Science-Fiction newsletters and fan magazines began to proliferate in the late 1930s and early 1940s, most of them amateur publications mimeographed in purple and seeking to share enthusiasms for the emerging genre. Most of these publications were distributed gratis or with nominal fees, to cover mailing costs. These works frequently referred to Burroughs as “the Grandfather of American Science Fiction,” but the first magazine devoted exclusively to the author and his work was the Burroughs Bulletin, founded and edited by Vernell Coriell, a circus performer and acrobat who produced his first issue in July 1947 with the blessing of Burroughs, then in retirement at Encino, California, after having served as the oldest war correspondent in World War II.