Equal Space

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Zine
Title: Equal Space
Publisher: Essay One Productions, printed in Germany
Editor(s): Sheryl Adsit
Date(s): February 1980
Series?:
Medium: print
Genre: gen
Fandom: Star Wars
Language: English
External Links:
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front cover
left cover
a 1980 flyer

Equal Space is a Star Wars 100-page gen anthology edited by Sheryl Adsit. It is a a light-hearted zine produced by American fans stationed with the U.S. Army in West Germany.

It was printed in Germany, but distributed from California.

It has art by Martynn, Steve Gallacci, Delores McAllister, and Pam Kowalski, and Sheryl Adsit.

A 1980 flyer in The Clipper Trade Ship #27 said the zine had a "projected availability of March-April 1980" and that the "first 100 orders [would] receive an original silk screen print" with their order.

The zine's dedication: "I would also like to thank my parents for their support (financial as well as morale), my grandmother for believing in me, and all of my fan friends—especially the other zine editors who tried to warn me— for encouraging me anyway."

From the Editorial

I wanted to start this editorial today because it is a very special day. Two years ago, I first saw STAR WARS. Many of you might say, "So what? I saw STAR WARS a dozen times before then." That may very well be true, but were you in Germany? KRIEG DER STERNE, or so it is called in German, was first released in Germany on Friday, 10 February 1978. A friend of mine had done a good enough song- and-dance to get the manager of the theater in Mannheim (a city 15 miles from Heidelberg) to run STAR WARS in English in one of the smaller rooms upstairs. (Small? I heard someone say to their companion that they'd seen porno houses bigger than that.)

I took off work the afternoon of the 10th, trying to beat the lines, but there weren't any lines. Twelve people saw the first showing (in English; I don't know how many people were downstairs watching it in German, but there weren't many). Because I had anticipated having to see the film in German, I had read the book beforehand, listened to my friend Eric's soundtrack album and "The Story of STAR WARS" album, and looked through all the features in the STARLOGs I had. I think that took the edge off the first viewing.

I returned for that evening's showing, having promised transportation to some friends, and found the lobby of the theater packed with waiting Americans standing in line for—you guessed it—STAR WARS. Everyone had tickets; the delay was in seating everyone because the German showing started fifteen minutes before the English version. This time I began noticing little things about the movie, like the objects on Ben's table before and after Leia's holo is projected, as well as "memorable" lines and bits of characterization and the subtleties of some of the scenes. I wound up providing transportation to other people Sunday afternoon.

Then I saw it in German the next Tuesday night with a young German friend; she was unimpressed. I found it to be almost a different movie. *Sigh* Some things just don't translate well (and when I laughed at what I remembered the original lines to be, I got some strange looks from other audience members).

I was going back to the theater in Mannheim every two or three days. The theater personnel came to know me pretty well—so well, as a matter of fact, that when the movie was re-released about six months ago, the ticket lady looked up to see what I wanted and said, "Sind Sie wieder zuruck?" (Are you back again?) I suppose I acquired some kind of notoriety; I also acquired a number of German posters that the manager let me have (not a bad deal, considering the money I was making for him—I usually brought a friend or two). STAR WARS ran four weeks in English, and then I had to get by with the German version for a couple more.

After that, I had only the companionship of Strange Rose (see the Intro to "When the Battle's Lost and Won") to keep my interest in STAR WARS alive. I found out it was okay to write my own stories, and that there were people who published these "fan" stories in "fanzines." I started sending away for copies of these "fanzines." I started a story; I started some poetry (which later turned into a story); I started corresponding with other fans. I started getting an idea of doing my own "fanzine." My friends started wondering if I needed my head examined.

I began with "Intermezzo," which has since grown into a novelette, to be published separately later this year, and "When the Battle's Lost and Won." Both stories were not the usual kind of story I had seen in a zine. I decided to do a different sort of zine, shoot for the off-the-wall kind of story. The basic idea crystallized as "fun, adventuresome, and just a little strange," a phrase you have no doubt seen several times in flyers and ads for EQUAL SPACE. I hope I have succeeded, and that you enjoy the combination.

