Falcon's Flight

Zine
Title:	Falcon's Flight
Publisher:	Ellen Blair
Editor(s):
Date(s):	1978-1980
Series?:
Medium:	print
Size:
Genre:
Fandom:	Star Wars
Language:	English
External Links:
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Falcon's Flight is a gen Star Wars anthology It ran for six issues.

An Example of Fannish Outreach

The editor writes in issue #4 that she hopes fellow fans can help fandom in Poland:

On October 10, 1979 I received a letter from a young man by the name of Wiktor Bukato who is a resident of Warsaw, Poland and the press officer for the Polish National Science Fiction and Fantasy Fan Club (being, as he said in his letter, "one of the very few people in the club that can read and write English well enough to do the task.") Wiktor and his friends heard about FF [Falcon's Flight] through the letterzine Alderaan. Although SW reached Polish theatres a few months ago, Wiktor says that the genre of fanzines has never developed in Poland and that the club members are quite intrigued by the concept. They would like very much to receive copies of FF as it comes out, but there is a financial barrier between the countries; Polish currency cannot be converted to U.S. dollars. I've sent him a comp copy of FF#2 and have an idea that might help our Polish fans and friends. Would one or more of you readers like to sponsor a zine-order for Wiktor and his friends? This would entail your ordering a copy of FF and paying the price of the zine plus $7. 50 for airmail to Poland. As of now, they need #1, #3, and #4. I can't think of a better way to extend the hand of friendship across the world and it is rather singular that SW should be the medium through which such friendship develops. How about it? Would any of my readers like to get in On this project? Let me know as soon as possible.

Issue 1

Falcon's Flight 1 was published in October 1978 and has 70 pages.

front cover of issue #1, Ellen Blair

back cover of issue #1 by Martynn

The art: front cover by Ellen Blair, back cover by Martynn, centerfold by Joni Wagner, other interior art is by Linda Adolf, Martynn, Patricia Munson, Carolyn Carrock, Ellen Blair, Becky Aulenbach, and Teanna Byerts.

About a second printing:

FF#1 will be reprinted. In fact, it will go to press as about the same time as FF#4. Those of you who sent SASE's for notification of this event will receive a detailed flyer shortly. For other interested persons, the following is capsule info: 68 pages quick print, 8 x 11, of fiction, poetry, art, quizzes and the "Meet Han Solo" article that seems to have gained a separate reputation of its own. Due to the aforementioned rising costs, the cover will also be quick printed, so it won't have 100% of the quality of the original print to keep the cost as low as possible.

From the zine's editorial:

With the appearance of this premier issue of "Falcon's Flight" yet another fan/[writer leaps headlong into the ocean of editordom. . . me. In the words of a friend I who also happens to be a fanzine editor, I "Have you no sense?" Well no, I suppose I not. What I do have is a deep love for "Star Wars" and everything pertaining to it.

"Falcon's Flight" is a project I began to plan sometime between the second and third time I saw the film. The fact that you now hold in your hands a copy of the finished product is a matter of extreme satisfaction for me personally. But beyond that accomplishment, my goal is to provide the means of bringing to SW fans of all ages as much of the magic and delight of SW as the considerable number of fan writers and artists can provide. And because I am also a fan writer (frequently) and a fan artist (occasionally), you'll find my work in FF from time to time. However, FF is not meant to be my personal vehicle. It is intended to be a showcase both of new talent and established reputations, as well as being an entertaining magazine generally. Its content in the future will be determined by reader response and contributor availability. Any magazine exists to satisfy public demand, and FF is no exception.

Although Han-atics (of which I am one) will find several fixes in this issue, FF will not be Han-oriented any more than it will be Luke- or Leia- or Chewie- or Vader-oriented. What we're looking primarily for are stories dealing with as many of the SW characters as possible, although each issue will have a piece or two concerning one particular character. I make the above statement because several of the people who responded to the initial flyer took issue (no pun intended) with the fact that I apparently considered Luke, Han, and Chewie the major characters of the SW epic. This is not to say that I consider Leia a secondary character; on the contrary, she is very much a part of the whole. But, given the nature of the character, it would be difficult (in my opinion) to feature her in as many adventures as the other three are likely to participate in. She is a member of the upper echelon of the Alliance and, as such, has duties and responsibilities that would tend to preclude her exposure to any unnecessary dangers. However, Leia fans may have a very different idea of what she would be likely to involve herself in. I'm open to all suggestions.

There is one particular inconsistency in this issue which needs a bit of explanation (lest readers jump to the conclusion that I don't know what I'm doing!). It is usually poor policy to print two stories of a similar nature in the same issue, but FF ends to bend this unwritten rule a bit.

"Starquest: Overture" was initially planned for FF #1 because it gave an indication of the kind of stories I was looking for. But when "The Forming of the Company" was submitted, it was so good that I didn't want to hold it for FF #2 and "Overture" would have been glaringly out of place ill any issue but #1. Technically, "Overture" is not a story but a scenario and coincidentally, meshes fairly well with Cynthia and Donald Frazer's story. So, both tales are here for your enjoyment.

In the same vein, Susan Matthews' poem also deserves a bit of explanation in order to save her from any accusations of plagarism. "Han Solo and the Shulammite Woman" (my title, as Susan's intro was a little long for the table of contents) is admittedly an adaptation of "The Song of Songs" from the Bible, but it is not meant to be an irreverent snipe at Soloman's work. In my opinion (and it is the reason I've print ed the poem), Susan has demonstrated that "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" as well as having made a beautiful comment on the universality of love.

"Superstition Run" is something of an innovation. It is, to my knowledge, the first SW spook story to see print.

If there was any one reason behind my decision to do FF #2 (before #I was even in layout), it was Denise's story "The Set Up." It would have been extremely crass of me to print part of a serial without making any plans to see that the rest of it followed. My only regret is that my readers will have to wait a few months to find out how the thing ends. (One of the benefits of being an editor is that I'll get to see the thing before the rest of you do. Does that make me feel like a privileged character? You bet it does!)

One of the items I hope to establish in FF is the "Meet..." section. Bev Clark and I have launched it with "Meet Han Solo" but the field for this sort of character study is nowhere as limited as one might think. Aside from the main and secondary characters, there are subsidiary ones like General Dodonna, Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, Tarkin, General Motti, and (why not? ) Greedo. How about it, fans?

• From the Flight Bay (3)
• Star Wars: an Overview by Richard Lee (4)
• untitled filksong, to the tune of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," by Carolyn Carrock (6)
• Crew Members (short bios of the contributors) (6)
• Starquest: Overture by Ellen Blair, art by L.A. Adolf (8)
• The Odd Couple by Ellen Blair, art by Martynn (14)
• Sky-Dreamer by Ellen Blair, art by Martynn (17)
• Star Wars Trivia Quiz by Carolyn Carrock (17)
• Word Search by Carolyn Carrock (18)
• The Forming of the Company by Cynthia and Donald Frazer, art by Carolyn Carrock (19)
• Meet Han Solo by Bev Clark and Ellen Blair, art by Blair (33)
• True of False Quiz by Carolyn Carrock (36)
• The Set-Up by Denise Edwards, art by Beckey Aulenback (37)
• Han Solo and The Shulammite Woman by Susan Matthews, art by Teanna Byerts (50)
• Superstition Run by Kelly Hill, art by Martynn (54)
• Sister Ships (67)
• untitled filk to the tune of "Yesterday" by The Beatles, by Carolyn Carrock (67)

• 

  from issue #1, Patricia Munson

• 

  from issue #1, Martynn

• 

  from issue #1, Carolyn Carrock

• 

  from issue #1, Joni Wagner

• 

  from issue #1, sample text

• 

  from issue #1, Teanna Byerts

• 

  from issue #1, Teanna Byerts

• 

  from issue #1, Becky Aulenbach

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 1

I like knowing about the contributors. The puzzles and quizzes are good. "The Odd Couple" and "Superstition Run" are both very good.

I like "Street Kid", but doesn't Han care about Chewie? "Overture": I don't think Han will stay with the rebels without some strong persuasion, perhaps some more money. I also don't think Han feels guilty about the pilots' deaths. The conversation between Luke and Han is very good, though... "The Forming of The Company": I don't think Luke would go back to Tatooine for any reason, unless perhaps, he was asked to go by the Princess, and I don't think she would ask him. I also don't think Obi-Wan would speak to Han, or for that matter, to anyone but Luke. I also don't see Han as a Jedi. I don't actually disagree with any of the points in "Meet Han Solo" but somehow, I just don't think he's that complex. It also made me wonder why I don't like him more.

"The Set Up" is a good suspense story, but I don't think Han is in love with Leia. This, of course, shoots the story premise to hell, but it's still an interesting idea. I don't see the point to saying it was told to the author in interviews. This gives away the happy ending. Two small points: I don't think Han would go back to Tatooine without somehow disguising the Falcon, and I don't think Luke would be quite so coldblooded about killing Jabba. One very small point: I don't think Threepio would call Han "Master Solo" more likely "Mister Solo". He calls Luke "Master" because he is his master.

Finally, the artwork ranges from good to excellent, Joni Wagner's beautiful poster is now on my wall.

...very impressed by the "Shulammite Woman", looking forward to seeing more of her (Susan's) work. (I've always thought that Han was the hottest thing between sheets this side of Vulcan, now I'm sure of it. )

Your "Crew Members" column is a valuable addition to the zine. .. librarian, nurse, secretary, student, artist, teacher, writer, governmental worker, etc. That's a wide range of occupations and talents...

"Star Wars: An Overview" is a well-put-together review. The most edifying part about it was knowing that Lee is not a fan but nonetheless could make objective and favorable insights into the movie. Most of what he writes is not new but the overall composition was good and I was most amused by the comparison of Greedo to Peter Lorre --he's right!

Your "Starquest: Overture" took that good ol' What Happens After The Awards Ceremony theme and gave it yet another treatment. Somewhat similar to the Frazer's "Forming of the Company". I liked your 'Solo' better. And your 'Luke, ' For some strange reason a lot of fan writers can pick up Han's quintessentials easily and miss Luke completely... "Solo' almost in tears" is stretching it but the arguments are valid and despite Han's attack of conscience you kept him shrewdly reluctant to officially join the Alliance. My favorite part was the bit about Luke not wearing the medal. Luke is the kind of person who considers people's (even droids') feelings and the gesture was most appropriate. Lisa Adolf's illos were adequate. The best, in my opinion, is the handshake at the end. Frazer's "Odd Couple" is a variation on an oft-treated theme. It fits together fine but the situation is just a bit more contrived (but what plot isn't on the other hand) than a Chewie-meets-Han like Judi Hendrick's "Tega Run" in Warped Space #38. Chewie's motivation of sheer goodwill-for-the-underdog is a bit shaky. On the other hand, there are some nice touches: Han mixing his drinks (I'd swear the poor guy gets drunk in 9 out of 10 stories yet never actually drinks a drop in the film!), the explanation of Chewie's incoherence and the action-packed illo by Munson--she may not be heavy on perspective but her detail work is great, from the assorted interesting bottles to the poor alien hunched on the bar with an Excedrin headache...

"Company": Han bedeviled by Kenobi and intrigued by a light saber is somehow appealing. Do you really think Leia a would go for that smooch-on-the-floor diversion tactic? Would Luke even have the temerity to consider such a thing? (Han would.) Han and the slave girl didn't quite make the grade--somehow it seems to be an insert that is non-essential to the storyline (Han gets punched, clubbed and generally beaten up by women in more fan stories — when he's not drunk...) Still, it is an entertaining tale and that's the most important aspect.

Your and Bev Clark's gentle dissection of our Corellian hero is right on the mark and full of apt descriptions. It is a penetrating analysis that puts Han in the interesting and multi-faceted perspective begun by Lucas and hopefully to be continued as more pieces fit into the puzzle, "The Set-Up" has me hooked, of course. I'm a sucker for serials. The idea of Vader and Co. turning Han into an assassin for the Empire assuredly is a fresh and very suitably Sithian idea. Most of my gripes on this story were in the character portrayal rather than overall plot. I realize Chewie had to be left behind (or killed off) for the sake of having Han alone but the rationale behind it is not clear. Why would Han leave Chewie and take the droids which are the property of Luke and the Alliance? Good old sleazy Jabba. Somehow I can't see him making so many personal appearances. As witnessed by the Greedo episode, he tends to let his minions do the talking (and take the risks). The "Battered Han" syndrome is really big in this episode. As proved in "Vader's encounters with General Motti, Leia, and Ben, the Dark Lord is very sparing with his overt torture and violence. The lightsaber torture of Han was not consistent with Vader's previous actions. And why would stormtroopers club Solo with the butt of a laser pistol when they have a "stun" setting (see the first capture of Leia in the film)? The scene with Jabba versus Luke et al is another one with nebulous justification — and the beating of Leia sounds uncomfortably like Alan D. Foster's regrettable sequel "Splinter in the Mind's Eye. " X-Lo is a suitably mean, ruthless type (like the illo of him by Aulenbach). The dream sequences are building nicely and are logical even if the technology behind them is unclear. I'm curious to see how Edwards resolves this one.

"Han Solo and the Shulammite Woman" is by far the most gorgeously erotic, lyric, well constructed composition I've read on the subject of my favorite smuggler to date. I had to re-read the "Song of Songs" afterwards out of curiosity but Matthews' verse is rather an extension of the Biblical song-style than a parody. It flows with an almost train-of-thought ease yet contains the seething emotions of its heroine in the bounds of a verse form laden with metaphors that contribute to the beauty of the poem and the Shulammite's alien aspect. Oh, those gorgeous metaphors!! "... he doesn't get angry/just sunnier.,. ", "... ungoverned dark curls... "...In his upper lip the sweep of the hunting bow..." That bed room scene -- "as chaste as Luke Skywalker" -- is the most moving and beautiful I've ever read. And frustrating. The empathy for the Shulammite grows almost unbearable by the time the surprise ending sneaks in. Susan Matthews has a charmed way about her words that leaves one yearning for more. Teanna's illos were a fitting accompaniment, too. She captured exquisitely those unique characteristics that send we Solo fans up the walls and across the ceiling... the strong neck and chest and those wicked bedroom eyes, a nice fluidity to her style. And she tackled what could have been a ridiculous notion--Han playing a dulcimer--and turned out a very successful illo (love the"come hither" look and the bare feet!).

STARQUEST: OVERTURE was very well written, but you credit Han with a conscience that I don't think he has. I think that Han came back partly at the urging (subliminal, of course) from Ben and actual physical threats from Chewie, who does seem to have a conscience. I am willing to believe that Han quite surprised himself with his bravery. After all it was a really stupid thing to do. I mean a tiny freighter turning to fight the Death Star. It's the equivalent of a terrier turning on a bull mastiff. However, this terrier turned out to be a Jack Russel and the mastiff was defeated. It could have ended very differently. I can't picture Han near to tears because he felt he murdered Biggs and the rest because he "ran away." He was totally in character the rest of the time, though, as were the rest of the gang. Congratulations on that.

THE FORMING OF THE COMPANY...was a delight. Han was so in character that it was a ball to read. In fact all the characters scanned. I liked the run-in Leia had ; with Camie. Wonder if she'll be so quick-tongued with the next Princess she meets? The byplay between Han and Yalena is priceless. I don't know if Han would really be so charitable, but I like to think he would... makes a lovely fantasy. The only thing that bothered me was that the doctor just "happened" to be a Jedi Knight. Very coincidental, if you know what I mean, to pick up both an instructor in self-defense from. Alderaan and a Jedi in one fell swoop. Oh well. I do hope that, this is the first in a series of stories. I'm curious to see the rest of the adventures of "The Company.

"HAN SOLO AND THE SHULAMMITE WOMAN is a beautiful piece of prose poetry. Very, very nicely done. A true song of love for Han. I was a bit confused that she lives in Whore's Alley, yet seems to be a virgin. Interesting. I wonder if it might not have been more effective if she had been a whore, accustomed to men of every type and yet fell in love with Han even though she knew what he was. Interesting art work too, even if the instrument wasn't a dulcimer. With those beautiful hands Han should play some sort of stringed instrument.

"The Odd Couple" was very good, but a little too short. I'd like to have heard more of the story. I did very much like Cynthia's pointing out the reason Chewie doesn't speak Galactic, or Universal Standard I guess she said-- because he's physically incapable of it. Bravo! Good stuff, that.

"The Set Up" is painful. That's the kindest thing I can say about it. Denise sounds like ' a competent writer, but when you get a case of cutes at the beginning "This roving space reporter--arrgh!), giving away your suspense in the first paragraph, and your plot in the fifth or sixth, you've got problems from the word go. What could have been the best story in the ish turned into a load of felgercarb that had been sitting in the sun too long. As I said, I'm not been on coincidence, so I was naturally upset by the fact that Luke and Leia just "happen" to be going to Carnex... And what makes the author think that Vader would trust Han to be completely subjugated. The man is a survivor -- he had to be to stay alive in the profession he chose. Doesn't Vader realize he'd know a few tricks? Individual groans were reserved for various snatches of dialog like "I have an artificial hand with a laser gun in it" -- Man from Uncle, per chance? And the groans were loud enough to hear in Tennessee when I hit the line where Han admits he loves the Princess. No way! He might want to lay her -- he'd be a little sick if he didn't; she's pretty, stacked, and at least interested in passing. But LOVES her -- I don't think so! And when the doc tells him he's going to be an Imperial assassin, Han's reaction was "a spasm of fear and astonishment". Astonishment, yes, but fear? Han's reply to a statement like that would be "Up yours, turkey! " or words to that effect. I'm curious to see just how she manages to work everything out in the next ish.-

Do you want some advice on layout? No? Well, here it is anyway. I think you should leave a little more margin on the inside. The words run into the trench making reading difficult in places. I found myself nearly tearing the sine apart trying to read some paragraphs. Maybe a half inch more would do.

"Superstition Run" was, along with "The Set-Up" the best stories. Tell Kelly Hill and Denise Edwards to keep writing more stuff because I want to read tons.

But if those were the best stories, "The Shulammite Woman" was in a class I by itself. Susan Matthews is an artistic writer. She spaces me out so much!

"Starquest: Overture" was just that, a set up for a story, not so much a story in itself. But, if I were Luke, I'd be angry at Leia for thinking Solo has to guard me. Luke can take care of himself. He isn't a baby, and even if he is a Jedi, certainly Jedis can handle things. Leia is a Princess, perhaps the last in her line, but she never asked for protection. Anyway, the story was fun for all that. You must continue it.

