Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction
Encyclopedia
Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction was a 1970s black-and-white
, science fiction
comics magazine
published by Marvel Comics
' parent company, Magazine Management, under the imprint
Curtis Magazines
.
The anthology title featured original stories and literary adaptations by writers and artists including Frank Brunner
, Howard Chaykin
, Gene Colan
, Gerry Conway
, Richard Corben
, Bruce Jones
, Gray Morrow
, Denny O'Neil, Roy Thomas
, and others, as well as non-fiction articles about science fiction and interviews with such authors as Alfred Bester
, Frank Herbert
, Larry Niven
, and A. E. van Vogt
, some of whom had their works adapted here.
, Unknown Worlds Of Science Fiction Giant Size Special #1 (1976). A black-and-white, science fiction
comics magazine
, it was published by Magazine Management, at the time the parent company of Marvel Comics
, under the Curtis Magazines
imprint
. Utilizing many Marvel writers and artists, as well as other creators, it was launched following the cancellation of Marvel's 1973-74 comic book
SF anthology Worlds Unknown
.
A framing device throughout the series featured an old curio dealer who presented his shop's visitors with dramas captured in "slow glass", a concept that series editor Roy Thomas
and writer Tony Isabella
credited in the magazine to writer Bob Shaw
.
s and alternative comics
of the era: Writer-artist Neal Adams
' "A View From Without...", from Phase #1 (1971); "Smash Gordon in 'A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Mongo'" by writer-artist Frank Brunner
, from Heritage #1a (1972); "Savage World", by writer Wally Wood
, pencilers Al Williamson
, Angelo Torres
, and Roy Krenkel, and inkers Williamson, Torres, and Frank Frazetta
, from witzend
#1 (1966); and "Hey Buddy, Can You Lend Me A...", by writer-artist Michael Kaluta, from Scream Door (Asian Flu) #1 (1971).
In addition to the "slow glass" sequences by writer Isabella and penciler Gene Colan
, original material included part one of a two-issue adaptation of John Wyndham
's novel
The Day of the Triffids
, by writer Gerry Conway
and penciler Ross Andru
; and an adaptation by Isabella and Colan of Shaw's original "slow glass" short story
"Light Of Other Days". Comics historian Richard J. Arndt believes the "Triffids" adaptation was originally scheduled for Worlds Unknown #7-8, the final issues, which had instead deviated from SF adaptations to adapt instead the contemporaneous film The Golden Voyage of Sinbad
(1974). Arndt also notes, "The 'Savage World' story’s art was done in 1954 for Buster Crabbe
Comics but it was unused. In 1966 Wally Wood wrote a new script (the original had been lost) for the artwork...."
(issue #2); "Gestation" (#3), "Kick the Can" (#4), and "Old Soldier" (#6), all by writer-artist Bruce Jones
; "Encounter at War", by Jan Strnad
and Richard Corben
(#4); "Paradise Found", by writer Jones and artist Gray Morrow
, and "Addict", by writer Don Glut and artist Virgilio Redondo (both #5); "Mind Games", by writer-artist John Allison, and "Visitation", by Glut and Ruben Yandoc (both #6). Thomas succeeded Isabella as framing-sequence writer with the last two issues. Additionally, the magazine reprinted a handful more stories from fanzine
and alternative comics
, such as Kaluta's "The Hunter and the Hunted" (#2), from Abyss #1 (Nov. 1970), and Allison's "Half Life" (#5), from the Canadian publication Orb #2 (1974).
