Wide Open Spaces (multimedia zine)

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Zine
Title: Wide Open Spaces
Publisher: Poncho Press (the first ten issues), then Ashton Press (the last issue)
Editor(s): Leah Rosenthal
Date(s): 1978-1986, then 1997
Series?:
Medium: print
Size:
Genre: Westerns
Fandom: multimedia with a Star Trek: TOS slant (see below)
Language: English
External Links: Ashton Press
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.
a 1978 flyer
a 1978 flyer
a 1980 flyer

Wide Open Spaces is a gen fanzine featuring Westerns. It was one of, if not the first, media western fiction zines published.

From Datazine #2: "... a Western-Trek genzine. Art, poetry, stories, articles by leading fan talent. Trek-type characterizations in stories ... not just for the western fan."

General Fan Comments

I like the format. You have a good balance of serious material and humor. I particularly appreciate the cartoons and the LOC's. I'm glad to see that the typos have gone the way of the buffalo in the latter issues. [1]

Issue 1

Wide Open Spaces 1 was published in October 1978 and is 87 pages long.

cover of issue #1, Leah Rosenthal

The art is by Leah Rosenthal and Bob Eggleton.

From the editorial by Rosenthal:

... our first issue contains characters that were offshoots (pardon the expression) of foreign and foreign-inspired Westerns. Roberta Rogow's ”Cass Haney" and "Lee" are derived from "The Magnificent 7", and The "A Man With No Name" and ”Tuco" were created in the Italian director Sergio Leone's three "Dollar” epics, "Fistful of Dollars," "For a Few Dollars More" and "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly." Be warned! All of these characters are extremely engaging and highly contageous! [sic]

[...]

”Four Guns for San Simon” is a 4-part saga that will be started here; and it's sure to surprise you...keep your eye on everybody! Roberta Rogow is the well-known, talented author of many fan’zine characters and stories, like ”Dirty Nellie” and ”Oriane”, ”Grip” etc. etc. She has a very involving style and great characterisation.

I might as well warn you now that The Man with No Name will be a regular in this ’zine, and if there are any future issues, which is up to you, there will always be at least one story on his suppressed sagas. You are even invited to write a tale or two about him...just remember that anything goes with ”Noname”, just so long as you are true to his character and authentic on the historical Western and contemporary details as much as possible. Future stories have him going East in 1876 with ”She-Wolf Jenny” in ”The Apple”, Joining a travelling circus, tracking outlaws into the high rockies in the dead of winter (”Cold Cash”) and even changing places with Clint Eastwood in time and space, after both recieve [sic] a blow on the head (”Day in the Life”). Many more tales are in the works.

One last time, let me point out that whether or not your favorite appears on these pages is up to you, so get crackin’!

From the editorial by Rogow:

Many Moons ago — I was a Western fan, I started with Roy Rogers and Gene Autry and moved up to ”Gunsmoke”, "Have Gun Will Travel", "Bonanza", "The Big Valley", "High Chapparal", and "Maverick". My favorite movies had lines like "Head them off at the Pass." In my dreams I was the buxom dance hall queen with the Heart of Gold, or the only one who could out-fight Calamity Jane. (The fact that I lived in a resolutely middle-class section of Queens in New York City did not alter the fact that I hankered after simpler times and what was, for me, an exotic locale.)

Time went by, as it has away of doing, and I got into even more exotic locales through Star Trek. And one day, at a Star Trek Con, I saw a VISION, wearing a ratty poncho, a broad-brimmed leather hat, and a cigarro. My war-whoop of recognition would have caused stampedes on Broadway. The VISION turned out to be Leah Rosenthal, a lady whose art-work I had enjoyed but whom I had never actually met. We sat for an hour during the Costume Call at that Star Trek Con, working out the story that became "Hardcase".

Then she asked the crucial question: it?" "What are we going to do with My answer was simple: "We print it ourselves. May be there are a few Western fans out there in the sagebrush.

Well -- all you Western Fans out there in the sagebrush —- I hope you like what we’ve come up with.

