Welcome back! It is time once again to return to the mines of Fandom for yet another edition of our ongoing series. Last time we covered the beginning of Fandom, and today we return continue our journey from where we left off which is around 1935/36 (our author isn't always clear on the years) when it began to organize itself.
It should really be emphasized how different the atmosphere was for readers of the magazines at the time versus what Fanatics were actually doing in the background. This difference will seem even more jarring as the years move on, and Fandom gains support from people who should either know better, or are secretly among their ranks. Nonetheless, it is important to realize throughout this entire series that none of them have any control or pull over anything the professionals have done or were doing at the time. This split only comes more obvious the bigger this group grows.
Once you give your hobbies or spaces over to the obsessives, destruction is not far behind. And we will see just how that is the case as we continue into the muck today.
In the last entry we covered the early years of Fandom from club activities to early letter writings in the magazines. Today, we see as they finally begin organizing for a higher purpose. What that higher purpose is we will just have to see, because even our author is rather vague about it for the most part. This is possibly because such things are assumed by the type of person who would pick up this book. As reviews of Lundwall's works have told me, readers of these works mostly indulge in them to back up the obsession with their hobby. They do not read them to gather any insight into the people who control what they purport to love. If they did, they would understand how much of it is really built completely on sand.
You will definitely see more of that today. Although sand is a much tougher material than whatever this mess is. Everything mentioned in this book is long dead and forgotten to the mists of time, or is on the way out. It's actually more of a document for a time and place than any victory lap like it might have been intended, much like Lundwall's works ended up being. Unfortunately for them, that world is completely gone now, and it isn't coming back.
Nonetheless, today we begin with the formation of the Science Fiction League, the first proper club for burgeoning fanatics. Fandom knew there were others out there with their tastes in the religion of materialism and needed a way of organizing. This was the original attempt at doing such a thing. It will most certainly not be the last, as you will soon see.
Before this, they most attention they got was in the letter columns of places such as Amazing Stories, giving them the false impression there were more of them than they actually were. Aside from that, they had nothing but local people who might have shared the same interests. Now that was about to change. No more would they be doomed to obscurity in their small neighborhoods with a smallminded community. Soon they would connect with other superior specimens and save the world from itself. This was their destiny.
Should this sound too romantic, just keep the above in mind as we continue on into this monkey house of madness. It will get weird, fast.
"The birth of the TFG coincided almost exactly with that of an even more important organization, the Science Fiction League. Credit for conceiving the league idea is generally given to Charles D. Hornig, editor of Wonder Stories at the time and the first managing-secretary of the group. However, in an autobiography printed in Fantasy Magazine, Hornig states that Gernsback broached the idea originally. While this might be simple diplomacy of a subordinate, it will be remembered that Gernsback initiated a Short Wave League in one of his chain of radio magazines some years earlier, so that Hornig may be relating no more than the simple truth."
Gernsback once again laid the groundwork for his own destruction, all because he misunderstood the people he was trying to connect with. But this is only the beginning. There is still much, much more to be done.
The announcement of the SF: was made in the 1934 May issue of Wonder Stories. The soaring rocket emblem was even featured on the cover. Readers could finally have their voice heard, just as they did in the letter columns! Truly this couldn't go sideways.
All this because Gernsback really wanted a place for his more rabid readers at the table. He certainly went all out for them, unaware that all they wanted was a platform to tear him down from his high horse.
"Gernsback summed up the league as "a non-commercial membership organization for the furtherance and betterment of the art of science fiction." No one realized at the time that in so doing he had renounced his belief that science fictionists must be science-hobbyists, that he had founded an organization which specifically stipulated its aim to be the furtherance of science fiction — science — his former idol — not even being listed secondarily. At this point it should be realized that those who in their later battles against Wonder Stories, the SFL and their representatives used "the Gernsback delusion" as a rallying-cry were actually crying down a conception long since discarded. A man of intelligence, Gernsback recognized that while science-hobbyists did exist, they were nevertheless greatly outnumbered by fans of the fiction stemming from it — and recognizing this fact, acted accordingly."
This should be kept in mind for later, as both Gernsback and Wonder Stories quickly became enemies of Fanaticism in the short time to come. You will see why shortly.
It should also be mentioned at this point that what Fandom does best, more than anything else, aside from destroying the things they purport to love, is pointless squabbling among themselves and building grudges they refuse to let go of. It's silly and juvenile, but this is exactly what such groups are entirely built on, and it always ends up being their undoing.
At this point, fighting was a minor thing in fan circles due to the lines not yet being drawn in the sand. They had nothing to really rally around. But with the formation of the Science Fiction League, suddenly things got serious.
And stupid.
But it should be noted that the Science Fiction League was the point Fandom truly got going. As Mr. Moskowitz says:
"Looking back from the vantage of a decade's perspective, we are forced in fact to admit that the Science Fiction League was more beneficial and important to fandom than any organization which preceeded or followed it. Not only did it actually create the fan field as we know the latter today, but it gave the field something that it had never possessed before: realization of its own existence."
Straight from the horse's mouth. The Science Fiction League was even more invaluable than the letter columns in Amazing Stories that most readers didn't bother themselves with. In fact, Wonder Stories was even more supportive of Fandom's early efforts than Amazing Stories was, though that would turn out to be misguided, but neither are ever given the credit for getting the ball rolling. This changed everything in the scene.
Regardless, the SFL was the rallying point they needed. And they certainly did take advantage of it, just as they did everything Gernsback gave them.
This self discovery, unfortunately, is the moment things really started their downhill slide into the muck, and set off many events that would eventually smother the "field" by the time of the 1940s. Now they were getting organized and no one could stop them.
"From every part of the country there emerged through local chapters those fans who were most interested in their hobby, those who would form the backbone of a national structure. Communication between individual members was facilitated by the SFL columns that appeared in each issue of Wonder Stories, and which carried fan names and addresses. League-sponsored quizzes, compiled by leading fans of the day, called for an encyclopedic science fictional knowledge if one were to obtain a high score, and through this medium too were reputations gained in the field. The sections in these quizzes devoted to pure science were relatively small — an additional indication of the trend toward ever weightier emphasis upon fiction at science's expense. Of the many other activities coming to light in this column that of J. O. Bailey's compiling information for a bibliography of science fiction holds perhaps the most topical interest at this writing, with the publication of his Pilgrims Through Space and Time in the offing (one hopes!) after years of postponements."
The "Science Fiction is about Science" crowd is suddenly looking very foolish with passages like this. Whatever gave us the impression that this is what it was ever about? Were it about "Science" these early battles to throw out hobbyists for trying to practice "Science" wouldn't have existed to begin with. The preachers came before the doctrine, as they always do in such places.
Already you can see where the division is forming between the terms "Science" and "Fiction" because calling a genre "Science Fiction" implies two different parts coming together that were previously in conflict by the same group. As it turns out, they actually were in conflict and avoided the conflict by tightly controlling or purging half of their already small membership.
Why would you think the fiction would be more important than the science? Mr. Lundwall's works made clear why that was. You can't shape minds with science, but you can turn fiction into propaganda for the cause while using "science" as a figurehead.
And that is what they did.
However, it does not end there, because now we must deal with the then-in-fashion postmodern play on what words actually mean. What actually constitutes "Science" as a term? You might have your own answer for this, but it is still a subjective opinion at the end of the day. Remember that this was the 20th century. Eventually someone will have to seize control to make this clear to everyone what the rules are and who defines the terms. You can't just let a gaggle of people run around misusing labels, otherwise how can you weaponize them properly?
Eventually, this seizing of control would happen. Before that, however, we have to discuss that which is of higher import: the "Science" or the "Fiction" described above. This was an early battle for language, and quickly were camps forming around the two sides, each with different parties giving divergent definitions of each nebulous term.
Do you find any of this confusing? Just imagine how odd this is going to look in the future when these 20th century attitudes are completely foreign to the world. If it sounds silly now, just wait. It's going to look even more ridiculous when we see this century for what it was.
It is difficult to imagine how a tiny cadre of young, antisocial nerds could claim something as grand as adventure fiction for their own and strip it of adventure, but that is exactly what they did. It was their life's purpose. They had a religious zeal to do so, and no one was going to stop them. No one even tried to slow them down.
However, they weren't all frothing loons. There were simple hobbyists among their rather low numbers. At least, at one point.
"George Gordon Clark, who held the honor of being the SFL's first member, was unique also in forming its first chapter, that of Brooklyn. The very fact that he had received membership card number one was the determining factor in convincing Clark that he should make himself a leading fan; and, after organizing local number one, there was no holding him back. He quickly accumulated a large science fiction collection, purchased a mimeograph machine, and engaged in a whirlwind flurry of activity that persisted at a high pitch for the duration of his stay in the field."
One could make fun of such a thing, but not that fact that it was merely a hobby for Mr. Clark. This is not what would become the issue in years to come. The problem was that it should have stayed the hobby for many that it clearly did not.
