"How Did Doomsday Come? Well, It's the Story of a Banquet . . ."

"From Outer Space."

By Robert Zacks (1915-95; ISFDb HERE).

First appearance: Startling Stories, May 1952.

Illustration by Alex Schomburg (1905-98; ISFDb HERE).

Reprints page (ISFDb HERE).

Short short short story (3 pages).

Online at Project Gutenberg (HERE).

   ". . . maybe in fifty years they'll feel we're advanced enough for freedom."

HERE we have yet further confirmation of how true that old saying is about not judging books by their covers . . .

Principal characters:

~ The old space veteran, the young men, Professor Kennicot, Professor Johnson, and the aliens.

References:

- "Doomsday" (Wikipedia HERE and HERE)

- "the heaviside layer" (Wikipedia HERE)

- "a non-electrical society" (Wikipedia HERE).

Resources:

- A benevolent alien paralyzed the electrical system of the whole Earth in a '50s sci-fi classic film (WARNING! SPOILERS! Wikipedia HERE).

- Another sci-fi production, this one from television, depicted aliens doing the same thing to an unlucky astronaut that happens to Earth in our story (WARNING! SPOILERS! Wikipedia HERE).

- Our only other meeting with Robert Zacks was his crime fictional "Account Settled" (HERE).

The bottom line:

Unless otherwise noted, all bibliographical data are derived from The FictionMags Index created by William G. Contento & edited by Phil Stephensen-Payne.

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"Perhaps That Is Why He Had Contemplated Murder with Greater Passiveness Than a Society Woman Contemplates Another Tea."

"A Devil's Highball".

By G. Fleming-Roberts (George Thomas Roberts, 1910-68; Pulp Flakes HERE; Mystery*File HERE; the ISFDb HERE; and the IMDb HERE).

First appearance: Ten Detective Aces, July 1933.

Short short short story (3 pages).

Online at The Pulpgen Archive (HERE).

   "It was to be simple—this murder, for only simple murders succeed."

. . . but then there's the problem of the fresh air fiend.

Main characters:

~ Gavin Clark, Randolph Shortly, and Madeline Clark.

Reference:

- "TRIOXIDE OF ARSENIC" (Wikipedia HERE).

Resource:

- (HERE) is The Pulpgen Archive's collection of 16 of Fleming-Roberts's stories.

The bottom line:

Unless otherwise noted, all bibliographical data are derived from The FictionMags Index created by William G. Contento & edited by Phil Stephensen-Payne.

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"You're Worried About the Alibi Angle."

Rick Random's Manhunt Through Space.

(Click on image to enlarge.)

Super Detective Library No. 90, September 6, 1956.

Graphic novel (68 pages).

Online at Comic Book Plus (HERE).

   "At least one important man doubted her guilt."

WHO would be better at avoiding apprehension than a magician? Rick Random of the Interplanetary Bureau of Investigation should have plenty of Frequent Flyer miles accumulated (or, more likely, a government travel voucher) if he intends to track down an eel as slippery as Grink Slok. Slok is either the perpetrator of, or a material witness to, a murder on Mars, a murder that the court has already found and convicted someone else of doing. Was it "a simple case of murder, for jealousy and profit"? You have to ask?

Comment: THE BAD: Slow going lackluster plot with excessive repetition and an anticlimactic finale. THE GOOD: Superb pen and ink artwork. Let your eye find the nicely done small details.

Main characters:

~ Rick Random, John 'Cracker' Crandon, Marta Crandon, Dr. Marius Fisher, Dr. Dart Emery, Lee Chong, Dr. M'bwango, Charlie Big-Brain, Feleena Smark, Black Jack McLain, Klak Fronge, Grink Slok, Frongolla, W Vamvil, Baron Pellango, Fzhrtwm Plgdxb, Yonk V'ji-To, C't-Ree Phonphelphutphaphic, Dusty Rhodes, Prince Twirno, Count Bypanello, Sir Mee Mango, Goobal Mash, and Wila-Wog-Wenu.

Typos: "CONSTELLATION Scorpio" (should be Scorpius); "lense".

References (all links are to Wikipedia).

(NOTE: Astronomical data have changed considerably in the last 70 years.)

- "the Great Canal on Mars" (HERE)

- "a trip to Deneb IV" (HERE)

- "Alpha Centauri III" (HERE)

- "Sirius II and III" (HERE)

- "the asteroid belt" (HERE)

- "Mars" (HERE)

- "Jupiter" (HERE)

- "the Procyon System" (HERE)

- "clearance to hyper-space" (HERE)

- "the space-time continuum" (HERE)

- "the size of a half-crown" (HERE)

- "Antares IV and XXI" (HERE)

- "Pleiades X" (HERE)

- "Spica XV" (HERE)

- "the Hercules Constellation" (HERE)

- "Arcturus VIII" (HERE)

- "Regulus II and VI" (HERE)

- "Pollux V" (HERE).

Resources:

- Space sleuth Rick Random's previous adventures include "Crime Rides the Spaceways" (HERE) and "Mystery in the Milky Way" (HERE).

The bottom line:

(Click on image to enlarge.)

Unless otherwise noted, all bibliographical data are derived from The FictionMags Index created by William G. Contento & edited by Phil Stephensen-Payne.

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UPDATE: The Inspector Stanley Series (Again)

Added links and illos to several Inspector Stanley stories in the 1946, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, and 1957 Radio Fun Annuals (HERE; items 36 and 40-44).

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UPDATE: The Inspector Stanley Series

Added a link and an illo to an Inspector Stanley story in the 1952 Radio Fun Annual (HERE; item 39).

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"It’s Always Seemed to Me That Every Crime Carries with It Its Own Punishment."

"Punishment Deferred."

By James Donald (?-?).