  • Editorials (1)
  • Tombstone (“Death and Dollars”) by Leah Rosenthal (a play in script form, includes character sketches) (3)
  • Killer of Death, poem by Leslie Sawyer (36)
  • The Hardcase by Leah Rosenthal and Roberta Rogow (Man With No Name) (37)
  • Plains Seranade: 1811 by Ellen Rowe (54)
  • Two Pair and A Joker by Roberta Rogow (Man With No Name) (55)
  • Four Guns for San Simon Part 1 by Roberta Rogow (Man With No Name) (67)

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 1

Congratulations on your first issue of Wide Open Spaces. The art work is spectacular and the stories are as good as any of the professional publications. I knew very little of westerns, watching only the early TV series of the sixties like Lone Ranger, Rifleman and occasionally Late Night Movies.

I am a devoted fan of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and would love to see some "Hole in the Wall" stories. I am now, thanks to your 'zine, a loyal western fan and a Wide Open Spaces subscriber. [2]

Wide Open Spaces is great! and I'm only a marginal Westerns fan. 'Tombstone' was excellant [sic]. It moved alone fast. Noname’s solution was a great twist. And the ending wasvery funny. I would like to see more of similar stories. 'The Hardcase' is also quite good. I think I'm becoming a Noname fan. 'Plains Serenade' is very beautiful. Please have more of Ellen Rowe's work, Does she write stories, too?

'Two Pair and a Joker' was a little slow-paced, but still good. And I can't wait for more of 'Four Guns for San Simon.' About all I can add is that I would like to see a 'Lone Ranger,' possibly 'F Troop' and maybe a 'Rin-Tin-Tin' story. [3]

Let me say that I'm thrilled to see someone do a Western 'zine. I also used to watch them with my maternal Grandpa. My TV favorites are Alias Smith and Jones, High Chaparral, Maverick and Wild Wild West. My Movie favorites are the Magnificent Seven and all the John Wayne flicks. I had once planned to do a Western 'zine myself but gave up after all the Trek hassels I've seen in the past... [...] My favorite story was 'Hardcase'. It was an interesting study of Noname. I personally dislike stories that are split up into episodes, but as I like the character of Lee, I enjoyed that story. There was also a nice mixture of art and pictures... My only comment is that I'd like to see a mixture of both TV and western movie character stories. Keep up the good works. [4]

What a great idea! A Western Fanzine! It's what we've been waiting for. And what makes it even better is the high quality of the writing and art. More! More! [5]

FANTASTIC, EXCRUCIATINGLY GLORIOUS!!! To put it simply, I loved it. I think you and Roberta did an outstanding job. The 'zine is better than I thought it would be. I really appreciate your putting in a good word for my poem at the bottom of the page...I was pleasantly surprized [sic] to see that. I just can't wait to see the next issue! [6]

Issue 2

Wide Open Spaces 2 was published in March 1979, and is 88 pages long.

front cover of issue #2, Leah Rosenthal
front cover of issue #2, Leah Rosenthal, later edition without color
back cover of issue #2, Dawn Singer

The art is by Leah Rosenthal, Caroline R. Hedge, Dawn Singer, Roberta Rogow, and A. Grossman.

From the editorial by Rogow:

It looks as if Leah and I are developing our own "Universe” in Wide Open Spaces.

Here are some of the characters you may meet in our stories, from time to time:

The Man With No Name — Tall in the saddle, laconic to the point of silence, clad in a flapping poncho, leather hat, and cigarillo.

He's a Bounty Hunter, based on the character in the Spaghetti Westerns of Sergio Leone.

She-Wolf Jenny — Another Bounty Hunter, female; No-Name's sometimes partner, sometimes rival. She has a taste for poetry, a horse named Poker, and a trimming of fur on her jacket.

Cass Haney — Tall, blonde, and deadly; she alternates between cooking and killing for hire. The turning point in her life came when she met.

Richard Edmund Lee — Dapper gun-fighter, once in the Confederate Army. He was cashiered for moral reasons, and spends a lot of energy fighting his inner feelings about young boys. His relationship with Cass Haney is one of the focal points of "Four Guns for San Simon".

Dr. Elizabeth Bell — Once a pretty young thing, now a hard-bitten spinster who ministers to an out-of-the-way corner of New Mexico. She is probably the only person who has ever shaved No-Name against his Will.

