Chapter Six - "Where No Fan Has Gone Before"
The rise of media and other subfandoms
Richard Lynch
P.O. Box 3120
Gaithersburg, MD 20885 USA
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PRELIMINARY OUTLINE FOR A PROPOSED FAN HISTORY BOOK OF THE 1960s
Comments on this outline-in-progress are requested!!!
(last updated on February 26, 2002)
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* The Rise of STAR TREK
- first previewed at 1966 Westercon and then 1966 Worldcon
> Gene Roddenberry (say something about him)
- Fan embracement of the series
- SF author involvement in scripts
- Hugo awards with 5 different Trek episodes nominated
- first Trek fans appear
> nine people dress as Spock in 1967 Worldcon Masquerade
> Mike Glicksohn and contingent of Canadian fans wore Spock ears at 1967
Worldcon, as they watched banquet from an overlooking balcony
- the first all-STAR TREK fanzines
> SPOCKANALIA edited by Devra Langsam and Sherna Comerford
-- named after STAR TREK'S Vulcan Science Officer, Mr. Spock
-- unlike many Trekzines that followed in the 1970s and later, was done
by mimeo
-- Devra Langsam co-editor
>> joined fandom early in 1967, as member of Lunarians
>> (mini-bio here)
>> went on to become one of organizers of first major Star Trek con,
featuring actors in the series, in New York City, in 1972
--- con was not chaired by her (Al Schuster was chair)
>> in 1970s, published another (mostly) Trekzine, MASIFORM D
--- featured lots of multi-color mimeo
>> continued to be active in Lunarians, holding most of positions in
Lunacon committee at one time or another
>> in later years, was huckster at many east coast conventions
-- Sherna Comerford co-editor
>> had met Devra in high school (which one?)
>> (mini bio here)
>> married fan Brian Burley in 1968
--- second issue of SPOCKANALIA contained editorial that
supported Columbus 1969 Worldcon bid that Burley was
associated with
-- first issue in 1967, was collated and distributed at the New York
worldcon
-- issue #2 contained articles by Ruth Berman, John Mansfield,
Lois McMaster, Sandra Miesel, Susan Hereford, and Jean Lorrah;
artwork by Alexis Gilliland, Juanita Coulson, and Jack Gaughan
-- 5 issues during the 1960s
>> typically pagecount was over 100
>> content included fiction, poetry, and whimsy (e.g., what Vulcan
culture was like, etc.)
>> Devra's cousin Debbie Langsam became "Junior Editor" as of third
issue
--- Debbie also active in Lunarians
> T NEGATIVE edited by Ruth Berman
-- (details?)
> TREKzines were not limited to just North America
-- in Australia, at the end of 1969, Shayne McCormack and Sabina Heggie
published the first issue of TERRAN TIMES, a Star trek zine that also
had some leanings toward mainstream science fiction [source: Clarke 22Nov00
email]
-- (others?)
- in 1969, a Bjo Trimble-edited STAR TREK CONCORDANCE book was published
> information was compiled by Dorothy Jones
> covered the first two years of the series, and included an index of
people & places and a comprehensive episode guide
> often imitated in decades that followed for other television and
publication series, it may have been the very first book of this type
ever published
- fan conventions will be discussed in later chapters, but this seems a good
place to describe the first STAR TREK convention ever held
> the very first convention, called simply 'The Star Trek Conference' took
place on the afternoon of March 1, 1969, at Newark Public Library
-- organizer was Sherna Comerford Burley
-- unlike the high-profile media-oriented conventions that would begin
to be held just a few years later, this one was low key, with nobody
associated with the TV show there
>> featured events were discussion panels, talks, and fannishness
--- a fan panel on "The Star Trek Phenomenon", with Brian Burley,
Debbie Langsam, and Sue Lewis tried to explain why the show
was able to inspire such a massive show of support in the way
of letter writing campaigns, fanzines, and even a one-day
convention in Newark, where other shows had not
--- Elyse Pines and Lee Smoire gave a slide show of the Enterprise
Hollywood set and some of the aliens that had appeared in the
show
--- Chuck Rein, Ron Bounds, and Nara Sangster led a round of filk
singing, of songs inspired by STAR TREK
>>> Rein also moderated a panel on 'The Spock Phenomenon', in
a Spock costume complete with pointed ears
--- Hal Clement gave a talk about "Star Trek and Science"
--- the convention ended with a short skit by Sherna called "Spock
Shock", that featured Rein as Lt. Swock, Bruce Newrock as
Capt. Curt, and Devra Langsam as Lt. Alura
-- attendance was only about 55, not even a shadow of the huge numbers
of people who would attend the media-oriented conventions of later
decades
-- (fan reactions to the event, afterwards?)
> it was not until 1971 that the media-oriented STAR TREK conventions
began to be held, with actors from the show as guests
- other notable TREKfans were Stu Hellinger, Al Schuster, Thom & Dana
Anderson, Ben Yalow, Elyse Pines, Steve Rosenstein, Lois McMaster, Vonda
McIntyre, Ruth Berman
> Ruth Berman published a STAR TREK fanzine titled T NEGATIVE in late
1960s
> (need some details on how others were 'notable')
- the "Save STAR TREK" campaigns
> show was in continual ratings problems, and in 1967 NBC cancelled the
show for what would be the first of three times
-- ratings troubles had started as early as the end of 1966, however,
which induced Roddenberry to contact one of the science fiction
writers who had done a script for the show, Harlan Ellison [source:
Holmberg 30Dec98 email]
> so in November 1966, Ellison assembled a group of SF authors who calling
themselves 'The Committee', which sent out form letters to fans and other
pro authors urging they write letters of praise for the series to their
TV stations, media, and show's sponsors
-- eight others on 'The Committee' besides Ellison: Poul Anderson, A.E.
Van Vogt, Phil Farmer, Richard Matheson, Ted Sturgeon, Robert Bloch,
Lester del Rey, and Frank Herbert
-- a few fans were skeptical, believing that the members of The Committee,
some of whom had sold scripts to Roddenberry, may have a secondary
agenda: Roy Tackett wrote that "I'm happy to see the whole crew from
Poul to Van making money selling stf to TV but I just can't picture
them as nine apostles intent on bringing the relevations of science
fiction to the non-believing masses." [source: Tackett in DYNATRON 30]
-- but the campaign worked, and NBC's first cancellation was rescinded
> the next year, NBC attempted to cancel the show again, and once again
fandom came to its rescue
-- in January 1968, fifteen members of NESFA picketed WBZ, the local NBC
affiliate in Boston, to show support for the show and protest WBZ's
occasional pre-emption of the show
-- (any other examples?)
> Bjo published a newsletter WHERE NO FAN HAS GONE BEFORE, bring word to
fandom on how the campaign was doing
-- in the second issue, dated March 1, 1968, she reported that over one
million letters had been sent to NBC by fans of the show
-- a little more than one month later, both she and her husband John
became employees of STAR TREK, in charge of handling fan mail and
related duties
> ultimately, the campaign was unsuccessful, and the Starship Enterprise's
five year mission was brought to a premature ending after only three
seasons
-- however, the show then became a huge success in syndication; by mid
1969 it was being shown on over 60 television stations in the U.S.,
and was seen in over 60 countries of the world
-- interest in the series remained high for decades, resulting in an
animated television series, theatrical motion pictures, original
novels (some by well-known science fiction authors), various items of
merchandising (everything from plastic models to Christmas tree
ornaments), and, yes, several new spin-off television series. The
amount of money all these spin-offs represented dwarfed by far the
amount of money expended in production of the original series.
