Fantastic Universe: UFOs and Civilian Saucer Intelligence

Flying Saucers and Science Fiction seem to go hand in hand, but wasn't true for most of the early authors. Issac Asimov wrote that, “It is taken for granted by everyone... (that) I believe in flying saucers, in Atlantis, and clairvoyance and levitation... No one would ever think someone who writes fantasies for preschool children really thinks that rabbits can talk– but a science-fiction writer apparently must believe in flying saucers. Well, I do not.”

(From “My Built-In Doubter,” The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, April 1961)

Hollywood's movies were mostly responsible for connecting UFOs to science fiction. Most reputable SF magazines tried to steer clear of the flying saucer fad. About ten years into the saucer age, one magazine editor saw things differently.

Hans Stefan Santesson took over as the editor of Fantastic Universe magazine in 1956 and he had a strong interest in the UFO topic, frequently featuring saucers in science fiction stories, and also in non-fiction articles by ufologists. Perhaps best of all, Santesson's Fantastic Universe featured the column "Shapes in the Sky" by the early serious-minded UFO organization, Civilian Saucer Intelligence (of New York). The group was small, but reputable, primarily Isabel Davis, Alexander Mebane and Ted Bloecher. Civilian Saucer Intelligence published the CSI Newsletter from 1954 to 1959, which is now archived as PDFs at the CUFOS site along with some related documents.

For more about CSI, see The Big Study:  Sacred Object: CSI-NY Tells Hynek About UFOs

Ufology in Fantastic Universe

Many of the issues can be found online, and we've included links where available.

Fantastic Universe Feb. 1957
This issue debuted two UFO articles:
“An Introduction to Ufology” by Ivan T. Sanderson
“The Truth is Fantastic" by Gray Barker.

Fantastic Universe March 1957
“Shapes in the Sky” was the first article by Civilian Saucer Intelligence, and it examined the frequently reported shapes of UFOs.

Fantastic Universe May 1957
“Shapes in the Sky” by Civilian Saucer Intelligence discussed several UFO cases where unusual physical characteristics were reported.

Fantastic Universe July 1957
“Shapes in the Sky” by Civilian Saucer Intelligence discussing physical evidence, "angel hair."

Fantastic Universe Aug. 1957
Two UFO articles:
“UFO- Fiend or Foe” by Ivan T. Sanderson
“The Saucer Myth” by Lester del Rey

Fantastic Universe Sept. 1957
“Shapes in the Sky” by Civilian Saucer Intelligence on "Angel Hair, Gossamer Showers and Flying Jellyfish..."

Fantastic Universe Nov. 1957
Three UFO articles:
"What Pilots a UFO?" by Ivan T. Sanderson
“Meet the Extraterrestrial” by Isabel Davis
“Shapes in the Sky” by Civilian Saucer Intelligence, examining UFO "Sounds from the Sky."

Fantastic Universe Dec. 1957
"Comments from a Scientist" by Ivan T. Sanderson
“Shapes in the Sky” by Civilian Saucer Intelligence, more "Sounds from the Sky."

Fantastic Universe Jan. 1958
“Shapes in the Sky” by Civilian Saucer Intelligence, on "Smells from the Sky."

Fantastic Universe Feb. 1958
“Continents in Space” by Ivan T. Sanderson
“Shapes in the Sky” by Civilian Saucer Intelligence, on UFO radar cases.
“Saucers - Fact Not Fiction” by Morris K. Jessup.)

Fantastic Universe March 1958
“Shapes in the Sky” by Civilian Saucer Intelligence, on UFO "radar angels."

Fantastic Universe April 1958
“Shapes in the Sky” by Civilian Saucer Intelligence, on the "Sky-Ice Age."

Fantastic Universe May 1958
“We’ll Never Catch Them” by Ivan T. Sanderson
“Shapes in the Sky” by Civilian Saucer Intelligence, on 1957 UFO cases.

Fantastic Universe June 1958
“Shapes in the Sky” by Civilian Saucer Intelligence, on more 1957 UFO cases including electromagnetic interference reports.

Fantastic Universe July 1958
“The Truth about Flying Saucers” by Morris K. Jessup
“Shapes in the Sky” by Civilian Saucer Intelligence, on UFO "radiation burns."

Fantastic Universe Aug. 1958
"Report from Brazil" by Dr. Olavo Fontes
“Shapes in the Sky” by Civilian Saucer Intelligence, on Aimé Michel's Flying Saucers and the Straight-Line Mystery.

