Fantazine

Zine
Title:	Fantazine
Publisher:	The Nut Hatch
Editor(s):	Kathy Keegan
Date(s):	1988-1995
Series?:
Medium:	print
Size:
Genre:
Fandom:	Professionals
Language:	English
External Links:
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Fantazine is a slash fantasy and/or AU Professionals anthology.

Only a Vague Connection... And Kathy Twists Jane's Arm

From the zine:

The stories in this zine are based entirely on the characters and situations created by Jane for three of her fantasy universes. There ARE almost no real similarities between them and a certain TV show, copyright to London Weekend Television. For the use of two names, and the few references to 'CI5', due acknowledgements are made. No attempt has been made to infringe on LWT's copyrights insofar as these names and references are concerned.

All the fiction in this zine is strictly copyright. Please - note that even after the stories are cleared for B/D circulation, they remain copyright to the author. We make this statement with due deliberation because the original material appearing within these pages is on professional submission to various publishers at this time. It is a 1000:1 shot against anything EVER coming of it (and Jane wanted nothing to do with such submissions, but her arm was twisted with impunity), but long shots have come up before, so — NB, these stories REMAIN copyright even after they are circuit cleared! Thanks for your attention.

Issue 1

Fantazine 1 was published in 1988 and contains 172 pages.

front cover of issue #1

back cover of issue #1, JJ

The art is by JJ.

MYSTERY: The zine contains a story called "Dreams of Long Ago" which is labeled the last story in Jane's series. The zine's flyer, however, lists and describes a story (which is the fourth in the series) called:

from issue #1, the first page of "Dreams of Long Ago

DREAMS OF YET TO BE (Kin and Bran) ... Bodie and Doyle take a trip to Ireland to visit the place where their past-lives selves lived and loved, and they almost meet their own deaths. While they sleep, and dream, Kinamus Iron Hand meets the Druid youth, Bran, at the Beltaine feasts, and woos him away from his elder masters."

From the editorial by Keegan:

This is our tenth zine in about eighteen months, and that's worth noting! The big question (and an unresolved one at this moment) is, will it be our last? It's the price of copying that is the difficulty -- Jane's 'From The Author', just before RITES OF PASSAGE begins, makes the problem clear in case JJ, Angie or Barbie have not filled you in. There is a chance we might be able to actually buy a copier, and so get printing cheaper. First thing is, it costs about $3000. Second thing is, we don't have the money. Yet. So everything is up in the air, and there is nothing concrete to tell. A quick flip through the zine will show you that there is scant artwork. Blame HER, because if the stories had not run longer than BEN HUR, there would have been room for the drawings! As it was, we ended up with a 220pp zine, and had to whittle it down to 177pp. You see, 177pp is under 500 grams in weight, and 179pp is over. And under $8 costs postage, and over costs $15. Even for one extra gram! If you think postage brackets are ripping people off, you're right. A whole story is missing as well as the art — THE FIREBIRD is being held over just in case (cross fingers, cross toes) we do get cheaper copying, and can do more zines. A third CROSS MY HEART, and a second FANTAZINE would be beautiful!

• My Heart, poem by Sue-Anne Hartwick (Raven/Bodie) (4)
• Dreams of Long Ago by Jane ("Bodie and Doyle take a trip to Ireland to visit the place where their past-lives selves lived and loved, and they almost meet their own deaths. While they sleep, and dream, Kinamus iron Hand meets the Druid youth, Bran, at the Beltaine feasts, and woos him away from his elder masters.") (Part 5 of the Dreaming Stone aka the Kin/Bran series. This was the last in the seires written by Jane. Wally wrote a sixth related story.) (6)
• Rites of Passage by Jane of Australia ("The Syrae estate is upset by the unexpected arrival of a young man and woman whom Bodie recognizes: they are his sister and brother. But what should have been a joyous reunion is sour. Teal and Una are not at ease in Morhod; their customs and beliefs are widely at variants with those of the Syrae. Worst of all, Una fascinates Raven with her likeness to her elder brother: Bodie is not unaware of his mate's fascination, and when he sees Raven and Una together he believes the worst. Raphael must work a kind of magic all his own.") (It is story #9 of the The Hunting Universe, also in The Lost Hunting Stories) (66)
• Legacy, poem by Sue-Anne Hartwick(Kin/Bran) (118)
• Twilight by Jane, who wrote on the title page that it was "inspired by MS's Hound Of The Baskervilles...") ("A series of murders in Devonshire take the vampyre Changelings west from their London home to investigate, and their suspicions prove to be true. A Changeling is at work in the English countryside, and behind him he leaves young victims, cruelly suffering. Chabrier and Mario Rinaldi are telegraphed, and they, Bodie and Doyle solve a murder mystery with terrible ramifications.") (Later published as original fiction. ) (120)
• Shadows, poem by Sue-Anne Hartwick (Kin/Bran) (162)
• Warmth, poem by Sue-Anne Hartwick (Kin/Bran) (163)
• Freedom, poem by Sue-Anne Hartwick (Raven/Bodie) (174)

