Starlog Internet Archive Project: Starlog #13, May 1978: Space as Art

Starlog launches its newest department -- a column by science writer Jonathan Eberhart that explores real destinations in space -- with a beautiful cover painting by Ludek Pesek. A very nice looking cover, in fact, though I don't know if it sold as well as the recent movie photo covers. Also, a few months after having moved to new offices on Manhattan's Park Avenue South, the staff continues to grow.

Starlog #13
80 pages (including covers)
Cover price: $1.75

Controversy, controversy, controversy. From fundamentalist parents to a miffed dark lord of the Sith, disagreements and problems abound in this issue. Read on ...

Kerry O'Quinn's From the Bridge column welcomes new readers who have come to the magazine as a result of its television advertising campaign; letters in the Communications pages include a reader who has taken out a P.O. box because his parents are religious fanatics who burn his copy of Starlog when it arrives in the mail; short news in Log Entries includes announcement of a new ad campaign for Star Wars, news about NASA visiting Saturn, the shortest of notes about a blockbuster sequel ("Star Wars II is currently being prepared for production in London"), and a chat with Fred Pohl about how to become a science-fiction writer.

William H. Pratt covers the horror movie The Manitou; David Gerrold's State of the Art compares good and bad science fiction; Richard Meyers interviews David Prowse, who vents about not getting recognition for playing Darth Vader; Charles Bogle reports on The Return of Captain Nemo, a CBS mini-series; David R. Smith chronicles "Walt Disney's Conquest of Space," the story of Disney's retelling of the space race; David Houston writes the obituary for the Logan's Run TV series, which also gets a complete episode guide; Houston also provices a preview for 3001: A Space Comedy; in his first Interplanetary Excursions, Inc., column, Jonathan Eberhart visits "The Tenth Planet"; Howard Zimmerman interviews Forrest J. Ackerman, "The World's Greatest Science Fiction Fan" (and, incidentally, the editor of competitor Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine, but who's keeping score?); special effects matte artist Matthew Yuricich explains his craft in Gregory P. Barr's SFX article; a three-page feature gives us some more (frankly dark and grainy) color photos from Close Encounters of the Third Kind; Susan Sackett's Star Trek Report explains the seemingly never-ending back-and-forth regarding making Trek as a motion picture or a television series; Sonni Cooper visits the set of Invasion of the Body Snatchers; Ed Naha provides a retrospective of George Pal's 1960 The Time Machine; David Houston's Visions column is part II of his exploration of SF's foundations; and Howard Zimmerman looks at how science fiction has suddenly (in 1978) become in vogue.

"Even when overshadowed by modern technology's present day advancements, Disney's 'factual science' shows stand as being brilliant achievements in popular science. For one brief, shining moment in history, fact and fantasy melded perfectly together to create a fascinating overview of mankind's possible future."

--David R. Smith, writer, "Walt Disney's Conquest of Space"

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