- there was another crossover from STAR TREK to science fiction: the
novelizations of various STAR TREK episodes that were written by James
Blish and published by (who?)
> these started appearing in 1967 (true?)
> Blish also wrote an original STAR TREK novel, SPOCK MUST DIE, that was
the first in a long series of STAR TREK novels written by sf authors,
that continued for decades afterwards
> Bjo even got in on the STAR TREK publication stampede in 1969, with THE
STAR TREK CONCORDANCE, which contained plot synopses, listings of actors
and actresses who had appeared in the show, script writers, and
explanations for nearly every subject mentioned in the show
-- Bjo had received permission from Gene Roddenberry for the project
-- although technically it was a fanzine, it was offset-reproduced for
crisp appearance, and had over 100 illustrations by such prominent
fan artists as Alicia Austin, George Barr, and Tim Kirk
* THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.
- a popular TV spy show from the late 1960s that was vaguely science
fictional at times, featuring secret agents Napoleon Solo and Ilya
Kuryakin of the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement
> (any reprint quotes from 1960s fanzines on why fans found it popular?)
- like STAR TREK, its own fan clubs sprung up in response to the show
> United Network Command for Law and Enforcement fan club was the largest
-- (who formed it? when?)
>> (anyone in club who were also in fandom?)
-- (how long did it last?)
- fandom's main connection with the series, however, were the novelizations
done by Ace Books in the mid-to-late 1960s
> Terry Carr was an editor at Ace at that time, and he was able to use his
influence to bring the opportunities to fans who were in the process of
becoming pro writers
-- the writer most often associated with the series of U.N.C.L.E.
novels published in the 1960s was Los Angeles fan Ted Johnstone
-- After seeing an sf novel by Johnstone that Wollheim had rejected,
Carr was convinced that that Johnstone could be a talented writer:
"I commissioned him to write those MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. novels because
I admired his narrative skills combined with his playfulness; they
were *extremely* good for what they were."
- Johnstone's U.N.C.L.E. novelizations appeared under his real name, David
McDaniel
> his first book, THE D.A.G.G.E.R. AFFAIR, sold to Ace Books in late 1965
> sold five other MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. novelizations in the 1960s
-- after second novel, he apparently had made the unpleasant discovery
that he was not to become rich from writing U.N.C.L.E. novels
>> in his third novel, THE MONSTER WHEEL AFFAIR, in 1967, readers
found that the first letter in each chapter title spelled out the
message 'A.A. Wyn is a tightwad', which went unnoticed by the
publisher of Ace Books, Mr. Wyn
>> that book was also dedicated to "Ted Johnstone, for 10 years of
unremitting labor which put me where I am today"
> a final novel, THE FINAL AFFAIR, was never published, as it leapt
beyond the constraints of the series by killing off one of the major
characters
-- it saw publication in fanzine form in the 1970s, after the TV series
had ended
- other U.N.C.L.E. novels done by science fiction fans were by Buck Coulson and
Gene DeWeese under the pseudonym of "Thomas Stratton", and by Ron Ellik
under the pseudonym of "Fredric Davies"
* THE OUTER LIMITS
- Ellison scripts, including "Soldier" and "Demon with a Glass Hand"
> campaigned for Dramatic Presentation Hugo
-- showings, and eligibility, were promoted in STARSPINKLE
> Ron Ellik (who did not own a TV set) reported that his viewing of
"Soldier" at Harlan's house, was an experience, because of last-minute
TV reception troubles: "With two TV repairmen standing up on the hill
holding the antenna in place, and Harlan jumping up and down, tearing
his hair, we watched SOLDIER."
-- reported that "the performances were great, the plot was poor, and
the writing was far better than I've become accustomed to find on
television; as for special effects -- every time they pulled one,
Harlan had to tell us what happened, because the set would go blooie.
The tension -- from a high-pitched show and a higher-pitched host --
was terrific, and at the end I felt I had spent a valuable hour even
though I'm not yet a tv-watcher." [from STARSPINKLE]
> Ellison also did screenplays for other TV series, including BURKE's LAW
* DOCTOR WHO
- debuted day after Kennedy was shot (1963)
- (any fan reactions?)
- large and active network of Dr. Who fanclubs sprung up in later decades
* other television shows (and recordings)
- THE PRISONER
> a television series about a secret agent identified only as "Number 6"
who was imprisoned in a fantasy village (filmed in Portmeirion, Wales)
after he had attempted to resign
-- broadcast on British TV in 1967, and came to the U.S. the next year
> in later years, spawned its own fandom that was marginally connected
with science fiction
> its main connction to fandom, once again, was the novelizations done by
sf authors and fans
-- writers of the first three Prisoner novels were Thomas Disch, David
McDaniel, and Hank Stine (published when?)
> there *were* some other fannish associations with the series, though;
New York fans Rich and Colleen Brown had unknowingly scheduled their
wedding at the exact day and time that the final episode was aired in
New York City, so the Fanoclast fan group, which they were members of,
had a major decision of which event to watch
-- most of them opted for the wedding, and had to wait until the show
was eventually repeated to see how it all came out
-- Brown later commented, "I have always regarded that as a Test of
Friendship."
- there were other sf fan- and pro-written novelizations of TV shows in the
1960s
> Ted White and Dave Van Arnam wrote one for the abysmally bad LOST IN
SPACE
> Ted also wrote a CAPTAIN AMERICA novel, though it was based on a popular
comic book rather than on a TV series
- FIRESIGN THEATER
> comedy recordings caught the attention of fandom in late 1960s,
including Jim Young and Fred Haskell from Minneapolis
-- Haskell did interview with some of members, that was printed in RUNE
in 1970
> apart from crossover interest of fans, however, no real fandom developed
* 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
- Arthur C. Clarke
> movie based on his short story "The Sentenel"
> Announced project at banquet at 1965 Worldcon
-- original name of movie was to be "Journey Beyond the Stars"
-- said he hoped it would be the DESTINATION MOON of the 1970s
- Dave Kyle visited the set during filming, and was impressed by what he
saw: "We saw the oasis scenery, the site of the monolith, which hadn't yet
been dismantled. I met Roger Karas, doing the publicity, who showed me
many things, such as the wealth of art renditions and visualizations which
foretold of the masterpiece being created. Most impressive was the huge
construction of scaffolding which contained a sort of ferris wheel. This
unsightly structure of wood and steel hid an incredible movie set within
the suspended, hollow doughnut." [from MIMOSA]
- Con Pederson, former member of 1950s L.A. fan group, The Outlanders, was
in charge of animation and special effects department for the movie
> (any details? how did he get involved?)
- the movie became a cult hit, due to the psychedelic visual effect sequence
near its end
> (quotes? details?)
- the "meaning" of the movie was a subject of debate
> when Canadian fan Ken Smookler asked Clarke what the last sequence of
the movie was supposed to mean, Clarke was reported to have said, "I
don't know; Stanley won't tell me."
- the reviews of the movie ran the gamut from wildly enthusiastic to highly
critical
> one of the most interesting was from U.S. President Richard Nixon, who
wrote that the movie "deals with a broad range of man's technological
and spiritual development. It is my hope that this cinematic look into
man's past and his future will help bring us to a better understanding
of our world and perhaps offer that intellectual stimulation necessary
if we are to solve our problems in the spirit of international
brotherhood."
