luna,
PLANETARY STORIES was, as usual, chock full of great stories and great illos. Here's my take on the stories. I enjoyed them all. The Man With Two Minds.....Donald Sullivan...I'm not qualified to comment on this one cause it's mine.
I, Nadir….Michael Shack….This wacky space adventure brings out the chuckles. A fun read.
The Hive of the Flare Beasts….Lee Tenibar….Buckle your seat belts for this one, Non-stop action and adventure with a heaping helping of suspense. Great read.
Fermi's Fraternity….Lou Antonelli….This one was fascinating. Some really good ideas here that will cause the reader to pause and think. Could it happen?
Out of the Woodwork….Doug Kaye……Doug Kaye tells us that he dabbles in off-beat fiction. This one is certainly off-beat, to say the least. Off-beat and very entertaining.
Last and First Scientifiction Magazine……Ralph 124SJ41 +….Nonsense and good fun. Educational, too. Here are the answers to your questions about…what?
100 Ferocious Little Forry Stories…Shelby "Blame Forry" Vick and others….What can I say? Here are four fun-and-pun filled stories. If you like surprise endings, this is for you.
Entry from the Journal of the Last Sancren Man……Amanda Lawrence Auverigne….An unusual twist in this tale of an alien visitor. Good story; good read.
Hollywood Armadillo….Gerald W Page…..Another gripping, action filled, fun filled adventure of that greatest of all crime fighters, Army. You're sure to stay glued to the story, always wondering what's coming next, while at the same time getting your funny bone tickled.
The other features and articles in PS were also enjoyable. The illos by Bill Jackson, Paul McCall, Wm Michael Mott, and Jim Garrison were great.
Lieutenant, give my congrats to Shelby Vick for showcasing all these super-talented writers and artists.
Donald Sullivan
And we also heard from Dee Jarvis:
Dear Lt. Luna,
Congrats to you and the intrepid editorial staff on another great issue! I just have one quibble/question. Doug Kaye's "Out of the Woodwork" is presented as a work of fiction. Are you absolutely certain this is fiction?
From the trench,
Diana D. Jarvis
Well, Dee, we can only paraphrase Hugo Gernsback: “Extravagant fiction this morning; scientific fact this afternoon.”
Donald Sullivan is back, this time to comment on our companion magazine.
Donald Sullivan
Dear Lt. Luna,
Here's my take on the stories in Wonderlust
The Black Star…Donald Sullivan…I'm not qualified to comment on this one cause it's mine. I can, however, comment on the illos by Jerry Burge. I couldn't ask for better likenesses of Hiram and Storm. Thanks, Jerry.
Yellow Light….Edmund Shirlan…A battle between good and evil sorcerers. A sorcerer pays a heavy price to increase his power, only to find that his powers seem to have diminished, and that he has the aid of two demonic-appearing devil hounds that turn out to be of less-than-pit bull stripe. We're treated to an exciting battle royal between the sorcerers.
A Visitor to Boot Hill….Carleton Grindle…There's lots of ways to deal with vampires, such as crosses, garlic, wooden stakes, etc. But here's a new way, and what better man to do it than Doc Holiday?
Invocation: Klarkash-ton…..Anthony Larson…I don't know much about poetry, but I do know what I like. Nice fantasy/myth atmosphere, rhyme, and rhythm. Enjoyed the read.
Thanx,
Sully
And from legendary science fiction fan and letter writer Gregg Calkins:
I don’t want to disappoint an old fan friend, even if I’m not into that area of the world any more at the present time...
I went and looked at Planetary Stories, thinking it might be the fanzine we all dreamed about if we had had the ability to publish it back in our mimeograph days. (No printed fanzine since then has truly qualified, of course. I admit to using a copy machine for The Rambling Fap for several years. I couldn’t get Twiltone paper, however, and had to do with colored covers and white interiors...it just wasn’t the same.) Looks like you are having great fun, though, ShelVy, and that’s all that matters!
Aside: the world keeps changing for the worst sometimes, huh? Who thought that Lee Hoffman would ever die on us. I really feel old sometimes.
--Gregg
Lee Hoffman is the legendary science fiction fan who published the fanzine Quandry in the early fifties – which some hold to be the finest science fiction fanzine ever, and of a certain type, it was. Many fans were unaware of the fact that Lee was a young woman, and when she showed up at the World Science Fiction Convention in 1952, it was quite a surprise to some of them.