Fantastic Universe Sept. 1958
“Man-made UFO” by Ivan T. Sanderson
“Shapes in the Sky” by Civilian Saucer Intelligence

Fantastic Universe Oct. 1958
“Shapes in the Sky” by Civilian Saucer Intelligence
"Flying Saucer of the Seas" by Hans Stefan Santesson (as Stephen Bond)

Fantastic Universe Nov. 1958
“Shapes in the Sky” by Civilian Saucer Intelligence on "...a neglected aspect of Ufology — the animals, generally dogs, often the first to see the strange shapes in the sky..."

Fantastic Universe continued into 1960, and many other issues featured UFO-themed stories, book reviews or art. Two places to find more issues online:

The Internet Archive hosts an incomplete collection of the series in The Pulp Magazine Archive

There's also a collection at the the Luminist Archives: Fantastic Universe

Related Publications

Hans Stefan Santesson published a collection of UFO material from Fantastic Universe as a book, Flying Saucers in Fact and Fiction, 1968

Isabel Davis and Ted Bloecher later were associated with Dr. J. Allen Hynek's Center for UFO Studies (CUFOS). They collaborated on a book in 1978 on the Kelly-Hopkinsville "Goblin" case, Close Encounter at Kelly and Others of 1955.

UFOs: Real True Hoaxes of Advertising

Sell it with Saucers! Within days of the coming of the saucers in 1947, the UFO topic was exploited by promoters to get attention for their products. See our earlier piece, Discs in the Sky: Flying Saucer Commercialism  for some of the first products and pitches. The 1950s was when the practice hit its peak, and even the military of US and UK were hoaxing saucers in order to advertise their message.

May 1950: The Northern California National Air Guard used the flying saucer picture below to attract new recruits.

July 1950: The military captured a Martian invader in Alameda, California, but it was just a publicity stunt for Jaycee variety show "Life in a Swiss Cheese Factory."  

Future Magazine, July 1950

August 1952: There was another hoaxed flying saucer by the military, this time an advertising stunt recruiting drive for the US Navy Reserve.

While in a slightly different category, 1952 also saw the debut of the saucer that advertised itself, the coin-operated Flying Saucer ride from Meteor Machine Corp.

Aug. 1953: In Phoenix, Arizona, the Jack Stewart Studebaker auto dealership featured a flying saucer in its window display to attract customers.

Forbes magazine, Aug. 1, 1953

Dec. 1952: The Long Beach, California Air Show featured a mock saucer, since everyone knew they were the future of flying.

Independent (Long Beach, CA) Dec. 15, 1952 

July 1955: The United Kingdom got into the saucer show business. The Royal Air Force Maintenance Command built this one for their annual White City Tattoo.

RAF‘s “Flying Saucer” London: – ready for an armed forces show are specially-dressed “Martians” and the flying saucer from which they are slated to a light when it lands, the “Martian” crew consist of Brian Sheppard, 15 (left), of the Royal Army Ordinance Corps school, Aldershot, and Molly Day, 23, a member of the Women’s Royal Air Force stationed at Oxbridge, England. Built by the Royal Air Force Maintenance Command, the saucer showing is part of this year’s White City Tattoo, annual searchlight display of Britain’s Armed Forces, July 4-8. Credit (United Press photo)  7/3/55.
*A special thanks to Louis Taylor of Information Dispersal for the original UP photo.

 

Walla Walla Union Bulletin, July 11, 1955

Jan. 1956:  Another UK saucer for show business, this disc co-starred in the ice show, "Babes In the Woods."  

Kansas City Star, January 4, 1956

The commercialization of flying saucers is a regular topic of exploration at STTF, so we'll be back with more UFO and alien exploitation soon.

Many of the saucers above were located in the galleries at
UFOPOP: Flying Saucers in Popular Culture.

The First Several Saucer Solutions of 1947

In the weeks following the historic UFO sighting by Kenneth Arnold, many explanations surfaced for the reports of flying saucers. This was spoofed in a cartoon in the July 7, 1947 edition of The Times Record from Troy, New York:

The Times Record, Troy NY, July 7, 1947

The explanations offered ranged from the serious to the silly. STTF's Claude Falkstrom has collected some of the most notable ones from the summer of 1947.

The Philadelphia Inquirer, June 28, 1947

The Tennessean Sun, June 29, 1947 

The Vought  XF5U-1 "Flying Flapjack?" 

Daily News, July 5, 1947

The Montana Standard, July 5, 1947 

Atomic Experiments?

The Independent Record, July 6, 1947

Mass Hysteria?

