11 & 2

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Zine
Title: 11 & 2
Publisher: Otter Limits Press
Editor(s): Paulie and Tami Marie
Date(s): 1986-1991
Series?: yes
Medium: print zine
Size:
Genre: gen
Fandom: Man From U.N.C.L.E.
Language: English
External Links:
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

11 & 2 is a gen Man From U.N.C.L.E. anthology fanzine. There are six regular issues and two holiday specials.

Summary

From Agent With Style: "Using Illya and Napoleon's code numbers as their titles, these zines focus on various assignments and affairs of the U.N.C.L.E. agents, much like the show did, but with a little more leeway. Come join our intrepid duo as they fight Thrush and sometimes their own agency to save the world--one more time!"

Issue 1

cover of issue #1, Paulie

11 & 2 1 was published in 1986 and contains 118 pages.

The art is by Paulie, AD, Judith Boguslawski, CAK, Howarth, Kurz, Rene, Spurlock, Stanford, Tami Marie, and Dover Publications.

  • Conference Room by Tam and P.J. (1)
  • LoC Column by Various (3)
  • The Level Zero Affair by D.L. Balmer ("UNCLE's security is breached by THRUSH agents with inside information — and the primary suspect is Illya.") (11)
  • The Teacher, Teacher Affair by Stewart J. ("A young woman stumbles on an amnesiac Illya.") (27)
  • The Dirty Diaper Affair by J.E. Wells ("comic strip; a THRUSH chemical de-ages Napoleon to a baby.") (37)
  • The Cat And Mouse Business, poem by Teresa Sarick (47)
  • PORTFOLIO: A Matter of Communications by Paulie (art portfolio) (48)
  • The Kentucky Dam Camping Affair by J.E. Wells (51)
  • The Milton-Freewater Affair by Terry N. & Anne D. (71)
  • Whispers in Empty Halls/Tall Tales, poem by Hindman (91)
  • U.N.C.L.E. OFFICIAL MEMO by Jan Lindner ("Sir John Raleigh describes Hans Dietrich's career as an UNCLE agent.") (92)
  • The Courier Affair by Lorretta G. ("Post-movie; UNCLE is receiving anonymous threats on Illya's life.") (93)
  • Tie Him Up by Tweety Diamond and the Thrushettes, filk by Paulie (109)
  • Solo Impressions by Tam (112)
  • Kuryakin Impressions by Paulie (113)

Issue 2

cover of issue #2, Paulie

11 & 2 2 was published in January 1987 and is 108 pages long.

The art is by Paulie (Front Cover), Rain, Stanford, C.A.K., Ruth Kurz, D.Y.A., M.L. Johnston, Kathleen J. Easley, and Vixen (Vixen Foxx?).

Issue 3

cover of issue #3, Hindman; this art was used in 2016 as the cover of UNCLE Rescued
a partial page from issue #3, with art

11 & 2 3 was published in December 1987 and contains 164 pages.

The art is by Paulie, C. Case, C. Kirby, Ruth Kurz, Cheryl Newsome, and Stanford. Hindman is the front cover artist.

  • The First Affair by Mara St. James (21)
  • The Nevermore Affair by Stewart Johnston (29)
  • The Sorority Rush Affair by Jennifer Adams (39)
  • The Fly the Friendly Spies Affair by Gina Martin (49)
  • The Musical Affair by L.B. Sternmacher (65)
  • Portfolio: "Wishful Thinking" by Hindman (84)
  • The Princess and the Pea Affair (The Princess Bride Affair" online) by Terry Neill & Anne Davenport (87)
  • Station to Station by Teresa Sarick (124)
  • The Mentor Affair by Loretta Greco (125)
  • The Still Crazy After all These Years Affair by Paulie (145)

Issue 4

cover of issue #4, Paulie

11 & 2 4 was published in 1988. It contains 8 stories and is 128 pages long.

