John Russell Fearn (1908–1960) was one of the first British authors  to appear in American pulp science fiction magazines. A highly  prolific author, he published under many pseudonyms (including Vargo Statten, Thornton Ayre, Polton Cross, Geoffrey Armstrong, John Cotton, Dennis Clive, Ephriam Winiki, and Astron Del Martia) as well as under his own name.