Shadowstar/Issues 8-9

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Issue 8

front cover of issue #8, Mary Jean Holmes
back cover of issue #8, Mary Jean Holmes

Shadowstar 8 was published in Autumn 1982 and contains 131 pages of Star Wars, original fantasy and original science fiction.

From the editor:

You may notice there's an awful lot of SW stuff again this issue. I thought about apologizing for it — we are supposed to be general SF/fantasy publication, after all — but changed my mind. I'm not sorry. Not only am I an admitted Wooker, but I can on ly print that which is submitted. So listen up, readers and writers: if you want to see more of the original stuff — which I personally wouldn't mind a bit more of, too — you'll have to submit it. Lee Christopherson, Kathy Sullivan, and Larry Juliano have done a splendid job in keeping me supplied with variety — Misty Lackey and Cathy Cieminski show promise of joining those ranks as well ~ but I can't expect them to do it forever. So please, please — if you've got anything SF or fantasy — in any vein — try to send it this way. I'd appreciate it.

From a fan letter in the zine:

I'd like to thank everyone who said such nice things about "To Wooka" in #7's letter-col. That was the first story of mine to see print — though by no means the first one I wrote... it was gratifying to know that perfect strangers liked my writing as much as my mother and my roommate do. They're the only other people in Buffalo — as far as I know — who'll read fanlit. The other fen are above that sort of thing, y'know. And my mom's a closet fan. I've discovered something about having your name in print; not only does it look real nice, but perfect strangers come up to you at Worldcons and go, "Hey, I read that story of yours in Shadowatar #6!

  • from issue #8, Misty Lackey

  • from issue #8, Mary Jean Holmes

  • from issue #8, Mary Jean Holmes

  • from issue #8, Lee Christopherson

  • from issue #8, unknown artist

  • from issue #8, Mary Jean Holmes

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 8

This issue proves you guys keep getting better: in layout and graphics as well as in submissions .

"Merry Xmas to All" by Misty Lackey shows that Misty has hitherto unsuspected talents! Nicely crafted.

"Laugh It Up, Fuzzball." My faanish Ghod, what a shaggy dog story! And the comic at the end...! Eek. That's the only possible thing Han and Spock could have in common, aside from their popularity with panting females (tho' I never liked Spock as much as Kirk — breaking through Spock's armor always seemed to be, A. excruciatingly painful for him and B. not worth the extraordinary effort involved),

"Volunteers" by Lee Christopherson and Cathy Cieminski. The scientific gobbledey- gook served its purpose, and all scientific jargon sounds like gobbledeygook to me. And then I thought it was going to end like Bill Roper's "Space is Dark," and I didn't need another downer. But it ends beautifully, and your song fit perfectly. I want to hear the tune, badly.

"Mammoth Alpha" by Tim Eldred. Part two kept up the classy lines of part one. Excellent art — averages higher than the Marvel comic. The plot moves fast, and the ending is just the kind of shenanigans I expect from our favorite Corellian, tho' I would venture to guess that, after their escape from Hoth, Han will never again trust the Falcon's hyperdrive quite that implicitly. It also occurs to me that, considering the appearance of hyperjump in both films, it doesn't quite work that way. But I'm just nit-picking. The story is exciting and self-consistant.

"Time" by Marcia Brin. This is a poem. The entire page. And it reconfirms my opinion as one of fandom's best writers.


"High Corellian" by Roberta Stuemke. Very nicely designed plot, and I love some of her narrative comments, like her initial description of Viatha: "booted and axmed, and as hard and tough-looking as Han himself, only prettier." And, on page 75, "He knew the rest of the excuse, but it Was one he'a never been able to voice, either." That's nicely put, ana states an unsayable fact as well as it can be stated.

[...]

"Link" by Kathryn Sullivan. Fascinating tale. I object, on general principles, of people making Dobermans the bad guys (my grandmother raised 'em for years), but I admit it's a very graphic and efficient way to describe the aliens. It seems a little odd that canine-like slavers could get their hands on Darko- van matrix jewels, but nothing is impossible.

A Chance to Live. I love the title page illo! Leia looks like a gypsy princess. Luke looks pissed off. [Editor: He does???? Oh, jeez, that wasn't what I was intending to draw, but I guess no one's perfect. Sigh...]. Their encounter, with requisite blood and profanity, is wonderful. It does inspire a certain alter nate scene: what if Luke hadn't been able to stop her from braining Han with that rock? Can you imagine the ribbing he'd have to take if he'd actually lost the fight? Heh, heh, heh.

