Cosmic Tales

Zine
Title:	Cosmic Tales
Publisher:
Editor(s):	James V. Taurasi, Louis Kuslan, Gertrude Kuslan, John Giunta, Robert G. Thompson, Richard Crain
Type:
Date(s):	1937-1941
Medium:	Print
Size:
Fandom:	Science Fiction
Language:	English
External Links:	Several issues hosted online by fanac.org
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Cosmic Tales was an early science fiction zine with multiple editors.

About

Send for your issue of COSMIC TALES at once. This fan magazine, featuring fiction by fandom's foremost writers, sells for fifteen cents a copy, & is available... from Louis Kuslan. Besides many interesting stories, COSMIC TALES also has many excellent regular departments. The most popular of those is "Thots from Exile", Jack Speer's provocative writings that are the big talk of fandom. Also features by Robert Bahr, Robt. Thompson, and a number of others. More than two dozen large mimeoed pages!

Ad placed in Spaceways #5 pg 23. May 1939.

The August issue will be at least 30 large size pages, containing stories, articles and poems by outstanding professionals& fans of both America and England. A few of the many to be represented are Keller, Speer, Taurasi, Burke, Miske, Warner, Giunta, Byers, Bahr and the incomparable SM. REMEMBER!

Ad placed in The Fantast #3 pg 2. June 1939.

According to former editor James V. Taurasi in the Summer 1939 issue of Cosmic Tales, the magazine had started in 1935 as a 10-page hectographed zine called Junior Science Fiction, typed out by his cousin. At first they'd used ordinary carbon paper and had to start over. Finally they gave up due to a lack of funding. In 1937, Taurasi met Robert A. Madle and they discussed his old zine plans. Taurasi revived it as a longer 30-page zine, but after the third issue he, Jack Gillespie and Robert G. Thompson pooled their money to create an even larger and fancier issue 4, on which they lost too much money to continue. He handed it over to assistant editor Thompson, who "fell thru with the deal". Taurasi began publishing a new zine, Fantasy-News, and finally Louis Kuslan took over from Thompson for the sixth issue.

"The zine was almost ruined when it appeared in the FAPA," Taurasi said, "but it has now been withdrawn due to pressur brot on by myself and others." He congratulated Kuslan on a job well done, and Kuslan stepped down the same issue because he was starting college. Louis Kuslan himself credited an equal amount of the zine's success to his sister Trudy.

Reviews

The cover has its best effect when you hold it a short distance away from your eyes -- oh, say thirty feet or so; at which distance it exudes a not unpleasing effect. Needless to say, the cover is drawn by that super artists James V. Taurasi. The illustration on the interior are quite terrible. The cover is much superior to the best of those inside. The crimes som people will commit to have even edges!! This March-April issue is a fine example of such a case. 'Nuff said. The two best items are "Return Mail" and"Around the Circuit," respectively. The stories are all fine examples of what should not go into fan mags --- with the possible exception of "Rab-Hounds of Ganymede." That is not quite so bad as the others. Rosenblum starts "British News and Views" this issue. In our opinion this is the worst issue to date.

"Fan Mag Review" in Science Fiction Collector #19 pg. 24 (May 1938)

Futuria Fantasia is a tie with Cosmic Tales for hi honor.

"Exceptional" 5 star review in Tom Wright's Mercury issue 2 page 19 (combined with the January 1940 Scientifan)

Second Anniversary Issue, and last published by Louis Kuslan; henceforth John Guinta... 15 cents, 40 large mimeographed pages.

The Second Anniversary Issue of "Cosmic Tales" is easily the best issue to date. The material and reproduction is of the very finest. The stories by David H. Keller, M.D., J. Harvey Haggard , J.M.Boyer, Dave McIllwain, John Giunta, Garth Giles, in fact every story is an example of some of the finest fan fiction ever contained in a fan magazine. Speers long column about side-lights of the convention is excellent, while C. S. Youd gives us something to think about in "The New Science Fiction." We heartly recommend this magazine for some of the finest fiction every to appear in a fan magazine.

"The Manuscript Bureau" of New Fandom, issue 7 page 12 (April 1940)

The current COSMIC TALES (March-April) will be the last to appear under James V. Taurasi's editorship. There are 3 examples of fairish fiction, "The Incredible Invention of Jack Cranstom", "Stranded in Time", and "Rab-Hounds of Ganymede", by, respectively, John Giunta, Thomas G. Robertson and Sam Moskowitz. There is one good illustration by Giunta; the rest are typical Taurasi terrors. "Man and Reptile" is a science editorial by Robert G. Thompson after the manner of the old Amazing and Wonder, and a good one; RGT also has his Temponautical Review in the issue. Rest of the content includes J. Michael Rosenblum's "British News and Views", Louis Kuslan's "Around the Circuit" (fanmag reviews) and "Return Mail", the readers' dept.

Dick Wilson: The Catapult. Science Fiction News Letter #22 pg. 2 (April 1940)

(Richard Crain... No date. V2, #2.) (thumbs) Poor mimeographing but passable material.

Bob Tucker in Le Zombie, issue 30 page 8 (July 1940)

COSMIC TALES, August. Same people, same price as FANTASY TIMES. A good cover, considering that Taurasi did it. And the Giunta interior is surprisingly splendid, darn good. The attempt to make a zombie out of the defunct New Fandom is abortive and bound to fail. Everyone is giving their all to a sincere and truly worthwhile effort toward a united fandom — the NFFF. Tell the lads and lassies about the NFFF, Phil. The fiction by Gardner is God awful, and in the issue is gruesomely cheerful news that it will be followed by fiction by Moskowitz, Taurasi and more Gardner.

Joe Gilbert: Among the Hams and Pros. Fantasite #5 pg. 26 (Sept. 1941)