Tomorrow will be the 120th anniversary of the birth of A. A. Wyn. A one-time proof reader for a printer, Wyn rose to become the publisher of Ace Magazines — which published both pulps and comic books — and Ace Books.
Born on May 22, 1898, Wyn became an associate editor for Magazine Publishers in 1930. He was promoted to editor in 1931. He became the publisher of the firm’s magazines one year later. Based in New York City, Magazine Publishers produced an array of pulp magazines including ACE MYSTERY, LOVE FICTION MONTHLY, SECRET AGENT-X, SKY BIRDS, SPY STORIES, TEN DETECTIVE ACES, TEN STORY LOVE, WESTERN ACES, and WESTERN TRAILS.
Perhaps the publisher’s most successful title was FLYING ACES. It ran as a fiction magazine for 179 issues — from September 1928 through November 1943. The magazine is best remembered for publishing the adventures of Captain Philip Strange. Created by Donald Keyhoe, the flying ace was also known as “the Brain Devil” and “the Phantom Ace of G-2.” He had ESP and other mental powers, and “was so terrifyingly effective as the Allies’ top agent that the Germans were offering a king’s ransom for his death.”
Keyhoe’s stories were a fantastic version of World War I featuring zombies, giant skeletons, exploding heads, invisible airplanes, and more. Strange is believed to have inspired Robert J. Hogan’s adventures of G-8 AND HIS BATTLE ACES. The Keyhoe series ran for nine years and 64 stories. It is currently being reprinted by Age of Aces Books, a regular exhibitor at PulpFest.
FLYING ACES was converted to a non-fiction aviation magazine at the end of 1943. It became FLYING MODELS in 1947. Sold to Carstens Publications in 1969, the former pulp magazine folded in 2014.
(FLYING ACES was one of the leading aviation pulps. Paul Bissell was one of the magazine’s leading artists (and authors) of the 1930s. He painted covers — including the March 1932 number — for both FLYING ACES and its sister title, SKY BIRDS. They’re just two of the war pulps that PulpFest will be exploring at this year’s centennial celebration marking the end of World War I.)