And a clear example of this was what would be known as the New York chapter, lead by many names we will see come up again and again in the story to come. Many of which are still held in great esteem to this day, if they haven't been airbrushed from the picture.
"William S. Sykora, who had entered fandom when he attended a few of the later Scienceer meetings, was director of the New York City chapter, whose roster also included Julius Schwartz, Conrad H. Ruppert, Donald A. Wollheim and John B. Michel. Here for the first time the first and second fandom groups were meeting on common ground, and the close contact only emphasized the rift dividing them. The younger members, justly or no, felt that the attitude of veterans toward them was patronizing and at times antagonistic, and these mutual differences were unquestionably involved in the genesis of the trouble into which the chapter quickly drifted. Meetings were held alternately at the homes of Sykora and Ruppert. From the first this was the group for which Hornig held the highest hopes. His dream of making it the SFL showplace was doomed never to be realized however. The membership never exceeded the original five, and since these five promptly split into two factions having little in common Hornig in desparation finally issued a plea for someone to take the job of reorganizing the chapter and putting it on its feet. But no offers were forthcoming."
Already the arguing over nothing persisted, as it would for decades afterwards, but what they did here wasn't important. It is what was to come that matters.
However, Sykora is a name modern readers might not be too familiar with despite his heavy involvement in what is to come. Thankfully, Mr. Moskowitz does the work in telling us just who this figure happens to be, because he does have an important role to play here. Why you haven't heard as much of him in recent years has to do with later events in our story.
For now, however, let us start from the beginning.
"Sykora first appeared on the scene during the latter days of the Scienceers. Indeed, after the dissolution of this group he approached Glasser and Unger early in 1934 in an unsuccessful attempt to bring about its revival. To understand him best, it must be realized that William Sykora was an old-time science fictionist. He epitomized the Gernsback ideal that all readers of the genre should consider the advancement of science their serious aim. He had amassed a solid scientific background, and his cellar boasted a well-equipped laboratory. Beside an excellent science fiction collection rested an imposing assemblage of scientific tomes. Several short articles by him had appeared in Science and Mechanics, including "A Scientific Paradox," a prize-winning entry in a contest sponsored by this magazine. He garnered yet another prize in a similar contest published in Mechanics and Handicraft. Undoubtedly he was a person of intelligence and capability. The old ISA and its Cosmology had always fascinated him; to his mind, this was the type of organization fandom needed. And when all efforts to revive the Scienceers came to naught, he therefore cast about for means whereby a new group conforming to these ideals might be found. In so doing he contacted the International Cosmos Science Club through Michel, his friend."
Keep in mind how heavily involved Mr. Sykora was in Science, and not Fiction. It will come into play when the Fiction faction made their bid for power. Those who believe this fabricated genre is about either Science of Fiction is about to understand how untrue that premise very much is. Simply pay close attention to the events to come.
Regardless, William S. Sykora and John B. Michel then got to work on several projects in Fandom that would eventually raise their profiles.
They were big names in early Fandom for a reason.
"The International Cosmos Science Club was, of course, no local group. Nevertheless many of its adherents lived in the greater New York area, and so it was hardly surprising that they should affirm their presence by designating themselves a local chapter. This was done on February 3, 1935, at a meeting attended by Sykora, Wollheim, Michel and Herbert Goudket. Thereafter the group met regularly at Sykora's home, and these gatherings often reached peaks of interest that surpassed many of the best SFL chapter meetings."
So naturally, this growth meant they were becoming king fish in the small pond that was Fandom. I say "small pond" because Mr. Moskowitz has yet to mention the number of people who were ever involved in these clubs, and when he does one might be tempted to do a double take. Let me just offer a hint that the total number of Fanatics at this stage (not chapters, but total across the country) had yet to reach triple digits in number.
Yes, Sykora's club of 5 members was a drop in the bucket of a drop in an even bigger bucket. There were millions more readers of magazines more than there ever were Fanatics. Something to keep in mind.
Mr. Moskowitz will reveal this number later, for whatever reason, so I will just cut out the middleman and tell you now. Fandom has never even been a fraction of the majority, at any point in time. They just assumed they counted more than the common reader did.
Anyway, this tiny chapter of 5 members decided they were big enough to get publicity through the SFL and Wonder Stories. Why shouldn't they? They were very important. Unfortunately for them, they were met with opposition for this. The first!
And, as we all will learn, opposition to anything Fandom wants makes you an enemy for life who must be destroyed and utterly wiped out. You will soon see what it truly means to cross Fandom. No one lives to tell the tale.
From Hornig's reply letter:
"... [W]e are not going to ask our readers to join another science fiction organization when the S.F.L. gives and will give everything that can be asked for and is open to all-even those who cannot afford the $1.50 dues of your organization (which makes the ICSC look a bit commercial in nature).
"We can see absolutely no advantage in your organization over the S.F.L. If you can show us anything that the ICSC can do that the league cannot, we would be willing to go into this further."
Supporting already existing institutions and avoiding redundancies. Scandalous! One can see how this would make Fanatics rage. Who gave these people that created the spaces they play in the rights to dictate the terms?
There was no backlash at that time, because most people saw logic in this decision, but eventually this would lead to conflict in the future. After all, who gave professionals the right to turn down such an unbeneficial proposal from amateurs?
It was war! And no, that isn't hyperbole. This is what they actually believed.
"The election of February 13, 1935, had raised Sykora to president, Gervais having been reduced to the vice president's post and Michel and Goudket being given the respective positions of secretary and treasurer. The leaders thus swept into power almost immediately transformed the ICSC into a militant group. As we have seen, Hornig's attitude had certainly not made relations with the SFL any more friendly. On top of this, personal arguments at local New York chapter meetings made them even less so. But they deteriorated into open animosity when Wollheim recounted to members in all its sordid detail the non-payment scandal he had recently uncovered."
The payment issue, you might remember from our last entry, which was apparently quite exaggerated in order to be weaponized against enemies. The division was set and now it could only grow wider through stunts like this.
There was blood in the water, and those evil professionals would soon learn their place under Donald Wollheim's boot.
"The ICSC, which had previously lent but mildly passive aid to the Terrestrial Fantascience Guild, now cooperated completely in an all-out mutual effort to smash the Science Fiction League and Wonder Stories itself. ICSC members mimeographed on club equipment the April, 1935, number of the TFG Bulletin, which contained Wollheim's remarks concerning his payment difficulties with Wonder Stories, and helped distribute it as well. They emphasized their own democratic constitution with the slogan "the only members' club" — in contrast, of course, to the League, where members had no appeal from arbitrary decisions of the assistant secretary. They issued a fan magazine titled Flabbergasting Stories, an obvious burlesque of Wonder Stories, which bore the byline "a schrechlich publication." In this appeared humorous barbed allusions to the non-payment practices and references to a "Sexy Science Fiction Soviet Auxiliary" for frustrated fans, caricaturing the SFL."
In case you do not yet realize, the participants involved in this are teenagers--not even those in their early twenties. I do know Fanatics make that distinction in brain formation hard to see at times, but this is something that actually happened in 1935 at the same time Weird Tales and Astounding Stories were putting out classic adventure stories for readers of all ages. Fandom was actually involved in farces like the above instead.
I bring this up, because Mr. Moskowitz does not mention anyone's age until very late in the book, just as he doesn't with Fandom's actual number. This makes Gernsback's and John W. Campbell's later attempts at courting of them look even more bizarre in hindsight. Remember that this is the future they all chose. If you want to know why there are later talks of the wars going on around the world, but no talks of going overseas to fight in it, this helps explain why.
But enough of this aside. Let us return to the narrative:
"Michel's "Science Fiction Critic" column in The International Observer printed decidedly unfavorable reviews of the fiction in Wonder Stories. Editorials urged readers to get the TFG Bulletin and learn of the Wonder Stories difficulty. A new column called "Sun Spots" was initiated by Wollheim, and blamed Gernsback for the dissolution of the old Scienceers, first by attempts to make them become the unwilling nucleus of the American Interplanetary Society and then by not paying for their meeting room at the Museum of Natural History — thus inferring that Gernsback spent most of his spare time in disrupting fan organizations. Simultaneously an attack was launched at the editors of Fantasy Magazine, who were labelled as traitors to the fan field for refusing to print in their magazine anything which reflected unfavorably upon Wonder Stories. The intolerance of the Fantasy Magazine group toward newcomers in the field was thus also reaping its harvest of opposition."
There is the genesis of the "Science Fiction" and "Fantasy" Fanatics animosity towards the opposite group. It all spawned from a silly war of words over simply not being invited to an overcrowded table by spurned teenagers who were not stuffed into enough lockers. Imagine how much might have been avoided if these fans just laughed this nonsense off or were turned away by the adults in the room. Clearly, however, that did not happen.
Instead, things got worse. All because someone was told "No."
That's it.
