Z.I.N.E.S. (Man from UNCLE zine)

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Zine
Title: ZINES
Publisher: Lois Balzar, then Marion McChesney (1999), perhaps then Jan Davies (2000)
Editor(s):
Type:
Date(s): 1995-2000?
Frequency: quarterly
Medium: print, then perhaps electronic
Fandom: Man from UNCLE
Language: English
External Links:
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Z.I.N.E.S. is a Man from UNCLE gen and slash newsletter that includes fan fiction, articles & (mostly slash) reviews.

It was first published by Lois Balzar, then Marion McChesney. After Marion passed away, Jan Davies volunteered to publish the last two issues in the subscription. At least one of these issues was published, but it is unclear the second was completed.

Note: when Marion McChesney took over the newsletter in Jan 1999, she did not keep the existing numbering system, instead starting with Volume 1, Issue 1.

Award Winner

This zine was listed as having won a (STIFfie Award) as best UNCLE information zine in 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1998.

About

Among other things, Z.I.N.E.S. offers a place for related articles, reviews of past U.N.C.L.E. zines, advertisements for new zines, a section where publishers request stories and artwork, a listing of zine publishers and the names of their zines, and a "second-hand" zine ad section (both "for sale" and "wanted") as well as ads for other MFU items. Ads are free, both to publishers and to subscribers.

Publication will continue on a quarterly basis: publication dates being January, April, July, and October. Subscriptions are on a calendar year basis only. All subscriptions will end at the close of the calendar year. Anyone subscribing after the first issue of the year will have their price prorated for the balance of that year. Ads can be sent via e-mail, disk, hard copy (hard copy must be typed — it's far too easy to make a mistake when transcribing from handwritten material). You must specify if the zine is slash, and separate proposed from available zines. Changes to ads may be sent at any time and will take effect with the next issue. Ads submitted will be reprinted for the rest of the calendar year, unless otherwise requested. All other ads will expire after the October issue. You must at that time send in renewals in order to continue them. Letters of comments on any U.N.C.L.E. related issues are also welcome.

All reviews must be signed. You may use a pen name rather than your real one. However it must be the name you are known by in Fandom. In other words, you cannot make one up just for the review. As far as content of a review — if you like a story, it's not enough to say so — say why. What was it about the story that made it work for you? And if you didn't particularly care for it, again why? Why didn't it work? What could have been done to make it better? This is constructive. No personal attacks will be tolerated. Comments on the writers personally or the editor will not be tolerated. Reviews received that do that will not be printed... nor returned. As the publisher it will be my call as to what constitutes a personal attack. Reviews can be sent hard copy (typed only), on disk or by e-mail. Deadline is the 15th of the month preceding publication.

Flyer Description

From a 1999 flyer posted by Marion:

Introduction: Among other things, ZINES offers a place for related articles, reviews of past U.N.C.L.E. zines, advertisements for new zines, a section where publishers request stories and artwork, a listing of zine publishers and the names of their zines, and a "second-hand" zine ad section (both "for sale" and "wanted") as well as ads for other MFU items. Ads are free, both to publishers and to subscribers;

Publication will continue on a quarterly basis: publication dates being January 1st, April 1st, July 1st and October 1st. Subscriptions are on a calendar year basis only. All subscriptions will be at the end of the year. Anyone subscribing after the first issue of the year will have their price pro-rated for the balance of that year.

They can be sent via e-mail, disk, hard copy (hard copy must be typed — it's far too easy to make a mistake when transcribing from handwritten material). You must specify if the zine is slash, and separate proposed from available zines. Changes to ads may be sent at any time and will take effect with the next issue. Ads submitted will be re-printed for the rest of the calendar year, unless otherwise requested. All other ads will expire after the October issue. You must at that time send in renewals in order to continue them. Letters of comments on any U.N.C.L.E. related issue are also welcome. As for reviews, please see the review policy below. Deadline for all material is the 15th of the month preceding publication. For example, the deadline for the January, 1999 issue will be December 15th.

Review Policy: 1. All reviews must be signed. You may use a pen name rather than your real one. However, it must be the name you are known by in fandom. In other words, you cannot make one up just for the review.

2. If you like a story, it's not enough to say so. Say why. What was it about the story that made it work for you? And if you didn't particularly care for it, again why? Why didn't it work? What could have been done to make it better? This is constructive.

3. No personal attacks will be tolerated. Comments on the writers personally or the editor will not be tolerated. Reviews received that do that will not be printed...nor returned. As the publisher it will be my call as to what constitutes a personal attack.

4. Reviews can be sent hard copy (typed only), on disk or by e-mail. Deadline is the 15th of the month preceding publication. The deadline for the first issue of 1999 is December 15th, 1998.

Some of the Articles

These articles are archived here.

Issue 1 (with editor L.R.H. Balzar)

Z.I.N.E.S. v.1 was published in 1995.

These issues continued for four years. When Marion McChesney took over, she started the issues' numbering all over again.

Issue 1 (with new editor Marion McChesney)

Z.I.N.E.S. v.1 n.1 was published in January 1999 and contains 20 pages.

