Blake, Rabble and Roll

Zine
Title:	Blake, Rabble and Roll
Publisher:	Whatever You Do, Don't Press
Editor(s):	Mysti Frank
Date(s):	1989-1992
Series?:
Medium:	print
Size:
Genre:
Fandom:	Blake's 7
Language:	English
External Links:
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Blake, Rabble and Roll is a gen and slash Blake's 7 fanzine.

Summary

From a distributor, Agent With Style: "These zines reflect the darkness of this British series, but bright, sparkling moments shine through and capture your heart. These stories run the gamut from supremely silly to heartbreakingly sad to dastardly manipulation, but you always find something to fascinate you!"

Issue 1

cover issue #1, Leah Rosenthal. The editor wrote: "A special kudos to Leah, and especially to RANDYM, for coming through on the artwork in such sort notice when I suddenly didn't have a cover or interior art. Thanks, mates."
A fan in 2016 said: "Um….okay, if I had to guess, Jenna is pissed that Avon stole Blake away from her. And Cally is either stoned or has gotten so used to this argument that she’s just tuning it all out. Obviously, I need to read this one when I have a moment. Since this picture also appears inside the ‘zine, I’m guessing it’s actually illustrating a scene.... #one of these days avon....pow!#don't think she won't deck you#she once teleported a dude into space#and laughed about it

Blake, Rabble and Roll 1 was published in October 1989 and is 70 pages long. It is gen.

The art is by Randym and Leah Rosenthal (front cover).

The zine is online here.

• ...As the Leaving of It by Shana Lisa Jensen ("Meeting up with Blake in the afterlife would be Avon's idea of hell, indeed, but why were Cally, Jenna, Gan, Vila, Tarrant and the rest of them there? Was Avon to be surrounded by all those he had killed for the rest of eternity--or had he finally gone mad, at last?") (1)
• Thoughts Provoked by Khrystyna (6)
• The Cell by Sheila Paulson ("Hours after the debacle on Gauda Prime, Avon wakes in a prison cell with a very familiar dead man. But why would Servalan lock him away with Blake's body? Could she have possibly picked a better hell for Avon than this?") (7)
• You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby by Linda Terrell ("A wine that Vila makes up from berries gathered while planetside has a wonderful effect on the Liberator's crew; it makes everyone regress in age-mentally. Everyone, but Vila, that is. How to handle a six-year old stubborn Blake in a thirty-year old stubborn Blake's Body." (reprinted from Interface #11) (19)
• That Which Comes After by Mystery Frank ("Justin Forth is a pathologist, called to Gauda Prime to examine and embalm some rebel bodies. The only problem is, one of the bodies is refusing to cooperate by dying.") ( 29)
• Dialogue by Khrystyna (37)
• Crossing the Line by Diana Romero (38)
• Stand-In by Sheila Paulson ("When an alien attacks Tarrant and pulls him from the link with Jabberwocky, the mindship, it is up to Vila to take his place. Avon is not pleased. Several other things happen in this wonderful tale, but what will really get you is that VILA GETS TO BE THE HERO!") (Jabberwocky universe; reprinted in Jabberwocky Collected and Jabberwocky #2) (39)
• Free Me by Diana Romero (67)

• 

  flyer for issue #1

• 

  from issue #1, Randym/Leigh

• 

  from issue #1, Randym/Leigh

• 

  from issue #1, Randym/Leigh

• 

  from issue #1

• 

  from issue #1

• 

  from issue #1

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 1

(Mine came within 14 days - I love fast editors!). Not an enormous zine, but lots of quality for the price. Two excellent stories by Sheila Paulson (for all you Jabberwocky series fans), and several very unique fifth season offerings. Nice cover drawing. Highly Recommended!

I received Blake. Rabble and Roll 1 yesterday and the only complaint I have is that it is over already! They never seem to last long enough, do they?

Wanted to let you know that I think it is a very well done zine and to congratulate you.

"The Cell" and "Stand-In" were excellent, of course. I can't think of anything by Sheila Paulson that I've ever read which wasn't.

Linda Terrell's "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby" was very cute and I enjoyed Leah Rosenthal's illo.

Your story, "That Which Comes After," was very well written, but grim. I hope for the best for Dr. Forth, but we know what his life expectancy is going against Servalan/Sleer, don't we?