"The Odd Couple" intrigued me, because I also wrote a Han-meets-Chewie story. Seeing another is very interesting. I wish ed it could have been longer though.

FALCON'S FLIGHT was easy to read, and you had some nice art. I immediately fell in love with Teanna's Han, especially the one on the floor with the dulcimer; there's a sort of gentleness about the way she draws Han that I really like.

"The Set-Up" is nicely suspenseful and the way the author is handling the conditioning from Han's point of view -- in dreams -- is very good. In retrospect I am a bit confused over what Darth is doing in Mos Eisley in the first place.

I think the story I liked best, as a SW story, is the one with the double-dealing president (Forming of the Company) which is a plausible situation, though it might have been more effective if the president weren't quite so much a toad, but just subtly "off" in his attempts to keep Luke and Co. around until the Imperials arrived, enough to make Luke and Leia suspicious and "nosey", but not enough to tip them off right away. However, I like Luke's admirable thinking-on-his-feet (so to speak) when the guards(?) came looking for him and Leia, and I loved the image of Han standing there watching (not to mention the implications—just how long was he there?) Nice action-adventure, good handling of the characters, and it actually advanced the cause of the rebellion.

One feature I liked was the Crew Members section. I'm always curious about the authors of what I read.

The "Meet... " section has possibilities, too. I should like to submit an analysis of Darth Vader, my own particular love, (Yeah, and I like Romulans, too!)

"Company": Is this to be a serial also? I get a distinctly to-be-continued feeling at the end. I don't think Han would get involved in sabers and such. Jedi philosophy, theoretical or applied, does not strike me as Solo's style, I enjoyed the Frazers' writing style--such tongue-in-cheek banter tickles me.

"Superstition Run": very well written. It's logical and cohesive, displaying a fairly sophisticated style of writing, i. e. the flashback that is the main part of the tale, or the typing-together of items ... "hands that could fix anything,.. hands that never would again."

"Set-Up": good idea. Was the introduction really necessary (space reporter!)? Also, Han's lack of surprise at Vader's survival bothers me. We know he lived, but who told Han and the Alliance? Maybe Vader sent out at-home cards when he rejoined the Empire...

"Shulammite": my favorite. It's an interesting idea in an interesting format. Even without the bio you can tell Matthews has a bad case of Soloitis. She captures the flavor of the Song of Solomon beautifully, particularly the description of Solo sleeping. The story's description of the Shulammite's hopeless confusion was well done, too. Love does have a tendency to play tricks, as anyone Who has felt strongly about someone else and not had the emotion reciprocated can attest.

The fiction is very enjoyable, I can't wait for the continuation in issue #2, but I hope it doesn't turn into a "get" Solo story. "Starquest: Overtdre" is excellent. I would like to see a series of stories along those lines, Luke searching for other Jedi. I didn't get any negative feelings about the fiction. By that I mean, I didn't read something and say to myself, "That's out of character, " or "That would never happen."

I love the artwork between the front and back covers, meaning I liked it all. I think the cover is beautiful. The back cover of Solo is out of this world. (Yes, I am a terminal Hanoholic). I liked the filk-songs by Carolon Carrock. I'm not much for poetry, but I thought "Street Kid" was very good.

I saw nothing wrong in putting "Starquest: Overture" and "The Forming of the Company" in the same issue. As you say, they meshed well, and both were quite enjoyable. Hope the Frazers write more for you; their mix of humor and drama is outstanding.

"Han Solo and the Shulammite Woman" was simply beautiful. I must have read it half a dozen times, and that's still the only way I can describe it.

There's only one thing wrong with "The Set-Up" and that's the long delay before part 2 comes out. Doggone it, I want to know what happens! I bet too editors feel like Privileged Characters 1 A long wait may be okay for a bad serial, but it's hard to take with this story.

"Meet Han Solo" was a most interesting analysis of a very complex character. You must be more expert on Corellian psychology than you're admitting.

(Poor Han took quite a beating this issue, didn't he? Hangovers, lightsaber burns, emotional wringouts... )

I can see why you wanted to publish both "Starquest: Overture" and "The Forming of the Company". Luke's search for other Jedi, and Han's either volunteering or being assigned to "look after" him while he does, are eminently logical; but it's interesting, too, to see Han learning about the Force. The eternal Corellian skeptic! Are the Frazers planning any sequels? I'd love to see some.

"Meet Han Solo" was an excellent and perceptive feature. I hadn't myself considered all the psychological ramifications of Han's behavior, but you and Bev have worked everything out so well that it all seems perfectly right.

"Superstition Run" was also well done. I'm not ordinarily much for ghost stories or horror fiction, yet here the "horror" was so subtly injected and care fully handled that it passed without difficulty--and, like the Force, it was never fully explained, which is, of course, the essence of good horror. Too, I liked seeing what someone else thinks Han was like as a very young man.

And, of course, "The Set-Up". What can you say about "The Set-Up"? By now it's probably all been said. But I wait patiently to learn what happens next!

"Han Solo and the Shulanmite Woman" was a beautiful piece; being slightly Han-wild myself, I can see how the girl might have had a case for him.

And "Street Kid"--I see it's by the same author who did "Superstition Run. " I liked Kelly's "soliloquizing" style. Is there any chance she may expand, in the prose form, on some of the hints she's dropped? We've seen what she thinks Han's early career was like -- what thoughts does she have on his childhood?

Richard Lee's "Overview": a nice, superficial study, not trying to get too heavily into the film (as the Force knows one can!!) But: does he really think only children can believe in definite and unmistakable hero-types?

Ellen Blair's "Starquest: Overture": sounds like a promising beginning to an interesting series. Seems to have all the characters down to a T; Han probably does have some such "darker side", though we saw no sign of it in the movie (braggadocio and extroverted arrogance often cloak feelings of self-doubt and insecurity). What I most want to know is, where do we go from here?

Cynthia Frazer's "The Odd Couple": short, sweet and to the point. Mostly a possible explanation of how Han and Chewie may have met, and quite a plausible explanation at that. Would have liked a little more character development even if it meant greater length.

Trivia quiz and Word Search: fun features to relax with. More!

Cynthia and Donald Frazer's "The Forming of the Company": oh dear, how do I say--nicely--that I think it's a good idea gone all wrong? Somehow I never conceived of Han as having any potential for using the Force. Everyone's character seems just a little "off"--and as for that "Jedi ex machina" plot twist, it's too convenient and too unprepared-for. Dropping a few hints about that doctor earlier in the story would have helped.

Clark and Blair's "Meet Han Solo": very well done, and a highly plausible reading of his character. But, how did he get that way? (Good idea for a story--any takers?)

Denise Edwards' "The Set-Up": heavy, heavy! Can't wait for Part Two! But was it fair to kill off Jabba, Denise, since - he isn't your invention?

Susan Matthews' "Han Solo and the Shulaummite Woman": very well written, excellent paraphrase, and much brattier than I'd ever have dared to be. (Ionly ripped-off T.S. Eliot!)

Kelly Hill's "Superstition Run": so I'm not the only opera buff in all of SF fandom! A "Flying Grythian" yet! Brava!

Kelly Hill's "Street Kid: a Self Portrait": hints at the way I also think it was with Han. Well done.

"Starquest:Overture" - I enjoyed the last part very much. The argument be tween Han and Luke was refreshing. I'm getting a bit tired of writers who have L&H mooning at each other. If I remember the movie correctly, our new Jedi has a temper and the Corellian makes sure he hedges every friendly remark with sarcasm. Just saving Luke will not have changed Han that much, nor Luke's reactions to some of Solo's values.

"Odd Couple" - The simplicity of the meeting here is appealing. In Han and Chewie's world, I would imagine companion ships are begun (and lost) just that casually. When you might be dead tomorrow, you don't have much time for explanations, or introductions.

"Forming of the Company" - I was glad to see that Leia's position was the reason she was along on this adventure. I agree with the supposition that the Princess, because of her duties, will not be out in space much anymore. Especially not after what / happened to Alderaan. The scene in Anchorhead was a bit awkward; would Luke really intro Leia as the Princess, or would it be wiser to travel incognito? His friends' reactions just didn't ring true. But I loved the way he and Leia got past that search party! Glad to see the Kid can think quickly outside of a cockpit, too.

"Set-Up" - This was my least favorite story, mostly for the parts that jarred: the inexplicable behavior of Darth when Han was captured, the attack on Leia. Perhaps I reacted strongly because I was so looking forward to this piece. Now, I am the last person to complain about violence. My stories have it in abundance. But I hope there's always a reason for it in the tales I tell and that I don't exaggerate. However, I could find no reason, either in the situation or in Vader's personality, for his wounding of Han. It struck me as something thrown in to show what a nasty Darth is. Darth may be nasty, but he's not a punk out to show how- tough he is. And that bit with Leia and Jabba struck me as touch gratuitous. Jabba would, for one point, be the boss and therefore inclined to leave such work to an underling. Secondly, why waste energy beyond a sharp blow, if that will do the job? If a baddie is going to be sadistic, better give him a good reason for it. And most of. all, I think Luke's reaction would have been to jump on Jabba, weapon or not. I just can't see our hotshot talking instead of acting in that situ ation. What I'm trying to say is; don't use violence as a signpost for badness. Don't throw it in because it seems nasty. Heroes are often violent, particular ly when they are fighting a war or for their lives. Bad guys are often violent because of the same reasons and because they want to obtain something by means not generally accepted or which someone is not inclined to give them. Sadists, and people feeling sadistic, are violent because they enjoy the perks of violence -- power, sexual stimulation, revenge. It's a complicated subject that should be shown honestly. Use it as a hero does: when unavoidable, when true to the scene or character, and in just enough proportions to get the point across with out dwelling on it.

"Shulammite Woman" - Well, I've been a sucker for Susan's work since I read that poem of hers in Warped Space. She can handle rhythms for me any day. And she still tells a story amid the poetry. Great.

"Superstition Run" - Nice.

Issue 2

front cover of issue #2, Ellen Blair

back cover of issue #2

from issue #2, the artist is Amy Falkowitz.
Ellen Blair, the editor of the zine, wrote in it: "Amy Falkowitz's magnificent title page illo for "The Sky Warriors" was sent to me as a sort of loan before she was asked to illustrate "Warriors, " ergo, the light sabres in the hands of the Skreels who do not use them in the story,.. and thereby hangs a tale. Completely independent of each other. Amy and I each imagined and wrote about a race of alien beings who are uncannily similar. Amy's bird-people are much more intelligent than my Skreels, but the name of her hero character is "Kreel. " Interesting, no? In actual fact. Amy's illo shows her creatures, not mine. But her creatures were so exactly like what I had imagined mine to be, minus the light sabres, that I asked her if I could use her work as a title page. Obviously she said "yes" and as a result, you are being treated to the evidence of a rare coincidence: two writers who did not collaborate and yet managed to create almost exactly the same thing."

Falcon's Flight 2 was published in March 1979 and contains 116 pages.

The art is by Ellen Blair (front cover), Christine McWilliams, Martynn, Pam Kowalski, Amy Cheatham, Amy Falkowitz, Greg Callahan, Beckey Aulenbach, and Teanna Byerts.

It is dedicated to "Mr. George Lucas, who dreamed a dream for all of us."

From the editorial:

Although the editorial in FF#1 optimistically promised a FF#2, I began to wonder, soon after it was finished, if I could follow through on that promise. With the 20/20 vision of hindsight, I realize now that FF#1 was almost a fluke ... knowing nothing about magazine production per se, I blithely leaped head long into what has proven to be a veritable ocean of educational experience.

But between filling my pre-orders and answering the feedback correspond since, I had occasion to wonder if I would be able to continue the project I had begun with the supreme confidence of the happily ignorant. Producing a fanzine is work folks.. .work that doesn't stop when the layout goes to the printers. Most of it thereafter is enjoyable work like answering the many letters of comment (LoC's for those of you who asked) and/or criticism; but when one works at a regular job and also maintains a separate career as a writer, one has very little of what is referred to as "free time" to devote to fanzine production. However, I somehow found both the time and the enthusiasm. Besides, a pro mise is a promise and I kept getting manuscripts of such exceptional quality that I knew I was going to put out FF#2. .. and#3. . . and #4.... Well, anyway #2 and by the time you hold a copy of that in your eager hands, I'll be hard at work on #3. I've been told I'm crazy. I prefer to think that I'm dedicated.

A word or two about #2 in general. If you have a copy of #1, you'll see that there have been some major changes in format. Most obvious is the full-page spread. It was pointed Out to me that a double-column spread actually wastes space unless the print is quite small; therefore, the full page is more economical with the size of type that I employ (yes, yes, I know this ish is more expensive than the last one, but there are more pages, you see, which means higher printing costs and more postage to mail a heavier zine.) Another change is the uniform size of the illustrations (with a few exceptions). This change, I confess, was made for both a selfish reason and an unselfish one. Uniform illo size means less time to do the layout because I don't have to cut and paste and fit (selfish), which means the zine gets to the printer and to the reader more quickly (unselfish). The other changes are in content. While I had a wealth of fiction submitted, I had very little poetry, articles or character sketches (ergo, no "Meet, ... feature) and, as I write this, no filksongs or puzzles. C'mon, gang! Every thing is welcome. I'd hoped to have a poster in each issue but.. .. And artists, where are you?

[snipped]

FF#2 has a uniquely woven fabric of fiction: three stories are multi-character, one is a Han-tale, one Luke-and-Leia, one Han-and-Leia, and one is a Vader-Kenobi vignette.

Denise's conclusion to "The Set-Up" is guaranteed to drive you right up the wall with suspense. As well as being exciting, the story demonstrates Denise's great potential as a fine writer. ; I'm proud of her, both as an editor of a contributor and as one writer bf another. In both cases. Part Two of "The Set-Up" is grounds for enthusiasm.

Melinda's and Donna's story represents their first appearance in FF; "Renegade" proves once again that writers needn't feel duty-bound to restrict their imaginations to the basic SW characters. Rhian, Lyl, and Geir are as realistic in their own rights as Luke, Han, Leia, and Chewie. Modesty prevents me from saying too much about "The Sky Warriors" except to confess that it is one of my personal favorites among the seven or eight SW stories I've done so far. It sort of grew, like Topsy, from an orphan scene in my mind that had no definition either fore or aft. Whatever I've made of it is for you, the reader, to determine. (No, I'm not going to say which scene spawned the story... that would spoil the suspense.)

"Widowmaker" is one of Susan Matthews' finest (and, believe me, I know... I happen to be the happy recipient of quite a lot of her work). The Widowmaker's name is not "Mary Sue".. .thought I'd beat all you critics to the punch; but even if it was, it would be well nigh impossible to avoid an affinity for this Imperial Manhunter. The story is so well written that you can forgive Susan any thing (and I've had to forgive her very little, even though she doesn't believe me . . . or she didn't until "Shulammite Woman" appeared in FF#1).

Anna Mary Hall is another writer who is debuting in FF (though not necessarily as a writer). "Tears" is more of a scenario than a story but don't let its simplicity fool you. Profound emotion is very difficult to convey in mere words. Anna Mary has managed to do so with competence and insight.

Janice Sidwell isn't a novice writer, as her work as the editor of The Mos Eisley Tribune indicates. "The Last Visit" is the sort of thing you have to read twice: once just to read it and again when you suddenly think "oops, wait a minute!" It's that kind of story and you'll really enjoy it, unless you dislike being jarred from a perch of complacency.

FF#2 may be setting a precedent by having the editors of two other fanzines as contributors. Janice is one and the other is Bev Clark, editor of the very fine zine Skywalker. "Night Watch" is Bev's second contribution to FF, the first being her collaboration with me on the "Meet Han Solo" article in FF#1.

snipped]

Assuming the permission of the correspondents (I didn't have time to write for their, approval), I've decided to initiate a LoC column as a regular feature. I had originally planned to send each contributor the relevant feedback on their work as it came in, but lack of time prevented it. The letters I've printed represent the general consensus of opinion without the embroidery of the "gosh, golly, gee" supplement. Rabid enthusiasm is great for the ego, but it doesn't furnish any concrete advice/criticism for the artists or writers. So, enthusiasm is welcome, but tell us why you love us (or don't love us.. .negative criticism can be just as helpful if it's constructive). And if you want to write a LoC but don't want it printed, tell me so.

• From the Flight Bay, editorial (3)
• Transmissions, letters of comment (6)
• Crew Members, short contributor bios (13)
• Nightwatch by Bev Clark (16)
• Answers to Word Search from the previous issue (23)
• Poem by Susan Matthews (While the heading says: "A bitter polemic of Andrej Balkney, Chief Medical Officer (and erstwhile Inquisitor) of the Black Ship Ragnarok; "Nothing Personal, I Simply Don't Like The Man" or "For A Corellian, He Sure Spends A Lot Of Time Cluttering Up My Sickbay", this is ammended in the next issue: "The name of the speaker in the poem by Susan Matthews should have been "Koscuisko instead of "Balkney." The latter is not a doctor in Susan's SW universe, but is a major character." -- this poem has several footnotes explaining references to her works in other zines and such.) (24)
• The Set-Up by Denise Edwards (26)
• Contest Winngers (54)
• A Child's Garden of Corellian Verse by Lisa Adolf (55)
• The Last Visit by Janice Sidwell (56)
• The Sky Warriors by Ellen Blair (62)
• Tears by Anna Mary Hall (71)
• Answers to Star Wars Trivia Quiz from the previous issue (73)
• Widowmaker by Susan Matthews (74)
• Corellian Proverbs by Susan Matthews (85)
• Renegade by Melinda Holley and Donna Perry (86)
• Answers to True-False Quiz (114)
• Sister Ships, other zine blurbs (115)

• 

  from issue #2, Teanna Byerts

• 

  from issue #2, sample text

• 

  from issue #2, Beckey Aulenbach

• 

  from issue #2, Beckey Aulenbach

• 

  from issue #2, illo by Greg Callahan, text by Lisa Adolf

• 

  from issue #2, Pam Kowalski

• 

  from issue #2, Martynn

• 

  from issue #2, Martynn

• 

  from issue #2, Christine McWilliams

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 2

The high points of FF#2 were unquestionably Susan Matthews' WIDOWMAKER and BITTER POLEMIC, both of which I was privileged to read early, and one of which (the poem) I was unwittingly partially responsible for, having written two of the four "get-ems" mentioned in it. The art by Becky Aulenback and Martynn is fine as usual, and I'm particularly partial to the shot of Han in a blanket with his arms around the Widowmaker. Hubba-hubbal I didn't care for NIGHTWATCH. Even considering the fact that it is a vignette and not a full-fledged story, it didn't have a plot, just random dialogue with not much meat to fill it out.

