STRAIGHT UP - Vol. 1 No. 1 - February 1952

 STRAIGHT UP

Straight Up is published monthly by the Fandomain Press at 37 Willows Ave., Tremorfa, Cardiff, Glam., S. Wales, G.B. and is edited by Fred J. Robinson.

Subscriptions. 5/- per year or one promag for six issues.

Exchanges. Exchanges welcomed with all other fanzines at the following rates - One copy of this newsletter for one issue of a similar publication or two copies of this NL for 1 issue of a full sized fanzine.

Adverts. Full Page - 20/- ; $2.50
Half Pge - 10/6d ; $1.25
Quarter - 5/6d ; 75 cents
Eighth - 3/- ; 35 cents
Base copy on 9 x 7 in.
10 % extra for preparing copy.

VOLUME ONE.                                       NUMBER ONE

AROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME 

In case a certain Irishman who publishes a fanmag which leans on the Humerus, feels inclined to pick a bone with the head of this mag let me assure him that it is very difficult. After all, let us make no bones about it, it all depends on the point of view, and it ain't what you view, it's the way that you view it. To meet an possible criticisms, no matter which way his mag may lean this one is Straight Up. 

Turning from the sub-lime to the super-stratum (or is it super-phosphate with all those bones?), anyway as the skeleton in the Art class said about the life model -  "Her today and bone tomorrow". All of which sprang (crawled ?) from the fertile skull of yed, no doubt it is something in my Radius. 

When Peter Glover and I decided last Summer to publish a fanzine we little realised what we were letting ourselves in for, so far it has taken a lot of time and energy just to got the initial work done on the mag, which we have named FANDOMAIN because of its international outlook.

Consequently we have found that all our news is going stale on us, as well as reviews etc. It has been decided therefore that I shall publish this newsletter monthly. It will have three main aims - (l) To be frequent, so that our news will be as up to date as possible, - will in fact be NEWSs. (2) To have a large circulation, although this is only going out to 150 people it is intended that this number will increase with each successive issue. (3) To be cheap so that subscribers will be able without much difficulty to fork up for yet another mag. This then is what WE plan to do, so hope that YOU the readers, will do your share to make Straight Up a success. You can do this by (a) subcribing right away in order to give us a chance to gauge circulation for the next ish, and, (b) by sending along to us that item of news that YOU heard, or the review that you wrote, or any item that you think will fit in with the policy of the mag. To start things running we hereby inaugurate a joke competition. Each ish we shall publish what we consider to be the best joke received from the readers, but please, send us ones that we CAN publish. A final word to fellow editors, please send along YOUR mag for listing and review, if some fans aren't interested then I'm sure that Walter Willis. We shall list each quarter what we consider te be the  'Fanzine of the Quarter', and we hope eventually to award a prize for the best fanzine of the year.

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 RADIO NEWS 

News of the month is the Big Broadcast. I imagine half the fans in Britain were tuned into the BBC Light Programme on the 10th. Jan, for in its feature "The Younger Generation", the BBC ran a broadcast titled "Space Travel". Celebrities present were Arthur C. Clarke and Dr. J.G. Porter and four London fans. This programme opened with a discussion on recent stfilms. It became apparent how popular Destination Moon was and also the new Day the Earth Stood Still; it's notable that When Worlds Collide had almost no mention and certainly no praise. The second part of the broadcast was devoted to a discussion of Arthur Clarke's new book " The Sands of Mars". Each person praised the book highly and I'n sure that even Arthur Clarke's face is red. During the discussion a reading from the book was given. To round off the proceedings there was a short discussion on the history of stf during which many comparisons were made between the work of Wells and Verne and present day authors of stf. I fear the old masters came off a very bad second. A momentous broadcast and one that will be long remembered. 

On Monday 14th. Jan., the BBC  will feature in the Third Programme a discussion by a team of experts on the question,  "Can automatic calculators be said to think.".

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 "OPPOSITES REACT"

Ask almost any person who has seen When Worlds Collide, or see the average review, and see what they say is the most striking thing about the film. Nine out of ten will say - The chap Richard Derr who looked like Danny Kaye.

aSF  November 1951. In an article on the making of When Worlds Collide, Dr.R. S. Richardson states, quote "For this reason they deliberately tried to find actors who didn't look like actors." Unquote - NO COMMENT 

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 BOOKS

U.S. BOOKS.