-- Nixon's statement was meant to be read before a showing of the film
at the 1969 Moscow Film Festival, but officials in the U.S.S.R.
refused to allow it
- other reviews to the movie from sf community were somewhat uneven
> Richard Hodgens, who reviewed the movie in TRUMPET, was wildly
enthusiastic: "2001 is a great work. It is great science fiction, and
it is a great film." Perhaps more insightfully, he also wrote that "The
one common criterion of greatness that 2001 has not met is, of course,
the test of time. But, assuming a normal continuity of our
civilization, as 2001 itself assumes, I have no doubt that it will be
seen and appreciated long after 2001."
> Harlan Ellison was a bit more direct: "2001 is a visually-exciting self-
indulgent directorial exercise by a man who has spent anywhere from ten
to twenty-five million dollars pulling ciphers out of a cocked hat
because he lost his rabbit somewhere."
-- he ultimately found the movie a somewhat noble failure, full of sense
of wonder, but lacking in plot: "The psychedelic sequences are some
of the visually most exciting stuff ever put on celluloid; in a way
it's what cinema is all about, really. The ape sequences are
brilliant, the special effects staggering. But I am compelled, once
and finally, to say that this is a bad movie. It fails in the first
order of story-telling: to tell a story."
- despite the mixed fan reviews, the movie won the Hugo Award in 1969 for
Best Dramatic Presentation, and as time has gone on, it has come to be
regarded as one of the finest science fiction movies ever made
- perhaps the best testimony to this science fiction movie's unprecidented
prestige outside the science fiction community was from Apollo 8 astronaut
Frank Borman, who let on that the Apollo 8 crew had considered playing a
little joke by reporting that they had sighted a black monolith in orbit
around the earth
> they didn't go through with it, however, because they were afraid they
would be believed, especially by members of the U.S. Congress who
authorized money for the Apollo program
* FAHRENHEIT 451 movie
- based on the Bradbury novel
- filmed in 1966
- (fan reactions?)
* FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND magazine
- edited by Forrest J Ackerman
> (bio of FJA's 1960 activities)
> Special dinner given for him on Dec. 2, 1967, in honor of his 50th
birthday and 40 years in fandom
-- Bloch was toastmaster, other speakers included Bradbury, Jim Warren,
Guy Gifford (an old-time pulp magazine cartoonist), A.E. van Vogt,
and Walt Leibscher
-- Forry was presented with various plaques and awards, and copy of a
special fanzine put out by LASFS (edited by Fred Patten) for the
occasion
- magazine succeeded in bringing people into fandom
> Mike Glicksohn learned about 1966 worldcon from ad in magazine
> young fan named Gene Klein
-- only in fandom briefly
>> described (by Gary Farber) as "A typical 12-13 year old monster
fan"
-- published a few fanzines
-- went on to international fame in rock music, under stage name of
Gene Simmons with the group KISS
* Horror Film Club of Great Britain
- formed early in 1965
- Organized Britain's first media-SF convention, in Sept. 1966 in Bath
> SF notables attending included Ramsey Campbell (who conducted an
auction), Ted Tubb, Ken Bulmer, and Ray Fawcett
> programme apparently consisted mostly of films; about 18 were shown
- club expired soon after that, the convention apparently finishing them off
- notable member was Rosemary Nicholls, who married Darroll Pardoe in 1969
* Films involving fans
- the first fan-produced films were done in the 1950s
> one of the most famous was THE GENIE, done by members of LASFS, which
featured Forry Ackerman, Fritz Leiber, and Bjo Trimble
> (brief summary of others)
- by the 1960s, many fans had been bitten by the cinema bug, and some, such
as LASFS member Con Pederson, actually went on to careers in the film
industry
> it was about that time that Ed Emshwiller, one of science fiction's
finest artists, began making short films instead of painting; his first
film, IMAGE, FLESH AND VOICE, was premiered at the Gallery of Modern Art
in New York City on April 18, 1969
- one of the first fan-produced movies of the 1960s was actually a
collaboration between an American and Norwegian fan: Ray Nelson's and Roar
Ringdahl's short, silent B&W film, MONSTER ON THE LOOSE
- another early 1960s production was IT HAPPENED HERE, a "what if" movie
about Britain under Nazi control
> filmed periodically between 1956 and 1964
> had bit roles as extras for Jim Linwood, Bruce Burn, Pete Taylor
> film finally finished in 1964 after receiving some financial assistance
from Stanley Kubrick and Tony Richardson
- The Delta Group in U.K. (Manchester)
> made series of amateur films
-- shown at 1964 Eastercon
-- collaborated with Liverpool Group in production of CASTLE OF TERROR
(a.k.a. FRANKENSTEIN AND THE REVOLTING PEASANTS)
>> Liverpool fandom had previously (in the 1950s) been progenitor of
Mersey and Deeside Productions, which had also done some fan
productions
-- BREATHWORLD received the Highly Commended Award in AMATEUR MOVIE
MAGAZINE's `Top Eight Competition' in 1966
-- FRANKENSTEIN'S EXPERIMENT received a Diploma of Merit at the Scottish
Amateur Film Festival of 1966
> also sponsored 1968 Eastercon
> lasted until mid-1970s
* Jim Harmon
- fan from 1950s best known for scuffle with Harlan Ellison at 1954 worldcon
that resulted in the infamous "Midwestcon Door" incident
- was announcer and producer of biweekly radio show on station KPFK in Los
Angeles called "Radio Rides Again"
> featured bits of old-time radio favorites
- his book, THE GREAT RADIO HEROES, was published by Ace Books in 1968
* Rog Ebert
- midwest U.S. fan, attended University of Illinois as an English major
> first appearance in fandom in the late 1950s, when several of his
letters appeared in prozine letters columns
- was pretty much an average, undistinguished fan
> published a short-lived fanzine STYMIE
> appeared at a few midwest conventions, including a Midwestcon to which he
was given a ride by Bob Tucker
> by 1961, his science fiction collection included about 1000 prozines and
400 fanzines
> wrote fanzine articles, the most notable being "The Fanac of J. Alfred
Trufan" which appeared in KIPPLE
-- other fanzines where he appeared included YANDRO; PSI-PHI, where he
did a regular column titled "Reverberations", and PARSECTION, where
he reviewed fanzines
> he also wrote fannish poetry, which appeared in XERO
-- topics included his admiration of Walt Willis and a visit to Ted
White's house
> in 1961, while on his first trip to Europe, he went to Belfast, Northern
Ireland, to visit Walt and Madeleine Willis, where, as he later wrote, he
"gazed in astonishment" at the Willis' huge collection of books and
magazines [source: Ebert 7Dec00 email]
- he did not stay in fandom very long
> last fanzine appearance was (when?)
> in 1960, he had won an Illinois Associated Press newswriting award, for
a sports story
-- this was the beginnings of a career in journalism
>> later, in 1963, he became editor of the Univ. of Illinois campus
newspaper, THE DAILY ILLINI
>> by 1965 he had steady work as a sports writer for Champaign-Urbana
NEWS GAZETTE [source: Ebert's web site]
>> he was hirted by the Chicago SUN-TIMES in 1966, and was appointed
its film critic six months later [source: Ebert's web site]
- he went on to become world-famous movie critic Roger Ebert
> this was perhaps predictable; one of his first pieces of fanac, a letter
in the August 1957 issue AMAZING, commented on the book review column
and said that "I just simply get a kick out of finding someone else's
opinion on a book I read."