This craziness would only morph into what we know as the ridiculous "sub genres" of "Science Fiction & Fantasy" which have no concrete definitions or uses aside from shoving in stories whose general premise or setting you dislike. Deny this if you want, you know you've seen fully grown adults engage in this silliness to this day, even though it has its roots in a juvenile grudge between a small group of unqualified teenagers and an audience of millions.
Yet, it is always the side that knows better that is ignored as sales fall more and more each year into the trash bin. Give Fanatics power, and they destroy everything.
Yes, this is all very petty, meaningless, and tremendously shallow. It has led to nothing good, yet is allowed to live on regardless while better things are killed, skinned, and abandoned, instead. Welcome to Fandom.
"With each succeeding issue of The International Observer these attacks increased in volume and effectiveness. Those found in the "Sun Spots" column in particular left no line of fire untried. Wollheim showed a real talent for presenting legitimate news items in such a way that they reflected unfavorably upon Hornig, the Science Fiction League, Wonder Stories and Fantasy Magazine. He was an implacable foe, and had his column received wider circulation it seems quite likely that it could have brought the SFL to its knees without outside aid. Indeed, Wollheim boasted of his knowledge that copies of The International Observer were in the Wonder Stories editorial office, with all comments relevant to the situation circled. (These very copies are now in the possession of this historian, and have proved invaluable in compiling an account of the affair. Wollheim was not correct however in stating that such words as "untrue" and "scandalous" had been pencilled in the margins beside such comments. Moreover, interest had not been confined solely to this feud, for Schwartz had also encircled all statements relative to the Anthony Gilmore expose as well as Tucker's "death.")"
This book is not very kind to Donald A. Wollheim, and considering he was responsible for publishing and recommending a very nasty and stupid book about his "genre's" supposed history that I already went over, I fully believe what Mr. Moskowitz has written here about him. Mr. Wollheim has not shown himself to be very honest in how he presents the past or in his motives.
The more you will see from his activities in Fandom, the more you will wonder how someone this dishonest is still held up to be the peak of his supposed "field" instead of a talented editor with a very sinister, and yet very open, agenda.
He was very much engaged in worse than anything Hugo Gernsback was known for, and is one of the ones responsible for the lackluster state of adventure fiction. Please give him the credit he is owed for taking storytelling away from normal people. He deserves it, no matter how many things he might have published at DAW.
The damage he caused is unavoidable.
"Michel's column, "The Science Fiction Critic," was likewise active in the battle. In it he once remarked:"I believe fantasy saw its best days when it [Fantasy Magazine] was the Science Fiction Digest in purpose as well as name. Lately it has become the stamping ground for Charles D. Hornig, managing editor of Wonder Stories, who has taken it over (apparently) and is using it as a medium to advertise his magazine. I think this is an obvious fact."
Your entire genre was shaped by this nonsense. It flows through its veins as easily as alcohol pours down a drunkards throat. Revell in the juvenility.
However, the above wouldn't come without a cost. Witness the first such blacklisting in Fandom (well, if we do not count Wollheim's earlier attempts) which would be the first of many to come very shortly. The war was truly heating up.
All because a bunch of nerds had a grudge over something they couldn't let go.
"For a while Hornig refrained from making any public statements. But the relentless pressure could not long be endured. His first defense was in the nature of vaguely phrased references to parties attempting to "undermine" the SFL, he hoped "would mend their ways." When this did no good, he threatened to "reorganize" the New York chapter, stating that the poor showing made by some of the top fans in the field there was shameful. The result being but to increase the activity of his opposition, Hornig resorted to a desperate and sensational expedient to quell this dangerous uprising. The September, 1935, number of Wonder Stories carried the following announcement:"THREE MEMBERS EXPELLED
It grieves us to announce that we have found the first disloyalty in our organization. We have discovered that three of our members, who run what they consider a competing club to the SFL, have done all within their power, through personal letters and published notices, to disrepute the League, Wonder Stories, and the Gernsback outfit by spreading gross untruths and libellous slander to other science fiction fans and authors. They joined the League only to be able to attack it better. We are extremely sorry that we cannot know every fan's intentions when applications are received, but we have proved only three-tenths of one percent wrong in our enrollment, so we hope that the other members will forgive us. These members we expelled on June 12th. Their names are Donald A. Wollheim, John B. Michel, and William S. Sykora — three active fans who just got themselves on the wrong road."
There is no exaggeration here. This is exactly how these people thought. They really believed they were at war with fascists they needed to topple.
They would show the world, just like a foiled supervillain in a Saturday Morning Cartoon, just how they would rue this day. That might sound completely silly if that wasn't precisely what actually happened next. It also shows why so many of them see themselves in the villains of the old pulps they wanted to destroy. They certainly do find such things very personal.
One might wonder why that is.
"If the righteousness of their motives were disregarded, there would be no doubt that the three deserved to be expelled. But Hornig had blundered again. Wollheim, as we have noted, had made himself unpopular through publication of his letters criticizing (among other things) the magazine's policy of reprinting German science fiction; his unpopularity was not due to being wrong on these points, but rather to the man's habit of incorporating in each of his letters some personal slurs or innuendos entirely unnecessary to the success of his arguments."
They would always try to find a way to destroy Hornig and Wonder Stories, because that is how these people operate. This is why you never give such people any position of power. They are clearly not suited to it.
Unfortunately, back then just as now, more people care about tone more than they do truth. This would be the scene's eventual downfall, just as it is for most modern hobbies and scenes in the Current Year we live in as of this writing. We all must get along with those who wish to destroy us, after all. That's what constitutes "good" these days.
"Thus Wollheim could safely have been offered up as a scapegoat, for beyond the publication and editing of the magazine containing the bulk of his attacks Sykora had printed no attack of his own, and Michel had been largely concerned with the Fantasy Magazine group rather than with the SFL. When the comparatively passive Sykora and Michel found themselves in the same boat with Wollheim they saw red, and thenceforward took an unqualifiedly active role in the campaign. Hornig thus succeeded only in uniting a vengeful opposition even more determinedly against him, and the result was to be stark melodrama in the meeting halls of the SFL chapters."
And now the stupidity is truly set off. How dare they expel us for coordinating our attacks against them and seeing through our juvenile plan? We'll be even more obnoxious now!
There truly are not enough lockers in the world.
This campaign is a bit tangential to the overall picture, but the figure involved does have a role to play outside the main drama in years to come. You might read more about him in the source book. I am mainly including the event here to illustrate just what Fandom was actually doing at the time, aside from creating their clubs and being nuisances to professionals.
"Arthur ("Bob") Tucker will be remembered as a contributor to the pages of The Fantasy Fan and Fantasy Magazine, both serious efforts and humorous ones coming from his pen. Of the latter (many of which bore the byline of his alter ego, "Hoy Ping Pong") such extrapolations on science fiction as his account of a future fan convention held on the planet Pluto proved most popular. His clowning spread to the magazines' reader-columns, where, hitting upon the notion of parodying readers' requests it reached its acme of notoriety — readers from time immemorial had complained about paper-quality, type-size, rough edges, quality of illustrations, the magazines' sizes, and so on. Tucker decided to show them how ridiculous and picayune all this was, and with characteristic mock seriousness wrote to the editor of Astounding Stories, demanding that the wire staples which bound the magazine together be removed, as they disgraced the field by indicting its originality. Flavored chewing-gum, he hinted, would be preferable; and for true dignity nothing could surpass the platinum fastener. To carry out his plan, Tucker appointed himself dictator of the Society for Prevention of Wire Staples in Scientifiction Magazines — or the SPWSSTFM for short."
Well, it was a step up from Flabbergasting Stories, at least. It's silly nonsense, but its relatively harmless overall. That is, were it a one-time joke.
It wasn't.
Eventually this sort of thing led to another modern trend, and one we still cannot quite escape in Current Year. The hyper-ironic, sneering copycat.
"The very absurdity of the movement caught the fickle juvenile fancy of the fans. A flood of letters pro and con poured in, the mock controversy giving rise to dozens of similar organizations, each and every one of them designating itself by a long set of initials. The primary opposing group was headed by High Cocolorum Donald A. Wollheim; it called itself the IAOPUMUMFSTFPUSA, which stood for International and Allied Organizations for the Purpose of Upholding and Maintaining the Use of Metallic Fasteners in Science Fiction Publications of the United States of America. Uncomplimentary remarks were exchanged between the rival groups in their official publications — these being Tucker's renowned D'Journal whose membership list alledgedly included many leading authors and editors, and Wollheim's Polymorphanucleated Leucocyte. The final rounds of the battle were unquestionably Wollheim's, for it was shown that D'Journal had, contrary to its ethical stand, used staples for binding."
What any of this has to do with Astounding Stories itself remains to be seen. If you can imagine how tiresome this could be to anyone with a sense of humor beyond endlessly rehashing the same joke over and over again, you can imagine how most people probably felt when coming across this nonsense that had nothing to do with stories.
And that was the deciding point in what would eventually happen here.