The art is by Paulie (Front Cover), Tami Marie, Stanford, Pasha Sokolnikov, Cheryl Newsome, Scott Rosma, and Anne Davenport.

  • The King of Beasts Affair by Lisa Bradzil ("A mad scientist is physically changing lions, in his plot to create a new super army. Napoleon and Illya stumble across the madman's plans, and find themselves caught up in an insane attempt to rule the world.") (3)
  • The Science Must Be Served Affair by Jennifer Adams (19)
  • The Cactus Rose Affair by Nan Mack (35)
  • Portfolio: "A Piece of the Action" by Paulie (62)
  • The Multiple Choice Affair by L.B. Sternmacher ("You get to choose your own beginning, middle and end for this hilarious offering.") (67)
  • Interlude by Hindman (84)
  • The Toxic Chemical Affair by J.M. Florentine (85)
  • The Thrushette Affair by Loretta Greco ("In this present-day affair, Napoleon's starry-eyed over a woman suspected of being a double-agent...and he refuses to listen to a suspicious lllya's warning. Wedding bells may ring for long-time bachelor Solo, if Kuryakin doesn't act quick!") (97)
  • The Illya Kuryakin School of Fine Cuisine and Handy Household Hints Handbook by Pasha Sokolnikov (118)
  • So Vain by L.B. Sternmacher (125)
  • Friday Night Anticipation by Kathy Norton (127)

Issue 5

cover of issue #5, Paulie

11 & 2 5 was published in May 1990 and contains 124 pages.

The art is by Paulie, Tami Marie, Hindman, Pam Spurlock, Lisa Brazdil, Kathleen Easley, Jane Gravitt, Alesia Tom, Cheryl Newsome, and Dover Publications.

From the editorial:

While we can no longer afford to have an LoC column, we didn't mean for you to stop writing to us to let us know how you liked or disliked the zines. We still want to hear from you, as do our writers and artists. We plan to copy the letters for our contributors so that they can all benefit from the fine comments that many of you used to make. Please do let us hear from you, okay?

This issue finds ilfe here in Traverse City going pretty good. Otter Limits is continuing to produce zines for all its fandoms.

In case any of you might have tried to give us a call in the past month or so, we had the phone shut off for awhile. We found a need to cut corners this late winter/early spring and that prompted us to make the decision to let the phone go for a period of four months or so. For those of you who showed concern, we have not moved or fallen off the planet. We be here, still cranking out fanzines and bending over keyboard and drafting desk.

Otter Limits Press attended a wonderful con in Houston this past March. The gathering was called REVEL CON. We could only afford to send one of us and that was me (Paulie). I got to meet several of our subscribers — who now have faces to go with the names and who served to make my visit to the Houston area an all around fun and profitable time. Both Tami and I will definitely be there again next year, folks.

Issue 6

11 & 2 6 was published in May 1991 and contains 149 pages.

cover of issue #6, Paulie
inside page from issue #6, sample text

The art is by Cheryl Newsome, Anne Davenport, Deborah Franklin, Lana Brown, Tami Marie, Paulie (front cover), and Stanford.

From the afterword:

As always and without fail, 11&2 comes out in May of every year.

In the event that we get enough holiday-oriented stories, there will more than likely be another Holiday issue. They seem to come out every other year or so. However, one can only tell so many of that kind of stories when one runs out of ideas, so rather than commit to a definite Holiday '91, we'll sort of roll with the flow and see what happens.

I have been asked more times than I can remember, this past year, if Otter Limits Press is going to stop putting out 11 &2, or doing U.N.C.LE. Seems the Rumor Mill has us fading fast. Well, we're not. We will continue to produce 11 &2 as long as we get submissions that make it possible for us to do so.

While I did state that if we didn't get more illustrators, I was thinking of folding, that did not mean that we were no longer getting any submissions. As always, we continue to get stories. And, as always, we have lovely fillers and spot illos. What we're very short on is full-action illustrations.

