A. Merritt's Fantasy Magazine, February 1950 — page 6: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

CALLING ALL FANTASY and in those to follow we are going to give you the very best in fantastic fiction. In our December issue we told you about A. Merritt and his writ- ings. This time we want to introduce three other very famous men of fantasy. You are meeting the first one in this edition, George Challis, Just his pen names indicate the vast scope of his imagi- nation and illusiveness. You have no doubt heard of Evan Evans, George O. Baxter, Dennis Lawton, Peter Ward, Max Brand, and of course George Challis. Don’t be mislead by these names. They all belong to Frederick Faust! And so do many others which we haven't mentioned. Although you will only see him here as a writer of Fantasy stories his stories cover adventure of almost every kind, He was one of the world’s most prolific writ- ers and was commonly known as the “king of pulp magazines.’’ He wrote on an average of one full length novel every three weeks. Unfortunately he was killed in Italy just as the Allied offensive opera- tions got under way. He had hoped to write about the G.I.’s under fire, taking one company throughout the Italian cam- paign. It is with great pleasure that we bring you one of his best “astonishing” stories, THE SMOKING LAND. It takes bold men, men of action and adventure to bring you these spine-cur- dling experiences. And that’s why we are going to insert a side-line tip to tell you about a recent movie that we just saw. It’s the exciting new release of United Artists, “The Big Wheel.”’ Here is the story of a racetrack where courage and skill are of prime importance for the racing men. Mickey Rooney stars as Billy Coy, a brash mechanic who aspires to drive in the big races. Co-starring is Thomas Mitchell as Red Stanley, proprietor of an auto- racing garage, and Mary Hatcher (Louise Riley) a girl mechanic, Fire and death 6 [ian issue of A. MERRITT’S FANTASY FANS hover on the racetrack curves as the cars roar down the final lap. It’s thrilling! Now let’s look ahead for the excitement to be found in A, MERRITT’S FAN- TASY for April. There you will meet Jack Mann’s THE NINTH LIFE, It’s very different from George Challis’ SMOKINGLAND, It has the charm and intrigue of ancient Egypt—and it’s cruelty too. You will meet Cleo Kefra—fifty cen- turtes old ... no more than fifty centuries —vet alive with all the sweetness of youth, with beauty unmarked by time, inspiring and yielding to ecstasy beyond dreams. Once, we know, she was involved in inter- national intrigue—is that why she came to England to become engaged to wealthy TonyBriggs of the British Foreign Office or were there other reasons? Gregory Green becomes entangled it this mystery when, one afternoon, Inspector Tott pays an unofficial call. “There's nothing wrong with Miss Kefra,” he says, “but—oh darn it, come see for yourself.” You will meet her too. You will believe as did Gregory—the fantastic tale of her origin and her role in the world. Our second story is entitled THE LITTLE DOLL DIED by Theodore Roscoe. Haiti is the setting for a Marine detachment which was sent down there in 1916 to quell a native uprising. In the midst of guerilla war arrived an absent- minded scientist who introduced himself as a naturalist, archeologist, paleontolei and so on. With him came. his frilly blonde wife and a charmingly handsome Irishman, a past master of taxidermy. In a land kept dark by the massive forests people spoke only in whispers about zom- bies. Most Americans were slightly curi-+ ous about Black Magic but they thought its hold on the natives due to their igno- rance, Then one day a leatherneck, with his own eyes, saw a dead man rise, The next issue of A. MERRITT’S FANTASY will be published March 3rd. —The Editor EComicbooks:com