Fantastic - 1952 - 1980 (174 issues)

New York / Flushing, New York: Ziff Davis / Ultimate Publishing, 1980. Softcover. Very Good. Magazines. Digests (12mos). Perfectbound in illustrated wrappers. Overall very good with moderate wear, some toning and contemporary tape reinforcement to the spine ends of the early issues. A nearly complete 29-year run of *Fantastic* totaling 174 issues (lacking 35) of this anthology introduced as a companion publication to *Amazing Stories*. Early issues feature a mix of fantasy and science fiction with contributions from many well-regarded writers such as Isaac Asimov, Robert Bloch, Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson, Shirley Jackson, Cornell Woolrich, Evelyn Waugh, and B. Traven. Due to the over saturated digest market sales fell and with it the magazine's budget for top-tier talent. The magazine switched gear by dropping the fantasy genre in lieu of science fiction often nurturing young writers hungry for work. The result was a number of first published works by writers such as Ursula K. Le Guin ("April in Paris" 9/68) and Piers Anthony ("Possible to Rue" 4/63), along with many early stories from Ian McEwan ("Solid Geometry"), James Tiptree, Jr. ("Fault") and Dean Koontz's ("Soft Come the Dragons"). In act both Tiptree and Koontz first professional sale was to *Fantastic*, though the magazine's slow publication schedule result in both coming out after other stories were published. A wonderful nearly complete run of this important and influential science-fiction anthology.