Falcon's Flight second edition has much to live up to. The first edition of the zine received praise from all corners of Star Wars fandom (what there is of it to date), so that the second issue of FF has a high standard to maintain. Editor Ellen Blair has not let the SWFans down, but still falls short of top quality. To begin with Falcon's Flight #2 is much easier to read, and has a better visual appearance overall. The editor learned her initial mistakes in that department very well. The graphics are not inspiring, but are now clean and uncluttered. The artwork in issue number two still leaves some room for improvement. I feel that the best piece of artwork In the publication is a piece by Amy Falkowitz which accompanies the story "The Sky Warriors.". There are other good Illustrations inside by Teanna Byerts and Martynn. The rest of the artwork however shows signs of being too quickly finished to live up to the other artists' potential. Perhaps fewer, but better art would be an answer. The fiction in this issue of FF maintains a heavy interest in using most of the original characters in basically action/adventure scenes. Lengthy character stories are not yet in vogue, although it isn't hard to predict that they will evolve. Bev Clark starts off the issue's fiction with a short character story called "Nightwatch." In this story Luke has been injured in a crash and is hospitalized in serious condition. Han barges Into the hospital, forcing his way past bureaucratic nurses and into Luke's room. Somehow no one bothers him once he's past the nurses and Han is free to see and talk to an unconscious Luke in a very insightful scene. Leia eventually turns up and the ensuing dialog between her and Han is revealing of the delicate friendship and loyalty they all share. The story suffers just a bit from Bev's passion to explain Luke's condition and how all of the machinery around him works. It stumbles a bit through all of the technical detail, but when it returns to the people things flow smoothly Into place and finish up making this a touching story of friendship and love. The Set-Up,' is the second part of a story by Denise Edwards. In the first issue of Falcon's Flight we read that Han is captured by Darth Vader and taken to the planet Carnex where the Empire has established one of its newest bases. As a matter of fact, most of Carnex is pretty base—to put it mildly. Camex is inhabited by two groups. On one side of the planet an alien named Andu-Mah lives. Andu-mah is your basic villain in the tradition of Fu Manchu and Dr. Moreau, and probably has nothing better to do than pull wings off of flies and stick sharp objects in Halloween candy. On the other side of the planet is the Imperial base run by one Dr. X-Lo and his two lackeys: Jah-zan, and Tah-mad, who are twins by cloning. Dr. X-Lo is another basic villain too, but he's in the mad scientist union (probably part of AFSCME) and probably hails from, the same schools as Drs. Frankenstein and No. Darth has a few cameo roles in the Imperial base but his parts consist of little more than walk-ons. So now that you have your scorecard we can keep track of who's who. Back in part one of our story, Han Is hijacked by various underhanded means, and whisked off to Carnex,that veritable Disneyland for S&M freaks. And Dr. X-Lo is all set for Mr. Solo when he arrives. The good doctor (his friends call him "X") has tinkered together a drug with his Gilbert Chemistry set which will allow Han to be brainwashed to the point where his gray matter is little more than a cerebral Biz Bag. X-Lo impresses upon Han the idea that Luke, Chewie and Leia are really not his friends, and eventually instills in him a killing hatred for his buddies... [The bad guy] sends Luke and Chewie over the the other side of the planet to fetch back Han. They are coerced into doing this because Leia is being held hostage and will be killed if they don't cooperate, but such is the lot of your everyday princess: always a hostage and never the terrorist. *Sigh* Andu-Mah wants Han for his mind (that's what they all say). Andu-Mah's brother has been turned into a brain-burn case through some sort of accident. But he doesn't want just any ole brain from the Sears catalog...oh no, he want's Solo's brain and has been waiting to get it for years. (Those of you who want the body when he's done will have to take a number. The line forms to the right.) ... To describe the rest of the plot would probably give away all of the suspense I suppose, but it isn't too hard to guess at. In general, "The Set-Up" reads like an episode outline for a Flash Gordon series. If only it had been written as a tongue-in-cheek satire it would have been hilarious. Instead when it is trying hardest to be serious it isn't. Given the stereotype characters and the comic book action "The Set-Up" is written in a much heavier tone than it needs. At points the story has holes big enough to drop the national debt through. A couple thoughtful questions in the right spots and a good rewrite or two might have made a world of difference for this story.... "The Last Visit." Basically, Darth goes sightseeing on beautiful Tatooine (I'll bet they don't even have post cards) to visit 0bi-Wan's home. Somewhere along the line I read another story in which it was revealed that Darth knew all these many years that Obi-Wan was on Tatooine, but felt he was no threat there and allowed him to stay. Evidently, the same premise must hold true in Janice's story since Vader knows exactly where to find Ben's home but does not bother to explain why Darth never sought him out to destroy him earlier, Anyhoo, former-master and former-pupil have a nice little chat, and pass the teacakes please... "Tears," is the next little vignette, by Anna Mary Hall, whose writing talents I have come to appreciate greatly. I regretted seeing only a vignette from Hall. What much can I say about a vignette except that this one is between Luke and Leia, a nice, touching little piece and is...Immediately followed by a short story by Susan Matthews. "Hotdog!" says I after reading "Widowmaker," Susan has found a great title. "Widowmaker" is about a female Imperial bounty hunter who always gets her man/woman/ET/whatever. That is also the name of the character, who is the best Manhunter in the Empire. She catches 'em, and brings 'em in, and then the Imperial interrogators eventually torture and kill those that the Widowmaker handed over. But the Widowmaker has been assigned to bring in Han Solo and things don't turn out so well. She is caught between several problems at once that change her life in a few days regardless of all her plans. This should go over well with any of the "Hanfans" in the reading audience. The accompanying artwork by Martynn is a crowning touch. "Sky Warriors," by the editor, is a serial story. As it begins I was almost forced to abandon the whole story at the bottom of the eleventh paragraph where Luke is in a hospital on the planet Este.... my first impression upon seeing that one sentence was—Ohmygod, Ellen has written a get-em story. This is probably a defense mechanism I picked up reading get-ems in Trek fiction, so you may not react the same way. The action within the story itself—or at least in this part of it—has no gore, so we're all safe so far. The tale beqins when Luke, Han and Chewie are called upon by Princess Leia to help the government of the planet Este. Vader has been doing what bad guys will do on nice plan ets and has prompted a semi-intelligent species of avians to attack the people of Este. The avians, called Skreels, have effectively shut down the planet. In order to protect the good people of Este they need something called a diacube. The diacube is the gimmick excuse needed to send our heroes off on their adventurous ways because only they can accomplish what no one else on the planet has been able to do. The author tackles the seeming implausibility of this situation but the set-up of circumstances that compels the characters to action is still pretty thinly veiled. The action that follows to the end of this part of the serial is mostly action-adventure, with few major conflicts or twists In plot to speak of here. The final story is called "Renegade" by Belinda Holley and Donna Perry. Luke and Han head off for a planet called Divad. Their mission is to pick up the plans for a new interrogation device developed by the Empire. While our heroes pick up the goods the Princess manages to walk into an ambush on another planet. And golly, gee, there's a guy there who just happens to have a lightsabre with him, who rushes to the aid of the good lady. Despite a series of remarkable coincidences. Princess Leia fails to smell anything fishy about her noble defender. Maybe she just can't resist a man with a light sabre. This good Samaritan—named Geir— turns out to be an Imperial fink, who manages to lead Han into the hands of his superiors. It's then left up to Luke and Chewie to set things straight. In general the story Is just a bit too obvious to maintain the suspense ot needs, although suspense stories are one of the hardest types of fiction to contend with. I was a bit put off by the way Leia was portrayed as a Grade-A chump in "Renegade." Not even a novice to mystery and suspense stories could be expected to be fooled by the things Leia is apparently misled by. On the plus side however the comic relief the authors add with 3-PO's dialog is priceless. A little tighter plotting, and a subtler touch with the clues dropped would have made this story much harder hitting than it was. In summary, most of Falcon's Flight's improvements have been mechanical: graphics, visuals, legibility. The fiction inside has remained on about the same level as with the last issue. I would hope to see improvements with the next issue especially with more forceful editorial control. Some of the stories inside are in dire need of revision...revisions that should be pretty obvious even to a new editor. Rewrites delay publication schedules of course, but are always worth the wait in terms of the added quality that comes from the reworked stories. I'll be looking for a more aggressive editorial policy in future issues of Falcon's Flight. That's what this zine needs to be a top notch SW fanzine.

I didn't much care for the conclusion of THE SET UP. I thought the introduction of that new character Andu-mah was wrong, perhaps just an easy way to get out of writing a good end to the story. I felt that she really should have pursued the

original plot lines, that of Vader shaping Han into an assassin. Vader seemed to have very little to do in the second part. I really like WIDOWMAKER. I loved Thom, found her entirely believable as well as the situation she was caught up in. I also found her falling for Han believable too. And I loved her postscript, sort of "other fish in the sea" addendum. Re minds me that while Solo's charms are considerable, he's not the only one around with appeal. Too bad we never got the chance to meet up with Andrej.

The first part of THE SKY WARRIORS was good. I remember thinking distinct ly when I finished reading it, "Hey, wait a minute, this isn't fair. I want to read more." TEARS was all right. A CHILD'S GARDEN OF CORELLIAN VERSE was cute and sort of reminded me of Heinlein's "The Notebooks of Lazarus Long. " THE LAST VISIT was very intriguing. NIGHTWATCH was good and I have a lot of admiration for Bev Clark. It seems she can write as well as she can edit, which is very damn good. I'd like to see more than just a vignette from her, though. But I realize that editing SKYWALKER doesn't give her a lot of time to write herself.

RENEGADE was very good. The characters were true to form, especially the new ones, as you promised in your editorial. I would, however, like to see the theme explored a little more. It is very believable that there would be at least a few agents running around in the Rebel Alliance. But it would be more believable

to me to find somebody inside the Alliance already, someone well trusted, that happens to be an agent. I found Geir's entry into Leia's trust just a little too easy.

. . . the best narrative piece in the zine has to be a tie between WIDOWMAKER and NIGHTWATCH. NIGHTWATCH is a beautiful character study, a neat little science fiction sketch, and a very logiced extension of all the beloved SW principles and the action of the film as well as some of the continuing spin-off in SKYWALKER. The science fiction elements are inserted smoothly into the fabric of the scene--the cloning equipment, the allusion to Luke's spaceship crash and the nervous alien nurse (I gleefully expected Han to exclaim "Stuff it, bug!" any second). Finally, the whole idea of Luke's crash to explain the change in his facial features post-Death Star is a clever and worthy idea. Teauina's dark and somber illos were a suitably shadow ed accompaniment. I'm glad she resisted any urge to draw Luke and rather chose to show the effect of his injury in the expressions of Han and Leia.

Susan Matthews' POEM struck my fancy immediately. This little polemic hit a responsive chord within me at once because, as an artist, I have been responsible for illustrating at least two of the Corellian's injuries mentioned by the irate medic (Kelly Hill's "Wandering Star" and Jackie Paciello's "Resurgence"). In addition, I must have a file of half a dozen other stories where Han is used and abused in an uncomfortable meinner. The little black cloud of misfortune that used to hover over Mr. Spock has apparently found a new victim.

SET UP, Part Two was a slight improvement of SET UP, Part One if only because of less inconsistencies, a very few surprises and a general improvement in Aulenbach's likenesses in the illos. The only things that bothered me tremendously was the bit about Andu-mah wanting Solo's brain (shades of a certain ST better left unnamed) and those vicious screaming-meemies the tee-gahs. All nit-picking aside the action was well-paced, and the conclusion satisfactory. I found the scene where Leia frustrated Andu-mah*s Great Brain Robbery (sorry, I love bad puns as much as Jennet ap Bhiannon) particularly well done. Hope Ms. Edwards plans more liter ary efforts as she seems to have potential.

SKY WARRIORS is off to a rousing start. It did, however, suffer from acute brevity. What you offered the reader in #2 is more of a teaser than a good solid in road into a several-part story. It does seem peculiarly apt that a set of characters so very much at home in artificial environments of spaceships and the sterile monotony of Tatooine's desert should be uncomfortable and unnerved by the unleashed unpredictable vaguaries of nature in and around mountainous terrain.

TEARS, I fear, was the only contribution of FF#2 that really left me cold. Neither the Luke or the Leia seemed quite right--their perspective as shaky and simplistic as the illo of them. Leia is stronger than portrayed here, in my opinion, and Luke a lot less inhibited and certainly not so presumptuous as to claim to be a Jedi.

RENEGADE is a well-wrought tale with some very excellent parts to it. Lyl, and her relationship with Han as well as her madam-with-a-heart-of-gold attitude

towards Luke and Chewie, is one of the story's delightful aspects, Rhian too, with her honor to the death, also came off well. Too bad the baddies weren't quite as impressive, except for Geir, who is an intriguingly multifaceted character. I would have liked to hear exactly what Geir's motivation was for going with the Imperials, given approximately the same background (a Jedi father) as Luke--he doesn't seem greedy of power (or Force) hungry. . .Gov. Karlin looks decidedly Klingon in the first illo (maybe that's where he got the idea of the mind-sifter). Do I hear the hint of a sequel in Geir's threat at the end (I hope)?

THE SET UP could have been a very good story. I felt the possibilities it presented just weren't explored enough. For instance, rather than Luke facing Han and talking him out of his decision to kill, what if Luke had been the one caught in the trap when Han finds him in his murderous frenzy? . . . the one important angle to tally left out was what Luke felt about Leia or the possibility of Han's and Leia's mutual affection. The mind probe scenes were the best written by far and these should perhaps have been the solo (pun intended) focus of the story.

TEARS--a beautiful showcase for Luke's character, but it points out how Leia's character, as taken from the film, is rather ill-developed. It's just like her, too, to say "Thank you, Luke, I'm going to sleep now. " Poor kid never did get must of a response from her.

RENEGADE was a very readable story with an interesting plot. The characterizations were good for the most part, especially Leia. But Luke is just not that weak. "What happened to Luke's mad passion for Leia? Here Geir is flattering the Princess to death and all Luke can think of is a lightsabre? In this story Luke is always asking questions about what to do--but as I recall, in SW, Luke was the leader, the mastermind. Han was the one asking what to do next. "Okay, kid, what's your plan? " Han never came up with the plans. Besides Luke, he followed Obi-wan and Leia.

THE SKY WARRIORS was the best by far. I love the planet, the mission, the aliens, and the characterizations are all right on. The only thing I didn't like was the wait for the next parts!!! Talk about cliff-hangers!!!

NIGHTWATCH—Han and Leia being so flippant to each other over Luke's injured body bothered me. Besides, a story concerning the results of a true life accident seems rather distasteful. Mark Hamill's face has changed hardly at all.

I love the CHILD'S GARDEN OF CORELLIAN VERSE and the CORELLIAN PROVERBS.

NIGHTWATCH was superb. Bev got the characters right, from Han's sudden loss of bravado at Luke's door to Leia's carefully worded 'invitation' to join the Re bellion. It strikes me that Leia is a difficult person to characterize. She often is portrayed as an "Oooh, Luke" type or a bitch without any redeeming graces. Her promise not to snitch on Han unless provoked, and her comment about striking an heroic pose with a saber were my favorite bits out of the story.

THE SET UP caused me great anguish. In the book Stand on Zanzibar charac ter Chad Mulligan said "Coincidence: You weren't paying attention to the other half of what was going on. " The problem with THE SET UP is that Denise seldom tells us the other half of what happened, leaving enough coincidences to drive her readers out of their collective skulls. Now, the story is not entirely bad. Denise's descrip tion of Han's breaking were very good, with Han fighting the drug to the last. And there's always plenty of action.

THE LAST VISIT--I can't imagine Kenobi's spirit breaJdng £Lfter all those years, but oh! what a lovely O. Henry ending! A funzie. I'm looking forward to Part Two of SKY WARRIORS—nice suspense.

RENEGADE—good news and bad news. The good news was Han, Luke, the droids, Chewbacca, Bethlyl, Rhian, cind Lord Vader, who was appropriately menacing, though the choking of Karlen seemed superfluous. The bad news was Leia and Geir. Leia came off as an "Oooh, Luke" who wasn't very discerning about others' feelings --an odd combination. . . .her reaction to Geir doesn't scan. Why pick up a total stranger and reveal all your plans to him, even if he did get involved in your brouhaha? . . . someone who has been a member of the Senate, where the felgercarb flies thick and fast, would most likely be immune to the same from Geir. I was also quite fond of the illo of Geir being told off by Han. Geir has a perfect "little old me? " look.

WIDOWMAKER--awright! This story had me purring for a week after reading it. If the line forms to the right, I want to be number two. Martynn's illos of Han have a tendency to reduce me to a slobbering hunk of protoplasm.

My favorite in this issue was definitely THE LAST VISIT. It's about time somebody showed that Vader has a legitimate point of view, and what he is doing what he does because he think it is right. I found it a very emotional story, particularly the last page, and I like the way Kenobi and Vader were able to discuss their differences like adults. I'm also glad she showed him uninjured, as I'm sure neither he nor Kenobi would be stupid enough to be dueling on the edge of a volcano in the first place. In the second, if they were that dumb, I'm sure Imperial medical technology would be able to repair the damage.

POEM was hilarious. . . and true. Poor Han does get beaten up and otherwise injured quite a bit.

WIDOWMAKER was interesting, particularly in its hints at the background social structure. Right. . .where were the women fighter pilots? Or technicians? Miscellaneous comments. . .could Geir be called a renegade for choosing to serve the Empire, the government?

THE SKY WARRIORS--well, the prelude kind of flattens the suspense by revealing too much too soon, but otherwise very good.

THE SET UP, Part Two was a satisfying conclusion though I wish Jah-zan's motivations had been brought out earlier. TEARS and NIGHTWATCH were both very good vignettes.

