| The science-fiction magazines carry such titles as
Astounding, Startling, Amazing, Thrilling Wonder Stories etc., and their
eye-catching covers ensure that they live up to expectations. As well as
being key texts in the study of science-fiction as a genre, these
publications also tell us much about the attitudes between the sexes;
society's fears of otherness projected onto the concept of "the alien";
and, when we arrive in the 1950s, they throw an interesting side-light
onto the cold war, showing among other things, Stalin's role in the
proliferation of UFOs above America at that time. From our comic
collection we have extracted some of those with a science-fiction theme.
These include such rarities as Buck Rogers (Australian edition) no. 1,
and early runs of Captain Marvel and the Marvel comics spin-offs.
Also on display are a number of eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth
century novels and journals by writers such as Jonathan Swift, Jules
Verne, H. G. Wells, and even Carter Brown (under a pseudonym).
Our collection is one of the best in Australia and is capable of
supporting research at the highest level in this field of popular
culture.
Richard Overell, Rare Books Librarian. |