It did have an effect unintended by Tucker, as most Fanatics don't understand from their tiny worlds where they are the center of attention and everyone else doesn't matter. Normal people, the main audience, finds them all quite tiresome to deal with.
"Reader-reaction soon turned against the alphabetical societies as the more mature faction of the audience began to assert itself, however. But the horseplay was not destined to peter out ignominiously, being brought to an abrupt and dramatic conclusion by two letters printed in the January, 1936, issue of Astounding Stories. The first, a letter from one Anne Smidley, notified the magazine's readers of the death of Bob Tucker, who was operated upon and "never recovered consciousness." The second was from Tucker himself, ostensibly written before the operation, in which he requested all the alphabetical societies to combine into two opposing groups. Editor Tremaine in a footnote asked readers to "accept his challenge and work for unity.""
That this is something that not only happened but escalated to this level is quite inane. But I suppose people were rather bored in 1936 with nothing better to do or worry about in the world. Certainly they didn't have any exciting fiction to read instead. Why in the world did such a silly thing go on so interminably long?
"The entire affair was so preposterous — imagine taking the organization of such groups seriously! — that readers did not know what to believe. Tucker, the perfect fan fool, dead? It was inconceivable. Some New York skeptics telegraphed Tucker's family, receiving a Twain-like reply from Tucker to the effect that reports of his death were greatly exaggerated. And slowly it became apparent to fandom that the entire affair had been a hoax. Tucker claimed that it was somebody's idea of a joke, and that he himself knew nothing of it; but Tremaine took an entirely different attitude. He had learned of the hoax before the copies of the magazine carrying it reached the newstands, and, with the natural reaction of a man whose ready sympathy is made light of, he decided that as far as the readers of Astounding Stories were concerned, Tucker would stay dead. And indeed, it was a long, long time, as eras of fandom are reckoned, before letters bearing Tucker's name were published in Astounding again."
Mr. Tremaine's actions were definitely the correct ones. Not only was this well past the point of absurd, now Fanatics were faking deaths. What would come next? Joking terrorist threats? Enough is enough. People want to talk about their stories.
I think it would probably more likely that Mr. Tremaine also had other things to worry about aside from the absolutely ridiculous happenings from a gaggle of tiresome pranksters in his letter column. Because this entire affair was pointlessly exhausting and giving air to the more ridiculous among Fandom. I sympathize with his desire to wash his hands of this whole affair. Any sensible adult would do the same in his position.
A shame that adults would soon depart from the "field" entirely.
At the same time this silliness was happening, others were actually doing something that could benefit readers. What a novel concept.
This "something" in question would be making actual magazines featuring stories readers actually wanted to read. Some of the early names were moving to bigger places. They were going to be professionals, and dropped their amateur aspirations in the process.
"Throughout all the strife of 1935 it is well to keep in mind that Julius Schwartz and Mort Weisinger had kept Fantasy Magazine far in the front of the field, and that "the digest of imaginative literature" remained the dead center of science fiction fandom. The quality, variety and all-around interest of its features simply could not be matched. Its fiction was very good, and included stories by such top-notch authors as A. Merritt, stories that were obtained at no cost, while professional publications offering tempting word-rates could obtain from Merritt nary a line. The magazine's art work, done by the clever amateur Clay Ferguson, Jr., was likewise up to the same high standard, and compared favorably with that found in the professional fantasy magazines. With the change in title from Science Fiction Digest (made in January, 1934) the coverage of material had become broader than ever, and naturally had resulted in an even wider reader-appeal. After an elaborately fine second anniversary number, a series of issues increased Fantasy Magazine's popularity yet more. After three bimonthly numbers the periodical resumed monthly publication in April, 1935, and from then until the third anniversary issue its supremacy was impossible to challenge."
This was then parlayed into bigger things, which one should keep in mind as we go forward. It isn't exactly related to Mr. Moskowitz's narrative in the book, but it will have an effect in the background of things to come.
Mr. Schwartz and Mr. Weisinger were looking towards the future, and actually paying attention to the world around them. Two things the juveniles in Fandom were pretty clearly not taking seriously in the slightest.
"During the depression period jobs were extremely difficult to obtain, so Julius Schwartz and Mort Weisinger struck upon the idea of agenting fantasy stories as a means of earning a living. Weisinger, who had some abilities as an author, began by peddling his own yarns, some of which he eventually sold. The close contacts the two had with all the important authors and editors of the day (as a result of Fantasy Magazine) soon bore fruit, and it was not long before no less a personage than Stanley G. Weinbaum was a client of their Solar Sales Agency. Schwartz and Weisinger sold virtually all the stories that Weinbaum ever wrote, and the sheaf of correspondence concerning them is one of the most treasured items in Schwartz' files today. Henry Hasse was another author on their list, as were P. Schuyler Miller, J. Harvey Haggard, Dr. David H. Keller, Thomas S. Gardner and others. It was through the Solar Sales Agency that Weisinger first came into contact with Ned Pines' comparitively new magazine-chain, Standard Publications, which was managed by Leo Margulies. And later, when Standard purchased Wonder Stories, events showed that Margulies had not forgotten the young fellow who had continually tried to sell stories to him."
Long before agents and agencies were tools of billion dollar book corporations, they were just people in the industry trying to get by. This network would become very important for later happenings, as can be gleamed.
"Schwartz took over the agency himself when Weisinger left in 1936, and several years later, when newstand fantasy titles were cropping up every month, his reputation as a "science fiction specialist" bore fruit, and his business became even more successful. At times, complete issues of science fiction magazines were composed of material purchased from the Schwartz agency. His early start in the field had eventually gained for him such popular writers as Eando Binder, John Russell Fearn, Manly Wade Wellman, Malcolm Jameson, Leigh Brackett, Ray Bradbury, David V. Reed and many, many others. (Later fans turned agent — such as Frederik Pohl, Robert W. Lowndes and Sam Moskowitz — found the pickings lean indeed, and theirs was the harder task of selling the work of many writers.)"
Methinks one can already see where this will eventually lead.
But let us get back to the SFL:
"Shortly after the inception of the Science Fiction League, Hornig created another new feature for Wonder Stories, "The Science Fiction Swap Column." This column was composed of advertisements of fans who had anything to buy, sell or exchange, and the rate charged (two cents a word) was eminently reasonable. It was through this medium that many readers learned that fan magazines existed, and it was the first important means whereby these fan magazines could reach the attention of new converts."The column also encouraged fans to issue their own amateur efforts, and a number of such publications did spring up as a result. They were mostly of a poor grade, however. One was The Science-Fiction Review, edited and published by R. M. Holland, Jr., of Owensboro, Kentucky. Holland's attempt was juvenile in almost every respect — the format, method of duplication and type of material varying with each issue. It can be imagined that the magazine did not have a very large circulation as a result. Nevertheless, by the time Holland reached a sixth number, The Science-Fiction Review was at least an interesting commentary on current news, and boasted a single worthwhile column, E. H. Lichtig's "Science Fiction Film Comment."
This is more important due to the fact of what the Science-Fiction Review would eventually become in the future. Most fanzines themselves were not much more than curiosities or launching pads to other things, or projects by people just looking for hobbies.
Rarely did any of this every grow into anything bigger, for good reason. Nothing a Fanatic amateur had to offer would have competed with the professionals of the time. Remember that at this time the pulps were still red hot.
And they would still be red hot as this nonsense in Fandom was going on.
"Holland, meanwhile, was becoming exceedingly dissatisfied with his Science-Fiction Review, and was tiring also of his attempts to dabble in fan feuds of the day, characterized by an attack on the SFL made more out of friendship for Wollheim than because of personal interest. The unfavorable manner in which his magazine compared with Beck's printed one caused him to seek out means for having The Science-Fiction Review printed also. The Becks were among those contacted in an effort to accomplish this; however, nothing ever came of it, and, feeling he could accomplish little of benefit to fandom in his present medium, Holland finally ceded all rights to The Science-Fiction Review to Wollheim."
Once more, you can probably see where this is going. It always ends up in this place, weaponized against others.
Enough with the asides. Now to jump back ahead to where we left off.
Fandom was getting organized and confrontational, which meant it was time for a purge to keep the thin ranks in line. Too many uneducated people were getting in the way of progress! Competition had to go and go quickly.
"As 1935 drew to a close, the tumultuous strife between the International Cosmos Science Club and the Science Fiction League entered its final stages following the expulsion of Sykora, Wollheim and Michel from the League roster.