Anthologies  - Edited by Ken Crossen ADVENTURES IN TOMORROW is now available in Britain at 23/6d, with 15 really good stories ... The third in Fell's excellent Best series is THE BEST STF STORIES 1951 and this time contains 18 stories, price is 19/6d ... Another Derleth collection is now ready, titled THE OUTER REACHES,  the authors of its 17 stories have chosen their favourite stories, price is high at 27/6d ... Yet another anthology is NEW TALES OF SPACE AND TIME published by Holt at 33/6d, it is unique in that all the stories in it are new and were written for the book.

Novels and Collections - The first book in Asimov's series on the FOUNDATION is now ready at 18/6d ... Williamson's SEETEE SHIP has appeared from Gnome at 18/6d ... Fantasy Press have the EESmith epic from '39 ASF GREY LENSMAN out at 19/6d ... The Galaxy serial by Heinlein titled THE PUPPET MASTERS has come from Doubleday at 18/6d ... Another Heinlein is BETWEEN PLANETS whch is in the Scribners juvenile series and sells for 16/6d ... Lovers of space opera will welcome BULLARD OF THE SPACE PATROL a collection of  Jameson tales at 16/6d from World Publishers ... From Greenberg comes the vV WEAPON SHOPS OF ISHER at 18/6d ... Ex editor of SS-TWS Sam Merwin has his recent TWS novel HOUSE OF MANY WORLDS out from Doubleday at 18/6d ... The long awaited reprint of  the classic SLAN is available at 16/6d.

FPCI announce many new books as ready for shipment including Taine's IRON STAR, Leahy's DROME, Leinster's DARK THRESHOLD, Hubbard's FROM DEATH TO THE STARS, and Ralph Milne Farley's HIDDEN UNIVERSE ... Also two collections ... SCIENCE AND SORCERY featuring both stf and weird tales and SCIENCE FANTASY QUINTETTE with two novels and three novelettes.

It is known that most US publishers are suffering paper shortages which are resulting in revised schedules ... Two books going out of print shortly are TRIPLANETARY and BEYOND THIS HORIZON ... A new type anthology is announced from Farrar-Strauss, edited by Bleiler and Dikty (of the BEST) the title will be IMAGINATION UNLIMITED and will feature 13 stories each of a different science. A new Bradbury collection, always news, is to come from Doubleday. Titled THE FIRE THAT BURNS it will contain two short novels and nine short stories ... The long awaited aSF collection should be published this Spring ... Fantasy Press announce two new schemes. One is a series of books in a collectors edition, autographed, numbered and in a de luxe binding they will be produced in editions of 1500 copies, prices will range from $2.50 to $3.00. The other is a series of book-plates illustrated by pro-artists ... both schemes operated only direct through FP.

Ted Carnell will edit an anthology of British stf stories to be published later in the year ... Following THE BIG EYE and other reprints Boardmans will publish some time in January THE WRONG SIDE OF THE MOON by Ashton ... Paul Capon's latest, THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PLANET will be pubbed by Heinemann this Spring at 10/6d ... The British edition of the DIANETICS handbook is now available at 30/- ... Latest print of CONQUEST OF SPACE will see a price increase to 25/-, a Readers Library edition is forecast later at 10/6d ... Lord Dunsany was interviewed on a BBC radio programme about his new book THE LAST REVOLUTION which is available from Jarrolds at only 9/6d.

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An American was talking to an Irishman -  "D'you know", he said, "we have a new rocket plane that can fly around the globe in two hours" "Faith and that's nothng at all", said the Irishman, "For I've got a goldfish that can swim around the globe in two seconds."
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 PROJECTIONS

 A Scienticelluloidepartment 

THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL which had its British premier in London on Dec. 13th will be nationally released at the end of Jan. It is likely to be the most popular stfilm yet shown  ... Also running in London is the little heralded but well received FIVE, which poses the problems of the five last survivors of an atomic war, as four of the survivors are men and only one woman there are no doubt many problems ... THE THING for which we have been waiting will be shown late in January but as it has had censor trouble it may come with an X (adults only) cert ... Showing in numerous small cinemas is TWO LOST WORLDS - ugh ... Ditto MAN FROM PLANET X ... Also going around is THE HOUSE IN THE SQUARE with Tyrone Power and Ann Blyth, the story of an atomic scientist blown back into the last century ... Borderline films for the fantasy enthusiast now showing are THE SON OF DR JECKYLL, the title of which is self-explanatory, YOU NEVER KNOW with Dick Powell as a reincarnated dog, recommended for a laugh, JUNGLE MANHUNT, the latest in the Jungle Jim series and has no less than a fight between prehistoric monsters, someone must be making a fortune breeding them like hamsters, THE STRANGE DOOR, a rather Douglas Fairbanks-ish adaption of R. L. Stevenson's "The Sire de Maletroit's Door" with Karloff and Charles Laughton ... A sinister character creeping up in THE MAN WITH THE CLOAK turns out to be none other than Edgar Allan Poe.