"...As the Leaving of It" by Shana Lisa Jensen was also well written, but too mystic for my taste. It was all a dream! Good work, though.

The poems by Khrystyna and Diana Romero were all nicely done. I liked the reason for the blank page!

I don't believe I had seen any artwork by RANDYM before and I've been missing a lot. Very impressive. I like the style.

Well, that pretty well covers it. Again, it was a treat and I want to thank you. Keep up the good work.

Striking cover. And that's our Jenna! Nice shade of green--stands out without being garish. She's got gonads!

"...As the Leaving of It" could almost be a sequel to "That Which Comes After." I'd like to think it is, anyway. Dark-and-depressing is an essential element of B7, but there are limits! I enjoyed the mellowed-out characterizations in "...As the Leaving of It," No longer angst-ridden, but still essentially recognizable.

"The Cell." I can just see the fed-up followers of both Avon and Blake doing this! A psychologically satisfying story--Blake and Avon both had a lot of explaining to do post-'Blake.'

"You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby." Poor Vila, stuck babysitting. Personally, I think it's much easier to get older children to take medicine (you can bribe 'em!), but it's a fun story anyway.

"Stand-In." More Jabberwocky! Terrific characterization, as always from Sheila. But I was shocked to discover that Dayna's been killed off. Why?? Sheila went through so much trouble to keep everyone alive. It doesn't seem fair! And the poor girl doesn't seem to be much mourned...

Diana Romero's hard-hitting poems are awesome. She really captured the Blake-Avon relationship. (Starsky and Hutch they ain't!)

All in all, I'm very impressed with the quality of the writing throughout the zine. Each and every story is polished and professional, I'd be more than happy to do art for the nextish. It's a joy to illustrate such well-written stories!

I received Blake. Rabble and Roll 1 some weeks ago and enjoyed it tremend ously. For one of the few times in my experience I enjoyed every story in a zine. "...As the Leaving of It"--I would have liked more background on how the reincamation/dream business worked, but I liked the basic idea. It seems appropriate that Avon would have managed to arrange a dream where everything ended unhappily and even more typical that he would louse up poor Vila's love-life by not paying attention to human details. Of course this leads one to wonder about Tarrant's dream. There's another character whose strong points are not human sympathy and long range planning. One question--or rather, two. Why didn't Dayna pick out a career or what ever? Obviously she wants to be with Tarrant, but as what? Second, why are only eight characters reborn at the end? Poor counting or isn't the one doing the dreaming reborn? (-Last things first: I could take the easy way out and say that your last explanation is the correct one, but I won't. The reason there are only eight souls reborn is because I simply cannot remember that stupid number that comes after eight. Shana Lisa also caught the mistake and took me to task for it, so you can all rest assured that I have been properly castigated. Next, Dayna chose a fast ship like the Liberator in Tarrant's Dream, but didn't seem to care what her life was like aside from that, so Tarrant made her a womp rat farmer on the planet Tatooine and... Can you tell I'm making this up? When asked, Shana Lisa said, "Whoops...My bad. Um...oh! Tarrant makes her a womp rat farmer on Tatooine! Yeah, that's the ticket!" See? What'd I tell you?-)

"The Cell" was fine and up to Sheila Paulson's usual high standards, but it didn't appeal to me as much as some of her other work. It had very good detail, though. I particularly liked Blake giving first aid to save Avon's life, helping him through the heaves and then getting mad at him.

"You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby"--I had read this before and I enjoyed it just as much the second time. However, the introduction setting up where and why Vila got the berries struck me as out of keeping with the light tone of the main story. The story of Blake seeing the execution tapes of his family would probably have been a better story on its own.

"That Which Comes After" did some nice filling in about the lives of ordinary citizens of the Federation.

