The Fantasy Fan , Volume 2, Number 1, September 1934

September 1934: a slender pamphlet arrives in the mailboxes of fantasy enthusiasts across America. This is The Fantasy Fan, one of the very first fanzines ever published, and this anniversary issue marks a pivotal moment in literary history. Here, in these yellowed pages, modern fandom is being invented in real time. Readers will find passionate essays debating the merits of Tolkien's recently published Hobbit (which had only appeared two years prior), heartfelt poetry dedicated to imaginary worlds, and the rough-hewn criticism of amateurs who loved the genre enough to write about it themselves. Charles D. Hornig, just eighteen years old, edited this labor of love from his parents' home in New Jersey. What emerges is a time capsule of the moment when fantasy literature ceased being a quiet readership and became a community. For historians of science fiction and fantasy, for anyone curious about where modern fan culture began, this issue offers something irreplaceable: the authentic voice of people who read fantasy not as critics but as devoted fans.