Other Subfandoms
* Knights of St. Fantony
- started at 1957 British Convention (in Kettering), by Bob Richardson, Eric
& Margaret Jones, Peter Mabey, and Audrey Eversfield
> all were members of the Cheltenham Circle fan club
- original purpose was as return of honours bestowed on Cheltenham fans by
the Liverpool Group
> quickly expanded to honor activities of other worthy fans
-- at a KofStF Ceremonie, identity of those being honoured was kept
secret until they were yanked from audience
-- newly chosen honorees induction included the downing of the Waters of
St. Fantony, which was described as "a liquid with an improbably high
proof rating"
- became dormant in 1963 after death of founder, Bob Richardson
> was felt that, as mark of respect for Richardson, StF should bow out
- revived in late 1964 by Keith Freeman, Eric Jones, and Ken Slater
> happened at an all-night party at a convention about a year after
Richardson's death
> felt that reviving the Society would be a living tribute to Richardson
- held events at Eastercons, plus 1965 and 1966 worldcons
* Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA)
- to an outsider, could be construed as somewhat similar to British fandom's
Knights of St. Fantony, but in reality totally different in intent and
activities
- an organization devoted to the study of pre-17th century Western culture,
concentrating on the European Middle Ages and Renaissance
> open to anyone who shared Society's interest in medieval re-creation
and re-enactment
> "Creative Anachronism" meant selectively re-creating the best qualities
of the middle ages
- beginnings of Society date back to 1960, when Dave Thewlis and
Ken de Maiffe became friends while attending language school at Indiana
University
> a bit later, when they were both posted to Germany by the U.S. Air
Force, as they were surrounded by great amounts of medieval history
present in Germany, each discovered the other had an interest in the
Middle Ages
> by late 1965 both were out of the military and living in California
-- according to Thewlis, "Our interest in the Middle Ages had continued
to grow, and our interest in fencing led us to be curious about
fighting with period weapons and armor."
-- they constructed steel and leather heaters (a type of shield), and
made the first steps toward non-lethal weaponry that would be used by
Society fighters
- at about the same time that Thewlis and de Maiffe were taken up with ideas
of swordplay using recreations of medieval armaments, Don Studebaker and
Paul Edwin Zimmer had been discussing altering one's awareness by
producing an alternative social reality
> both were science fiction fans
-- Studebaker, who had written some science fiction under the pen name
'Jon DeCles', had met Zimmer at the 1962 Worldcon (in Chicago)
-- Zimmer was the brother of Marion Zimmer Bradley, and introduced
Studebaker to Thewlis and de Maiffe at his parent's farm in upstate
New York
-- further connections to fandom were forged through Ed Meskys, who
introduced them to the Bay Area's Little Mens' club after they had
all relocated to California in the mid 1960s
>> Meskys was to move from California to New England soon after that,
but as we will see, he played a large role in giving visibility
to the society's activities through his fanzine, NIEKAS
- by 1967, they all started to frequently gather with other people they had
met at Little Mens' and elsewhere who shared parallel interests, including
Diana Paxson, Marion Zimmer Bradley, and Walter Breen
> at the time, Diana Paxson was a postgraduate student at the University
of California in medieval literature
- Society was founded on May 1, 1966, in Berkeley, California, at a May Day
medieval theme party hosted by Diana Paxson, although the name 'Society
for Creative Anachronism' was not invented until a short time afterwards
> Paxson had noticed that the back yard of the house in which she lived
was similar in shape to courtyards in castles she had visited in France
-- after having seen Thewlis and de Maiffe show off their medeival
weaponry, she decided that she wanted to have some kind of tournament
there
> the party was a huge success
-- attendees came from many diverse sources: local science fiction fans,
students from the Mills College and the University of California, the
San Anselmo Theological Seminary, and friends of Thewlis and Paxson
-- according to Thewlis, "We had an invocation ('Winnie the Pooh went
thump-thump-thump down the stairs after Christopher Robin' in Latin),
a madrigal group, and wound up the day by processing up Telegraph
Avenue in Berkeley protesting the 20th century in fine 1960s Berkeley
tradition."
-- the party also featured a tournament, in which the knighting of David
Bradley for valor on the field of battle occurred
>> judges were Dr. Elizabeth Pope of Mills College (one of Paxson's
former professors) and Studebaker (who would a year later become
Paxson's husband)
>> Bradley thus became recognized as the first to be Knighted in the
organization's history
>> the tournament was successful enough that plans became active
almost immediately for another soon afterward
--- in order to make reservation to use Joaquin Miller Park, in
Oakland, for the second tournament, the new organization
needed a name, so one of the attendees of that first
tournament, Marion Zimmer Bradley, came up with `Society for
Creative Anchronism' which quickly caught on
- in part due to the efforts of Studebaker and Paxson, the Society became
incorporated in 1968
> became a non-profit educational organization of the State of California
in October 1968
> earlier in 1968, Society was formally established with the creation of
titles such as Knight, Duke, and King, and induction of members into
them
-- that date, January 6, 1968, became referred to as Twelfthnight in SCA
annals, and was considered the most significant event in the
Society's early history
- members took on Society names: Diane Paxson became Diana Listmaker; Don
Studebaker became Jon de Cles; Marion Zimmer Bradley became Mistress
Elfrida of Greenwalls; Thewlis became Siegfried von Hoflichkeit
- as in middle ages, SCA divided world into semi-autonomous "kingdoms"
> activities
-- tournaments held; knights did battle with mock weaponry such as
rattan swords
-- "wars", which were mostly outdoor camping events, mostly in summer,
that featured larger-scale combat scenarios as opposed to the one-on-
one duels that occurred during tournaments
-- "feasts", which were banquets served in medieval fashion, usually on
long communal tables, featuring medieval food for Society groups
ranging in size from 20 up to several hundred, with attendees in
their medieval garb
-- "revels", which were more or less formal parties in garb, with much
singing, dancing, drinking, and events like bardic competitions
-- Society publications included TOURNAMENTS ILLUMINATED, edited by Don
Studebaker, which started with the April/May 1967 issue
>> published informations about upcoming events, plus general
interest articles on medieval culture and literature, "how-to"
articles for making appropriate garb and constructing weaponry,
and even some poetry and verse
>> a frequent contributor was Bjo Trimble, with her cartoons
- interest in the new organization quickly spread
> Diana Paxson wrote an article about that first tournament of May 1966,
which appeared in NIEKAS, gaining instant widespread visibility for the
organization
-- NIEKAS was widely distributed, and won Hugo Award for Best Fanzine at
the 1967 Worldcon
> LASFS became involved during the Society's second year, via the Trimbles
and Owen Hannifen
> New York fans found out about the SCA from Bradley and Walter Breen,
who moved to Staten Island in 1968
-- an Eastern Kingdom formed on June 2, 1968, the anniversary of King
Arthur's coronation
-- by 1969, the Eastern Kingdom was very active and growing rapidly
>> it sponsored a June summer solstice tournament, attended by about
150 people, in suburban New Jersey
