Jesse Francis McComas was a pivotal figure in the mid-twentieth-century American science fiction landscape, best known for his influential work as an editor, anthologist, and reviewer. He began his career in the publishing industry in 1941, working as a salesman and editorial representative for Random House in New York. He later relocated to California, where he continued his editorial and sales work for prominent publishers such as Henry Holt and Company and Simon & Schuster.
McComas made a lasting contribution to the genre in 1946 when he co-edited Adventures in Time and Space alongside Raymond J. Healy. This compilation is widely regarded as one of the first major and definitive anthologies of modern science fiction, helping to legitimize the genre for a broader reading public. Building on this success, McComas co-founded The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (initially launched as The Magazine of Fantasy) with Anthony Boucher in 1949. He served as an active editor for the publication until 1954 and remained involved as an advisory editor until 1962.
In addition to his editorial achievements, McComas was a writer and critic. During the 1950s, he authored several science fiction stories under his own name as well as the pseudonym Webb Marlowe. He also helped shape public perception of the genre by reviewing science fiction works for The New York Times during the same decade. Upon his death, his extensive collection of three thousand fiction volumes and dozens of vintage science fiction magazines was donated to the San Francisco Public Library.
