Heroes (multimedia zine)

Zine
Title:	Heroes -- the third issue is spelled "Heros" on the title page
Publisher:	New Leaf Press (agents)<er> Mkashef Enterprises (agent)
Editor(s):	Taerie Bryant
Date(s):
Series?:
Medium:	print
Size:
Genre:
Fandom:	multimedia
Language:	English
External Links:	online flyer with story summaries
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Heroes is a slash, occasional adult het, multifandom anthology.

In 1995, a note in Bill Hupe's catalog says, "We agent this fanzine but have permission to print ourselves what we need."

At least two of the authors, Grant Mckeown and Vivian Kane, are pseuds of Taerie Bryant.

Issue 1

cover of issue #1, Ebon Wood

Heroes 1 is undated and contains 173 pages. Ebon Wood is the front cover artist.

• The Hero by Deveroux Dane (multifandom) (3)
• Encounter by Deveroux Dane (Stingray) (4)
• Burnett by Vivian Kane (Miami Vice) (reprinted in Vice Verse #2) (6)
• Crockett by Taerie Bryant (Miami Vice) (reprinted in Vice Verse #2) (7)
• Bayou by Taerie Bryant (Miami Vice) (reprinted in Vice Verse #2) (8)
• Sugar and Spice by Taerie Bryant (gen, hurt/comfort) (Miami Vice) (9)
• Paperwork by Vivian Kane (reprinted in Vice Verse #2) (Miami Vice) (28)
• Sound of My Voice by Grant Mckeown (reprinted in Vice Verse #2) (Miami Vice) (29)
• Reflection by Taerie Bryant (reprinted in Vice Verse #2) (Miami Vice) (30)
• The Long Dark Hallway by Kate Stone (Miami Vice) (Rico/Sonny) (3)
• Black Jack by Taerie Bryant (reprinted in Vice Verse #2) (Miami Vice) (40)
• Image by Vivian Kane (Miami Vice) (41)
• Dreaming Falcon by Taerie Bryant (Miami Vice) (42)
• Gold Detective by Taerie Bryant (Miami Vice) (43)
• Before the Fall by Taerie Bryant (reprinted in Vice Verse #2) (Miami Vice) (44)
• Recompense for Madness by Vivian Kane (hurt/comfort) (Miami Vice) (45)
• After the Fall by Taerie Bryant (reprinted in Vice Verse #2) (Miami Vice) (58)
• Gifted Lover by Taerie Bryant (Miami Vice) (59)
• Crockett by Taerie Bryant (Miami Vice) (60)
• Sirius by Sylvia Travis ("This story takes place right where the episode, Splinter, leaves off. Enemy agents captured Mickey Kostmayer and attempted to brainwash him into killing McCall.") (The Equalizer) (61)
• The Healing Touch by Deveroux Dane (The Equalizer) (McCall/Mickey) (reprinted in Dyad #8) (77)
• Chemistry Lessons by Grant Mckeown (h/c, sequel is "Final Exam" in issue #2) (Summary from "Heroes #2: "Mac is kidnapped by his old enemy Kurt Nelson and addicted to a drug that allows him to be his normal self. The drug’s adverse effect only manifests itself in withdrawal, the symptoms of which are: extreme pain, disorientation and an inability to think. At the end of Chemistry Lessons, Mac convinces Jack Dalton to fly him back to Russia to look for Kurt Nelson and a possible antidote.") (MacGyver) (85)
• Avon by Evelyn Green (Blake's Seven) (Avon/Blake) (100)
• The Beginning by Deveroux Dane ("Face and Hannibal meet in war. A Vietnam-era piece about the start of the team. This story is not slash.") (also in A-Team Collection) (A-Team) (103)
• The Cure by Ebon Wood (Nick Knight) (Nick/Jack) (117)
• Riggs by Kate Stone (Lethal Weapon) (142)
• Lethal Dreams by Vivian Kane (Lethal Weapon) (143)
• Wiseguy by Grant Mckeown (Wiseguy) (157)
• Anchor by Taerie Bryant (Wiseguy) (McPike/Vince) (158)
• Loyalties by Deveroux Dane (The Man From U.N.C.L.E.) (Napoleon/Ilya) (161)

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 1

[zine]: ... some of these stories (as shown here) are gen stories or Hurt/Comfort stories. So this is a mixture of stories. I particularly liked Sugar and Spice. The poems in the fanzine are a bit more slashy.

