Rerun

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Zine
Title: Rerun
Publisher: Polaris Press
Editor(s): Lorraine Bartlett
Date(s):
Series?:
Medium: print
Size:
Genre:
Fandom: multimedia
Language: English
External Links:
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Contents

Rerun is a gen multimedia anthology zine.

Issue 1

cover of issue #1, Signe Landon. In his book Textual Poachers, Henry Jenkins described this cover as "a multi-media zine [that] borrows iconography from a number of different series, including the Doctor's scarf, Barnabas Collins' cane and ring, John Steed's bowler, and Jim Kirk's pants.

Rerun 1

Issue 2

cover of issue #2, Karen River

Rerun 2 was published in 1983 and is 141 pages long.

Issue 3

cover of issue #3, Karen River

Rerun 3 was published in 1985.

Issue 4

cover of issue #4, Karen River

Rerun 4 was published in 1986 and is 166 pages long.

  • The Editor Speaks by Lorraine Bartlett (Any and Every) 3
  • Letter of Comment by The Loyal Readers (Any and Every) 5
  • Your Announcer by Teresa Sarick (Any and Every) 17
  • A Brush With Disaster by Leah Rosenthal (Any and Every) 18
  • The First Time Again by Annita Smith--There's a big burn on the living room rug, and 8-year old Marty McFly decides to run away from home. (Back to the Future) 20
  • D-O-C-T-O-R by Karen L. Mitchell ( Doctor Who) 30
  • Not Really T.V. Guide by N.D. Jones (Rat Patrol) 31
  • The Old Scores to Settle Raid by Ann Wortham--Injured during a special mission, Hitch is rescued by a mysterious woman who may not have his best interests at heart. (Rat Patrol) 32
  • FlameBird by Teresa Sarick (Phoenix) 45
  • Miami by Teresa Sarick (Miami Vice) 46
  • So Long Best Friend by Sue-Anne Hartwick (Simon and Simon) 47
  • Hello, Paz by Jean Thrower (Simon and Simon) 48
  • Grieving by Jean Thrower (Simon and Simon) 49
  • Two Detectives Too Many by Jane Leavell--The Simons return from the sea and run into the RIPTIDE crew in King Harbor. Then Marlowe and Boz are kidnapped, leaving the rest of the guys to solve the case. (Simon and Simon/Riptide) 50
  • Empty Space by Sue-Anne Hartwick (Riptide) 65
  • The Marshal by Teresa Sarick (McCloud) 66
  • Beach Thoughts by Sue-Anne Hartwick (Hardcastle and McCormick) 67
  • Deja Vu by Lizabeth S. Tucker--Mark panics when Milt must go into the hospital for a prostate test. Written before the episode DO NOT GO GENTLE aired. (Hardcastle and McCormick) 68
  • Mark by Lin Thompson (Hardcastle and McCormick) 75
  • Intermezzo by Paula M. Block--Being a slave to duty is definitely no fun for young Frederick, and the Pirate King plans to keep it that way. (Pirates of Penzance) 76
  • Partners by Sue-Anne Hartwick (Hunter) 83
  • Steele Reflections by Annita Smith (Remington Steele) 84
  • Fire and Steele by Teresa Sarick ( Remington Steele) 85
  • Of Red Lights and Greensleeves by M.D. Bloemker--Bogg and Jeffrey pop up at a 15th century Fete just in time to avert a hanging and croon a tune. (Voyagers!) 97
  • Chasin' Shadows by Ann Larimer (Shadow Chasers) 104
  • Star Trek Filks by Karen L. Mitchell (Star Trek) 105
  • Amadaddy by Paula M. Block (Star Wars) 108
  • Songs for a Slow Day by Cool Han Luke (Star Wars) 112
  • A Date With Destiny by Paula M. Block (Star Wars) 114
  • Archangel by Teresa Sarick (Airwolf) 123
  • For the Sake of a Lady by Doranna Shiner--Caitlin's good intentions lead Dom and Hawke into danger, when she involves them all in the aid of a damsel in distress. (Airwolf) 124
  • Stereo Scenario by Sheryl Adsit--Ralph and Bill have more than just a meeting of the minds when they try to stop a high-tech thief from stealing a valuable new microchip. (Greatest American Hero) 148
  • In Llanfairfach by Teresa Sarick (Doctor Who) 157
  • The Auld Lang Syne Affair by Jackie Paciello--It's just another assignment for Napoleon and Illya, but terrorists are out to make it their final affair. (Man From U.N.C.L.E ) 158
  • I Don't Need Another Fandom by Leah Rosenthal (Various) 166
  • Artwork: Karen River (front cover), Sheryl Adsit, T.J. Burnside, Dani, Ruth Kurz, Ann Larimer, Pat Loomis, Wanda Lybarger, Marty Otten, Leah Rosenthal (back cover), Doranna Shiner, Ronnie Silverstein, Annita Smith