"Here it might be propitious to inquire how the ICSC was faring in its relationship with the professionals generally. Was it facing a solid bloc of professional antagonism? Was the SFL really the battleground for all the professionals against the fans? The answer to both questions is an emphatic No. Both F. Orlin Tremaine and T. O'Conor Sloane, editors of Wonder Stories' major competitors, had shown far greater wisdom than Hornig in their relations with the organization. When the ICSC asked Sloane for permission to use an emblem symbolizing science fiction that Amazing Stories had used as a cover illustration, Sloane could find "no objection." Early in its existence Tremaine acknowledged a complimentary copy of The International Observer sent him, saying, "I was really surprised at the pretentious presentation of your International Observer. It would seem to me that you're coming forward as a group. I wish you all the luck in the world." Thus, with a few simple words, Tremaine gained the undying gratitude and cooperation of the ICSC. Throughout its existence it maintained the most cordial relations with Astounding Stories, and in the latter magazine news and publicity of the club was occasionally published. Tremaine, editor of a magazine paying the highest rates in the field, had everything to gain by having the other science fiction magazines' payment practices contrasted with his own, but it is doubtful if this motivated his actions to any marked extent. It is obvious how easily and simply Hornig might have obtained cooperation from the ICSC instead of firing embers of hate. A few lines of publicity for the club in his letter column, a more tactful reply to its querying letter — and the entire history of the Science Fiction League might have been markedly changed."
This is slightly embarrassing to have to point out, but I can guarantee that neither Mr. Sloane now Mr. Tremaine cared about the Fanatic organization more than Mr. Hornig did. The only reason Mr. Hornig cared to begin with was because he was being verbally assaulted over a simple business decision he made that was perfectly sensical. There is no scenario where any of these men cared about Fandom any more than they did their normal reader base.
It is more likely that to most professionals in the field that this Fanatic nonsense did not interest them in the slightest. And nor should it. Unlike in the future, the magazines tended to stay out of this silliness and cater to the actual readers instead. How much better things would have been were they ignored like they should have been.
I don't for one second believe Mr. Tremaine or Mr. Sloane thought of any of this for more than a microsecond before going about their day putting out magazines. Their responses are no different than when a child hands their father a finger-painting to put on the fridge or when a company puts out a PR statement. The only difference is that Fanatics didn't have the sociability to understand basic social cues.
Can't say that is very surprising.
And it wasn't as if Fandom was getting better at it. No, they were continuing their descent into pure madness.
"In the meantime, Will Sykora, who had always cast envious eyes at Raymond A. Palmer's International Scientific Association, now wrote Palmer, urging him to sanction a consolidation of the old ISA with the ICSC, particularly since the ISA had never sounded an official death-knell, rather remaining in a state of suspended animation. By absorbing the older group Sykora saw an opportunity to gain for the ICSC a long, honorable history, a distinguished name, and unquestioned supremacy as the leading fan organization of the time. To Palmer it meant ridding himself of his obligations expeditiously and honorably. So, with its first anniversary issue The International Observer combined with Cosmology and printed a letter from Palmer, in which the latter announced handing over his club lock, stock and barrel to the ICSC. Although the International Cosmos Science Club did not officially change its title, it everywhere publicized itself as the ISA, becoming so well known by this abbreviation that most fans forgot that there had ever been an older version of the organization.
"With this bit of business consummated, the new ISA prepared to launch a counterblow at the SFL for expelling three of its members. For this purpose they resurrected yet another old-time club organ, The Planet, official publication of the Scienceers. Its name was changed to The Scienceer, but continuity with the old volume numbering was retained, so that the magazine proved eventually to be the final issue of The Planet. (Permission to use the old title, it might be noted, had long since been obtained by Sykora in his abortive attempt to revive the Scienceers prior to formation of the ISA.) It was quite out-spokenly termed "the first political fan magazine," and as a slap at the Fantasy Magazine group, was dedicated to Allan Glasser, "former editor, knifed in the back by his 'best friend'." The exact incident referred to is obscure, but probably is the plagiarism incident in which Glasser was involved."
It appears the practice of skin-suiting old operations and ideas in order to bolster your own divergent aims was not new back in the 1930s.
What makes this passage more interesting is the attempt to use unearned clout that was not given in order to strut authority and prestige one does not have for . . . some vague aim. Why would Sykora do all this? We will learn why shortly. I will state outright that I do not believe Sykora acted alone, and you will see why one might believe such a thing.
One should also be reminded that this was all spurned on by being told "No" by someone exactly one time. It really is this sad.
"The Scienceer featured an article titled "The Fall of the New York Science Fiction League," in which Sykora, Wollheim and Michel gave the reasons for the local chapter's lack of success, rehashed again the story of Gernsback's non-payment scandal, and denied that they had been guilty of actions treasonous to the SFL's ideals and purposes, claiming their activities in the field as evidence of their loyalty. To quote from the article —"... The SFL has only one purpose and that is to continually broaden the scope and popularize the art of science-fiction... Is it treasonous and disloyal to collect from Wonder Stories, the backer of the SFL, what is justly owed? Perhaps it is against the advancement of science-fiction to permit authors to be paid for their work..."
It gets dumber, however.
"But this was the last straw. The spark had reached the magazine, and the long-awaited explosion took place. It was without precedent in drama, and superceded in brute dictatorial force anything the ISA had hitherto resorted to. The second meeting of the reorganized New York chapter was in progress, with Hornig presiding, in a New York school room. Suddenly the clumping of many shoes was heard, and in burst Sykora and Wollheim at the head of eight other youths (not all science fiction fans) recruited from the streets for rough action if necessary. Sykora walked up to Julius Schwartz, a member of the audience, and shook a fist under his nose as a gesture of defiance to the Fantasy Magazine group. Then with the aid of his comrades he chased Hornig from the platform. Producing a gavel of his own (one which later became famous, being wielded at many conventions and fan gatherings), Sykora proceeded to call the meeting to order in the name of the New York branch of the International Scientific Association. Such brazen effrontery left the audience too Flabbergasted to protest. Wollheim then ascended the platform and vividly outlined his grievances with Wonder Stories, which he was still in the process of detailing when the building superintendent — probably summoned by Hornig — arrived and broke up the gathering."
This is one of the most embarrassing things I've ever read in a book. He literally hired a bunch of normal people to act as bodyguards so he could push around other nerds and use them to fight for him. All of this over a non-issue that should have been dropped ages ago.
Once again, there are not enough lockers in the world.
However, if you think this is the worst this group had to offer, you haven't seen anything yet. Wollheim's group (yes, I said Wollheim, and you'll understand the specification why very soon) had much more silliness to offer.
"But the blaze was to leap still higher. The next meeting of the East New York chapter found all aggrieved parties present, in addition to numerous visitors. It was a banner assembly. Hornig seized upon this opportunity to expose the culprits. He dealt in detail with the campaign they had carried on against Wonder Stories through the TFG and the ISA, citing such incidents as the anonymous letters from "The Fantasist" sent to heads of many SFL chapters. He claimed that the ISA members were not fighting for democracy, but were actually attempting to seize control of the fan world themselves. But Wollheim's talk at the dramatic meeting mentioned above had evidently proved more effective than was believed possible. The audience scarcely gave Hornig's talk fair consideration. Members conversed among themselves, many not taking the slightest trouble to listen so firmly were they convinced that he was wrong."
And there is why everything that was to occur is Fandom's fault. They were told the truth, knew Wollheim's group was sketchy, and yet allowed themselves to side with subversives. Which they will be doing many times to come in the future.
What else do you expect from a "field" built on subversion?
I would momentarily like to apologize for readers for lingering on this. It is important to understand just how boring these people were and just exactly how they all operated. They will be doing this for the entirety of this book.
So, I ask you this question, dear reader. Do you believe such people have the basic understanding of higher things in order to be left in charge of wonder stories? Because that is what these people seized control of years in the 1940s. Keep that in mind as we go on.
"Then William Sykora arose to give his side of the dispute. And in a flash of comprehension the New York fan world realized that the drive against the Science Fiction League had changed leadership. Previously neutral, Sykora was now in the driver's seat, and was forcing the bitter campaign to a short, hard-fought conclusion. Behind-the-scenes plotting, the grand strategy of the campaign against the League as expressed by the last few numbers of The International Observer and The Scienceer, the New York chapter fiasco — all of these were now traceable directly to him. He was the master-mind harnessing Donald Wollheim's fighting rhetoric, with his organizing and political abilities now plainly evident. Argument by argument, Sykora ripped the salient points of Hornig's appeal to shreds. And the audience, already leaning toward his views, now swung over en masse."
Supposed freethinkers sure are easily swayed by empty rhetoric, aren't they? Quite amazing! I believe this speaks for itself.
But do you remember George Gordon Clark from earlier? The so-called first fan and hobbyist who got this all started? Certainly his word would count for something, right?
No, not at all.
"There was but a single attempt to halt the shifting tide of opinion. George Gordon Clark, editor of The Brooklyn Reporter and organizer of the defunct Brooklyn chapter, rose to throw in his lot with Hornig's. The ISA had long suspected him of favoring the Wonder Stories clique, but until then Clark had expressed his views so cleverly that on one occasion an ISA reviewer had remarked in The International Observer that The Brooklyn Reporter did "not seem to show the slightest control by the SFL." Now, however, he sided openly with Hornig against the ISA. He slandered Sykora and Wollheim, his words being so strong that Wollheim threatened to file suit for slander if retraction were not made. Forced later to withdraw his statements, Clark with this action virtually resigned from fan activity. Though Wollheim probably received full credit for driving an opponent from the field, it should also be remembered that Clark was tiring of fandom anyway, so that loss of face was simply the deciding factor.