There are an amazing number of movies either in production or under option ... Some British ones include ... THUNDER FROM THE STARS ...  a fantasticomedy entitled MR PEEK-A-BOO about a chap with the knack of walking through walls ... The famous satire by George Orwell ANIMAL FARM is to appear as a full length cartoon.

From Hollywood the latest is.... Following the success of similar films a package film will be made from three Ambrose Bierce stories including the famous Watcher by the Dead ... George Pal is making WAR OF THE WORLDS for Paramount ... There is an epic called I CONQUER THE SUN and a stinker titled INVADERS FROM THE MOON with gangsters toting Atommy guns ... TARZAN'S PERIL will be the first of the series in colour ... Another Burroughs story adapted for the screen will be JUNGLE GIRL .. Two more films in the Francis series are on the way  - FRANCIS COVERS THE BIG TOWN in which the famous mule will visit Washington and FRANCIS GOES TO WEST POINT ... Monogram have just made FLIGHT TO MARS and are following it with VOYAGE TO VENUS ... From Paramount will come a movie made in the atomic plant and entitled LOS ALAMOS ... A coloured epic titled DESTINATION UNKNOWN ... Also in colour a re-make of the old classic LOST WORLD ... Another piece of lost territory is in Lippert's LOST CONTINENT ... An original from RKO is named LOST IN SPACE ... Finally, a piece with the intriguing title MISS 3000 AD.

As if all the above wasn't enough to make a fan drool take a look at this list of possibles ... THE MAN WHO SOLD THE MOON, FOUR SIDED TRIANGLE, THE FOX WOMAN, and most ambitious of all THE WORLD BELOW.

I leave you to dream....

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EXHIBITION PIECE
 "...an off the bosom frock of pale blue skylon." Galaxy July '51
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 MAGAZINES. 

U.S. MAGS.
With the May '53 issue FANTASTIC ADVENTURES will become plain FANTASTIC and will be digest sized, with coloured interior illos, and will sell at 35cents ... Also at the same price and size is a new mag edited by Paul Fairman and titled IF. The first issue to appear on the stalls mid-Jan.

As most issues of U.S. promags to hand are out of date I will only comment on a few of the later ones ... STARTLING now monthly, ran in its January ish an Arabian Nights fantasy entitled Journey to Barkut by Murray Leinster, featured in the February ish will be a St.Clair novel Vulcan's Dolls supported by a Brackettale called The Shadows ... The Feb THRILLING WONDER contains a novel by Ken Crossen titled Regal Rigelian and is supported by a story called Survival by John Wyndham ... 1952 WONDER STORIES ANNUAL will feature Death of Iron from the French of S. S. Held.

 British Mags.
The first bi-monthly NEW WORLDS has just appeared from Nova. Contents include a novel Pest by ABChandler and four shorts. Cover is by Quinn. Notable is an advert by Meux the brewers who own The White Horse Tavern where The London Circle meet, it seems as if they have at last realised its potential advertising power ... March NEW WORLDS will contain a novelette by Syd Bounds titled The Flame Gods and among the supporting shorts will be one by van Vogt ... Nova's other Ted Carnell edited mag SCIENCE-FANTASY appeared in its new NW format a few weeks ago, with a cover by Bull it contains ten shorts including a very good UNKNOWN-ish one by Bill Temple. Next issue will feature Resurrection by John Christopher ... The latest ish of Authentic S-F to hand contains what is surely one of the most unique stf novels ever written. By the editor H. J. Campbell it is titled The Moon is Heaven and is another first to the Moon story - BUT - it features a strange character who lives for nothing but space travel and who bears the name of Atah Kark, continual mention is also made of The London Circle. Strange how significant the oft neglected sentence - All characters in this story are purely imaginary - becomes ... The 17th or 18th issue will contain another semi-satire but this time aimed in the opposite direction (No declaration of WAW) ... For the hard up and strong minded there is a new edition of the FUTURISTIC SCIENCE-STORIES WORLDS OF FANTASY duo, covers as usual are a fair indication of the stories ...  The mag that had been rumored as coming from Hultons will not now appear,

BREifs.
Big news is that the BRE Astounding will go monthly with its Feb ish ... The steady reprint of WEIRD has now reached its 13th ish .. hot on the heels of the second issue the third reprint of FUTURE has now appeared ... Rumors are that SCIENCE-FICTION QUARTERLY will soon see a reprint edition.

