Frank Reade Weekly Magazine | |
Available Books: | 34 |
Latest Book: | v1 5 - Frank Reade, Jr's Sea Serpent | Uploaded: Oct 4, 2022 |
Categories: | Science Fiction | Adventure |
Publication History: | Issues: 96 | Sequence: #1 - #96 | Dates: - |
Frank Reade, the 19th century's most popular science fiction hero helped lay the groundwork for modern science fiction. The stories began with "Frank Reade and His Steam Man of the Plains, or, The Terror of the West." Written by Harold Cohen under the pen name Harry Enton, as a knockoff of an earlier steam man story, it was serialized in Boys of New York magazine in 1876. That version of Frank Reade, who invented robots powered by steam, appeared in four serial stories. He then became Frank Reade Sr. ("suddenly middle-aged," as Jess Nevins put it) and was supplanted by his brash young son, Frank Jr. The teenage inventor-hero Frank Reade Jr. was wildly popular, starring in at least 179 violent "blood and thunder" adventures aimed at boys. After improving on his dad's steam-driven inventions, Frank Jr. turned to electricity as the motive power of the future! He built electric-powered robots, submarines, ATVs, and helicopter airships, all heavily armed and armored. He had adventures around the world, even accidentally venturing into outer space. There's little consistent continuity between stories: Sometimes Frank Jr. has a wife, more often he doesn't; the location of Readestown varies; and he rarely deploys the same vehicle more than once. In only one story does Frank Jr. have a son, Frank Reade III, and a daughter, Kate. More consistent in the dime novels are Frank Jr.'s assistants, Pomp and Barney, who are played for laughs as broad ethnic stereotypes. The dime novel stories, published under the pseudonym Noname (but mostly written by Luis Senarens), were reprinted for decades in Frank Reade Library, Frank Reade Weekly, and other periodicals. They were read by millions of people and made an indelible impact on the earliest generations of science fiction readers, writers, and editors. Published by Frank Tousey. History 1876-1894: Frank Reade stories ran in Boys of New York. They were also reprinted in The Five Cent Wide Awake Library starting in 1883. 1892-1898: Frank Reade Jr. got his own series, Frank Reade Library, a combination of reprints and new stories that ran for 192 issues. 1894-1906: Stories were reprinted yet again in Frank Reade Weekly Magazine (1902-1904) and the British series Aldine's Romance of Travel, Invention and Adventure Library (1894-1906), both with snazzy new color covers. 1928: At the dawn of science fiction's Golden Age, a group of fans published their own version of Frank Reade, with new stories, that ran 86 issues. Early fanfic! 1979-86: A 10-volume set reprinting Frank Reade Library was released by Garland Publishing. |
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