Grip/Issues 11-15

See the main page, Grip, for more information.
Issues 001-005	Issues 006-010	Issues 011-015	Issues 016-020	Issues 021-025	Issues 026-030	Issues 031-035	Issues 036-040	Issues 041-045	Issues 046-051

Zine
Title:	Grip
Publisher:	Other World Books
Editor(s):	Roberta Rogow
Date(s):	1978-1996
Series?:
Medium:	print zine, fanfic
Size:
Genre:
Fandom:	multimedia
Language:	English
External Links:
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Grip is a gen multimedia anthology of fiction, art, poetry, and commentary edited by Roberta Rogow.

There were 51 issues published.

The series had an emphasis on Star Trek and Star Wars.

Rogow created this zine series to encourage and highlight fans who did not have a lot of previous experience creating fanworks.

Rogow was very out-spoken in her her mission to keep "Grip's" material G, or mildly PG, rated, and the title, "Grip," was a poke at Grup, a sexually explicit Trek zine.

Some regular features were the editorial ("The Editor Shoots Her Mouth Off"), fanzine ads ("Backscratching Department"), and letters of comment ("Air-LoC"), the last two spelled a variety of ways.

Issue 11

front cover of issue #11, Lynn Eldridge

back cover of issue #11, Michael B. Smith

Grip 11 was published in November 1981 and is 60 pages long. The art is by Nancy Duncan, Gennie Summers, Elaine Tripp, Mike Worley, Melody Rondeau, Dot Sasscer, Michael B. Smith, Lynn Eldridge, Richard Pollet, Leah Rosenthal, and Carol Salemi.

It includes three Star Wars/Prisoners crossover stories, a long Federation Klingon love story, and an article on Raiders of the Lost Ark.

The editor apologizes for the poor printing of the entire previous issue:

Folks, now you know Rule One of being a fanzine editor — always have at least TWO typewriters in the house on any given weekend! And time your 'zine so that it does NOT correspond to your printer's vacation!

• The Editor Shoots Her Mouth Off (1)
• Air-LoC (letters of comment) (3)
• Some Words from Dr. McCoy, cartoon by Michael B. Smith (7)
• Starbird, poem by Cheri Tripp (9)
• A Love Story by Cheryl Hendricks (9)
• Last in Space by Richard G. Pollet (25)
• Rebel Alliance Bulletin Board and Trek Graffiti Wall by Amy Forrest (30/31)
• Han, poem by Amy Forrest (32)
• Leia, poem by Amy Forrest (35)
• To an Alderanni Princess, poem by Alicia Priore (37)
• New Plan of Attack by Amy Forrest (39)
• Not So Ordinary People by Leah Rosenthal and the Bad Company (41)
• Vader in the Village by Arthur Tobias (47)
• Raider's Song, filk by Roberta Rogow (50)
• Artifact of Mystery by A. Rossi (52)
• How to Avoid Eating a Wiener Without Mustard by Harry Andruschak (a re-run on "the article on warp drive that got mangled in the printing of Grip #10") (54)
• Concerning the Voyager Six Spacecraft in ST:TMP by Harry Andruschak (55)
• Mission to Boratius: The Lost Star Trek book, review by Randall Landers (57)
• Backscratching Department (60)

• 

  inside pages from issue #11, Elaine Tripp

• 

  inside pages from issue #11, Mike Worley

• 

  inside pages from issue #11, Dot Sasscer

• 

  inside pages from issue #11, Dot Sasscer

• 

  inside pages from issue #11, Dot Sasscer

• 

  inside pages from issue #11, Leah Rosenthal

• 

  inside pages from issue #11, Carol Salemi: Grand Moff Tarkin holds a portrait of Vader inscribed "To Moffie"

• 

  inside pages from issue #11, Nancy Duncan

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 11

For the most part, GRIP 11 was enjoyable. The zine's general appearance is good (though it could have benefitted by more graphics). Art contributors include Melody Rondeau and Sasscer, to name two. Most of the art is quite good. There really isn't enough art in this zine to suit me, but that's personal. The front cover is hilarious - it takes a minute to hit you. The back cover is also very nice. The best story in the zine is "Not So Ordinary People," by Leah Rosenthal and the Bad Company. This is a comedy piece and part 2 of a continuing saga, "Vader Vs. Vader." It's very funny. The art with this piece fit nicely. "Artifact of Mystery" is a non-fiction peice by A. Rossi which discusses the Lost Ark of the Covenant (from Raiders). I found it most informative. A very well-conceived article. But all was not well with GRIP 11. "A Love Story" and "Concerning the Voyager Six Spacecraft in Star Trek: The Motion Picture" left me cold. "A Love Story," by Cheryl Hendricks, is the story of a female security guard captured by the KLingons. She meets a KLingon Medical Officer who becomes her 'Custodian', that is, takes custody of her, and they become mutually attracted. I thought that Miss Hendricks' KLingons were too much like Terrans and much too tolerant. And for a people who are supposed to be in a state of 'cold war' with the Federation, they sure were nice to Joan, the main character. Of course, I realize that if you have your protagonist torn to bits, there goes your story, but still....