Being an artist myself, and always having had stories fully-illustrated, I could not imagine the zine without art. I thought that if I couldn't find some more people who could do the full-action work, perhaps it would be best to fold.

However, many of you wrote us such wonderful letters saying you would rather see the zine devoid of any art at all, than see it fold. That was when we made the decision to have at least title illustrations and filler, if nothing else. That seemed to work out just fine in #5, so that will be our procedure from now on.

In this issue, you saw two fully-illustrated stories. Hopefully, down the line - as new illustrators pop up ~ we will return to fully-illo'd stories.

Rest assured, 11&2 will continue to come out as long as it continues to receive stories and art. U.N.C.LE. is not the first fandom we have done zines for, nor is it the last; but I can guarantee you, it will always be this editor's absolute first love.

Thanks for your continued support and caring, and for your devotion to U.N.C.LE. fandom. It is fun, isn't it?

  • The Not-So-Safe House Affair by Peggy Hartsook and Deb Stewart (3)
  • The 'Today Salzburg, Tomorrow the World' Affair by Grace Kanninen (17)
  • The Deluxe Crystal Affair by Anne Collins Smith (33)
  • The Extreme Prejudice Affair by Gina Martin (47)
  • Waverly by Anne Collins Smith (55)
  • I See You've Come to Rescue Me by Jane Standford Gravitt (art portfolio) (56)
  • The Seventeen Days in October Affair by J.M. D'Agostino-Toney & Terry L. Neill (59)
  • The Turbuff Affair: One to Remember by Michael Macomber (92)
  • The London Affair by Loretta Greco (93)
  • Symbiosis by Jody A. Cummings (110)
  • The Worm in the Apple Affair by Hugh Williamson (111)
  • The CBN Affair by Paula Smith (139)
  • Accusation by Melissa Mastoris (143)
  • Rebuttal by Melissa Mastoris (144)
  • The Affair Affair by Teresa Sarick (145)
  • from issue #6, Tami Marie

    from issue #6, Tami Marie

  • from issue #6, Lana Brown

    from issue #6, Lana Brown

  • from issue #6, Deborah Franklin

    from issue #6, Deborah Franklin

  • from issue #6, Sanford

    from issue #6, Sanford

  • from issue #6, Stanford

    from issue #6, Stanford

  • from issue #6, C.L Crouch

    from issue #6, C.L Crouch

  • from issue #6, Tami Marie

    from issue #6, Tami Marie

  • from issue #6, Lana Brown

    from issue #6, Lana Brown

  • from issue #6, Cheryl Newsome

    from issue #6, Cheryl Newsome

  • from issue #6, Stanford

    from issue #6, Stanford

  • from issue #6, Paulie

    from issue #6, Paulie

  • from issue #6, Ann Davenport

    from issue #6, Ann Davenport

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 6

[Peeve Alert #1: comments on the correct use of "lie," "lay" and the evils of spellcheck omitted]

11 & 2, # 6 has, as usual, a great cover, in color, by Paulie, and contains a wide selection of artwork, poems, and stories that range from the sublime to the ridiculous. The intentionally ridiculous, namely, Paula Smith's "The CBN Affairs-is a hoot. But here and there are those unintentional moments...

(Peeve Alert #2) The aired MUNCE had cleverly-titled Acts, four per episode, a formula some fan writers duplicate. Alot of things happened during those Acts to qualify them as sections in their own right (also, it's a nifty way to come back from commercial breaks that'll be there whether the story wants/needs it or not). A Prologue, four Acts, and an Epilogue in a ten to twelve-page story look pretentious, andare, in a word, unnecessary. There isn't enough of a story to justify breaking it into pieces. Locale, point of view, or time changes, or clever headings, do not necessarily an Act make.

