What Was the First Fanzine?
There are several candidates for the title of "First Fanzine." We discuss each of them below, starting with the earliest (which may or may not have existed and may or may not have been a fazine) and ending with the earliest things that must be called a fanzine.
Contents
Cosmic Stories[edit]
This seems to have been a carbonzine published by Jerry Siegel while in high school which had two issues. It appears to have been all fiction. The big questions are (1) Did it actually exist? and (2) When was it published and by whom? and (3) How was it produced? and (4) Was it an amateur prozine rather than a fanzine (and does that matter?)
(1) Did it actually exist?[edit]
There are plenty of references to Cosmic Tales as the First Fanzine, but they all seem to be traceable back to two sources: Sam Moskowitz in The Immortal Storm and the Pavlat-Evans index. Unfortunately, both of these 1950s sources say that they never saw the publication and did not believe any copies still existed. We have, so far, found no evidence of anyone saying they saw a copy. Given that SaM and Bob Pavlat or Bill Evans believed it existed, it probably did -- but we need to remember the tenuous nature of the evidence.
On the other hand, Donald Tuck says the first fanzine was published in 1932.
Pavlat-Evans says:
Prior to Science Fiction/Siegel edited two typewritten magazines, Cosmic Stories and Cosmic Stories Quarterly. Apparently all copies of these last have been lost or-destroyed
A recent blog entry says:
Jerome Siegel's writing career began early in his life. When he was 14, he created his first comic booklet called Cosmic Stories, which was advertised in the classified section of Science Wonder Stories. It was later known as the first sci-fi fanzine and he continued to publish several other booklets over the next few years.
If we could find this ad, this would be strong evidence it existed.
(2) When was it published and by whom?[edit]
Most of the sources say 1929, but in an article in Fantasy Commentator, Sam Moskowitz says
Enthused by Amazing Stories they presently produced Cosmic Tales and Cosmic Tales Quarterly, amateur, carbon-copied publications; these are the earliest -- and rarest -- fan published "magazines"
Besides being described in the context of early prozines, the problem here is that this is crediting it to Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster -- who did not meet until 1931 or 32. This raises a doubt about the actual date.
It is entirely possible that the tale grew in the telling and Siegel backdated his by-then-lost fanzine by a couple of years.
(3) How was it produced?[edit]
The second question is how it was published. The earliest references to it say it was done by typewriter and carbon paper, but Jerry Siegel himself, much later, remembered it as being done by hecto.
We are inclined to think it was done by typewriter and carbon paper and that Siegel's later memory was faulty.
(4) Was it a Fanzine?[edit]
Finally, there's the question of content. All of the sources seem to agree that it was entirely fiction written by Siegel.
The Comet[edit]
The Comet was definitely published starting in 1930 edited by Ray Palmer and copies still exist (you can see them on Fanac.org at The Comet online at fanac.org. (It had multiple titles, including Cosmology and Science Correspondence Club Organ.)
The only issue with giving the title to The Comet (well, other than Cosmic Stories's possible senior claim) is that the fanzine was more about science than about science fiction.
The Meteor[edit]
Forry Ackerman says he pubed his first ish with The Meteor dated "before The Time Traveller.
The Time Traveller[edit]
With The Time Traveller in 1932 (edited by Allen Glasser we come to something that was definitely real and definitely a fanzine as we understand the term.