Issue 5

cover of issue #5, v.1, Karen River
cover of issue #5, v.2, Karen River

Rerun 5 was originally published in 1987 and in two volumes. The first one was 162 pages and included, "The Never Say Die Affair," "The No-Win Scenario," "The Blind Faith Raid," and "Dueling Egos." The second volume was 148 pages and contained the remainder of the current combined volume.

Issue 6

cover of issue #6, Karen River

Rerun 6 was published in 1988 and is 168 pages long.

Artwork:

  • Karen River (front cover),Dani, Ann Larimer (back cover), Anne Malcolm, Rhonda Reese, Lee Shackleford, Doranna Shiner, Ronnie Silverstein, Frank Solomon

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 6

RERUN 6- On the whole was fantastic! The printing was quite clear, the layout great. The price was amazingly low (I forget exactly, but it was about $8 for 168 pgs). My zine arrived extremely fast carefully wrapped and in perfect condition. I don't like to compare apples and oranges, so it is hard in some ways to pick a best story. But I have to say the A PLACE AMONG TIME SHADOWS, a "Beauty and the Beast" story by Jackie Paciello, was outstanding. It followed the structure of a traditional episode (the office scenes, the surprise encounters with Vincent, the case to work on, even the sonnet at the end) but incorporated a most untraditional plot. We learn about Vincent's origin, and believe me it is not what you would expect. I was especially pleased with Father's role and development. There is a lot of psychological drama as Vincent must choose between returning to his lost origin, or remaining in a world where he doesn't belong. The only flaw I found was that the final resolution of the problem seemed just a bit too easy (if I tell you exactly why, I'll give away too much!) But that was my only problem with a beautiful story. I also like the story ADDISON & STEELE by Roberta Rogow a lot. This one was the mystery crossover to beat all mystem crossovers, featuring a party that brings together the detectives from Remington Steele, Moonlighting, Hardcastle & McCormick, Hart to Hart, Hunter,and Murder, She Wrote and a few surprises! It did a good gob of keeping the characters straight in all their, ahem, intermingling. Maddie and Laura were especially funny together. The cameo by Quincy was nice, too. The hint at the end of the story -another such party next year -can it be true? Oh, please. Please. I enjoyed another crossover, MONKEE'S UNCLE, by Sheril Adsit, too, though I am always wary of stories that have real people instead of fictional characters. I mean, don't these people mind? That aside, I liked the characterization of Peter Tork the best-it seems "spot on! I'm not a fan of the BIONIC WOMAN but I read JAIME & TIlE GYPSIES by Jane Leavell anyway, because I liked the gypsy parts. It seems very well researched and sympathetic. My favorite fiIk was "He's Always Standing There" by Anne Tenna, Kay Bull, and Ray Darr, it summed up my feelings about Wesly exactly! Both ST-lNG stories were after-the-episode vignettes, which is nice and they were well-done; but I would like to see some real stories too! TIME SOUL OF A NUDE MACHINE by Karen Stewart is a post -"Naked Now" conversation featuring a delightfully subtle come-on by Yar to Data. In AND IT MUST FOLLOW by Patrice Heyes, Data helps Riker come to terms with the events of "Hide and Q". I have not discussed every piece in the fanzine, partly because I am unfamiliar with fandoms like 'Airwolf', 'Stingray', and 'Dempsey and Makepeace'. It is fair to assume, however, that the zine's quality is consistent, so if you like these fandoms you will probably like this zine, too. I like the sense of balance to this zine; stories are nicely interspersed with short pieces and also the material is grouped (and listed in the Table of Contents! by fandom. I usually avoid media zines because I don't follow every fandom and so a good percentage of the zine may be of little or no interest to me; with RERUN 6 the material I'm interested in is good enough to make the whole thing worthwhile! [1]
The best story of the lot [recent TNG fiction] was "Soul of a Nude Machine" in RERUN #6. This is a post-The Naked Now story involving some discussion between Tasha and Data regarding their interlude in that episode. It was very nicely handled. The characters were well- delineated, the dialogue was close to perfect, and the story resolved itself easily and smoothly, saying everything it needed to say without over embellishment or over-simplicity. A highly enjoy able piece of work—I recommend it. The following story in RERUN was also a Next Generation piece, and itincluded a very nice Data portrait by Ann Larimer. This one was titled, "And It Must Follow." I can't say that I cared as much for this story, although in comparison to most of the Next Generation fiction available, it shone. It, too, dealt with the aftermath of an episode ("Hide and Q") and this time presented a discussion between Riker and Data. The fact that I am far from a Riker fan may have colored my opinion of this piece, but primarily I believe this story suffered from a slight confusion about what it wanted to say. Nothing major, just a vague lack of cohesion to the structure. All in all, though, for the best Next Generation fiction currently available, I would suggest RERUN #6. You can't beat the price—I believe that it's in the $6 range—and even if you don't care for other media fandoms, it's still a better value for the money. [2]

