Fantasy Unlimited

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Zine
Title: Fantasy Unlimited
Publisher: Fantasy Unlimited Publications
Editor(s): Alan Austin
Type: adzine, fanzine
Date(s): 1972-1975
Medium: print
Size: quarto
Fandom: Comics
Language: English
External Links: Issues #8-10, 18-19, 26-27; The Fanscene Project
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Fantasy Unlimited, published in 1972 as a combination ad- and fan-zine , began in 1970 as purely an adzine called An Adzine, and after four issues renamed as Aftermath in 1971. In 1975, after issues #8-30, it was renamed Comics Unlimited and continued from Issue #31 to Issue #53.


Subpages for Fantasy Unlimited:

16-30

Issue #8

Issue #8, art by Keith Bartlett
Issue #8 back cover of Captain America by Kevin O'Neill

July-August 1972. Editor: Alan Austin, published bi-monthly. 44 pages.

I'm thinking up this editorial as I type it, so please excuse any mistakes or incoherencies.


Well, to start off with, you'll be wondering what this new adzine "Fantasy Unlimited" is doing with a first issue numbered "8". I'd better explain. Up until several weeks ago, I was running Comics Catalog with Nick Landau. Unfortunately, financial difficulties arose for me, and I would have been unable to continue running C.C. as Nick wanted it - he wanted to expand on the article and news side of the 'zine and have less emphasis on the ads. Well, article pages don't pay for themselves, whereas ads do, so I decided to drop out and let Nick handle C.C. himself, rather than hold C.C. back. So I'm now running Fantasy Unlimited, with more emphasis on ads, but still with enough articles and features to, I hope, brighten up each issue.
I let Nick take half of all the subscriptions that C.C. had; we split them right now the middle. For example, if you had 4 issues of C.C. to come, you'll now get 2 of Fantasy Unlimited, and two of C.C. If anyone is confused, which is more than likely, drop me a line and I'll let you know how your subs. stands.
As for this first issue being No. 8 - well, the numbering is continued from An Adzine / Aftermath. OK?

I think that's all, apart from thanking Denis Lee, Keith Bartlett and Kevin O'Neill for the art they contributed, and Lee Hopewell for his article... and, if it arrives in time from the printer, many thanks indeed to Alan Hunter for the comic strip he supplied at very short notice.

Editorial - Alan Austin - Fantasy Unlimited #8

Contents:

WANTED: Someone to think up a suitable name for this column, and design a headering using the name. No prizes, but best heading will be used next issue.

"Question Time" - Alan Austin - Fantasy Unlimited #8

  • Other questions include:
    • "I have a 1961 issue of Amazing Adventures; is it an Atlas comics or a Marvel?" - Paul Schofield.
    • Request for information on how to advertise comics in an adzine - James Robb.
    • "What is the name of the British distributors of comics published by Dell, Charlton, etc?" - Trevor Hughes.
    • "What was Britain's first fanzine?" - Trevor Hughes. [The answer (incorrectly) identified Fantasy Advertiser as the first British comics fanzine and provided a short bio of its editor, Frank Dobson]
    • "How many issues of the Superman Annual were there?" - John Andrews.
    • Plus an unsolicited note about an old Fawcett Publications character, Golden Arrow, reappearing in Charlton Comics; and a thought about where the name "Ben Grimm" might have come from.
  • "Captain Marvel Fights On - At A Fiver A Time" - article reprinted from local London newspaper, The Mercury (May 25/72 edition) on comics dealing, including an interview with Michael Hill, comics collector and would-be professional comics dealer.
  • "The Marvel Super-Hero Index Pages 1-8" - Entries for Ant-Man; The Avengers; The Black Widow; Captain America; and Captain Marvel; includes comics they've appeared in, the issues their villains appeared in and writers/artists/inkers. Banner art by Kevin O'Neill (The Thing, Namor, Captain America, Nick Fury and the Silver Surfer [Marvel Comics])
  • "Comic Quiz" by Alan Austin - only four questions out of ten needing to be answered correctly to enter, prize is free 4-issue subscription. Art by Kevin O'Neill.
  • Back Cover by Kevin O'Neill - Captain America (Marvel Comics)