• 

  from issue #1

• 

  from issue #1, the hand in the shirt thing is a riff on a photo reference

• 

  from issue #1

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  from issue #1

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  from issue #1

Issue 2

cover of issue #2

fan-made cover of issue #2

flyer

Fantazine 2 was published in June 1990 and contains 168 pages.

The art is by JJ.

Regarding purchase, from a flyer: "Ask about bulk-buy prices. Do your circuit a favour!"

Regarding the art in 1988, from the editorial of Cross My Heart #4: "The 'art situation'... means that FANTAZINE #2 may come out illustrated by someone else if another available artist can be found, or it may be lavish graphically but be sans art, or we may reprint previous art." The art situation must have improved, as there are several pieces by JJ, including a fold-out on the last page.

The editorial contains a long comment about "safesex" and Fancy Dancing, see that page.

Also from the editorial, close living means spreading germs—even to one's pseuds!: "Before anyone says anything—we're late! In fact, we're late by a full fortnight, and even taking this date is going to be a scramble. It's wintertime, which means colds and 'flu and... you get the picture. At any one time, out of five or six people here at The Nut Hatch, three or four us can be waaay under the weather, not to say downright ill. The whole fault is JJ's. She's the one who picked it up, and breathed on the rest of us! So you know who to blame (just kidding)."

• The Sword by Jane (possibly incorporated into an original fiction novel ) ("It is Fourth Century Britain and, hunted by barbarians on their eastern flanks, the Romans have left the province to fend for itself. Saxons are raiding deeper into Celtic lands and the chiefs are uneasy. Into this world of struggle and the fight to survive are born two boys: Derai is a peasant freeman's son wanting desperately to be a warrior. Baedann is a warrior already, prideful and yet vulnerable. The two enter into a stinging, destructive rivalry until one terrible night changes everything. A whole navel, historical rather than fantasy, set against the bloody tapestry of Romano-Celtic Britain, lovingly researched from the perspective of an Arthurian-fancier.") (6)
• Wintersong, poem by Harmony, based on The Hunting (106)
• Silverwing by Barbara Jones ("Who is he? Is he human? Is he from this world, or another -- or from another time? All Bodie knows is, he is being hunted by someone so sad, and there seems only one solution... a ghost story with a haunting difference.") (108)
• Awakening (Out of Darkness), poem by Harmony, based on The Hunting (116)
• Raphael (Kevin's Song), poem by Harmony, based on The Hunting (117)
• Labyrinth by Madelaine Ingram -- Witchfires Series #2 -- (not to be confused with another story with the same title by one of this author's pseuds) ("Beydr and Raedal travel to Karnossus, in the land-girt sea where the daughter colonies of elder Atlantis have begun to spread and divide. There, they discover a riddle, a maze, and the threat of sudden death. The first sequel to Witchfire, which appeared in Cross My Heart 5. As Beydr and Raedal always knew, Mohan Ashtoc has learned what became of his willful seventh son; and Raedal'e existence is no longer a secret. Both young men are prized and hunted, but not for the same reason.") (118)

• 

  from issue #2, JJ, Derai of Whitestonecliff

• 

  from issue #2, JJ, Raven, Syrae-an

• 

  from issue #2, sample text

• 

  from issue #2, JJ, Derai and Baedan

• 

  from issue #2, Bodie, Doyle and Murphy

Issue 3

cover of issue #3, JJ

flyer issue #3, click to read story summaries

Fantazine 3 was published in April 1991 and contains 163 pages. It contains art by JJ.

In the editorial of Fantazine #3 (1991), the editor pleads for some art submissions: "Once again, art is solicited, but we've given up hoping to get it! Doesn't anyone out there draw?!"