"That Which Comes After" did some nice filling in about the lives of ordinary citizens of the Federation. There is one thing I would like to know: considering how many of its Civil Service and Military the Federation itself--usually it's the person(s) near Servalan/Sleer, but not always -- managed to kill, how did they keep recruiting people? No matter how drugged, you'd expect that the population would notice that government employees seldom made it to the pension stage. (-I believe what we saw in B7 was a very biased view of how much death actually occurs in the Federation. If people are recruited for the military, they are then shipped off-planet for training and duty-posting. Maybe they come back, maybe they don't. That's the military for you. Civil servants, on the other hand, are the local government and, as most of you can testify, you can change the President of the United States, the governor of your state, probably even the mayor of your town, and it still won't affect your daily dawn-to-dusk grind. The same is probably true of all the outer planets which don't have immediate contact with the Federation forces (mostly military, some scientific) and are left to their own devices as long as they perform within certain guidelines. For my next lecture, I plan to explain the digestive tract of the Tatooine womp rat...-)

"Stand-In" was my favorite. I love the Jabberwocky series and am always delighted to read a new chapter. I don't seem to share everybody else's desire that Vila be a hero, but he was a believable hero in the story. His giving up the link so willingly was very touching. I did think that they defeated Vangam a little too easily. Wouldn't the creature be suspicious of a conscience that only made its appearance after several centuries? Other than that, the story was fine.

One thing I particularly enjoyed about the zine was that there was no story in which Blake was an idiot. If I never read another story with that premise, I will be very happy.

By the way, where did the Jabberwocky story in which Dayna died appear? I though I had read them all, but I missed that one. (-It appeared in an issue of Something Unfriendly, put out by Cathi Brown... SASE her for price and information.-)

Since the zine had "#1" on the cover, I assume that you are considering publishing more issues. I hope so. (-You betcha. As long as I have incoming stories, I'll have outgoing zines. Hint, hint.-)

I really enjoyed the zine, a lot it it for the price, I thought. I particularly liked the two Sheila Paulson stories. I've always liked her Jabberwocky stories... at last Vila gets to be the hero!

What really made the zine distinctive were the unusual stories. After all the zine reading I've done in the last couple of years, it's difficult to find anything that hasn't been tried before. But "...As the Leaving of It" and your story, "That Which Comes After," were really unique. Shana Lisa Jensen really has created a wonderful blend of spiritual truth and B7; I think it was my favorite story in the zine -- if I had to choose... Your story was really unusual, but I thought it worked really well -- a fifth season story with a really different approach!

"You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby" was fun, but it sounded familiar -- do you know if it's been printed elsewhere? ('-It has, in Interface 11, a zine from England.-) And, of course, the wonderful cover--I always like Leah's art work, the overcrowded walls in my office are evidence of that...

I really did enjoy Blake. Rabble and Roll 1 and appreciate all your work that made it possible. Also, thanks for getting it out to me so quickly. That was a very pleasant surprise to have it arrive so soon after I sent my order. Since I'm loaning the zine to friends today at the Blake's Bash, I thought I better get this LoC off while I had it in hand.

"...As the Leaving of It" was quite an interesting story that was refreshingly different. I like how Avon was finally able to get an answer out of Blake explaining Blake's words and actions in the tracking gallery, even if it was in the hereafter. The binding between the Liberator and Scorpio crews was also a nice touch, and one wonders at what adventures they've shared (will share) in past (and future) lives.

I have to confess...I'm a PGP addict and it was nice to see so many interpretations in your zine. "The Cell" was another excellent Sheila Paulson story on the level I've come to expect from her. Such a nice little plot twist that allowed Avon and Blake to work out their problems, yet providing for a happy ending. Leigh's art throughout is outstanding, and the Avon-Blake that accompanied this story was uncannily visually attuned to the prose; couldn't have been better.

"You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby" was extremely witty. Linda manages such a delicate touch to her humor, rather than slam, bang slapstick. I have to applaud her having the "girls" both mad over Blake rather than the typical everyone loves Avon scenario. The other B7 males deserve their share of attention, none were hard on the eye.

Your "That Which Comes After" was probably the most chilling story in the zine (by the way, nice balance of light to serious to depressing). I scanned the illos first and seeing the one for "That Which Comes After" had me very wary about reading it. Justin Forth was such a very well defined original character that I was able to read the story without being mired in angst, despite its very sad premise. His behavior was always constant and logical and very in keeping with the Federation universe.