Quandry (the misspelling is correct in this case) was an informal publication that ran a lot of humor pieces and attracted writers like Walt Willis, Bob Shaw, Robert Bloch, Wilson “Bob” Tucker and Shelby Vick.
Many consider the period Quandry was published to be the Golden Age of Science Fiction Fandom. Lee, who passed away not long ago, is sorely missed. (Actually, of the ones named above the only one left is ShelVy – and we ain’t letting nothing or nobody take him!)
Now let’s hear from Everett Lange.
Dear Luna,
I suppose the sort of space opera Planet Stories used to publish grew out of Weird Tales back in the nineteen thirties as much as it did Amazing Stories and Astounding Stories of Super Science. Certainly Leigh Brackett’s wonderful stories of Eric John Stark show as much influence of C.L. Moore’s Northwest Smith from Weird Tales, as they do of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Mars stories and, if only stylistically, the private eye stories of Raymond Chandler.
It’s my understanding that Ms. Moore was working as a secretary when she encountered the name “N.W. Smith” on a letter she was typing, and began to wonder what sort of man might be called “Northwest Smith.” For a time she considered writing a Western about him. But those of us who love a good space opera got lucky and she ended up writing “Shambleau,” one of the great space fantasies of all time, a haunting horror story of a new and more desolate frontier.
The great pulp adventure writer, E. Hoffmann Price used to talk about walking into the offices of his old friend Farnsworth Wright (who edited Weird Tales) and being told he was just in time because Wright was about to go out and celebrate. “Celebrate?” Price asked. “What’s the occasion?”
“It’s a holiday. It’s C.L. Moore Day.”
“I never heard of him,” Price said, so Wright passed him the manuscript to the first story that had ever come in from Moore. Price read the story, handed it back to Wright and said, “You’re right. It’s a holiday. Close the office and let’s go celebrate.”
Neither of course was aware that Moore was a young woman (in her early twenties) and that the “C.” stood for “Catherine.” She would later on marry another young writer who began his career in Weird Tales, Henry Kuttner, and they could become one of the most celebrated and prolific writing teams in the history of science fiction, under more than a dozen pennames. She wrote all or part of several classic sf stories including “Vintage Season” and “No Woman Born.”
Her two series of stories from Weird Tales, the space adventures of Northwest Smith, and the medieval fantasy adventures of Jirel of Joiry, the original (and most intense) Warrior Princess, are still among her most popular stories. For a time it seemed as if every ten or twelve years some small press publisher in the sf and fantasy field would arrange to issue those series in a limited edition hardback, often illustrated.
The Northwest Smith series was space adventure, and it was also pure fantasy, often of a horror nature. Since the Kuttners under names like Lewis Padgett and Lawrence O’Donnell were regular contributors to John Campbell’s Astounding SF during it’s so-called Golden Age run in the forties, there’s no doubt of her ability to write science fiction. But good space opera can be fantasy as well as sf, and a wise editor is always aware of that fact.
Planet Stories had a number of wise editors in its too short run, and the space opera it published included sf by writers like Ross Rocklynne, Nelson Bond, Poul Anderson and Neil R, Jones, alongside the fantasy-based space adventures of Leigh Brackett, Ray Bradbury and Gardner Fox. Leigh Brackett’s Eric John Stark stories from Planet are still being published. So, of course, are Bradbury’s Mars stories.
Interestingly, Brackett, like Moore, was married to another great sf writer, Edmond Hamilton. Hamilton for some reasons never appeared in Planet with a story of his own (he and Leigh frequently collaborated, though they only acknowledged one story, “Eric John Stark and the Star Kings” as being a collaboration).
But Henry Kuttner appeared in Planet a couple of times and his stories, “What Hath Me?” and “Crypt-City of the Deathless Ones” are recalled fondly by old-time space opera fans such as me, alongside “Shambleau” and “Dust of the Gods” by Moore, “Black Amazon of Mars” and “The Veil of Astellar” by Brackett, “The Star Kings” and “Return to the Stars” by Hamilton, and “Man Nth” and “The Man the Sun Gods Made” by Gardner Fox. I wish more of your writers would aim at doing stories like those.
