''Futuria Fantasia'' was an American

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''-zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by fan (person), enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) ...

created by

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury (; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and r ...

in 1938, when he was 18 years old. Though only four issues of the fanzine were published, its list of contributors included

Hannes Bok Hannes Bok, pseudonym for Wayne Francis Woodard (, ; July 2, 1914 – April 11, 1964), was an American artist and illustrator, as well as an amateur astrologer and writer of fantasy fiction and poetry. He painted nearly 150 covers for various sc ...

, Forrest J. Ackerman, Henry Kuttner,

Damon Knight Damon Francis Knight (September 19, 1922 – April 15, 2002) was an American science fiction author, editor, and critic. He is the author of "To Serve Man", a 1950 short story adapted for ''The Twilight Zone''.Stanyard, ''Dimensions Behind th ...

, and

Robert A. Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein (; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accu ...

Background

Since the 1930s,

fanzines A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''-zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by fan (person), enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) ...

have been an integral part of

science fiction fandom Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or fandom of people interested in science fiction in contact with one another based upon that interest. SF fandom has a life of its own, but not much in the way of formal organization (although ...

. The earliest fanzines were often produced or sponsored by science fiction clubs and served as a platform for group members to circulate nonfiction essays, science fiction stories and reviews, and reflections on fandom itself. Such is the case with ''Futuria Fantasia'', which began as a project aimed at members of the Los Angeles Science Fiction League (LASFL). Ray Bradbury joined the LASFL in 1937 and soon became a prominent member of the club. In 1938, at the urging of fellow LASFL member Forrest J. Ackerman, Bradbury conceived the idea for his own magazine, and with Ackerman's support, Bradbury was able to convince the LASFL to fund his new editorial project.

Issues

The first issue was published in June 1939, receiving "fairly good feedback from local and long-distance subscribers." Indeed, Henry Hasse, a

pulp Pulp may refer to: * Pulp (fruit), the inner flesh of fruit Engineering * Dissolving pulp, highly purified cellulose used in fibre and film manufacture * Pulp (paper), the fibrous material used to make paper * Molded pulp, a packaging material ...

writer from Seattle, wrote to Bradbury for a copy of the issue, and at Bradbury's prompting, offered feedback on the young editor's first attempt at publication. Hasse would go on to contribute to the second and third issue under the pseudonym Foo E. Onya. The covers of the first issue—and all subsequent issues—were illustrated by Hannes Bok, who would become famous for his work on pulp and

science fiction magazines A science fiction magazine is a publication that offers primarily science fiction, either in a hard-copy periodical format or on the Internet. Science fiction magazines traditionally featured speculative fiction in short story, novelette, nove ...

The second issue, "hastily printed three weeks ahead" of schedule, contains more than a few errors, including references to three articles that were dropped prior to publication. Yet ''Futuria Fantasia'' no. 2 also contains Bradbury's anonymous story "The Pendulum", which became the basis for his first paid, professional piece. Futuria Fantasia, no

By the third issue, Bradbury was struggling to finance his project. Though every issue had been priced at a dime per copy, "each issue of 100 could defray only ten dollars of the twenty-five-dollar production cost". Furthermore, LASFL member Russel Hodgkins cut the fanzine's funding, forcing Bradbury to search for a new source of capital. Though Bradbury was eventually able to secure enough money to produce a fourth issue, it would be his last. Despite his depleted funds, Bradbury was able to enhance both the quality and layout of the fourth and final issue. In addition to a table of contents, the issue features an editor's page with a masthead. Along with stories by Henry Kuttner and

, the issue also includes the story "Heil!,” attributed to Lyle Monroe but actually written by

. "Heil!" remains one of Heinlein's "hardest…titles to locate in the original printing."

Awards

Beginning with the 1996 Worldcon, the

World Science Fiction Society Worldcon, or more formally the World Science Fiction Convention, the annual convention of the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS), is a science fiction convention. It has been held each year since 1939 (except for the years 1942 to 1945, durin ...

created the concept of "Retro Hugos", in which the

Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier a ...

could be retroactively awarded for years 50, 75, or 100 years before the current year, if no awards were originally given that year. In 2016, at

MidAmeriCon II The 74th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as MidAmeriCon II, was held on 17–21 August 2016 at the Bartle Hall Convention Center in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. The convention's name, by established Worldcon tra ...

(the 74th World Science Fiction Convention), ''Futuria Fantasia'' was retroactively awarded a Retro Hugo for Best Fanzine for the year 1940.

Select contents

* ''Futuria Fantasia'', Summer 1939, vol. 1 no. 1 ** Contents *** "The Record", Forrest J. Ackerman *** "Don't Get Technatal", Ray Bradbury (as Ron Reynolds) *** "Thought and Space", Ray D' Bradbury * ''Futuria Fantasia'', Fall 1939, vol. 1 no. 2 ** Contents *** "Lost Soul", Henry Hasse *** "The Truth About Goldfish", Henry Kuttner *** "The Pendulum", Ray Bradbury * ''Futuria Fantasia'', Winter 1940, vol. 1 no. 3 ** Contents *** "Aw G’wan!", Henry Hasse *** "The Best Ways to Get Around", Ross Rocklyn * ''Futuria Fantasia'', vol. 1 no. 4 ** Contents *** "Heil!", Lyle Monroe

Contributor pseudonyms

* Forrest J. Ackerman ** One Who Should Know Better ** H.V.B. *

** Lyle Monroe *

** Antony Corvais ** Guy Armory *

** Ron Reynold ** OMEGA ** Doug Rogers * Henry Hasse ** Foo E. Onya

Facsimile editions of ''Futuria Fantasia''

* 2007. Los Angeles: Graham. .

Notes

References

* Eller, Jonathan R. (2011). ''Becoming Ray Bradbury''. University of Illinois Press. * Nicholls, Peter (1995). ''Encyclopedia of Science Fiction''. Orbit. * Warner, Harry (1969). ''All Our Yesterdays''. Advent Publishers. SBN 911682007

External links

Text and artwork from every issue, supported by Project Gutenberg

Center for Ray Bradbury Studies
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Futuria Fantasia Ray Bradbury Science fiction fanzines Magazines established in 1939 Magazines disestablished in 1940