Col. Douglas Mortimer — Tall, grim, and obsessed with the desire to revenge his sister's death; he appeared in the film "For a Few Dollars More" and pops up when No-Name least wants him or expects him.

The rest of the continuing cast of characters are explained in the stories that continue to pour out of typewriters in Brooklyn and New Jersey, from Leah and Me, respectively.

One more word — "Escape" presumably takes place in 1864, long before the No-Name stories begin. It is an attempt to explain some of the underlying motivations in "For a Few Dollars More". The mass migration of ex-slaves mentioned towards the end of the story is more fully explored in Alex Hailey*s "Roots".

Wide Open Spaces is branching out to include art and poetry from other sources besides Leah and me — George and Ellen Rowe are our American Indian poets (he's a full-blooded Cherokee); Caroline Hedge sends some illos from Colorado; and Anthony Citro is a young critic from Paterson, N,J, with a taste for gore.

From the essay about "Easy Rider":

EASY RIDER was a perfectly deplorable 'modern western' and the undernourished brainchild of Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda, It was a movie which exemplified everything the 1960's were: inhuman, mature and just plain ugly. Of course, there were good highlights of that decade, healthy anyway, but if an attempt was fashioned to glorify them in this movie, it was a thwarted one. After viewing RIDER, and staggering ever so ambitiously towards the bathroom, I realized that the film was an unfortunate stab at the avante-garde realism for which the sixties were so noted. [...] EASY RIDER is too sparse in conception and too harsh in execution to expound on a theme, and Mr. Hopper accomplishes nothing in the way of keeping true to the Western genre. In his usage of the West as a setting, he only manages to abuse it, depicting it as a cold, lonely place and a haven for weirdos. [...] ...although RIDER became a cult movie and garnered a myriad of awards, it remains the worst movie of 1969 and the greatest setback to the modern Western since LONELY ARE THE BRAVE. It may well be the worst film ever.

  • Editorials (2)
  • Via Pony Express (LOCS) (5)
  • Escape by Roberta Rogow (8)
  • Prairie Fire and Lord Bison, two poems by E. Rowe (26)
  • Cold Spell by Leah Rosenthal and K. Smithline (Man With No Name/She-Wolf) (28
  • "And Now a Word from Our Sponsor" by Leah Rosenthal and the Fairlawn Gang (46, 48, 68)
  • Excerpts from Cass's Receipt Book (47)
  • It Is So by George Rowe (64)
  • Kriteek... Easy Rider, essay by Anthony Citro (66)
  • Western Crossword Puzzle (67)
  • Four Guns For San Simon Part 2 by Roberta Rogow (Man With No Name) (69)
  • Day In The Life (Man With No Name) (15 pages)

Issue 3

front cover of issue #3, artist not listed in Table of Contents
a 1980 flyer for issue #3, printed in Warped Space #43

Wide Open Spaces 3 was published in Fall 1979 and contains 76 pages. Stories, articles and artwork based on Wanted, Dead or Alive, Alias Smith & Jones, The Man With No Name, Bad Company (Man with No Name based series) and more.

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 3

I am not sure I liked the "Lullabye" in Issue #3. It was somehow eerie and I think that I would have nightmares if it was ever sung to me, but eerie or not, I can't forget it. Perhaps 'haunting' is a good way to describe it. [7]

Issue 4

cover of issue #4, Leah Rosenthal

Wide Open Spaces 4 was published in February 1980 and contains 85 pages. Color cover (of Hannibal Heyes) by Leah Rosenthal.

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 4

The artwork is one of the many features in WOS that I find impressive, especially Dawn Singer's beautiful works and the Buffalo by Lipanovich in Issue #4...it was so real. The "TV West" listing in Issue #4 made me quite envious. So many of them! You people over there will never realize just how lucky you are.

When it comes to Bad Company stories, I am not at all sure what to say. To start with, it was my strong opinion that Noname smelled! But then I read "The Carpathian Crown Jewels" and had to revise my opinion. I have now got so far I would think I would even dare to meet Noname, under circumstances. For example that it was in daylight and in the open street with a lot of people about, and that Jenny and Snorty were there.