Issue 7

cover of issue #7, Ann Larimer

Rerun 7 was published in 1989 and contains 164 pages.

  • Editorial by Lorraine Bartlett (Any and Every) 3
  • Mixed Media Heart by Ruth Dempsey (Commercial) 5
  • Rio de Sombre by Sheila Paulson--Dom blames Archangel, when Hawke is missing and presumed dead after a Contra-aide escapade in Nicaragua. (Airwolf) 6
  • The Wall by Shannon (Magnum, P.I.) 18
  • Mr. Dead by Ray Darr (Mr. Ed) 19
  • Survival by Doranna Shiner--Heiress Sharon Rakes finds herself in a frightening situation when she’s abducted and imprisoned on a farm in the middle of nowhere. (MacGyver) 20
  • For Ladies Only by J. Ruth Dempsey (Commercial) 39
  • The Return of the Hunter by Jane Leavell--Steve Austin suspects something fishy when three scientists in the LA area disappear within hours of each other. (Riptide/Six Million Dollar Man/Man From Atlantis) 40
  • Last Message Beyond by Shannon (V) 68
  • True Confessions by J. Ruth Dempsey (Commercial) 69
  • Freedom Fighter by Tashery Shannon (Blake's 7) 70
  • The ReRun Gallery by Some Unscrupulous Soul (Media) 72
  • The Fickle Fan by Susan M. Garrett (Star Trek: TNG) 83
  • A Secret Farewell by Sue-Anne Hartwick (Star Trek: TNG) 84
  • Incredibly Bad Q Jokes by Anne Tenna and Kay Bull (Star Trek: TNG) 86
  • A Silly Klingon Filksong by Mac (Star Trek: TNG) 87
  • Limited Parameters by P.L. Heyes (Star Trek: TNG) 88
  • A Wedding? by Marcia Brin (Bonanza) 90
  • Crossroads by Lorraine Bartlett--Kate’s unexpected pregnancy has a sobering effect on her TV star husband’s life. (Pulaski, the T.V. Detective) 91
  • Red Herring by Susan M. Garrett--Jonathan and Benny are asked to give speeches in the Soviet Union. (Shadow Chasers) 102
  • Food for Thought by Roberta Rogow--Catherine Chandler’s visit to Tattinger’s turns out to be more than she bargained. (Beauty and the Beast/Tattingers) 143
  • Wheels of Fire by Anne Collins Smith (Beauty and the Beast) 150
  • Friday Night's Dream by Lindsay Thompson--Narcissa seeks out Catherine to give her a very special gift. (Beauty and the Beast) 152
  • Cheaperoni by Anne Tenna and Kay Bull (Commercial) 162
  • The Joe Isuzu Song by Anne Collins Smith (Commercial) 163

