Le Zombie

Zine
Title:	Le Zombie
Publisher:	Cosmic Publications
Editor(s):	Bob Tucker
Type:	News
Date(s):	1938-1948; 1955-1978; 2000-2001
Medium:	Print, ezine
Size:
Fandom:	Science fiction
Language:	English
External Links:	Online at FanAc.org
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Le Zombie was a science fiction zine published intermittently by Bob Tucker between December 1938 and August 2001. It was sometimes called LeZ or Lez in other fan publications in the 30s and 40s. Tucker mentions his friend Sully Roberds as the one who stapled it together.

The zine unfortunately featured regular columns from Tucker's pseudonym Hoy Ping Pong, describing fannish happenings from the perspective of a supposed Chinese man. During World War II, free copies of Le Zombie were sent to English and Canadian fans who had been drafted.

A single page February issue in 1941 announced that LeZ had been forced to suspend publication for ninety days. The March/May issue said that E. Everett Evans had taken over as publisher, with Tucker still editing.

About

A special issue of Le Zombie distributed at Worldcon 1939 described the concept of a fan magazine to new fans:

This, reader, is a fan magazine.’ Are you not enlightened? A fan magazine is anything from a coupla yellow second-sheets with a few scratches thereon, to a 50 or 60 paged mimeographed booklet. Some fans even have the nerve to call a carbon-copied second-sheet a "fan magazine", However, "LE ZOMBIE" happens to be one of the class of fan magazines that is known as a ’news-sheet'. We do not make any claim to being anything else than a two or four page purveyor of gossip & comment. In normal times -- i.e., before, and after this convention, we are distributed (free, as always) with certain weekly issues of FANTASY NEWS, as a supplement to that publication. Also, we are passed out with each issue of "D'JOURNAL", the fun-fan folio, mentioned herein.

Le Zombie issue 9 page 1 (special convention issue from July 1939)

In 1939, Tucker wrote to Voice of the Imagi-Nation and mentioned that he always worked on Le Zombie (and his other zines Nova and D'Journal) at night. He went on to jokingly offer free daily printings of Le Zombie:

Brother Youd is a piker. He is only going to put FANTAST out fortnightly, under Technocracy! I believe it is safe at this time to reveal the plans of Prehistoric House, and it's momentus policy it will follow under the glorious Cause!: D'JOURNAL will be turned out weekly, NOVA every other week, LE ZOMBIE will be published daily! And we have grander plans than this! We have found out that the Tecknate print shops will print a magazine for us if we can show or guarantee a certain circulation. Well, we are pretty sure of about 100,000 readers, so we are going to publish a pro mag twice a month, large size like FANTASTIC, story level of ASTOUNDING, fan breezy like SCIENCE FICTION with four covers unlike AMAZING! The whole thing will only cost each reader a wee 1/4 erg or so. so we are assured of a tremendous circulation. I will be editor of course. That should put Bro. Youd in the shade. (I forgot to mention that LE ZOMBIE, NOVA, and D'JOURNAL will all be printed, at our expense, and distributed free just to show you where our heart is!)

Voice of the Imagi-Nation issue 4, page 5, (December 1939)

Reviews

Robert A. W. Lowndes reviewed Le Zombie in 1940, commending it for remaining neutral and accurate in its reports on current fan activities. In actuality Le Zombie swung more to one side, as Lowndes was heavily involved in fandom's most prominent feud at the time and seems to reference his own personal enemies in his review. (See The Great Exclusion Act.)

"Le Zombie", originally an occasional sheet or so, slightly reminiseent of Le Vombiteur, recently emerged as a bi-weekly news magazine, devoted to all subjects in reference to fan-activities and publications, pro and am. Neither an extremist nor aloof, Tucker has made a sincere attempt to present un-biased reports, and to cut through the maze of conflicting statements from all factions. While retaining much of the whimsical Pong undertone, the magazine has taken its stand in defenses of principles and personalities under fire from the reactionaries and anti-progressiveness and petty dictators. Its main handicap is one of appearance, inasmuch as Pong's typist is not the speller he might be, However, those defects are gradually being eliminated.

Lowndes in Scientifan issue 2 page 5 (January 1940)

Le Zombie exceptionally neat.

"Exceptional" 5 star review in Tom Wright's Mercury issue 2 page 19 (combined with the January 1940 Scientifan)

Le Zombie is the best small publication there is to be had. It contains humor, and how! Some of the many features are: Personals, The Amature Press, The Moon Pictures, Poor Pong's Almanac, and many interesting departments, things taken from your letters. Edited by fantasy's famous fan, Bob Tucker. Rating- 90 comets.

The Fan Pubs; The Comet Vol. 1 #1, pg. 14. Jan.-Feb. 1940.

LE ZOMBIE, special 1939 Convention issue, Published by Bob Tucker, 6 large mimeographed pages, including page of cartoons. This magazine is a vertible scream. Tucker has positively never been funnier. He gives free vent to his talents, and provides page after page of sparkling humor and entertainment. Undoubtedly this magazine added considerable zest to the entire affair.

Sam Moskowitz in New Fandom issue 6 page 26 (January 1940)

A few words of advice to people who don't know what they're getting excited about......I get hot under the collar when I'm accused of attacking Bob Tucker or anyone else. Any criticisms I make in this column are absolutely impersonal, including that of Palmer, incredibly enough. Tucker and I are good friends, and always have been. I enjoy and subscribe to Le Zombie, tho recently it stank unmercifully, as I said, and as Bob apparently realized, since he's changed the magazine greatly. The typing, grammar, spelling, and general format also were extremely bad. They've improved greatly in the last couple of issues, and I hope I'm responsible for that, for it's to the benefit of LeZ.

"The Star-Treader" (Jack Chapman Miske): Stardust. Spaceways #15 pg. 19. Sept. 1940.