NIGHTWATCH--I like interesting beginnings to stories, beginnings that make the rscider ask, '"What's going on here?" She uses that technique well in NIGHTWATCH. I also liked her sparing but deft use of coined words for common devices, such as "meditors" for medical monitors (I presume). I was unsure whether Leia's being in the room with Luke while Han is going on iabout her was supposed to be a surprise to the reader or not. It wasn't. It works okay as not a surprise though. It was interesting to know she was quietly there while Han stuck his foot in his mouth.

I laughed all the way through Susan Matthews' POEM. I especially loved the footnotes! and the McCoy pun! Could we have a story about Dr. Balkney's "Captain"? She sounds like an interesting sort of person. (See "Excerpts from a Corellian Diary" beginning this ish. --ed.)

I found THE SET UP, Part Two wholly implausible. How can the lasers still be operational when the droids aren't? There's lots of "horror"in this story. . . .I'd like to be horrified by what's going on, not by the writing. Also, it seemed to me that Han recovered too quickly. There's also a lot of "expository lump" material, again telling instead of showing. On the whole, too many loose ends.

LAST VISIT—I was always sure that Darth was not horribly disfigured. It's good to see someone agrees with me. It seemed to me that he only wants to present the illusion of horror. I think Leia may have seen him without his mask. She certainly shows no fear or horror of him when they meet on the Death Star, and Vader alludes to a previous meeting: "You weren't on any mercy mission, this time." I also agree that Obi-wan still exists, in the flesh. I still believe he can "re-materialize" if he needs to.

I enjoyed SKY WARRIORS, but it had a few of those annoying "stops" where I had to stop and lose track of the story for a minute. Leia is no longer an imperial senator (no Imperial Senate, no planet to be senator from) and I assume she has lost ad.1 her wealth in the destruction of Alderann. How can she "pick up the tab" for a vacation? I'm sure the rebel alliance isn't rolling in money for that sort of trip. (No, but she could, like many cautious and realistic rulers, have money or some sort of capital stashed elsewhere, especially if she knows that her clandes tine activities might net her considerable misfortune. -- author) Also, she really announces her presence on the radio. Vader is surely listening. Couldn't she have been more circumspect?

I liked the nice touch in TEARS about Luke and the water. No one has developed this part of his personcility before. It rang very true.

WIDOWMAKER was very disturbing to me. Susan's great writing seemed somehow badly wasted on a story I couldn't get into. . . .my biggest problem in reading (it) was, I just couldn't justify her (Thom's) actions. I didn't care that she was a victim of injustice and inequality. I didn't care that she was just "doing her hitch." I really felt that what she was doing was wrong, and her indifference to any moral code turned me off. If she had the talent to become a Manhunter, she could surely have fought back a little harder when denied opportunities. I don't buy the excuse of "just doing our job and follow ing orders."

In "The Last Flight of the MF", Maggie Nowakowska has written about a character named Chest Geyre. RENEGADE has a character neuned Geir Loan-gest. Is this another example of fannish coincidence, like yours with Amy Falkowitz about the skreels?

Sure sounds like I have a lot of complaints. But think of it this way. . .who would take all this time to write if they didn't enjoy what was written. All the writers you've published show such promise. Please take all my comments as loving criticism.

The second half of THE SET UP seemed much choppier than the first half, and too much of the background seemed hazy. I had trouble figuring out who the characters were, what their relationships were, and just what part they played in the story. Also, I think Han kicked the conditioning just a little too easily. These were exerpts conditioning him, and he was almost wholly under their control by the time he into Luke again; I'd think it would have taken considerably longer to break the conditioning, even if it was sabotaged in the last few sessions. I enjoyed Susan's story, of course.

THE LAST VISIT bothered me—I couldn't figure out exactly what the purpose of the story was or what the author's opinion of Vader was. Is he going to reform? Is he really not evil after all? Somehow I find the latter hard to believe, or that Obi-wan would be quite so sympathetic--or for that matter that Vader would be so respectful toward Obi-wan. Very ambiguous tale.

The art is uniformly good throughout the zine. Becky Aulenback [sic] just seems to get better and better from illo assignment to illo assignment. Some of her finest work to date is within the pages of FF#2. Martynn's work an always is very polished and professional. Christine McWilliams illos tended to waver in and out of correct proportion, but were generajjy decently done. Teanna's illos were nice, but I caught myself wishing their focus were elsewhere than on Han. Amy Cheatham's illos didn't reflect her illness when doing them. I'd love to see more of her work (the pieces done while in the bloom of health must be impressive!) Pam Kowalski's illos were nicely done, although Darth tended to get lost in the dark background of the first illo, and something about the perspective of Obi-wan's dwelling bothered me. Amy Falkowitz's "warriors" are excellent. Your own cover was impressive. My particular favorite, however, was not even SW related--Callahan's various illos were superb. I'm very fond of the illo accompanying those horrendous nursery rhymes. That hatchling is so cute!

POEM left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Susan can rhyme with the best of them and she's got a good sense of rhythm but. . . the tone of POEM is disturbing-- I get the impression that Ms. Matthews is sniping at those stories she footnoted. Yet, despite her obvious disdain of the Get-Han-syndrome, as is evidenced later on in WIDOWMAKER she's not above it herself. Granted, she is taking the poem's tone from her "doctor" character, but he is such a non-entity in the poem that it no longer appears to the reader that anyone other than a writer is speaking.

THE SET UP, Part Two was written much better than Part One. The action flowed more smoothly, the characters were generally true, and it did not lack for action. I'd definitely like to read more of Denise's work.

THE LAST VISIT is well done, but I did get the impression that somewhere along the line, Janice confused Darth with Obi-wan. I love the idea of Obi-wan "returning" to Tatooine--but I felt cheated when he did so just to be "broken" by Darth. I can't see Darth acknowledging any peace but one of his own making on his own unholy terms.

TEARS was a nice short piece--it's nice seeing emotion attributed to Leia, for a change. WIDOWMAKER had a fascinating idea behind it--lady bounty hunter and all. But the story never quite fulfilled its promise. Han ceime across as the "all wise, strong silent type" that needed only to look at the heroine to melt her heart, and make her forever his. Ham is not the silent type, he tends to be vociferous, and he's not known for being totally wise (wise mouthed, maybe). Using the first person narrative approach seemed to have limited the action and viewpoint range too greatly.

SKY WARRIORS was a fascinating piece! The tension was built up nicely, and Lord, what a place to leave the action.

RENEGADE was a nice mixture of action adventure. Holley and Perry have done very well in creating some nice, believable characters that fit into the storyline extremely well. I'm particularly fond of the healing scene near the end. It's nice to see someone showcasitlg Luke's talents, as Han's seem to have been receiving more attention in fanfic as of late. I am looking forward to reading more material from this duo, they have a nice feel for the characters and situations.

My favorite story in this issue was WIDOWMAKER. Just loved it! Just can't get enough of her stories. And those illos by Martynn. . . absolutely gorgeous!

SKY WARRIORS — a literal cliff-hanger, except that Han and Luke went over the edge.

Bev's NIGHTWATCH was delightful. All the characters were true to form, Han, Leia, Luke. . . oh, poor Luke. I'd never really noticed any difference in his face between SW shots and recent appearance. . . but I guess I'll just have to look real carefully when the sequel appears.

RENEGADE was good, adthough I wish there could have been a little more on Rhian and her friendship with Leia. It seemed to all go by just a little too fast. If Obi-wan could just "disappear" as he did when Vader slashed his sabre through him, then the possibility of Vader "reconstructing" his face as he did in THE LAST VISIT is plausible. After adl, Vader has to know something more thain being men acing to get where he is today.

Those little cartoon frogs were cute!

NIGHTWATCH. Very fine. I'm a sucker for "mood" stories and atmospheric technicals. . . Bev really got the feel of a futuristic infirmary, and I liked the beginning scene with the nurses — typical bureaucracy! I was intrigued by the thought of Wedge as possible Jedi timber, and of course the interaction between Han and Leia was fun. . . particularly the ending.

"A Bitter Polemic" (POEM)--well, I'm a Susan Matthews fan from 'way back. Reminds me of a certain Enterprise doctor by the name of McCoy.

THE LAST VISIT was interesting. . .to encounter him (Kenobi) alive--reatlly alive--was a charge; and Janice's Vader is intriguing and no less an enigma for being portrayed so sympathetically.

THE SKY WARRIORS grabbed me by the throat almost immediately; "Han Solo and Leia Organa lay dying"! Can't wait to see how they got into such a condition . . . and how Luke and Chewie escaped joining them. I enjoyed Han's complaining right at the beginning, too--perfectly drawn.

TEARS--another fine mood story, with one particularly telling line: "A planet was too big; you couldn't weep for a planet."

WIDOWMAKER—well, what can I say. . .other than that it's in the best Matthews tradition? The colloquial first-person style was different from most SW fanfic I've read, therefore interesting, as was the character herself.

I enjoyed RENEGADE --another excellent portrait of Han, along with an entirely possible scenario. . . the idea of a Jedi knight's son going bad, the way Vader did. I only wish we had learned why.

The only piece I couldn't really get into was THE SET UP, It started out with a lot of promise in FF#1, but the ending in this issue seemed somehow contrived and awkward.

NIGHTWATCH is an absolutely beautiful little story--one of the kind I read and think "Gods, I wish I'd written that! Susan Matthews' combination of tough-tender humor (POEM and WIDOWMAKER) is another quality I envy. What is it about Solo that attracts all these females? I'll never know--I'm in the other two-fifths of the pack.

THE LAST VISIT--sorry, I just don't buy it. Primarily, I don't like stories where the villain turns out to have been simply misunderstood--or misunderstanding. I believe that there's more to real evil that, that. And I believe is really evil.

SKY WARRIORS—oh, these frazzling to-be-continued cliffhabgers!

Conclusion of of THE SET UP went off on too many tangents—vaguely disappointing.

TEARS --alight, delicate, well-written vignette, as promised.

The Holley/Perry RENEGADE--reads more like two episodes spliced together--middling good adventure, well done of its kind.

I'm enjoying your publication greatly so far. My only complaint would be that some of the stories (particularly THE SET UP) have a lot of pointless violence. Violence is certainly a good-sized part of the SW universe, but it should serve a purpose in the story and make a point of some kind

I agree with those people who complained about Darth being sadistic in SET UP #1. We never saw him that way in the movie; he was a lot more subtle. Darth may be a villain, but he's a classy villain!

NIGHTWATCH--isn't it interesting how a circumstance like Mark Hamill's nose being out of joint will inspire creativity! Especially liked the conversation be tween Leia and Han. Seemed right in character.

Bravo to Susan Matthews' POEM! I hope it stems the tide of "get-Han's" that are already becoming too much for me.

Janice Sidwell's vignette left me with a strange feeling of. . .ambiguity? Obi-wan the bad guy and Darth the wronged one? What a reverse twist!

Why did you have to end SKY WARRIORS there? I just liked the whole idea of the trek through the caverns. It's something different.

TEARS was a quietly moving vignette; it was good to see more of Anna Mary's work.

WIDOWMAKER was good. I hope people don't start yelling "Mary Sue" at this one, since by my standards at least it isn't.

RENEGADE was a good story. I enjoyed the part where Luke rescued Han, then almost blew it by putting the saber away too soon. He acted like a developing Jedi, but not invincible and still making Luke-type mistakes. I thought Leia was a tad too heartless and vindictive toward Han in the beginning of the story. And we're never shown why Geir, a Jedi's son, has joined the Empire.

My favorite piece was POEM. I laughed so hard while reading it I nearly choked!

I also enjoyed WIDOWMAKER. It was interesting, well-written and I am certainly one to always cheer a strong, independent female character. . . (but) it would have helped if there had been some mention of past emotional vulnerability to establish a kind of soft spot to help push her along. As she was, she seemed too tough and determined to fulfill her agreement of three years service to fall so thoroughly for Han. Nevertheless, I did enjoy the story and was quite impressed with Matthews' Solo. He was much more intelligent, mature, and self-disciplined in her story than he is usually depicted in others, even though he has lost none of his "macho" or proud arrogance.

RENEGADE--Geir was interesting. . . sort of nags at the back of your mind even after you finish the story.

THE SET UP was a nice piece of suspense writing, but I couldn't help feeling a little up in the air, since I hadn't read the first part.

The artwork (especiedly Martynn's) and smaller pieces of poems and proverbs was quite good and enjoyable. I particularly liked the "milk of Corellian kindness" numher.

Issue 3

front cover of issue #3

Falcon's Flight 3 was published in July 1979 and has 140 pages. It is illustrated by Tracy Duncan, Amy Falkowitz, Martynn, Beckey Aulenbach, Ellen Blair. Teanna Byerts is listed in the table of contents, but there is a note by the editor that this artwork does not appear.

This issue's editorial mentions some foreshadowing of the Open Letters to Star Wars Zine Publishers (1981).

From the editorial, regarding content:

Susan Matthews disclaims authorship of "Poem"; in fact, when I got it in the mail, added to her cover letter was this odd, scrawled note that said: "Mind you print this and print it like I said it. Y'see, I've got this wookie friend. . . " Well, I've printed it and not a word has been changed. If the reference to "Metamorpheus" [sic] baffles you, you'd best order a copy of Mos Eisley Tribune

Nikki White's disclaimer is self-explanatory and "A Plague on Both Your Causes" is pure delight. Nikki is a competent and an intelligent writer; if some of her words and phrases seem a little odd, please to remember that she's Australian. FF is more than happy to have the added spice (pun intended) of talent from down under.

"I Know What I'm Doing" by Marie Gleason postulates that Han did know what he was doing. Marie's Corellian has the thoughtful subtly and wry humor of a man whose shrewd intelligence makes him more^ rather than less, caring.

My two feature stories, "A Teachable Art" and "Brothers All, " weren't written as companion pieces although they mesh admirably and the authors gave me leave to make mention of that fact. They are excellent works by beginning writers who give every indication of am enormous amount of talent and competence, both singly and in tandem. Any remarks of mine concerning the tales would merely be redundant; they speak clearly and eloquently for themselves.

"Excerpts from a Corelliain Diary" is my title for a bulk of narrative work be ginning its run here. Susan Matthews' rare talent and unique style provide a delightful departure from the usual SW writing. "Excerpts" isn't a serial in the strictest sense, but rather a chain of events strung together by several characters who appear and reappear throughout each segment. I count myself fortunate to have enough Matthews' material to carry FF through #6 at least.

Cary Anne Bucar is another non-American author who is appearing in FF for the first time. "And After, What Then? " makes it clear once more that a SW story

needn't be all blood and thunder to be entertaining. The almost-confrontation between Luke and Vader is subtle enough to chill the blood and start the adrenaline flowing all at the same time. It raises questions instead of providing answers, which takes both talent and insight. In any event, I am pleased to offer Cary's work for your enjoyment.

From the editorial, regarding cost:

If you read the ad for #3 in #2, you may notice, now that you have a copy of #3 in your hands, that the page count ran way over my estimation. This means that the cost of the zine will cover about 3/4 of the expense of printing it. The balance comes out of my pocket. I mention this because several people commented (in a nice way) that the price was a bit steep for a zine that was speed-print instead of offset. Unfortunately, I don't have access to a printer who does such a bulk of business that he can afford lower prices. And he prints FF on credit as it is, letting me pay him as my orders come in. All in all, you're getting the best work for the lowest price I can manage. I know that none of us are anywhere near being rich, so I felt that some sort of explanation was due you.

From the editorial, regarding the attention of George Lucas and fanworks:

I might also mention the fact that Black Falcon, Ltd., a subsidiary company of Lucasfilm, ordered four copies of FF#2 and has a sort of unspoken request for future issues as they appear. I understand that one of those copies is for Mr. Lucas' personal file. I think I speak for all my contributors when I say that we are pleased with and honored by his interest. After all, it's a bit like having God take personal notice of one's flower garden. From all of us, Mr. Lucas, thank you.

• From the flight bay, editorial (3)
• Transmissions, letters of comment (5)
• Crewmembers, short contributor bios (12)
• Prelude to a Ceremony by Tracy Duncan (14)
• Meet Chewbacca, article by Christine Jeffords (18)
• The Sky Warriors, Part 2 by Ellen Blair (22)
• Poem by Susan Matthews (34)
• A Plague on Both Your Causes by Nikki White ("Author's note: This is a humorous look at a possible SW sequel, inspired by the sort of thing Marvel Comics were trying to do with their Seven Samarai rip-off in their SW comic. This is, as it were, the SW version of Yojimbo, another Japanese samurai film directed by Akira Kurosawa, and a black comedy in its own right. Thus the characters' actions and situations keep close to those in Yojimbo and reflect that film's spirit." (36)
• Resurrection, poem by C.A. Bucar (48)
• "I Know What I'm Doing" by Marie Gleason (49)
• Han Solo at Stars' End, a review by Christine Jeffords (51)
• Darth Vader, poem by Alma Hedrick (54)
• Second Saga, An Introduction (55)
• A Teachable Art by Ebba Anderson (57)
• Brothers All by Hope Inglewright (93)
• Excerpts from a Corellian Diary by Susan Matthews (120)
• And After, What Then? by C.A. Buare (128)
• And After, What Then? by [[C.A. Bu
• Sister Ships, blurbs for other zines (137)

• 

  from issue #3, Tracy Duncan

• 

  from issue #3, Ellen Blair

• 

  from issue #3, Amy Falkowitz

• 

  from issue #3, sample text

• 

  from issue #3, Martynn

• 

  from issue #3, Beckey Aulenbach

• 

  from issue #3, Ellen Blair

• 

  from issue #3, Ellen Blair

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 3

[A Teachable Art and Brothers All]: Another Jedi in hiding who reaches the Alliance through Han is Nahma Vencino of (in chronological order) Ebba Anderson's "A Teachable Art" and Hope Ingle-wright's "Brothers All," both in FF #3. She is a healer rather than a warrior, and whether or not this is because of her sex, she turns out to be stereo typically weak physically. In the first story she knocks herself out using the Force to help Han, and in the second she collapses from exhaustion because she worked all night in the lab! Even people without the Force to sustain them can do lab work all night without collapsing—can this woman actually have gone through Jedi training of any kind? And her age is no excuse. She' s certainly no older than Ben.

