|
''Venture Science Fiction'' was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, first published from 1957 to 1958, and revived for a brief run in 1969 and 1970. Ten issues were published of the 1950s version, with another six in the second run. It was founded in both instances as a companion to ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction''; Robert P. Mills edited the 1950s version, and Edward L. Ferman was editor during the second run. A British edition appeared for 28 issues between 1963 and 1965; it reprinted material from ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' as well as from the US edition of ''Venture''. There was also an Australian edition, which was identical to the British version but dated two months later. The original version was only moderately successful, although it is remembered for the first publication of Sturgeon's Law. The publisher, Joseph Ferman (father of Edward Ferman), declared that he wanted well-told stories of action and adventure; the resulting fiction contained more sex and violence than was usual for the science fiction (sf) genre in the late 1950s, and sf historian Mike Ashley has suggested that the magazine was ahead of its time. It succumbed to poor sales within less than two years. The second US version was no more successful, with less attractive cover art and little in the way of notable fiction, though it did publish Vonda McIntyre's first story. By the end of 1970, ''Venture'' had ceased publication permanently. ==First US run== In late 1949, publisher Lawrence E. Spivak launched ''The Magazine of Fantasy'', one of many new titles in a crowded field of genre magazines. The title was changed to ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (usually abbreviated to ''F&SF'') with the second issue, and the new magazine rapidly became successful and influential within the science fiction field.〔Ashley, ''Transformations'', pp. 20–22.〕 The editors were Anthony Boucher and J. Francis McComas, and the managing editor was Robert P. Mills. In 1954, Joseph Ferman, a partner of Spivak's, bought the magazine from him.〔Thomas D. Clareson, "The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction", in Tymn & Ashley, ''Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Weird Fiction Magazines'', p. 380.〕 Ferman subsequently decided to launch a companion magazine, and gave it to Mills to edit.〔Nicholas S. De Larber, "Venture Science Fiction (1969–1970) (1957–1958)", in Tymn & Ashley, ''Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Weird Fiction Magazines'', p. 705–709.〕 The new magazine was titled ''Venture Science Fiction'', and the first issue was dated January 1957. Mills was managing editor of ''F&SF'' throughout ''Ventures first run; he became editor of ''F&SF'' shortly after ''Venture'' ceased publishing in July 1958.〔 The editorial philosophy was laid out by Ferman in the inaugural issue: "strong stories of action and adventure ... There will be two prime requisites for ''Venture'' stories: In the first place, each must be a well-told ''story'', with a beginning, middle and end; in the second place, each must be a strong story—a story with pace, power and excitement."〔Quoted in Nicholas S. De Larber, "Venture Science Fiction (1969–1970) (1957–1958)", in Tymn & Ashley, ''Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Weird Fiction Magazines'', p. 705–709.〕 Ferman hoped to take advantage of a gap in the science fiction magazine market opened up by the demise of ''Planet Stories'', one of the last sf pulps, which had ceased publication in late 1955.〔 ''Planet Stories'' had focused on adventure stories, as opposed to the realistic style becoming more popular in science fiction in the 1950s,〔Thomas D. Clareson, "Planet Stories", in Tymn & Ashley, ''Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Weird Fiction Magazines'', pp. 476–481.〕 and Ferman hoped to combine the virtues of the melodramatic pulp fiction style with the literary values that were key to ''F&SF'' Ed Emshwiller supplied eight of the ten covers; he had sold several covers to ''F&SF'' by this time, so his work reinforced the sense of connection between the two magazines.〔 Emshwiller also contributed interior illustrations in the first issue, but the main interior artist was John Giunta, with John Schoenherr contributing some of his earliest work to several of the later issues.〔〔 Some well-known writers appeared during this incarnation of ''Venture'', including Isaac Asimov, Clifford Simak, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Robert Silverberg, and Damon Knight. Not all the fiction was adventure oriented. For example, Sturgeon's story "The Comedian's Children" tells of a telethon host and his relationship with his sponsors, and Leigh Brackett's "All the Colors of the Rainbow" deals with racism after aliens have contacted humanity. These and other examples can be regarded as stories of character with strong themes, in keeping with Ferman's stated goals in his inaugural editorial.〔 ''Venture'' was also the place that "Sturgeon's Law" first saw print. This adage is now usually seen in the form "90% of everything is crap". It was formulated by Sturgeon in about 1951, and a version of it appeared in the March 1958 issue of ''Venture'', under the name "Sturgeon's Revelation".〔"Sturgeon's Law", ''Oxford English Dictionary,'' Draft Entry June 2010.〕 An editorial, "Venturings," appeared in each issue of the first series; after Ferman used the first one as a platform for editorial policy, it was usually written by Mills, who occasionally turned the column over to letters from SF figures. The very last editorial, in July 1958, featured a eulogy of C.M. Kornbluth by Frederik Pohl, and one of Henry Kuttner by Sturgeon. Kornbluth and Kuttner had died within two months of each other earlier that year.〔〔 Sturgeon began a book review column, "On Hand . . . Offhand", in the July 1957 issue that continued for the rest of the magazine's run. This was Sturgeon's first review column; more than a decade later he wrote a similar column for ''Galaxy Science Fiction''. The January 1958 issue saw the first in a series of four science articles by Asimov that also continued until ''Venture'' folded. The series was transferred to ''F&SF'', beginning with the November 1958 issue, and eventually ran to 399 consecutive articles; it is not often remembered that it began in ''F&SFs short-lived companion magazine.〔〔See the individual issues. For convenience, an online index is available at 〕 ''Venture'' kept to a steady bimonthly schedule for ten issues, but its circulation never reached a sustainable level, and it was canceled in mid-1958. The large number of competing magazines probably hurt sales, though since many of the competitors lasted for only one or two issues, ''Venture'' can be thought of as at least a partial success.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Venture Science Fiction」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|