Man of Two Worlds:: My Life in Science Fiction and Comics

by Brian M. Thomsen, Julius Schwartz, Brian M Thomsen

Book Overview

Before there was Superman or Batman, before Ray Bradbury or Harlan Ellison ever picked up a pen, before there were science-fiction fans and conventions, there was Julius Schwartz -- a man who would have an indelible effect on all this and more.

One of the inventors of science-fiction fandom in the thirties and publisher of the first SF "fanzine" (one of its early subscribers was Superman's cocreator Jerry Siegel), Julius Schwartz became the...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0380810514
• ISBN13: 9780380810512
• Release Date: June 2000
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

A GLIMPSE OF THE GOLDEN AGE

I confess I didn't knew much about Julius Schwartz.And I don't know much,either,about History of Comics.But I know a little about American Science Fiction lore:the so-called "Golden Age",Early SF Fandom,Hugo Gernsback,AMAZING STORIES,FRANK R. PAUL,the first Fanzines,and so on...And, suddenly,I was listening to an old voice,the voice of a person who knew,personally ,Howard Phillips Lovecraft.HPL himself!The Managing Editor (Allen Glasser was THE EDITOR) of THE TIME TRAVELLER-Science Fiction's only(then) Fan Magazine(the premier issue was dated January 1932).The man who was Stanley Weinbaum's agent.Who actually sold stories like "FLIGHT ON TITAN","PARASITE PLANET" and"THE LOTUS EATERS" to the Pulps.The guy who was Mort Weisinger's friend.Schwartz writes: "I remember the first time I cast my eyes on ASTOUNDING("Astounding Stories of Super Science").It was love at first sight!" He was simply there,an eyewitness of that glorious period.It`s uncanny for us,science fiction lovers ,to hear (or to read)something like this: [Mort(Weisinger)and I loved going up to the editorial offices of the various science-fiction magazines and getting the "hot news" on forthcoming issues(for THE TIME TRAVELLER) .We were always in awe of the editors.To us ,they were the closest things to gods on Earth.On one occasion while interviewing editor Harry Bates,the earthbound god turned the tables and started to interview me,inquiring what were my favorites stories from ASTOUNDING(Bates was the magazine's Editor).I quickly thought about it and replied,"The ones about the space pirate Hawk Carse by Anthony Gilmore ," then immediately jumped at the opportunity to add,"and I'd really like to know more about him." Harry Bates smiled and revealed that there really wasn't anyone named Anthony Gilbert.It was the collaborative pseudonym of two science fiction writers,and he hastened to add that he wasn't free to reveal their true identities.] "Anthony Gilmore" was,in reality,two persons, Harry Bates and his assistant editor,Desmond Hall.And folks,don't forget,HARRY BATES wrote "FAREWELL TO THE MASTER",the notable science fiction story which was the blueprint for the classic SF film "THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL"(20th Century Fox,1951). In 1933, Julius Schwartz actually met Dr. T.O'Connor Sloane,the then octogenarian editor of Amazing Stories(owned then by TECK Publications or by Bernarr MacFadden).It's unbelievable!This man Schwartz was a time gate to that golden past. Julius knew and was friendly with Otto Binder,Edmond Hamilton,Leigh Brackett,Robert Bloch,Henry Kuttner,a very young Ray Bradbury,Anthony Boucher,all of them science fiction legends today.All of them heroes(and heroines)of mine. As an agent,Julius Schwartz and his Solar Sales Service represented (in different periods)the following writers:Ray Bradbury,Alfred Bester,Otto Binder,Edmond Hamilton and his wife Leigh Brackett,Stanley Weinbaum,Henry Kuttner,Manly Wade Wellman,John Taine,Ralph Milne Farley,Peter Sch

Nice memories from a guy I'd like to know

"Man of Two Worlds" is a pleasant walk down memory lane, from the perspective of someone who has been a major "behind the scenes" player in the comics and science fiction fields. Julius Schwartz was a literary agent for H.P. Lovecraft, Ray Bradbury, Robert Bloch, Robert A. Heinlein and a host of others from the golden age of pulp magazines. As an editor for D. C Comics, he was instrumental in the revival of the comic book industry during it's "Silver Age." He relaunched the Flash and Green Lantern, and he put the yellow circle around the Bat signal. The cast of characters in this memoir is truly amazing, but the names are dropped out of true friendship rather than self-promotion. The book is brimming with affection for old friends long gone, and new friends to pass the torch to. There is a nice piece about Julie attending a Lovecraft convention, where he was the only person in the room that had actually met the author. The book is not thick, and there are no secrets to be revealed. There is some interesting insight into being an editor in the comics field, but that is not the focus. However, the book is so charming, so full of love for this industry and the people in it that reading it is an enjoyable experience. The afterword by Harlan Elison ends with simply, "I love you, Julie." Definitely a guy I'd like to know.