"The forces of Hornig now were in utter rout, though how complete his defeat was was not apparent for yet another month. At that time Hornig was reduced to offering reinstatement to Sykora, Wollheim and Michel on condition they apologise for past offenses. Sykora at first seemed irreconcilable, though he had been less maligned than Wollheim, who, with Michel, gave serious consideration to the proposal. All three were reinstated at a later date, although it is extremely unlikely that they made amends for anything less flagrant than the breaking up of the New York SFL meeting."
Eventually normal people are always chased out by screaming loons. It happens all the time in Fanatic circles.
Mr. Clark epitomized the enthusiast who enjoys something for what it is being chased out by obsessives who demand bizarre religious devotion to a smaller aspect of the scene. As the 20th century went on, relatively normal people found themselves under siege by Fanatics who have a crisis of meaning within themselves who then project it outwards onto others. Unfortunately, this is still an attitude we have to deal with today. You cannot beat a zealot if you have less zeal than they do.
And because of these above events, the general hobbyists were soon to lose ground to the cultists and give them the playfield to reshape the space forever.
The ISL was in the process of doing just that, by absorbing and grabbing all they could in their hopes for power. Total control is the way to make total change, after all.
"The February, 1936, Arcturus announced the dissolution of the Eastern New York Science Fiction League chapter by a unanimous vote of the membership. In its place was to be a new organization, the Independant League for Science Fiction. Members listed the following reasons for their action, which was obviously an aftermath of the last SFL-ISA clash: First, they felt that the SFL was not altruistic, but purely commercial in nature. In the second place, it was a dictatorship headed by a single individual, with no machinery available for his removal or for the election of new officers, since there was no written constitution. Thirdly, they believed the reputation of Wonder Stories was detrimental to any organization it sponsored. Fourthly, such chapter organs as Arcturus, The Fourteen Leaflet and The Brooklyn Reporter gave fuller, more helpful information about the League than the latter's own column in Wonder Stories. And Lastly, because three members had been expelled before being given any opportunity to speak in their own defense. The Eastern New York chapter now termed itself the Brooklyn League for Science Fiction. Its members were Harold Kirshenblit, Donald A. Wollheim, Frederik Pohl, Herman Leventman, Milton White, Israel Brodsky, Morris Davis, R. Drucker, Morris Miller, Louis Heynick, Irving Kosow, William S. Sykora and Bernard Weldt."
And this is the point the tide in Fandom truly started is slide towards the inevitable insanity that would eventually consume all in its wake. No one is easier to control than someone who believes they are a freethinker above being controlled. This entire book is proof of that.
But they were hiding another secret in their motivations: one that wouldn't be realized until they had a tighter grip on Fandom. What was that secret? I'm certain that many readers already know, but for now it will have to remain a mystery.
Nonetheless, the rest of the industry went on as usual, since Fandom really had no control or effect over anything that mattered, at this point.
"In an effort to counteract diminishing circulation, Hugo Gernsback had proposed a scheme whereby readers would receive copies of Wonder Stories directly from the company upon remitting the 15¢ cover price, thus eliminating the publisher's losses on useless unsold copies of the magazine that were returned from newstands. But the handful of readers who cooperated was insufficient to keep the periodical in existence, even at a slight profit. Disappointed, Gernsback cast about for a purchaser who would take Wonder Stories off his hands, finally completing arrangements with Ned Pines and Leo Margulies of Better Publications."
The happenings of Fandom was not directly affecting production of the magazines. It wouldn't take much longer before they directly affected the contents, but they still had yet to have any say in their creation.
If it wasn't for the petty squabbles and infighting, it probably would have already happened by this point. Thankfully, we were spared for a few more years.
"Then word came through that Mort Weisinger, veteran fan and co-editor of Fantasy Magazine, was to edit a rejuvenated Wonder Stories. Fans breathed a sigh of relief. Frowns creased their brows anew, however, when they learned that the new magazine was to be titled Thrilling Wonder Stories. Furthermore, Margulies was reported to have stated point-blank that he did not plan on catering to the fans who he claimed were "a loud minority." But the SFL would be continued, nevertheless."
As you can guess, this didn't go over well with the cultists.
As an aside, could you imagine anyone doing this today? They would have to actually like their wider audiences to do such a thing. Of course it is very hard to ignore the parallels of what happened back then to what has happened in the West in recent years. Once again it is the "loud minority" that is catered to at the expense of the majority, simply by elbowing their way in and demanding more attention than everyone else.
As history has shown us, this audience-last attitude has only been detrimental to art and entertainment. It is a 20th century relic that must be destroyed.
"Pride of the greater New York fans was the monthly publication Arcturus. From the attractively artistic covers through the last-page advertisements it was a periodical of absorbing interest. "The Circle" by "The Ringmaster" kept fandom informed, in political commentary style, of late developments in the SFL-ISA strife, as well as on other topical items. The magazine carried a column of the most recent science fiction news of Britain, written by Edward J. Carnell. Articles on early fan magazines, interviews with professionals in the fantasy field, reviews of current science fiction and occasional fan-written stories were also regularly in evidence. Undoubtedly the most popular feature, however, was a column titled "13" conducted by "Willy the Wisp," a pseudonym of Donald Wollheim. "13" was composed of squibs on thirteen prominent characters or fans in science fiction — sometimes complimentary, always newsy, frequently barbed. It was the forerunner of a similar, but more detailed, column, "As Others See Us," published in The Science Fiction Fan, which proved equally popular.
"In the January, 1936, installment of "13" Wollheim had this to say about Forrest J. Ackerman:"He doesn't know it, but when his name is mentioned in stf circles, it causes considerable snickers and suppressed laughter. This obstreperous author-pester, silly-letter writer, and what-have-you, is now going off half-baked on Esperanto and Universal Languages, a subject which he really doesn't know any too much about. Recently he renounced citizenship in the United States by joining the World Society of Nationless People."
One can't help but be mystified by the constant childish behavior exhibited by Wollheim that was repeatedly ignored by other Fanatics. They instead turned to slandering and libeling anyone who crossed him. One would have to wonder at just how on the ball these people truly were and why they were so willing to be so juvenile.
Remember that there was nothing like this in any of the other magazines. It was only the materialist cultists that engaged in this stupidity. The group everyone has always looked down on, and it appears to be for very good reasons.
Then one remembers that these are Fanatics. They make their opponents live up to their own standards while they in turn act like barbarians behind their backs in an attempt to destroy. When you let these people seize control of your spaces you deserve what you get, which is always, in every case, total destruction.
But people with common goals can always sheath the daggers when needed. There are, after all, bigger enemies to unite against, such as normal people and wider audiences.
"Ackerman could scarcely allow such slurs to remain uncommented upon, and he dispatched a heated letter to the editor of Arcturus, condemning "Willy the Wisp" and denying some of the accusations. But in a special two-page reply entitled "Sez You," Wollheim added insult to injury by elaborating in humorous fashion on his previous remarks, retracting only his statement that Ackerman was no longer a United States citizen, though he added that he considered Ackerman hypocritical in joining the World Society of Nationless People if he did not intend to renounce national citizenship. Through inability or disinclination, Ackerman did not counter further, and the incident was duly recorded in fan journals of the period as the Wollheim-Ackerman feud despite the brief period of its duration. That Ackerman was not sufficiently embittered to bear any grudge is indicated by his ready collaboration with Wollheim on several later occasions."
And that's the end of that, apparently. This says a lot considering some of the other grudges Wollheim held on to for far longer than this for far lesser "offenses" or whatever he considered them.
But of course they also had another thing in common: their demented 20th century hate of religion. It doesn't get more embarrassing than this:
"Finally, Arcturus is of historical interest because of the appearance in its pages of some of the earliest examples of "Ghughuism," a mock religion of Wollheim's concoction that might well be relegated to the same position as the previously mentioned SPWSSTFM affair. Wollheim took the god's position in this parody of religion, gathering about him a lavishly titled circle of adherents. "Ghughuism" endured a longer period than the alphabetical societies, but its tenets were never clarified. In later years when his associates appeared to follow his lead in fan affairs without question, many wondered almost seriously if Wollheim were not actually regarded as deity in truth."
At this point I don't even know what to say to this madness. However, this isn't the last brush with low effort religion mocking from these materialist cultists. These are the earliest recordings of what was essentially pre-internet Reddit, after all.
But let us get back to the topic at hand: the war between Wonder Stories and their readers, and a bunch of powerless nerds with delusions of grandeur.