I truly like and admire Jenny, but with Snorty it is something quite else. He is not just fuzzy, funny, furry, lovable, cute, sweet, adorable and one of the most truly original characters I have ever found in a fanzine (not that I have read very many, but just the same, I have got this feeling that the figures appearing either are the fan-objects or some sort of copies of persons the fan-object has already met). He also has charm or charisma or 'it' or whatever you call it when a character has something that really captures your heart and imagination. I really loved FURBALL EXPRESS but there just wasn't enough of it! Please write Mr. Lucas and tell him to remake THE RETURN OF THE JEDI with a nice, large role for Snorty in it. Thanks to you, I will be looking for him next time I see that movie even if I know that I have seen it twice before and that he just isn't there. [8]

Issue 5

cover of issue #5, Shona Jackson

Wide Open Spaces 5 was published in Summer 1980 and is 97 pages long.

It contains art by Laura Virgil, Leah Rosenthal, Shona Jackson and perhaps others.


Issue 6

cover of issue #6, Laura Virgil

Wide Open Spaces 6 was published in 1981 and contains 102 pages.

Issue 7

cover of issue #7, Paulie Gilmore

Wide Open Spaces 7 was published in 1982 and is 119 pages long.

The art is by Jenn Bills, T.J. Burnside, Jerry Collins (back cover), Paulie Gilmore (front cover), Shona Jackson, Ruth Kurz, Gordon Carleton, Signe Landon, Judy Low, Gee Moaven, Melody Rondeau, Leah Rosenthal and Mike B. Smith.

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 7

The story "Gunslinger" in Issue #7 was fantastic. Perfectly professional and with such illustrations. The artwork is one of the many features in WOS that I find impressive. [9]

This is a nice mixture of stories, poetry, and features, all of which are well written and illustrated. In fact, the art in this zine is excellent. Only a few of the cartoons are an exception. My one complaint with WOP is the typos. I’ve yet to read a zine without typos, but I’m not talking about one or two. In one story, ‘Gunslinger’ (my favorite), they were bad enough to interupt [ironic sic] the flow of the story. I was extremely annoyed. To be fair enough, though, there aren’t quite as many per page as in that story. Clint Eastwood’s character, ‘No Name,’ is in two stories. One is a look at She-Wolf’s past Christmases; the other a cute mix up story involving the crown jewels of Carpathia, which at first, I thought, was going to take place in No Name’s bath. Bonanza has two stories also. The first is serious and deals with family ties, short and to the point. The second is Bonanza in the Twilight Zone, featuring Hoss, and it is funny and creepy at the same time. Bonanza has two articles about its timeline and the Cartwright’s ages, both entertaining and useful for anyone writing in this universe. Gunsmoke has a short on what it would take to make Matt and Kitty finally decide to get married. Kid Curry and Hannibal Heyes get their fantasy to be ordinary citizens for a day. Wild Wild West is represented by a short story which deals with Jim reflecting on his life while waiting to die. Then there are two meaty pieces you can sink your teeth into. One is the third segment of a three part story. I didn’t recognize the characters so I’m assuming they’re made up. I have only read part three, but just that much was enough to make me happy. ‘Guardian Angel’ was about a man who is hanged, doesn’t die, and is now immortal. How he deals with his new life and love makes for some very interesting reading. The second one is a story based on the short-lived Gunslinger series. This is my favorite. Although I have not seen the show, the characters were so well-drawn that the story flowed so smoothly as to feel real. All in all, this is a very good buy. [10]

Issue 8

cover of issue #8, Mark Thorner
flyer for issue #8

Wide Open Spaces 8 was published in 1983 and contains 97 pages.

