Fantascience Digest

Zine
Title:	Fantascience Digest
Publisher:
Editor(s):	Robert A. Madle
Organizer(s):
Author(s):
Cover Artist(s):
Illustrator(s):
Type:	Genzine
Date(s):	1938-1941
Topic:
Medium:	Print
Size:
Frequency:
Fandom:	Science Fiction
Rating(s):
Warning(s):
Language:	English
External Links:	Several issues hosted online by fanac.org
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Fantascience Digest was a science fiction zine published by Robert A. Madle. Jack Agnew provided most of the illustrations, with some by John Giunta.

Fantascience Digest stayed relatively neutral during the feud between the Futurians and New Fandom. Madle made and printed some statements to the effect that the Futurians were troublemakers in fandom, but Fantascience Digest continued printing articles and letters from both the Futurians and Sam Moskowitz, usually on neutral subjects. A 1939 article by Donald A. Wollheim drew a threatening letter from publishers Street & Smith, forcing Madle to issue a retraction, but other Futurians and their allies continued to appear in FD.

Reviews

Received the copy of FD today, and it's a very good issue. The cover is striking. JVB can be good when he will. He is at his best on this cut.

Lowndes' article on Weinbaum was tops in the issue. Conover's "looking Around* was next best. Van Houten's and Rothman's science articles were fairly good. The fiction was punk.The editorial was interesting,as are all such writings.

Olon F. Wiggins, letter printed in issue 2 page 17 (January 1938)

The art-work and decorations are very good. I dismissed the science articles as uninteresting as this type of article doesn't appeal to me. Many others, however no doubt found them interesting. And for the reason that poetry, with the exception of Sarcophagus Dribole's,leaves me cold, I didn't enjoy J. Francis Hatch's "Sonnets in Memoriam." You might have taken Professor Oggleswog out and sloughed him over the noggin before publication so that he would be in no fit condition to appear before your readers. His condition, even without nogginsloughing, was none too good. I struggled about half-way through before giving up in disgust. No more Haggard horrors,please. Just one more brickbat; the hektoing was muddy throughout, and a bit hard to read in spots. This isn't your fault, I suppose, so much as the Weather Man's.

I liked Hank Kuttner's snicker story, Robert W. Lowndes article was good too. I wish he would write a little less heavily for the fan magazines though. Willis Conover always writes interestingly. His "Looking Around" is excellent.

Dick Wilson, letter printed in issue 2 page 17 (January 1938)

Bast items in the first five issues:- "Sonnets in Memoriam" by J. Francis Hatch; "The Mother" by David H. Keller; "A State Awakens" by Jack Speer; "Convention Review" by RAM; "Fun With Atoms" by Kuttner; "The Story Behind Amazing" by Reinsberg...

Sam Moskowitz, letter printed in issue 6 page 15 (Sept. 1938)]

The art work this 5th issue of FD is really excellent. A decided improvement over that of the last issue. The cover stands out very well; more than that, it is attractive. Keep up the good work.

As for the stories, etc; on the whole, they were better, but I believe a better magazine would result if you kept FD more to S.F. news and fact. That, after all, is what Digest implies. It's all a matter of opinion, though.

Mark Reinsberg, letter printed in issue 6 page 15 (Sept. 1938)]

Congragulations on the superb mimeoing! In my opinion, you'll have to go a long way to find any that's better, and very, very few are even this good. Every page has just the right amount of ink, and in the right places, too---not in the form of spots on the edges! Illustrations are pretty good, too, though the cover shows a little lack of experience with the stylus. Oh, well--that’s only natural, especially when you have only one to work with.

Harry Warner, Jr., letter printed in issue 9 page 24 (March 1939)]

I can truly say without reservations that your magazine has reached heights that never could have been anticipated from the first two issues. I think I found more undiluted enjoyment and less flys in the ointment in the last issue than ever before. I think that more improvement is impossible, but you can do it!

Helen Cloukey, letter printed in issue 10 page 25 (May 1939)]

"Fantascience Digest", ranging from hektograph to mimeograph early in the year, has suffered from the handicap of irregularity in appearance. However, in other respects it has done well for itself. Neatly mimeographed, it lacks even right-hand edges, a matter particularly noticable when double-columns are used. Its tone has been generally light and devoted to the fan who reads stf for its own sake. In its own way, however, it has served its purpose well, and, provided the editor is able to keep it coming regularly, should continue successfully.

Robert A. W. Lowndes in Scientifan issue 2 page 5 (January 1940)

Price- 15¢; Issued- sometimes... Excellent mimeographing. Features fiction, excellent articles, humor, poetry, and swell departments. It's good.... 85 comets.

The Fan Pubs; The Comet Vol. 1 #1, pg. 14. Jan.-Feb. 1940.

15 cents, 30 large mimeod pages, Jul.-Aug.-Sept., 1939

This is one of the finest, if not the finest bi-monthly fan magazines published today. First class material and mimeographing. The latest number contains "Dawn of Death" short-story by Fred W. Fisher; It's Astounding, article by Harry Warner; "Case History", The finest article ever written by Sam Moskowitz: a fine, long news column, a quiz department,and a host of other excellent features.

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

Notable Articles

• William S. Sykora - The Thousandth Raid (fiction)
• Milton A. Rothman - Skylark vs. Thought (fanfiction)
• Willis Conover - If I could project myself into the past...
• Sam Moskowitz - Grand Old Fan (fiction)
• Rusty Hevelin - Coventry