I just learned that pioneering space artist Robert McCall passed away Friday at the age of 90. I never got the chance to meet him, at least not in the flesh, but as for his spirit … I met and was touched by that a long, long time ago.

In addition to inspiring me with his visions for as long as I can remember, he also played a very important specific role in my life, by allowing Sovereign Media to use his images in the first issue of Science Fiction Age. We printed an art gallery in each issue of the magazine, but McCall was the first.

Here, from the pages of that November 1992 issue, is a gallery of McCall’s artwork, accompanied by strong words of praise from Ray Bradbury. Give it a read and gaze in awe at the pictures so that even if you’ve never heard of the man, you’ll know why you should, too, be celebrating his life and mourning his death.

(more…)

Here’s a photo that’s not quite as old as the last one, digging only 17 years back in time, to Labor Day weekend of 1993. Sovereign Media co-owners Carl Gnam and Mark Hintz wanted to do something out of the ordinary at ConFrancisco, the 51st World Science Fiction Convention, to celebrate the first birthday of Science Fiction Age, and when we put our heads together, we figured—

Hey, it’s our first birthday! Why not cake?

So they shelled out for enough cake to serve around 2,000 people, part of which you can see below. There were several overflow sheet cakes to feed the ravenous hordes. The rocket ships, which ended up looking a little too much like Hugo trophies for my comfort (since SFA hadn’t actually won any) were made of solid chocolate. Andy Porter walked off with one of them, something he tells me every time I see him. He supposedly still has it in his refrigerator.

I’m holding copies of Science Fiction Age issues #1 (which debuted at the previous year’s Worldcon, MagiCon, held in Orlando, Florida) and #7. (more…)

Seventeen years ago this month, the first issue of Science Fiction Age magazine made its debut at MagiCon, the 1992 World Science Fiction convention held in Orlando. On page 20, in the middle of Jim Steranko’s “Movies” column, we printed a sidebar announcing the launch of something called … the Sci-Fi Channel, which went on the air exactly 17 years ago today.

I could already tell that Science Fiction Age had changed my life, even with only that single issue, let alone the many more to follow. I was to edit it until 2000, the same year (after a brief break editing Satellite Orbit for a company called CommTek) I started editing Science Fiction Weekly nine years ago this month for … the Sci-Fi Channel. (more…)

It’s been almost 10 years since Paul Levinson, then president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, approached me at the 1999 Philcon and asked if I would act as Toastmaster for the following year’s Nebula Awards ceremony in New York.

Ham that I am, I immediately accepted. Click below to see how I repaid Paul for that honor.

The event was recorded by a group called the Rochester Fantasy Fans, something which I’d completely forgotten. At the Montreal Worldcon last weekend, they presented me with a DVD containing a complete video of that evening, which contains speeches by Daniel Keyes and Brian Aldiss, plus stage appearances by Octavia Butler, Nancy Kress, John Kessel, and others.

Maybe you’ll get to see them in the future. But for now, here’s a brief taste of my shtick. If you behave, I may inflict more of it on you.

John Berkey, one of our greatest science-fiction and fantasy artists, passed away Tuesday. He was a frequent contributor to both Science Fiction Age and Realms of Fantasy. (Click on the cover at right to begin viewing a gallery of nine Science Fiction Age covers I’ve uploaded to honor his memory. Each cover can be clicked on yet again to be seen full size.)

His impressionistic paintings had a dreamlike quality which made them a welcome change from the photo-realistic images that many other artists seemed to be aiming for then. But John embodied more than just talent. He was a consummate professional who made all of his deadlines without complaint, whatever his circumstances. And those circumstances were often dire.

Back when I worked at Sovereign Media, I always looked forward to my conversations with John, and almost thought of them as perks. We never met face-to-face, but he was always warm to me over the phone, and we had many long talks, not only about art, but also about the differing challenges life had handed each of us.

During one of those talks, John once segued with a phrase I’d never before heard used in a conversation and am unlikely to ever hear again—”When I first came out of my coma, I … “—which certainly perked up my attention for what he was to say next. John had been dealt some fairly tough hands in his personal life, but he always faced them with dignity and grace.

Considering his many health problems over the years, his passing was no surprise. But that doesn’t make him any less missed.

Back in 1993, long before I started working for the Syfy Channel, I was on the SCI FI Channel.

SCI FI Buzz, which was then the Channel’s equivalent of 60 Minutes, did a short feature highlighting me on the occasion of the first anniversary of <em>Science Fiction Age magazine. It was taped at ConFrancisco, the 1993 World Science Fiction Convention in San Francisco, and ran in December of that year.

I don’t know how you’ll feel about watching this, but I wince a little, not just because there’s a little bit more of me, but also because there’s a little bit less.

More, because I was heavier then. Less, because I was trying so hard to present myself as a calm talking head and not bounce around in my chair or talk with my hands that I seem more subdued than my usual bouncy self. I was trying to be too cool about it all. I appear too coy and sedate, and with the quiet manner of speech on display here, I remind myself of Jason Alexander playing George Costanza.

You might feel differently. In fact, I hope you feel differently. But however you feel, the clip is too good a piece of history not to share.