>> event was run by some notables: Carol Pohl, Lester and Evelyn del
Rey, and the future famous skeptic, James Randi
> conventions such as Westercons and (especially) the 1968 Worldcon, where
the SCA held demonstrations, were also a means of introducing it to fans
> however, the major link in the growth of the SCA was from college
students, networking outward from those who had been involved at that
May 1966 event in Berkeley
> by the early 1970s, four kingdoms existed in North America, comprising
the west, northern midwest, east, and southwest
-- each chose King twice- or thrice-annually on field of combat
-- in later decades, the Society expanded outside of North America,
while its popularity in the U.S. continued to increase
-- at the time of the 10th anniversary of the founding of the Society,
in 1976, there were over 2000 dues-paying members, and an even larger
number of people who considered themselves active participants in the
Society's events
- SCA had strong ties to fandom during the 1960s
> early members included science fiction notables such as Poul and Karen
Anderson, William and Mildred Downey Broxon, Bjo and John Trimble,
Walter Breen, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Jerry Pournelle, Felice Rolfe, and
George Scithers
-- one of the more important science fiction notables in the SCA was
Randall Garrett (a.k.a. Randall of Hightower), who became involved
with the SCA in 1967, and founded heraldic practice and armory in the
organization
- most notable and visible activity during the 1960s was the demonstration
conducted at the 1968 Worldcon, of which more will be said later
* Georgette Heyer fandom
- started from articles published in NIEKAS
- members included Suford Lewis, Cory Seidman, Leslie Turek, Peggy Kennedy,
Marsha Brown
> Ted White was interested, but patronesses did not approve of his 'tone'
- evolved into a group called "Friends of the English Regency", which became
known for holding English Regency Dance events at conventions
* Tolkien fandom
- The Fellowship of the Ring
> group devoted to fiction of J.R.R. Tolkien
> official club journal was I-PALANTIR, edited by Ted Johnstone
-- 4 issues published
-- successor was fanzine named ENTMOOT
>> edited by Greg Shaw, the same person who published the music-
related fanzine METANOIA
>> typical contents included comparison of paperback editions of
THE LORD OF THE RINGS to music for some of the books songs
- The Tolkien Society of America
> was founded in 1965 by Dick Plotz, a non-fan high school student
[source: Bratman 8Aug96 email]
> Ed Meskys assumed control of organization in 1967 after first Thain of
Society (Plotz) had to give it up to concentrate on his studies
> in October 1968, Tolkien Conference held at Belknap College in New
Hampshire, under Tolkien Society sponsorship
-- was organized by Ed Meskys, who was then a Professor at Belknap
-- was not a convention; was a scholarly literary conference, with
presented papers
>> many of the papers were given by people from the sf community,
such as Lester del Rey, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Dainis Bisenieks,
and Fred Lerner
> Ed Meskys also held Tolkien Society meeting at Boskone VI in 1969
> published a fanzine THE TOLKIEN JOURNAL
-- edited at first by Dick Plotz, then by Ed Meskys
> another Tolkien fanzine independent of the TSA, was ORCRIST, published
by the University of Wisconsin Tolkien Society, and edited by Richard
West [source: Bratman 10Oct00 email]
-- began in 1968, but with its third issue, in 1969, it merged with
THE TOLKIEN JOURNAL
>> Meskys was suffering vision degradation which would eventually
result in blindness, so he could no longer easily publish TTJ
>> members of TSA began receiving copies of ORCRIST instead to
fulfill their subscriptions [source: Bratman 10Oct00 email]
>> these issues of ORCRIST were given supplemental TTJ numbers
to assist in tracking subscriptions
-- was very sercon in orientation; contents of the second issue, in
early 1969, included academic papers presented at a literary
conference on Tolkien that had been held the previous year
> other publications
-- GREEN DRAGON was the TSA newsletter
>> appeared in the late 1960s
>> edited by Ed Meskys
>> contained mostly news of meetings and other events in Tolkien
fandom
> the TSA was set up to be, in effect, a mail correspondence group,
though there were local branches in a few places [source: Bratman
10Oct00 email]
- in Champaign, Illinois, at the University of Illinois, a previously
little-known fan named Jan Howard Finder organized a 'Conference on Middle
Earth', which was held April 25-26, 1969
> (details?)
> Finder went on to become a prominent fan in later decades; his vocal
support of Australian fandom and fan causes earned him the fannish
nickname of 'Wombat'
- at the end of the 1960s, a short-lived Tolkien group at Michigan State
University was formed that lasted into the mid 1970s
> there were other fan-related groups at Michigan State as well, but
at that time the Tolkien Society mostly engulfed them
> in the early 1970s, the group would gain some visibility from their
role-playing gaming in the college steam tunnels [source: RMcAllister
6Oct00 email]
> the most prominent member of the group during the 1960s was Marty
Massoglia
- at first, no independent Tolkien fandom in U.K.
> Ken Cheslin was British correspondent for The Fellowship of the Ring
-- after I-PALANTIR folded, KenCh began publishing NAZGUL'S BANE (1960)
>> first British fanzine devoted to Tolkien's work
-- began, in effect, first British spin-off to SF fandom
-- Archie Mercer was publishing another newsletter, THE MIDDLE EARTHWORM
in the late 1960s
>> this seemed to contain mostly news more of interest to British
fans
- later in the decade, in 1968, an Australian Tolkien Society formed under
the guidance of Michael O'Brien of Hobart, Tasmania
> (details needed, if any exist)
- in Sweden, there was a Tolkien Society of Gothenburg, whose one notable
activity was a mini-convention on March 24, 1969
> its advance billing described it as an event which would have "a
masquerade, all sorts of contests, and a banquet where members will
drink wine from Gondor and eat sandwiches from the Shire"
> they also published a bilingual Tolkien fanzine a bit later in the year
* another group directly related to Tolkien fandom was the Mythopoeic Society
(which in fact absorbed The Tolkien Society in 1972)
- this was a subfandom that for fans interested not only in the writings of
Tolkien, but also C.S. Lewis, and Charles Williams
- was started in 1967, in the San Gabriel Valley suburbs of Los Angeles by
a California State University-Los Angeles student named Glen GoodKnight
>> GoodKnight, who had an interest those three authors, decided to see if
he could find other people in the Valley with similar interests
>> to do so, he decided to plan an event (a picnic) that would encourage
such people to make themselves visible; the event was called 'Bilbo and
Frodo's Birthday Picnic' [source: Bratman 9Oct00 email]
--- had gotten names and addresses of members of the Tolkien Society who
lived in Southern California from TSA President Dick Plotz [source:
SSmith 9Oct00 email]
>> the Society was founded at this successful picnic, in September 1967,
in the San Gabriel Valley north of Los Angeles [source: Bratman 8Aug96
email]
--- however, first actual meeting of the Society was a book discussion
meeting in January 1968 [source: Bratman 10Oct00 email]
>> it was popular enough that news and Society branches quickly spread
across the L.A. area, and eventually nationwide across the United States
--- within a year of its founding, there were four branches of the
Society in the L.A. area, each meeting on a different weekend each
month; GoodKnight was moderator for each of these branches [source:
Bratman 10Oct00 email]
--- for some reason, the general Society membership included a high
proportion of young women, which attracted single men from sf fandom
>> GoodKnight became the Society's president in 1971, when the Society was