This story was accompanied by two illustrations. One of them, done by Gennie Summers, was pretty good and is highly reminiscent of the old Buck Rogers art; the other, by Mike Worley, was actually offensive. The female in his drawing looked like the winner of the "Wet Uniform Contest." Verse is by Amy Forrest, Cheri Tripp, and Alicia Priore. Forrest's poems, "Han" and "Leia," were a little over-sentimental, but not really bad. Dot Sasscer's accompanying portraits of Han and Leia are nothing short of beautiful. Alicia Priore's "To an Alderaani Princess" was excellent. This, too, was with a Sasscer illo. "Starbird," by Tripp, was not nearly up to the quality of the other three, and the accompanying art can only be described as sub-standard. There is also a filk, by Roberta Rogow, called "Raider's Song." This alone makes the zine worth buying. Nancy Duncan does a great Indiana Jones. Really, though, this zine isn't bad. Any unsatisfactory pieces are completely offset by the good pieces, and all in all, I'd say that GRIP 11 is worth looking into.

The front cover is well done, but I didn't care for "Raiders..." all that much, and so I didn't really care for the cover. Sorry, Lynn.

The LoC's were nice. I simply can't believe that some people find The Entropy Effect even slightly confusing. Oh well, I've enclosed a review with this letter...

"Some Words From Dr. McCoy" were slightly amusing, but I wouldn't have given them a whole page, by any means.

"A Love Story"by Cheryl Hendricks didn't appeal to me. I just can't buy the idea of the Klingons interbreeding with Humans, marrying them, etc, and broad - casting anti-Human propaganda. In other words, it was a non-sequitur. The art work didn't match. Gennie Summers' was the best piece, although Mike Worley drew the best "piece". I mean — I get LoC's (in STARDATE) for Rick Endres' "Over-endowed", but they're nothing like Worley's. "Joan" had a set of 46-D's.' His Klingon wasn't done right, and Joan's uniform was a mixture of ST:TV and ST:TMP. I like his "Joan" face and all (her figure, too!), but it didn't seen as good as Gennie's.

"Last In Space" wasn't very good at all. I gathered it was supposed to be funny, but I certainly didn't think so. The accompanying cartoon borrowed an idea that's been in cartoons since the beginning of modern SF. Also not funny.

I don't think the "Bulletin Board" was a good idea. Two pages of that???

Dot Sasscer's illos are always great, and those portraits were no exception. The poetry was all right, I guess. You know I'm tone-deaf to it.

What was the point of "New Plan of Attack?" I'm afraid I didn't think it had one, nor was it funny. Sorry, Amy. The above also applies to "Not-So-Ordinary People" and "Vader in the Village"

Nancy Duncan't "Indy." is very good, too. Nicely done!

Rossi's "An Artifact of Mystery" was concise, but left out two points of interest. One is that a couple of Aaron's sons were killed for not following the' ceremonial procedure given by G-D. Also, only the Israelis can return the Ark. The Philistines stole the Ark in a battle (the Hebrews weren't supposed to go into the battle and so G-D punished them) and were inflicted by plagues of hemorrhoids and rats, as well as having their idols of Dagon knocked down. The Philistines gave it back, and during its trip it almost fell. One Israelite reached up to steady it and was struck dead. So would the Nazis actually want it to lead them in battle?

Why did you reprint Harry Andruschak's article? It makes as little sense as it did the first time (But you can READ It, which is more than you could do in (GRIP #10!—ED)). But the second article -- Jeese! "Concerning the Voyage Six Spacecraft...." has got to be one of the worst articles I've ever read! Roberta, you printed libel! ((No I didn't, I redeemed myself in my footnote--ED)) Andy called GR incompetent and ignorant. Now in STARDATE I've printed several articles on the Star Trek Myths, by Don Harden, but all that he prints or rather, writes, can be proven from other sources. The terms "incompetence" and "ignorant" can't be proven or verified through other sources. Andy had better be more careful.