  • Editorial (1)
  • Smoke Signals (4)
  • At the Sound of the Tone by Rosnalen ("Just what the heck was that funny-looking box on their train...and why was it threatening to destroy itself?") (Wild, Wild West) (8)
  • All That Glitters by Leah Rosenthal ("Noname and the She-Wolf find themselves on a bounty hunt that's actually a trap...one that's waited ten years to spring..") (Bad Company) (13)
  • Receipts (27)
  • The Real Story... by Sallijan Snyder (Alias Smith and Jones) (28)
  • Joe, poem by Alice Robbins (30)
  • Last Capture by Helen Woolverton (Bad Company) (31)
  • Night of Too Many Wests by Cathy Schlein [11] ("Someone is accusing Jim West of a lot of terrible deeds...and they're all true. Can Artie stop him?") (Wild, Wild West) (33)
  • And Now, a Word from our Sponsors (30)
  • Archeological Notes from Devil's Hole by Michele Rosenberg ("A collection of authentic documents about a very strange dig in Wyoming...") (Alias Smith and Jones) (43)
  • The Critter with the Tail, poem (49)
  • Million Mile Reflections by Kelly Hill ("Tom Guthrie finds his new haven in Sweetwater haunted by images of his past.") (Bret Maverick) (51)
  • Them Words, series song lyrics (53)
  • To Watch for a Legend by Bruce Melton ("An original Western fantasy about a new variation on a myth.") (Fantasy) (56)
  • Calvary Retreat by Leah Rosenthal (" Our intrepid bounty hunter finds him self helpless at the hands of Fort Courage's finest!") (F Troop/Bad Company) (61)
  • Stallion, poem by Deborah Busse (68)
  • The Carbine Trail by Christine Jeffords ("Who is the mysterious Johnnie Clayfield...and why does she look so much like the man she wants to see hang? Jim Crown and Angus MacGregor find out in this atmospheric action yarn.") (Cimmaron Strip) (70)
  • art by Jerry Collins, Cheyl Fint, Shona Jackson, Ruth Kurz (back cover), Wanda Lybarger, Melody Rondeau, Irma Rosenthal, Leah Rosenthal, Dawna Synder, Mark Thorner (front cover)

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 8

I particularly liked "The Carbine Trail", even though I didn’t even know that CIMMARON STRIP existed before I read the story. There is a lot of good detail, as well as an excellent plotline.

"Night of Too Many Wests" was also very good. I've always liked Artemus Gordon and James West, and I think the author did a good job of catching the strength of the friendship between them.

"All That Glitters" is my second favorite of all the Bad Company stories I've seen. ("It Tolls For Thee" is top on that list). I had to stop and catch my breath after reading this one. In fact. I've already read it twice. Between the inherent humor of Noname and Jenny posing as bride and groom, and the drama and tension of their capture and struggle in the water, the story was well-balanced and the pacing was impeccable.

"The Last Capture", "The Real Story" and "Archeological Notes from Devil's Hole" left me snorgling in an undignified manner on the bus while people stared at me and muttered about straight jackets. I still giggle at odd moments thinking about Wheat Carlson's sock. And I have one question for Sallijan Snyder: Which one was Cable and which one was Conover?

The rest of the zine was okay, although the only other piece which drives me to commentary is the poem "Joe". It's to be hoped that you will continue to print some of the poems from "Poems that Never Die", especially if they are up to the quality of this one. Among my other faults is a weakness for Kipling, Tennyson and oddball late Victorian poetry—the sort of stuff they never make you read in school.[12]

I finished #8 in one night. In the past I've been successful in staying away from fanzines in general — I just didn't think I would be interested. But I'm really hooked on this one! I'm a great fan of WILD, WILD WEST and the Eastwood Westerns. I'd like to compliment Mark Thorner on his front cover piece, because frankly, if it hadn't been for that, I would never have looked closer at WOS, nor bought it. I really enjoyed the stories "Night of Too Many Wests", "All That Glitters" and "Cavalry Retreat." The cartoon clips with ET were delightful. I'm eagerly awaiting WOS #9. Thank you for the nice introduction to the wonderful world of fanzines. [13]

The plural of "story" is stories, not "storys".

The cartoons are great, as in LEAPIN' JEEPS. I especially the two ET ones on pages 1 and 99. Neat! "At the Sound of the Tone": AAAUGHHH!!! Mr. Phelps, your mission, should you decide to accept it...Never mind, this one's beyond even the IMF.

"All That Glitters": My first introduction to the She-Wolf, and the first time I've enjoyed a story about Noname. Spaghetti Westerns were among my least-favorite forms of entertainment, but now I find myself hoping that the local TV channels will start running these. An excellent story, with the false ghosts a good use of one of the few weapons —superstition- available to the couple (Minor quibble, unless you're as much of a language freak I am-- "Senor" would be more accurately transliterated as "Senyor.").

