Category Archives: Weird Tales

Happy Birthday, Farnsworth

Farnsworth Wright, legendary editor of Weird Tales, was born on this date, July 29, in the long-ago year of 1888. He died in 1940.

We last discussed Mr. Wright a few weeks ago in my post on who was the greatest editor of the 20th Century. I think it’s a toss-up between Wright and Don Wolheim.

What isn’t up for debate is that Wright published some of the greatest writers of the fantastic in his magazines during his tenure as editor: H. P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, C. L. Moore, Henry S. Whitehead, Henry Kuttner, Manley Wade Wellman, Robert Bloch, Seabury Quinn.

Just to name a few.

Granted some, like Kuttner and Bloch, went on to fame for later, more mature work. But Wright recognized something about their writing and published it.

So if today or tonight you happen to read something published in Weird Tales while Wright was the editor, raise your glass to his memory and his legacy.

Of Editorial Greatness

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Earlier today I was reading a post on a site I don’t normally read these days (I was lured by the temptation of a free ebook). The post made the argument that John Campbell was the greatest editor the science fiction and fantasy fields have seen.

That got me to thinking, which usually gets me in trouble. I began wondering who would be the greatest editor, greater being defined as having the most impact over time. The original post didn’t include fantasy other than a passing reference to Unknown. So I thought I’d throw the question open to anyone who wanted to voice an opinion. Below is a list I compiled off the top of my head. I didn’t include any living editors. If I had, Ellen Datlow would be on it. My rationale is that the impact of living editors on the can’t be accurately assessed because they are still having an influence and their greatest influences may still be to come.

So in alphabetical order are ten editors. I’ll provide a brief explanation as to why they have been included. Some will be quickly eliminated. Others, not so much. Continue reading →

A Look at Jack Williamson’s Golden Blood

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Before he became a master of science fiction, Jack Williamson was a master of pulp adventure. He’s becoming forgotten these days, especially much of his early work. It doesn’t help that most of his books are not available in electronic format. Haffner Press collected all of his short fiction in a ten volume set. They’re pretty much out of print except for a couple of limited editions of the later volumes.

Williamson started writing for the pulps in 1928. His last novel was published in 2005. He passed away in 2006. I’ve always wanted to attend the Williamson Lectureship in Portales. It’s within driving distance, but the day job has always interfered.

But I digress. There’s a clear difference in Williamson’s early work compared to his later novels. As he said in the Tamerlane Press edition of Golden Blood (still available for a reasonable price online) as well as the introduction to the Phantasia Press edition of The Reign of Wizardry (also still available), these were works he probably wouldn’t be able to write as an older writer. (I’m paraphrasing here, of course.)

Golden Blood was first serialized in Weird Tales after being rejected by Argosy. If there is an electronic version, I’m not aware of it. It got the cover twice, with both covers painted by J. Allen St. John.St. John also did the interior illustrations shown below.

The first cover, from the April 1933 issue, is a near classic image in the field of fantasy art. Williamson had an opportunity to buy the painting at the time the story was published but had to decline due to lack of funds.

There have been two paperback reprints, one with a cover by Ed Emshwiller at the bottom of the post. The other was a large print edition from Lancer. My favorite cover is the one with the giant tiger on it. Continue reading →

Blogging Jirel of Joiry: “Hellsgarde”

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Published in the April 1939 issue of Weird Tales, “Hellsgarde” is in many ways the last of the Jirel stories, at least her solo adventures. She will meet up with Northwest Smith in “Quest of the Starstone”. That’s another post for another day. “Starstone” was actually published first, in 1937, but all collections I’ve seen place it last in the book.

I found this story to have a bit more depth than “The Dark Land”, which we looked at yesterday. YMMV. There will be spoilers in this post. You have been warned.

It opens with Jirel riding to the castle of Hellsgarde,which sits in a vast swamp of quicksand and only appears at sunset. Two hundred years ago, Andred, master of Hellsgarde had found a great treasure which he kept in a small box. No one knew the exact nature of the treasure, but many coveted it. Andred died defending his treasure, but his killers never found it. Since then many have died trying to find it, and Hellsgarde has gained an evil reputation.

Now Guy of Garlot has taken some of Jirel’s men prisoner. He’s told Jirel that he will kill them unless she brings him Andred’s box from Hellsgarde. Guy’s fortress sits atop an unassailable cliff. Jirel has no choice but to go for the treasure. Guy is too cowardly to attempt finding it himself. Although it’s never stated, I suspect Guy hopes to take control of Jirel’s lands if she fails. Continue reading →

Happy Brithday, Farnsworth Wright

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Weird Tales editorial office, l. to r., unknown, Farnsworth Wright, Henry Kuttner, Robert Bloch

By the time of his death in 1940, Farnsworth Wright had become one of the most influential editors the field of the fantastic would ever see. Wright was born in 1888 on July, 29. I would argue his influence on science fiction, fantasy, and horror has been greater than any other editor, including John W. Campbell, Dorothy McIlwraith, Fred Pohl, Ray Palmer, or Hugo Gernsback.