First appearance: Secret Agent 'X', February 1934.

Short short short story (2 pages).

Online at The Pulpgen Archive (HERE).

   "If you sent him to jail now, everybody would say, ‘Good riddance to a scoundrel!’"

WHAT happens at the Midland County Bank adds a new dimension to that old saying about needing a thief to catch a thief . . .

Principal characters:

~ Jasper Carlton, Vincent Stagg, and Donald Woods.

Resource:

- Whoever "James Donald" was, he left no trail behind him.

The bottom line:

Unless otherwise noted, all bibliographical data are derived from The FictionMags Index created by William G. Contento & edited by Phil Stephensen-Payne.

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Show Biz Gets Buzzed

BACK in the 1950s television was overtaking the movies as a regular source of entertainment. Hollywood's response was to upgrade the technology: "Cinemascope," "Technicolor," "VistaVision," "Sensurround," and huge projection screens displaying yards-wide heaving bosoms and bulging biceps. While motion picture premieres were hyped more than ever, TV showcased not only dramas and comedies but also soap operas and game shows, which were wildly popular. It's no surprise, then, that a couple of unserious pulpsters just couldn't pass up taking a swipe at that era's entertainment milieu . . .

(1) "Preview."

By Frank Belknap Long (1901-94; Wikipedia HERE; the ISFDb HERE; and the SFE HERE).

First appearance: Fantastic Universe, January 1956.

Reprints page (ISFDb HERE).

Short short short story (5 pages as a PDF).

Online at Project Gutenberg (HERE).

   "But how could there be one when no man or woman on Earth would ever know where Mr. Scanlon went, or why he had insisted on a preview in the first place?"

. . . but he has his reasons. It's clear that Scanlon has an appreciation for what show biz people used to call a "boffo finish"—with emphasis on the "finish" . . .

Main characters:

~ Mr. Scanlon, the film critics, and Stella.

References (all from Wikipedia):

- "Rabelaisian" (HERE)

- "the Black Hills" (HERE)

- "Robert Mitchum" (HERE)

- "Custer" (HERE)

- "Shane" (HERE)

- "Calamity Jane" (HERE)

- "Humpty Dumpty" (HERE)

- "extras" (HERE)

- "unstable isotope" (HERE).

(2) "The Vidiot."

By Ib Melchior (1917-2015; Wikipedia HERE; the ISFDb HERE; the SFE HERE; and the IMDb HERE).

First appearance: Fantastic Universe, March 1956.

Reprints page (ISFDb HERE).

Short short story (8 pages as a PDF).

Online at Project Gutenberg (HERE).

   "There was a mint to be made—and Donny boy was going to make it!"

WHO could possibly predict that a new way of producing a television show just might mean the end of civilization as we know it?

Main characters:

~ Don Hartley, the secretary, George Kenmore, Steve, Bill Sanders, and Barnes.

References (all from Wikipedia):

- "the son of a singer" (HERE)

- "the Perry Como show" (HERE)

- "Ganymede" (HERE)

- "space opera" (HERE)

- "live TV" (HERE)

- "dry ice" (HERE)

- "ammonia vapors" (HERE)

- "doubles" (HERE)

- "matting amplifier" (HERE)

- "Test Pattern" (HERE)

- "uranium mine" (HERE)

- "Person to Person" (HERE)

- "General Electric" (HERE)

- "RCA" (HERE)

- "a Croesus" (HERE)

- "Rich as Rothchild" (HERE)

- "Another Rockefeller!" (HERE)

- "The Norden Bomb Sight" (HERE)

- "the H-bomb" (HERE).

(3) "The Winner and New . . ."

By Ib Melchior (1917-2015).

First appearance: Fantastic Universe, July 1956.

Reprints page (ISFDb HERE).

Short short short story (5 pages as a PDF).

Online at Project Gutenberg (HERE).

   "Little beads of sweat were forming on his forehead and a tiny artery in his temple beat—and beat—and beat . . ."

THERE used to be a quiz show called You Bet Your Life, but they weren't being serious. The producers of Quizz Night, however, have other ideas . . .

Main characters:

~ Bob May, Barrie Rose, Charles Monroe, and James Burton.

References (all Wikipedia):

- "Fritz Leiber, Jr." (HERE); "Manly Wade Wellman" (HERE); "and Samuel Merwin, Jr." (HERE)

- "Emcee" (HERE)

- "Univac" (HERE)

- "Force-Field" (HERE)

- "Gulliver's Travels" (HERE); "Jonathan Swift" (HERE)

- "Franklin Delano Roosevelt" (HERE); "Mangareva" (HERE); "Tahiti" (HERE)

- "Mount Kepler": Mars has no Mount Kepler.

- "lichens" (HERE)

- "mosses" (HERE)

- "George Washington" (HERE)

- "Thomas Jefferson" (HERE).

- Addendum: It's a shame that TV quiz shows in the 1950s were beset by scandals. (Wikipedia HERE.)

Resources:

- Thirty years after "The Winner and New . . ." was published, there was a novel by a pseudonymous author (much better known by his real name) which was adapted for the movies and captured the spirit, if not the precise details, of "The Winner and New . . ." (WARNING! SPOILERS! Wikipedia HERE and HERE).

- Our only encounter with Frank Belknap Long's fiction before now was (HERE).

- Ib Melchior's involvement with Hollywood was more than casual. He was responsible for some of the best low-budget sci-fi B-films of the period (WARNING! SPOILERS! Wikipedia HERE, HERE, and HERE). One of his stories became the nucleus of a cult film starring two future Hollywood superstars (WARNING! SPOILERS! Wikipedia HERE).

The bottom line:

Unless otherwise noted, all bibliographical data are derived from The FictionMags Index created by William G. Contento & edited by Phil Stephensen-Payne.

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