Fantastic was an American digest-size fantasy and science fiction magazine, published from 1952 to 1980. It was founded by the publishing company Ziff Davis as a fantasy companion to Amazing Stories. Early sales were good, and the company quickly decided to switch Amazing from pulp format to digest, and to cease publication of their other science fiction pulp, Fantastic Adventures. Within a few years sales fell, and Howard Browne, the editor, was forced to switch the focus to science fiction rather than fantasy. Browne lost interest in the magazine as a result and the magazine generally ran poor-quality fiction in the mid-1950s, under Browne and his successor, Paul W. Fairman.
Cover of the October 1961 issue, by Alex Schomburg
Cover of first issue; artwork by Barye Phillips and Leo Summers.
The second wish fulfilment cover, for October 1956, by Ed Valigursky
The main variations in title fonts. Issues shown are Summer 1952, September–October 1953, January 1961, January 1964, June 1971, October 1978, and April 1979: each is the first issue which used each style shown.
A science fiction magazine is a publication that offers primarily science fiction, either in a hard-copy periodical format or on the Internet. Science fiction magazines traditionally featured speculative fiction in short story, novelette, novella or novel form, a format that continues into the present day. Many also contain editorials, book reviews or articles, and some also include stories in the fantasy and horror genres.
A front cover of Imagination, a science fiction magazine in 1956
March 1941 cover of the Science Fiction magazine, volume 2, issue 4