Adaptations included Alfred Bester
's "Adam ... and No Eve", by writer Denny O'Neil and penciler Jim Mooney
(#2); Frank Herbert
's "Occupation Force", by Conway and penciler Pérez, Larry Niven
's "...Not Long Before the End", by writer Doug Moench
and artist Vicente Alcazar
, and Harlan Ellison
's "'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman", by writer Roy Thomas and artist Alex Niño
(all #3); A. E. van Vogt
's "The Enchanted Village", by writers Don & Maggie Thompson
and artist Dick Giordano
, Otis Adelbert Kline
's "A Vision of Venus", by writer-artist Tim Conrad, and Robert Silverberg
's "Good News From The Vatican", by Conway and artist Adrian Gonzales under the pen name
Ading Gonzales (all #4); Larry Niven's "All The Myriad Ways", by writer-artist Howard Chaykin
(#5); and Michael Moorcock
's novel Behold the Man
, by Moench and Niño.
Interviews with Bester, Herbert, Niven, and van Vogt appeared in issues containing their respective adaptations. A planned adaptation of Robert Bloch
's "A Toy for Juliette", promised in the letters page of issue #3, did not materialize here, although it was eventually adapted by Rick Geary
for an independent comic in the mid-1980s.
Cover artists included Brunner, Frank Kelly Freas
, Michael Kaluta, Michael Whelan
, and Sebastià Boada, pseudonym
ously under one of his middle names, Puigdomenech.
and artist Alex Niño
; "The Forest for the Trees", by Jones and artist Vicente Alcazar
; "Preservation of the Species", by Jones and the mononyn credit "Redondo" (either Virgilio Redondo or his brother and frequent Marvel contributor Nestor Redondo
is uncertain); "Clete", by writer-artist Jones; "Sinner", by writer-artist Archie Goodwin
, reprinted from witzend
#1 (July 1966); and "Threads", by Mat Warrick and Gonzales. Glut and Yandoc adapted Stanley G. Weinbaum
's "A Martian Odyssey". Don Newton
painted the cover. The annual also featured an interview with Theodore Sturgeon
, and a reprint, from Worlds Unknown
#4, of Conway and John Buscema
's adaptation of Fredric Brown
's "Arena
".
Historian Arndt believes "Threads", credited to writer Mat Warrick, "may actually be by Mal Warrick, a fanzine & science fiction writer of the time." A writer named Mat Warwick published comic-book SF in this mid-1970s timeframe in Star Reach
. Additionally, "Threads" was reprinted in the Marvel UK
title Star Wars
Weekly #3 (Feb. 1978), credited under yet another variant of the name, Matt Warrick.
Editor Roy Thomas
, in an editorial on page 4, dated September 1976, wrote that the series "didn't quite succeed in selling the magic number of copies needed to sustain it. No, it didn't lose money ... it didn't make quite enough profit to allow it to be continued. ... Still, in the meantime we had enough material on hand for two or three issues, counting a couple of finished scripts, as yet unillustrated, plus a couple of stories already totally completed. So, after many conferences ... I received the go-ahead to put out a giant one-shot special."
A column on page 95 of the special explains that that story "Man-Gods", planned for this issue and promoted on Marvel Bullpen Bulletins
pages and elsewhere, had become lost by the U.S. Postal Service. The story, with art by Niño, is unrelated to "Man-God", an adaptation of Philip Wylie's Übermensch
novel Gladiator
, by Thomas and Tony DeZuniga
, that appeared in the Marvel/Curtis magazine Marvel Preview
#9 (Winter 1976). However, a 37-page story titled "Man-Gods from Beyond the Stars", by co-plotter Thomas, writer Doug Moench
and artist Niño, had by this time seen print in Marvel Preview #1 (1975). The column stated that the replacement for "Man-Gods" was the four-page Goodwin story and the 15-page "Arena" reprint.
Black-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
, science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
comics magazine
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
published by Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
' parent company, Magazine Management, under the imprint
Imprint
In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...
Curtis Magazines
Curtis Magazines
Curtis Magazines was an imprint of Marvel Comics that existed from 1971 to 1980. The imprint published black-and-white magazines that did not carry the Comics Code Authority seal. Initially, page counts varied between 68,76, and 84 pages....
.
The anthology title featured original stories and literary adaptations by writers and artists including Frank Brunner
Frank Brunner
Frank Brunner is an American comic book artist and illustrator best known for his work at Marvel Comics in the 1970s.-Comics:...