And so what if there was a three-axis craft? Big *%#&4@* deal! What does he think of "Shore Leave," in which the plane changes from a Corsair (USAF-type) to a Japanese Zero. Picky, picky! And a nice idea to put in the Editor's Note mentioning Jesco von Puttkamer. Maybe Andruschak'll be happy now that Dr. Richard Green of the Jet Propulsion Lab is doing the science advising for "Star Trek: The Genesis Project."

A note on my article: since then a lot of others have gone out-of-print but Mission to Horatious" is still the first Star Trek novel. And please stress that STARDATE emphasizes ST:TMP material.

GRIP #11 has to be the best so far...the cover alone is worth the price of the 'zine. Lynne Eldrige's drawing of "Commander Indiana Jones-of Starfleet is superb! I'm all for bullwhips instead of phasers. No doubt Commander Jones (have I got the rank correct?) is head of the Archaeology/Anthropology Section of the Big E. If so, Carolyn Paloma should have her head examined for preferring that big oaf, Adonis. Continuing with the artwork, I would like to thank Dot Saascer for her lovely, lovely illos accompanying my two poems and would also like to thank Roberta for asking Dot to do them. I always marvel at people with artistic talent, especially when that talent gives life to characters one writes about!

The continuing cartoon series,"He's dead, Jim" is, as always, a howl! I'd like to see these collected. "Vader vs. Vader" is a joy to read, and the newest chapter "Not So Ordinary People" continues to be excellent. Besides that,..it's plain hilarious! Accompanying cartoon has to be a classic!

The poem "To an Alderman Princess" by Alicia Priore was lovely. You can feel Luke's pain, and although I'm strictly rooting for Han and Leia, I think this is one of the loveliest - Luke/Leia poems I have ever read.

The new printer has done wonders. Hope you keep him... er, them! All in all, I look forward to each new GRIP. Congratulations, Roberta, and keep 'em coming!

Roberta is right, Cheryl Hendricks is certainly a gifted young lady. Her story was most enjoyable and I am certain she will be a bright new star in a few years, especially where fanfic is concerned.

In my last LoC, I stated that the literary efforts were ahead of the illos. Well, I think they caught up. The art was better than any previous issue...to comment on my own illo, it was a copy that came out a bit light. Somehow I sent it out without finishing it. Sorry about that!

All the stories were well done. As a personal preference, I'd like to see more Trek. But I realize that it depends on what stories your readers send to you. As long as it's not the rule, and just the exception, it's quite all right. The main thing is that the stories are good, and they certainly were.

The Star Wars poems were good, as was the art; let's see more of Dot Sasscer.

Randy's review I've seen before; he submitted it to CAPTAIN'S LOG, but I didn't use it. I got hold of that book. Mission to Horatius. I'm a little surprised Mack Reynolds would turn in such an effort whether it was to be for kids or not...

"A Love story" was quite enjoyable, and I was right, the Klingon and the Federation female security guard you wanted an illo for did end up as lovers. It was an interesting view of some Klingon cultnre, and presents a view most People forget -- you cannot judge an individual according to his or her particular group -- in this case, Klingons. Each person is an individual to become acquainted with and judged on his or her own merits. Many of us don't give another person a chance because of some prejudice about class, color, ethnic group, or some such thing. Kiril and Joan were forced to deal with theirs and learn each others' identities. The story in well written, though the ending is somewhat abrupt. I liked Mike Worley's illo very much -- his technique is like comic art, and that is meant as a compliment. A lot of bold lines and contrast.

"Last in Space" -- an amusing account of a bumbling pair of space explorers made for pleasant reading.

I do enjoy nonsense like the Rebel Alliance Bulletin Board -- it runs from witty to downright stupid.

"Han" and "Leia" are touching poems, as is "To An Alderani Princess". I guess "love and loss" themes get to me. The accompanying illos are beautifully executed.

"New Plan of Attack" -- Vader and J.R.? A natural combo!

"Not So Ordinary People" is sheer delight. Even though the filksongs therein ruin one of my favorite melodies, the illo is equally delightful, and complements the story beautifully in mood and execution.

It's pleasant to see Darth Vader getting some of his own type of treatment in "Vader in the Village".

Your "Raider's Song" is amusing, and the article "Artifact of Mystery" is informative and accurate. The Bible accounts are very interesting to read. It is believed that the Ark was hidden at the time of the invasions of Israel and Judah, and serious excavations are taking Place to find it to use in restoring Temple worship.