[zine, with a concentration on the art]: Bravo for trying your own hand at the art of illustrating! Your first efforts in FF#3 were really quite nice. Your cover, as its predecessors, was excellent with nice composition and a fine suggestion of the surge of power as the Falcon arcs into deep space. I'd like to see you do one of said ship in hyperspace. Overall, FFI3 not only attained, it surpassed its previous standards, continuing with clear repro and eminently readable layout. The contents were another fine mix of prose, poetry and illos. I appreciated the encouraging words on my contributions from your readers. That makes all the work worthwhile if the fen enjoy it and take the time to say so. PRELUDE TO A CEREMONY, I'm afraid, struck me as just a bit juvenile for our heroes of the Death Star Battle. The basic idea is well-meaning but the whole execution seems a bit superficial and childish from the grammatical faux pas ("Luke lighted up"... instead of "lit up"), the off-base characterization (Luke dancing? Cookies at a rebel toast?? Chewie running around intimidating people at a victory celebration?) and the events that somehow don't quite jive with the film -- after so many rebel deaths In the "afternoon's" battle, a ceremony would certainly be the first consideration, not a wing-ding. And Han did change clothes for the awards ceremony. He probably has all sorts of practical or indecent attire stashed aboard the Falcon. The illo was by far the better of Duncan's offerings -- nice faces and background, just needs a little help on anatomy (hands). MEET CHEWBACCA was a thoroughly agreeable piece. Christine painted her wookiee portrait well and added some delightful insights (Chewie's "instinct for people", his "child and adult" aspects). Applause for SKY WARRIORS! You didn't even have to keep me hooked with a cliff-hanger ending this time because I'm completely fascinated and hopelessly caught up in the puzzle of Eawah and Chewie. Oh, I'm duly concerned about Luke and Lela dropping in their tracks but the strange effect the emet has on Han and the reaction of the wookiee are masterstrokes. Amy's SW illos are apt, expeclally Eawah and the image of Leia's unbound hair hanging about Han as he carries her. I wish she'd do Han's face, though! Anyway, now I'm frustrated as a wet wookiee waiting for the third installment. Susan Matthews, mistress of the dramatic monologue, expert at vivid portraiture and revealing glimpses into the inner workings of our SW heroes minds, once again allows Han to put himself into the spotlight with POEM. I not only thoroughly enjoyed the speaker's impassioned soliloquy, I was moved to the point of responding in kind. (In this issue of FF (!)-- ed.) Christine's second contribution again met with my total agreement. I've read Han Solo at Stars' End and found it to be well-written sf and completely in character, true-to-Lucas SW, too. Of course the fact that I'm an incurable Hanatic didn't hurt my opinion either. Good job, Christine! Alma Hedrick's chilling DARTH VADER rings like a Poe poem. She captures the formalized, Gothic, almost classic evil, knowingly treacherous, of Vader in the declamatory, almost chant-like quality of her verse. I really liked this piece! TEACHABLE ART was a 50/50 proposition for me. It was a fairly adept piece of "relationship" writing which deserves credit. I'm not really sure even Nahma could elicit a blush from Solo—he always struck me as being immodest in extremis. What bothered me was (1) lack of action for a basically action-oriented set of characters and (2) the "cutesy" scenes with Luke and Leia (i.e. cleaning up the Falcon -- I don't think Luke would touch the bird without Han's permission). Becky Aulenbach enhanced the story considerably. Her talents have improved with each ish to the point where her illos are beginning to be true illustrations of the story with excellent likenesses, a good bold style and good background composition. Her Han is particularly noteworthy. BROTHERS ALL dabbled further in the Force and relationships but once again our heroes (this time Luke) are being involved in fairly mundane, home-on-the-base crises. I prefer them to take their lumps under more exciting circumstances (like tiffing with Sith and such). However, once again, for the type of atory it is, Hope handles the subject well. Some little scenes were particularly good—Han revving up to devastate his erstwhile date. Sherry; the rescue of Luke; Luke's amusing imitation of Solo's modesty ("I'm not such a bad guy either.") And we get Han's clothes off again—three cheers! Your actual illos for BROTHERS show promise, though. If you get your body proportions and hands up to the good standard of your faces, fandom is in for another one of those double-threat author/artists! My favorite bit of prose is unquestionably Susan Matthews EXCERPTS FROM A CORELIAN DIARY. I'm a recent and big fan of Sue's Captain ap Rhiannon, having done an illo for the story where she and Han meet in "The Devil and Deep Space" (Galactic Flight 2 forthcoming). Susan's masterful, lyric narrative and excellent dialogue are half the fun of this gem that takes that one line about "If money is all that you love..,." Susan really paints an irresistable and often touching picture of Han. His "experiment" with the Princess curled a few of her toes, too. And the scene with ap Rhiannon was choreographed with breathless intensity and lyricism from Han's whispered "Domina" to Jennet's graceful unbinding of her hair and the palmer's kiss. It's a timeless love story enhanced by the sf and SW trimmings. The only thing missing was Teanna's touch.

[zine]: It's a shame Teanna's stuff didn't make it into the ish. I look forward to her contributions. PRELUDE TO A CEREMONY was pretty good, and a valid idea of what happened between times in the film. I can't comment on Part Two of SKY WARRIORS since I haven't read Part One yet. Susan Matthews' POEM is hysterical. I don't buy the fact that Han would be that concerned about his privacy, dignity and whatnot—if we didn't start the stories, he's just nicely conceited enough to do it himself. As a writer of "get-ems", however, I can see his point on the writing of those. Gee, you'd think we didn't like him! RESURRECTION and DARTH VADER are fine, though I slightly disagree with the idea that Vader is an entirely evil as portrayed in the poem. He met Ben one to one with no tricks, and if he tortured Leia she came out of it without a hair rumpled. A PLAGUE ON BOTH YOUR CAUSES is a great concept, though I basically disagree with a few things that got thrown in. However, I assume from the little intro that we weren't supposed to take it terribly seriously. A TEACHABLE ART is very well done, but I have a couple objections. First, why does everyone and his mother have to be Jedi now? Nahma is, and I can see the reasoning, but it seems tame that either Darth did a slipshod job of getting rid of the Jedi, or they're all a bunch of cowards in hiding. And I also slightly disagree with Ebba's concept of Han's childhood. He's a street kid, yes, but his upbringing can't have been quite that rugged for him to have turned out the way he did. It's a psychological fact that a child deprived of love in his early years can't give it later on, and we know from the way he acts around Chewie and Luke and Leia that he's an affectionate person, even if the affection is buried under a sharp tongue and cocky manner. But the scene that flattened me was Han's "dream" or vision or whatever it was, that had him going back to the age of five. Whether I agree with you on the background or not, that is a fine scene! Had me reaching for the kleenexl And this is Ebba's first story? I may be ill, more of the same, please! BROTHERS ALL is a fine followup to the last story, and again there was a scene that had me reaching for the kleenex -- where Han thinks Luke has died. Talk about a gut-wrencher! I can see Han crying if the hurt is deep enough, and Luke's supposed death would definitely do it. A fine story, although I quibble with the writing in a few places. Are we meant to assume from the fact that Han's getting subconscious "messages" about Luke that he's tapped into the Force? This is the man who calls it "simple trick and nonsense, " I debate that, but within the context of the story it works very well. Bravo to the two authors "EXCERPTS FROM A CORELLIAN DIARY" is up to Susan's usual par, although I trust this is one of her "alternate universe" stories. I don't quite buy Han being anyone s "fancy man", not even someone like Jennet. The art ranges from fair to excellent, top of the scale belonging once again to Martynn.

[zine]: This [Prelude to a Ceremony] is a piece of fluff describing what might have happened between the destruction of the Death Star and the awards ceremony... if one can believe that the Rebels really would feel like throwing a wild party immediately after losing so many of their man. There is a strong sense of 'too much, to soon' in this story. Christine Jeffords enables us to 'Meet Chewbacca' and she also reviews 'Han Solo at Star's End.' 'Sky Warriors' is next. Part 1 ended with Han and Luke going over the rim of a cliff... in true serial fashion, this section ends with them in still another crisis. A fascinating thing called Eawah the emet' is introduced. It will be interesting to see where they go from here. 'Poem,' by Susan Matthews, offers a thought -provoking answer to the 'painful' things people have been doing to Han Solo. 'A Plague on Both Your Causes' is a SW version of 'Yojimbo.' Martynn's illos provide their usual perfect enhancement. Solo fans will enjoy this interpretation of their favorite character though, once again, this story hints that Han Solo is on his way to becoming the one characters who may suffer more injuries that Mr. Spock did. 'A Teachable Art' introduces us to a new chapter to the SW universe, indicating that the Order of the Jedi isn't completely destroyed after all. This is one of the longest pieces of fiction in the book and moves well, though the get-Han syndrome still holds true. Beckey Aulenbach illustrated this story and captures very well Anderson descriptions of the bond of growing respect, liking, and friendship being established among four well-known Rebels. 'Brothers All' is a sequel-continuation of 'A Teachable Art.' This time, Luke gets hurt and Han experiences his first lengthy contact with the Force.... There are a few rough spots in this story; even under the circumstances, it was difficult for this reviewer to believe that Princess Leia would run down to fetch a cup of broth instead of sending an aid; even so, the action of the story carries the reader forward quite well. 'Excerpts from a Corellian Diary' begins another serial -- this one hinting that Han might not be so interested in Princess Leia as a woman after all. Why? Because of a lady from his past who who shows up unexpectedly... resulting in some very interesting revelations about one Corellian smuggler... 'And After, What Then?' has a disguised Luke Skywalker conducting a spy-mission on Peniralt -- during which 'the black armored and caped figure of the Dark Lord of the Sith glowered down at him through eyepieces glinting redly in the angled light.' There is peril and tension in this chance encounter where only one of the antagonists reconignies the other. Poetry and artwork fill in the blank spaces to good advantages. There is a liberal sprinkling of typographical errors througout -- some quite discconcerting, but these are an occupational hazard. Considering that fact that this zine was published six months after the release of the previous one, and that the editor also works at other occupations, the pressure must be terrific. People who don't care for serials should be warned this zine does feature such material. Those how enjoy serials will have great fun. The authors do have a fixation for rib injuries in this issue. Luke Skywalker wound up with approximately five broken ribs, for example. Attractive layout and good reproduction -- both of text and artwork -- makes this zine pleasant to read.

[And After, What Then?]: [It] was an excellent piece of work. The characterizations felt true and the story was built up very logically. It was refreshing to read a story of such subtle suspense. Cary seems a highly talented writer and I would like to see more of her work. Her attention to small details and nuances made the story particularly delightful. I particularly like the touch Cary added by having Leia appreciating and liking Luke to a high degree, but finding an "Insidious something" about Han. It was both amusing and thought provoking.

[zine]: My favorite piece has got to be A PLAGUE ON BOTH YOUR CAUSES. I howled all the way through. The artwork in the zine is much improved over #2. Also liked the letters a lot - face it, I need all the ego-boo I can get. But I liked those which had no comment, or mildly critical comment, about my own work just as well. You're going to make the people wait till when to find out how SKY WARRIORS turns out? ! ! Ooh, you bad thing.

[zine]: PRELUDE TO A CEREMONY: Not a bad piece of fiction and I do love Sandy. I hope the Duncan sisters write more about her. She could be a great foil for all of the characters. MEET CHEWBACCA: It is nice to see someone highlighting the wookiee for a change. Although I do not agree with Miss Jeffords on all counts, it is good to see other views of these delightful SW characters we all love so much. THE SKY WARRIORS, Part 2: It is beautifully handled throughout. The only thing I could wish for is the last installment now!!! POEM: Susan does have a way with words, and some of what she presents in here has its validity. I have read a few of her pieces before this and have found her to be improving, as do all good writers. EXCERPTS FROM A CORELLLAN DIARY: To me it is one of the best piece of hers I have read. Beautifully written, easy to read, in short a delight. Is there more than two parts to this story? (At least six - can you stand it? ed.) If there is, I think I will find a hole and pull it in after me. I don't think I can wait that long to finish the story!! I A PLAGUE ON BOTH YOUR CAUSES: This is about the only piece I take umbrage at. It is not that It Isn't well written, but for some reason I could not take it as humorous. I don't know why yet, I only hope I'll find out soon. Maybe it's because I do not think of Han Solo as that mercenary. Whatever! Nikki does write well. RESURRECTION: It's a nice little poem, although it leads the reader astray at first. Neat twist to it. I like that. I KNOW WHAT I'M DOING: It is funny how more than one person has come up with this same theme. More than one I have talked with have been of the opinion that Han Solo knew exactly what he was doing. He would not have been a smuggler for as long as he has if he did not. Thank you, Marie Gleason, for finally putting this long-disputed issue to paper. DARTH VADER: That is one chilling poem. Just reading it, I got the creeps. It is nice to know Vader is a fictional character and not someone you would meet on the streets, I hope! A final comment on Callahan and Falkowitz. All I can say is they're great. Callahan has a great sense of humor, and Amy's improving with everything she does.

[zine]: The best thing to do while waiting for the sequel is to read as many zines as possible - and FF#3 is marvelous. PRELUDE TO A CEREMONY was fun. I like Wedge bugging Luke about how he did it, and the Princess dragging him into a dance. Christine Jeffords deserves a warm wookie on a cold day for her masterly intro of Chewie. You left us with another cliff-hanger after you got our heroes off the cliff. I don't trust those emets (especially if Chewie doesn't. His judgement concerning other non-humans is pretty good. Are the emets hypnotizing the humans? Lota of items for my funny bone: Mouse Robot as a toaster - ouchl Greg's frog in the wine glass leaves me In hysterics and the froggie tipsy. Susan Matthews strikes again, and twice. Her POEM is pure Han, and I won't dispute the authorship - I like to stay alive. She is building a very interesting background for Han, a good mixture of humor and pathos. Her female characters come from all classes: bounty-hunter, bar maids, royalty. Now we meet the Imperial in Han's past, and she's a commander turned Rebel at that! With her crew - one classy lady. Loved the touch of Latin: "Domlna" fits her. A TEACHABLE ART and BROTHERS ALL have so many good points that l can't list them. I always though Han needed a good strong woman at his side - but a foster-mother? Why not! Nahma possesses strength and warmth, and her role as healer fits her Jedl qualities well, The suggeetion that her Corellian husband was a Jedi opens many possibilities, and might make Han nervous if he knew that. The artwork was generallygood but one complalnt: General Do-donna is the greybeard. Ellen, you've drawn a nice picture of Willard. But the mustached Luke eavesdropping on Vader was fun, and complemented Cary Anne's intriguing story.

[zine]: I loved the "Meet Chewie" article. I'm only sorry I missed the "Meet Han" article in FF 1. How can you keep stretching out SKY WARRIORS after the opening line about Leia and Han lying behind the door dying? The wait is killing me but then then's what I love about fandom. I loved the touch with Han and the emet but what the hell is Chewie's problem? (Are you sure Hitchcock isn't one of your favorite directors?) Normally in stories I find it hard to believe Chewie willfully leaving Han for any reason but yours is quite valid. The emotional interplay was right on the mark. They are both capable of being thoroughly bullheaded, but it is always tempered by an unspoken love and concern for each other forged through years of shared dangers and triumphs. Tracey Duncan's PRELUDE TO A CEREMONY, a nice little vignette and so much in character. I'm really looking forward to her Star Journeys zine after this one. As for Susan Matthews' contribution, what is there left to say that hasn't already been said? The lady is fantastic. POEM ranks right up there with her own and fandom's best efforts. Here the Han we've all fallen in love with. Her talents at character delineations constantly amaze me as much as Lucas' own talents for creating the characters in the first place. A PLAGUE ON BOTH YOUR CAUSES I found interesting but didn't particularly care for much, although Han's wisecracking was right on the mark. DARTH VADER, very good, the essence of the character. The only problem is that Vader probably doesn't think of himself as that bad a guy. SECOND SAGA was interesting and plausible, but one question -- why two light sabres? The one for Luke I understand, but somehow I don't see practical Han ever giving up his blaster. And where are the medals? Buried? Overall it is an excellent explanation for the infinite variety of SW stories. A TEACHABLE ART is probably my special favorite. It's too soon to pass judgement on WARRIORS which is running an extremely tight second but as they say, the jury is still out on that one. I really think that Leia would have had a much harder time convincing Han to leave in a strange ship, emergency or not. Nahma's gentle administrations and her easing aside of Han's defenses are totally believable. The only real problem I had with it was Han's childhood. Somehow I don't think it would have been as grim as many fans describe it. BROTHERS ALL is another good story. It fit so neatly with A TEACHABLE ART. My biggest problem on this one was Solo not knowing about the cargo space. Solo, the tinkerer, the man who boasts of his few "special modifications", the man who knows every inch of his baby better than most men probably know their wives, not knowing about space enough for another cargo hold? C'mon. The aspects of the Force were handled quite well. But Solo's quailing was a bit much. Blaming oneself for someone else's death and wishing to God, or who or whatever, it had been you instead, I understood that. But Solo berating himself for always taking and never having given anyone anything, I juat can't aee it, AND AFTER, WHAT THEN?, an interesting short, Peraonally I think Han's made his choice and its the rebellion as long as they let him call his ship and his life his own.

Issue 4

front cover of issue #4, Ellen Blair

back cover of issue #4, Hope

Falcon's Flight 4 was published in October 1979 and contains 100 pages. The plentiful art is by Hope, Ellen Blair, Martynn, Greg Callahan, Becky Aulenbach, Nomad, Amy Falkowitz, and Bettina Helms.

From the editorial:

On to the zine at hand. Due to Lack of space, I wasn't able to add a note at the end of "The Sky Warriors" (yes, patient readers, it concludes in this ish!). There's been a lot of interest and speculation generated by Chewie's antipathy with Eawah the emet, an antipathy which was not explained in the story. So. in response to several inquiries (and a few outright pleas!) there will be a sequel in FF#5. The story is called "The Seed. " Did you think that wookies were native to Wooka (or Kazhyyk in Lucas-ese) and emets to Este? Well, they are but. . . What Han Solo and Chewbacca don't know about each other could be deadly. . . (ahh, but you'll have to wait and see!)

I'm most pleased with the material offered in this ish, not the least of which is the plethora of puzzles, poems, quizzes, and cartoons. See, I knew it was all out there. One just has to shake the branches a little.

The fiction is outstanding and as varied as one could wish. Lisa Adolf's "Little One" is based on the Star Wars Holiday Special. Lisa is a new writer who shows a great deal of promise and I think you'll enjoy her version of how Han came to say to Chewbacca's kin, "You're like a family to me."