"Stand-In" left me with very mixed feelings. I've really enjoyed the Jabberwocky universe and the character as they've developed in it. The story, as always, was excellently plotted, interesting and extremely readable. Seeing Vila step in and take over is something I'd expect of the wily thief. The initiative and ability was there when it was needed. What left me uneasy was strictly from a personal preference stand point and is in no way a criticism of the story. My favorite character is Tarrant and I've loved how he has handled the link and been allowed to mature in the Jabberwocky series, so I'm a bit unhappy with these hints (haven't read "Clone" yet to see what develops in it) that he is becoming overly possessive of the link. It looks more and more like Avon (not again!) is going to prove superior to everyone in everything and be the eventual ideal linkmate for Jabberwocky. Well, as I said, this is purely personal prejudice, and I know I'll enjoy Sheila's future stories no matter what. That's what the hard writing of fanfic is all about, being self-indulgent and doing what you wish with the characters.

I think Leah's illo was outstanding. Avon and Jenna, in particular, have the look of child-adults, a hard blend to capture. And all of Leigh's pieces were fantastic, each enhancing the story it/they accompanied. Her attention to body position and gestures really impresses me. It isn't just the face that is in character and recognizable. I could study the two "Stand-In” illos for a long time and still find much interesting in them, the expressions, the poses, the gestures. She even paid attention to garments. Avon and Vila had their same outfits , but Tarrant, after his ordeal, was allowed to change (very clever!).

Now, the poetry. Both poets are very impressive, providing a lot of thought-provoking material in few words. Khrystyna really captures the futility of the rebels' fight against such overwhelming odds in both of her pieces. Was it all hopeless from the start? Diana makes a rare and welcome Avon-Blake statement. So many authors assume that their relationship was one of true friendship rather than relationship by fate and circumstance. I like her interpretation, and find it more believable than the typical inseparable bond- that is often portrayed. "Free Me" goes even one step further and portrays an Avon caught in some inexplicable circumstance with not the faintest idea of how to break free. His question in the poem is one that has often puzzled me: "Why?"

Love that this is #1 with the promise of more to follow. Thanks!

I enjoyed the zine immensely and I've been recommending it to my friends. I loved the art that went with [my stories] "Stand-In" and "The Cell" and I hope you'll tell the artist how much I liked it.

I received Blake. Rabble and Roll 1 in mid-February and really enjoyed it.

There was not a bad story in the entire zine. The artwork was also quite good -- Leah's cover captured "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby" (an amusing little story, that) perfectly. I must admit that at first I didn't care much for RANDYM's art style, however it's grown on me and now I find it quite striking.

I think my two favorite stories were Sheila Paulson's "Stand-In" and your own "That Which Comes After". I love the Jabberwocky universe and was tickled to death that Vila got to be the hero (now if Soolin would only notice him) . It's nice to see a heroic Vila every once in a while. Your story was somber and fit perfectly into what seems a likely result of GP. Justin Forth was a wonderful character--very compassionate.

I thought the "missing page trick" was clever. I got a nice chuckle out of it.

Issue 2

cover of issue #2, Adrian Morgan

Blake, Rabble and Roll 2 published in October 1990 and contains 111 pages. It is slash and gen, and it required an age statement.

The art is by Adrian Morgan (front cover), Leah Rosenthal (though "London Bates #93" is on the bottom right corner), Suzie Molnar, and Judith Boguslawski.

The zine is online here.

• Letters of Comment by Youse Guys (1)
• The Works by Michelle Christian (7)
• Haunting Avon by Natasha Barry (9)
• Matter of Conscience by Michelle Christian (23)
• If I Loved You by Natasha Barry (25)
• Though We May Have Different Dreams by Sheila Paulson (37)
• The Final Straw by Teresa Ward (63)
• Pale Shelter by Catocala (69)
• Vila's Reflections at Gauda Prime, poem by Maddog (106)
• The Way of the Earth by Carol McCoy (107)
• My Friend Soma, poem by Maddog (111)

• 

  from issue #2, Suzie Molnar

• 

  from issue #2, Adrian Morgan

• 

  from issue #2, Adrian Morgan

• 

  from issue #2, Judith Boguslawski

• 

  from issue #2, Judith Boguslawski

• 

  from issue #2, Judith Boguslawski, huddling for warmth

• 

  from issue #2, Leah Rosenthal - has "London Bates #93" on the bottom right corner - reprinted in color as the cover of Southern Lights #10.5 (1999)

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 2

[1993] [Pale Shelter]:

I have it here in Blake, Rabble and Roll 2 (but I think it was printed somewhere else as well) has a long 50+ sad tense A/V/B story, called Pale Shelter. The story is set just post Gauda Prime. Vila actually warned Blake they were coming, nervous as he has been about Avon since Maladar, and Blake wore a bullet proof vest; the Feds were window dressing, and Blake immediately throws Avon into the brig until Avon turns Orac over to him -- and uses Vila to get Avon to give it up.