The technical articles cause me to reflect that too much demand for strict scientific accuracy can spoil a lot of science fiction for you! The article

on "Mission to Horatius" was welcome, as I do not have this book, and may never have it, so a review of it was good to have, negative as it was.

Issue 12

front cover of issue #12, Ron Schark

back cover of issue #12, Leah Rosenthal and Joan Shumsky

Grip 12 was published in March 1982 and is 60 pages long. "A serious ish for a change."

The art is by Ron Schark, Leah Rosenthal, Joan Shumsky, Nancy Gervais, Vel Jaeger, Richard Pollet, Mel Rondeau, Carole Salemi, Gennie Summers, Sharon Thompson, Eleni Vafias, and Mike Worely.

[the pro book reviews]:

The Entropy Effect, by Vonda Mclntyre, is one of the best Star Trek novels ever printed. It rated it as The Best. It is action-packed and though the plot seems to be faulty, all the tangled strands ore resolved at the end of the book. Some people have complained about "plot errors", but all of their complaints are groundless. Anyone who has read non-Trek SF can verify that the book la pure SF in a pure Trek setting. Even the "Publisher's Weekly" critic and one of the major SF prozines gave it excellent reviews. A final proof Is that the book is already going into it's second printing.

Some people object to the introduction of new characters; however, I was pleasantly surprised to find that these characters didn't solve the mystery. And as long as they didn't, why object to them? The only point that I consider a valid criticism is that Scotty isn't quite in character. He certainly wouldn't want to be Second Officer to Mr. Spock. He'd rather stay in Engineering where he feels he belongs. Let McCoy do the administrative busy-work. Of course, McCoy might not want to do that either. And so what if Sulu is career-minded?

"The Klingon Gambit," by Robert E. Vardeman, is a disappointment after reading Mclntyre's novel. I'd put this la the Mediocre group (See GRIP #10), between "The Galactic Whirlpool" and " Mission to Horatius." The Klingons in the book were poorly treated. And I'm tired of the device of an alien personality-altering affliction so the writer doesn't have to keep the characters in character. It's a cheap gimmick which shouldn't be employed at all, but for some reason appears all too often. The last time was la Perry's Planet, and perhapas Death's Angel. In fact, I'm sick of Star Trek people acting out of character -- period.

• The Editor Shoots Her Mouth Off (1)
• The Odd Man Out by Jim Dascouli (Star Trek: TOS) (3)
• Alien, a poem by Teresa Sarick (Star Trek: TOS) (17)
• Curse or Blessing by Marsha Terry (Star Trek: TOS) (19)
• The Good Things Are Never Easy, poem by Richard Pollet (Star Trek: TOS) (28)
• Tie Me Termagant Dow, filk to the tune of "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport," by Charles Garofaoi (multifandom) (30)
• Ben, filk by Roberta Rogow (Star Wars) (33)
• Chance Meeting... Or Was It? by Joan B. Shumsky (Star Wars) (34)
• A Taste of Discipline by Faith Carp and Louise Rogow (a sequel to 'By Any Other Name" and a prequel to "Where No Man Has Gone Before" (both Star Wars stories) (a Luke/Han confrontation)) (36)
• Hansicles, filk to the tune of "Freedom," by Louis Rogow (37)
• Homecoming by Joan Shumsky (Star Wars) (39)
• The Observers by Bruce Melton (a heroic rescue by the Greatest American Hero) (44)
• Another Review of Star Trek Novels by Randall Landers (The Entropy Effect and The Klingon Gambit) (54)
• The Cosmic Sneak by Gregory Baker (an article on warp drives used in Science Fiction) (55)
• Air-LoC: Letters to the Editor (57)

• 

  inside page from issue #12, Sharon Thompson

• 

  inside page from issue #12, Nancy Gervais

• 

  inside page from issue #12, Vel Jaeger portrays Gary Mitchell

• 

  inside page from issue #12, Carole Salemi

• 

  inside page from issue #12, Eleni Vafias

• 

  inside page from issue #12, Mike Worley

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 12

The two star Trek stories were really good.

I'm always amazed at how many "untold story" possibilities Trek has to offer. I thought Marsha Terry's idea of Gary M having previous psychic tendencies was quite plausible and well done.