, Howard Chaykin
Howard Chaykin
Howard Victor Chaykin is an American comic book writer and artist famous for his innovative storytelling and sometimes controversial material...
, Gene Colan
Gene Colan
Eugene Jules "Gene" Colan was an American comic book artist best known for his work for Marvel Comics, where his signature titles include the superhero series, Daredevil, the cult-hit satiric series Howard the Duck, and The Tomb of Dracula, considered one of comics' classic horror series...
, Gerry Conway
Gerry Conway
Gerard F. "Gerry" Conway is an American writer of comic books and television shows. He is known for co-creating the Marvel Comics vigilante The Punisher and scripting the death of the character Gwen Stacy during his long run on The Amazing Spider-Man...
, Richard Corben
Richard Corben
Richard Corben is an American illustrator and comic book artist best known for his comics featured in Heavy Metal magazine...
, Bruce Jones
Bruce Jones (comics)
Bruce Jones, whose pen names include Philip Roland and Bruce Elliot, is an American comic book writer, novelist, illustrator, and screenwriter whose work included writing Marvel Comics' The Incredible Hulk from 2001-2005.-Early career:...
, Gray Morrow
Gray Morrow
Dwight Graydon "Gray" Morrow was an American illustrator of paperback books and comics.-Biography:Born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Morrow is best known as art director of Spider-Man between 1967 and 1970 and as illustrator of the syndicated Tarzan, Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon and Prince Valiant comic...
, Denny O'Neil, Roy Thomas
Roy Thomas
Roy William Thomas, Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E...
, and others, as well as non-fiction articles about science fiction and interviews with such authors as Alfred Bester
Alfred Bester
Alfred Bester was an American science fiction author, TV and radio scriptwriter, magazine editor and scripter for comic strips and comic books...
, Frank Herbert
Frank Herbert
Franklin Patrick Herbert, Jr. was a critically acclaimed and commercially successful American science fiction author. Although a short story author, he is best known for his novels, most notably Dune and its five sequels...
, Larry Niven
Larry Niven
Laurence van Cott Niven / ˈlæri ˈnɪvən/ is an American science fiction author. His best-known work is Ringworld , which received Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards. His work is primarily hard science fiction, using big science concepts and theoretical physics...
, and A. E. van Vogt
A. E. van Vogt
Alfred Elton van Vogt was a Canadian-born science fiction author regarded by some as one of the most popular and complex science fiction writers of the mid-twentieth century: the "Golden Age" of the genre....
, some of whom had their works adapted here.
Publication history
Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction ran six bimonthly issues (cover-dated Jan.-Nov. 1975), plus one annual publicationAnnual publication
An annual publication, more often called simply an annual, is a book or a magazine, comic book or comic strip published yearly. For example, a weekly or monthly publication may produce an Annual featuring similar materials to the regular publication....
, Unknown Worlds Of Science Fiction Giant Size Special #1 (1976). A black-and-white, science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
comics magazine
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
, it was published by Magazine Management, at the time the parent company of Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
, under the Curtis Magazines
Curtis Magazines
Curtis Magazines was an imprint of Marvel Comics that existed from 1971 to 1980. The imprint published black-and-white magazines that did not carry the Comics Code Authority seal. Initially, page counts varied between 68,76, and 84 pages....
imprint
Imprint
In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...
. Utilizing many Marvel writers and artists, as well as other creators, it was launched following the cancellation of Marvel's 1973-74 comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
SF anthology Worlds Unknown
Worlds Unknown
Worlds Unknown was a science fiction comic book published by Marvel Comics in the 1970s that adapted classic short stories of that genre, including works by Frederik Pohl, Harry Bates, and Theodore Sturgeon.-Publication history:...
.
