Fiend or Figment?
In our last issue we presented some examples of the letters that poured into the offices of Amazing Stories during the Shaver Mystery Years. As editor Raymond A. Palmer liked to say, many were "brickbats," some were "bouquets" ... and some were hoaxes sent in by a slew of characters who enjoyed putting one over on him. One of the more sinister of these "characters" was the so-called "deroPan of Dero." And yes, he claimed he was a dero. Nevermind that by Shaver's definition a dero should be a mindless, backwards-thinking evil mutant. Obviously, "deroPan of Dero" bucked that image. He seems quite literate.
Of interest in this letter is deroPan's claim that Richard Shaver is also a dero...a claim that RAP scoffed at.
However, the letter's Mission Impossible-like intro by David L. Scoles ... "With no proof, I hestitated to send the copy..." sounds pretty suspicious.
But hey, that never stopped Ray Palmer from forging ahead ... so bring it on, deroPan!
In a rare show of skepticism, RAP stated he didn't believe deroPan was for real. Our question is, was deroPan really David L. Scoles? To this day, the "perp" has not been revealed. That's why we invite deroPan, whoever you are/were, to write in and give us the complete story. There's a webmail link at the end of the article.
Amazing Stories, October 1946:
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