The Thing's Incredible! is a sweeping revisionist history of the founding of Weird Tales, one of the most influential and entertaining pulp magazines of them all. Its first two years (1923-24) was a period of tumult and controversy unequalled in the pulps, before or since, an experience so painful to its creators that they immediately banished their memories to secrecy, their code of silence suppressing the story for almost a century. Here at last is the true saga, the unraveling of the many twisted threads which have bound the creation of Weird Tales in mystery.
Who were Henneberger and Lansinger, the co-founders, and what circuitous chain of events brought about their doomed destiny? How did the first editor, the outspoken and uncontrollable Edwin Baird, become the wild man of the pulps? What dark secrets lay buried in second editor Farnsworth Wright's haunted past that he never dared speak of? What was the significance of the constantly mutating "reorganization" that united two legends, world-famous magician Houdini and horror author H.P. Lovecraft, into a grand nexus of weird? How did Henneberger lose control of his slow-motion disaster of a magazine? And how did an all-out war behind the scenes lead to the long peace of the Wright years?
This is the epic story of the challenges in establishing a radical, new magazine in the early 1920s--and not just any magazine, but the immortal Weird Tales.
Show moreThe Thing's Incredible! is a sweeping revisionist history of the founding of Weird Tales, one of the most influential and entertaining pulp magazines of them all. Its first two years (1923-24) was a period of tumult and controversy unequalled in the pulps, before or since, an experience so painful to its creators that they immediately banished their memories to secrecy, their code of silence suppressing the story for almost a century. Here at last is the true saga, the unraveling of the many twisted threads which have bound the creation of Weird Tales in mystery.
Who were Henneberger and Lansinger, the co-founders, and what circuitous chain of events brought about their doomed destiny? How did the first editor, the outspoken and uncontrollable Edwin Baird, become the wild man of the pulps? What dark secrets lay buried in second editor Farnsworth Wright's haunted past that he never dared speak of? What was the significance of the constantly mutating "reorganization" that united two legends, world-famous magician Houdini and horror author H.P. Lovecraft, into a grand nexus of weird? How did Henneberger lose control of his slow-motion disaster of a magazine? And how did an all-out war behind the scenes lead to the long peace of the Wright years?
This is the epic story of the challenges in establishing a radical, new magazine in the early 1920s--and not just any magazine, but the immortal Weird Tales.
Show moreJohn Locke is a leading historian of the pulps who has written on magazines famous and obscure. He is co-author (with Doug Ellis and John Gunnison) of the pioneering Adventure House Guide to the Pulps. His writers' mag series (Pulp Fictioneers, Pulpwood Days) explores the history of the pulps through the experiences of the participants in the industry. He applied the same approach to Weird Tales and discovered a story richer, stranger-and thornier-than he ever imagined.
"So much has been written about Weird Tales over the decades that it would seem there's nothing new to tell about it. John Locke disproves this in The Thing's Incredible! His intensive look at the magazine's founding late in 1922 through its tumultuous near-death in 1924, before it changed publishers and corrected course is a fascinating look at the dynamics that bound--or in many cases failed to bind--publishers, editors, writers, and readers together during the pulp magazine era."--Stefan Dziemianowicz, Locus magazine"Previously unknown chapters and sub-chapters of Weird Tales's creation unfold chronologically before the amazed eyes of the reader. . . . This is a must-read book for anyone interested in The Unique Magazine and its storied contributors. . . . It's impossible to overstate the significance of The Thing's Incredible."--Will Murray, Crypt of Cthulhu"Brimming with new insights and extensive research, The Thing's Incredible! carries the added advantage of extreme readability. Locke not only keeps the pace swift throughout; he also makes sure the names here emerge from the pages as authentic people, complex and three-dimensional. This heretofore untold real-life origin story of the greatest horror magazine of all, Weird Tales, will fascinate anyone with even a remote interest in its subject. A deeply entertaining and satisfying work that delivers in every way."--John Wooley, author of Ghost Band and Wes Craven: A Man and His Nightmares"In many ways, Locke's book should be viewed as publishing history, since he tells us about the magazine's founders, editors and finances, as well as its most important contributors, notably H.P. Lovecraft but also the prolific Arthur J. Burks and the once exceptionally popular Seabury Quinn, creator of occult detective Jules de Grandin. . . . this book is an essential acquisition."--Michael Dirda, Washington Post"If you have an interest in Weird Tales or pulp magazine history in general, read this book. It is hard to put down. . . . H.P. Lovecraft of course has a part of the story. This is probably the best biography of this portion of Lovecraft's life that I have ever read."--Morgan Holmes, Castalia House"John Locke's The Thing's Incredible: The Secret Origins of Weird Tales. . . . takes pride of place on the small bookshelf of essential scholarship on the famous Weird Tales magazine. The story of how H.P. Lovecraft nearly became the editor is told here in more detail than anywhere else."--Doug Anderson, Wormwoodiana"It is not possible to praise this book too highly."--J. Randolph Cox, Dime Novel Round-Up
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