The zine opens up with "The Not-So-Safe-House Affair," by Peggy Hartsook and Deb Stewart, a haunted house story (I think; being ill-versed in supernatural lore, I'm not sure. Do vampires qualify as instruments of haunting?). It's a trying day. Illya is battered and bruised, Napoleon has a raging case of the flu (must be a new strain, as it seems to have gone from making a kissable female feel "funny" to becoming a full-fledged case for Napoleon within some hours of the same day; if the woman had been shivering, sweating.and coughing up her lungs, one assumes Napoleon would not have gone prospecting for her tonsils), and they're caught in a blizzard. They take refuge in an "abandoned" house, which turns out to be inhabited by two Thrush agents and a, er, ghost, uh, vampire, well, something nasty. They encounter the Thrush duo, pitch them down the stairs-and ignore them. Leave them roaming around the same house! "Let them go," Solo says. "If that's the best Thrush has in this house, we have nothing to worry about." (!?) Personally, I had a few worries, such as what a can of gasoline and a match might do to two agents who are ensconced--sIeeping!--in an upstairs room of an ancient house. But, hey, what do I know? The Thrush boys know enough, though, to come back with a flame thrower. The "something nasty" intercedes, and then turns the nasties on our duo. To ward her off, Illya fashions a cross, only to drop it at the crucial moment. I'm all for juicy jeopardy, but, if possible, without hints of incompetence on the part of the heroes, please.

All that aside, believe it or not, I enjoyed one major aspect of the story: the solid feel ofpartnershipbetween the two UNCLE agents, in the best "where thou goest" sense.

Next is Grace Kanninen's "The Today Salzburg, Tomorrow the World' Affair," a title far too good for its story. It has a plot, of sorts, a narrative, after a fashion, and the ubiquitous Acts. The style of writing holds as much excitement and enthusiasm as that of a cub reporter forced to cover the Annual Bazaar of the Ladies' Temperance Society Sewing Circle. The plot hasenough holes to require the services of that sewing circle. The agents operate in a haphazard way, and, to complete the fiasco, we have not one, but two, Mary Sues. The first one, a chamber maid, deals efficiently with a bomb and saves Ilya's life. Gets to kiss him, too. I don't know, maybe today, in view of the terrorism threat, European hotel maids are trained to cope with explosives, but the '60s were more naive, weren't they?

The second, told by Solo to stay behind because she is, after all, a girl (wash that man's mouth out with soap!), is of the plucky variety, who saves both agents in the nick o' time. Sigh.

"The Deluxe Crystal Affair," by Anne Collins Smith, reads like the digest version of a regular episode. It's got a plot, minus holes. Except, perhaps, for a half hour that seems stuck. A trap is set for half an hour hence. A captive breaks some lab flasks (the resultant noise somehow escaping the attention of her captor), saws through the ropes that bind her, and makes a call to warn U.N.C.L.E. about the trap-after which there's still half an hour for the trap to spring. That's not fast, that's not even warp speed That's some kind of time-distort speed.

(PeeveAlert #3) Do not try this at home, but envision it, if you will. At one end, we have rough, tensile, insensitive material; at the other, bare skin, flesh and nerves. In the middle, we have a shard of glass. Tell me, which end is going to give first? No, I'm not advocating discarding such a time-honored escape ploy, but it seems to me that a small "reality check" is in order. Let's not have the woman merrily going off on adate afterward, unmarked, minus even a bandaid or two. Apart from that, the story tracks just fine; it's decendy written, and even has some humor. My favorite is when Napoleon is given (by Waverly, no less!) some safe sex aids wrapped in black plastic and embossed in gold with the U.N.C.L.E. logo. My funny bone found that irresistible. Ikept wondering if the condoms were also proudly embossed with the same logo. The notion of not letting down one's end took on a whole new meaning.