• A Voice in the Wind (Raven/Bodie) by Joan Enright (4)
• The Stars Burn Cold (Raven/Bodie) by Joan Enright (4)
• Phoenix by Madelaine Ingram Witchfires Series #5 (Summary from the flyer: "The Quezelus sails on Vaal. Beydr and Raedal meet the Fate they have always known they rush toward, but Astoc and the Legion are not the sum of their worries. There is the sea itself, and even the Power of Zeft may not stand against it. This is the final part of the Beydr/Raedal saga.") (6)
• The Loves of Philip Mark by Joan Enright (Summary from the flyer: "The sometimes Sheriff of Nottingham, oft reviled, oft misunderstood, proves tenacious indeed, surviving to find love with mysterious young man named Raymonde, whom he meets in the forest, and wins against the odds. Based on the Robin of Sherwood episode.") (76)
• Raven/Bodie: Another Life by Joan Enright (set in The Hunting universe) (page 105)
• Sir Guy in Love by Joan Enright (107)
• Magickal, Part 4 (Zax/Scully) by Jane (page 10) ("Magickal, Part 4" follows Parts 1-3 in Cross My Heart 1, 2, and 3. The sequels, Parts 5 and 6, are in Cross My Heart 8 and 9. These stories were collected in a single zine Magickal. The stories are set in the world of Facelift, the futuristic movie in which MS played Zax. The pairing is Zax with a Bodie-clone called Scully.) (Summary from the flyer: "In the aftermath of the People's Revolution, Scully's anarchist friends believe they have won and secured their rights to co-exist in the chaotic post-holocaust future. But he and Zax have underestimated the Numbers from other cities. The ramifications of the Revolution are far-reaching and unexpected.") (108)

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  inside page from issue #3

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  inside page from issue #3

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  inside page from issue #3

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  inside page from issue #3

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  inside page from issue #3

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  inside page from issue #3

Issue 4

cover of issue #4, JJ

flyer for issue #4

Fantazine 4 was published in April/May 1992 and contains 161 pages. The art is by JJ. This zine also contains several black and white publicity photos.

It premiered at the 1992 MediaWest*Con.

All the stories in it are standalones and are not in any continuing universes. Some of the stories, however, have sequels in Full Circle #1.

The editorial is mostly about the minutia of printers and production problems, but also contains information about this zine's contents, as well as problems with an agent:

This issue we have a huge variety: SF, fantasy and horror. Lainie's piece is a chiller - be warned, do not read this one at midnight. Notice that two stories are crossovers: Arthur, and Highlander. However, (I stress!) you do NOT need to have seen either one in order to understand/enjoy these stories. If they had been so difficult, we wouldn't have published them. We do have videos, and it anyone wants VHS clones, we're happy to oblige. The last story springs off ARABIAN NIGHTS, of course. It's been on the circuit for six years so I don't think Hassan needs any intro. A last note: we have sent scores of zines to people who ordered from Kandi and never got copies. We must put a closing date on this, If only because it's already cost us $500!! If you need zines, write before June 30th. After that our money MUST be put to a new printer, and you must hit Kandi for refunds. She has all the $$$...we don't hear from her - all the zines we sent out were at our expense.