A framing device throughout the series featured an old curio dealer who presented his shop's visitors with dramas captured in "slow glass", a concept that series editor Roy Thomas
Roy Thomas
Roy William Thomas, Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E...
and writer Tony Isabella
Tony Isabella
Tony Isabella is an American comic book writer, editor, artist and critic, known as the creator and writer of Marvel Comics' Black Goliath, DC Comics' first major African American superhero, Black Lightning, and as a columnist and critic for the Comics Buyer's Guide.-Marvel Comics:Before he joined...
credited in the magazine to writer Bob Shaw
Bob Shaw
Bob Shaw, born Robert Shaw, was a science fiction author and fan from Northern Ireland. He was noted for his originality and wit. He won the Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer in 1979 and 1980...
.
Premiere
The premiere issue featured both new material and a number of reprints from fanzineFanzine
A fanzine is a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest...
s and alternative comics
Alternative comics
Alternative comics defines a range of American comics that have appeared since the 1980s, following the underground comix movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Alternative comics present an alternative to "mainstream" superhero comics which in the past have dominated the US comic book industry...
of the era: Writer-artist Neal Adams
Neal Adams
Neal Adams is an American comic book and commercial artist known for helping to create some of the definitive modern imagery of the DC Comics characters Superman, Batman, and Green Arrow; as the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates; and as a creators-rights advocate who...
' "A View From Without...", from Phase #1 (1971); "Smash Gordon in 'A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Mongo'" by writer-artist Frank Brunner
Frank Brunner
Frank Brunner is an American comic book artist and illustrator best known for his work at Marvel Comics in the 1970s.-Comics:...
, from Heritage #1a (1972); "Savage World", by writer Wally Wood
Wally Wood
Wallace Allan Wood was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, best known for his work in EC Comics and Mad. He was one of Mads founding cartoonists in 1952. Although much of his early professional artwork is signed Wallace Wood, he became known as Wally Wood, a name he...
, pencilers Al Williamson
Al Williamson
Alfonso "Al" Williamson was an American cartoonist, comic book artist and illustrator specializing in adventure, Western and science-fiction/fantasy...
, Angelo Torres
Angelo Torres
Angelo Torres is an American cartoonist and caricaturist whose work has appeared in many comic books, as well as a long-running regular slot in Mad magazine, typically film or television parodies.-Biography:...
, and Roy Krenkel, and inkers Williamson, Torres, and Frank Frazetta
Frank Frazetta
Frank Frazetta was an American fantasy and science fiction artist, noted for work in comic books, paperback book covers, paintings, posters, LP record album covers and other media...
, from witzend
Witzend
witzend, published on an irregular schedule spanning decades, was an underground comic showcasing contributions by comic book professionals, leading illustrators and new artists. witzend was launched in 1966 by the writer-artist Wallace Wood, who handed the reins to Bill Pearson from 1968–1985...
#1 (1966); and "Hey Buddy, Can You Lend Me A...", by writer-artist Michael Kaluta, from Scream Door (Asian Flu) #1 (1971).
In addition to the "slow glass" sequences by writer Isabella and penciler Gene Colan
Gene Colan
Eugene Jules "Gene" Colan was an American comic book artist best known for his work for Marvel Comics, where his signature titles include the superhero series, Daredevil, the cult-hit satiric series Howard the Duck, and The Tomb of Dracula, considered one of comics' classic horror series...
, original material included part one of a two-issue adaptation of John Wyndham
John Wyndham
John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris was an English science fiction writer who usually used the pen name John Wyndham, although he also used other combinations of his names, such as John Beynon and Lucas Parkes...
's novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
The Day of the Triffids
The Day of the Triffids
The Day of the Triffids is a post-apocalyptic novel published in 1951 by the English science fiction author John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris, under the pen-name John Wyndham. Although Wyndham had already published other novels using other pen-name combinations drawn from his lengthy real...