Reactions and Reviews - Issue #8

There would not, on the face of it, appear to be room for too many adzines on the market, but your first issue does contain some interesting and "original" ads (more than merely your own, thank goodness!). The rest of the material is of necessity the filler type, but still reasonable for all that. I liked Alan Hunter's strip as far as the art is concerned, but I didn't think much of the script. "Question Time" and the quiz are interesting sidelines, while to mention Lee Hopewell's article, I was interested to see how "The Thunder Experiment" became "The Warren Experiment". Perhaps a more convenient title, next time?

LOC - Graham Collins - Fantasy Unlimited #9

Comments on Fantasy Unlimited: Thunder Expt - A few silly statements are apparent. What similarity is the Vision to No-Man. Surely "Roy Thomas' Vision" had its source in "Jack Kirby's Vision" from 27 years ago!


Quote: "Surprising that a magazine with such an art line-up would be left to die on the stands by the fans". Surely (repetition) Lee does not also believe X-Men, Doc Strange, Silver Surfer etc., etc., etc. were "left to die by the fans"! It must be common knowledge by now that "fans" make a very tiny dent in the total sales of comics. Very, very rarely does a comic company bow to the fans' demands (Hawkman getting his own book after 10 try-outs is the only one that springs to mind).


Quote: "It seems strange that comics, a visual art form, depends on the written word for success". A very definite, but groundless statement. Too many other things had their influence on the demise of Tower ; the kids were fed up with U.N.C.L.E., S.H.I.E.L.D. (Marvel's worst selling title ever), U.N.D.E.R.S.E.A., A.I.M. etc. etc; the characterizations and indeed the overall quality of Tower was inconsistent, again confusing the kids; finally (and more important) distribution. A comic will only sell if it is available for sale. It is obviously the story that decides the sales, but a completely unknown combination of art, characterisation (or story treatment) covers and good distribution. The fact that the combination is unknown is proved by the number of comics Marvel and DC try to discontinue.


Question Time: Could you do more questions on old stuff? (Not your fault I suppose)


Marvel Superhero Index: A waste of space. Everyone must have access to all these things by now! (mustn't they?)


P.S. Thunder Agents ended with No. 20, not 19 - bad distribution?

((I agree with most of your comments on Lee's article, but when he compared Vision with No-Man, I think Lee meant the way the character's character (?) was handled. There's not much similarity (if any) between the characterisation of the present day Vision and the Golden Age Vision, nor is there any similarity as far as storylines go. The Gold Age Vision was a hero with super/mystical powers, who was fighting Nazis and J*ps[1] most of the time, whereas The Avengers' Vision is an android with the abilities of flight, strength, and the power to control the density of his body. Also featured heavily in the present day stories is the Vision's inner torment caused by his supposedly having human emotions.


No, I don't think everybody does have access to every Marvel superhero comic or even information on them. I forgot to mention it last issue, but the idea with this index if that the pages be removed (preferably by loosening the staples), and collected until the index is complete...

...EDITOR))

LOC - Mike Lake - Fantasy Unlimited #9

Issue #9

Issue #9, art by Alan Hunter

September 1972. Editor: Alan Austin, published monthly. 61 pages. The month's theme was Horror.

This is one issue that I know you'll be able to read every word of as I type it, thanks to a new electric duplicator.There should be an improvement in the quality of art reproduction.


The main point of this editorial is one that I can't stress enough - Fantasy Unlimited is going to be regular, reliable and provide advertising at a minimum cost - not for a few short months, but for as many years as I can possibly foresee.Some people have express their doubts that FU won't be around for long, because my previous publishing efforts have been short-lived.True,An Adzine did only last for 4 issues,Aftermath only 3, and I stayed with Comic Catalog for 4.However, I have in fact put out twelve publications in two years,which averages out at a bi-monthly schedule for those years.Only two other comic fanzines in this country have matched that in the same period.