The story is one long tale of betrayal--each of the three betrays the other two at least once--and of loss; but because/despite all of that, it is surprisingly beautiful.

The story is in universe of theirs, following the story Crossing the Grade (Oblique, I think) and others.

Now to the point of this review. There has been some hypothesizing that A/V stories have a different feel than B/A stories, and that some reason for people being fans of the one and not of the other have little to do with whether you like Vila or Blake more (or think Avon likes Vila or Blake more) but rather the type of story you like more.

I need other people to read this story, and tell me whether it feels more like an A/V story that has Blake too, or a B/A story that has Vila too. There are a few other A/V/B stories, and I'm thinking of rereading them with the same idea in mind (not research, mistress, anything but research...).

Thoughts?

[1993] [zine]: Well, Blake, Rabble and Roll #2 really only has one good story, and

this is it. It is 37pages (I counted this time) and the only slash in the zine, and most of the gen should be ashamed trees died for it.

It doesn't have a price, but most of hers run around $15--It's a little small, but has a (badish) color cover.

So that explains why I didn't just say, run out and buy this (though I do think it is still in print).. -- Sandy

[1995] [zine]:

While I agree with MFae that giving people who bring up the argument again just a form letter to show how boring the whole thing is to us by now and thus showing that the whole thing is hardly a new idea or banner that they have just come up with, I have noticed that quite a lot of people who insist on being that ignorant (and thus wanting to spread their ignorance to others) usually don't quite understand the subtlety of such irony.

So, [J G] is more out-spoken, huh? I had written several stories/poems that were GAMBIT and had started building a small friendship with her through that until Mysti had published BLAKE, RABBLE, AND ROLL 2, her B7 zine that had both straight and slash stories. I had about two stories in that zine and Jean wrote me a letter asking if I would send them to her since she didn't want to buy the zine because she had a moral objection to buying "pornography" (her words). Keep in mind that out of about ten stories, only about two were really slash and I think only one actually had anything near an explicit sex scene. I felt a little uneasy about the whole situation, partly because I didn't much care for her easy use of the term "pornography" and also the fact like I felt she was going behind Mysti's back (I'm assuming she wrote to others authors who had stories in the zine since several of them had also been published by her). After talking to Mysti who basically told me that while she wished I wouldn't send her the stories, it was ultimately up to me, I wrote Jean back saying that with all do respect I didn't feel right sending her stories from a zine that had just come out since I know how hard Mysti works on her zines and also she would be willing to sell her a special edition of the zine with none of the slash stories in it if she was interested.

As far as I know she never took Mysti up on this and I can tell you that I got a LOT less correspondence from her from then on.

[1995] [zine]: K, but what about editors who DON'T make that effort [to alert buyers of slash content]? Or worse, those who deliberately deceive us as to what will be in a zine? Yes, I _have_ seen this happen. Worst example: an editor, who shall remain nameless, who put out a B7 genzine, then solicited stories for a second issue which she expressly stated would also be a genzine. Several unsuspecting writers thus submitted stories. When the zine came out, Ms. Editor had inserted several slash stories between the gen stories _without informing anyone_ (contributors or buyers) that she was going to do this. Then she compounded her sins by being snide, sarcastic and utterly rude to those of us who objected. (She hit the roof when I _politely_ asked for copies of _only_ the non-porn stories -- or the return of my deposit --, refused to provide either, then accused me of piracy when I went to the non-porn contributors individually and asked if I might read copies of their stories. How else was I to see the _clean_ stories, pray tell, short of having a friend photocopy them from the zine, which WOULD be 'pirating' them, after a fashion???) Ms. Editor finally relented and sent me an expurgated copy of the zine. But her attitude was so nasty that she lost this customer -- and several others who don't happen to like smut -- ever thereafter.