• Well Met by Moonlight, poem by Andrea Vyland (Raven/Bodie) (4)
• An East Wind Blowing by Jane ("Following 'The Sword.' Always restless, Baedann and Derai cannot resist the call to arms issued by a young warlord in the westcountry. They find themselves in a land held under siege from the Saxon, yet a land filled with love and the strange magic which is wrought by the Druidai... Arthur, the Bear, chieftain of a clan of Celts, general of an unruly, wilful army which will seldom follow orders; Kai, the Saxon who was left for dead as a child, raised by the Celts as Arthur's brother, only to become so much more; LIud, who was like a father to both of them - the veteran warrior with the silver hand and unshakeable honour; Mark of Cornwall, built like a bear, he has the heart of a lion in battle but is stubborn and unprincipled out of it; Rolf The Preacher, a former never and pillager who placed his faith in the God of Abraham, only to find his beliefs shaken once again; Connach, lately returned from Eiru, a powerful Druid - almost the last of his kind; Arthur's kinsman and his guide through a time of hardship; Cerdic, the Saxon warlord whose eyes are fixed on Celtic lands; Yorath, the Jute, Arthur's uneasy ally; Rowena, daughter of Yorath, in love with Arthur and dealt a bitter awakening when she discovers for herself the truth... ...Baedann and Derai find themselves in the midst of a ferment of passion and upheaval, where powerful men and mighty egos clash, love is battled for, hard won and jealously guarded, and where the key to the survival and liberty of the Celtic peoples is the young Arthur Of The Britons." "For those of you who have long wanted to see slash stories on Arthur/Kal, here, you get your wish!") (Arthur of the Britains/The Sword, pairing is Baedann/Dera) (later published as original fiction ) (6)
• A Kind of Magic, poem by Barbara Jones (sequel in Full Circle #1) (B/D/Highlander) (92)
• Eye of the Lion by Madelaine Ingram ("An archaeologist, Doyle's high school friend, returns from Africa with an artefact, a hand carved statue of a lion, clad in gold leaf and set with ruby eyes. Bodie has only to see it to be caught in the grip of terrible fear...for he has seen it before, and he knows the awesome power which surrounds it. Doyle struggles to understand what Bodie's warnings mean. The truth soon becomes apparent.") (110)
• The Sovereign Voyage of Sinbad by Kathy Keegan (Rashid/Hassan) ("Yes—at last!—a sequel to 'Arabian Nights'. Rachid and Hassan have made good with their own ship; now. Captain Sinbad is in the same port of Charak, and he approaches Rachid with an offer his former mate and Hassan cannot refuse. They will sail in company with Sinbad's ship to deliver Princess Fenzileh and her dowry to her betrothed; but the girl has other plans, and she has friends, one of whom is a pirate named Kabir.") (136)

• 

  from issue #4

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  from issue #4

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  from issue #4

Issue 5

Fantazine 5 was published in May 1993 and contains 150 pages. It has art by JJ, Baravan, and Karen Eaton.

"In the Future Tense, Part 3" is a sequel to In the Future Tense. The centrepieces of the zine are AQUAMARINE by Jane, and THE SILENCE OF KNIVES by Kathy Keegan— two B/D SF novellas that are vastly different.

cover of issue #5

cover of issue #5, later reprint, perhaps pirated

flyer for issue #5

from issue #5, Kathy Keegan's author's foreword

from issue #5, JJ's editorial

The zine includes a long author's foreword by JJ regarding this zine, and the state of the press due to "attacks," and her statements that she is not the same person as Kathy Keegan or Barbara Jones:

We have quite an issue for you this time! To begin, it's worth noting that we've managed to pack almost 200,000 words into this issue, and that's the equivalent of two, or even three paperback novels. You'll notice at once that we compressed the type and opted for half inch margins. This was vital, if we were going to get all that text in. This really is a zine and a half between one set of covers. Not much artwork this time—but let me thank both Karen and Baravan for their pieces, which compliment the zine beautifully! To brighten up the rest of this enormous text, we've relied on graphics—all those fancy headers, borders, backgrounds on the titles. They really do look good, and they're also tremendously easy to produce (which means my poor right hand gels a rest). It may not look like it, but the graphics are produced at the touch of a key, in a programme called Instant Artist, which comes highly recommended. With a whole major novel presented here, I don't want to chatter too long before I let you get down to the serious stuff, so I'll just make a few notes about the press!

Most importantly, I have to tell you, Nut Hatch has dwindled to just two people now. It's just JJ and Barb. Kath's domestic problems are too pressing for her to come back ... and I regret to say that the maliciousness that's been directed toward us lately has impacted very heavily on Angie and Pam. Neither of them have a constitution like Arnold, and (probably wisely), they've decided to drop out. It's always painful to be attacked, verbally or in print. Some of us have been enduring this for ten years, and all of us are both sad and depressed that it continues to happen. We won't fight; we don't have the energy, the killer instinct or the endurance, which probably makes people see us as easy targets. Also, we're highly visible, which makes us a large target! And we're fairly successful in several fields, which means that it's natural that we'll draw fire. Someone once said, 'they only tackle the one with the ball." But rationalising why you're being rubbished is not the same as being untouched by it. Our instinctive reaction was to go to ground, send out subscription refunds and close the press at once; Angie and Pam just walked out, but Barb and I decided to keep going at least until we've seen out our commitments. That doesn't mean we're indifferent to being attacked, just that we are strong enough to say, 'if there's ten people out there who hate us, there's also fifty who appreciate the work we do, and we owe them a debt of gratitude for their support." We might wish someone would write the occasional letter to one of the people who rubbish us, and defend us. Just now and then, "sigh" Somehow, it never (or rarely) seems to happen.