Artwork:

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 7

Rerun 7 arrived intact, as usual, thanks to the editor's policy of using more tape than envelope. She mentions somewhere that people tease her for this, but I for one am tired on bent-cornered zines in mangled envelopes! The editor also writes that she went to a fair amount of trouble to print color in the zine in some places. When I first read the editorial, I thought, 'Why bother?' It seemed like too much work to be worth it. I found three instances, however, where the use of color was so striking as to change my mind. The first was the RERUN-7 logo on the very first page. As the first thing one sees on opening the zine, it's a nice greeting to the eye. The second was the blood-like "V" on page 65 accompanying 'Last Message Beyond' . It brought back memories of the show in a very graphic way. Because the color had been used sparingly it was shocking and effective. By contract, the red Christmas lights on page 143 and 149 helped set the holiday mood for the story. It is very considerate to have the fandom(s) listed before each piece and in the table of contents, and it's a pleasant touch to have them in the logo form. The zine features a kind of filk that I have only ever seen in Rerun that is filks about commericals! There's a special symbol for commercials, too, and the cartoon-style illoing-of the filks was a unifying factors that brought the diverse media together. The artwork in the zine was generally outstanding. Ann Larimer's cover took my breath away. The front, with the portraits worked into the letters of the zine's name, must have been an incredible amount of work. The different styles of portraiture somehow complement without clashing. I especially loved Q and Sylvester McCoy. And the back cover of Data as Sherlock Holmes - sigh. The gallery of artwork, a separate section in tbe middle of the zine, was beautiful. The Data/Tasha picture by Marty Siegrist was evocative without being obscene. I considered quibbling that Tasha's hair was slicked back at the time (it isn't in the picture), but then I considered that Data might has fluffed it back up with his fingers, and thinking of that made me want to stop typing and go drool over the picture again! Riker is the quintessential pirate in Jean Kluge's picture; and now that I've seen it in the pictue I can see the rogue in him even when I'm watching him on the show! Thanks, Jean, for expressing the insight so well. The other pictures in the gallery were of fandoms with which I'm not all that familiar, but they were nice to look at anyway. There were only two stories in fandoms that I follow. Roberta Rogow's 'Food For Thought,' a Beauty & the Beast/Tattinger's crossover, was heartwarming. I liked the way Catherine's concern for the hungry in the beginning continued through the story to become part of the resolution. I was able to enjoy the story even though I've never seen Tattinger's. 'Friday Night's Dream,' by Lindsay Thompson, another Beauty and the Beast story, was beautiful. I like Vincent quoting Father at the end, to the effect that the dream would come true someday. Without that touch of optimism it would have been too sad, to depict something so wonderful that could never happen. Although I read few of the stories, I enjoyed the poetry and filks immensely. Some of the filks simply begged to be sung aloud. "Ray Darr"s 'Mr. Dead' was totally sick and I loved it! ('The horse is a corpse, of course, of course ... ') Ruth Dempsey's wicked 'For Ladies Only' was a scream. 'Incredibly Bad Q Jokes' and 'Cheaperoni', both by 'Anne Tenna and Kay Bull' were both kind of dumb, I thought, but fun. I don't know the song on which 'Fickle Fan' by Susan Garrett was based but I liked the clever rhyming of 'Fandom' and 'random'. 'The Wonderful Thing About Klingons' by Mac (illo by Fran,k Solomon) was so delightful that I wound up inadvertently sharing the fanzine with my toddler! I was singing the filk to my husband and added, 'Look at the picture of Tigger as Worf!' when little feet came running and a small voice piped, 'Want to see Tigger!' My three-year old took the zine in (fortunately, for once) clean hands and stood enchanted. 'Oat's a 'Tar T'ek Tigger!' he informed us. (That's how he says 'Star Trek'.) It took some time toget the zine away! Of the serious poems, 'Limited Parameters,' by P.L. Heyes, about the aftermath of the ST-TNG episode, 'Measure of a Man,' was my favorite. I liked the structure -even free verse can fall into a pattern! The metaphor of measuring, adding, substracting, and counting was well done, finally completed in the last verse with the "final cost." And in Marty Siegrist's illo, Riker's expression is just heartbreaking. I also enjoyed Shannon's Blake's 7 poem, 'Freedom Fighter.' The line' As the man who brought war, in freedom's name' rings true, yet she manages to make this criticism sympathetic by showing us his painful awareness of the paradox. The silhouette style of Rhonda Reece's illo was very approporiate; giving us just a shaded outline corresponds to the inner emptiness