Important but spare memoir of two emergent 20th C.art-forms

The less than rapturous reviews below speak more to the cynincal nature of todays Media-Obsessed SF and Comics Fans than they speak to the quality and importance of this 1st person Memoir by the Great Julie Schwartz who straddles the linked worlds of Comics Fandom and Organized SF Fandom like the Colossus of Rhodes. He is, like the Colossus, one of the wonders of a more ancient world, one largely lost to fans such as myself who came of age in the 70's. His memoir, aided by the conservative style of his co-writer, Brian Thomsen (formerly of Warner Books and several other star-studded imprints) tells gentle and affectionate stories while hinting at some of the more seething controversies he witnessed first-hand. Any fan who has had the pleasure of 5 minutes with Julie knows he does NOT dish DIRT on ANYONE, not even the mean-spirited. In fact, as this memoir attests to so well, Julie's entire career was really one that proved him to be a force for good in his times, a hopeful optimist, a true Sci_Fi boy from the Bronx who envisioned a better world coming from technology. I insist that even the most jaded of us Baby-Boomers, Baby-Busters, GenXers, and GenY-ers can learn something from his remarkable narrative restraint and instead focus on the cherished memories he has chosen to finally share with his fans after a very discreet public life. True, Julie is often more forthcoming at Panels or at Autograph sessions if you put a direct question to him, but clearly the goal of this book was to state the things Julie would have us remember and to celebrate the people Julie feels we fans should look at more closely. Eventually, after coming to the end of what I sincerely hope is only the 1st volume of his memoirs (Please Julie, do three books like your good pal Isaac Asimov did), one is left with a more complete understanding of the intertwining of the two distinct art forms: Comics and Science Fiction. It's only fitting that a couple of years ago, DragonCon in Atlanta instituted a Lifetime Achievement Award called THE JULIE which recognizes oustanding accomplishment in both fields. Of course, Julie got the first one and I believe Ray Bradbury the second. MAN OF TWO WORLDS is also an opportunity for a person who considers themself primarily a fan of only one of these genres to see to just what an extent, they are in fact bound to the other in spirit. Finally, what thrilled me the most was Julie recounting his earliest years as a fan and his attendence at the 1st World SF Con. As brief as those chapters were, they made me yearn for a working Time Machine so I could be whisked away back to a time before Science Fiction had became so angry and negative. Many heartfelt thanks to Julie for finally getting this book into fans' hands and for all those panels he has sat on in the past 15 years.

Man of Two Worlds

Julie Schwartz is responsible for all that is pop culture today... at least thats what he says and I believe him. I have been a fan of science fiction and comic books all my life and Julie has directly touched the best of both fields. This book is full of interesting tidbits and fasciniting insights into the history of both these genres. I found it informative and surprisingly funny. If you're interested even marginally in comics or science fiction you will really enjoy this book.

Golden and Silver Age Musings

To be honest, I expected a bit more from MAN OF TWO WORLDS -- but with that thought out of the way, what's here is darn good! Fans of science fiction and comics will be generally delighted with Julius Schwartz's recollections of his involvement in the incipient and later stages of both fields. Mr. Schwartz, the one-time SF literary agent and innovative DC Comics editor, has had more than a casual involvement with numerous great authors, artists and editors, and the short tales he presents are humerous, tragic and informative. Knowledgable veteran comics fans will certainly get a chuckle at the Bob Kane (Batman) incident detailed in the volume, and the discussions of the young Ray Bradbury are extremely interesting . At times there may be a little too much "I" rather than "we" when discussing creative input (sometimes hard to distinguish from Mr. Schwartz's deliberately egotistical style of humor), but a good chunk of science fiction and comics history is presented in an easy, off-the-cuff style with many detailed sidebars. Julius Schwartz is a reporter and a catalyst for many significant historical events in "both worlds," and this book is a must-have.