incorporated; he was the main driving force in keeping the Society active
and alive in its earliest years
--- he was not really a science fiction fan, but some other members were,
notably Bernie Zuber and Dave Hulan; both would marry women they met
in the Society; fairly soon, there were other members of LASFS who
came to Society meetings [source: Bratman 10Oct00 email]
- at first, when it was mostly a Los Angeles-region organization, the Society
was very monolithic, with GoodKnight pretty much in charge of every branch;
but as the Society expanded, some of the different branches wanted to go
their own direction [source: Bratman 10Oct00 email]
>> older groups often wanted to discuss interesting books that had not been
written by Tolkien, Williams, or Lewis
>> on the other hand, the newer groups were just starting to explore the
works of those three authors
>> as a result, the Society stopped being monolithic; each group was given
its independeence, within certain limits, to decide for themselves what
would be discussed and who would moderate the discussions
- its official publication was a fanzine titled MYTHLORE, edited initially
by GoodKnight
> first issue, in early 1969, featured essays and information on Lewis,
Williams, and Tolkien with artwork by George Barr, Bernie Zuber, and Tim
Kirk
> another publication, MYTHPRINT (also edited by GoodKnight), started in
1970 and served as the Society's news bulletin
-- this publication evolved from monthly meeting announcements that were
mailed to members [source: Bratman 10Oct00 email]
> both MYTHLORE and MYTHPRINT were reproduced commercially, rather than by
cheaper means such as mimeograph
-- this allowed for better reproduction of illustrations, as many of the
Society's artists were having trouble drawing illustrations directly
on a mimeo stencil
- activities of the organization included monthly book-discussion meetings
(for many of the regional branches), twice-yearly all-Society picnics
with costumes and gaming, and occasionally a more scholarly gathering such
as the one-day Narnia Conference in 1969 [source: Bratman 8Aug96 email]
> during the late 1960s, the Society assumed sponsorship of the 'Bilbo and
Frodo's Birthday Picnic' which had become an annual September event; in
1969, over 200 people attended
-- the 1969 Picnic featured a costume contest, and some of the entries
were good enough to have been contenders at Westercon masquerades
> starting in 1970, the organization sponsored an annual convention,
Mythcon
-- purpose of convention was to provide more opportunity for scholarly
work and for encouragement of theatre arts concerning the authors
* Burroughs fandom
- Burroughs Bibliophiles
> organized by Vernell Coriell in 1960
> annual meeting, "Dum Dum" (named after convocation of great apes in
ERB Tarzan novels) at worldcons
-- often, Dum Dum guests very notable: Weismuller, Burroughs sons,
Buster Crabbe, other Tarzan actors, Hal Prince (drew Prince Valiant
comic strip), Sam Moskowitz (in 1969)
> by the time of the 1964 Worldcon, membership in organization was nearly
a thousand
- Notable publications of Burroughs fandom
> The BURROUGHS BULLETIN
-- edited by Vern Coriell
-- (short bio of Vern Coriell here)
> ERB-DOM
-- edited by Camille Cazedessus, Jr
-- Caz, as he came to be known, discovered fandom in 1958
>> (more bio info needed)
-- quality of contents set it above most of the other fanzines being
published in the 1960s
>> usually had color cover (often by fanartist Larry Ivie)
-- interior art featured such respectable artists as Jeff Jones,
Roy Krenkel, Richard Powers, Jim Cawthorne, and Frank Frazetta
>> was a fanzine that explored the worlds created by Burroughs --
John Carter's Mars or Tarzan's Africa, for instance
--- quite often, Caz would devote an issue to a theme, such as the
three consecutive issues in mid 1966 that explored Pellucidar
>>> contents included articles about the languages of that
world and the plot structure of the books in the series, a
glossary of terms used in the books, and even some of the
hollow-earth theories that cropped up
--- Caz managed to do a lot in a little, as the ERB-DOM typically
ran only a dozen pages or so
>> won fanzine Hugo in 1966
-- later in the decade, one of Caz's contributors, Mike Resnick, was
promoted to associate editor
-- publication was discontinued (when?), but was later revived (when?)
> NORB'S NOTES
-- published by Charles Reinsel, who was charter member and Treasurer
-- later went on to unhappy fate of killing his ex-wife and her husband
> BURROUGHSANIA
-- Britain's first sword-and-sorcery fanzine (1960)
-- published by Michael Moorcock, featuring some of his early tales
> THE READER'S GUIDE TO BARSOOM AND AMTOR
-- a collaboration of Dick Lupoff, Larry Ivie, and Dave Van Arnam
>> Lupoff was publisher, Ivie artist, and Van Arnam writer
-- published in 1963, limited edition of 200 mimeographed copies
>> was very successful; edition sold out
-- dissected and discussed the Mars and Venus stories of Burroughs
-- included maps, indices, and other reference material
> THE READER'S GUIDE TO TARZAN'S AFRICA
-- assembled by Van Arnam after seeing the success of the previous
volume
> in Australia, Alan J. Tompkins of Melbourne published a few Burroughs
fanzines late in the 1960s (need more info)
> THE BIBLIOGRAPHY OF EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS
-- published in 1964 by Henry Heins of Albany, New York
-- Ron Ellik described it as "a lovely and fantastic devotion" to the
works of ERB
>> contained reproductions of St. John artwork, photos of first pages
of early ERB stories, articles on the writing of ERB
- First Edgar Rice Burroughs World Con
> held in 1965, over Labor Day weekend (Sept. 4-5) in Chicago
-- site was Conrad Hilton Hotel
-- apparently Coriells could not afford to go to the Loncon
> GoH was (who?)
* Hyborean Legion (Robert E. Howard fandom)
- president of Legion had title: King of Aquilonia
> position was held at various times in the 1960s by Martin Greenberg,
(others?)
- best known members included L. Sprague de Camp and George Scithers
- Hyborean Muster an annual event at worldcons
> in 1966, established a Guild of Artisans
-- elected to Guild in 1966 were Frank Frazetta and previous winners of
the Heroic Fantasy Art award, including Roy Krenkel and Jim
Cawthorne
- sponsored "Bronze Hammer Award" at worldcon art shows during the early
1960s, for best artwork of a heroic fantasy theme
> winners included Roy Krenkel, Jim Cawthorn, and Jerry Burge
- perhaps the best-known publication of Howard fandom was HYBORIAN TIMES,
which was actually devoted to all of the so-called sword and sorcery
publishing fields
> was published by George Heap, with issue no. 1 appearing in August 1967
> contained reviews of some of the books in that were giving the subgenre
its popularity; ran some news about the pulishing field, and in general
tried to act as the focal point for fans and readers
* Count Dracula Society (for horror films and Gothic literature enthusiasts)
- formed in (early 1960s)
- a Los Angeles area organization
> President (in 1967) was Dr. Donald Reed
- held annual awards dinners
> Ann Radcliffe Awards, equivalent of Hugos for the organization
> 5th annual dinner was Feb. 18, 1967
-- Guest of Honor was Dr. Russell Kirk, author of ghost stories
>> spoke on "Ghosts: Friendly and Malign"
-- other speakers included Forry Ackerman and Bob Bloch
-- Awards (announced in advance) went to Christopher Lee, August
Derlith, STAR TREK (for "its high quality of `fantasy and
imagination'"), KHJ-TV (for "screening many high quality motion
pictures"), and Karl Freund (for his cinematography in the classic
movies DRACULA, THE MUMMY, and others)
> in 1969, the eclectic group of winners included Jonathan Frid from the
DARK SHADOOWS television show, Robert Bloch, John Carradine, Walt
Daugherty, Vincent Price, Boris Karloff, and comedian Bud Abbott
-- Abbott was honored for "contributions to Gothic Humor"
* James Branch Cabell Society
- formed (when?)