"The Price of Error" is by another fairly new writer. Alma Hedrick. Alma shows a distinct flair for detail and subtle suspense. The premise in this story could so easily have come across as a cliche. In Alma's hands, it has not. It's a Luke story, but don't look for the Tatooine farmboy or the starstruck young hero. What you'll find is the embryonic development of a Jedi warrior.

The second chapter of "Excerpts from a Corellian Diary" is calculated to leave you breathless. . .in more ways than one. Other than that, I'll let Susan Matthews' work speak for itself (as it always does.) And there's another dramatic monologue by Guess Who. (Dear me. are those groans of horror I hear, or sighs of delight? )

Bettina Helms debuts in FF with "The Anguish of the Marrow. " a Kenobi offering of considerable depth and breadth and height. If you weren't a Kenobi fan before reading this one, you'll at least be thoughtful when you finish it. Bettina, by the way, is a double threat; her developing talent as an artist is keeping a very adequate pace with her expertise as a writer.

Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru fans will find a great deal of satisfaction in Cindy Frazer's short piece "Beginnings" and in Carol Mularski's fine "Meet" article. Both offerings are not only entertaining but thought-provoking as well.

cartoon from issue #4, poking fun at another fandom

• from the flight bay (editorial) (4)
• Transmissions (6)
• The Price of Error by Alma Hedrick (15)
• Star Friends (27)
• Han Solo by Kathy Blair (a filk to the tune of "When I Marry Mr. Snow") (28)
• Meet Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru by Carol Mularski (article) (29)
• To the Midnight Poem Writer by Maryann Walther (34)
• Little One by L.A. Adolf (reprinted in Flip of a Coin #9) (35)
• Rationale by Susan Matthews (50)
• Beginnings by Cynthia Frazer (52)
• Star Wars Crossword Puzzle in the shape of an X-Wing (54)
• Sky Warriors, conclusion by Ellen Blair (57)
• Nightmare by Alma Hedrick (69)
• Reflection by Alma Hedrick (70)
• Training Exercise from Alpha Central by Lori Kilpatrick (71)
• Excerpts from a Corellian Diary, chapter 2 by Susan Matthews (72)
• Shadows by Alma Hedrick (77)
• The Anguish of the Marrow by Bettina Helms (78)
• Confession by Alma Hedrick (85)
• Sister Ships (86) (zine ads)

• 

  from issue #4, Ellen Blair

• 

  from issue #4, ?

• 

  from issue #4, L.A. Adolf

• 

  from issue #4, Martynn

• 

  from issue #4, Hope

• 

  from issue #4, Martynn

• 

  from issue #4, Hope

• 

  from issue #4, Amy Falkowitz. A fan in issue #5 said in a letter of comment: "The illo that wins the Blechh Award is on page 66. Must they illo injuries like this? I'll call this one the Han Andreas Fault."

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 4

Artwork, poetry, prose, all of quite good quality.

Let me particularly mention Kathy's Hanpoem. I enjoyed all of Alma's poems, which struck me as competant [sic] workings of what have become standard SW themes; but I think I liked Kathy's better, sort of a nice summation of all the elements of a beguiling Han-fantasy, "Then he picked me up, and he laid me down, saying 'Las sie, are you--able? ' " Sigh. I may be on the verge of committing yet another Han poem myself, and it's Kathy's fault.

Has anyone told Martynn that I love her --not only for her absolutely edible art work, but for saying such nice things a- bout people? Martynn's artwork was, as always, a delight, and no small part of whatever merit the script itself may present.

Special thanks to Carol Mularski, please, for her piece on Owen and Beru. I've really felt that the pair, most especially Owen, has been rather misinterpreted in fanfic to date. I really believe that Owen was an honorable and upright man; he rather suffered from the fact that the movie gives him to us from Luke's standpoint--not that Luke wishes Owen ill, but Luke does quite naturally resent the parental authority Owen represents. I always 'heard' Owen's comment about Luke (in response to Beru's 'he's too much like his father,' as mirroring not a rejection of the ideals of Luke's father, not a condemnation of any Jedi aspirations, but as an echo of the pain of that loss. I always felt Owen loved Luke's parents deeply and the reason he wanted to keep Luke close was his fear of suffering that same pain of loss again.

I am Monstrous Intrigued by your offer of a sequel to "Sky Warriors" in FF#5, I'll be really looking forward to what Chewie (or whoever) finally got around to telling you.

And Bettina's piece was an interesting one. Sentiment again; I couldn't help singing young-prince-in-exile songs to my self after reading it.

The covers are, once again, excellent. The Vader portrait on the back is (egads!) poignant. Hope has done a beautiful job with it and the centerfold.

"The Price of Error" was quite nice. I thought it particularly apt that Luke's innocent error arose out of his impetuosity and pigheadedness. There are a few minor things that niggled me, like Han openly confessing that he had been worried about Luke; in fact, though, I liked all of Luke's lines in that final exchange. I wasn't really comfortable with any of Han's.

"Nightmare. " Yes. Not that I'm any kind of authority, but I have independently envisioned Luke going through a very similar crisis after the first time he kills a person in hand-to-hand combat with the lightsaber. Question: is that why, perhaps, the lightsaber is a weapon 'for a more civilized age', because you can not kill impersonally with it? It forces you to meet your adversary on a very personal one-to-one basis and makes casual, random killing impossible. It makes the wielder see individuals instead of nameless, faceless 'them'. I strongly believe that Luke will taste of the bitter side of heroics after the dazzle of glory has faded.

"Nightmare" is an accurate portrayal. Congrats to Hope for capturing one phase of that elusive Skywalker face!

Also, I liked "Reflections" possibly even more than Alma's "Darth Vader" in FF#3.

I thought "Meet Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru" was very astute. Luke is as much a product of his home environment as Han is of his or Leia is of hers; the kid didn't happen in a vacuum. Thought it was also good, and only fair, of Carol to point out that Owen has grounds for being provoked with Luke. Sure Luke's a dreamer and this irrationally provokes Owen, but the lad can also be very immature, insolent, and downright petulant.

"To the Midnight Poem Writer" definitely tickled my fancy. Glad to see Marytnn writes as beautifully as she draws.

The only reason I did not see the SW Holiday Special was because I was not in the country at the time. Nevertheless, I was duly informed in detail about it by both my brother and my best friend and I think I can safely say that almost all or any qualms I have with "Little One" stem from the premise of the Special and have nothing to do with Lisa's writing. The story itself is cohesive and builds to a proper conclusion. Stylistically it is very competent. But I find it very hard to believe that Chewie has anybody left in the galaxy except Han. This is not to say that he never has had that family, just that he doesn't have them now, and since wookies are family oriented, all his devotion and emotional dependencies are focused on Han as 'family' and the Falcon as 'home.' The Falcon is very much a self-contained unit without any noticeable ties until L & L sort of invade and extend the family. The relationship between wookie and Corellian as shown in the movie was more complex and more equal than a simply paternalistic attitude felt by Chewie to wards Han. Agreed, there is precedence for a paternalistic attitude in the fact that he occasionally acts as a seven-foot hairy conscience for Han. But is he acting in a reforming, paternalistic way when he initiates the jeers about Ben, or basks in his reputation for ferocity after he's proven himself to be a bad loser, or looks to Han for comfort and protection when something unexpected happens? For all their disparity in age, they make a more evenly matched partnership than a severe case of paternal instinct on Chewie's part or a 'protect your big pet' syndrome on Han's part would allow. After having said all that, would you still believe me if I said I enjoyed "Little One" and was amused by it? Adored the family reunion illo.

A single favorite from #4 would be "Rationale. " Such evocative economy! Susan, are you really the true and sole inheritor of Browning's dramatic monologue technique or do you merely follow Han around (not to mention Thorn, the Shulammite Woman, and others) with a tape recorder when he's mumbling to himself and/or Chewie and afterwards do a good job of editing? "Excerpts II" is even better than "I"-- keep it up!

"The Sky Warriors", hey, neat. I'm right fond of that story. The characterizations were very accurate most of the way through. The only time I ever got a little worried was right at the end of 3. The focus on Han seemed a bit too soft. I'm in a pique of temper at being made to wait till #5 to find out what really was wrong between Chewie and Eawah. Ellen, that's very mean, not to mention horrid. I am a Kenobi fan (also a Guiness fan from way back before there was SW — was there life before SW?) so I appreciate Bettina's story all the more. I even didn't balk at Ben being Luke's grandfather. I also was pleasantly surprised to note that Bettina calculates Luke to have been born on the winter solstice. It fits in to the Merlin/Arthur aura that the Obi-wan/Luke relationship evokes.

The zine is maintaining its standard of quality. I like the increase of cartoons. I especially liked the snipe at "Battlestar Galactica."

Oh, I forgot to ask, do your Skreels bear any literary relationship to Lloyd Alexander's gwythaints or do we have a third independent coincidence? (I don't know--who is L. A. and what are gwythaints? --ed.)-

I really enjoyed FF#4. Martynn's illos are getting better all the time, and I absolutely loved the ones she did for Lisa's "Little One", especially where he gets to hug the Wookiees. And Lisa's story was marvelous. Too bad she didn't write the Holiday Special; it would have been fantastic.

I enjoyed seeing the continuation of "Excerpts from a Corellian's (sic) Diary" And with the touch of the illustrations, it bring it all to life.

One thing about FF that I really enjoy are the unique covers, "White on black lends such a different feel than black on white.

I'm quite glad to see "The Sky Warriors" conclude. Phew, I was really starting to wonder what poor Han and Leia were fading away with.

The one article I really liked because it was so different was "Meet Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru", About time somebody spoke up for them. It's people like them who are the backbone, the little folk who stay at home, do the farming, etc. The death of his aunt and uncle gave Luke the freedom and set him on his destiny. It's obvious they both loved him very much as they must have gone through hell with the troopers before they got fried to a crisp. And from what I can recall, they didn't divulge about Luke, otherwise those troopers in Mos Eisley would've cut him down in an instant.

Bettina looks like a very promising writer, this being her first piece that I've ever seen in print (unless she's done Trek work).

And all those hintings of things to come in FF#5, Argh, can I stand to wait that long!

I really enjoyed Lisa Adolf's "Little On^'; she has taken materiel from the basically overly-cute SW Special and used it as the basis for an excellent story concerning the background of two of my favorite characters from SW, (What I wonder is under what circumstances Chewie will let Han know about his status with Chewie's family? ) (One answer upcoming in MET #5--I think. It's "Deathworld" by yours truly, --ed, ) Of course, the illos (how I love Martynn's illos!) were an added attraction.

"Whoever "Hope" is, he or she is an up and coming artist, Particularly nice is the illo of Luke for Alma Hedrick's "Night mare."

So Martynn writes poetry as well, huh? "To the Midnight Poem Writer" was definitely my favorite poem this issue--the last 3 lines really do tell it.

Carol's article was thoughtful and well-done (and not blowing up too much from the little bit the movie let us see.)

My only reed complaint is I think too many pages were taken up by ads.

I enjoyed the whole issue, especially "The Anguish of the Marrow" "While I personally don't think Obi-wan was ever married (he reminds me too much of a Knight Templar) I thought the story was very well written.

And at last we learned what happened to Han and Leia in "The Sky Warriors."

The illos were very good, and I particularly liked the one of Luke that Hope did for my poem "Nightmare, " It was excellent.

Susan's work -- all of it -- was up to her usual exquisite standard, "What more can I say?

Loved Lisa's "Little One"-- so that's how Chewie got into the business of raising Han Solo.

Martynn is as good a poet as she is an artist, which is saying quite a lot! Your oh-so-extended serial is quite nice but a little disappointing--I had the feeling you were setting up some kind of a trap, and then it didn't materialize.

Alma Hedrick is new to me, and her work came as a pleasant surprise. She writes fine feeling poems and interesting stories--although somehow I have the impression that she isn't entirely new to fandom per se; Dr, Vendrell in "The Price of Error" reminded me just a little of one Leonard ("Bones") McCoy, The elements in the story are fairly standard stuff by now but well-handled. Wish there's been a bit more background on the planet Laydor -- cold planets seem to be becoming surprisingly popular in SW fanfic. Can it be that I'm not the only Darkover fan to make the transition?

Wish you hadn't left out the "crewlisting"--there are a couple of people I'd've liked to know more about, (And perhaps a few people would have liked to know who and what I am, too.

I think Carol Mularski has Uncle O end Aunt B pretty much nailed down, or at least view of them accords quite well with me.

I join what I don't in the least doubt a vast assemblage of happy readers in congratulating you on your announced ability to carry FF through at least #8. I consider FF to be among the three finest SW zines now being published in the U.S., and if you can keep up your present high quality you should have no cause to regret your decision

Comments on #4 generally: good, readable composition, nice proofing; the art is getting better and better, top honors going of course, to Martynn, and second place to Bec Aulenbach, who seems to improve with every piece she illustrates. The Nomad vignette of the Dia Noga is interesting and imaginative; I wonder that nobody ever tried anything like that before.

After three readings of each, I still haven't decided whether I like "Little One" and Chapter 2 of the "Corellian Diary" best of all. Lisa's picture of the Wookies at home and their growing fondness for Han make for a beautiful little story; her characterization is excellent, and the Martynn illo complement the text perfectly, (If I could only have a frameable copy of the piece page 48!) (Martynn, are you reading this? -- ed.) I enjoyed the little extra touches like the one about Lumpy being 20 standard years old yet physically and mentedly the equivalent of a human seven-year-old. A for the "Diary", well, I've yet to find a MatthewsScribbling I haven't thoroughly enjoyed.

Carol's article on Owen and Beru was very good and perceptive; I see them very much that way myself.

Both "Beginnings" and "The Anguish of the Marrow" were interesting alternate possibilities on how infant Luke came with it and Bettina's casual references to Jedi powers in the latter were particularly well handled, though I'm not sure I agree with the premise of Ben being any kin to the boy.

The conclusion to "The Sky Warriors" I found much more satisfying and better handled than that of "The Set Up" in FF#1 and #2. I would have liked to know exactly what power Eawah did have, but I surmise that's something you'll cover in "The Seed." I suspect strongly that there's some sort of emphatic link at work here, which is why Han almost died when he realized that Eawah was gone.

Of Alma Hedrick's poems I liked "Confession" best, "Rationale" I love. I wondered if Susan could be persuaded to write a sequel?

F#4 was just great, as I expected. Whenever Martynn's name appears in the contents I anticipate a treat in just flipping through and looking at the illos. Now that we've made it to the end of "The Sky Warriors" we only have to agonize over "Excerpts from a Corellian Diary." "Little One" — very good concept of that team's start. An obvious fact that finally got through to me as I read FF#4 is that Susan Matthews and I know and love the same Han Solo,

As usual, you've turned out another great zine. My favorite has to be "Little One." I hope Lisa keeps turning them out like that. My next favorite, Maryann's Midnight Poem Writer." Treat comeback to Susan Matthews' Poem" in #3

You've got gorgeous covers with all that white on back, but boy, are they a pain to handle, especially with damp palms. (You know, all those Han Solo stories'll really do it to ya.)

With the cartoon taking a swipe at "Galactica" on page 6, things really get off to a bang. The poetry this time is really tops—forgive my ignorance, but WHERE has Alma Hedrick BEEN?? Both "Night mare" and "Confession" really hit me hard, especially the former—it's always struck me that Luke, the naive, innocent farmboy accepts all the Death Star blood and guts with just a little too much ease. Hope's illo is gorgeous, too.

The plot thickens on "Corellian Diary"--I'm extremely glad there are six more parts coming. Beautiful writing (as always), though it looks like I'll have to bone up on my Latin (subtitles, anyone? ) Loved the ramrod of Jenkin's spine ("humerous narrative" indeed!) As for the illos. .heavy sigh. Nice to see everyone get out of "Sky Warriors" alive--all except for Eawah, that is, but I was sort of on Chewie's side there--coulda sworn he'd turn out to be working for Darth and Co. But here I thought Leia had some mysterious plague of some kind and would give it to Han. Food poisoning? ? C'MON. And then beating up on Han again--is this some kind of mystical SW ritual, to shoot/stab/beat up or otherwise disable our favorite Corellian? Still, better we as fans do it and prepare each other before TESB comes out, I suppose. I hope I can take it in 70mm 6 track stereo.

My favorite items are "Meet Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru"; Lisa Adolf's "Little One"; and Martynn's "To the Midnight Poem Writer". If I were considering fiction alone, "Little One" would probably tie with Susan Matthews' "Corellian Diary" simply because I love her Han--his background isn't the same as "my" Han, almost diametrically opposed in fact, but he's wonderful! Actually, I think Matthews is technically a better writer than Adolf, but she's more experienced, and Adolf shows great promise. Her characterizations are fine, especially Chewie and Han--was her Chewie influenced by Chris Jeffords' interpretation, or did she come up with it independently? (As far as I know, "Little One" predates the "Meet Chewie" article, -- ed.) Adolf's picture of Chewie's family is so far superior to the TV version there's really no comparison. The psychological juxtaposition of Lumpy and Han is wonderful! And her Malla is so much more intelligent, likeable and real than the TV Malla.

"Meet... " was every bit as good as Jeffords' article on Chewie in #3, I agreed with just about everything she said! And I'm one of those who think Luke's father was Beru's brother. By the way, is anyone planning a "Meet Luke Skywalker"?? (yes, in FF#7 or #8,' depending, --ed.) Mularski discusses his adolescent rebellion and mentions his childish whining at the beginning, but there is a promising sign of maturity at Ben's house, when in answer to Ben's "if you're to go with me to Alderaan", Luke says, "... I've got work to do. " His tone is the immature boy, and maybe he's just using that as an excuse to avoid actually facing the escape and adventure he wants, but it could be that he really does accept his responsibilities on the farm, however much he gripes and goofs off.

Martynn's poem was beautiful, "While I agree with her rebuttal to "his" complaints, I think maybe Matthews wasn't too far off either, I can see Han being somewhat embarrassed about his exploits being made public by the woman, but I'll bet he'd prefer to be the one telling them. Her (Martynn's) illo of Han's reunion with the Wookies is the best in the zine this time, with him cringing from Malla and Chewie, and him comforting Rhiannon tied for second best. She got the Wookie likenesses very well--each one recognizable to anyone who saw the show.

