This week, I’m going to talk to you about Raymond A. Palmer— a living Venn diagram overlapping the history of science fiction and fantasy, UFOs and other unexplained phenomena, and various conspiracy theories. Palmer has been called the “P.T. Barnum” of the pulps, and he deserved it. He was one of the first fans of science fiction, writer, editor, essayist, and a man both loved and derided by peers and fans. He fostered one of the strangest series of stories ever published in the pulps, and eventually made a name for himself as a spearhead in UFOlogy movement. Some people suggest he helped to kill science fiction in the pulps, and there is some truth to that accusation. Ray Palmer—superfan and the Man from Mars—is the subject of this week’s Rocketeer.
If you’d like to learn more about the super-serial Cosmos, the first shared world science fiction story, please go to the Cosmos Hall at LucinaPress.com.
Part 2 — “Palmer’s Fate” will be the subject of next week’s Rocketeer Podcast.
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