I believe that the biggest asset of any advertising magazine is that it appears regularly.As of this issue,Fantasy Unlimited is published monthly, appearing on the first of each month - no other British fanzine is published on anything better than a six-weekly basis.And, as you see by the contents of this issue,FU is just as much fanzine as adzine.


I'll be needing help and support,though,in the form of contributions (particularly articles), subscriptions and,most important,advertising.


Thanks to all who made this issue possible: Alan Hunter, Lee Hopewell, Guy N. Smith, Hal Mechelli, Denis Lee, Mark Ellis, Bram Stokes, Mike Hill and Phillips Duplicators Ltd.

IMPORTANT! Editorial IMPORTANT! - Alan Austin - Fantasy Unlimited #9

Contents:

Reactions and Reviews - Issue #9

Fantasy Unlimited 9 was for the most part well done. As you said, it was possible to read every workd. (Thought Tony Roberts' ad was a little blotchy, and both "Magic Shop" and Sub-Plot's ad suffered by being printed too close to the inner edge of the paper, so hiding parts of them.)


Mentioning Alan Hunter's "Magic Shop" strip, I enjoyed it, and it was a welcome break in the text pages, even though not very special.


I have no interest in horror films and horror comics, but even so I read Lee Hopewell's two articles with interest. Please, though, no more pictures placed in the middle of a page of text like that in "The Man Behind the Phantom Fighter". Pictures so situated make lines very hard to follow.


"We Want Information" and the marvel index are both useful and interesting features. I hope that you can maintain the former as a service to fans. May I suggest, though, that you leave a blank line between questions to separate them.


Congratulations to Messrs. Cordeiro, Lake and Ellis, the quiz winners, but what about printing the answers for those (like me) who couldn't answer them all?


"Arman Quetzl" was sadly unoriginal, and based on a premise of dubious morality. I find the idea that anyone should have the right to judge another's fitness to live or die very distasteful. Quetzl's victim may have been a killer but by his actions, Quetzel himself became a murderer.


Finally, you may have noticed that I have not mentioned "Ratman in London". I don't intend to.


((... You obviously took "Arman Quetzl" completely the wrong way. The author's intentions were that it be just a short piece of fiction in the tradition of 1930s horror pulps such as Doctor Death, Wu Fang, Dime Mystery etc. It wasn't meant to be totally original, but surely there's no such thing as truly original fiction? I was amazed that you bothered to go into the morality of the story! It would appear that you also took "Ratman in London" too seriously (along with all but a few of the readers who commented on it). I thought that it would have been obvious that is was written decidedly tongue-in-cheek, but I was wrong. It seems that fiction of this kind needs an introduction to let the reader know how he is supposed to interpret it, which is a pity. - Ed.))

LOC - Peter Wareham - Fantasy Unlimited #10

...British fandom is becoming increasingly commercial, and at the moment the number of fanzines appearing from all corners of the isle are making it extremely difficult for each other to survive. The natural tendency will be for each one to specialise in one aspect of fandom, be it news or ads for example. Best of luck in the fight, because I think the hope of fandom generally finding a constructive direction to follow as regards to its fanzines is pretty slim. I've realised that the sooner we cut out all the petty bickering about who produces the best fanzine, and all tried to help publish just a few decent ones with the cooperation of others as joint editors and regular artists, feature writers etc. then the better it will be. After all, it is not an ego-boosting idea to simply enable someone to see his name in print with the proud title of "editor" by the side, or at least it shouldn't be.

LOC - Ashley Henn - Fantasy Unlimited #10

Issue #10

Issue #10, art of Mickey Mouse as the Sorcerer's Apprentice by Peter Parkin

October 1972. Editor: Alan Austin, published monthly. 53 pages, however the scan appears to have missed further pages as it ends half-way through an LOC.