"Night of Too Many Wests": A very good as story, and I don't even care that it was a Western. This is the kind of friendship story that transcends the genre it's written in, and I enjoyed it very much indeed,

"Archeological Notes From Devil's Hole": The only word I can think of to describe this one is "fun".

"To Watch for a Legend": Excellent! I knew early in the story what was going to happen, but it was so well written I didn't care.

"Cavalry Retreat": Prejudice showing again, but no thanks. F-TROOP was—like GOMER PYLE and GILLIGAN'S ISLAND--one of the shows I turned off automatically.

"The Carbine Trail": Too much of a straight Western for me. [14]

As for WOS 18, I loved every inch of it! My favorites were "The Real Story" by Sallijan Snyder (How imaginative and a perfect ending for our boys, Heyes and Curry!) and "Archeological Notes from Devil's Hole", by Michele Rosenberg...! laughed so hard, I nearly rolled off the sofa! Your "Cavalry Retreat" captured our bumbling F-TROOP friends to a "T" and putting the Man With No Name in their midst was a bit of masochistic (or is it sadistic?) inspiration.

All in all, the entire issue was entertaining. [15]

I’m writing to you about WOS #8...First off. I'd like to say that you have a very wicked wit! Where do you come up with such funny cartoons? I love them! And who writes the little asides in the LOC's? I flipped over Indy Jones asking Noname for a loan—and being told his brother had taken it for a new drive on his starship. What a hoot! I really appreciate a zine with a sense of humor.

All of the stories and poems were enjoyable, too. I especially liked "Night of Too Many Wests" by Cathy Schlein; it seemed like 'true to form' WILD WILD WEST. Oh, and "Archeological Notes from Devil's Hole" was wonderful. Indiana Jones descended from Kid Curry? Now that's quite a concept. "Stallion" was a lovely poem--I really liked the accompanying illustration, also. Your rider zine ECHO 1 is certainly unique. I sure like Snorty, but just what is he (it?) I thought I'd die laughing when he killed Darth Vader with Coke! And when Yoda said, "There is an Earther...!" Gimme a break, my friends think I've lost it when I sit and giggle so much.[16]

"Cavalry Retreat" made me wonder: If the US Cavalry was just one bit like you describe the F-TROOP, how did you ever win the West? It seems incredible. The stories about Doctor Bell fascinate me. I especially like her way to stand up for what she believes in and her near-sightedness. I am very nearsighted myself and very tired of all these people in all kinds of fiction with 20/20 eyesight.

I have recently found myself trying to memorize "The Critter With The Tail" and "Snorty's Opinion of The Baby and I can't believe it. I usually hate reading poetry...it just messes up the storyline.[17]

Issue 9

cover of issue #9, Laura Virgil
back cover of issue #9, Mary Otten
from issue #9, the You Are Receiving This Zine Because
ad for issues #9 & 10 found in Southern Seven #1, click to read

Wide Open Spaces 9 was published in May 1985 and is 118 pages long.

The art is by Jerry Collins, Shona Jackson, Ruth Kurz, J. Collins, Wanda Lybarger, Gee Moaven, Mary Otten, Melody Rondeau, Leah Rosenthal, Michael B. Smith, Catherine Schlein, Laura Virgil, and Martynn Walter.

This issue was dedicated to Beth Nugteren, "who supported us when it all started, and who will be missed by all whose lives she touched."

From the editorial:

You're holding in your hot little hands the largest issue of WOS ever...and one of our best! Most of this issue has been reduced, making for longer storys [sic] and more of them, and we're really excited about the tales and illoers we snagged for you this time around! Getting right down to business, we've got two picaresque FRISCO KID epics, both of which mix universes and both of which are superbly written and illoed.

There seems to be a general concensus [sic] among Western mediafen that FK's opening 'crawl' date is at least 20 years off, evidenced by costume, props and other historical detail. Interestingly, there also seems to be a concensus between authors Chris Jeffords and Beth Lentz as to what career would best suit Tommy Lillard, once he quit robbing banks! Wanda Lybarger and Martynn Walter have shown us here that they can do a great job of tackling characters they've never done before, in their own inimitable styles. Not everyone necessarily agrees about the 20 year discrepancy on the date. I'm obliged to point out, but it sure is more fun to cross universes this way. I'm sure you'll see...We also have what is probably the first published WILDSIDE zine story. Although this series was superb and had fantastic possibilities, Disney/Touchstone has shown an absolute indifference to renewing it next season, and it is not scheduled to be continued. What a pity! Anyway, Michele's usual absolutely-at-the-last-second-submission is at her humorous high standard...