"The Extreme Prejudice Affair" is by Gina Martin. There are hard realities in the life of a spy. Assassinations, even the killing of a colleague, are part of the trade. What price duty, obedience.and loyalty to an agency, though, when you put your finger on the trigger and your eye to the scope-and unexpectedly find the crosshairs on the face of yourdearest friend, the one person you can't bear to lose? All right, this story is sometimes too fancifully written (what starts out as evocative, atmosphere-laden phrasing takes a nosedive into purple prose as emotional jeopardy mounts), has only a heroic hold on reality (a man tortured to within an inch of his life is not going to be put to rights with a first aid kit and good intentions), and there's nothing subtle about the angst that comes gushing over the page to deluge the reader, but hang it all, I'm a sucker for this kind of stuff. So sue me.

Ahhh.... That's a sigh of pure satisfaction, for the next story we come to is "The Seventeen Days in October Affair," impeccably crafted by J.M. D'Agostino-Toney and Terry L.

Well. Ah, that's more like it. In fact, that's exactly like it. Some of us remember those days in October of '62 when we held our collective breath the world over, hoping desperately that it wouldn't be the last one.... The writers take the fact of the Cuban missile crisis, skillfully weave in the fiction of U.N.C.L.E. (which if it existed, certainly would've been a component of those events), and present us with a multi-layered story that works beautifully on every level. They also have a writing style I envy and admire in equal measure,aclean,crisp,almost brisk way with words which nevertheless moves you, makes you feel. It made me hold my breath alongside the U.N.C.L.E. agents waiting for the out-comeof the first confrontation of the blockade, sent chills down my spine when Illya looked up at the skies and realized he was expecting to see incoming missiles—and to me, it's history I know how it turned out. That's Good Writing. From the political to the personal, from historical proportions to daily details, from conflicting loyalties to fledgling friendships, all the way to the quotes scattered throughout the story, there's nothing in this work that strikes an off chord. (Why, though, may I ask, were capitalizations used in this text for stressed words, instead of the underlining utilized in others? It's jarring to the eye, and confusing alongside the many acronyms.) Paulie's illos complement it smoothly.

"The London Affair," by Loretta Greco. Advance -warning: I've a prejudice against this type of story. Apart from Solo and Kuryakin's somehow neglecting to put so much as a tracer on the captive they hope will net them a bigger fish, thereby losing both and never getting either back, I suppose there's not much wrong with this story. There isn't much right with it, either. It's primarily a Dempsey and Makepeace story and my overwhelming reaction was to wonder what it wasdoing between the covers of my MUNCLE zine.

I don't have anything against cross-universe stories, as long as there's a valid and interesting purpose to the mixture. It isn't all that valid to me when a situation is contrived so that the divergent duos can spend time together and exchange a few confidences, and the older partners can impart words of wisdom to the younger set in matters of the heart. Further, moments like an unexplained speaking look between Dempsey and Makepeace at the mention of the name of a club leave a reader who hasn't watched that show lost and irritated. This story belongs in a multimedia zine. I groaned when I saw the title page of Hugh Williamson's "The Worm in the Apple Affair," a computer-generated graphic of a computer, plus computer-style lettering. Oh, dear, I thought, he's gonna throw technical stuff at me, probably loaded with computer jargon, and I'm gonna feel like a prize idiot. Happily, the story turned out to be not only comprehensible, but damn' fine. Some whiz-kids (the genius hacker variety that's been in fashion since Wargames), who have made high security computer networks their personal playground, get into one system too many, and find themselves in the middle of a tug-of-war between U.N.CL.E. and Thrush. I'll stop there, for Mr. Williamson tells the story immeasurably better than any reviewer can.

There's poetry in the zine. I'm indifferent to poetry in zines, unless a poem grabs me by the brain cells and makes me think, or by the guts and makes me feel. I'm indifferent to the poetry in this zine.