[1995] [zine]: As for [J's] comments regarding "Blake, Rabble, and Roll," on the one hand, I agree with her upset since she evidently made it clear she didn't want the adult and still got a hassle from the editor. On the other hand, I was not surprised when I received our tribber copy of the zine. In fact, we had contributed an adult story, I believe, so obviously *somehow* we knew that that was acceptable in the zine. I believe that every zine Mysti does/did was open to adult. Mysti claimed, at the time, that she would have been glad to make [J] a "special" issue with the adult removed but wasn't asked or offered the opportunity to do so before the writers of the stories were contacted. Sounds like a typical fan misunderstanding to me!

[2017] [zine]: thank you burntcandlemas for giving me BRR2. as usual i will now proceed... to be not very nice about it.

Blake, Rabble and Roll 2:

Fanlore tells me that this zine caused controversy because while the first edition was gen, this one is full of slash (and some gen). It's also, sadly, full of bad slash - so I imagine the people who read this (and there's no indication anywhere on the zine that some stories are slash and some aren't, or that the zine isn't just gen like its previous issue) must have thought 'This slash is as bad as I thought it would be! Why did I just read the phrase 'Blake caught his breath at the primal sexiness of [Avon's] form enmeshed in the clinging cloth'??(not even the worst line). I do see why they were so angry. Sheila Paulson's fic is by far and away the best - but I'd read it before (where? Why, on Hammer to Fall!). Then again, I knew exactly what I was getting and I borrowed the zine from someone else - so, am I complaining? I am not. (Just don't seek it out, OK?)

The Works by Michelle Christian: Two pages. It's about Vila eating a hotdog. No comment.

Haunting Avon by Natasha Barry: The first sign for gen readers that something is amiss... This fic features Tarrant interrogating Avon about his past, meanwhile Avon remembers his sexy (but unconsummated?) times with Blake. It's one of those fics where everyone fancies Avon (why do you think Tarrant is asking?), and Blake is described as "normally a gentle man without a vicious bone in his body". They talk about love a lot. It's bad.

Matter of Conscience by Michelle Christian: Two pages. Weird.

If I Loved You by Natasha Barry: The line after I quoted in my intro is even better: "On the Liberator, Avon seldom relaxed in clothing, no doubt fearing to appear as he was: a highly charged sexual specimen with enough charisma to launch his own revolution. No, Avon fomented distance in his relations, for distance was safer during prolonged proximity and Avon always wanted to be taken for what he was -- a fearsome intellect--rather than what he appeared-- a handsome specimen of male virility." Leaving aside one's individual tastes in Avon-related praise, and whether this is or is not hilarious, the rest of the fic does several other things that make me hate it. Avon muses on the rest of his crew, and how they are all generally better off dead - which they all are. Blake once again spends the entire time mooning about love, and being humbled by Avon, who is always right. There's a nice picture of Avon at the end though!

Though We May Have Different Dreams by Sheila Paulson: Hey, do you like B-A? Do you like smarm? Then you should definitely read anything by Sheila Paulson! Typically good set up in that it's a H/C cave fic (but straight), in which Blake does revolution and Avon protects him and then admits his feelings. This one has sentient rocks. It also has some good illustrations by Judith Boguslawski, including the surreal one below with two Blakes. It's not my all-time favourite Paulson, and there's some element of 'stupid Blake, fell down a hole' (she does generally prefer Avon), but overall both POVs are shown to be valid, Blake's perhaps more so, and the fic does its job well - showing them committed to each other, and this being an important thing for the plot of this fic and the wider show.

The Final Straw by Teresa Ward: Post Warlord. Short. Tarrant is depressed and Avon is cold of heart. It feels a bit pointless.

Pale Shelter by Catocala: This fic is almost certainly the fic referred to in a review on Fanlore that says it's the only good story in the zine. I think that's pretty unfair to the Paulson. This fic... Well, I admit I didn't read it properly, but it pushed some wrong buttons fairly early on. To wit:

"Has Blake changed so much that he would you by force?" Avon questioned quietly. He recognised with some distress that he didn't want to believe the truth of what Vila was suggesting. Vila's lips trembled, but he didn't pull away from the half-caress. Rather he imperceptibly leaned his head into it, as if it were the first succor he'd been given in too long a time. "I guess so. Because he does. Why are you surprised? You've done it before and Blake's no stranger to playing at--"

A/V alone would have been enough, good reader, but everyone raping Vila? No. Probably my number 1 turnoff. Other than that, I think it's not bad - there's some good banter towards the end (which is my sort of ending - except that there's a threesome), and some interesting turns in the PGP!Blake and Avon depression narrative - mostly that Jenna betrayed Blake to save herself, which is why he now can't trust Avon. Interestingly, also, the illustration from the front of Southern Comfort 10.5 was originally for this fic.