As expected, the new monthly schedule has put on extra pressure in all directions - artists, writers, and other contributors, and myself. However, this issue is out on time, and I suspect it won't be long before I'm able to settle into a planned routine, without any last minutes delays.


I think the first thing anybody picking up this issue is the abundance of old comic covers. This has been a popular practice with fanzines for years, and they'll be featured every month in FU. Anyone who would like to see particular comic covers printed e.g. early Marvels, please let me know.


A reccomendation:[sic] if you want a fannish news-zine that manages not only to inform, but entertain, try Steve Craddocks's "The East Clandon Great Whaling Disaster of 1925" (?!). The first issue of this 8 page litho 'zine contains comic reviews by Richard Burton, fanzine reviews by Ian Penman and Steve Craddock, a report on Comicon '72 by Steve, and news on everything from comics to the new Monty Python series on TV (very little of which has seen print elsewhere). An interesting and informative read for only 8p...


...FU still needs your support, particularly articles. I'd like to hear from anyone who'd be interested in writing articles on Golden Age comics, science fiction on television (does anybody remember the Quatermass serials well enough to write about them?), and Batman.


Thanks to all who helped me this issue : Peter Parkin (cover artist), Alan Hunter, Guy N. Smith, Ashley Henn, Mike Hill, Bram Stokes and Denis Lee.

Editorial - Alan Austin - Fantasy Unlimited #10

Contents:

  • Front cover by Peter Parkin
  • Editorial by Alan Austin - editorial, credits, subscription and advertising rates, advertising deadlines and back issue availability.
  • Fantasy Unlimited's For Sale: list of comics, science fiction pulps, science fiction magazines, and books (hardbacks and softcovers) for sale.
  • Fantasy Unlimited's Marvel Buying List
  • Ad Section; includes advertisements for Fantasy Con; the Christmas Comic Mart; military collectibles wanted; Thing #6 adzine; Eternity SF #1 a US. science fiction semi-prozine; Martin's Bookshop and a warning against a fraudulent comics collector known for cheating fans out of money - Alan Meyrow/Arnold Mayowitz/Neil Scharff.
  • Cover reproduction - Superman #10
  • "The Seekers of Blood" by Guy N. Smith - original horror fiction. Art by Alan Hunter.
  • "We Want Information" compiled by Alan Austin, banner art by Alan Hunter - readers' questions. Austin admitted he wasn't able to answer all of them and asked for his readers' help.
    • "Which issues of the following titles did Jack Kirby draw for?" - Steve Collier.
    • "In which comics, if any, where the second Boy Explorers stories printed?" - Steve Collier.
    • "I believe Kirby drew some of the Classics Illustrated stories e.g. The Last Days of Pompeii. Could you tell me exactly which ones?" - Steve Collier.
    • "Why was the first issue of Eerie numbered 2?" - M.R. Arrand.
    • "Is Famous Monsters of Filmland still published, and if not, when did it end?" - M.R. Arrand.
    • Correction re Mark Ellis' question about fanzine Hot Damn from last issue - Rick Anyon.
    • "... do you remember the Wonderful World of Comics fan pages that appeared in DC Comics in '68 and '69? I think there were about a dozen in all, can you help me fill in the list?" - Allan Collins.
    • "Can you help me with the contents of some of the DC 80 Page Giant series, namely what were the feature in [list provided] and which was the last number?" - Allan Collins.
    • "Who was R. Berns? I've noticed his name on a lot of early Marvel stories e.g. Iron Man, Thor, Torch, etc." - Iain Murray.
    • "Who did the covers on British Eerie Nos. 1 & 2? No.1 lists Gray Morrow as artist - I'm sure it's not him." - Iain Murray.
    • "How old are the people that run fanzines? I've always thought about you (everyone that runs one, that is) as about 17-20?" - R. Murray
This isn't the kind of information that should be made public, but for a few examples : Methuselah's got nothing on Douglas Gifford! Dez Skinn still wears short trousers! And Mike Hill can remember buying Action No. 1 from the newsstands when it first came out! Seriously, though, your gues [sic] is pretty near the mark, but with the occaisonal [sic] exception.

