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 fanzine) and ending with the earliest things that must be called a fanzine.

What Is a Fanzine?

But what is a fanzine? In this case it's not enough to say that a fanzine is like porn: I know it when I see it. It's also important to understand that this is not a black-and-white affair, we are drawing a line across a continuum. There seem to be two main criteria:

(1) A fanzine is done primarily for fandom and is a part of the nearly century-old conversation amongst fans. It is more than simply a publication's form: There are things which look a lot like a fanzine but which are not contenders for the title of First Fanzine because it was not intended as part of the conversation amongst fans.

Specifically, we distinguish paleo-fanzines (like the ones that Lewis Carroll wrote which even included some fantastica) from eo-fanzines like The Planet. The dividing line between paleo- and eo-fanzines not what they are but their purpose: Eo-fanzines were produced for a fannish audience, where "fan" is defined as being grown from the root of the active, vibrant, self-defined fandom of the late 30s. If a fanzine-like-thing was done primarily for other members of fandom, it's a fanzine; if not, it's a paleo-fanzine or perhaps a separate invention in another fandom. (The latter probably needs a name of its own.)

There is an interesting discussion of this problem here where novelist Wred Fright, says,

However, if we're going to credit Siegel for [the first fanzine] then we've ripped open the floodgates because dating back at least to Victorian times, writers such as Lewis Carroll liked putting together private compilations in magazine form of their own writing. Most of these only exist in editions of one and were passed around Samizdat style but if we're going to base criteria on a print run more than one, then we have to note, as Harry Warner Jr. does in his "A History of Fanzines" (in Science Fiction Fandom, edited by Joe Sanders) that amateur publications devoted to fantasy fiction had appeared earlier such as W. Paul Cook's Recluse from 1927, most renowned for including an essay by H. P. Lovecraft called "Supernatural Horror in Literature".

(2) A fanzine is not a prozine -- it's done as part of the fannish gift economy and not with money as a significant motive. (This is not to say that money is never involved; just that it's secondary, at most, to the zine's purpose.) Not being a prozine also means that an amateur magazine whose purpose is to publish sf which can't get into the prozines is not very fanzine-like. Fanzines in their truest incarnations may include fiction, but also include commentary, letters and articles. Having more of these things make it more likely that a publication is a fanzine; having fewer makes it less likely.

There's one more issue to keep in mind: quality of evidence. When dealing with the very beginnings of fandom we are frequently dealing with later reports and fallible memories, and this is decidedly true of the contenders for the title of First Fanzine.

The Contenders

Cosmic Stories

This seems to have been a carbonzine published by Jerry Siegel while 14 years old and in high school which had two issues. All of the sources seem to agree that it was entirely fiction written by Siegel, although Comic Vine calls it “a comic booklet.” From what we can tell, Cosmic Stories was more of a wannabe prozine than a fanzine.

But when was it published? 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 sources are from a decade or two latter and say that they never saw the publication and did not believe any copies still existed. We have, so far, found no evidence of anyone (other than Siegel himself many years later) saying they personally saw a copy. Given that SaM and Bob Pavlat or Bill Evans believed it existed, it probably did, but on the other hand, in the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy, Donald Tuck says the first fanzine was published in 1932 and hence did not consider Cosmic Stories to be a contender.

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 Comic Vine 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 Cosmic Stories existed. We need to remember the tenuous nature of the evidence.)

If it existed, was it first? Most of the sources say it was published in 1929, but in an article in Fantasy Commentator #8 p169, Sam Moskowitz says in the mimeo version of The Immortal Storm:

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." [emphasis added]

Besides being described in the context of early prozines (see #3, below), the problem here is that Moskowitz is crediting it to Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster -- who did not meet until 1931 or 32. This raises a another doubt about the actual date.

It is entirely possible that the tale grew in the telling and Siegel inadvertently backdated his by-then-lost fanzine by a couple of years.

Pros: Certainly very early Cons: Seems to have been a wannabe prozine, date is somewhat dubious, unclear what audience it was aimed at.

The Comet

The Comet was definitely published starting in May 1930 and edited by Ray Palmer. Copies still exist and you can see The Comet online at fanac.org. (The zine had multiple titles, including Cosmology and Science Correspondence Club Organ.)

The only issue with giving the title of First Fanzine 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 Comet has the same problem as Cosmic Stories of being nearly indistinguishable from earlier, unequivocally mundane publications.

Pros: Early date and definitely real Cons: seems to have been a science club zine rather than an sdf fanzine

The Planet

This was the clubzine of The Scienceers, generally acknowledged as the first sf club. As you can see in The Planet online at fanac.org, from the very first issue in July 1930, it included a mix of material about science fiction, science and club news. It’s a real fanzine -- all that keeps it from being the First Fanzine is these other, more nebulous publications’ earlier claim.

Pros: Meets all criteria Cons: None, really

The Meteor

Forry Ackerman says he pubbed his first ish with The Meteor dated "before The Time Traveller". According to Pavlat-Evans, this was published for the Boys' Science Club starting at an unknown date prior to April 1931. But they also say that it was "apparently also [edited] by Forrest J Ackerman on the first issue or two" -- which they did not see. This has to be considered a contender, but a weak one.

Pros: May have been a fanzine Cons: It may not have been, also. Dating is vague.

The Time Traveller

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.

Pros: Yup. A fanzine. Pros: None

Conclusions

• (1932) The Time Traveller was unquestionably a fanzine and is earlier than anything else not a clubzine.
• (<April 1931?) The Meteor was earlier, but may or may not have been a fanzine which may or many not have had Ackerman as an editor.
• (July 1930) The Planet, even earlier, has a strong claim.
• (May 1930) The Comet was earlier by a couple of months, but may have been a mundane science club publication which happened to be edited by later SF notable Ray Palmer.
• (1929?) Cosmic Stories was probably earlier still -- if it existed -- and still suffers from the question whether it was a fanzine in any but the widest sense. Arguably, if it was a fanzine, then so were even earlier publications, so, regardless, it wasn't the first fanzine. Nevertheless, its claim is good enough that it must be mentioned in any history of the beginning of fanzines.