In conclusion - YMMV, but this isn't for me.

The Way of the Earth by Carol McCoy: Interesting idea, which I'll now ruin for you - in that Cally was taken over by the alien in 'Sarcophagus' but just pretended not to be. Tarrant knows, and this is about his relationship with that alien. I actually really like it as a concept, and although it's not badly done here - I think we could have done more.

Issue 3

Blake, Rabble and Roll 3 is gen. It was published in August 1992 and contains 94 pages.

The art is by Kay Wells, Suzie Molnar, Corinna Hansen, Jane Mailander, and Phoenix (cover). The table of contents says there is an illo by Adrian Morgan on page 94, but this is not true.

cover of issue #3, Phoenix -- "I have to confess, I bought it at a con because I loved the cover. It's a nice color piece by Phoenix of Blake, Avon and Vila."

From Mysti Frank in the zine: "Blake, Rabble and Roll 3 is a non-profit publication of WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T PRESS! All printing rights are returned to the authors and artists upon publication of this zine. Contributors get a free copy of this zine in exchange for their tribs , or a pro-rated discount. No money, font cartridges, Vinnie Terranovas or vacations to Disney World were involved in any negotiations (although the last two will get you free broccoli-and-cheese soup for the rest of your life). Enjoy. Laugh. Cry. Send LoCs!"

Frank thanks someone: "Thank You -- To my sister, who told me to go to bed when I was tired, and babied me when I had a cold, and bitched as she punched an endless supply of zines to help get me to a con on time. You make it all worthwhile, Jen."

Issue 3: Editorial -- Decline in Fandom - Plagiarism - Dishonesty - Email

The editorial discusses three things: lack of submissions and the possible decline of Blake's 7 fandom, plagiarism, and email.

The first is how long it took to get submissions for this zine. Oddly, the editor (Mysti Frank) either seems completely oblivious to The Blake's 7 War that had put a giant damper on the fandom, or is disingenuously not mentioning it here:

Well, folks, we made it. For a while, I didn't think BR&R3 would ever see the light of day. As one friend put it, my other zines kept rolling off the presses, but the deadline for BR&R3 kept receding into the distance. The main reason for the fact that it's been nearly two years since the last issue is because of a dearth of submissions. I kept waiting to see if anything else would show up in my mailbox. After two years, you hold 100 pages.

Is there a decline in Blake's 7 fandom? It seems to me that, lately, there's be a resurgence. So why no stories? Only you fen can answer that. I'm opening up BR&R4 for submissions and I will wait one year from this date. At that point, I will decide if what I have is enough to go to print with or not. Please keep this zine alive; it's had a good run and can only get better. Send me stories. Send me illos. Send me poems. Send me anything! That said, I'd like to thank the folks who stuck it out for two years, waiting to see their work in print. You people deserve a giant lollipop for your patience. Thank you.

The second is fan manners and plagiarism, and Mysti Frank leaves out a very important fact in her mild scold here — the fan who did the plagiarizing from her zine, Kay Wells, is one of the artists in this issue of "Blake, Rabble and Roll."

Breaking Cover, a Pros story by Ellis Ward, was in an issue of Chalk and Cheese #10 (Frank's zine) and was plagiarized by Kay Wells as the Kirk/Spock story Cover Up. See Cover Up for more.

Since Frank couldn't possibly be unaware of this (having written about it four months earlier in "Chalk and Cheese"), it means she overlooked this fact on purpose, and printed Wells' two illos knowing full-well the artist had been recently censured. It also means Frank was being dishonest with her readers in this editorial:

A bit of a flap sprang into being when someone who enjoyed a story I published in one of my other zines took that story, rewrote it using another fandom, and submitted it to another zine ed, who, not knowing the circumstances, printed it. All without the original author's knowledge or consent. I'm not going to start naming names--I don't want to start that again. I simply want to make the point that if you plan to borrow someone's work, be they fan or professional, Barbara Cartland or Shakespeare, please notify the author (if possible) and ask permission! When (and only when) given, also tell the zine ed to whom you are submitting the story that it borrows heavily (if not lifts whole paragraphs intact) from another source. Otherwise, fen, what you've done is committed plagiarism, pure and simple.