express in the poem. One thing puzzled me: is Blake supposed to be carrying a cross, or is that an accidental effect of the fourth-season crosshair logo? In either case it, bothered me; the religious metaphor wouldn't fit the poem, and I didn't get the impression that it was set in the fourth season. But other than that I liked it a lot. Sue-Anne Hartwick's 'A Secret Farewell,' about Data and Tasha, was touching though I did not find it exceptional. Karen River's ilIo was very subtle and well-matched to the poem. I looked at it a couple of times before I noticed the shadowed image on the right of Yar standing as she appeared in the hologram. Finally, I loved Rita Terrell's ilIo for my sonnet; she pulled out the main images and themes and depicted them as I wish I could. I know there's a lot I didn't comment on, but there's a lot I wasn't interested in. What I did like was more than enough! I can pass on a couple more recommendations: a friend of mine who also read the zine says that the MacGyver story was well-written and that the Magnum PI poem was hard-hitting. It also features Shadow Chasers material and a Riptide/$6 Million Man Man from Atlantis crossover. If the quality of the material I have reviewed is indicative of the quality of the rest of the zine, rest assured I will enjoy these other stories too! [3]
[This review focuses on the art]: I was aghast when I realized that Rerun 7, just like any other zine, came in a plain 'ol manilla envelope, and not in a curtaintd and tasseled litter borne upon the shoulders of half-naked Egyptian bearers and preceded by virgins strewing its path with rose petals. 'Cause the book is one class act. Editor Lorraine Bartlett has designed a multi-media zlne that manages to be ultra-clean without ever being commonplace, and where the art is . . .well, artistic. None of her contributors stop at a portrait that is only pretty or an illo that is merely adequate. Instead, they compose. They crop. They design. Starting with Ann Larimer, whose front cover is a visually nifty rentage of personalities fron Vincent to the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, all enclosed in huge block letters that spell out the zine's name. Her back cover comes from one of those stills of Data-as-Sherlock Holmes that seems to be all over the place. It could have been simply a 'nice drawing' of the android, but she's made it interesting by closing in on her subject--tight—containing him in a aimple but interesting border, and hyping up the contraat between the roughness of his collar and Deerstalker and the smoothness of his face. She did this by varying the sizes of dots used in the shading, from fine to HUGE, in a fandom where the average artist seldom thinks to change the quality of line within a single work. The rest of Lorraine's stable of artists aren't exactly into stick figures, either. Rita Terrell has cotnposed a helluva nice Vincent illo by building a kind of rough triangle out of three figures. A snail, leaping Vincent and a stalking lion form its base; they are topped by a full-faced, snarling Vincent. Tha face of each figure is eade up of large white areas, but they are surrounded by black, staking than appear to leap out froo the page. Remember, darks recede, lights advance. Jean Kluge has cast Star Trek's Riker as an old-time avenger of the Spanish Main, complete with eye patch, earring, and horse pistols. Her drawing works in part because of a successful blend of symmetry and asymmetry, and because she isn't afraid to repeat shapes and elements. The character meets the reader's gaze almost straight on, but his body is turned only three-quarters of the way towards us, and his head is nearly, but not quite, in the center of the composition. He is enclosed in an oval, dark at the top around his upper body; again pushing the lighter form forward. The lower half of the oval ia made up of his own crossed arms in their full, sweeping sleeves. Jean keeps the theme going and keeps things symmetrical by putting a tiny cutlass, treasure cheat, and anchor and canon at the four corners of the portrait. Symmetrical, but not too symmetrical; each of the four elements is slightly different in size and altogether different in shape. The fact that the woman does bloody beautiful work, and knows the difference between being detailed and being busy, doesn't hurt... Lorraine is dedicated to putting out a champagne product on a Coots Light budget—all her zines are mimeoed—so that her buyers don't have to choose between ordering Rerun or eating something other than Tuna Helper three nights a week. Unfortunately, the most cost-effective way to repro art doesn't always make for the truest image. Her photocopies of Rhonda Peace's Blake's Seven piece and Karen River's Data portrait both have large black areas that gray out—lose density and become just a little less clean and solid than the originals... A minor problem in a zine that has roughly four times the art of what's on most of the dealer's tables these days; and at a third of the price. Of course, the half-naked Egyptian men are extra. [4]