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 POCKET BOOKS. 

Although the flood of pocket books which deluged the British market a few months ago has died away to a mere trickle it has left in its wake a number of regularly appearing series of PBs,  a few of which are reviewed below.

The name Vargo Statten is no longer strange to British fans. Author of nearly twenty PBs published in the Scion series he has proved himself a very capable author of action type stf. Covers of his novels are quite hideous but if one can overlook them one is generally rewarded by a good interesting tale. His two latest novels are reviewed below.

THE CATALYST.
Discovery by an Earth expedition on Mercury of diamonds causes a stir when samples are brought back to Earth along with a sample of Mercurian rock. The diamonds are stolen and the rock along with them in a box. Unfortunately for the thieves the rock is a catalyst which turns water into a form of gold. After an intensive search the rock is found again, but not before half of Britain is buried under gold. After the discovery and overthrow of a plot to dominate the colony worlds of Mars and Venus, by an unscrupulous financier it is decided to destroy Mercury slowly by dissolving it so that a similar occurence can never again happen.

THE RENEGADE STAR.
Undoubtedly the best story that Statten has yet written. It is even superior to his excellent novel ANNIHILATION which opened the present series. To review it adequately would take far more space than I have available, to give you some idea of the super-cosmic plot let me tell you that Earth is moved not merely out of this system as is planned (in great detail) but completely out of this Universe and, after numerous adventures is moved right back again. All of is explained in detail and seemingly logical detail at that. Just how Statten managed to pack such a cosmic story into just 112 pages and make it such a good one I don't know, but he has and I strongly reccomend it.

SISTER EARTH by Arnold Brede.
Another author writing in the Scion series here makes his debut with a fine story. The theme is the old one of a planet with an orbit similar to that of Earth on the other side of the Sun. As usual it is discovered and then visited, the story revolving around the adventures of the space-ship crew who make the trip. What might easily have been a very commonplace book has at this authors hands become a very interesting one. There is not a great deal of action in it but the basis of it is the varying reactions of members of the crew to a different form of civilisation and culture pattern. The ending leaves it wide open for a sequel which I hope we shall see. Recommended.

RETURN TO EARTH by Brian Berry.
A novel from the publishers of AUTHENTIC S-F, it introduces yet another new author to the stf field. It is the story of a colony of humans on Venus who have been conditioned by hypnosis to forget the previous existence of a civilization on Earth which had been torn by war. This secret is discovered by three young men. They plan to escape to Earth in a space-ship built by a predecessor who had been caught trying to escape. On arriving on Earth they find only a tribe of degenerate humans  battling against an equally degenerate tribe of mutants. The three different reactions of the Venusians to this situation forms the axis of  the plot. It is very well written and is recommended to all readers. It is notable that both this and the previous novel have had very realistic covers which really do illustrate the stories.

There is no further new from Kemsley Press on the second four PB reprints of Fell books, they are overdue.

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A WELL INFORMED FANDOM IS PRODOM'S GREATEST SECURITY.
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  FANZINES.

Walter Gillings reports in SCIENCE-FANTASY No 3 that there is a possibility of reviving the king of all review mags, FANTASY REVIEW. 

Derek (the other half of fandom) Pickles reports that the next ish of PHANTASMAGORIA will be a double issue of 40 pages. He is also taking subs for the U.S. combozine COSMAG/S-F DIGEST at the rate of 3/6d for 4 copies.

I hear that the third issue of Bob Foster's SLUDGE, which will be printed, is now in the proof stage. 

There is no news of the projected fanzine from Dave Cohen which is to be called ASTRONEER. 

Faneds are reminded that the British promag AUTHENTIC S-F MONTHLY now has a fanzine review page where copies of both U.K. and U.S. fanzines are welcome.

Only a few fanzines are to hand thish. By the next ish I hope to have received enough mags to make this a leading feature - don't forgot I 'm looking for the "Fanzine of the Quarter".

FANTASY ADVERTISER Nov. 1951
An art photo cover by Dollens enhances this very professional looking zine. An article on Cybernetics and Stf by Clyde Beck is supported by the usual array of reviews and adverts for the collector. FA announces a contest for a cash prize of $15 for the best article received by Mar.1st. on the subject of contemporary science fiction writing. Also announced is a new lifetime sub scheme.