Joan Shumsky's short short "Chance Meeting..." is intriguing. Though I never seen Star Wars, after reading all these peripheral stories I feel I know all the characters. (I did manage to catch Empire ... )

Me1ton's idea in "The Observers" was good, but his writing needs polishing. Just a few unclear passages and maybe more informative descriptions. And the cartoon on the pack cover by Leah and Joan is cute!

Issue 13

front cover of # 13, Vel Jaeger

back cover of #13, Barbara P. Gordon

Grip 13 was published in August 1982 and is 61 pages long.

The art is by Vel Jaeger, Barbara P. Gordon, Mary Bohdanowicz, Gregory A. Baker, Lynn Eldridge, Andrea Kunz, Andrew Morrison, Mark Quiles, Leah Rosnethal, Carole Salemi, and Mike Smith.

The editor is glad to have a new typist who is "donating a lot of time and her IBM Selectric Typewriter to GRIP. I think the results are ultimately satisfying...readers don't have to decypher [sic] my typos and I don't have to pound the typewriter all day and night!And the variety of typefaces makes for an interesting 'zine."

From the editorial:

This Editorial might well be subtitled "The Stories That Weren't". I'm referring to all that good-sounding stuff that was announced for past issues of GRIP that somehow never got written.

It happens to the best of us. Someone, somewhere at a Con, over the telephone, at a party --gets a terrific idea for a story. What if Darth Vader took over the Enterprise? Let's so something about Lt. Arex's sex life! What was happening on Captain Matt Decker's ship while the "Doomsday Machine" was chopping it up?... and so on.

The story gets "talked out", and then...it fizzles. There is some hitch in the proceedings, and the writer's subconscious fails to make the necessary contacts with the fingers to produce words on the paper. Or there is a real flaw in the reasoning behind the story that makes it totally improbable. Or... and this is the saddest part...something happens in the personal life of the writer to make it impossible to continue the story. This has happened a couple of times to stories announced for GRIP.

In the first few issues, Ellen Rowe started a pretty good series, about Spock's sister, Speck, who has the ability to become invisible. Ellen left us (in GRIP #5) with a cliffhanger ending -- Speck in Romulan Space, the Romulan 'Commander chased by her political enemies, and Charlie Evans popping out of nowhere in a duplicate Enterprise! Then a series of personal disasters hit, and Ellen is still trying to make sense out of her life. Alas, the Romulan Commander and Charlie Evans must sit in stasis until this all can be sorted out.

Greg Baker and Pat Paul wrote a great yarn called "Crackerjacks" that introduced Rocky Jones and Kishi the Pantuan. They were supposed to follow this up with "Pennywhistles". That was five issues and two years ago. In the meanwhile, Greg moved to New York, the two guys could not get together on where they wanted to take the characters, and again...we wait for a resolution. (Greg has a lot of other things going, including his first pro-novel, so we may have to wait a while.)

Greg and Ellen aren't the only ones afflicted with this problem.

I have been trying to sit down to write my Great Andorian Novel with Leslie Fish for several years. It went the rounds in 1980 and that's when we decided we had to cut it down...and it's still sitting there! Then there was the story I was going to write with Carolyn Venino, about the adventures of the Andorians and Russians on the Potemkin...that got aborted when [personal info snipped].

I guess there isn't anything we can do about this, except, of course, not promise things that are not firmly in hand! So that is why, dear readers, I do not send out the flyers for GRIP until the 'zine is safely "set" -- and even then, I've been known to re-arrange the line- up at the last minute when someone sends in somethi,ng that is absolutely perfect (as I did when Leah Rosenthal sent in "Vader vs. Vader" for GRIP #7.

• The Editor Shoots Her Mouth off (1)
• Air-LoC, letter column (3)
• Child and the Man, fiction by Richard Pollet (Kirk and his father) (Star Trek: TOS) (5)
• Captain Tingod, cartoon by Greg Baker (9)
• Bird’s Eye View by Leah Rosenthal (Star Trek: TOS) (Spock and his yeoman) (10)
• Triptych: Three Poems, by Teresa Savick (13)
• The Watchers, a song from Alpha Ceti V, by Roberta Rogow (18)
• Kang’s Decision, fiction by Bruce Melton (Kang and his daughter) (19)
• One Promise to Keep, poem by Joan B. Shumsky (30)
• Of Things Best Left Forgotten Part 1, fiction by Alicia M. Priore (Princess Leia and a former suitor who is a rival to Luke) (32)
• Comforter by Roberta Rogow (Battle Beyond the Stars) (49)
• Letterwar Tim Farley vs. Gregory Baker (53)
• Roll Out the Shuttles, filk by Greg Zsidisin and Don Stankalis (58)
• Backscratching Department (60)

• 

  from issue #13, Mike Smith and Amy Forrest (the latter is not credited but appears on the illo)

• 

  from issue #13, Leah Rosenthal

• 

  from issue #13, Andrea Kunz

• 

  from issue #13, Mary Bohdanowicz

• 

  from issue #13, Andrea Kunz

• 

  from issue #13, Shona Jackson

• 

  from issue #13, Carol Salemi

• 

  from issue #13, Andrew Morrison

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 13

"Received GRIP #13 -- I'm sorry somebody called it "sappy" - sentimental, maybe.