Alma Hedrick's "The Price of Error" was much better than her poems, with the notable exception of "Nightmare"--were the story and poem written together, perhaps? Her showing Luke at the end essentially telling Han to buzz off for awhile was very good. And the poem was an excellent antidote to the hero image from both the movie and a lot of the fanfic. It shows a side of Luke that would have to exist if he were a real person, and that seldom shows up. Luke has been somewhat neglected in the matter of character interpretation. From what I've seen, only Maggie Nowakowska has really done any in-depth study of Luke; Judi Hendricks has done some.

Your "Sky Warriors" overall is pretty good, but somehow seems to be lacking something, I'm not sure what. Thank you for promising an explanation of Chewie's attitude. Luke's helping Han in the hospital was almost too facile--I don't know if it was the presentation or the ease with which Luke uses the Force all of a sudden (overtones of Splinter of the Mind's Eve--sorry, but that was my immediate reaction). And Han's reaction to Eawah's death, in the context of the story, seemed a bit extreme--I hadn't gotten the impression earlier that he was that close to Eawah or concerned about him. (justified in "Seed" --ed. )

"The Anguish of the Marrow"--making Luke Ben's grandson seems a bit far-fetched to me. I can more easily believe Ben was speaking the truth in the movie about Luke's father--"He was a good friend"--not a son-in-law.

You've done a remarkable job of keeping the overall quality of the zine fairly high from one issue to the next. Keep up the standards you've kept so far and you'll start picking up a fan award or three. I also congratulate you on keeping a reasonable publishing schedule. That is quite an accomplishment! (And that, after the delay on FF#4, is quite a compliment! --ed.) I do look forward to many more flights of the Falcon.

You edit a varied and well-produced zine. LoC columns make terrific advertisements.

My favorite story in the zine was "Little One. " I had never cared much — for the idea of Chewie having a family ' as presented on the SW Holiday Special. It seemed to me that Chewie should be as much a free spirit as Han, unbounded by family responsibilities. But Lisa's depiction of Wookiees' attitudes made it all make sense. I loved her puppyish young Han. As for the art, Martynn's my favorite SW portrait artist, and my favorite picture is Han's reunion with Chewie's family. Speaking of Ms, Walther, she's really a double threat - art and poetry. Her answer "To the Midnight Poem Writer" was an appealing blend of playfulness and affection.

"The Sky Warriors, Conclusion" had both qualities I like in a SW story; action and character development. Even though I now know how it turns out, I think I'll still enjoy reading the first two installments when I get my back issues.

Once in an interview, George Lucas said that with SW he started to paint a wall and that he'd like others to be able to get in there and paint on the same wall. Whether or not he for saw the flourishing of the SW fanzine, fan publications allow everyone to help create the SW universe.

Thanks.

FF#4 is the best one yet! It was well worth the wait. Go ahead and take a bow; you earned it.

Lisa Adolf's "Little One" was a charmer of a story. Guess I'm kind of drawn to the idea of the Wookiees as Han's "family" group, and Martynn's illos were absolutely perfect, a fine compliment to the narrative. My personal favorite was Han being hugged by the Wookiees. That's an act I wouldn't mind being in on myself - even if I had to grow fur to participate.

Loved Martynn, or should I say Maryann's "To the Midnight Poem Writer." It expresses several sentiments with which I heartily concur; I'll leave to your imagination which ones I refer to.

I look forward to each and every episode in "Excerpts from a Corellian Diary." Susan has a marvelous talent. She presents us with Jennet ap Rhiannon, General of the Ragnarok, a strong, capable woman who is still human enough to think of herself as a cow on occasion. The meeting between the General and Han in episode #1 was something out of Romeo and Juliet; this sequel fleshes out things very nicely. And Martynn's iilos again. . . perfect.

After concluding "Sky Warriors" I was very glad you decided to add an explanation of Chewie's dislike of Eawah. I had pretty much figured out that Han would be called upon to ride the emet, at which point I thought the creature would prove his merit, or lack there of. But when he proved himself worthy of Han's earlier comment that there was "nothing in him to distrust", and there was no explanation from Chewie, I felt faintly cheated. It was like an unfulfilled obligatory scene, so I'm glad we'll hear more later. Otherwise, I enjoyed the serial.

Nice to read something on Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru. Carol's article made me reconsider two characters I'd had a tendency to ignore. Also, I enjoyed the other story of Luke's origins.

"The Anguish of the Marrow" and the contrasting piece by Cynthia Eraser, "Beginnings." "Rationale" and "Confession" also are two interesting treatments of the subject of Han's continued participation in the affairs of his friend Luke.

Kathy Blair's "Han Solo" to be sung to the tune from Carousel was quite amusing, especially the part about his using the lady in question to serve as a "safe place to hide out."

Alma Hedrick's story and poems are a nice addition to the zine. She obviously has a variety of interests in all aspects of the SW universe, not to mention a fondness for a certain bat. Hope to see more of her work in future issues.

FF#4 was, as its predecessors, excellent. Alma Hedrick did a great job on "The Price of Error. " Very readable and exciting. I'd like to see her bring Jacob into the rebellion, with Luke as his "mentor".

Kathy Blair's "Han Solo" was very good, too. I just wish I could remember the tune---sigh. "Meet Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru" was also well done, with a lot of love and understanding. I agree heartily.

By far my favorite pieces were Martynn's "To the Midnight Poem Writer" and Lisa's "Little One." The poem was perfect, and an excellent answer to the one that Susan "found." My sentiments exactly. "Little One" was very well told. She definitely knows our Han. The reactions of the Wookie family, and especially Chewbacca, to the young Han were in perfect harmony with their characters. It made me love them even more. And, of course, Martynn's artwork was beautiful, as usual.

Susan did it again with her perfect Corellian-style "Rationale". "Beginnings" was intriguing. Made me long for more detail.

I must admit that I was a little disappointed in "Sky Warriors", because you didn't explain why Chewie distrusted Eawah. But as you mentioned in "From the flight bay" [the editorial], I'll just have to wait until FF#5. The run to the city was scary, to say the least.

"Nightmare" was very true to character; just what I would expect Luke to think about in the quiet of the night. And Hope's sketch of Luke is a masterpiece. I'm glad to see that you can include pencil sketches.

"Reflection" was also well done, and in character. Vader is an intelligent man, enough to realize that some prices are too high.

The cryptoquizzes were fun, if a little easy, but the last two cryptogreims are killing me!

Susan's Chapter 2 was very enjoyable. She describes love scenes so beautifully, so tenderly. Loved the "Old Republic" lines. Sneaky. Made us dive for our Latin dictionaries, huh? Can't wait for Chapter 3.

Alma has quite a talent for describing people's inner feelings. Nicely done poetry.

"The Anguish of the Marrow" -- well told; however, I can't see Vader attacking Luke's mother as intimated. He's evil, but still noble, if that's possible.

As you can see, I didn't find a rotten apple in the bunch. All are to be commend ed; writers, artists, and especially the editor for finding them and giving them to us.

The Force is most definitely with you.

Carol Muiarski did an admirable job with her exploration into the characters of Beru and Owen Lars, It is this kind of examination and speculation that keeps stories from becoming stereotyped; and keeps all of us from jumping to conclusions based on first impressions.

"Little One" by Lisa Adolf is simply delightful. Assuming the Holiday Special history for Chewie (supported by subsequent publications under the SW seal of approval), the story works well. It's a fairly declarative story, but the idea carries the wordier passages. I definitely like the title of "Little One" for Han. . .

The conclusion to "Sky Warriors" was fine, even though I kept expecting a little more story. About the only plot quibble I had was with Han's recovery in the end, and Luke's seem ing part in it. T'was a tad too much like Lancelot's revival of the fallen knight in Camelot. Perhaps a longer stretch of description, or time passage, would have allayed my suspicions. I kinda liked Eawah...a shame to lose him without more exploration of him.

Martynn's illos, as always, are wonderfully evocative of Han's personality, She captures the poignancy of "Little One" and the romanticism of "Corellian Diary" perfectly.

And I liked "Anguish of the Marrow" by Bettina Helms. She drew an easily visualized picture of Obi-wan, paying close attention to his person and his habits as seen on the movie screen. Her Obi-wan is a real person, not just an all-wise figurehead. Just as we must not make Darth a stick figure of evil to be knocked aside at the convenience of the story, so we must not likewise devalue Obi- wan by crystallizing him into a smiling, vacant eyed saint.

Looking forward to #5!

FF#4 proved amply that all good things are worth waiting for. Though the content remains somewhat uneven, the quality overall remains good so far as your established format, excellent repro of art, clear readable lay out, and variety. The freighter is perhaps not as detailed as in previous covers you've done, but the total effect of the rays of transition into hyperspace and the glow of the ship's drive combine to produce a very nice dynamic effect. I salute you for managing 4 covers so far and not yet running out of ideas!

I'm not as taken with Hope's two monumental contributions, although I definitely preferred Darth to the Chewie centerfold. At least the Sith is an accurate resemblance even if that type of rendering is a bit scratchy and indistinct and, I feel, detracts a bit from the starkness of Vader's death's head mask. Chew ie suffers from a skeletal disproportion problem and a sketchiness that does no thing to enhance such a large space as a centerfold. Hope's Falcon is better for the black contrasts but her attacking TIE is lost in the business of the cross-hatched background.

What an engagingly grotesque, alien and otherwise accurate portrait Nomad created of the Greater Pittsburgh So rod, otherwise known as the DIA NOGU. Nice (? sort of) to see what lurks beneath the surface. Nomad's little spaceship accompanying Susan's dramatic monologue is also fine but unfortunately bears no discernible relationship to "Rationale" (my fault; it wasn't done specifically for the poem but was added later as a filler. -- ed.)

Once again I appreciated the kind comments on my artwork in your reader's column. Funny how they all like those "Plague" illos ("A Plague on Both Your Causes" by Nikki White, FF#3) which are not among my favorites. The no-prize, though, for the best comment of all goes to sister Pittsburgher Carol Mularski for that ingeniously funny equation determining Nahma to be (spelled backward) "Han-ma". Has the creator of said character ventured an opinion regarding the coincidence? I've had several notes from diverse fen reacting to my poem-of-comment to the "Midnight Poem Writer." They all seemed to like the little disclaimer and agreed with it completely. Alas, the object of the opus has not been stirred to rebuttal as of present. I can't believe he (or his ghost writer) is shy!

I'd have to think that you sent me the best two stories in the zine to illo. Matthews' "Corellian Diary" continues to conjure up all sorts of delightful imagery while offering a very interesting view of the private side of Han's personality. Then there's that wonderfully intriguing Captain of the Ragnarok. Those female fans that yearn for more women involved in the conflicts of the "Star Wars" should rejoice at the continual development of this rich character. Jennet gives us another angle to the rebellion; ap Rhiannon is highly competent at her work and obviously, once committed, dedicated to the Alliance as well as her people. Susan skillfully allows us to see the personal, womanly, human side of the Commander in Chapter 2.

Lisa Adolf's "Little One", though lacking the obvious "sex appeal" and not quite the same flowingly emotional prose as "Diary", was nonetheless just as satisfying to illo in that it also attempted insights into the gentler side of Han's nature, offered the delightful opportunity to draw assorted wookiees in all shapes and sizes, and also included the added attraction of the exotic locales on the wookiee planet. Lisa could have economized a bit more on words by reducing unnecessary descriptions and including more actual dialogue and direct action. However, some of her touches are really excellent (the opening scene with Lumpy, huge Malla afraid to operate on the smaller human's injury, Chewie's scepticism gradually warming to Han's character.) Lisa certainly did her homework on the wookiees from the "Holiday Special" right down to Lumpy's penchant for action toys. And or course my favorite scene is the group wookiee hug at the end!

Bravo for the conclusion of "Sky Warriors". I must admit to preferring the unadulterated excitement of the desperate race of Han and Eawah from the Skreels to the protracted agonizing of Solo's near death in the medical center. But the business with Luke using the Force was very suitably timed and believable, as was Han's half-acceptance of said power. Amy's action and "ani- mal"scenes were, as usual, superb but her Luke at the end has definite likeness problems and Han's anatomy needs to be rearranged a bit, Skreel or no. She's better on distance angles like that powerful scene of Eawah's death.

Other excellent features such as Hedrick's "Nightmare" with Hope's remark able Luke, Matthews' "Rationale", Beckey's excellent illos for the pedestrian "Price of Error" and Helm's double- threat first rate illos and story "Anguish" deserve commendation.

Meeting Uncle Owen and Avint Beru was fun--the analysis was well-organized and insightful. But I must take umbrage at one sentence--"He does symbolically disobey later; he plays with his T-16 model—this is a 20-year-old?" Gee, I'm 20 myself, and I play with my toy X-wing ... also my toy Luke-doll and Han-doll and Leia-doll. It may be that SW brings out the kid in me, but I hope I never grow up so much that I'm embarrassed to pretend and imagine--what else is being a SW fan? (Besides, George Lucas has been known to shoot people with his Buck Rogers pistol.

The best illo is on page 81. Those little eyeless fuzzy Banthas are absolutely adorable! The pic has a lot of nice detail, printed well. The illo that wins the Blechh Award is on page 66. Must they illo injuries like this? I'll call this one the Han Andreas Fault.

Why so many Han poems this ish? Five seems a bit overkill.

What does "Anguish of the Marrow" mean? Is it bone marrow?

Issue 5

front cover of issue #5, Ellen Blair

back cover of issue #5, Hope

Falcon's Flight 5 was published in April 1980 and has 144 pages.

The art is by Hope, Ellen Blair, Martynn, Judith Low, Beckey Aulenbach, Pam Kowalski Angelamarie Varesano, Amy Falkowitz, Bettina Helms, Lisa Adolf, and Alma Hedrick, and J.J. Adamson.

From the editorial, regarding lateness, finances, and patience:

Welcome, welcome, loyal fans — and that ain't no hyperbole, Egads, now I know how a certain Corellian feels when his ship is impounded and his creditors are out for their share of his hide! As many of you probably know by now, FF#4 had a head- on collision with finances, which caused a delay of several months. Thankfully, the problems are solved and yours truly has been educated as to how to avoid similar problems in the future (and hopefully to detour around different ones). The chief reason I was able to keep my head together is because I heard from so many patient and supportive people during a time when I was seriously considering putting FF into dry-dock indefinitely (and the howls of panic are still echoing in my ears). Nothing can be ' more gratifying than to discover that someone cares about what you do and takes the time and trouble to offer all sorts of help from emotional to financial, so that you can go on doing it.

From the editorial, regarding the Post Office and miscommunication:

...a matter of some importance. We are all aware that the U.S. Post Awful develops a rabid hunger for mail at various times, with the result that some pieces of mail never reach their destination. Not long ago, FF fell victim to this invisible marauder and when the smoke cleared away, I dis covered that I had inadvertently caused several people a great deal of embarrassment and inconvenience. What happened was that a manuscript sent to me was accepted for FF#4. In the course of preparing the layout, it was necessary to return the manuscript for some minor adjustments# Unfortunately, neither the manuscript nor the subsequent inquiry letters ever reached the author# She thought I still had the story and I thought she had taken it back. Neither of us knew the real circumstances until she saw the ads for FF#4 and #5 which, of course, made no mention of her story; she then wrote to me, justifiably irate (and it must have been Fate's love of irony that caused this letter to survive the perils of the Unknown), wanting to know what the hell had happened. Happily (and I use the term metaphorically be cause there was not and will not be anything jolly about the situation), we were able ^ to get matters untangled, even though there was no way to make the explanations and apologies retroactive to erase the inconvenience and embarrassment she suffer ed, due to having told various other zines in good faith that her story would be in FF#4, It also happened that said story was the first in a series whose other components had already appeared in print. Fortunately, she was able to place the first story soon after hearing from me and it will appear shortly. Those who inquired about it know the series and the author, and will be hearing from her soon regarding it, if they haven't already. The only reason I refrain from specifics here is that I feel that she had endured enough concerning the whole matter and does not need further reminders of it. As a result of the situation, I resolved to take steps to see that this sort of thing never happens again, either to me or to any other zines. So, if any of you out there have submitted emything to a zine and you get no response to either the material or subsequent letters, write again. And again and again, as long as it takes to find out the status of your work. Moreover, this is a two-way street. Zineds, if you don't hear from a potential contributor, keep trying to contact them, even if you have to resort to phone calls. If you have to pull a story or a poem or whatever, or lay it aside temporarily, make certain that the author knows what you have done and why. It may be that your initial explanation never reached them. For the record, fans, every zined I know or know of is reliable and considerate. No one deserves to be the victim of a misunderstanding, but we are all fallible human beings who are apt to make mistakes, and the nature of our society is such that we sometimes make them inadvertently due to the machinations of an anonymous third party. Patience and understanding go a long way if we give them half a chance, and I was fortunate to have dealings with a lady of considerable patience and understanding.

From the editorial, regarding plagiarism and copyright:

Sadly, there are unscrupulous persons in fandom who will stoop to blatant plagiarism of other fan writers' or artists' work. Generally, these amount to outright thefts of ideas, plot outlines, rough drafts, or tracings of artwork. As things now stand, there is nothing that the writer or artist can do about this sort of pilfering other than raise hell with the pilferer if he or she is known. But it is possible now to obtain a copyright on unpublished material, if it is in a finished form, for a fee of $10.00 (as of the last time I checked) and I strongly suggest that a writer or artist consider doing just that, especially if the work is only sent out for perusal and not for a specific purpose to a particular zine. This is not to say that friends shouldn't trade ideas or zines ask to reprint a particular piece of material, or that things like names or terms are borrowed because of their applicability, but all parties involved should have a clear understanding of what credit is due where. Fandom has its misfits just like any other area of enterprise and it behooves us to be aware of a potential threat in order to be able to deal with it if we have to. 'Forewarned is forearmed" may be a cliche; but, like all cliches, it happens to be true. Nothing hurts a writer or an artist (or a musician or whatever) more than to discover that his or her original work has been pirated. It amounts to a deliberate attack that not only strikes dead center of the victim's creative ego, but strikes very deep. All the fanzines that I know of are protected by copyright laws, and, by extension, so is the material they contain; thus, would-be plagiarists should take note. A copyright damage claim can have very stringent repercussions, both personally and professionally. And, contribs, make sure that you know with whom you are dealing, that their policies and procedures are plainly stated. If you have any reason to think that you may be the victim of literary piracy, do everything you can to clarify your position with everyone concerned as soon as you possibly can. This isn't meant to frighten you; I've never known a case where an editor was either the pirate or the middle man. It's only meant to encourage you to stay as informed as possible * concerning your work, Zineds will appreciate your honesty and respect your opinions. It may take a little time, a bit of extra postage, and some energy, but it makes for very satisfying results all the way around.