Our readers may have read a copy of the recent Star Trek novel ISHMAEL, and enjoyed the numerous SF/Western cross-universe references. No, I had nothing to do with it, but that's just the kind of think I was fishing for for WOS #10, so if you still have some ideas for it, now's the time to submit...

Lorraine Beatty's THE NIGHT THEY MADE ME AN OFFER will give you some insight into Artie Gordon's early motivation into spying...We've got a dandy, juicy AS&J 'Get 'Em' by Cindy Dye. with illos by Cathy Schlein, who just keeps getting astronomically better and better...Kay Crayton and Denise Walters have Heyes and Curry in a lighter mood for Christmas time...Leslie Fish, Roberta Rogow and Brian 'Blondie' Klaus have teamed up for a delightful adventure with Noname, Jim West, Artie Gordon and Tuco Ramirez in NIGHT OF THE FLIGHT, and finally, the long-promised Bad Company story, THE EMBER. We've also got some lovely portraits by Ruth Kurz, great illos by Mary Otten, who came through to save my neck and demonstrate her unique, steadily-growing talents, some frankly hysterical cartoons by Mel Rondeau who prints a zine out in San Jose called whats-it's-name (can't quite recall, at this second...BOAT GLIDERS? APPLE CIDERS? GHOST BUSTERS?) anyway, thanks Mel...and the usual great features, poetry and a probing interview with actor Charles Gray by JeanAnn Berger...all in all, this should keep you busy.

Issue 10

front cover of issue #10, Bob Eggleton
back cover of issue #10 by Laura Virgil

Wide Open Spaces 10 was published in May 1986 and contains 100 pages.

It was edited by Leah Rosenthal and proofread by Linda Deneroff.

It was an issue focusing on SF/Horror/supernatural crossovers with Western TV universes.

  • inside issue #10

  • inside issue #10

  • inside issue #10

Issue 11

issue #11

Wide Open Spaces 11 is 86 pages long. It was published in 1997, many years after the previous issue. The artwork is by Leah Rosenthal (Lonesome Dove), Kelly Taylor (ASJ) and Laura Virgil (ASJ).

  • Roswell by Catherine Siemann ("Yeah, that Snarkathon woman again ;-) -- a "sort of" Alias Smith and Jones/X-Files crossover ("Heyes and Curry have found steady work in a nice, peaceful New Mexico town until two federal agents involve them in the investigation of some unearthly phenomena.")
  • One Good Turn by Irene Shafer ("The guys encounter an old friend, in more than one sense of the word, in this charming tale") (Alias Smith and Jones)

References

  1. ^ from a letter of comment in "Wide Open Spaces" #9
  2. ^ from a letter of comment in "Wide Open Spaces" #1
  3. ^ from a letter of comment in "Wide Open Spaces" #1
  4. ^ from a letter of comment in "Wide Open Spaces" #1
  5. ^ from a letter of comment in "Wide Open Spaces" #1
  6. ^ from a letter of comment in "Wide Open Spaces" #1
  7. ^ from a letter of comment in "Wide Open Spaces" #9
  8. ^ from a letter of comment from a Swedish fan in "Wide Open Spaces" #9
  9. ^ from a letter of comment in "Wide Open Spaces" #9
  10. ^ from Datazine #24
  11. ^ This was mistakenly credited to Lorraine Beatty, something the editor apologizes for in the next issue.
  12. ^ from a letter of comment in "Wide Open Spaces" #9
  13. ^ from a letter of comment in "Wide Open Spaces" #9
  14. ^ from a letter of comment in "Wide Open Spaces" #9
  15. ^ from a letter of comment in "Wide Open Spaces" #9
  16. ^ from a letter of comment in "Wide Open Spaces" #9
  17. ^ from a letter of comment in "Wide Open Spaces" #9
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