The 'fallout" from this is that Nut Hatch is now down to two pairs of hands, and we're going to be slow!! Two of us can't keep up with the work necessary to put out a big zine every other month—just can't be done. So schedules must be redrawn. We hope to be able lo produce Elvensongs Part 2 by about the end of August, and if we can get CMH #2 to the post by the end of November, we'll be very satisfied with our efforts. Full Circle #2 and Encore #2 will be in the New Year...

And then, folks, take a deep breath. The larder is bare. The 'story box" is empty. Nothing else is in the pipeline, nothing else is on offer to us. At this time, I'm asking you not to take out 1994 subscriptions, because there is nothing to subscribe to! Additionally, prices are rising again—we're taking a considerable financial loss, every issue—and salts are falling. We have more readers than we ever had, but up to three people are sharing the same copy, which is great for them, disastrous for us. They say the Recession is over and we're into the Recovery. Well, maybe; but we were doing fine during the Recession and it wasn't till this last six months that things have really started to go askew.

Now, before anyone panics let me assure everyone that if/when all these pressures come to bear and we must fold, everyone will be paid a refund in full for any and all subscription funds we arc holding on account for you. We run a very, very thorough database and we know where every penny is. No one will be left wanting for a zine or a refund cheque. You've trusted us for years, please continue to trust us.

In a perfect world, the maliciousness we've suffered lately would stop, people would defend us, zine sales would pick up, prices would stabilise and submissions would appear to kick-start the publishing schedule. We're waiting with baited breath, hoping and praying. No one wouId be more delighted than us to see his happen ... on the other hand, no one would be less surprised if it did not. Life's been a bitch, lately—there's a lot of it around.

For now all I can stress is, you will not lose any funds you have on account with us ... we will be around until well into 1994 ... all zines planned will be produced... but we're down to two pairs of hands, and two can't do the work of five, in the same time!! We'll be slow(er),

All that said, let me close here and let you get to the zine. If this has been a down-beat editorial, you have my most sincere apologies. In fact, this has been a pretty rough time for us all. I'm just delighted that we've been able to produce a really gorgeous zine. Turn over this (depressing?) page, and begin! Your friend and reluctant editor. JJ

At the end of the zine, JJ added:

Please read!!

Since I wrote the editorial for this issue, and while we were collating, we received several messages from contributors, promising stories and novels ... relax! There will be zines next year, although despite the kindness of contributors, two things will remain unchanged. One, Kath’s departure will leave a big gap that we won’t be able to fill, and also, with just two pairs of hands at Nut Hatch, we are definitely going to be slow. The bottom line to all this is; there will be zines, but two of us can’t keep up the busy publishing schedule of years gone by. So we’re begging for patience, folks, but ... zines there will be,

if those contributors follow through with the promised goods. Uh, hint, hint.

Summaries below are from a 1993 flyer printed in Cross My Heart #10.

• Love Is, Love Was, Love Will Be, poem by Wally (6)
• The Silence of Knives by Kathy Keegan ("Centuries in the future, the Empire of Earth has spread through many star systems and allied itself with other worlds to become stronger. One of the principal sources of its strength during the expansion is its Starfleet. Young people are conscripted to serve a five year mandatory enlistment, from seventeen to twenty-two years of age. There are no exceptions to this rule. The life is rough, the training is hard and the discipline is notorious. Starfleet is allowed an 'acceptable casualty rate,' in training and on the battlefield. But when the son of a very rich man is killed in training by a brute of an instructor, law or no law, his father Is determined to be avenged. Enter Ray Doyle, a specialist in his trade. The trade of the Master Assassin. Like everyone else, Doyle went through his 'five year hitch,' ten years ago. He knows the ropes. Now, on contract, he will return to Starfleat, find the man who killed his employer's son and ...settle accounts. He is assigned to a unit aboard a Starship for re-training and familiarisation; his platoon sergeant is a men called Bodie. Soon Bodie is caught up in Doyle's web of intrigue. The end of this one may astonish you!") (8)
• Captive: The Other Side, poem by Jane (90)
• In the Future Tense, Part 3 by Wally ("Here, our futuristic Bodie and Doyle are up against a particularity nasty drug in this sequel short-story to Wally's successful novel.") (92)
• Dream Sonnet by Barb Jones (102)
• Prick Up Your Ears by Susan Douglass ("A short fantasy tale about elvenktnd and humankind, which ie something of a reversal ...I Plus short Vampire fiction by Susan Douglass, promised for this zine by the deadline date.") (103)
• Raven/Bodie 'Toons by Karen Eaton (106)
• Aquamarine by Jane, later published as original fiction ("Closer to home, two centuries from now, after global warming, the sees have risen up and the earth is a water world. Bodie is a research scientist working on e man-mud a Island paradise; Doyle is his pet project; or, his project and his pet, if you prefer! He is an Aquarian, the first of a new breed of Men, genetically engineered to be able to live and breathe underwater. Doyle will need all his skills and abilities when things start to go wrong. It begins with the theft of a pleasure craft and, acorn-syndrome fashion, explodes from there.") (107)