Response to "We Want Answers!" question - Alan Austin - Fantasy Unlimited #10

    • "Have you any information on the publishing date of the new Marvel weekly and/or information on its content?" - Nigel Curson
    • "I recently saw a few books published by Paperback Library in a bookshop... are there any distributors for Ace Books, Paperback Library, MacFadden-Bartell, Pyramid and Lancer? If so, who are they?" - Nigel Curson
    • "The BBC recently announced the publishing of Edgar Rice Burroughs' "The Moon Maid". Who published it?" - Nigel Curson.
    • "Who inked Bob Kane's early (1940s) Batman stories?" - Gary Fox.
    • "Could you list Batman's editors since the beginning?" - Gary Fox.
    • Who starred in a) Brave and Bold No. 1, Showcase No. 1?" - Gary Fox.
    • Request to identify a particular issue of Flash Comics without a cover. - Pat Commissiong.
    • "Have American comics always been distributed over here since the 1930s, and if not, when were they first distributed and what were the first ones?
This is a point that has puzzled me for some time, and only recently have I discovered that we did get comics from around 1936 to 1939, the war preventing any further shipments. However, from 1940 until 1958, no comics were officially distributed over here. Starting with the war years, though, we did get some via the American air and army bases, but of course this couldn't match the number we'd get with proper distribution. We did get large quantities of Canadian comics around 1945-47, these being mostly American comics with original covers replaced by Canadian covers. Every now and then, a batch of American comics did come over, and Fawcett comics around 1946 and some later seems to be common, so presumably a small firm attempted to distribute these, but not with great success.


During these years, most of the America comic strips to be read over here were in the form of Australian reprints in black & white, which are very common nowadays. It wasn't until they died out that Thorpe & Porter started distributing full scale again in 1959. These were the comics with the well-known '9d' stamp on them that continued for several years.


All this means that American comics from 1940 to 1958 are in very short supply, and are in most cases worth the dealers' prices.

Response to "We Want Answers" question - Alan Austin - Fantasy Unlimited #10

    • "Did Marvel publish any King-Size Specials or Annuals before Fantastic Four Annual No. 1?" - Philip Morton.
    • "Why was the Masked Matador's name changed for the Daredevil reprint in Marvel Superheroes No. 25?" - Philip Morton.
    • "What is the number of the Journey into Mystery issue with "The Thunder God Strikes Back"..." - Philip Morton
    • "Who drew the Batman/Hawkman team-up in Brave and the Bold #70?" - Lee Hopewell.
    • Unsolicited trivia - notes on an artists "swiping" (or re-using) from his or another's work to save time.
  • Quiz - answers for last issue's quiz, plus this issue's comic quiz.
  • "Ashley Henn Asks... Which Way Now?" by Ashley Henn - article on the revival of old characters and introducing new characters from rights secured properties by DC and Marvel.
  • "The Marvel Superhero Index - Pages 15-20". Entries for Doctor Strange; the Fantastic Four; Giant-Man and The Hulk; includes comics they've appeared in, the issues their villains/foes have appeared in and writers/artists/inkers.
  • "Mail Unlimited" edited by Alan Austin - LOCs
  • remainder of the contents unknown as the scanned copy cuts off here, part-way through a letter of comment from Ashley Henn on Issue #9.

Issue #11

Issue #11, art by Kevin O'Neill

November 1972. Editor: Alan Austin, published every six weeks[3]. Cover art by Kevin O'Neill.

Contents:

  • Front cover by Kevin O'Neill
  • Editorial by Alan Austin
  • "We Want Information" compiled by Alan Austin, banner art by Alan Hunter
  • "Mail Unlimited" edited by Alan Austin - LOCs







Issue #12

Issue #12, art by Alan Hunter, featuring the Fantastic Four, the Silver Surfer and Galactus.