[snipped]

EQUAL SPACE 1 has been prepared on the word processing equipment in my office. I wanted it to be the best-looking zine in the world (but then, every zined does). I hope, however, that the material works out as well. (I don't want to overhear someone saying, "Too bad she wasted all that work on such crummy stuff.") I cannot guarantee that EQUAL SPACE 2 will look like this because I am leaving my job with the Army and returning to the Los Angeles area in two weeks.

[snipped]

By the time you get this zine, you will probably have seen THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. ]udi Hendricks sent me a copy of the novelization. (One of the reasons I'm returning to the States is that I don't want to have to wait until December to see it in Germany.) Wow! George is certainly taking a chance. I know several individuals who would like to commit mayhem upon his person for leaving us hanging (for how many years?) until the third movie comes out. I do have a couple of thoughts I'd like to pass on: (a) Luke must take after his mother's side of the family, and (b) WHOSE lightsaber is he carrying around?

Contents

  • Acknowledgments (2)
  • Equally Spaced, editorial (3)
  • Popularity (5)
  • The Emperor's Mail Bag: Letter A by Dolores McAllister (Did you ever stop to wonder about all the mail that was never delivered to the Death Star after its destruction? What kind of insight could it give us about the crew? (What was that mumbling about the Dead Letter Office?) The editor just happened to get her hands on some choice examples and couldn't resist passing them along.) (6)
  • Is Star Wars for the Birds (Steve Gallacci's rebuttal) (7)
  • A Life or Death Decision by Sheryl Adsit ("To paraphrase the old expression, you can take the boy away from Tatooine, but you can't take Tatooine away from the boy. Think back to the dinner scene in STAR WARS. Luke reaches across the table for the pitcher. He drags his sleeve right through the creamed corn. Couth Control time—but you really can't blame the kid. What kind of exposure has he had to etiquette? It's only Threepio's first day there, and he's been hired to fix vaporators, not table manners. But as we shall see, table manners can be" -- "Luke groaned inwardly. The moment of truth had arrived. He felt as though all eyes were on him. Whatever had possessed him, a farmboy from the frontier world of Tatooine and still dusty behind the ears, to pose as a member of the Imperial elite?") (8)
  • The Emperor's Mail Bag: Letter B by Ellen Blair (10)
  • The Introduction to When the Battle's Lost and Won (11)
  • When the Battle's Lost and Won by Rose Wolf, art by Pam Kowalski (13)
  • Strange Rose (27)
  • Introduction to Beliefs (28)
  • Beliefs by Ann Wilson ("This story is frightening. Written months before the story of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK became known, it suggests a method a certain Dark Lord might use to bring other Jedi to the dark side of the Force. In this story, the method works. If you have read any of Ann's other works (in MOS EISLEY TRIBUNE, or her novel, STORM), you know she is a staunch defender of Darth Vader. She admires Klingons and other warrior types. She has been a member of the United States Marine Corps and admits to a very violent nature, which she manages to control so well that some people are surprised it exists. She is married and lives the life (if you can call it that) of an Air Force wife. She is short—meaning (a) she and her husband will be returning to the States soon, and (b) when she wears her Darth Vader costume, she is the Reader's Digest Condensed Version of same. (Would it be much of a surprise to learn that even when she is not in costume, she dresses almost exclusively in basic black?) This story does not lend itself to illustration. The majority of the conflict is internal. The images it conjures up are not pleasant. I decided against trying to picture anything presented herein, allowing you to use your own imagination. It will be far more gruesome than any illustration could possibly be. This little introduction is intended to bring you out of the pleasant world of fandom and down to a more serious level, to lessen the shock a bit. You have been warned. Proceed at your own risk.") (29)
  • The Emperor's Mail Bag: Letter C by Ann Wilson (35)
  • Introduction to Like Father and Eight is More than Enough (plus story contest) (36)
  • Like Father by Susan Matthews (37)
  • Eight is More than Enough (When You're Talking about Corellians) by Sheryl Adsit ("Eight half brothers are looking for their father. They find him aboard the Millennium Falcon, and it isn't Chewie. Two writers take the same idea, and nothing else is the same from there on out." -- "Susan Matthews was one of the first people to send me a SASE for information on EQUAL SPACE. In my response, I mentioned I was looking for material and did she happen to have any lying around looking for a home. I was hoping the answer would be yes because I had enjoyed her works in other zines, such as FALCON'S FLIGHT and MOS EISLEY TRIBUNE. Susan's answer was that she didn't have anything at the moment, but she had two ideas in the works and if I picked one, she would send the story along. I, being greedy, besides finding both ideas interesting and a little offbeat, asked if she would be so kind as to send both. Oops! Susan apologized for not having them both ready, having thought to wait to see which one I liked and then concentrate on finishing that particular story. I apologized for my greediness and said that the idea about eight halfbrothers showing up at the Millennium Falcon looking for their da (sic) took my fancy more than the other one. (I'm not mentioning it specifically, just in case Susan wants to use it herself someday.) Then I sat back and waited for the story to