[Hero]: A spy ring is operating out of a psychiatric hospital where government agents with top secret knowledge and mental or drug problems are sent to recover. In order to break up the ring Cowley decides to send Bodie in as a patient but it must look as real as possible. He and Macklin conspire to work B until he's dead on his feet, feed him false information (which B will divulge under interrogation at the hospital), pump him full of tranquilizers and heroin, and get him admitted. Doyle, who has been on separate assignments, is very angry with C for how he is treating B, though D doesn't know about the plan. D rescues B from the hospital. Now that C has proof thanks to B's false info being leaked, the spies are arrested. B is very proud that he never gave away his and D's secret (that they are lovers). B has said that he holds C in such high esteem that he would die for him. When he finds out that C treated him so abominably because it was for a job, he forgives him! D is disgusted with the whole thing and takes B away to a remote beach cottage to help B recuperate with C's blessing."

Issue 2

cover of issue #2, Marilyn Cole and Mark Overby

Heroes 2 is undated (1993) and 228 pages long.

The front cover is by Marilyn Cole and Mark Overby.

From Media Monitor #34: "More slash! plus some great adult fiction.... Passion and peril!"

• Final Exam by Grant McKeown (Sequel to "Chemistry Lessons" in issue #1 which left Mac as a drug addict.) (MacGyver) (2)
• On Top of Old Smoky by Taerie Bryant (Quantum Leap) (30)
• Beasts of Burden by Deveroux Dane ("Will Bodie survive Cowley’s cruel intrigue?") (The Professionals) (37)
• A Sequel to Aliens by Taerie Bryant ("Just ignore that regrettable third movie and read this instead.") (Aliens) (71)
• Broken Bone by Deveroux Dane ("Castillo’s faced with the choice of healing Crockett’s split personality or killing him before Burnett takes control.") (Miami Vice) (144)
• Trust Inviolate by Denyse Bridger (Kostmeyer/Gage/Scott) (The Equalizer) (183)

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 2

[Beasts of Burden]: A spy ring is operating out of a psychiatric hospital where government agents with top secret knowledge and mental or drug problems are sent to recover. In order to break up the ring Cowley decides to send Bodie in as a patient but it must look as real as possible. He and Macklin conspire to work B until he's dead on his feet, feed him false information (which B will divulge under interrogation at the hospital), pump him full of tranquilizers and heroin, and get him admitted. Doyle, who has been on separate assignments, is very angry with C for how he is treating B, though D doesn't know about the plan. D rescues B from the hospital. Now that C has proof thanks to B's false info being leaked, the spies are arrested. B is very proud that he never gave away his and D's secret (that they are lovers). B has said that he holds C in such high esteem that he would die for him. When he finds out that C treated him so abominably because it was for a job, he forgives him! D is disgusted with the whole thing and takes B away to a remote beach cottage to help B recuperate with C's blessing.

[A Sequel to Aliens]: I was reading in Heroes 2 a Ripley/Hicks story. I paused to ask myself whether I objected to finding that in what I thought was a slash zine. But I got caught up in the story and even the lovemaking was described so as to convey that there were two PEOPLE in presence.

Issue 3

cover of issue #3, Sherri Bryant

Heroes 3 was published in 1994 and is 171 pages long. On the cover: "A Celebration of Masculine Passion." The cover artist is Sherri Bryant.

From the editorial:

Two o'clock in the morning and the printer is hissing forth the last few pages of my this my third issue. Wow...

What you hold is the product of many a late night, many a phone conversation, some red wine and lots and lots of coffee. It's erotic, bizarre, funny, full of angst and passion and loaded with cool images that I hope will haunt you long after you turn the last page. Linger over this, enjoy it If it brings you pleasure, I hope you will share it with a friend. Show your appreciation by buying them a copy of their own! Please don't copy it.

My thanks to Alayne Gelfand for the stories she edited and all her advice and encouragement Thanks too to Dovya Blacque for the X-Files story, winner of the wildest title, and Wendy Rathbone for her usual help and support You may notice a different look to this issue. Big news! I got a printer, a wonderful gadget that can do all kinds of way cool fonts. I subsequently went through hell trying to work out a marriage between the newcomer and my WordStar files. I was persuaded to convert to WordPerfect complete with a handy conversion command. This nifty idea caused me to loose all of my second issue of QUANTUM LEAP CONTINUUM. The lone survivor has found a home here. The story is called, Snowblind.

I live in a remote cabin along the beautiful Santiam river, which provides my watchable entertainment I don't get tv! Still, I managed to capture a migrating computer programmer who forced one decent font into my system. I can now print my zines myself without begging my loving sister to do it at work. So get to know this font, love it, like I do.