- James Blish was corresponding secretary
- the organization sponsored a professionally-printed fanzine, KALKI, which
was edited by Paul Spencer
* C.S. Lewis Society
- organized in 1969 by New York fan Henry Noel, who also published the
club's bulletin
* Puddleby-on-the-Marsh Irregulars (Dr. Doolittle fandom)
- was supposedly founded by Fred Lerner in 1966
- other members included John Boardman, Judi Sephton, Norman Cascajo, and
Alan Shaw
- club officers had interesting titles, taken from characters/animals in the
book by Hugh Lofting
> President was known as "Exalted Polynesia"
> Vice President was known as the "Venerable Jip"
> Secretary was "Honorable Dab-Dab"; Treasurer was "Worthy Gub-Gub"
> Boardman was known as the Reverend Pushmi-Pullyu
-- was both Vice President and in charge of membership committee for a
time
- club was somewhat anarchistic
> Boardman seized power in "bloodless coup" in August 1966 regular
meeting
-- assumed title of Honorable Cat's-Meat-Man, indicating that members
opposing his benevolent rule would thereafter resemble cat's meat
-- was only minimal resistance to coup
>> only other officer present was Fred Lerner, who was two inches
shorter than Boardman and 50 pounds lighter
- club lasted only very briefly; by some accounts so briefly that it may
have only been a hoax invented by John Boardman, though accounts of its
meetings appeared in the newszine RATATOSK
* Comics fandom
- comics fandom can be traced back at least as far as the 1950s
> in early 1950s, Lee Hoffman was one of the fans who were aficionados of
Walt Kelly's "Pogo" comic strip
-- at the time, she lived not far from the Okefenokee Swamp, so it
seemed natural to her to incorporate Pogo into her writings in
QUANDRY
-- this was picked up on by other leading fans of that time, including
Walt Willis, so much so that Pogo became one of the symbols of fandom
of that era
> however, to find the first comics-related fan publication, you'd have to
look back another two decades, to the early 1930s, when Jerry Siegel and
Joe Shuster published a fanzine simply called SCIENCE FICTION that
described the exploits of man possessing great strength and the ability
to jump over tall buildings: Superman
-- this Superman, which was considerably different from the superhero
the character became for D.C. Comics, seems to have been inspired
by a work of science fiction, Philip Wylie's "Gladiator" (novel?)
> the earliest of all sf comic books was possibly Dave Kyle's FANTASY
WORLD, which first appeared in 1935
-- Kyle, who had come into fandom via the letters column in WONDER
STORIES the year before, had been inspired by the BUCK ROGERS radio
serials of the early 1930s
> at any rate, the first true fandom of comic books themselves took place
in the early 1950s, after a new line of comic books began to be
published: Entertaining Comics, or EC for short
-- they were of generally higher quality than other comics that were
being produced at the time
-- also contained a letters section, which allowed fans to be aware of
each others' existence
-- EC comics fandom of the 1950s included Bhob Stewart, Mike May, and
Ron Parker, who all published comics-related fanzines
-- other fans in the 1950s who were also fans of EC comics included Bill
Meyers, Ted White, Steve Stiles, and Larry Stark
>> the EC fanzine POTRZEBIE, which appeared (when?) was edited by
Stewart and Stark, and published by White
>> Meyers actually came to sf fandom out of EC fandom
>> Stiles attended the New York School of Visual Arts partly because
many of the EC artists had gone there (rephrase this, based on M18
article)
- as the 1960s dawned, new fans and fanzines appeared to keep comics fandom
healthy
> XERO
-- began in 1960
-- ed. by Dick & Pat Lupoff
>> (mini bios here)
-- originally, XERO was not intended to be comics-oriented, but took
that turn after Dick Lupoff's nostalgic article about Captain Marvel
appeared in the (which?) issue
-- center section of fanzine eventually became devoted to comics fandom
>> "All in Color for a Dime" featured various fans who wrote
nostalgically about the super hero comics of past decades
>> (who wrote these articles, and what were they?)
>> eventually, these articles were collected in two books, ALL IN
COLOR FOR A DIME and THE COMIC-BOOK BOOK, that Dick Lupoff edited
with Don Thompson (when did these appear? and were they
*exclusively* the articles from XERO, or did they include
previously non-published material?)
-- (other things that appeared in the fanzine, in brief)
-- fanzine itself won a Hugo award in 1963, the last year of its
publication
>> the cumulative effects of a series of moves by the Lupoffs was one
of the reasons cited for its demise
-- however, while XERO certainly provided an initial spark that pointed
the way to the spin-off of comics fandom, it was other fanzines that
actually were the focal point that got comics fandom up and running
> one of these was COMIC ART
-- edited by Don Thompson & Maggie Curtis
>> (mini bios here)
--- (obligatory note here about the three different Don Thompsons
in fandom)
>> by the fourth issue, in December 1962, fanzine colophon had
changed to show the fanzine was now being edited by Don & Maggie
Thompson
>> later, they would publish the influential COMIC BUYERS GUIDE
-- what made it different from other science fiction fanzines: its
emphasis was comics, specifically the artwork of comics
>> (contents?)
-- even though it was one of the important fanzines in the history of
comics fandom, the entire run was only seven issues
>> first issue appeared in April 1961, and was a mere 14 pages
>> with succeeding issues, its popularity and pagecount increased,
but the time between issues also increased
--- the first four issues were published at about six month
intervals, but last three appeared about every other year
--- by its seventh and final issue, in 1968, the pagecount had
expanded to 76 pages
-- (reason for its demise?)
> another important fanzine at the beginning of comics fandom was
ALTER-EGO, which was edited by Jerry Bails and Roy Thomas
-- first issue was in March 1961, was published for about four years
-- started out as amateur comic, featuring Thomas's parody of the
Justice League of America
-- it was the first fanzine that was published by comic book fans for
comic book fans [source: Frantz 19Feb00 email]
-- Bails and Thomas, however, were not really part of science fiction
fandom, perhaps a harbinger of what the future of comics fandom would
be
>> within about a year, there was a thriving and expanding comics
fandom that consisted largely of non-science fiction fans
>> in just a few years, comics fandom had diverged so much from
science fiction fandom that its links back to science fiction
fandom were all but invisible
> other comics fanzines of the 1960s by sf fans
-- ON THE DRAWING BOARD was a comics fandom newsletter, published in the
last half of the 1960s by St. Louis fan Bob Schoenfeld
>> Schoenfeld actually came into sf fandom from comics fandom, as
Bill Meyers had done the previous decade
-- A SENSE OF FAPA, published (when?), contained a reprint from FAPA of
an article (written by who?) on Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon, and Brick
Bradford
- finally, just as there were fans who later became professionals in the sf
field, there were also fans who became professionals in the comics field
> the first, and perhaps still best examples of this were 1930s-era fans
Julius Schwartz and Mort Weisinger, who became established as
professional comic book editors at DC Comics
> of the fans who were active in the 1960s, perhaps the best example of a
fan turning into a comics professional was that of St. Louis fan Steve
Gerber, who went on to write the HOWARD THE DUCK comic (when?)