Issue 8

cover of issue #8, Karen River

Rerun 8 was published in 1990 and is 150 pages long.

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 8

I was initially reluctant to review a zine, as my days of media fanning have long since passed. However, Rerun 8 intrigued me, as I remembered editor Lorraine Bartlett from the Glory Days of fandom, and was delighted to know that she was flying in the face of snob publishing by mimeoing in her basement. Being a very old fan, I have the utmost respect for an edtior that will actually do manual labor to keep costs down. Let's do the overview first. A very nice cover by Karen River that literally shows what we're preparing to dive into. I would've liked a better back cover, but then I'm admittedly a picky old bitch about these things. An attractive layout, although I prefer some diverging from straight-across-the page text. but an editor who knows the difference between illustration and portraiture gets a hat tipped from me for sure. Although I generally dislike fan poetry, I found it attractively presented. The Gallery was a real bonus -- a beautiful collection of artwork, including a gorgeous Connery by River, and Siegrit's 'Bob & June & Will & Data' was a true hoot. Smatterings: 'Repeat' by Jane Leavell was clever - tightly written and ending right on time. All the Beauty and the Beast pieces had me sniffly and wistful. A very good Classic Trek piece by Anne Collins Smith brought back memories of the days of finer fanfic in zines. Two TNG pieces -- 'Visions' and 'Raw Data' - are probably the most cleanly written offereings I've seen from that genre yet. What I found most admirable about Rerun is Ms. Bartlett's obvious concern for quality of content. Although I am not a Whofan and therefore cannot reconize, for example, whether characterization is true or not, what I do reconize in 'Requiem,' and in this zine overall, is good writing. At first I though it ludicrous to review anything by such remedial standards, but since I have returned to fandom, I'm awash in supposed 'literature' that lacks even the most elemental and rudimentary manifestation of structure and composistion. I realize that not everyone who is literate is literary. However, I FIRMLY believe that it is the primary job of an edtior to strive to produce as fine a piece as possilbe. If that means a heavy-handed red pencil and occasionally telling Kind Souls 'Sorry, but no thanks,' then so be it. The job of the editor is more than just filling up pages with text. The challenge is to entertain by the judicious selection of material. Editors who take my money for mediocrity succeed only in guaranteeing they won't do it again. And if they're not going to get in there with their sleeves rolled up and BE the definition of 'editor,' then they'd better call themselves publishers or typists, and leave the title for those whose labors merit it. As Ms. Bartlett's do. A very good read, as I thought it would be, reminiscent of fifteen years ago, when fanzines were more treat than trick. All the trees you can give her, they died for a worthy effort. [5]