We 'amateur' writers don't have much, but we've got our stories and they are ours. To have someone steal one behind your back, rewrite it with characters that may not even fit the storyline, and then submit it to an unknowing zine ed, is the worst kind of feeling in the world. Please don't do this. We don't need this kind of tension in any fandom. IDIC's more than just a concept, you know. And the rest is just plain common courtesy.

[snipped]

Welp, that's it for me this time. I hope I raised a few consciences here and didn't piss off too many fen. Hopefully, I'll see you in a year with another great issue of Blake, Rabble and Roll!

Frank also mentions this relatively-new thing—email!

Finally, I wanted to let everyone know that I belong to two different computer services and would be more than happy to receive e-mail from anyone who cares to send it. On GEnie, my id is "M.Frank7" (no spaces) and I visit this one the most. E-mail is free and is transmitted instantly here. On Prodigy, my id is "XJSSOOA". (That's 'zero-zero', not 'oh-oh'.) E-mail is .25 each here if you go over your limit of 30 per month (and believe me, it's extremely easy to do!). I check in here every other day or so. Want to send me an LoC on BR&R3, but don't want to actually pullout a pen and paper? E-mail me!

Issue 3: Contents

• This is the Life by Michelle Christian (2)
• The Ultimate Gauda Primer by Jane Mailander (6)
• Cartoon by Jane Mailander (9)
• Fool's Paradise by Renya Spratt (10)
• Brief Encounter by Carol McCoy (12)
• Cartoon by Jane Mailander (19)
• If Thoughts Were Spoken by Michelle Christian (20)
• More Precious Than Gold by Roxie Ray (23)
• Demon in a Bottle by Vickie McManus (32)
• Believe It or Not by Sue Wells and Dee Beetum (crossover with The Greatest American Hero) (34)
• Top Ten Rejected Lines from Blake's 7 by Jane Mailander (41)
• Time: The Greatest Healer of Them All by Renya Spratt (42)
• A Lesson in Loyalty by Teresa Ward and Carol McCoy (44)
• Famous Last Words by Agnes Tomorrow (56)
• Children of the System by Vickie McManus (59)
• Delta Blue Brew, It's Gonna Getchu! by Maddog (60)
• Duel: Vila, Duel: Avon by Michelle Christian (69)
• Dreams by Marian Mendez (71)

• 

  from issue #3, Kay Wells

• 

  from issue #3, Suzie Molnar

• 

  from issue #3, Jane Mailander

• 

  from issue #3, Kay Wells

• 

  from issue #3, Corinna Hansen

• 

  from issue #3, sample text

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 3

I have to confess, I bought it at a con because I loved the cover. It's a nice color piece by Phoenix of Blake, Avon and Vila. I won't go through all the stories, just my favorites.

• BRIEF ENCOUNTER by Carol McCoy. I liked this one, which is amazing because I usually hate Tarrant stories. But this one made me like it. Tarrant and Jarvik against Bayban. It almost made me like Tarrant (almost!).
• MORE PRECIOUS THAN GOLD by Roxie Ray (A Friend in Need Universe story) Nice Soolin and Vila pairing. The scene where they gang up in embarrassing Tarrant is hilarious.
• BELIEVE IT OR NOT by Sue Wells and Dee Beetum. This was an interesting twist. Blake and aliens bring Cally back to life. The aliens turn out to be the guys from The Greatest American Hero and no, they don't give Blake the suit. They give it to Cally who becomes Blake's advisor. It was a little unusual but I rather enjoyed that show when I was little.
• FAMOUS LAST WORDS by Agnes Tomorrow. Blake quoting Hamlet? It was amusing and I rather liked the idea. Especially the line about "too solid flesh"!
• DREAMS by Marian Mendez. This was a favorite as I love longer stories. Avon is in Servalan's hands after GP and dreams of Anna, Cally, and Blake. Blake is alive (YES!) and he manages to get Avon to partially accept reality again, and that the others are also alive. Jenna comes to their rescue and Avon finally accepts that he too has survived.