"The collapse of Wonder Stories and its resultant change of ownership was glad news to the ISA members, who had scarcely hoped to have Gernsback and Hornig so completely disposed of. In their gloating they gave themselves the lion's share of credit for the overthrow of the Gernsback crew, forgetting that in many respects their relentless campaign possessed more nuisance value than lethal potency, and that Wonder Stories' failure was primarily due to economic conditions of the time. And in their joy at winning their battle, too, the ISA voiced little criticism of the comparatively inferior policies of Thrilling Wonder Stories, overlooking entirely the unwelcome assurances of editorial director Margulies that blood-and-thunder juvenility was his functional aim. This attitude is also an indication of the extent to which personal dislike of Gernsback and Hornig — rather than their policies — played a part in the ISA campaign."
This explains a lot about the retroactive hate and revisionism around Gernsback that floated around as "fact" many years later. It was made by weepy fanatics who were told "No" exactly once and went on a campaign to rewrite reality and depose the fascist in charge. Simply amazing. It's almost as amazing as the fact that it still persists to this very day while the Wollheim worship persists completely unchallenged.
Also note the phrase from Mr. Moskowitz: "the unwelcome assurances of blood and thunder juvenility" being used much in the same way Mr. Lundwall used it in the books that we have already covered before. There is nothing, nothing Fandom has ever hated more than an adventure story filled with romance and wonder. Nothing at all, aside from possibly Jesus Christ Himself and the possibility of a non-material space. It's a bit of a toss up, really.
Mr. Margulies already stated his aim was to reach the real audience, not Fanatics. And this is primarily what Thrilling Wonder Stories was remembered for. Therefore, Fandom's quest had exactly the opposite intended effect.
Very well done.
"In the interim, however, attempts were made by the organization to bid for control of many disintegrating SFL chapters. In the May, 1936, number of The International Observer was introduced "The SFL Page," conducted by Alan J. Aisenstein, director of the Nassau SFL; this column carried news of the League chapters (most of which were sadly inactive) in the period when Wonder Stories had suspended appearance, and the ISA hoped by this means to lure at least a small percentage of the science-fictionists and -hobbyists from the ruins of the SFL. Despite the fact that sample copies of The International Observer were dispatched to many of the chapter heads the policy was never particularly successful, and as soon as it was realized that Thrilling Wonder Stories was to continue the SFL column the ISA ceased its efforts altogether.
"Not all the group's activities in this period were politically-minded, however. Aware that it was science fiction's tenth anniversary of appearance in magazine form, New York members of the ISA arranged a celebration in honor of the event. On Sunday, May 3, 1936, a party consisting of Michel, Goudket, Pohl, Aisenstein, Blish, Kirshenblit, Sykora and Wollheim attended a showing of the splendid film based on H. G. Wells' story, Things To Come. Despite the date, it was one of the first purely social gatherings seen in fandom, meetings being as a rule leavened by business activities."
It was political, just in another sense. This would lead to later events to come very, very soon. But the wheels were turning.
"At a meeting of the New York branch of the ISA, George Gordon Clark, no longer active in fandom, was given the final shove toward oblivion when it was unanimously voted to expel him from membership in the local group because of activities treasonous to its best interests. (These were characterized by the attack on the ISA at an ILSF meeting; his alleged Rosicrucianist beliefs, moreover, were never looked upon with favor by other fans thereabouts.) Clark rallied sufficiently to protest that such an action by the ISA smacked of the very procedure that had so embittered members expelled from the SFL, and that it was dictatorial in essence. Secretary Wollheim replied to the effect that ISA meetings were open to the accused, and that he could have been present to defend himself had he so desired. More, the vote had been taken in democratic fashion, and the expulsion was merely from the local branch, not from the ISA itself. As time showed, Clark was insufficiently interested in fandom to renew his membership in that organization when it presently expired."
The path to the new religion had finally been cleared. All the pesky hobbyists had been dealt with. Now no one could stand in there way of whatever their plan was. What that plan was would take a little longer to be revealed.
It should be noted how much damage in Fandom seemed to involve Wollheim's name at such an early time. He was constantly in the middle of all of this nonsense going on. Did no one notice? Apparently, someone did.
"By now the continued presence of Wollheim's name in fan controversy after fan controversy was becoming noticable, as was his tendency to take a few parting shots at opponents after their defeat was obvious. This latter was expecially in evidence in his "Sun Spots" column, whose very high news value was then and later impaired by items presented in such a fashion as to prick the hides of downed antagonists."
I have to agree with Mr. Moskowitz in this case. Wollheim did not make himself a good name with all the events described in this book. He is constantly causing problems or being a nuisance and not seeing any repercussion for it. Not only that, but he is constantly rewarded for it.
That he doesn't engender nearly as much scrutiny from this crowd as Gernsback or Wonder Stories did, even this many years later, is a curious thing.
"Throughout 1936 the ISA rode high. Its official organ, The International Observer continued to appear regularly and to improve in quality. John B. Michel's "Humanity Must Look to the Stars," which was published in the September number of that year has an expecial significance, for it revealed clearly Michel's leftist political beliefs, bedrock of the later Michelist movement, of which we will later have more to say. Also again and again in the pages of The International Observer Sykora kept requesting someone who could write as well as Wollheim to volunteer for the position of science-hobbyist reporter. The only answer was a slow but inevitable increase of the magazine's science fiction content; the great majority of newcomers to the ISA, moreover, were recruited from the ranks of active fandom, names of science-hobbyist members being few and far between."
And now that Fandom had a clear path forward after taking control of all the organs they didn't create and piggybacking the success of other movements, they could now begin their step towards changing the human race and building the One True Faith.
The mask had been discarded. The future was here!
However, quickly running out of enemies, they soon began to turn on each other. Now you will see just who is really in control of this cult.
"The effect of such sarcastic scoffing on Sykora can be well imagined; to him, who at that time held an unshaking belief in the worth and efficasy of science as a hobby, Wollheim's statement amounted to indirect sabotage of the International Scientific Association's very foundations. The trust he had reposed in the man now smacked of foolhardiness. So, from that time forward, Sykora took Wollheim less into his confidence. But Wollheim, despite his frequent callousness in wounding the feelings of others, was himself a sensitive person, easily susceptible to hurt; he recognized Sykora's change of attitude almost immediately, and felt at a loss to account for it. Sykora, on his part, met inquiries with evasions, asserting that his own attitude had undergone no change whatsoever. But to Michel he unburdened himself, confessing a distrust for Wollheim, and expressing the belief that his influence was harmful to the club — all this being precipitated by a long discussion with Michel concerning The International Observer's policy. (As might be guessed, it was the same bone of contention all over again — science fiction versus science-hobbying.) Sykora's views, not unnaturally, eventually reached Wollheim's ears, and Wollheim felt there was but one course open to him."
So many feelings for so little at stake, right? The stereotype of effeminate, catty, nerds exists for a reason. It didn't fall from the sky. That is exactly what Fandom was built of, and why they detested adventure and romance so very much.
Forgiveness doesn't exist among the dishonorable and uncivilized. And that is exactly what this group is.
Nonetheless, Sykora wouldn't accept Wollheim's attempt at resignation, though he did accept Michel's. It was an attempt that was unfortunately short-sighted. It certainly didn't stop things from going off course and imploding in his face.
"Sykora then appointed Pohl editor of the club periodical in Michel's place. In retrospect this was both a very good and a very bad choice for him to make. It was good because Pohl had a definite talent for editorial work, and the interest of the magazine's contents swerved upward almost immediately. It was bad — from Sykora's point of view at least — because Pohl was at heart predominantly a science fictionist who cared little for science as a hobby. And soon, where fiction and derived topics never filled up more than a third of The International Observer, they now took up close to double that amount. The science-hobbyists began to voice faint, uneasy complaints and Sykora began to frown. On this unsteady note the ISA worked toward its greatly important concluding activities in early 1937."
In case you hadn't noticed, it hadn't been about actual storytelling or even science for a long time now, if it ever was. There was a higher purpose here; the cause was the end goal. This conflict wouldn't change with what was to come.
And there were others at the time trying to accomplish much the same. It was as if nerds across the world were beginning to get too comfortable all at the same time. Why that is, considering world events at the time period, is unknown, but that seems to be the case when looking over just what was going on. Degeneration at hyper-speed.
For example, here is the Science Fiction Advancement Association:
"Through association with Beck (Bloomer) was encouraged to strike out on his own; the result was a national organization called the Science Fiction Advancement Association. It was introduced to the fan world through several advertisements in Beck's Critic.
"No information as to the aims and ideals of the club are anywhere to be found in its official publication. Apparently its title was supposed to be self-explanatory. Joining the organization was not even strongly urged. Bloomer merely asked its members to buy their science fiction magazines from local newstands rather than purchasing them second-hand, and decried also the practice of clubs buying single copies that were subsequently passed among the memberships. The SFAA offered virtually no advantages to members in exchange for dues of fifteen cents, for even the association's official organ cost them extra. Democratic processes were non-existent, for the club had no constitution, merely being carried on under the leadership of Bloomer, who headed a board of directors composed of Lee Hertzberg, Claire Beck, Kathryn Kelly and Byron H. Geer."