arrive. When "Like Father" did arrive, I finished shredding the envelope (the Postal Service having started the process) and plunged into the story. I read it through immediately and knew I wanted it for EQUAL SPACE, but I was a little disappointed. It wasn't the story I thought it would be. Now don't ask me why I believed Susan would write a story the way I imagined it. Perhaps I should never have heard the idea first. My subconscious would not have gotten a hold of it and started working. The worst part of the situation was that there was a story clattering around the back of my mind, raising all kinds of ruckus.... I gave in to the demands of my subconscious and let the story out. I sent a copy of it to Susan to see what she thought about my use of her idea. She liked it, and suggested the same thing I had been ihinking—use both stories, with a suitable explanation (you're reading it) of how two writers can take the same idea and come up with completely different stories. Go on to propose a story contest for the read, rs of EQUAL SPACE, the winner to be published in EQUAL SPACE 2. (I find it rather ironic that Susan and I can take the same idea and create divergent works, but given one situation, we come up with the same solution.)") (44)
  • The Emperor's Mail Bag: Letter D by Pam Kowalski (49)
  • Lyrics by Sheryl Adsit and Rose Wolf (50)
  • The Emperor's Mail Bag: Letter E by Devra Langsam and Barbara Wenk (51)
  • The Introduction to Hidden Treasure and All About Tesoro (52)
  • Hidden Treasure by Sheryl Adsit, art by Steve Gallacci ("We know that C3PO and R2D2 did not come from the factory as a prepackaged set, but just how did they meet, and how did they come to work for the Alliance? Is it really true that Artoo's former employer made him show "blue" holotapes?" -- ""Hidden Treasure" started out as an entry in Bev Clark's SKYWALKER 2 contest to write a story about the planet Tesoro. As you may guess from its appearance here, it never made it. Tesoro (the SKYWALKER description follows for your information) sounded intriguing. I tried to imagine the kind of people that would live there, and eventually this kid showed up. I thought he was a kind of blend of Huckleberry Finn and the Artful Dodger, with a talent for "finding" things— "finding" as in how kids tend to explain items acquired through less than acceptable means. ("Where did you get this book?" "I found it.") Authority figures don't like five-finger discounts, if you know what I mean. To my surprise, however, he wasn't interacting with the expected Corellian & Company, but with C3PO! I was a bit startled at first, and then I realized that the action of the story was taking place before STAR WARS. Ah ha! This must be where Threepio meets Artoo, I said to myself. Sure enough, that's what happened, but somewhere between the first fuzzy outline and the finished item, certain changes took place. The kid wasn't acting the way I thought he should, but then, my original idea just wasn't him. One day I noticed the scars on his hand and asked him about them. He was a bit reluctant to explain, but when he did—pow! A lot of other things began to fall in place—his orphan status, his finder's gift, and, yes, the behavior patterns that differed from the ones I was trying to impose. Then there was Threepio, all new and shiny-bright from the factory, his head full of programming and the personality still developing. Just how did he wind up with binary loadlifters, anyway? What was Artoo doing up at the Big House? How could he and Threepio manage to get free at the same time?") (55)
  • The Emperor's Mail Bag: Letter F by Judi Hendricks (69)
  • Excerpts from The Galactic Gourmet by Cam Greer ("This issue we bring you Beruberry milkshakes and Bantha Burgers. All recipes kitchen-tested by the editor, taste-tested by her pet scrod.") (70)
  • The Introduction Star Wars: Eine Andere Version, a translation from a German's fan's alternative universe (von Han L. May und Tasheena El Assad, translated and illustrated by Dolores McAllister, lead illo by Martynn). ("Close the blast doors!" What might have happened if our daring Corellian had not made it through in time and was left facing a squad of oncoming stormtroopers. How would the familiar story have been changed, and how much would remain the same?" -- "If no other story in this zine has sent you running for writing material (for the purpose of firing off an outraged Letter of Comment), this one will do it. Why? It was written by a pair of German fans (in German, of course) with slightly different perceptions of the characters and their situations. The only "editing" I have done has been to smooth the translation out a bit, unkinking some of the German sentence structure to make it more easily understood by people who are unacquainted with the language. I have tried to keep the original flavor of the German intact, however. (Ann Wilson, reading the translation, said it sounded a lot like Perry Rhodan—not surprising, since the Perry Rhodan stories are originally written in German, too.) The narration jumps from scene to scene with a cinematic feel—a change in camera angles, so to speak. Sometimes there are "flashbacks" to cover points of view missed in earlier sequences. At times, this can be a bit confusing, but it is a part of the original, and I wanted to present the story as it was told, the only difference being the language. "STAR WARS: Eine Andere Version" appeared first in the second issue of CORRELLIAN (sic) CHRONICLE, April 1979, published by the German Jedis. If you would like to take a stab at the original, it is available from Han L. May (his passport says "Leonard May," but he goes by his fan name among friends).") (72)
  • On the Horizon, a little about the next planned issue (never published) (98)
  • Extranea, zine ads (98)
  • Why (100)