You handle Han/Tal marvellously; just the right touch of friendship and hostility. Tal is very consistant; he's Han's opposite/complement. Where Han will know instinctively or not care. Tal will stop and consciously rationalize or reason it out. Tal's major problem may have been as simple as an over-active imagination — he could, all too easily, imagine the worst, most horrible eventualities, and that would make anyone hesitate. Han, I think, has a more disciplined imagination. He doesn't let himself think about what might happen; he busies himself with preventing those horribles and arranging things the "proper" way. All in all, a terrific novel, much as it drives me nuts to have to wait a year to read the whole novel. I can hardly wait for #9. [1]

A bit of comment of the 'Murder-Con letter: as far as the "profan-trufan" thing goes, apparently nobody has ever told Ray Bradbury about them; he published a fanzine for years, before anybody bought his stuff! Most of the pros I've talked to say that's how they got practice in the craft of writing. This nerd (Purtill, the author of "Murder-Con") evidently needs some of that practice. I suspect the reason he sold the thing is that some accountant at Doubleday pointed out the opportunity of sucking $$$$$ from both the SF crowd and the mystery mavins at the same time.

Moral: you want to get published? Be the first writer to submit a Torrid Romance/Space Opera (I can see it now — Love's Blazing Blasters). The alternative is a Regency/Sword and Sorcery (Conan the Nonesuch) or a Gothic/Occult/Fantasy (Satan's Unicorn) . Wanna bet we find copies of Murder-Con in the 3/$1 bin at K-Mart before six months is over? [2]

Eldred's layout are a knockout. His page ten actually gave me the feeling of being in the theater, watching the scene on the big screen. Talk about feelings — did you have any nightmares after working on the drawing for "Time?" When I opened the envelope and saw that drawing on the cover, it made my skin crawl. It still gives me a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. Your graphic is a perfect example of how art can create its own context of felt experience and go straight for the jugular whether one is familiar With the Star Wars mythos or not. The pained, silent agony etched in the face...that hand totally in shadow a- gainst the white uniform. Wow! But this was supposed to be the holiday is sue, wasn't it? Oh, well, there was always Lumpy the Wookiee. [1]

Concerning the novels: I especially enjoy the fact that you maintain the characters' personalities true to the movies, and you write fairly concerning all characters. Never slighting or putting down one in favor of another, as some fan writers are guilty of. I admit to being a Han Solo fan in particular, but I don't like seeing Luke or Leia made to look like fools. They certainly aren't. [1]

Issue 9

cover #9, L.J. Juliano and Mary Jean Holmes
back cover of issue #9, Jean Danielson
flyer for issue 9 printed in Pegasus #6

Shadowstar 9 was published in Winter 1983 and contains 114 pages. The art is by Lee Christopherson, Jean Danielsen (back cover), Mary Jean Holmes (front cover left), L.J. Juliano (front cover right), Misty Lackey, Karen Pauli, Carol Paulson, and Mary Wood.

From the editorial:

First and foremost is the Virtual Dearth of Art. Lack of personal time, no new volunteers, missed and forgotten promises, and the loss of yet another local artist Were all contributors to this lack. Now, I personally can put up with a minimum of illustration, but for those of you who can't, I have only one suggestion: HELP ME FIND ARTISTS. I in particular, I have a crying, sobbing, begging, pleading need for those who are willing to illustrate derivate fiction, i.e., the Star Wars stuff. I simply can't do it all by myself. Combating chronic illness, running a house, publishing, editing, typing, etc. the 'zine, working on other art and writing and such deplete my time horribly. HELP!!!

