Stephen Fabian - Astro-Adventures #4 - April 1988

Cover art by Stephen Fabian for Astro-Adventures #4 - April 1988, produced and edited by Robert M. Price. The 1980s saw the pinnacle of small press magazines that began back in the 1930s as fanzines and improved over the decades as copying technology evolved. Editors collected fine writers into special interest zines published on pages that were photocopied, folded in half and then saddle-stapled. These zines were then distributed through the mail.

One such magazine, a treat for fans of Space Opera, was Robert M. Price’s Astro-Adventures. It ran for eight issues, from January 1987 to June 1989. Each issue was approximately 40 pages long with cover art by Stephen Fabian, except for one issue by Robert H. Knox. Interiors were not often illustrated, with neat type from a typewriter. Production values were good but not professional. You might think the contents was a scattering of juvenile fan fiction. Far from it!

To Price’s credit, he knew all the old pros who still survived from the days of the Pulps. In some cases, he knew the agents who held finished and unfinished works by masters who had passed on. His connections were so good he included in his line-up: Frank Belknap Long, Carl Jacobi, Lin Carter and Clark Ashton Smith. And that’s just the first issue! Price also includes knowledgeable scholars in Will Murray and Mike Ashley. Their articles and interviews add another dimension to the entire experience.

As for myself, I really like the Stephen Fabian cover art!