The artwork is a mixed bag, from the Great Stuff by Paulie, to Good Work by Tami Marie; from Decent by L. Brown to Mediocre by C. L. Crouch and D. Franklin. There are five pages devoted to a portfolio (well, seven, actually, with two more pages used to introduce it in glowing terms) by Jane Stanford Gravitt. While the humor and continuity of concept are just fine, and the composition shows much promise, the rendering leaves something to be desired.[1]

Issue Holiday 1

cover of the holiday issue #1, Paulie

11 & 2 Holiday 1 was published in 1987 and contains 123 pages.

The art is by Paulie (Front Cover), Tami Marie, Anne Davenport, Sandy Nelson, Joy Riddle, M.L. Johnston, Stanford, Charlie Kirby, Kathy Norton, C. Case, Cheryl Newsome, Hindman, Pam Spurlock, and KOZ.

  • Wish List to Santa by Sue Anne Sarick (3)
  • The Santas of Sin Affair by J.M. Florentine ("Deadly candy canes? Sinister Santas? lllya and Napoleon are just as confused, when they have to go undercover to stop Thrush from making this holiday a real blow—out!") (5)
  • Winter by Teri Sarick (16)
  • The Ho-Ho-Ho Affair by Gina Martin ("Napoleon is lost in the Arctic wilderness during a recent assignment, and there's no one for miles around who can help him .... Or is there?") (17)
  • The Jolly Old Saint Nick Affair by Paulie ("It's Christmas again, and lllya falls somewhere between Greta Garbo and Ebeneezer Scrooge. Solo devises a plan to bring the spirit of the season to his partner and friend.") (21)
  • Wasn't That Fun?, poem by L.S. Katt ("Illya's cat, L.S., gives us the story of Christmas from his point-of-view.") (36)
  • The Christmas at Ground Zero Affair by Jennifer Adams—Ritchie Cartmel was the nerd everyone picked on in school...and now he plans to get even with his entire hometown, on Christmas Eve! Dancer and Slate try to figure out the details in this excitingly fun GFU story.") (39)
  • Russian Rudolph by Teri Sarick (58)
  • The Man from the N.O.R.T.H.P.O.L.E. by Teri Sarick (59)
  • Holiday Humbug by Paulie (60)
  • Otter Limits Press Christmas Follies by Paulie (62)
  • The Spirit of Christmas by Hindman ("Solo "bah-humbugs" the holiday. Can Illya succeed in showing him the true meaning of Christmas?") (63)
  • The Thrush Man Cometh by Terry L. Neill (71)
  • Mr. Kuryakin's Day Off by Lisa Bradzil ("A strange woman comes into Kuryakin's life, and shows him one day he'll never forget.") (73)
  • The 11:59 Affair by Tami Marie ("An assignment to "babysit" a VIP's kids on New Year's Eve turns into a night of chilling suspense for lllya and Napoleon. With the help of April and Mark, they must thwart Thrush's present plans and save New York City...before time runs out.") (83)

Issue Holiday 2

cover of Holiday #2, Paulie

11 & 2 Holiday 2 was published in 1989.

The art is by Tami Marie, Anne Davenport, Paulie (front cover), Diane Wickes , and Lana Brown.

  • The Greenselves Affair by Tami Marie (3)
  • Home for the Holidays by C.W. Walker (reprinted in The St. Crispin's Day Society #4) (21)
  • How I Spent My Christmas Vacation by Lisa Bradzil (29)
  • Once Upon a Yuletide Eve by Paulie (43)
  • Christmas Wishes by Rene Schneider-Reimer (51)
  • The Victorian Connection by Paulie and Tami Marie (52)
  • Starbright by Kathy Norton (55)
  • The Spirit of Christmas Affair by Hugh Williamson (69)
  • From Berlin With Love by Jody Cummings (99)

References

  1. ^ from Psst... Hey Kid, Wanna Buy a Fanzine? #3. The reviewer gives it "3 trees." The reviewers in "Psst... Hey Kid, Wanna Buy a Fanzine?" rated zines on a 1-5 tree/star scale.
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