, by writer Gerry Conway
Gerry Conway
Gerard F. "Gerry" Conway is an American writer of comic books and television shows. He is known for co-creating the Marvel Comics vigilante The Punisher and scripting the death of the character Gwen Stacy during his long run on The Amazing Spider-Man...
and penciler Ross Andru
Ross Andru
Ross Andru was an American comic book artist and editor. He is best known for his work on Amazing Spider-Man, Wonder Woman, Flash and Metal Men....
; and an adaptation by Isabella and Colan of Shaw's original "slow glass" short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
"Light Of Other Days". Comics historian Richard J. Arndt believes the "Triffids" adaptation was originally scheduled for Worlds Unknown #7-8, the final issues, which had instead deviated from SF adaptations to adapt instead the contemporaneous film The Golden Voyage of Sinbad
The Golden Voyage of Sinbad
The Golden Voyage of Sinbad is a fantasy film released in 1974 and starring John Phillip Law as Sinbad. It includes a score by composer Miklós Rózsa and is known mostly for the stop-motion effects by Ray Harryhausen...
(1974). Arndt also notes, "The 'Savage World' story’s art was done in 1954 for Buster Crabbe
Buster Crabbe
Clarence Linden "Buster" Crabbe was an American athlete and actor, who starred in a number of popular serials in the 1930s and 1940s.-Birth:...
Comics but it was unused. In 1966 Wally Wood wrote a new script (the original had been lost) for the artwork...."
Subsequent issues
Subsequent issues featured the original stories "War Toy", by Isabella and penciler George PérezGeorge Pérez
George Pérez is a Puerto Rican-American writer and illustrator of comic books, known for his work on various titles, including Avengers, Teen Titans and Wonder Woman.-Biography:...
(issue #2); "Gestation" (#3), "Kick the Can" (#4), and "Old Soldier" (#6), all by writer-artist Bruce Jones
Bruce Jones (comics)
Bruce Jones, whose pen names include Philip Roland and Bruce Elliot, is an American comic book writer, novelist, illustrator, and screenwriter whose work included writing Marvel Comics' The Incredible Hulk from 2001-2005.-Early career:...
; "Encounter at War", by Jan Strnad
Jan Strnad
Jan Steven Strnad is an American writer of comic books and science fiction. He is most known for his work in the Star Wars Expanded Universe, the majority of which has been published by Dark Horse Comics....
and Richard Corben
Richard Corben
Richard Corben is an American illustrator and comic book artist best known for his comics featured in Heavy Metal magazine...
(#4); "Paradise Found", by writer Jones and artist Gray Morrow
Gray Morrow
Dwight Graydon "Gray" Morrow was an American illustrator of paperback books and comics.-Biography:Born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Morrow is best known as art director of Spider-Man between 1967 and 1970 and as illustrator of the syndicated Tarzan, Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon and Prince Valiant comic...
, and "Addict", by writer Don Glut and artist Virgilio Redondo (both #5); "Mind Games", by writer-artist John Allison, and "Visitation", by Glut and Ruben Yandoc (both #6). Thomas succeeded Isabella as framing-sequence writer with the last two issues. Additionally, the magazine reprinted a handful more stories from fanzine
Fanzine
A fanzine is a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest...
and alternative comics
Alternative comics
Alternative comics defines a range of American comics that have appeared since the 1980s, following the underground comix movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Alternative comics present an alternative to "mainstream" superhero comics which in the past have dominated the US comic book industry...
, such as Kaluta's "The Hunter and the Hunted" (#2), from Abyss #1 (Nov. 1970), and Allison's "Half Life" (#5), from the Canadian publication Orb #2 (1974).
Adaptations included Alfred Bester
Alfred Bester
Alfred Bester was an American science fiction author, TV and radio scriptwriter, magazine editor and scripter for comic strips and comic books...
's "Adam ... and No Eve", by writer Denny O'Neil and penciler Jim Mooney
Jim Mooney
James Noel "Jim" Mooney was an American comic book artist best known as a Marvel Comics inker and Spider-Man artist, and as the signature artist of DC Comics' Supergirl, both during what comics historians and fans call the Silver Age of comic books...