From the editorial, regarding the content:

In this ish I've tried to offer as great a variety as possible of some of the best writers and artists in SW fandom, in a mixture of stories dealing with as many of the characters as possible. For openers, there's "Marriage Secret" by Pat Gonzales.

Those readers who enjoy the fire-and-dynamite relationship that exists between Han Solo and Leia Organa will find this story an utter delight. Yes, it's a get-story, but guess who gets got? Wrongo! Read on and see.

Chapter 3 of "Excerpts from a Corellian Diary" by Susan Matthews is here, the high history of a Han-story with a pinch of Leia and a dash of Luke (puns intended!), By now, Susan's work needs no embroidery from me.

Modesty prevents me from expounding on "The Seed" except to say that it is a sequel to "The Sky Warriors" and was written to clarify an aspect of that story which many readers found both intriguing and annoyingly vague. It's a Han-and-Chewie tale and a comment on the assumptions of friendship. Interestingly, one reader has already guessed the answer to the question raised in "Warriors" in her LoC on #4, (more fannish esp?)

Lisa Adolf's "Hanni, We Hardly Knew Ya" is one of those stories that asks questions instead of answering them. Her study of Han probes just a little more deeply than usual. The questions she asks are questions that need to be asked if Han is to attain the depth and sensitivity that he deserves as a character. "Hanni -- " may raise a few hackles, but it will certainly make you think -- and wonder.

A beautiful counterpoint to Lisa's story is "People First, Thank You" by Pam Buchanan. Here, we take a giant leap forward into the future. It takes a lot of courage to don seven-league boots and when you do, you'd better watch where you put your feet down. Pam's bold projection of possibilities is made with finesse and delicacy, yet it has an impact that cannot be ignored. Although this is a Luke-story, it is also a Han-story; how prophetic it proves to be is unknown at the time I wrote this editorial. Whether or not time and TESB justify her premise, the story is interesting and unique.

Melinda Holley is back in this ish with "The Talia Stone. " Han, Luke, Leia, and Chewie all figure prominently in this one, along with some new characters — one is charming, another is intriguing, and a third is simply nasty. It makes for a very interesting mix.

"Will It Never End?", also by Pam Buchanan, is sheer hilarity. It's Luke's story all the way and deals with an aspect of the Force that no one, to my knowledge, has ever thought of before. It's probably the funniest get-story you'll ever read. Cary Anne Bucar's tale, "One Simple Word", is for Leia fans. Gary's style is masterful and she has a sensitive appreciation of the more subtle emotions; Leia emerges as a princess with a heart, whose scars are deep and whose courage is exceptional. She has been accused of being a brittle bitch with a tongue both sharp and acid. Gary shows us what may have caused some of those scars, what inspired that courage, and why the brittleness, sharpness, and acid resulted.

"Gerontion" by Bettina Helms is something of a sequel to "The Anguish of the Marrowk" which appeared in FF#4. Here, Luke is again the protagonist, a young Luke who is just beginning to look to the stars. Kenobi is here, too; the Jedi warrior in his persona of disguise. What the old man and the boy have in common is handled with sensitivity sind expertise by a writer who is going to be one of the better-known names in SW fandom.

And lest anyone accuse me of neglecting the droids, I offer "Meet See-Threepio" by Christine Jeffords. Christine's delightfully analytical viewpoint paints a portrait of startling clarity. If you didn't love Threepio before, you'll at least like him after you read her whimsical character study.

The poetry in this ish is as varied as the stories and as satisfying; even Luke gets to put his two cents in. The artists represented are some of your favorites and among the best in fandom.

Alma Hedrick's cartoons are gems of levity and there are some more puzzles to twist your brain.

• From the Flight Bay (3)
• Special Bonus Photo Section (The Empire Strikes Back) includes a "Special Bonus Photo Section!" ("All on this and the following pages courtesy of Lucasfilm, Ltd. and 20th Century Fox Film Corporation.)" (8)
• Transmissions (11)
• The Spirit of Star Wars by Nancy L. Duncan (22)
• Marriage Secret by Pat Gonzales, art by Beckey Aulenbach (27)
• Tolly Wok’s Lightsabre, poem by J.J. Adamson (49)
• Meet See Threepio by Christine Jeffords, art by Ellen Blair (51)
• The Talia Stone by Melinda Holley, art by Pam Kowalski (54)
• Realization, poem by Jacqueline Taero, art by Angela-Marie Varesano (73)
• One Simple Word by Cary Anne Bucar, art by Amy Falkowitz (74)
• Yes, I Will, filk to the tune of a Neil Diamond song, by Jani Hicks, art by Angela-Marie Varesano (80)
• Gerontion by Bettina Helms, art by Helms (81)
• Dark Lord, poem by Judith Low, art by Hope, and art by Low (also in Warped Space #44) (89)
• Word Search by Lori Kilpatrick (93)
• Will It Never End? By Pam Buchanan, art by Hope (94)
• Planetbound, filk to the tune of "Tradewinds" by John Denver, by Jani Hicks and Pat Gonzales, art by Angela-Marie Varesano (100)
• Excerpts from a Corellian Diary, chapter 3 by Susan Matthews, art by Martynn (101)
• Shooting Star, poem by Judith Low, art by Low (105)
• Skil-o-Gram by Lori Kilpatrick (106)
• Reminiscences of a Free Corellian Trader by J.J. Adamson, art by Adamson (107)
• Protest, poem by Alma Cowart Hedrick, art Angela-Marie Varesano ("(Addressed to all those women who have the hots for a certain Corellian)") (110)
• The See by Ellen Blair (111)
• Anacrostics by Lori Kilpatrick (128)
• Han Solo’s Revenge, book review by Sherry Magee (129)
• People First, Thank You by Pam Buchanan, art by Hope (131)
• After the Battle: From the Musings of Han Solo, poem by Christine Jeffords, art Angela-Marie Varesano (part of the Brightstar Universe) (135)
• Hanni, We Hardly Knew Ya by Lisa Adolf, art by Beckey Aulenbach (147)
• Star Friends, pen pal listings (147)
• Sister Ships, blurbs for other zines (149)

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  from issue #5, Hope

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  from issue #5, Lisa Adolf

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  from issue #5, Beckey Aulenbach

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  from issue #5, Hope

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  from issue #5, Pam Kowalski

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  from issue #5, Angelamarie Varesano

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  from issue #5, Judith Low

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  from issue #5, not credited

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  from issue #5, Hope

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  from issue #5, Angelamarie Varesano

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  from issue #5, Martynn

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  from issue #5, Martynn

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  from issue #5, J.J. Adamson

• 

  from issue #5, Angelamarie Varesano

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  from issue #5, Angelamarie Varesano

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 5

[The Talia Stone]: Janella of Melinda Holley's "The Talia Stone" in FF #5 lives alone; her friend and sometime partner, a younger Corellian woman, is a pilot whose hatred of Han is completely mutual — Janella does not know why, and never asks. Han and Luke hire Janella and Varna to help them steal a priceless gem needed to ransom Leia. Janella plans and runs the entire operation, though Luke, using the Force, actually takes the gem and substitutes a fake provided by Janella. At the end Janella risks her life (Varna being ready to use her ship's guns) to ensure that Leia is released according to the bargain.

[zine]: I've read a lot of Trekzines, and yours is equal in quality to the finest of those. It is laid out well and the print is easy to read. I like the variety; you use many contributors, each with a different type of work. Hats off to you for including puzzles. It lets the reader participate, too. Most of the artwork was only fair, with the exception of Yoda on page 26, Luke on page 99, and Leia on page 104. Hope is very good, whoever he/she is. And those TESB photos were a welcome addition. [This is the first paragraph of one of the many letters from fans that were printed in FF#6, see below.]

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  page 1 of the lettercol printed in FF#6, regarding FF#5

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  page 2 of the lettercol printed in FF#6, regarding FF#5

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  page 3 of the lettercol printed in FF#6, regarding FF#5

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  page 4 of the lettercol printed in FF#6, regarding FF#5

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  page 5 of the lettercol printed in FF#6, regarding FF#5

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  page 6 of the lettercol printed in FF#6, regarding FF#5

Issue 6

front cover of issue #6, Neal Andrews

back cover of issue #6, Hope

Falcon's Flight 6 was published in 1980 and has 160 pages (there is an earlier edition with 206 pages).

The zine's dedication: "This issue is dedicated to the FIRST PERSON WHO INVENTS A RAPID-THAW PROCESS FOR CARBON-FREEZING. . . ."

From the editorial:

Greetings in the force! On this, the sixth flight of this particular falcon, we are faced with a most intriguing dilemma, to wit: the advent of "The Empire Strikes Back. Actually, it is less of a dilemma than a choice; do we fan writers and zineds proceed along the trail blazed for us by TESB or do we continue in our own alternate universes? Personally, I hope we aren't faced with a rift in fandom, i.e. those fans who will maintain that only Lucas' timeline should be followed and those who feel that alternate universes are still viable. Certainly, for Hanfen, the latter is more agreeable in terms of keeping our favorite Corelllan active, and yours truly is one of the most rabid. But, although much of the material in FF (through #7) is pre-TESB, I plan to print material that is also TESB-oriented beginning with #8 (not counting poetry and filler-art which will appear earlier).

Submissions are now being accepted for #10, although I should point out that it will not be in print until December of 1981, at the earliest. Any SW material, either pre- or post-anything will be acceptable. It is this editor's opinion that a great deal of the beauty and allure of the SW/TESB universe is in its flexibility; there is still an extraordinarily wide field for creative endeavor that I hope writers and artists will take advantage of. Our imaginations should be challenged by TESB (and the other sequels), not restricted; I would even venture a guess that Mr. Lucas would be the first to agree. His universe is our base, but no exploration ever got underway by remaining on the doorstep. It is my intention, as editor of FF, to continue to bring my readers the best of al1 universes.

[snipped]

A formal and most appreciative "Thank You" goes to Lucasfilm and 20th Century fox for the excellently put together presskit that was sent to various zineds. I would've said something about this in the FF#5 editorial, but it was already in layout when the presskit arrived. This package contained a great deal of background information on TESB production and several fine photographs. They were sent to zineds unsolicited and with a cover letter from the Director of Fan Relations explaining that Lucasfilm wanted to share this material with the fans in appreciation for their love and loyal support of the SW saga. I think that such a gesture very neatly refutes the notion that all film affiliates are callous and uncaring when it comes to the fans' feelings. Lucasfilm certainly cares — and let's hear no banthawash about "free publicity". Even mass-produced, the photographs alone cost Lucasfilm something and the advertising they would obtain through the fanzines is certainly somewhat less than what a magazine like Starlog could provide. So, Mr. Lucas, from all of us: Thank you for caring!

An aside here: several people have chastised me, both in person and in print, about my propensity to print stories that are "weak" or that need (in their opinions) re-writes. I suppose I've never stated my editorial policy on this issue very clearly, so I would like to take the opportunity to do so now. To wit: several of FF's contribs are beginning writers who need varying amounts of technical advice and personal encouragement to be able to write up to their potential. As It was never my Intention to make FF a zine of only the "polished" and the "literary", I decided early on to give space to new writers so that they could receive feedback from the readers and from other writers. I know from personal experience that this kind of varied feedback helps a writer far more than the sole advice and direction of one person, namely me in the case of FF contribs. I don't pretend to be the best writer or most informed critic around, although I'm constantly working to be the best that I can. Consequently, my feelings about a story may be erroneous. I can recognize a story that is poorly written in terms of technique or mechanics and I work rather extensively with the author in these cases. But all the mechanical expertise in the world won't help a story that lacks talent or imagination and these are what I look for in a new writer. Mechanics can be acquired. Talent and imagination either exist in the writer's mind or they do not. Any writer learns to write by writing but. In my opinion, they also need a sort of workshop atmosphere to grow and develop, and it is this sort of atmosphere that I try to provide in FF. Furthermore, side-by-side comparison with more experienced writers helps the novice Immeasurably. If FF were a prozine whose main objective was to make money, then obviously I would be doing myself a disservice by printing "weak" stories. But FF is meant to be a sounding board for everyone, as well as being a form of literary and artistic entertainment. Hopefully, the writers represented in its pages will go on to enter the pro-market. But even if they do not, they will have had the experience of seeing their work in print and the satisfaction of saying what they felt they needed to say. I wonder how many dreams and ideals die for lack of air to breathe. The novice writer who is never inspired to write anything more than stories based on his or her favorite characters is no less worthy of recognition than the experienced author who creates his own. Words are our chief means of communication and they should not be stifled at their source. So, no matter what the motivation for a novice writer may be, FF will continue to be the vehicle by which all sorts of people can share their dreams, instead of being merely an exclusive arena for those who "measure up." Nuff said.

On to FF#6. This wasn't planned to be Leia-oriented, but I'm happy that it worked out that way, especially because of the many letters I've received from Leia-fans. There are far more than you would guess. She seems to be the most neglected character in terms of having stories written about her, either exclusively or in tandem with the other characters. So, while FF#6 is not al1 Leia, it is substantially her zine with a variety of interpretations based on the wealth of material in SW/TESB.

The feature story, "A Dirge for Summer" by Pam Buchanan, begins In this ish (and concludes in FF#7). Quite a few people have speculated on the various troubles and traumas in Leia's life, up to and Including the emotional upset she experiences in TESB, but no one, to my knowledge, has explored the subject in such detail and with such feeling as Pam has. Readers should take into consideration that it was written before TESB was released, so the object of her affection/need is based on what we fen surmised up to that point (and, in any event, it works well as an alternate universe story). Pam's other contribution, "He'll Be Back", is one of a series of short stories based on Han's possible demise at sometime during the SW epic. Both stories are well-written and complement each other nicely.

"Kheel's Return" is Denise Edwards' second contribution to FF. She is a fairly new writer who has a great deal of imagination. The idea of Han having blood-kin has been explored in other zines, but Denise's premise of him having relatives is balanced by the relationship she has created for them. It won't appeal to everyone (the reason becoming obvious when you read it), but Denise has a faculty for detailed plot that not many people can handle well (me, included).

Dolores McAl1Ister's story concerns most of the major SW characters, but "Incident on Salizar" is also Leia's story in a very great measure. This is a story of a princess who is not only a warrior, but one of the bravest.

"Seasons Change" by Alma Hedrick is also Leia's story, a pre-SW assumption that offers one version of what Leia may have been doing all that time before her encounter with Vader on her ship. Alma's poetry has gained the interest and touched the hearts of many readers, and her fiction promises to do the same.

The fourth installment of the Corellian Diary is here, with Susan Matthews at her by-now-wel1-known and unique.

Finocchio Fen is the pen name of another writer appearing in FF for the first time and "Blood Favor" is only one of this author's great stories that will be appearing in future issues. Her dry wit and considerable imagination make reading her work a distinct delight.

FF is proud to announce its first European contributor (previous ishes have introduced Nikki White and J.J. Adamson, representing Australia). Eva Albertsson is from Sweden and "Flotsam" is one of the first of her stories to appear in an American publication As a writer, she is one of the most promising of the new in the SW genre, and FF hopes to acquire more of her work. I think you will enjoy "Flotsam" on any one of several levels.

Some of the poetry in this ish is non-SW, but I have decided to set something of a precedent by printing it because I feel that it deserves space of its own. Readers can help by letting me know if they want to see more or less of this sort of thing.

And, to cap the Leia-theme, Kathleen Jones' article provides some unusual insights into historical and mythical princesses which substantiate the character of Leia Organa. Christine Jeffords introduces us to Artoo Detoo in her whimsical way and there is a variety of art work to entertain and/or amuse you.

• From the Flight Bay (3)
• Transmissions (6)
• Star Friends (short contributor bios) (12)
• Incident on Salizar by Dolores McAllister, art by Judith Low (14)
• Behind a Courtly Mask, vignette by Kathleen M. Jones, art by Jones (50)
• Profile: Anthony Daniels, article with two photos (53)
• Blood Favor by Finocchio Fen (53)
• Waiting, poem by Alma Cowart Hedrick (61)
• He'll Be Back by Pam Buchanan (62)
• Corellian Drinking Song by Alma Cowart Hedrick (65)
• Flotsam by Eva Albertsson, art by Amy Falkowitz (66)
• A Droid's Lament, poem by Alma Cowart Hedrick (81)
• Meet Artoo Detto, essay by Christine Jeffords, art by Ellen Blair (82)
• Seasons Change by Alma Hedrick, art by Nomad (85)
• Chewbacca, poem by Alma Cowart Hedrick (102)
• Word Search by Beth Ann Huffman (103)
• Yoda's Song, poem by Scorpio, art by Ellen Blair (106)
• Kheel's Return by Denise Edwards, art by Neal Andrews (107)
• Statistically Speaking, trivia questions by Kathleen M. Jones (146)
• The Apples of Eredor, poem by Scorpio, art by Judith Low (147)
• A Smuggler's Ditty, poem by Kathleen M. Jones, art by Jones (148)
• Ancient Precedents for a Modern Heroine, essay by Kathleen M. Jones (149)
• Profile: Peter Mayhew, article with two photos (152)
• Threepio, poem by Scorpio, art by Judith Low (153)
• The Blind Man, poem by Scorpio, art by Judith Low (original science fiction) (154)
• Excerpts from a Corellian Diary, chapter 4 by Susan Matthews, art by Martynn (155)
• Kazhyykish Translation by Beth Ann Huffman (159)
• Sister Ships, zine ads (160)
• art: Neal Andrews (front cover), Hope (back cover), Kathleen M. Jones (centerfold poster), L.A. Adolf, Tracey Christensen, Alma Hedrick, and Nomad

• 

  art from issue #6, Judith Low

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  art from issue #6, Judith Low

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  art from issue #6, Judith Low

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  art from issue #6, Judith Low

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  art from issue #6, Amy Falkowitz

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  art from issue #6, Kathleen M. Jones (centerfold)

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  art from issue #6, Nomad

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  art from issue #6, Nomad

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  art from issue #6, Ellen Blair

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  art from issue #6, Neal Andrews

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  art from issue #6, Neal Andrews

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  art from issue #6, Judith Low

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  art from issue #6, Scorpio

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  art from issue #6, Martynn