> on the other hand, Vaughn Bode', who won the Fan Artist Hugo Award in
1969, was already active in the so-called `underground' comics movement
in the 1960s, when he was discovered to fandom by Bob Schoenfeld
-- Ray & Joyce Fisher's ODD was the first fanzine to feature Bode'
artwork -- covers as well as interior illos
>> there was also a celebrated cartoon war in ODD between Bode' and
Jack Gaughan, which Gaughan 'won'
-- unfortunately, there turned out to be an unforseen downside to
Bode''s association with St. Louis fandom: in the late 1960s (when
exactly?), Bode' sent Schoenfeld his art files for storage, which
were destroyed when the Missouri River rose and the basement where
they were stored was flooded
> other fans who became comics professionals included Trina Castillo, who
later became an artist for the so-called underground comix (when?)
-- (others?)
* Gaming fandom
- Gaming fandom, which became one of the major off-shoots of science fiction
fandoms in the 1980s and later, can be traced back to the 1960s and even
earlier
> in the 1940s, author Fletcher Pratt would frequently host war games
recreations in miniature at his home for other author friends (need more
details on this.. did Pohl or Asimov mention it in their
autobiographies?)
-- recreated actual battles using miniature soldiers, with the players
assuming the role of the commanding officers of the armies
> (any other examples of this kind of game?)
> (any other organized gaming in fandom in the 1950s or earlier?)
- a game that seemed to be popular with fandom during the much of the 1960s
was another variant of a war game, the board game Diplomacy, which had
been invented by Allan B. Calhamer
> the game, which is set in Europe before the time of World War One,
involves up to seven players, the object of the game being to gain
control of as much territory as possible
-- the structure of the game, with a built-in period of time between
moves which players use to make or break alliances with each other,
made it perfect for playing via mail
-- Diplomacy was popular enough that game summaries often were published
in fanzines
>> THE WSFA JOURNAL, for instance, reported the progress of an on-
going game in 1965, between members of the Washington (D.C.)
Science Fiction Society
> if you had to select one fan for the title of 'Most Active Diplomacy
Player' in the 1960s, it would have been John Boardman
-- on May 31, 1962, he began the first postal Diplomacy game, via his
fanzine GRAUSTARK
>> it was the first of the so-called `Dipzines', which almost
exclusively consisted of summaries of game moves and related
information
--- Boardman was the games master in that first postal Diplomacy
game; the players in the game were Fred Lerner, Bruce Pelz,
Ted Johnstone, plus two non-fan members of the East Paterson
Diplomacy Club that Lerner had founded in 1961
>>> that club had been recognized by Calhamer as "the world's
first formally organized Diplomacy club"
>> a later example of a Dipzine was ETHIL THE FROG, published by
British fan John Piggott, after the game had leaped the Atlantic
Ocean to the British Isles in 1969
>> by the early 1970s, many British science fiction fans, most
notably Peter Roberts, had also embraced the game, and an
organization called the British Diplomacy Club had come into being
- however, the 'game' that gained the biggest visibility in fandom of the
1960s was Coventry
> Coventry actually had its beginnings well before the 1960s, back in
about 1952, when its direct predecessor, The Mariposan Empire, was
conceived
-- was invented by by some non-fan teenagers who lived in and around the
city of Pasadena, California
-- The Mariposan Empire was one of the first role-playing games; in it,
parts of the city of Pasadena became transformed into kingdoms of a
`Mariposan Empire'
-- mythical histories were developed, and these led to the conspiracies
and other intrigues that were features of the game, as players tried
to conquer each other's territory
-- in that period in the early 1950s, fandom had not yet really
discovered that the game existed; the one exception was Paul
Stanbery, who was friends with some of the players and thought the
game was fun
> considering the fact that Pasadena was within the envelope of Los
Angeles fandom, it was inevitable that other fans would eventually
become involved in something as intriguing as The Mariposan Empire
-- one of the first was Rich Brown, who had been friends with Stanbery
since grade school; Brown was actually introduced to the game about
two years before he even discovered science fiction fandom
-- by the late 1950s, interest in the game by its originators was
starting to wane, so Stanbery came up with the idea of remaking the
game, with the help of Brown, by injecting some science fictional
aspects into it
-- the result was Coventry
> Coventry can best be described as a role-playing game, perhaps more
accurately as a role-playing universe, that contained many elements of
science fiction and fantasy
-- influences were drawn from the fiction of James Blish, James Gunn,
Fred Pohl, Cyril Kornbluth, and Robert Heinlein, and the 1950s movie
FORBIDDEN PLANET
-- the imaginary locale of the game was a self-contained hollowed-out
asteroid habitat, constructed by aliens, which somehow had become the
refuge of human survivors of World War Three
-- into this mythos, players in Coventry converted their true-life
identities into fictional role-playing personae
-- Rich Brown provided what was probably the most concise and lucent
explanation of what Coventry actually was: "Coventry wasn't actually
'played'; it was written. Basically, people wrote stories about
their characters in the setting of Coventry. The ideas would be
talked-out for pre-approval, just to be sure they didn't conflict
with what had gone on before." [from email]
> Coventry soon spread to fandom, and involved some fairly well-known fans
-- Bruce Pelz, who was still residing in Florida at that time, had
published an issue of his fanzine ProFANity that had asked his
readers to select a fantasy world they would like to live in if they
had the choice [source: RBrown 29Jun98 email]
>> Brown, in his letter of comment response, took the opportunity to
mention Coventry
>> Pelz was building contacts with Los Angeles fandom, which would
result in his moving there in late 1959; one of the people who was
on his mailing list was Ted Johnstone, who happened to live not
far from Stanbery, in South Pasadena
-- soon Ted Johnstone became introduced to Stanbury, and not too long
after that, he was a convert to the new game
-- soon after that, through Johnstone's hyperfannish activities at that
time, it became known to fandom in Southern California
-- eventually, Coventry-inspired fanzines (titles? editors?) started
appearing in Los Angeles fandom; these featured contributions from
local fans and from fans as far distant as Ruth Berman in Minnesota
> The intrigues and conspiracies eventually manifested themselves into
some unpleasantness with other fans
-- members of LASFS who weren't involved with the game started to object
to injection of Coventry into club meetings and discussion of
Coventriana rather than LASFS business
> an even bigger imbroglio resulted after fans who were in the game
started to become angry with Johnstone, who was acting as Coventry's
gamemaster
-- Johnstone, who had become Coventry's Gamemaster, had introduced a
character known as 'The Guardian', whose job it was to disrupt the
game in witty ways that were intended to remind players, some of whom
seemed to be a bit too immersed in the game, that it was *only* a
game
-- this caused a backlash that got quite nasty; some of the players did
not appreciate what was perceived as sabotage by The Guardian; there
were threats of lawsuits (by who?), and even a report of a firebomb
that was left on (who's? Stanbery's?) front lawn
-- The Guardian's identity was kept secret from the players (it was
actually local fan Dean Dickensheet), but to divert attention to a
location suitably far from Los Angeles, Johnstone dropped some hints
that The Guardian was actually a neofan from Baltimore, Jack Chalker
>> Chalker immediately started receiving threats via mail
>> (his response? how did it end?)
> (when did the Coventry interest start to die down? details?)