• 

  from issue #5, Baravan

• 

  from issue #5, Karen Eaton

• 

  from issue #5, sample text

• 

  from issue #5, Karen Eaton

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 5

[The Silence of Knives]: My first thought on glancing at this story was - oh cool, fic set in Russia, because the action starts out in a place called Vazyabinsk, Cimarosa. By the second paragraph though I had been introduced to Bridgeman North Quarry, Montrose and Yokosuka, in the third paragraph I was told that "the atmosphere was oxygen poor", and by the fourth we were playing with low orbits. AU science fiction, then - set in a highly detailed, clearly conceived futuristic world.

And it really is. There are lots of secondary characters, a past for each of the lads that could be worked up as novels in their own rights (see below!), and oodles and oodles of historical, political and any-other-cal information. The plot is fairly intricate, and weaves from planet to planet via various space-empire-dangers in a reasonably realistic way, considering the genre.

The thing is... (*g*) While the story was good and meaty, and the characters well fleshed out, Bodie and Doyle didn't really seem like Bodie and Doyle to me, and that got me thinking - what exactly is it that makes the lads - the lads? And how far can an author go with characterisation and background before they stop being "the lads" that we might recognise?

Obviously it'll be different for everyone, but I wonder if there are basic characterisations that we miss if they're not there?

In "Silence of the Knives", for example, Doyle is an assassin. He's got a bit of a conscience about it, and it's explained that he's weighed up the good he does against the evil of killing etc, but basically - he's an assassin. He's paid to kill people. For me this is one of the most un-Doyle things that I can think of - in fact, for all Bodie was a mercenary, it's an un-Bodie thing as well. I'm sure there are lots of ways in which it might be made to work, and the reasoning given here is sound etc, but somehow, coupled with the other traits the author has given Doyle, for me it doesn't. Doyle is interested in money as an end in itself. He consciously, purposefully, works himself into a passion about the evil of the man he's sent to kill, but the bottom line is that he's doing it for the money - although he claims "I'm not a murderer". Despite this he's apparently dedicated himself to a "master"/guru/religion. Oh, and this means that he can "turn off pain" whenever he wants to. He's pretty much perfect at everything he does. All of which makes my head spin with not-Doyle-ness.

Issue 6

cover of issue #6

Fantazine 6 was published in May 1995 and contains 159 pages.

From the publisher's foreword:

Unbelievably, here I am again! A sixth issue of Fantazrte, and another MediaWest and another midyear... but also some visible changed in the zines. Even the most un-computer-minded reader should be able to see, there's a whole new method of assembly. This one is desktop published from inside a whole suite of DTP programs. I'm using PagePlus, TypePlus. DrawPlus, and the font- and art-packs. Amazing software that produces enormous visual impact. Only thing is, I really need a faster processor in this computer to make it work really well. You mean, I have to update the electronics? Ouch!

Well, maybe some day when I'm more flush with money!

Also, you can't overlook the fact that I've produced this issue on the American paper size. The reason? "If you can't lick 'em, join 'em." Sales of Nut Hatch zines in Australia have dwindled to around half a dozen! We also send a much healthier number to Europe and the UK, but around 80% of the print run is bought in the USA, and I made a kind of unilateral decision to have the zines printed in the States for two reasons.

One, to get the price down! Two, to make a so-called profit on each issue, which will go towards bailing this press (read: me) out of debt! If you recall, a few years ago we had terrible problems in distribution, which entailed Nut Hatch supplying around 200 zines that we had not been paid for. Right after this, Betty Ann contacted us, took over distribution, literally saved the press ... but we had to borrow from friends and relatives to pay for printing and postage. Well, most of that lot ain't paid back yet, and as Nut Hatch dwindled to (more or less) just me, I find myself responsible for a debt In five figures!! So yes, it's much cheaper to get the printing done in the US, but no, right now I can't drop the cover price radically.