(#2); Frank Herbert
Frank Herbert
Franklin Patrick Herbert, Jr. was a critically acclaimed and commercially successful American science fiction author. Although a short story author, he is best known for his novels, most notably Dune and its five sequels...
's "Occupation Force", by Conway and penciler Pérez, Larry Niven
Larry Niven
Laurence van Cott Niven / ˈlæri ˈnɪvən/ is an American science fiction author. His best-known work is Ringworld , which received Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards. His work is primarily hard science fiction, using big science concepts and theoretical physics...
's "...Not Long Before the End", by writer Doug Moench
Doug Moench
Douglas Moench , better known as Doug Moench, is an American comic book writer notable for his Batman work and as the creator of Black Mask, Moon Knight and Deathlok.-Biography:...
and artist Vicente Alcazar
Vicente Alcazar
Vicente Alcazar a.k.a. Vicente Alcazar-Serrano is a Spanish comics artist best known for his work for the American comic-book publishers DC Comics and Marvel Comics, including a 1970s run on the DC Western character Jonah Hex....
, and Harlan Ellison
Harlan Ellison
Harlan Jay Ellison is an American writer. His principal genre is speculative fiction.His published works include over 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, teleplays, essays, a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media...
's "'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman", by writer Roy Thomas and artist Alex Niño
Alex Niño
Alex Niño is a Filipino comic book artist best known for his work for the American publishers DC Comics, Marvel Comics, and Warren Publishing, and in Heavy Metal magazine.-Early life and career:...
(all #3); A. E. van Vogt
A. E. van Vogt
Alfred Elton van Vogt was a Canadian-born science fiction author regarded by some as one of the most popular and complex science fiction writers of the mid-twentieth century: the "Golden Age" of the genre....
's "The Enchanted Village", by writers Don & Maggie Thompson
Maggie Thompson
Margaret "Maggie" Thompson , is the editor of Comics Buyer's Guide, a monthly comic book industry news magazine...
and artist Dick Giordano
Dick Giordano
Richard Joseph "Dick" Giordano was an American comic book artist and editor best known for introducing Charlton Comics' "Action Heroes" stable of superheroes, and serving as executive editor of then–industry leader DC Comics...
, Otis Adelbert Kline
Otis Adelbert Kline
Otis Adelbert Kline born in Chicago, Illinois, USA, was an adventure novelist and literary agent during the pulp era. Much of his work first appeared in the magazine Weird Tales. Kline was an amateur orientalist and a student of Arabic, like his friend and sometime collaborator, E...
's "A Vision of Venus", by writer-artist Tim Conrad, and Robert Silverberg
Robert Silverberg
Robert Silverberg is an American author, best known for writing science fiction. He is a multiple nominee of the Hugo Award and a winner of the Nebula Award.-Early years:...
's "Good News From The Vatican", by Conway and artist Adrian Gonzales under the pen name
Pen name
A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...
Ading Gonzales (all #4); Larry Niven's "All The Myriad Ways", by writer-artist Howard Chaykin
Howard Chaykin
Howard Victor Chaykin is an American comic book writer and artist famous for his innovative storytelling and sometimes controversial material...
(#5); and Michael Moorcock
Michael Moorcock
Michael John Moorcock is an English writer, primarily of science fiction and fantasy, who has also published a number of literary novels....
's novel Behold the Man
Behold the Man
Behold the Man is a science fiction novel by Michael Moorcock. It originally appeared as a novella in a 1966 issue of New Worlds; later, Moorcock produced an expanded version which was first published in 1969 by Allison & Busby.. The title derives from the Gospel of John, Chapter 19, Verse 5:...
, by Moench and Niño.
Interviews with Bester, Herbert, Niven, and van Vogt appeared in issues containing their respective adaptations. A planned adaptation of Robert Bloch
Robert Bloch
Robert Albert Bloch was a prolific American writer, primarily of crime, horror and science fiction. He is best known as the writer of Psycho, the basis for the film of the same name by Alfred Hitchcock...