  • Letter from the Editor (1)
  • Penumbra: Readers' Letters (2)
  • Sandcastle by Lori J. Juliano (8)
  • Last Dark Lord by Roberta Stuemke (12)
  • Graduation Day by Misty Lackey (Dawntreader) (26)
  • Pleasure Cruise by Linda Ruth Pfonner and Karen Klinck (31)
  • Oh, Convention by Jean Danielsen (filk to the tune of "Michael, Row Your Boat Ashore") (47)
  • History of Rheta, first in a series of articles by Mary Wood (48)
  • Fairy Tale (part one of two) by Debra Sears (From the editorial: "I'm morally certain some intrepid fanzine buff out there is going to dub the a-foresaid "Fairy Tales" a #3 in the Barbara Wenk Theory of Post TESB Fan Fiction (see Warped Space #44). This may be applicable to the first half, true, but the end is a definite twist on Barbara's prediction. It even threw me for a loop.") (51)
  • Poems by Karin Zygowicz (78)
  • Out of the Frying Pan from the adventures of the Dragon by L.J. Juliano (66)
  • Apology Accepted by Janice Bratton (72)
  • Lady, Do You Weep by Karrin Zygowicz (78)
  • No Place to Run, part one of a Star Wars novel by Mary Jean Holmes (79)
  • The Mary Su Fan Fiction Blues by m.j. holmes (113)
  • Ads (114)

  • from issue #9, L.J. Juliano

  • from issue #9, Misty Lackey

  • from issue #9, Misty Lackey

  • from issue #9, Mary Jean Holmes

  • from issue #9, L.J. Juliano

  • from issue #9, Mary Jean Holmes

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 9

"Last Dark Lord" by Roberta Stuemke. This story is well-arranged, and keeps everything in its place. I can see the potential for people to gripe that it is oh-so-fortuitous that all those people should end up together; the only response to that it that the Force moves in mysterious ways. All stories are stories about coincidences; what if the Jawas had not sold C3P0 and R2D2 to Owen Lars? Luke would still be a moisture farmer.

Also, please, people! Consider how many people object to "trash" stories, as in "trashing" a character. I know, 'cause I trash Han regularly (see my stories in Shadowstar #6 and #9) and I'm going to trash Indiana Jones just as conscientiously in the new issue of Facets. All please note what Roberta has done to Luke in this story! Sure, Han gets shot, but that's just to irritate him and worry Leia. Luke is the one who is being tortured in this tale, just as he was in TESB; tortured emotionally and spiritually, which hurts more and is harder to bear than the purely physical pain we fan writers often put Han through. What could hurt Luke more than to find his true father only just in time to lose him again? The battle of the Powers is very well done; anyone who has ever tried can tell you how difficult it can be to explain the action in a psionic battle, and Roberta creditably does two simultaneously! The ending nicely short-circuits all the Luke-is-jealous-and-hates-Han-for-winning- the-Princess permutations that grow out of TESB like kudzu on Rapid-Gro.

"Graduation Day" by Misty Lackey. This is a lovely rite-of-passage tale, which could have been over-written, which wasn't. I probably would have overwritten it to the point of active nausea.

"Pleasure Cruise." Hmmm. I like the illo; it's your basic "squash Han" pic.

"Oh, Convention!" by Jean Danielsen. Precisely, my dear Watson!

"History of Rheta" by Mary Wood. At last! Now I can go back and reread "Who Seeks Retribution" and "Damon's Legacy" (issues #1 and #5) and maybe really understand What's going on! Nicely complicated, isn't it? Makes Fa Shimbo's Klysadel universe look simple.

"Fairy Tale" by Debra Sears. I hate serials, I really do. So, I have to wait until MediaWestCon to find out how this is all going to come out, hm? A'right, I'll get you for this! Yes, that is a threat — after all, Kari is completely defenseless... Still, this first half of the tale is good enough to make me pant and slaver and threaten for the conclusion. I especially like her explanation of the Half-Worldes.

Poems by Karin Zygowicz. Lovely.

"DRAGON: Out of the Frying Pan" by Larry Juliano. Uh-huh. Here he goes again. None of this makes any sense to me, but it all will, obviously... May is too long to wait! All I can do now is admire the artwork and the lovely craftsmanship of the tale.

"Apology Accepted" by Janice Bratton. Another thaw-Han story, this one as peaceful and serene as "Fairy Tale" is exciting. The jokes are good — Mary Jean, you said this is a PG-rated fanzine! Shame on you! But I like it.

"Lady, Do You Weep?" by Karin Zygowicz. Interesting imagery; it had never occurred to me that Han might suspect that his friends would give him up for dead, but it's as logical as any other assumption.

"No Place Left to Run" by Ye Editors. A'right, you. I'd really be upset with you if you hadn't let me read the rest of the rough draft at Capricon. as it is, I'm still upset, because I want to reread it, and parts two through four are in Milwaukee, and I'm in Buffalo! The less said about this, the better!

