author
J. Francis McComas
1911–1978
Best remembered as a sharp-eyed editor who helped shape modern science fiction, he also wrote stories of his own under both his own name and the pseudonym Webb Marlowe. His work sits at the heart of mid-century SF, from landmark anthologies to one of the genre’s most influential magazines.
1 Audiobook
Criminal Negligence
by J. Francis McComas
About the author
Jesse Francis McComas was an American science fiction editor and writer, born on June 9, 1911, and remembered mainly for the influence he had behind the scenes. He entered publishing in the early 1940s, worked with Random House in New York, and later returned to California, where much of his editorial career took shape.
He is especially known for co-editing important science fiction anthologies with Raymond J. Healy and for helping found and edit The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in 1949 with Anthony Boucher. Alongside his editorial work, he published a number of stories in the 1950s, sometimes using the name Webb Marlowe.
McComas died on April 19, 1978. His lasting reputation comes from his taste as an editor and critic: he helped introduce readers to standout speculative fiction at a time when the field was rapidly growing, and his name remains closely tied to the shaping of modern science fiction.