Issue 9

front cover of issue #9, Karen River
back cover of issue #9, Melody Rondeau

Rerun 9 was published in 1991.

Issue 10

cover of issue #10, Karen River

Rerun 10 was published in 1992 and is 136 pages long.

Issue 11

cover of issue #11, Karen River

Rerun 11 was published in 1993.

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 11

The first thing I have to say is that I was disappointed in the art. Despite the fact that Lorraine Bartlett's Rerun is printed on a mimeograph machine-not the most congenial method of reproducing artwork-this zine has a reputation for good art. Rerun 11, however, is not a good art issue. One piece, a Sam Beckett portrait by Frank Solomon on page 95, even ventures into the "not at all successful" end of the art spectrum. While the majority of the art in the zine is not bad, my disappointment that it was not notably good colored my reception of the entire project.

The cover, by Karen River, typifies the problems with most of the art in the zine. The artist has delicately rendered cross-hatched head and shoulders of several of the media characters that appear in stories inside the zine. It is not a bad drawing. The small portraits are competently done. In fact, I'd say the Sam Beckett in the bottom corner goes beyond competence into being really beautiful (oh, Marty, about those drool marks on the review copy...). However, the cover lacks impact as a whole. The title of the zine is squished into the upper left hand corner and left stranded there. Nothing connects the title to the drawings below. Nothing connects the various portraits to each other. They're simply stacked together. I think it would have made for a more visually exciting cover if the artist had come up with a gimmick to unify all these disparate characters-such as having them all sitting in front of a television, as Bart and his family do in the opening of The Simpsons. She could have even taken the same poses she chose here and rearranged them so that the characters seemed to be talking to each other, and thus created a little more excitement in the drawing.

In the same vein, Bobbi Jo Simon's illustration on page 54 has a compositional flaw so typical of fan art, I cannot pass it without commenting. The illustration is of the Incredible Hulk being attacked by a vampire while Jack McGee and Carl Kolchak cower in the background. Should be an exciting drawing, shouldn't it? It isn't. The artist has succumbed to the "ducks in a row" syndrome. She has lined all her characters up in front of a brick wall. We view them from the side. This of course means that the two most prominently featured elements of the drawing are the Hulk's right shoulder and the brick wall. Are these the most interesting things we could be viewing? No! The attacking vampire and the terrified bystanders are crunched into the bottom right corner of the page. Artists, remember Khan's downfall, and think three-dimensionally! Wouldn't it be more interesting to, for instance, view the scene from over the Hulk's shoulder, placing the vampire's flashing fangs and fingernails nearer to the center of the drawing?

Even what I consider to be the best drawing in the zine suffers from a lack of imagination and daring. Karen River's Sam Beckett on page 79 is so good, it's kissable. However, it just sits there. And, although it sits there very sweetly and nicely, just a little touch could have made it so much more illustrative. A wedding ring is a key element in the story. Finding a way to add that wedding ring to this portrait could have turned it into a very fine illustration.

The quality of writing throughout the zine is good.

This is pathetic to say, but Rerun 11 is the first anthology zine I've read in a long time without coming across at least one "cringer" per story. You know what I mean: phrases so awkward, words so misused, or grammatical mistakes so blatant, they just give you that "yeeiik" feeling all up and down your spine.