"Mary Su Fan Fiction Blues" by you again. Hmmm. If I didn't know you'd written this before you read through some of the stuff in my slushpile, I'd be tempted to take this personally. That illo is great. Poor Han. The trouble is, at least in my trash-Han stories, he always ends up winning in spite of whatever reverses I place in his path — that's usually why he gets so thoroughly trashed in the first place: it makes his victory that much more impressive. Besides, Han, you know we wouldn't bother unless we loved you. [3]

I just finished reading #9 and I had to sit down right now and write you. This is your best issue yet! The Virtual Dearth of Art did not detract from it in any way, and what was there was of the finest quality. Jean Danielsen's exquisite ladies give rise to the most delicious ideas for plot lines.

Whatever the case, the combination was superb with "Sandcastles." The style for "Dragon" reminded me of the old "Dick Tracy" strips, Which I always read on Sunday right after "Prince Valiant." Nice job.

I especially like how you draw the princess. Most original and most believable. You make her look like a real woman instead of a childlike china doll. Rendering like that is quite rare.

"Fairy Tale" was precious. I read it after a weekend of very high stress, and I really needed a good chuckle. Only two things bothered me: the name Andromeda, although the shortened version was great, and the line on page 57, paragraph 2. Do Corellians' circulations flow backwards? Last I knew, you felt for a pulse in the carotid artery, rather than in the jugular vein. Sorry about the nit picking. I'm looking forward to the conclusion. What Will Leia think of this "Fairy Godmother?"

"Pleasure Cruise" was also a joy to read. The art was superb, of course. The suspense Was carried through from beginning to end with great skill, and the characterizations were right on the mark through out. Poor Han.

"Graduation Day" was sad and sweet. Wish I understood more of the background. Are there to be more Dawntrader stories? I've been a sucker for sentient

ships for some time. Anne McCaffrey's Helva stories are some of my very very favorites. If part one is any indication, "No Place to Run" will be one of those stories to be saved for eons and reread, and reread, etc. etc. Excellent! I loved it. The characterizations are perfect, but what really makes it work is the pacing. That's the really hard .talent to develop, and you certainly have done it to perfection in this piece. [3]

I bought a copy of SHADOWSTAR #9 at Capricon last February. I meant to write to you then, but the 'zine was laid aside and buried under a bunch of other stuff. (Neat, I'm not.) I found it again after JEDI came out, and I was looking for Star Wars stuff to read.

Just a comment on a few things. Han sure gets beat on a lot in these stories, doesn't he? Doesn't anyone ever pick on Luke? I admit, Han gets it in the SW movies, too, but Luke suffers so well. Okay, I'll admit it — I'm a Luke fan. I can't help it, I like cure blonde little kids. That's why I married a 6'4" Dark Lord.

I had a little problem accepting "Plea sure Cruise." I just find it hard to believe security would be so lax on a Rebel Base. I could see one psycho/ assassin slipping by, but six of them? And Leia and Dodonna and Wedge not knowing who else they could trust on the Base? The other thing that bothered me is, after one attempted assassination in the sick bay while Han is out wandering around, security was so non-existent, it let the rest of the men burst, fully-armed, into Han and Luke's room! I know they knocked off the guards outside, but they shouldn't have even gotten close. Why wasn't there anyone else in the room watching Han and Luke? I'd best calm down, it wasn't real, it's only a story. ((Ed: Ah...bmm...well. Seeing that I didn't write the story, I can't really answer your questions -- maybe Linda and Karen will care to take the shot. At any rate, I suppose this story is a good example of "Willing Suspension of Disbelief." If that elusive something clicks for the reader at the beginning of a story they never seem to notice the small flaws and logical inconsistencies. Obviously, it clicked for me on "Pleasure Cruise." I never even noticed these points until you brought them to my attention. Ahh well... And as for the question of why people don't beat up on Luke...maybe after seeing TESB, the writers felt sorry for him???))

I really like the art in Juliano's strip, and you draw a real cute Luke. [4]

References

  1. ^ a b c from a letter of comment in "Shadowstar" #9
  2. ^ comments by Misty Lackey, letter of comment in "Shadowstar" #9
  3. ^ a b from a letter of comment in "Shadowstar" #10
  4. ^ from a letter of comment in "Shadowstar" #11
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