Everett Lange
The Captain assures me, Ev, that when we get offered that kind of cargo, we’ll sure lay it aboard.
Now, this issue’s missive from Rebecca Brayman:
Dear Lt. Luna
I don't know a lot about Forry Ackerman, so I may not be a good judge
"Last and First Scientifiction Magazine" was too long, I never finished it.
Communicate with tubeworms at the bottom of the ocean? Aren't they related to millipedes? The question really is Will intelligent life find us intelligent?
Wisely yours (or is that Wisely Cracks),
Rebecca Brayman
And now one of your favorite authors, Bob Bolin, contributes a letter.
Dear Lt Luna
I read the entire issue of Planetary Stories, and thought all of the stories, articles, and other parts were good. I particularly liked The Man with Two Minds and kept wondering which mind would win out, the alien's or the Earthman's, but was pleased with results, and thought Donald Sullivan did an excellent job of writing it.
I also liked the story, Hive of the Flare Beasts, by Lee Tennibor. It was well done.
Bob Bolin
And here’s something from Curt Phillips.
Dear Lt. Luna,
I don't get it. Maybe you can explain it to me. The Halloween season is upon us as I write and of course it should be the festive holiday of laughter and joy that it is for all good stf fans. But this year as I scan the program listings for my favorite old-movie tv channel I find myself pondering the same question over and over: why has no one ever made a great zombie science fiction movie? Oh sure, there have been plenty of great zombie movies in the *horror* genre, but I'm talking about a zombie *science fiction* film with zombies and spaceships and space battles and such. We've all seen the classic zombie westerns like THE ZOMBIE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON, ZOMBIE IN THE SADDLE, and ZOMBIES AT THE O.K. CORRAL; or the great zombie war films like ALL QUIET ON THE ZOMBIE FRONT, THE ZOMBIES OF NAVARONE and GONE WITH THE ZOMBIES; as well as the zombie detective films like "I WAS A ZOMBIE FOR THE F.B.I", or even the mushy zombie romance films like "ZOMBIE LOVE STORY", or "A ZOMBIE TO REMEMBER". But why has there never been a "FORBIDDEN ZOMBIE PLANET", or "THE DAY THE ZOMBIE STOOD STILL", or even a "ZOMBIE TREK"? Well, I think I know the answer. All of these obvious blockbuster films have never been made simply because in all of the history of Hollywood there has never been an actor of sufficient depth and emotive ability who could portray a scientifictional zombie on the silver screen and make us love him. No one, that is, until now. Because as I read the lettercol of PLANETARY STORIES # 8 with the photos of some of the readers, one photo jumped out at me and screamed, "here, is your zombie, Curt!" I refer of course, to the photo of Jerry Page. True, Jerry has a beautiful woman draped across his arm in that photo, but look again and notice the terror in *her* expression and the dull, waxy look of ancient eldritch evil in *his*. Now *that 's* a zombie if I've ever seen one! I've attached a photo to further demonstrate my point. It shows the zombie-master Page using his leaden stare to control the mind of all who fall under his gaze. Now that I've pointed out this obvious connection I trust that you'll use the entire influence of the PLANETARY STORIES organization to send Jerry Page out to Hollywood so he and his inner zombie can be "discovered".
I like the cover by Bill Jackson quite a lot, particularly the thickly populated star field. I do question the "fishbowl" space helmets since I expect the wearers would get overly warm pretty quickly is they didn't have something to deflect most of the sunlight those fishbowls would be subjected to. But the colors and the overall composition are very stefnal and that's my meat and potatoes, right enough. Now on to the stories...
"I, Nadir", by Michael Shack was all right - but I couldn't finish reading it. I was ok until I hit page 7 with Paul McCall's illo, and then I found that I was unable to scroll on past that illustration. It's, uh, you know, interesting from an artistic viewpoint. I mean, the illo demands a closer scrutiny than most of the visual parts of PLANETARY STORIES. Who modeled for this, Lt. Luna's sister? I'd better take a break from writing this letter and go and study that illo some more...
"The Hive of the Flare Beasts" by Lee Tenibor. Good story. Maybe a little more dialog to soften up the opening would have been a good thing, but still a good story. Very nice illustrations by Jim Garrison. The one on page 4 reminds me of the way that Kelly Freas designed the covers for the old Laser Books covers with the figure in the foreground. Achieves a sort of two-level effect that works quite well.