's "A Toy for Juliette", promised in the letters page of issue #3, did not materialize here, although it was eventually adapted by Rick Geary
Rick Geary
Rick Geary is an American cartoonist and illustrator.-Biography:Rick Geary was born on February 25, 1946 in Kansas City, Missouri. Geary was initially introduced to comics readers with his contributions to the Heavy Metal and National Lampoon magazines...
for an independent comic in the mid-1980s.
Cover artists included Brunner, Frank Kelly Freas
Frank Kelly Freas
Frank Kelly Freas , called the "Dean of Science Fiction Artists", was a science fiction and fantasy artist with a career spanning more than 50 years.-Early life, education, and personal life:...
, Michael Kaluta, Michael Whelan
Michael Whelan
Michael Whelan is an American artist of imaginative realism. For more than 30 years he worked as an illustrator specializing in science fiction and fantasy cover art...
, and Sebastià Boada, pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
ously under one of his middle names, Puigdomenech.
Annual publication
The Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction Giant Size Special Issue #1, cover-dated simply 1976, contained the original stories "Journey's End", by writer Bruce JonesBruce Jones (comics)
Bruce Jones, whose pen names include Philip Roland and Bruce Elliot, is an American comic book writer, novelist, illustrator, and screenwriter whose work included writing Marvel Comics' The Incredible Hulk from 2001-2005.-Early career:...
and artist Alex Niño
Alex Niño
Alex Niño is a Filipino comic book artist best known for his work for the American publishers DC Comics, Marvel Comics, and Warren Publishing, and in Heavy Metal magazine.-Early life and career:...
; "The Forest for the Trees", by Jones and artist Vicente Alcazar
Vicente Alcazar
Vicente Alcazar a.k.a. Vicente Alcazar-Serrano is a Spanish comics artist best known for his work for the American comic-book publishers DC Comics and Marvel Comics, including a 1970s run on the DC Western character Jonah Hex....
; "Preservation of the Species", by Jones and the mononyn credit "Redondo" (either Virgilio Redondo or his brother and frequent Marvel contributor Nestor Redondo
Nestor Redondo
Nestor Redondo was a comic-book artist best known for his work for DC Comics, Marvel Comics, and other American publishers in the 1970s and early 1980s.-Early life and career:...
is uncertain); "Clete", by writer-artist Jones; "Sinner", by writer-artist Archie Goodwin
Archie Goodwin (comics)
Archie Goodwin was an American comic book writer, editor, and artist. He worked on a number of comic strips in addition to comic books, and is best known for his Warren and Marvel Comics work...
, reprinted from witzend
Witzend
witzend, published on an irregular schedule spanning decades, was an underground comic showcasing contributions by comic book professionals, leading illustrators and new artists. witzend was launched in 1966 by the writer-artist Wallace Wood, who handed the reins to Bill Pearson from 1968–1985...
#1 (July 1966); and "Threads", by Mat Warrick and Gonzales. Glut and Yandoc adapted Stanley G. Weinbaum
Stanley G. Weinbaum
Stanley Grauman Weinbaum was an American science fiction author. His career in science fiction was short but influential...
's "A Martian Odyssey". Don Newton
Don Newton
Don Newton was an American comic book artist. During his career, he worked for a number of comic book publishers, including Marvel Comics, DC Comics, and Charlton Comics. He is best known for his work on The Phantom, Aquaman, and Batman...
painted the cover. The annual also featured an interview with Theodore Sturgeon
Theodore Sturgeon
Theodore Sturgeon was an American science fiction author.His most famous novel is More Than Human .-Biography:...
, and a reprint, from Worlds Unknown
Worlds Unknown
Worlds Unknown was a science fiction comic book published by Marvel Comics in the 1970s that adapted classic short stories of that genre, including works by Frederik Pohl, Harry Bates, and Theodore Sturgeon.-Publication history:...