Dr. Steckel v. Dr. Overholser

Two psychiatrists gave their conflicting opinions on saucers, Dr. Harry A. Steckel v. Dr. Winfred Overholser on flying saucers as mass hysteria:

The News-Press, (Fort Myers, FL)  July 7, 1947

Remotely-piloted Missiles, Corpuscles?

The Mexico Ledger, July 7, 1947, The Evening Sun, July 7, 1947

Optical Illusions and the Power of Suggestion?

The Milwaukee Sentinel, July 7, 1947

Meteors, Birds or Reflections? 

The Ottawa Journal,  July 7, 1947,  Tampa Bay Times and The Evening Sun, July 9, 1947

Airborne Radioactive Waste?

The Daily Courier, July 10, 1947

Grain Silo Reflections?

 The Sentinel, Carlisle PA, July 9, 1947

Several Silly Suggestions:

The Weekly Acadian, July 10, 1947

Entoptic Phenomena?

Tampa Bay Times, July 13, 1947

Fear-Inspired Folklore?

Messenger-Inquirer, July 20, 1947

Associated Press Science Editor, Howard W. Blakeslee wrote a long article on how the flying saucers might be a "new folklore in the making":

The flying disks are probably the first of a series of aerial puzzles, with others to come, in the opinion of Dr. J.L. Moreno, New York... Men have been seeing things like flying disks for centuries. Now these apparitions have a new meaning and some of them a new dreadfulness. 

The full text of the article can be found at Saturday Night Uforia, "in the news 1947," look for the story, Seeing of Saucers in Flight Is Phenomenon of Current Fears

Industrial Waste?

The News Palladium, July 30, 1947

The Saucers That 1947 Forgot

By August of 1947, the flying saucer sensation was over, and the topic was spoken of in the past tense. The Gallup Poll asked "What do you think the saucers are?" After months of conflicting explanations, no one could be sure, but of the respondents who thought saucers were real, the top answer was military "secret weapon."

Aug. 15, 1947

When saucers were discussed, the idea lingered that the UFOs could be a secret military weapon, but there was no consensus on who was flying them.

The Soviets thought they were ours.

St. Clair Chronicle, Aug. 23, 1947

Oregon Representative Harris Ellsworth got word that behind the saucers story we might find a rocket from Russia.

The Freeport Journal-Standard, Dec. 22, 1947

Stories of saucer sightings, and various explanations from the credible to the crackpot variety, continued to make good copy. The newspapers continued to provide stories about flying saucers for their curious readers. It didn't much matter to the newspaper editors what was being seen, or whether it was real; saucers were news, and they sold news. 

UFOs: Contact in the Comics from 1964

Buz Sawyer was the daily comic strip created by Roy Crane in 1943 featuring the adventures of a heroic Navy pilot. When a Sunday comic strip was added, it was produced by Crane's assistants and featured a different storyline starring Rosco Sweeney, Buz Sawyer's comic sidekick. The Sunday strip was a comedy, mostly about Rosco Sweeney and his sister, Lucille, dealing with country life on the family farm.

A typical day at the Sweeney farm, 1963.

Al Wenzel's (Albert Borth Wenzel, 1924 -1995) art career took flight illustrating Superboy comic books in the late 1940s, and by the early 1950s he was producing cartoons for magazines and ghosting comic strips such as Will Eisner's The Spirit. In 1960, he became Crane's assistant on the Buz Sawyer Sundays, then took over producing the strip in 1962. Wenzel continued the premise and flavor of the strip, but in 1964, things got weird when a flying saucer turned up.

Robert Barrow, a long-time ufologist, sent us a note about some comic strips he'd saved:

After the Lonnie Zamora UFO report in 1964 all manner of newspaper responses showed up.  These are three separate weeks from the Sunday newspaper comics featuring the "Buz Sawyer" series by Roy Crane, and these involve "his pal" Rosco Sweeney.

We've shared the 1964 strips below, and Claude Falkstrom was able to locate some black and white reproductions of the other strips in the the series, along with a few of the final ones in color from UFOPOP. It looks like there was an earlier introduction, that may be missing, but otherwise the story looks complete. It's an interesting look at the attitudes of the time, from the public's view on Air Force UFO denials to the concern by witness that they'll be seen as kooks. As for the visiting extraterrestrial, he's a little green man from Mars.

 

  

The Dec. 1964 episode ended the flying saucer storyline, at least for a while. In March of 1968, the Martian made a return visit.

Thanks to Robert Barrow for sharing his original newspaper clippings from 1964. Check out Robert's work at UFO: The True Story of Flying Saucers