"The Man with Two Minds" by Donald Sullivan is first rate. Very well written, and a good clean plot. Alien invasion stories are a staple of SF but this one stands out for its good use of dialog and a very nice prose style.
"Fermi's Fraternity" by Lou Antonelli is fascinating and very well written but stops much too soon. I want to know what happens next. Is this the first installment of a series for PLANETARY STORIES? I hope so.
"Out of the Woodwork" by Doug Kaye is superb! I have to give it my vote for best story of the issue. Very cute story with a nice twist at the end. More from Doug Kaye please!
"Last and First Scientifiction Magazine" by Ralph 124SJ41+ was a delight to read with it's Tuckerizations of several well known fannish institutions and personalities in the Atlanta area and with it's chillingly realistic sounding death-knell for the printed SF magazine. I have to admit that it's becoming easier every year to imagine that some sad day within my expected lifespan we will indeed see the end of printed books and magazines as anything other than a very small specialist hobby. Already younger people today are finding printed books intolerably inconvenient for research and study, and the percentage of the population that actually reads books for any other purpose has been frighteningly low for quite some time. I hope Forry writes in with a comment on this one.
The eldritch "Entry From the Journal of the Last Sancren Man" by Amanda Lawrence Auverligne is a gloomy little mood-piece. H. P. Lovecraft meets Prof. Quartermass, perhaps. A good story.
"Hollywood Armadillo" by Gerald W. Page would seem from the title and opening illo to be another of the celebrity bodice-ripper semi-autobiographical tell-all murder & mayhem confession stories that Page is all too famous for - yet such a curt appraisal - however accurate - would leave an incomplete impression on Page's all-too impressionable readers. It is also a ripping good hammer murder story and who doesn't enjoy a good hammer murder story? Page completely fails to explain why his central character - The Armadillo - spent most of the story disguised as an ordinary aardvark, but perhaps he'll explain that tantalizing bit of misdirection in some future Armadillo story. I know how this fellow Page thinks, after all. So it *must* mean something...
The lettercol was enjoyable and I like the photos of readers - particularly the one of the pretty girl with the ray-gun who's obviously gunning for Jerry Page. I guess she read one of his puns. And there's my old friend from Myriad, Daniel Taylor. Good to see him looking well. In that same spirit I hereby attach a photo of me taken on my last visit to Atlanta many years ago. I had hoped to meet up with The Blazing Armadillo on that trip but he failed to show up, so I had to go and set the town on fire all by myself...
Marching onward,
Curt Phillips
That’s not just any raygun Jessie Taylor was gunning for Page with. It’s a genuine, official Daisy Buck Rogers Disintegrator Pistol from 1942. And while I don’t think Jessie was actually gunning for Jerry, it is interesting we didn’t see that much of him last issue. And as for your comments on Paul McCall’s illustration for “I, Nadir,” some guys will use just about any excuse not to finish one of Michael Shack’s intrepid stories. What are you, one of our editors?
John Thiel writes:
Lt. Luna:
Bek-Horan! The second volume of Planetary Stories looks as good as the first, and expanded features make it even better! I knew that Ghu and Roscoe would keep the SF flag flying, and I'm pleased to find
where it is aloft and waving--in other words, the place where this is being done.
I'm also pleased to see people I know coming into their own in the magazine, such as Bob Bolin, Lou Antonelli and Kevin Duncan. It
seems to me they have egoboo from appearing here, that will put them on to further writing and drawing.
Reading "Write" put me in mind of submitting to Planetary Stories, but then I realized I already had when I began reading it--I'd submitted to its sense of wonder as a magazine.
That's some mighty good art by William Mott on the cover of Wonderlust, and it speaks for the title well in that it is provocative of lust. Good art makes a magazine shine! I experienced a bit of unease seeing the pterodactyls in the sky, though. I suppose comment on the issue should include a pun, so it occurs to me to say that the
punishment for lust appears to be vain aerial disease. (The trip portrayed is obviously in vain--it could be the crew of Asimov's ill-fated Caribbean cruise.)
Good observation in Larson's poem--the spells of the elder fantasy masters are lasting far into the future.
Hollywood Armadillo seems like a science fictional Shell Scott. It seems appropriate there should be one; I believe the Scott books
were by Richard S. Prather.