From the editorial: "Welcome to my first effort at publishing a newsletter. It turned out to be a little more work than I envisioned, but I enjoyed doing it. However, I think it will be easier from here out now that I've got the basic setup done... In this issue I have four terrific articles. I'm sure my readers will enjoy them as much as I did..."

  • Writing U.N.C.L.E.: The MacGuffin Affair by C.W. Walker (2)
  • Point of View by Bill Koenig (3)
  • Bondage—Or To Have Or Have Knot by F.Y. Driver/Hephaiston and Jane Terry (4)
  • Storytelling by Pat Foley (8)
  • Reviews (13)
  • Conventions (16)
  • Online (16)
  • Newsletters and Clubs (17)
  • Zine Ads (17)

Issue 2 (v.1 n.2)

Z.I.N.E.S. v.1 n.2 was published in April 1999 and contains 10 pages. Marion McChesney welcomes Jan Davies as athe assistant editor.

  • Writing U.N.C.L.E.: Guidelines for Writers Over the Years—Part 1 by C.W. Walker (2)
  • The Ten Five Hottest Stories by Ellen Druda (3)
  • My First Time by Rapunzel (4)
  • Open Channel D or L or We or—Whatever! by Fara Y. Driver/Hephaiston (4)
  • Going to Great Lengths by Linda White (6)
  • Writing with Ropes by Jane Terry (7)
  • Reviews (7)
  • Online (9)
  • Newsletters and Clubs (10)
  • Zine Ads (10)

Issue 3 (v.1 n.3)

Z.I.N.E.S. v.1 n.3 was published in July 1999 and contains 11 pages.

Issue 4 (v.1 n.4)

Z.I.N.E.S. v.1 n.4 was published in October 1999.

Issue 5 (v.2 n.1)

Z.I.N.E.S. v.2 n.1 was published in January 2000 and contains 21 pages.

  • Writing U.N.C.L.E.: The Agents' New York — by C.W. Walker (2)
  • Traveling to and Packing for a Fan Con by Linda White ("First of all, if you must fly to the con and you are terrified of flying, do not waste precious personal energy battling your fear. You are not defective. You are not the only person on the planet who is terrified of flying. In fact, my doctor assures me that all those calm people at the airport are on drugs. So get some!") (3)
  • Hi, Ho, Icebergs Ahead! (Or, I Said I Would Write An Article on What???) by F.Y. Driver/Hephaiston (article about hurt/comfort) (4)
  • A Brief Look at U.N.C.L.E. on the World Wide Web by Maud M. Fair (5)
  • Reviews (9)
  • Online (15)
  • Newsletters & Clubs (16)
  • Zine Ads (17)
  • Flea Market (21)

Issue 6 (v.2 n.2)

Z.I.N.E.S. v.2 n.2 was published in April 2000 and contains 26 pages.

first page of v.2.n.2

Editorial:

My apologies for the lateness of this issue. The back problems that have plagued me for the last few years finally came to a head and I had surgery last month. Needless to say, it put well behind schedule. Once again my thanks to my assistant editor, Jan Davies, for her help in soliciting articles and reviews. She does a fantastic job of convincing fans that they should participate.

  • Canon VRS Fanon in Slash Fiction by Theresa Kyle (2)
  • Editors—An Appreciation by Sarah Lindsay (4)
  • Hurt/Comfort: A Revised Overview by K. Hanna Korossy (5)
  • Vidding by Kronette (6)
  • Awards and What They Mean to You by F.Y. Driver/Hephaiston (8)
  • Photographic Manipulation by Killa (9)
  • Reviews (11)
  • Theresa Kyle: A Retrospective by Claire Chew (14)
  • Online (20)
  • Newsletters and Clubs (20)
  • Zine Ads (21)
  • Flea Market (26)

Issue 7 (v.2 n.3)

Z.I.N.E.S. v.2 n.3 was published in Fall 2000 and contains 14 pages. It was edited by Jan Davies, as Marion had recently passed away.

first page of v.2.n.3

Editorial:

Marion hated to write editorials. When she had everything for a fanzine or newsletter, she would call me up and whine that she wished she didn't have to write the editorial. I would laugh at her and quote the Nike commercial -- "Just do it."

Now that I'm the one to do it, the task seems a little more daunting- There is so much that should he said, but my thoughts arc scattered and I hardly know where to begin. First, for those readers who are out of the loop, Marion McChesney died of a heart attack in June- She was my best friend and we worked together on many projects. I will miss her very much and I'm certain the rest of this fandom will as well. It was suggested that this issue focus on tributes to Marion. Surprisingly, though we asked, we only received one for this issue. Some people expressed a reluctance to write a tribute, feeling that tributes would be better coming from those who knew her best. But those of us who were closest to Marion have written and presented tributes — at the funeral, on the lists, to each other — and feel that there is nothing more they can say. For others, it might be too soon. If anyone wants to write a tribute for the next issue, I will he happy to print it. Pauline DeVance only knew Marion through local conventions. Yet I feel her tribute captures the sense of loss that people in fandom are feeling. I want to thank the people who took the time to write for this issue. I know that these articles and reviews take a lot of time to write, sometimes as long as a short story. But I think that the articles and reviews help generate interest in reading and writing fan fiction.

I especially want to thank Maria for doing the formatting and printing and for her help in editing.

References