It's a vast improvement To those of you who asked where the poetry went in issue 2, well it's in this issue, along with new stuff I hope you'll like, including a little collection of Professionals poems that was supposed to be in the last issue with the Pros story. These things happen, luckily it was my stuff so I didn't leave out anyone who wouldn't forgive me. Why doesn't the poetry have page numbers? Can you believe I just printed out the whole zine and forgot them?

HEROES is getting progressively spicier. This issue is hot! I handled GOLD FEVER with asbestos gloves! That doesn't mean my guidelines have changed. The focus is still on character development, passion, angst, action and suspense. I want the characters to remain true to themselves which makes slash a real challenge. I want what Wendy calls, 'that kick to the gut ' To every writer who rises to the challenge to create masculine passion in media fiction, I offer my heart-felt congratulations. It ain't easy folks, but oh, boy is it fun when it works! The cool thing about fandom is there's something for everyone. I'm trying to create a unique zine full of lusty, compassionate, heroic characters. Luckily, someone already did the hard work of bringing them to life on the screen! ...If you're inspired to write a sensual masterpiece after reading this book , Heroes 4 is open to camera-ready copy. Non-graphic sensuality and emotional suspense is my weakness, but most slash makes me cringe. No dewy-eyed effeminate guys or teddy-bear cuteness please. Go for the gut! I hope this zine gives you, 'that kick.

• A Billion Angels Screaming by Dovya Blacque (X-Files) (1)
• Sweet Sensation by Deveroux Dane (Miami Vice) (Crockett/Castillo) (27)
• Code of Honor by Evelyn Green (Battlestar Galactica) (43) (Starbuck/Apollo)
• Snowblind by Taerie Bryant ("Sam/Al, Sam as an albino twin, erotic and eerie.") (Quantum Leap) (58)
• Q-Uenella by Kate Stone ("Q and another Q bet on whether Picard would sacrifice Starfleet for love. The results are surprising to all. A Picard/Riker tale.") (Star Trek: TNG) (69)
• Etiolate Gods by Taerie Bryant (Quantum Leap) (Sam/Al) (101)
• Gold Fever by Deveroux Dane (Miami Vice) (Crockett/Castillo) (130)
• Immortals by Deveroux Dane ("They’re both immortals—dark and romantic.") (reprinted in a "slightly different form" in Cross-Currents) (Highlander/Forever Knight) (143)

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 3

[A Billion Angels Screaming]: It should come no surprise that this is a slash zine. I should start off by saying that I am decidedly not a slash fan, so take what I say with a grain of salt if you happen to be one. There is one X-Files story in this zine: "A Billion Angels Screaming" by Dovya Blayque. When I saw that someone was actually going to slash this fandom, I rather fatalistically assumed it would be Mulder and Deep Throat, so imagine my surprise when it turned out to be Mulder and Mulder. Huh? In this story Mulder becomes split in two in an encounter with a magic mirror. Scully figures out that they need to become "one" again and you can guess what that entails. Totally aside from the rather different premise, the first part of the story is quite amusing. The interactions between the two Mulders and Scully is well handled and brought plenty of smiles from me. I'm sure the slash fans will enjoy the explicit sex in the later half of the story. If you're not into slash, you might enjoy reading the first part of the story and stop when the sex starts. The story is twenty-six pages of large type.

[zine]: I purchased this zine primarily for the Battlestar Galactica stories (kinda hard to find) and I was not disappointed.

[zine]: Hot zine! Provocative, unusual slash themes and writing. Featuring: X-FILES by Dovya Blaque, (Mulder/Mulder! honest!), MIAMI VICE- -Two stories both extra spicy. Crockett/Castillo and ? (One contains strong S&M but it was too cool to pass up). A must read for VICE fans. BATTLESTAR GALACTICA-Apollo/Starbuck, refreshingly original. QUANTUM LEAP-Too weird to explain here, Sam as an albino, twin,' S&M model!?! Erotic as hell. Plus a non-slash QL ghost story sure to delight. ST:TNG--Q is meddling once again. He has a plan to ruin Picard and Riker by making them lovers! Oh. but is it ruin or salvation? HIGHLANDER/FOREVER KNIGHT-They're both immortals, they're both gorgeous.' Need I say more? (Have no fear HL fans! This story is unique! If you love the series, you'll love this story. It's dark and romantic.) Also, PROS, BATTLESTAR and MIAMI VICE poetry! This issue is MUCH more explicit than the first two.