December 1972/January 1973. Editor: Alan Austin, published every six weeks. Cover art by Alan Hunter.

Contents:

  • Front cover by Alan Hunter - featuring the Fantastic Four, the Silver Surfer and Galactus.
  • Editorial by Alan Austin.
  • "We Want Information" compiled by Alan Austin, banner art by Alan Hunter
  • "Mail Unlimited" edited by Alan Austin - LOCs
The most important part of FU12 was the inclusion of an ad for 'Fandom's Famous Corner': 8 Colwell Road, East Dulwich, where Alan had set up business as a full-time comics dealer sharing premises with John Eggeling's Phantasmagoria Books.

"The Fanzines of Alan Austin (Or the AA Guide to FU Publications?) - Allan J. Palmer - Comics Unlimited #50 (1979)


Issue #13

Issue #13, art by Alan Hunter

March/April 1973. Editor: Alan Austin, published bi-monthly. Cover art by Alan Hunter.

Contents:

  • Front cover by Alan Hunter
  • Editorial by Alan Austin
  • "We Want Information" compiled by Alan Austin, banner art by Alan Hunter
  • "Mail Unlimited" edited by Alan Austin - LOCs
As a full-time dealer, Alan found things somewhat more hectic than they had been when he was only a fan selling comics through his zine. FU13 did not appear until March/April 1973, and the publication now moved to a bi-monthly schedule. More importantly, with this issue, the only advertisements that appeared within FU's pages were for Alan's stock. As a full-time dealer, he felt that the fan ad section should be dropped. On the positive side, however, this move resulted in an increase of the amount of fanzine material. Featured in this issue was the first FU 'Fan Spotlight' column, on Dez Skinn, now editor of UK Marvel.

ibid

Issue #14

Issue #14 by Steve Craddock, featuring Kirk and Spock from Star Trek: TOS

June? 1973. Editor: Alan Austin, published every six weeks. Cover art by Steve Craddock.

Contents:

  • Front cover by Steve Craddock - featuring Kirk and Spock from Star Trek: TOS
  • Editorial by Alan Austin
  • "We Want Information" compiled by Alan Austin, banner art by Alan Hunter
  • "Mail Unlimited" edited by Alan Austin - LOCs





Issue #15

Issue #15, art by Kevin O'Neill, featuring Alter and Captain Ego.

August? 1973. Editor: Alan Austin, published every six weeks. Cover art by Kevin O'Neill.

Contents:

  • Front cover by Kevin O'Neill, featuring Alter and Captain Ego, characters from a comic strip produced by Biljo White (Batmania) for U.S. comics fanzine, Alter Ego.
  • Editorial by Alan Austin[3]
  • "We Want Information" compiled by Alan Austin, banner art by Alan Hunter
  • "Mail Unlimited" edited by Alan Austin - LOCs
  • Alter and Captain Ego - fiction, possibly Biljo White's original story? - part 1
    • "Bouncy Bunny in the Friendly Forest - The E.C. Story" by Doc Garriock. Part I
    • "We Want Information" compiled by Alan Austin, banner art by Alan Hunter
    • "A Chronicle of the Most Magnificent Failures in Comic History" by Howard Stangroom - Part I


Related Concepts, Fandoms, Terms, Fanworks
See also An Adzine / Aftermath, Comics Unlimited

References

  1. ^ edited for use of slur
  2. ^ Both the title and the banner image came from Alan Hunter - ref "The Fanzines of Alan Austin (Or the AA Guide to FU Publications?) - Allan J. Palmer - Comics Unlimited #50 (1979), pg 5
  3. ^ a b "The Fanzines of Alan Austin (Or the AA Guide to FU Publications?) - Allan J. Palmer - Comics Unlimited #50 (1979)
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