MEZRAB No 5 Fall 1951
The latest issue of this adult fanzine announces an address change for the editors Marion and Robert Bradley. The new address is Box 246, Rochester, Texas. The issue contains among other items a fantasy by Lin Carter, and a long article on Easter Island by Fernand Roussel. There are also poems and a long readors column.

QUANDRY No 16 Dec.1951
The top duplicated fanzine edited by Lee Hoffman makes its usual monthly schedule once again. Lee astounds everyone the way she manages to turn out such fine issues so frequently. However I seem to detect a slight note of pessimism in the latest issue, I hope I am wrong. As usual the contents page looks like a Who's Who of actifandom, Willis, Dard, Vick, Conner, Tucker, and many more. Worth 15cents of anyones money.

OPERATION FANTAST No 10 Autumn 1951
Delayed at the printers OF 10 has at last appeared. With a cover by pro artist Quinn, the issue upholds the high standard of previous ones, certainly it is one of the most adult of fanzines. It has a long story by J.T. McIntosh and also an article on recent Australian publishing. The rest of the ish is made up of the usual features, with Ken Slater as usual stealing the issuo with his own columns. 

SCIENCE-FANTASY NEWS Vol 2 No 1 Xmas 1951
Vince Clarke and Ken Bulmer do it again with this issue of the brightest of news magazines. Duplicated in three colours it contains plenty of news and reviews, also a short short by Terry Jeeves, and to make up the ish an invisible letter column.

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  MISCELLANEWS 

A number of announcements come from Ken Slater ... there is now an American branch of the Operation Fantast Library operated  by Henry Burwell of SFD .. The projected Fantasy Calendar from OP will not appear for 1952 ...  Ken is now compiling a checklist of FFM to be published shortly and has also comenced work on the 1952 Handbook, the one issued last year was sent out to nearly 1500 people ... Incidentally OF now numbers almost 500 members who will shortly be issued with membership cards ... Derek Pickles, to whom congratuations are due on his recent wedding, has now changed his address to 22 Marshfield Place, Marshfield, Bradford, Yorks ... Derek, incidentally, is now working for the British stf dealers Dells, who also have had an address change to, 548/550 Leeds Rd. Bradford ... Conews is that there will  be a one day con in Manchester during August '52 ... No firm news yet of the expected London Con in June ... A small con was hold recently in Singapore and among those present was the well-known British fan, Clive Jackson ... A U.K. branch for the American fan club for under eighteens, The Galillean S-F Society, has been formed ... During the recent showing of the stf movie When Worlds Collide in Manchester, local fans had an exhibition of stf in the cinema - and received free seats ... Only two items from over the pond. This year the Westercon will be held in San Diego, Cal. over June 21/22 ... A publication to go down in fan history (for that is what it is about) is Sam Moskowitz's THE IMMORTAL STORM. It is mimeod, 180pp, and will sell for $2.00, BUT - there are only 150 copies.

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 THE FINAL BURST

Since I started compiling this mag a fortnight ago several things have become obvious to me, not the least of those is that I still have a lot to learn about duplicating. Apologies are due for pages one to four, my duplicator is an old hand inked flat bed which is I'm told about 50 years old, to help this along the bed is warped in two places. Add to this the fact that my typer is at least as old as the duplicator, and equally well-worn and you can appreciate my difficulties. Since I typed out the first four pages at one go they are much the same in appearance, I caught the faults in time to improve a bit on the last four. In the next ish I hope to got it near perfect. No illos because I'm not an artist and I prefer no illos to bad ones. The news is rather crowded and the reviews brief because I did the lot myself and that takes time, and of course there was such a lot of gen that I just had to cram it a bit. Next time there should be more detail, and some variation in style as several other folks will be taking a hand in the writing up. British subbers may like to know that I will take subs for six issues at 2/6d.

I hope that Walter Willis takes my editorial in the 'tongue in cheek' way it is meant -  I don't want to be remembered as the guy who started the WAWs of Aroses. 

'Voir f'olks. 

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LEGEND: - Typer by Remington. Stencils and duplicator by Gestetner. Paper and envelopes by Scrounging. Contents by Crud, Debt and Beers.
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Caught in space and time: - January Authentic No 17 contains Coming of the Darakua by F.G. Rayer ... LONDON LIFE January has pic by Cartier from aSF Jan. '51, page 144, illoing story "War Lord of Venus".

 Straight Up - February 1952. Second issue to be produced late March.