Inside Sample

Reactions and Reviews

The editor bills this zine as 'fun, adventuresome, and just a little strange,' and in general the contents live up to this description. As far as mechanics go, this zine has a nice, professional feel; no micro-reduced print, glaring typos, smudgy repro, or wayward staples. The editor is a word processor in mundane life, and it shows. Each major piece is introducted by a chatty page or so, telling something about the author and the editor's reaction to the story. This gives an informal, friendly atmosphere, like a group of frinds passing around each other's work to read... All of the stories are of good literary quality and move along in entertaining fashion, although with the possible exception of Ann Wilson's 'Beliefs,' none of them is likely to send cold chills up your spine or introduce you to new characters who will remain eternally in your mercy. 'A Life or Death Decision': a beautifully done Ferdinand Feghoot with a horrendous final pun. 'When the Battle's Lost and Won': a funny and unusual tale of fannish activity, full of more-or-less esoteric in-jokes... 'Beliefs": this is the most serious story in the issue, and the one I found most interesting, although it is not the best written. It deals with the method used by Darth Vader to 'turn' a Jedi to the Dark Side. It would have been improved if the young Jedi had been more effectively characterized and the Dark Lord's method had reminded me a little less of a replay of 'The Manchurian Candidate.' but the idea is intriguing. 'Like Father' and 'Eight is More than Enough' are two short pieces based on a bit of Thousandworlds apocrypha involving eight bastard half-brothers fathered by Han Solo and their search for their father. Mildly amusing, especially 'Like Father' with Matthews' usual smooth writing and competent characterization. Her Han is believable as always, and the des Mondes boys certainly sound like his kids all right. 'Hidden Treasure' is the best piece of pure storytelling in the zine. It is a C3PO-meets-R2D2 story, wherein the two 'droids get a rare chance to star as major characters and come through it quite well. The plot is predictable and the main human character is a fairly standard Artful Dodger type, but the story moves along briskly and holds your attention. There are a number of excellent touches, such as R2's reaction to being programmed to show porno holos. The last story is 'Star Wars: Eine Andere Version' which is a translation from a German fan's alternative universe. There are several less-than-convincing scenes, for example Moff Tarkin explains the personal relationships among the rebel characters on the Millennium Falccon to Vader at one point, although there is no explanation of where he got the information. On the other hand, the author has done a remarkable job of getting all the regular Star Wars characters right at once. In contrast to the consistent level of the stories, the artwork varies from excellent to distinctly amateurish. One illo by Martynn and Kowalski's illos for 'When the Battle's Lost and Won' live up to these artists' reputations, and in particular, Pam's frontispiece for the story is striking, with the stylized quality of a woodblock print. Steve Gallacci's work is good, but seems to have suffered in translation from the original. The rest of the art may perhaps be charitably passed over in silence.

