Veronica Talks Super Science Stories Magazine

The Pulp Preservation Project

Super Science Stories was a pulp science fiction magazine first published in March 1940 by Popular Publications, a company well-known for its wide range of pulp titles. The magazine was created at the request of Doubleday’s paperback line, which needed a steady flow of science fiction content for reprints in their Better Little Books series.

Edited by the legendary Donald A. Wollheim in its early years, the magazine offered space opera, adventure tales, and speculative stories from both established writers and new voices in the genre. Though not as prestigious as Astounding Science Fiction, it gained a loyal readership thanks to its fast-paced storytelling and willingness to feature up-and-coming authors.

The magazine’s initial run lasted from 1940 until 1943, when wartime paper shortages forced Popular Publications to suspend it. It was revived in 1949 and ran under the same publisher until 1951, with a brief final return from 1959 to 1960 under Feature Publications.

Across these periods, Super Science Stories played an important role in shaping the pulp science fiction landscape, offering early publication opportunities to writers such as Philip K. Dick, Frederik Pohl, and Isaac Asimov. Although never considered a top-tier title, its mix of bold cover art and sensational, action-oriented stories captured the adventurous spirit of mid-20th-century science fiction.

Here’s a Top 5 list of standout Super Science Stories tales:

1. “Robots Return” — Isaac Asimov (March 1940)

Asimov’s story, co-written with Frederik Pohl (under the pen name James MacCreigh), was among the earliest Super Science Stories pieces to gain recognition. It’s important because it foreshadowed themes of machine intelligence and destiny that would become central to Asimov’s career.

2. “Let the Ants Try” — Frederik Pohl (Winter 1949)

A short but striking tale of time travel and unintended consequences, this story remains one of Pohl’s best-remembered pulp contributions. It showed his sharp satirical edge, which would later define his career as both writer and editor.

3. “Adam Link’s Vengeance” — Eando Binder (Summer 1940)

Part of the popular “Adam Link” robot series, this installment carried on the saga of a sympathetic artificial being. The series influenced later robot narratives (including Asimov’s) and was one of the magazine’s marquee attractions.

4. “Dark Mission” — Henry Kuttner (November 1940)

Kuttner was a prolific pulp talent, and this story combined space adventure with his knack for darker, psychological twists. It stood out for elevating pulp action into something moodier and more nuanced.

5. “Flight of the Starling” — A. E. van Vogt (May 1941)

One of van Vogt’s early appearances, this tale of interstellar conflict and vast cosmic stakes showcased the sprawling imagination that would make him one of the Golden Age’s most distinctive voices.