I find most crossover stories corny and tedious, but Bartlett has managed to collect several here that I would call delightful-a little goofy, but delightful. Half the fun of Jane Leavell's pair of cross-genre adventure stories, "The Bionic Wolf Affair" and "The Incredible Night Stalker," was being horrified at how much I remembered about those dreadful seventies television shows. Leavell, like most of the authors in the zine, has a wonderful way of evoking characters with a minimal amount of words by on-target descriptions of their distinctive mannerisms and quirks. "Farewell," by E. Michael Whitmore II, was a little overwrought for my taste. It seemed too impressed with being A Story with a Message to work equally well as entertainment. "Sweet Dreams," by Linda Parker, chronicling the difficulties of a Beauty and the Beast fan, and "Reality Check," an extrapolation on Roseanne by Kim Bennett, both provoked well-earned giggles. I liked 'Secrets of the Human Heart," a Crying Game story by Karen J. Stewart, until I got to the end, which seemed abrupt and melodramatic. I found both the Quantum Leap stories enjoyable (although you might have been able to predict that by now). I preferred Sara Arnold's "Drowning Sorrows" over Lorraine Bartlett's "Blurred Image" because, in the second story, Sam ended up resorting to a physical method of avoiding his host's death, rather than the sort of "solve the puzzle" endings 1 tend to like a little better.

Attractive typefaces have been used for the text, and material from each different media source is marked by a distinctive logo. Because Rerun is mimeographed, the print quality does vary from page to page, and there are occasional ghosts and smears.

I found the Quick and Dirty Letters of Comment form included in the front of the zine to be a good-and brave-idea. Bartlett asks readers to identify their favorite story, poem, art, and humorous item. Readers are also asked to finish the following statements: The best thing about this issue was...; The worst thing about this issue was...; Next issue I'd like to see more...; Next issue I'd like to see less.... Maybe zineds who are discouraged by a lack of reader response should try this route. An enterprising editor could compose a quick response form of this nature to insert in the back of the zine for a lazy reader to fill out and send in without troubling himself or herself too much. Such survey-type responses won't compare to a true LoC, but I think providing a short form would encourage frank and valuable dialogue between producers and consumers of fan fiction.

On the other hand, I say this is a brave idea because it could possibly turn into a quick way to get rid of contributors. Imagine getting twenty or so votes saying-without explanation-that they found your piece the worst in the zine. A potential even more frightening than a single unfavorable Berkeley Hunt review, isn't it? I think this is why Bartlett has included two collections of limericks and puns in this issue. Authors of limericks and puns are capable of viewing comments like, "Your work made me groan and want to puke," as appropriate and positive responses.

As you can see below, I give Rerun 11 three trees, mainly because of the lackluster art. However, I do feel guilty doing so. I see enough zines to know that this is not-in all honesty-an average zine. Good editing, competent writing, and respectable production values as exhibited in Rerun 11 should be minimum standards a buyer can take for granted. Unfortunately, they are not. Rerun 11 is more what an average zine should be like, rather than what the average zine actually is. However, by giving it only three trees, I mean to communicate to a potential buyer that Rerun 11 is competent and entertaining, but not spectacular. From all indications, this is a below average issue of what is usually an above average zine. [6]

Issue 12

cover of issue #12, Karen River

Rerun 12 published in 1994 and is 158 pages long.

References

  1. ↑ from Datazine #57
  2. ↑ from Treklink #14
  3. ↑ from Datazine #57
  4. ↑ from Artforum #2
  5. ↑ from Psst... Hey Kid, Wanna Buy a Fanzine? #2. The reviewer gives it "5 trees." The reviewers in "Psst... Hey Kid, Wanna Buy a Fanzine?" rated zines on a 1-5 tree/star scale.
  6. ↑ from Psst... Hey Kid, Wanna Buy a Fanzine? #5. The reviewer in gives it "3 trees." The reviewers in "Psst... Hey Kid, Wanna Buy a Fanzine?" rated zines on a 1-5 tree/star scale. See that page for more explanation.
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