On the surface, this just sounds like every other Fan group of the time. And one wouldn't be incorrect in that assumption. However, there is always more than meets the eye, especially in the age of the nerd revolution.
"As issue after issue of Tesseract (the SFAA's magazine) appeared, it became obvious that the Science Fiction Advancement Association was to be a success, and its membership list grew rapidly. Apparently there was a widespread desire at the time for a national fan organization, and fans were willing to support any attempt of such kind. Also it should be strongly emphasized that up until then lack of democracy in a club was never regarded as an unanswerable argument against it. From the very beginning fan organizations had been run by "strong men," and provided that their aim had been the common good of the multitude such procedure was never questioned. Some even went so far as to claim that because of the cameraderie among fans and their allegedly above-average intelligence and their willingness to work selflessly toward a common goal, no confining rules were needed. Thus we can see that fandom as a whole had an accepted code of behavior and ethical pattern which was generally acknowledged and conformed to, and which had the same authority as an unwritten law of society. It was felt that fans made up a fraternity rather than a congress, that those who were willing to do the work should receive the titles and the credit. In short, anyone who produced would be almost automatically recognized as the leader. Few if any men attained leadership on a promise to achieve — top positions were gained on the strength of past progress with little electioneering and campaigning present to confuse the issue. This code persisted until shortly before the first World Science Fiction Convention of 1939, when the maligning and invective of bitter feuds caused fans to look upon one another with suspicion that demanded stringent regulations in their official organizational affairs."
Where does one start with this inane, self-important drivel? Should one even have to mention how anti-social people such as this should not be given any control over social situations and institutions? They clearly know nothing of what they are doing and, considering what Fandom would end up doing in years to come, never should have been allowed power in the first place. It is a failure of society that such foolishness was allowed to happen to begin with.
The description above sounds nice and pretty on the surface, but it's really an artificial replacement for normality. It's a replacement for real family, real friends, real community, and real religion. One can easily tell this by how easy it is to get these parties into conflict with each other over such trivial things diverting from their supposed codes, and how so many of them quickly devolved into weaponizing their supposed friends against each other to spread the Faith over all else. It's warped stuff that could only have thrived at the time it did.
"Science Fiction & Fantasy" and its related Fandom is a relic of the 20th century, outdated and with no purpose for what is happening today and what is to come. It was created by coddled first-worlders with no conception of reality outside their limited time and place, and were the bottom of the social rung for very good reasons. All they succeeded in doing was chasing normal people away from every space they were ever put in control of.
This book, showing their origins, truly shows how little has changed since then. And this is why they are currently on their death bed. 20th century materialism is dead and gone, and those holding onto its scraps are being blown into the dustbin of history they ironically prayed so hard for. It's all over. This is the epilogue we are living in.
And what are some of the examples of what this mutation known as Fandom evolved into? I wouldn't recommend looking into the things they have done over the decades behind the scenes. It would make a normal man's stomach churn and wonder how it got so bad. It turns out anti-social weirdos don't stop being anti-social weirdos when they organize.
Well, it all had to start somewhere.
"Third fandom was, at least so far as the SFAA was concerned, a neat, compact group. Lacking for the most part the large science fiction collections of the older fans, and coming into existence at a time when the genre itself was undergoing a recession in quality, it made fan publications its chief interest. And it was in this period that fan magazine collecting began in earnest, reaching its peak shortly thereafter. No young fan of those days would think twice about trading such a present-day rarity as a 1926 issue of Weird Tales for a copy of Science Fiction Digest that he did not possess. Your historian, who entered the field in the closing days of third fandom, recalls negotiating exchanges in which members of that stratum did not hesitate to give two copies of 1931-2 Weird Tales for every copy of a fan publication they did not own, regardless of intrinsic worth.) The average age of this new group of fans was between fifteen and sixteen, with an occasional eighteen-year-old gazing down from pontifical heights of maturity and youngsters of thirteen, such as Robert G. Thompson, not uncommon."
As amazing as this is to consider, it all says a lot about the Fandom that took over and how far away they were from what hit with mainstream audiences in both influence and sales. And yet they nonetheless decided they should control it all. They had that right, because they had a far more unhealthy obsession with it.
We have other topics we could linger on, such as even more local groups of the time, but they are a bit tangential to the overall point. You can always read the book yourself, which I recommend, and see for yourself just what was going on at the time in Fandom circles. What is more paramount is pointing out what this all lead to.
There is still much left to cover, so please be ready for more. Believe me, we are not even close to done yet.
What we are dealing with, at the end of the day, is an aberration on the natural order. The last century thrived on their specific period being the standard going forward when it has instead turned out to be an anomaly, a broken spoke, in the giant wheel of history. All one can see any of this as is a cautionary tale, because it has no relation to the reality we are living in today.
However, we are living, which means we can learn from all this. Join in next time when we finally meet the group we've all been waiting for. It's about to get wild.
Up Next: Part III!
"...pointless squabbling among themselves and building grudges they refuse to let go of. It's silly and juvenile, but this is exactly what such groups are entirely built on..."
ReplyDeleteSilly and juvenile is what is NOT! When these maniacs and obsessives gain control of societies, these power struggles end in 'liquidations' and trips to the gulag. Think more that they're like kittens swatting at each other. It's cute now but they're really honing their killing skills.
And, btw, thank you for all these genuinely fascinating articles. You're REALLY getting good at cultural analysis.
Thanks for reading!
DeleteIt's no wonder that toxic dweebs like this would hate the adventure and romance of the good stuff, obsess over minutia, and use any means to rule their mole-hills with iron fists. I can see the roots of many toxic nerd hang-ups and enthusiasms, like mock religions, as well as some recent history, in this early history. Having watched the Puppy-related Sadness kerfuffle from the sidelines, this just feels like the same silly nonsense, minus the Internet.
ReplyDeleteThis conflict what this entire subculture was built on. It's no wonder normal people are chased out of it.
DeleteWow, I feel like I've just watched the woke crowd infighting on Twitter. Nothing has changed, has it? Once they destroy a target, they go back to destroying each other. It's like their one emotion is hate. No wonder they object to villains like liches ... whose one emotion is hate. Also, Wollheim does not come out looking very good, does he? I notice that they complained about his weird sexual references, and boy, his book was full of those. He was such a repressed nerd. You're right about there not being enough lockers, lol. It's a shame that these people basically won and have been in control of the genre ever since. No wonder it's one of the least-selling genres.
ReplyDeleteWollheim is such a constant presence in this mess that I can't imagine how hard Fandom scrambled to erase all of this in later years. What kind of a risk you'd be taking employing someone like this!
DeleteMort Weisinger and Julie Schwartz were apparently two of the rare competent individuals in this crowd, and they also recognized the need to produce entertainment. Both left this crowd behind fairly early, forming their own literary agency representing writers in the Pulps.
ReplyDeleteWeisinger worked for Standard Magazines (the 'Thrilling' magazines), then moved to National Periodicals, followed by Schwartz moving to All-American Comics (which would merge with National Periodicals and other companies, becoming DC Comics in 1977). Both wrote and edited for the top titles at National Periodicals/DC Comics through the late 70s (Weisinger) and the late 80s (Schwartz).
Moskowitz reveals Wollheim to be nothing but a malicious gossip, working to damage others for his own personal benefit, whether material or emotional. I find it hilarious that the chump-change fan organization that he ran banned someone (Clark) from its ranks without hearing or recourse (despite his weasel words), something his bitter crowd of political conspirators held up as justification for their harassment of Hornig. Classic Wollheim -- a true destroyer, through and through.
"[A]gain and again in the pages of The International Observer Sykora kept requesting someone who could write as well as Wollheim to volunteer for the position of science-hobbyist reporter."
Hilarious! After their public railroading and expulsion of anyone in their cardboard clubhouse who might actually fit that bill, the true believers are Captain Renault-levels of 'shocked' that no one can be found to accept the job.
What small, bitter children. Truly, not enough lockers and letter-jacketed bullies to deal with these cancerous little barbarians.
Frank Herbert is once again superior to Lord Acton in his quote: "Absolute power does not corrupt absolutely; absolute power attracts the corruptable."
Thanks for another great article, JD!
Thanks for reading!
DeleteIt is amazing how some of the early players ended up really doing something in later years by leaving this all behind, and were ignored for it.
What really sold me on it is the flaccid reaction to the first reading of Mutation or Death, proving just what type this crowd really was.
But that's for next time!
I realize this is a year late, but I was reading through my new copy of the Revised and Expanded Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien and noticed the name of Donald Wollheim. Apparently he was involved with the 'pirated' Ace Books edition of LotR, and tried to mollify Tolkien by offering that the royalties be set aside into a "Tolkien Award" for upcoming authors. (This would have been the full royalty, apparently; if Tolkien insisted on payment for his work, he'd only get half of it.) Seeing that in the context of the fandom affairs makes it seem even more sordid than it already did.
ReplyDelete