Yes, I realize that last sentence could be controversial, especially the inclusion of Campbell and Gernsback. So be it. Farnsworth Wright edited Weird Tales during what is considered to be the magazine’s golden age. The authors he published have had a greater impact on the literature of the fantastic than those of any other editor at any time in history. Continue reading →

Birthday Reading: Manly Wade Wellman

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Manly Wade Wellman was born, this day, May 21, in 1903 in Portuguese West Africa. He was one of the greatest writers of horror and dark fantasy of the 20th Century, although he’s not as well known today as he should be. His best known literary creation was John the Balladeer, and wandering minstrel of the Appalachian mountains. Wellman began writing in the 1920s, and sold a number of stories to Weird Tales. He was still writing in the 1970s and 1980s, and a number of his short stories were published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.

In honor of his birthday, I’m going to look at two short stories. Both were published in the pulps in the late 1930s. I read both of them in Sin’s Doorway and Other Ominous Entrances, published by Night Shade Books in 2003. It’s volume 4 of the 5 volume The Selected Stories of Manly Wade Wellman. Continue reading →

Birthday Bonus: A Collaboration Between Bloch and Kuttner

Blogging Solomon Kane: “The Footfalls Within”

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Miskatonic University Press
Weird Tales compendium

“The Footfalls Within” was first published in the September, 1930 issue of Weird Tales. It’s a pretty straight-forward story, but one that has some depth if you know where to look. It seems to take place after the previous tale, “Wings in the Night” (reviewed here). Solomon Kane has continued his eastward trek.

The story opens with Kane coming across the body of a young black woman. The corpse is fresh, and there are marks where whips and shackles have torn her flesh. It doesn’t take long for Kane to catch up with the slavers who killed her. He sees a train of blacks being led away by a group of armed Arabs and other blacks who have allied with them. They’re taking their captives to a slave market. They’re also driving them hard, neither giving them rest breaks nor providing them with ample water.

When another young woman collapses and can’t get up, the slavers decide to skin her rather than give her water or put her out of her misery. It’s more than Kane can stomach, and he shoots the man with the skinning knife. This brings the rest down on him, but he kills several before they can subdue him. The leader of the group, Hassim, realizes he can get a great deal of money from Kane after he learns his captive’s identity, so Kane is treated better than the rest of the slaves. As they march, Kane is approached by an old man named Yusef, who has retrieved Kane’s ju-ju stick from where Hassim had discarded it. Continue reading →

It’s Margaret Brundage’s Birthday

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I wrote a post last year on Margaret Brundage. I don’t really have anything to add. But given all the brouhaha about art lately (see Daughter of Naked Slave Girls, Illustrated Edition as an example of what I’m talking about), I thought I would put up a few scans of some of her work to mark the occasion.

Note to those who are uptight or only want other people to enjoy/like/appreciate the same things they like: Brundage’s work is about as politically incorrect as you can get and often features nubile young women wearing little to no clothing and being threatened or bound (or both) in some manner. If this might offend you, then rather than clicking the READ MORE link, do us both a favor and go somewhere else.

Continue reading →

Robert Bloch Hits 99

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Robert Bloch was born on April 5, 1917, in Chicago. He passed away on September 23, 1994 in Los Angeles.

Although he will be remembered as the author of Psycho, and justifiably so, he was a writer of great range and depth. While I’ve found his novels to be somewhat hit and miss, I’ve almost always enjoyed his short fiction.

Bloch was a member of the Lovecraft Circle and published in Weird Tales, but he quickly moved on to other types of fiction than Mythos pastiche. (Not that there’s anything wrong with Bloch’s Mythos tales, but they were his early work.) He appeared as Robert Blake in Lovecraft’s “The Haunter of the Dark.”

Bloch was adept at mystery, suspense, science fiction, and fantasy. Bloch managed to infuse humor into some of the grimmest situations. His story “That Hell-Bound Train” won the Hugo Award in 1959. A favorite theme was Jack the Ripper, beginning with the classic “Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper”.

Bloch worked in Hollywood, and many of his stories reflect his experiences there. He wrote two sequels to Psycho which had nothing to do with the movie sequels. I’ve only read the first sequel, but it’s set almost entirely in Hollywood. I wondered how many of the scenes in it were based on actual events.

Anyway, Bloch isn’t as well remembered these days as he should be. Subterranean Press (among others) have published collections of his work in the years since his death, but those are starting to go out of print.

I’m going to read one or two of his stories this evening and toast his memory and literary legacy.

With the lights on and the doors locked, of course.

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