Unknown (magazine)

Unknown was an American pulp fantasy fiction magazine, published from 1939 to 1943. It was a companion to Street & Smith’s science fiction pulp, Astounding Science Fiction, which was also edited by John W. Campbell. In the opinion of science fiction historian Mike Ashley it was responsible for the creation of the modern fantasy publishing genre.

About Unknown (magazine) in brief

Unknown was an American pulp fantasy fiction magazine, published from 1939 to 1943. It was a companion to Street & Smith’s science fiction pulp, Astounding Science Fiction, which was also edited by John W. Campbell. The first issue of Unknown appeared in March 1939. In the opinion of science fiction historian Mike Ashley it was responsible for the creation of the modern fantasy publishing genre. It is generally regarded as the finestantasy fiction magazine ever published, despite the fact that it was not commercially successful. The last issue was dated October 1943, and it was the last issue of Astounding, as well as of Unknown. The magazine was a pulp magazine that specialized in fantasy stories and material that no other magazine would accept. Weird Tales was the first magazine to focus solely on fantasy, and remained the pre-eminent magazine in this field for over a decade. Other notable works included several novels by L. Ron Hubbard and short stories such as Manly Wade Wellman’s “When It Was Moonlight” and Fritz Leiber’s “Two Sought Adventure”, the first in his Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser series. In December 1940, the subtitle Fantasy Fiction was added, and in October 1941, the main title was changed to Unknown Worlds; both changes were intended to make the genre of the magazine clearer to potential potential readers. Unknown was forced to a bimonthly schedule in 1941 by poor sales and canceled in 1943 when wartime paper shortages became so acute that Campbell had to choose between turning Astounding into a bmonthly or ending Unknown.

In February 1939, Eric Frank Russell sent Campbell the manuscript of his novel Sinister Barrier, about aliens who own the human race. The following month, Campbell set his plans for a fantasy magazine into motion with the first issue, led by Russell’s novel, and led with the plot involving the aliens, who have been described as “the very word anathema… will offer a fantasy of so far different quality that has made your entire understanding of the term ‘fantasy’ so far apart from that which has appeared in the past”. The magazine’s last issue, dated February 1943, was dated for Astounding as well, and was the final issue of the pulp magazine, which had been edited by Campbell at the time. It has been suggested that the magazine was the inspiration for the film The Godfather: Part II, due to Campbell’s use of the word “fantasy” in the film’s title. The movie was based on the novel and the story was written by L Ron Hubbard, who also wrote the screenplay for the movie. The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis, who was also the director of The Lord of the Rings: The Second World War, and the film was released in 1973. The book was the basis for the TV series The Lord Of The Rings: Planet of the Apes, starring Tom Hanks, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II and The Great and Powerful.

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