UPDATED | In 1939, science fiction is considered to have entered its golden age, specifically with the publication of the July 1939 number of Astounding Science Fiction.
Of course, science fiction was around before then. Some say the poem “Epic of Gilgamesh” — scribed on tablets around 4,000 years ago — was the first written sf. But more of us are familiar with much later stories: Mary Shelley‘s Frankenstein, the works of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, and maybe Jonathan Swift‘s Gulliver’s Travels.
The dime novels dabbled in mechanical men, flying machines, and other elements of sf. Then the pulps took up sf — before it had found its name — in the general fiction magazines, such as Argosy and All-Story.
Hugo Gernsback created the first pulp devoted only to “scientifiction,” Amazing Stories in 1926. But it was John W. Campbell Jr. who encouraged a more mature writing and stories when he became editor of Astounding in 1938.
Which brings us back to that July 1939 number.
At the most recent Tallahassee Comic Book Club dinner, Mike Kissane showed off three pulps that he had purchased at a comic book show, including that Astounding. That started a brief discussion of the cover story in the issue, “Black Destroyer,” the first published story of A.E. van Vogt.
In 1979, 40 years after the publication of the story in Astounding, the movie Alien hit the silver screens. While Alien isn’t directly based on “Black Destroyer,” the story is certainly an influence: a cat-like creature is taken aboard a space vessel exploring a distant planet, but rather than being harmless, it begins preying on the crew.
And here we are 40 years after Alien, and 80 years at that Astounding number. Perfect timing for a little something different for the Tallahassee pulp group’s next Pulps and Pints dinner.
Since “Black Destroyer,” as well as the complete issue, is readily available online, having been scanned and converted to text and other formats, we’re going to read the story and discuss it at our upcoming Pulps and Pints dinner.
Mike Hunter had mentioned at the dinner that “Black Destroyer” became part of van Vogt’s fix-up novel The Voyage of the Space Beagle. Mike Kissane has said the local library system has a couple of copies of the novel, one of which he’s checked out.
As I’ve mentioned before, the group developed out of a lunch Jeff Shanks and I had six or so years ago, when I discovered he was a pulp fan and lived nearby. Since then we’ve added to the group. We have around 14 on our email chain now, though we don’t meet as often was we should. But it’s always a fun evening.
If you can’t make it to PulpFest or Windy City Pulp and Paper Convention, meeting up with nearby pulp fans is a great way to recharge your pulp enthusiasm. Ask around online or a local book/comicbook stores to find nearby pulp fans, then meet up for lunch, dinner, coffee/tea/beer, etc. I highly recommend it.
Our Tallahassee get-together is planned for 6 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 4, at El Jalisco on N Monroe Street, Tallahassee. You’re invited!