Keep up the good work.
-John Thiel
Thanks for the nice words, John. The Cap says it’s becoming more and more fun to put together each issue of PS because of the great new writers and artists we keep finding. Check out Doug Kaye, for instance, and Ron Butler who was supposed to be in this issue but will probably be in the next one. And we keep finding new readers, too.
You lost us though, when you said “Hollywood Armadillo” seems like a science fictional Shell Scott because we can’t find anything in that story that’s science fiction except the movie that’s being filmed as part of the plot. And Page tells us that he’s never read a Shell Scott story or novel.
When you press Page about influences for Army, he takes the easy way out and cites The Shadow and The Spider, and it is obvious those characters are the butt of a lot of the humor in the stories (the steel mask idea actually occurs in some of the Spider stories). But if you keep after him he’ll admit to a fondness for classic pulp private eye stories of the 30s and 40s, not the paperback series of the 50s and 60s. He likes Raymond Chandler, of course, and admits a special fondness for Frederick Nebel’s “Tough Dick” Donahue, George Harmon Coxe’s Flash Casey, and anything by James M. Cain.
But we suspect there are a couple more “sources” for Army’s eccentricities. One is the old Sam Spade radio series that starred Howard Duff. It was fast-paced and filled with wordplay and wild ideas, and Page is old enough to have heard it on the radio when he was a child.
The other source is old movie private eye series filmed in the 40s. If you press Page on it he’ll admit that Ronald Faldaytonworthington looks a lot like the 40s film actor Tom Conway. (Both Paul McCall and Peggy Ransom have done drawings of Ronald that look suspiciously like Conway). Conway starred in nine movies based on Michael Arlen’s The Falcon (replacing his brother George Sanders who starred in the first three). The Falcon was a Robin Hood sort, not a masked crime fighter, but Page obviously recalls those flicks with fondness.
Of course the idea of “Pulp Spirit” is that the stories there are pulp type stories but not science fiction – because we run pulp science fiction type stories in Planetary Stories. This issue, in addition to the Armadillo, you’ll find an actual western in Pulp Spirit, like something right out of the pages of Street & Smith’s Western Stories Magazine, or Standard’s Texas Rangers.
And if you like private eyes – and private eyefuls -- come back next issue and meet “The Diamondville Dolls.”
So that’s it for now, happy reader. But remember when you’ve read this issue, we need to hear from you about it. Send in those raves and brickbats. Otherwise we’ll have to publish more pictures of Page.
--Lt. Luna
Ordinarily I wouldn't dream of questioning you guys' commitment to your responsibility as publishers to distinguish between fiction and nonfiction (unlike other media outlets that routinely blur the line in order to boost their ratings), but ... It's just that lately there've been a *lot* of these little insects with a thousand legs attacking my door and windows. It's like a miniature version of D-Day. So... are you sure?
of this issue, but I do know I greatly enjoyed "100 Ferocious Little Forry Stories - Abridged". Reminisced my favorite story about the rambling rack from King George's attack and the elephant engineer.
"100 Ferocious Little Forry Stories"... YAAARRRGH! 'Nuff said.
THE ASTROGATION DECK
We ran into a real space storm this time out, so this issue the cargo’s a bit on the light side. But if you go back to last issue and check out what we promised would be in this one (at the tail-end of the letter column), anything missing should be featured next time.
For this reason the course for the next issue – to say nothing of the bill of lading – is just a bit sketchy. But in the works is a new story about Curran and Elge, who you met back in issue 5. Whether it’s ready in time or not, we already have “Nadir of the Chimps,” on hand. In it Captain Shivers and the crew battle it out with Captain Cruiser on a jungle world with dinosaurs and chimpanzee people. Written by Michael Shack, it comes with a full load of wonderful illustrations by Paul McCall.
The Captain is determined to expand Pulp Spirit so in addition to the Armadillo we plan to start a new private eye series designed to thrill lovers of old school mystery yarns. It’s called “The Diamondville Dolls.” The Dolls are a couple of sisters who run an detective agency. One day they’re hired by a mysterious stranger to look into cases for a “philanthropist” back in New York. Only the “philanthropist” just might be more mysterious than his agent. It comes with great illustrations by Mark Fults.
–The Old Astrogator.