But here's my promise: when I'm all paid-up, one of two things will happen. Either Nut Hatch zines will get a lot bigger for the same price, or they'll stay the same size and get a lot cheaper!

This issue, we have something for everyone, a historical (actually a Western!), a large fantasy, SF, and even vampyre. Although doing this issue wholly in desktop publishing was a massive job (took easily four times longer than word processing), the results are superb! It just takes so long, I can't promise to do it every time. But I will if I can, because it's fun and it looks great!

Jane's comments from the zine regarding her story, "In the Season of War":

I owe an acknowledgment, which I'll make right here! The very first section of this story ... around the first dozen pages or so ... owe, in large part, to a plotting idea from a single episode of the 1973 HTV series Arthur Of The Britons, The episode is called "People Of The Plough," and in it Kai comes upon a Saxon farm where a woman is living alone, because her husband is a prisoner in the neighbouring state; he won't fight, because he killed his brother in a fight ... over the woman!

In the show, Kai gets the fool free, makes him fight to get him out of the gladiatorial arena, returns him to his wife, and his wife is glad to have him back. Even though he is a murdering, jealous, possessive, sonofabitch. She could have gone with Kai, and to this day, I don't know why she'd want the husband back. Because it was a 'family' show and the director/writer wanted to uphold the sanctity of marriage?

All these years I've wondered, what would have happened if the return of the errant spouse was unwelcome? The ramifications are incredible! And the last time I watched that particular show a whole story idea spun off it in my own mind, and The Season Of War is the result, and it has nothing to do with Arthur Of The Britons!

I freely acknowledge the episode of AOTB, but may I point out here, after around p. 12 of the text, my story is entirely my creation and not drawn from the episode.

• Midnight's Master by Andrea Vyland (4)
• Midnight's Passion by Andrea Vyland (5)
• South of the Border by Wally ("An American bounty hunter ruthless and efficient, arrives in a small Mexican town to perform an unpleasant task, and there he meets a young man, an artist with dire family trouble... Spanish blood runs hot, and it soon becomes plain that this is a matter of revenge. Bodie- the bounty hunter- is unaware of quite what he is getting himself into when he takes on the commission, but one thing he knows for sure; he is much too captivated by the gentleman, Rasmond Doyle, to turn down this unlikely offer of employment. A not-so-simple job leads to so much more. Two genres, the classic Western and the not-so classic romance, roll into one. in this absorbing tale.") (6)
• In the Season of War by Jane ("The borderlands between Mithgaard and its warlike neighbours have never really been at peace, and since Bodie - the youngest son of the Thendir clan of the Seregae - was born there has been constant skirmishing. Following a terrible battle, he is sent deep into Chaal to find the shaman, Jirrel, who knows the secret charms and herbs that cure and heal. But before ever he arrives at the fortress of Glangaran, Bodie makes the acquaintance of a young scholar named Raymond, of the Doyle clan of the Rethac. Emotion flared instantly between the two...but there are problems. To begin with, Raymond is married; his wife is about to be executed; Glangaran is rife with intrigue and deadly deception, and a battle looms that could be the end of everything ... or the beginning of a new life. A whole fantasy novel in a new universe, from a favourite writer.") (29)
• Showfolk by Karen Mercer ("It's the Twenty-third Century. Earth has colonised a hundred light years of the galaxy, and far, far across the stars ... one still can't escape The Moral Majority! Driven out of the homeworlds, the MM'ers have taken their message of 'a return to family values' to the colonies, and they still can't win an election on fairly. Rival candidates keep getting assassinated, and in every colony where it happens, the starship Troubadour is found. It's crew is a very bad touring theatre company, regularly rubbished by the critics... and a misfit. An ex-Imperial Marine named Bodie. The ship arrives on Borax is during an election campaign and ex-Sergeant Bodie is in big trouble. He's the prime suspect of the Imperial! But he's in luck...the officer in charge of the local ISC is an old friend, one Raymond Doyle. Science Fiction merges with hilarious comedy.") (150)

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  sample interior page from issue #6

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  sample interior page from issue #6

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  sample interior page from issue #6