#4, of Conway and John Buscema
John Buscema
John Buscema, born Giovanni Natale Buscema , was an American comic-book artist and one of the mainstays of Marvel Comics during its 1960s and 1970s ascendancy into an industry leader and its subsequent expansion to a major pop culture conglomerate...
's adaptation of Fredric Brown
Fredric Brown
Fredric Brown was an American science fiction and mystery writer. He was born in Cincinnati.He had two sons: James Ross Brown and Linn Lewis Brown ....
's "Arena
Arena (short story)
"Arena" is a science fiction short story by Fredric Brown that was first published in the June 1944 issue of Astounding magazine. It was voted one of the best of its genre by the Science Fiction Writers of America and included in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Volume One, 1929-1964.The Star Trek...
".
Historian Arndt believes "Threads", credited to writer Mat Warrick, "may actually be by Mal Warrick, a fanzine & science fiction writer of the time." A writer named Mat Warwick published comic-book SF in this mid-1970s timeframe in Star Reach
Star Reach
Star Reach was an influential, American science fiction and fantasy comics anthology published from 1974 to 1979 by Mike Friedrich...
. Additionally, "Threads" was reprinted in the Marvel UK
Marvel UK
Marvel UK was an imprint of Marvel Comics formed in 1972 to reprint US produced stories for the British weekly comic market, though it later did produce original material by British creators such as Alan Moore, John Wagner, Dave Gibbons, Steve Dillon and Grant Morrison.Panini Comics obtained the...
title Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
Weekly #3 (Feb. 1978), credited under yet another variant of the name, Matt Warrick.
Editor Roy Thomas
Roy Thomas
Roy William Thomas, Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E...
, in an editorial on page 4, dated September 1976, wrote that the series "didn't quite succeed in selling the magic number of copies needed to sustain it. No, it didn't lose money ... it didn't make quite enough profit to allow it to be continued. ... Still, in the meantime we had enough material on hand for two or three issues, counting a couple of finished scripts, as yet unillustrated, plus a couple of stories already totally completed. So, after many conferences ... I received the go-ahead to put out a giant one-shot special."
A column on page 95 of the special explains that that story "Man-Gods", planned for this issue and promoted on Marvel Bullpen Bulletins
Bullpen Bulletins
"Bullpen Bulletins" was the news and information page that appeared in most regular monthly comic books from Marvel Comics...
pages and elsewhere, had become lost by the U.S. Postal Service. The story, with art by Niño, is unrelated to "Man-God", an adaptation of Philip Wylie's Übermensch
Übermensch
The Übermensch is a concept in the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. Nietzsche posited the Übermensch as a goal for humanity to set for itself in his 1883 book Thus Spoke Zarathustra ....
novel Gladiator
Gladiator (novel)
Gladiator is an American science fiction novel first published in 1930 and written by Philip Wylie. The story concerns a scientist who invents an "alkaline free-radical" serum to "improve" humankind by granting the proportionate strength of an ant and the leaping ability of the grasshopper...
, by Thomas and Tony DeZuniga
Tony DeZuniga
Tony DeZuniga is a Filipino comic-book artist best known for his work for DC Comics, where he co-created the characters Jonah Hex and Black Orchid.-Early life and career:...
, that appeared in the Marvel/Curtis magazine Marvel Preview
Marvel Preview
Marvel Preview was a magazine-sized black-and-white showcase comic book published by Curtis Magazines, an imprint of Marvel....
#9 (Winter 1976). However, a 37-page story titled "Man-Gods from Beyond the Stars", by co-plotter Thomas, writer Doug Moench
Doug Moench
Douglas Moench , better known as Doug Moench, is an American comic book writer notable for his Batman work and as the creator of Black Mask, Moon Knight and Deathlok.-Biography:...
and artist Niño, had by this time seen print in Marvel Preview #1 (1975). The column stated that the replacement for "Man-Gods" was the four-page Goodwin story and the 15-page "Arena" reprint.
External links
- Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction (1975) at The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators