Frontier

Frontier Issue 23 Oct-Dec 2001

Zine
Title:	Frontier
Publisher:	K&J Publishing
Editor(s):	Katharine Shade, Jeremy Sadler
Type:
Date(s):	1996-2002
Frequency:	Bi-monthly (later quarterly)
Medium:	Print
Size:	A4
Fandom:
Language:	English
External Links:	Facebook Archive
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Frontier was an Australian magazine covering the topics of science fiction and fantasy in popular culture, published between 1996 and 2002.

Launched in April 1996 and published by K&J Publishing, Frontier covered topics in the genres of popular science fiction and fantasy within the media of films, television, video games, comics, and literature. Katharine Shade served as Editor and Jeremy Sadler served as Art Director/Sub-Editor for the duration of the magazine's publication. Both contributed articles and reviews.

Each issue contained feature articles, interviews, news ("Commline Chatter", later "Chatter", small news items), reviews, and listings of Australian clubs and conventions.

Initially published bi-monthly, in February 1997 it was announced the magazine had changed to quarterly publication.

In October 1999, Katharine wrote on the creation of the magazine:

We had both done a lot of work for fan clubs, and learnt a lot through this. But we both wanted to do something of our own, over which we had complete control, and which covered all different kinds of science fiction media, rather than concentrating on one as with the fan clubs. We also wanted to make this a professional operation, with an offical business name, with the hope that we could expand in the future, both having interests in writing and desk top publishing. But first, we had to get an issue out.

Starting up a new project is always a time consuming thing, and we certainly proved this theory. We had to decide on format, frequency of release, who was going to distribute it, where we were going to get the money for it, and do an awful lot of writing! It took us quite a few months to put it together, and our first issue came out in April 1996.

We had excellent feedback, and as we became better known, we started to get more people contributing, which gave as more time to spend on other aspects of the magazine. After our third issue, we decided that it was crunch time due to the necessity of changing printers, and the financial side of things, and we had three choices; to quit, to continue as we were, or to expand and see how far we could go.

We decided to take the plunge and expand, so that we could always say that we did our best and put everything into it. We tripled our print run, and found a distributor who would deal with what is in the publishing industry, a fairly small print run, and look after newsagents around Australia. Once again, we have had a great response, and we are looking forward to continuing to expand as we become more well known around the country.

There are many science fiction media magazines available in Australia, however none of them are produced by Australians. We felt that there was a niche that needed to be filled, particularly at a more reasonable price...

In September 1997 at the Australian National Science Fiction Convention in Melbourne, Australia the magazine won an Australian Science Fiction Media Award (ASFMA) for "Best Fan Newsletter".

In 1998 at the Thylacon II convention in Hobart, Australia the magazine was nominated for a Ditmar Award as "Best Fanzine".

The magazine ceased paper publication following Issue 23 in December 2001. Issue 24 was released in March 2002 online as a PDF for free. The magazine then ceased publication. The magazine's official website (frontiermagazine.net) closed at the same time.

In December 2023 all issues were released as images in albums on the magazine's Facebook page.

Contributors

• Adam Howard
• Adrian Ringin
• Adrienne Losin
• Alexander J. Ballingall
• Andrew Kruspe
• Andrew McGee
• Anne Forman-Todd
• Anthony Leong
• Antonia Z. Rodriguez
• Belinda Singe
• Bob Lauderdale
• Brian Smith
• Cameron Smith
• Chris Pirrotta
• Darren Maxwell
• Deryck O'Byrne
• Edward McArdle
• Gabrielle Merten
• Geoff Tilley
• George Ivanoff
• George Sclauzero
• Glen Fredericks
• Glen Morgan
• Grace Gabriel
• Graham Jones
• Grant Watson
• Greg Coker
• H. Gibbens
• Ian Boyle
• Ian Gunn
• Jan Wilson
• Janice Hill
• Jenny Wake
• John Cook
• John Crnjanin
• John Whear
• Joshua Bentley
• Karen Johnson
• Karen Miller
• Karen Scott
• Karen Stephens
• Kerri Valkova
• Les Zigomanis
• Leslie Sharples
• Malcolm R. Davis
• Margaret Grierson
• Marijan Juratovac
• Marion MacNally
• Mark Goddard
• Mark Juddery
• Mark Sorensen
• Matthew Ficcaglia
• Neil Hogan
• Neile A. Kirk
• Nicole Ellis
• Nicole Piehler
• Paula Ruzek
• Robert Jan
• Robert Licuria
• Russell Devlin
• Ryan Alexander
• Sarah Berry
• Sarah Lawson
• Silvester Iolo Lekoupa
• Steven Cateris
• TDC Armitage
• Tim Reddan
• Tracey Payne
• Trent Yarwood
• Wendy Wadsworth

Awards

1997

• Winner: "Best Fan Newsletter" - Australian Science Fiction Media Awards - Australian National Science Fiction Convention, Melbourne

1998

• Nominated: "Best Fanzine" - Ditmar Awards - Thylacon II, Hobart

Issues

Issue 1 - April/May 1996

Frontier Issue 1 cover

Frontier Issue 1 Making Meggido by Jeremy Sadler (1996)

• Making Meggido: An inside look into the production of a local sci-fi film. By Jeremy Sadler.
• Interview: Shane Morrissey. By Katharine Shade.
• The X Factor. By Jeremy Sadler.
• X marks the spot: The X Files Third Season preview.
• Evolving Generations: How have the characters of TNG changed over seven years? By Margaret Grierson.
• On The Trail: making of a local Star Wars fan film. By Jeremy Sadler.
• What is Science Fiction? By Katharine Shade

Issue 2 - June/July 1996

Frontier Issue 2 cover

• Doctor Who? Interview with Robert Picardo (Star Trek: Voyager). By Katharine Shade.
• Hangin' in Zero-G: Interview with Robert Jan and Paula Ruzek of 3RRR radio's Zero-G. By Katharine Shade.
• X marks the spot: The X Files Season Three preview continues.
• It's About Time: Doctor Who makes a comeback. By Grant Watson.
• Wonders of Babylon. Interview with Andrea Thompson and Jerry Doyle of Babylon 5. By Robert Jan and Paula Ruzek.
• Babylon 5 vs Deep Space 9. By Katharine Shade.
• Possibilities: would Worf have worked without Tasha Yar? By Belinda Singe.

Issue 3 - August/September 1996

Frontier Issue 3 cover

This issue is noted for some copies having a binding error of double covers, and a change to the masthead.

• A Disturbance in the Force: The sci-fi revolution. By Darren Maxwell.
• I Want To Believe: a guide to rumours. By Katharine Shade.
• X marks the spot: The X Files Season Three preview continues.
• Abductions: who is right? By Belinda Singe.
• The Biggest Bang of All: Independence Day movie preview. By Jeremy Sadler.
• Symbolism Embolism: what makes a sex symbol? By Belinda Singe.
• Little Green Men. By Darren Maxwell.
• The Aussie boom. By George Ivanoff.

Issue 4 - October/November 1996

Frontier Issue 4 cover

30 Years of Star Trek Special

• Independence Daze: A Strategic Analyst's take on Independence Day. By Malcolm Davis.
• From the Ocean to the Freeway: interview with Ocean Girl scriptwriter Carole Wilkinson. By George Ivanoff.
• There Can Be Only One. By Karen Scott.
• Where have all the records gone? By Darren Maxwell.
• Keep On Trekkin'. By Katharine Maxwell (nee Shade) and Darren Maxwell.
• On Screen! The Star Trek films. By Darren Maxwell.
• Animating Treks. By Russell Devlin.
• Generation Gap. By Katharine Maxwell.
• To Boldly Sit... By Margaret Grierson.
• Running Man: revisiting Logan's Run. By George Sclauzero.
• Remember when...? Revisiting Metropolis. By Darren Maxwell.

Issue 5 - December 1996/January 1997

Frontier Issue 5 cover

• Making Contact: A Star Trek: First Contact special. By Jeremy Sadler.
• The Fan: putting that special breed under the microscope. By Geoff Tilley.
• All New Hope: the future of Star Wars. By Katharine Maxwell.
• Golden Originals: Star Trek The Original Series. By Katharine Maxwell.
• Voyager Shape Up. By Katharine Maxwell.
• A Trek Too Far? By Margaret Grierson.
• The Collecting Bug. By Katharine Maxwell.
• Around the Horner: interview with composer James Horner. By Jan Wilson.

Issue 6 - February-April 1997

Frontier Issue 6 cover

Features masthead change.

From the editorial "The Leading Force":

Change is a part of life and Frontier isn't immune. As we approach our second year, we have made a few alterations. The biggest change is that we have decided to go quarterly.

• Back in the Wars: Inside and around the Star Wars Special Editions. By Darren Maxwell.
• Return to Discovery: re-evaluating 2001: A Space Odyssey. By Ian Boyle.
• Sleepless in Babylon: J. Michael Straczynski about Babylon 5 season 3. By Jeremy Sadler.
• The Power of X: The X Files Season 4 preview.
• Balanced Particle Freeway. By George Ivanoff.
• Behind the Wars: interview with Lucasfilm model-maker and puppeteer Don Bies. By Katharine Maxwell.
• Star Walking: a history. By Darren Maxwell.
• Kiddies' fare or Opera? By Jan Wilson.
• Space: Above and Beyond first season episode guide. By Robert Licuria.
• Meet George Jetson: the sci-fi films of Hanna-Barbera. By Geoff Tilley.

Issue 7 - May-July 1997

Frontier Issue 7 cover

• From cult to pop: the rise of The X Files. By Katharine Maxwell
• Ocean travels: behind the scenes of Ocean Girl. By George Ivanoff.
• Station spin-offs: Babylon 5 set to outlive the five year plan. By Katharine Maxwell.
• In space no one can hear you smeg: Red Dwarf season seven. By Deryck O'Byrne.
• Everything old is new again. By George Sclaurzero.
• Immortal Yesterdays: genesis of the Highlander films. By Belinda Singe.
• Romana Memories: interview with Lalla Ward (Doctor Who). By Katharine Maxwell.
• The Perfect Show. By Geoff Tilley.

Frontier Issue 8 cover

Issue 8 August-October 1997

• In defence of Space: Above and Beyond. By Janice Hill.
• In space no one can hear you smeg part 2. By Deryck O'Byrne (Red Dwarf).
• Star Cops: the forgotten classic. By Grant Watson.
• Dark Skies: an alien threat. By Malcolm R. Davis.
• The X Files Season 4 preview part 2. By Katharine Maxwell.
• Interview: Stephen Sansweet, Lucasfilm's ambassadorial collector. By Katharine Maxwell.
• Interview: Kenny Baker, the droid with the showman's touch. By Katharine Maxwell and Jeremy Sadler.
• Force Two convention report. By Katharine Maxwell.
• Leaving Babylon: Claudia Christian departs Babylon 5. By Jeremy Sadler.

Issue 9 November 1997-January 1998

Frontier Issue 9 cover

• Interview: Patrick Stewart. By George Ivanoff.
• Great Maker or Great Faker? Analysing Babylon 5. By John Crnjanin.
• Parallel worlds, future times: interview with Mark Shirrefs and John Thomson. By George Ivanoff.
• A (Very) Long Voyage: the frailties of Star Trek: Voyager. By Silvester Iolo Lekoupa.
• Interview: Dean Haglund (The X Files). By Katharine Maxwell.
• Interview: Jeremy Bulloch (Star Wars). By Katharine Maxwell and Jeremy Sadler.
• Interview: Robert Llewellyn (Red Dwarf). By Sarah Lawson.

Issue 10 February-April 1998

Frontier Issue 10 cover

A repeat of the binding error with some copies having double covers.

• Doctor Franklin, I presume. Interview with Richard Biggs (Babylon 5). By Karen Miller.
• Interview: Adam Howard, Australian FX in Hollywood. By Katharine Maxwell.
• Lost no longer: Mark Goddard (Lost in Space) on tour in Australia. By Steven Cateris.
• Best of Both Worlds convention report. By Darren Maxwell.
• A Matter of Rank: the top commanders of Star Trek. By Silvester Iolo Lekoupa.
• Musings of a V.B.M. (Very Busy Man). Interview with writer/producer Glen Morgan. By Antonia N. Rodriguez.
• The rise and rise of Babylon 5: season four preview. By Katharine Maxwell.
• Opening the Gate: Stargate SG-1. By Belinda Singe.

Issue 11 May-July 1998

Frontier Issue 11 cover

• Christian Ways: interview with Claudia Christian (Babylon 5). By Katharine Maxwell.
• Alien Reasons. By Silvester Iolo Lekoupa.
• Flashback to time lapse: back to when there was "adult" Australian sci-fi. By Mark Juddery.
• No Surrender No Retreat: Babylon 5 season 4 preview continues. By Katharine Maxwell.
• Exhibiting Marina: interview with Marina Sirtis (Star Trek: The Next Generation). By Katharine Maxwell.

Issue 12 August-October 1998

Frontier Issue 12 cover

• Sealed with an X: inside The X Files movie. By Jeremy Sadler.
• Best of Both Worlds 3 convention report. By Edward McArdle.
• Cruising in Alaska: on-board "Cruise Trek". By Edward McArdle.
• Watching the future: interview with Ocean Girl creator Jonathan M Shiff. By George Ivanoff.
• Computers in sci-fi. By Brian Smith.
• Twenty years of Blake's 7. By Janice Hill.
• What happened to Star Trek: The Next Generation? By Adrian Ringin.
• Many faces of an alien. By Silvester Iolo Lekoupa.

Issue 13 November 1998-January 1999

Frontier Issue 13 cover

• Gate Crashing: behind the scenes of Stargate SG-1. By Karen Miller.
• Star Trek Insurrection: the usual suspects are back. By Katharine Maxwell.
• Smallpox and bees: The X Files model for gene therapy. By Anthony Leong.
• Heirs to the Empire: books and comics in Star Wars. By Adrian Ringin.
• The little saviours of Star Trek. By Silvester Iolo Lekoupa.
• Writer's Bible: How Star Trek demeans women in 5 easy lessons. By Karen Stephens.

Issue 14 February-March 1999

Frontier Issue 14 cover

A temporary change to bi-monthly to align issues with the calendar year. A "From the Editor" note reads:

You'll notice that the issue you are holding in your hot little hands is dated Feb/March 1999. The change to bi-monthly is temporary and we'll be back to quarterly next issue.

• Girl Power: who is this Xena: Warrior Princess? By Jeremy Sadler
• Ocean Girl gets animated. By George Ivanoff.
• The Final Cut? Do director's cuts make the grade. By Anthony Leong.
• A Ranger Passing: interview with Jason Carter (Babylon 5). By Katharine Maxwell.
• When the millennium bug bites... By Karen Stephens.

Issue 15 April-June 1999

Frontier Issue 15 cover

• Star Wars The Phantom Menace feature. By Jeremy Sadler.
• Spoof Wars. By Jeremy Sadler.
• Better Red than Smeg: the new series of Red Dwarf. By Joshua Bentley.
• Lost No Longer: interview with Marta Kristen (Lost In Space). By Steven Cateris.
• Can Voyager come home? By Silvester Iolo Lekoupa.
• Thunderstone: behind the scenes of new Aussie sci-fi series. By George Ivanoff.
• The End of Babylon 5: reflecting on a long five years. By Anthony Leong.
• Big Boy's Toys: the unreal being made real on Stargate SG-1. By Jenny Wake.

Issue 16 July-September 1999

Frontier Issue 16 cover

Buffy The Vampire Slayer special

• Spiking Buffy: when is a hero not a hero? By Karen Miller.
• Wild about Buffy. By Gabrielle Merten.
• Buffy episode guide.
• Thunderstone 2. By George Ivanoff.
• Opinions of The Phantom Menace (collected short film reviews).
• Doctoring the Gate: conversations with the women of Stargate SG-1. By Karen Miller.
• Alien's Breakfast: you don't have to be an alien to work at 9 but it helps! By George Ivanoff.
• All that's Old is New again. By Karen Stephens.
• Wedge takes command: Star Wars novels take the path away from the main characters. By Karen L. Scott.

Issue 17 October-December 1999

Frontier Issue 17 cover

• A Century of Science Fiction: a Frontier special presentation. Introduction by Jeremy Sadler.
• Lord of the Rings update. By Sarah Lawson.
• It's a Kind of Magic: the history of Highlander. By Karen L. Scott.
• Worldcon Report. Various authors.
• Full Circle. By TDC Armitage.
• Walk like an Egyptian: interview with Michael Shanks (Stargate SG-1). By Karen Miller.
• Apollo Returns: Richard Hatch returns to Battlestar Galactica. By George Ivanoff.

Issue 18 January-March 2000

Frontier Issue 18 cover

• Travelling Jack: interview with Richard Dean Anderson (Stargate SG-1). By Jenny Wake.
• The Legacy of Star Blazers. By Anthony Leong.
• Sci-Fi Tricks: the tricks that TV and film producers play... By Anthony Leong.
• Angel: the verdict. By Karen Miller.
• General Musings: interview with Don S. Davis (Stargate SG-1). By Karen Miller.
• Aliens of Stargate: friends and enemies of SG-1. By Jenny Wake.

Issue 19 April-June 2000

Frontier Issue 19 cover

• Rock On: 3rd Rock From The Sun. By Jeremy Sadler.
• Thunderstone 3. By George Ivanoff.
• Interview with Jeffrey Walker (Thunderstone). By George Ivanoff.
• Ellen Ripley: kicking alien butt. By Gabrielle Merten.
• On the page: interview with Stargate SG-1 scripwriter Heather Ash. By Karen Miller.
• Other sci-fi comedies. By Sarah Lawson.
• Blade Runner blues: a reflection on a classic. By Anthony Leong.

Issue 20 July-September 2000

Frontier Issue 20 cover

• Farscape: a new sci-fi series with Australian connections. By Ryan Alexander.
• Bugs Mr Rico! Animated Starship Troopers. By Jeremy Sadler.
• More Breakfast. By George Ivanoff.
• Interview with author Michael A. Stackpole. By Glen Fredericks.
• Interview with Ray Harryhausen. By Jan A. Wilson.
• Down Under Cons. By Katharine Maxwell.
• 3rd Rock From The Sun episode guide part 2.
• Those Dirty Apes! By Anthony Leong.

Issue 21 October-December 2001

Frontier Issue 21 cover

Star Wars Episode II feature.

• Interview with Star Wars Executive Producer Rick McCallum. By Karen Miller.
• Cameron's Angel: James Cameron heads to TV with Dark Angel. By Jeremy Sadler.
• Andromeda Ascendant: another series blasts off. By Jeremy Sadler.
• Prey: why humanity is doomed. By Steven Cateris.
• Farscape episode guide.
• On the page: interview with Stargate SG-1 executive producer Robert C. Cooper. By Karen Miller.

Issue 22 July-September 2001

Frontier Issue 22 cover

• The Big Picture: big movies coming. By Jeremy Sadler, Katharine Shade and Anthony Leong.
• A New Enterprise: Star Trek goes back to its roots. By Katharine Shade.
• Rangers of Babylon: a new Babylon 5 spin-off. By Katharine Shade.
• CyberGirl: interview with Jonathan M. Shiff about his new series. By George Ivanoff.
• Fake skin and severed heads: interview with Stargate SG-1's Australian makeup artist Jan Newman. By Jenny Wake.
• Lord of Cannes: 24 minutes of The Lord of the Rings wows the audience. By Chris Pirrotta.
• Angel episode guide.
• Looking back at V. By Anthony Leong.

Issue 23 October-December 2001

Frontier Issue 23 cover

The Lord of the Rings feature.

• Lords of the Screen: interview with Sir Ian McKellan, Christopher Lee and John Rhys-Davies. By Chris Pirrotta.
• Warriors of the Ring: interview with Viggo Mortensen and Sean Bean. By Chris Pirrotta.
• Something about Harry. By Katharine Shade.
• Double Jeopardy: interview with Michael Shanks (Stargate SG-1). By Jenny Wake.
• Interview with Virginia Hey (Farscape). By George Ivanoff and Katharine Shade.
• Buffy episode guide (seasons 4 & 5).

In December 2023, Jeremy Sadler shared the magazine Facebook album issue scans in the Melbourne SF History Facebook group and wrote a statement:

The weight of the workload, the expense, and Real Life bore down on us, and it was after this issue we sat down and had a serious discussion about the future. With the internet now fully risen but still rather a wild west, we decided to try the digital distribution route. The next issue would be distributed free, online, as a PDF... After much agonising and with sadness, we wound up the print version of Frontier and left it, I feel, on a high.

Issue 24 March 2002

Frontier Issue 24 cover

Print publication ceased following Issue 23. This issue was released as a PDF online at no charge. From the editorial:

Welcome to the first electronic issue of Frontier! As of 2002, Frontier magazine is available in PDF... and for free!

• Sev Trekkin': boldly going where no animation has gone before. By Jeremy Sadler.
• Charming Ways: the bewitching ways of Charmed. By Katharine Shade.
• Stargate SG-1 episode guide.

Closure

Frontier ceased all publication following Issue 24 in March 2002. In December 2023, along with scans of all issues, there was a statement on the magazine's Facebook page for Issue 24:

Post-issue discussions resulted in us sharing how this format did not sit well with us. The world wide web was taking over, and websites were doing a much better job than we ever could. Putting together a 'zine was still a lot of work, and by this point we'd been doing it for over six years. Real Life beckoned, and there was no way we could produce something that would support us professionally. We reached the sad conclusion that we must shutdown the magazine completely.

External links

• Facebook page with scanned images of all issues
• Web Archive of official site