Seeing as how resurrections of IF and Galaxy are in the news these days, I thought I’d share the scans of what I’ve come to refer to as the “Galaxy Family” of science fiction and fantasy magazines.
Galaxy launched in 1950 with H.L. Gold at the helm, and it quickly became a market to be reckoned with, frequently displacing Astounding in the hearts, minds and submissions of authors.
In later years it, along with its companion magazines IF, Worlds of Tomorrow, Worlds of Fantasy, Galaxy Science Fiction Novels, Galaxy Magabook, International Science Fiction, World of If Reader, The Best of Science Fiction (If), Beyond Fantasy Fiction, it would capture fans attention and became a mainstay of the genre.
Happily, with the exception of foreign print editions, I have the entire family in the collection.
It’s quite a line up with titles of book-as-magazine and magazine as anthology, including both science fiction and fantasy titles. The entire line-up arguably had its heyday under Fred Pohl’s editorship. Of note – International Science Fiction, which was, I’m pretty sure, inspired by a visit of several science fiction authors to the Soviet Union. It represents the genres most visible attempt at internationalization, prior to our current era.
Galaxy’s first cover was pretty uninspiring, but it would improve greatly in that department over the years. If’s debut cover is intriguing and probably a 1-for-1 correspondence with the kind of fiction it would publish. The other titles are a mixed bag, with, perhaps, Worlds of Fantasy being the most intriguing of this family’s debut covers.