In general, Equal Space is a consistently entertaining zine and a very good first effort, but not outstanding. Grade. B plus.[1]

According to the editor: Equal Space is to be a unique zine, a place to print stories that are "fun, adventuresome, and a little strange." The goal has been attained; this zine is something of a mixed bag in quality as a result. In general, though, it is enjoyable and a notable first effort for editor Adsit. Another unique quality of Equal Space is that it is typeset — my eyes definitely enjoyed that! The first story is "A Life or Death Decision" by the editor. It is a vignette that can mislead a reader (for instance, yours truly) into thinking it is serious. As a result, one is floored at the punchline. I see we have another punster in fandom! Rose Wolf's "When the Battle's Lost and Won" is the epitome of "strange" for this zine. I regret to say that I disliked it — not because of the off-the-wall quality of the story, but because it seemed so permeated with in-jokes that I ended up floundering in bewilderment. It seemed intended as a parody but failed because this reader, at least, had no points of reference to hang onto. "Beliefs" by Ann Wilson is, as the editor comments, frightening. It's an excellent study of Darth Vader's evil, in this case used to turn another Jedi to the Dark Side. "Like Father" by Susan Matthews, and "Eight Is More Than Enough" by Sheryl Adsit, are sister stories, both based on the same premise. They examine Han's reaction to suddenly finding he's the father of a vertiable tribe of young men. (Reverence for things sacred prevents me from drawing parallels between Han and Jacob/Israel.) These stories also constitute the take-off point for a writing contest. Sheryl's "Hidden Treasure" was inspired by Skywalker 02's "Write a story about this planet" contest. It was pleasant to find Threepio and Artoo the main characters of this story, which describes the circumstances of their meeting and becoming Alliance droids. It amused me, also, to note the use Sheryl made of her word processor's capabilities to come up with some very interesting "conversation" for Artoo. "Star Wars: Eine Andere Version" was written by two German fans, Han L. May and Tasheena El Assad, and translated by Dolores McAllister. It is based on "what if Han hadn't gotten through the blast door on the 'Death Star'?" The story reads a bit strangely, and the characters don't feel quite right in some of their reactions to circumstances in the story. I hesitate to accuse the authors of plot or characterization flaws, however, since this may be due to the distractions of the use of literal translation from the original German. Editor Adsit has chosen to write prologues to each story, giving some backgrounding on the authors and how or why the story came to be written. I don't object to this practice, since it does indicate editorial control and interest, but perhaps it would be good to be careful so as not to give away the plot or too much detail. Equal Space, in summary, has nothing really memorable in its pages (except, in my opinion, "Beliefs") but the zine shows the potential of joining the burgeoning crop of excellent SW fan publications. It will be interesting to see how future issues develop.[2]

References

  1. ^ from Jundland Wastes #1
  2. ^ from Alderaan #10
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