[...]

I liked Pollet's "Child and the Man", ..!..specially the end with Spock signing the card in his native language. Be just like him. ,.. Rosenthal's "Bird's Eye View" is sharp. Growth at an accelerated rate, huh? And the interpretation of Spock's "...remember..." to McCoy is an inspired explanation. I'm still wondering about it myself.

"Kang's Decision" by Melton is a good piece of writing. Kind of an iffy ending though. But then there was a rather intricate argument going on throughout. "One Promise to Keep" by Shumsky is some nice dialogue -- straight from the heart--but too concise. In other words, I wish there was more.

Priore's "Of Things Best Left Forgotten" is maybe a bit too much the Gothic romance, with the beautiful princess being forced to marry the evil villain and the young hero chained in the dungeon. Absorbing plot ting holds it together but somehow Yoda and Ben's interlude was out of synch with the rest of the story. Can't explain why.

Your own "Comforter" is good original fiction. Amazing how much detail you got into a 3-page story. One compalinte why does the sketch of Gelt look like that man from U.N.C.L.E., Napoleon Solo? (Because the original character of Gelt was played by Robert Vaughan in a movie called "Battle Beyond the Stars", that's why! ED)

"Letter War" -- nice of you to let us in on this meeting of the minds. I thought Farley's missive was well written until I read Greg's response. Perhaps Greg will explain himself a bit more in any future issues. He talked/wrote himself out of almost every complaint by bringing in new information.

"Roll Out the Shuttles" -- too corny to comment on. VERY nice artwork of the Columbia. (Courtesy NASA artists, but thanx anyway- ED)

The front and back covers have excellent artwork, and also P. 27 is interesting.

I really liked the sketch you used for "Night Duty en the Bridge", my fave of the trio of artwork.

GRIP #13 is ecellent in look and content. Especially noteworthy was "Tryptich" by Teresa Sarick. An unusual departure from the usual "Spock Finds Love"-type things. Intelligent and thought-provoking. I'd like to see more of Teresa's work.

Leah Rosenthal's "Bird's Eye View" and accompanying cartoon were the highlight of the i.ssue. Leah's 'sensayma' continues to delight.

"Kang's Decision" by Bruce Melton was an interesting interpretation of my favorite Klingon's more domestic attitudes. Beneath that gruff exterior, folks, there does beat a heart sometimes given to kind acts and love. T'Plartha was also an interesting· characterization, an extremely strong Vulcan woman who wouldn't back .down to the "fearsome" Klingon. Kang is a multi-faceted personality and not always easy to deal· with. Bruce has done an admirable job.

"Of Things Best Left Forgotten" by Alicia M. Priore was an interesting tale of Leia's life before she met Han and Luke. The character of Relon was most diverting and sad in a way. He was sinister because - his unrequited love had driven him quite mad. However, as a Han/Leia fan I don't care for the turn the author is obviously going to take in her next episode... that of a Luke/Leia pairing. Well May 25, 1983, and we'll all know!

Not being into the technical end of fandom, can't comment on the "Letter War" but it looks most impressive for those who understand that sort of thing. (I don't either, that's why I printed both letters verbatim-ED)

The Bacover art by B.P. Gordon of Khan was very striking as was the Front Cover by Vel Jaeger. Kirstie Alley is an amazing actress. From seeing her on talk shows and witnessing her vivacious manner, I marvel that she turns herself into the serious Lt. Saavik. Any news of ST:III? (Only that a script has been ordered-ED)

"Child and the Man" by Richard Pollet was a very good alternate story on Kirk's childhood. I've never read any story where Kirk's relationship with his father wasn't all sweetness and light. Good premise and an excellent lead-in to the events about Governor Kodos.

I'd like to thank Leah Rosenthal for the most amusing illo on the bacover of GRIP #12. This accompanied my 'toontitle. Rosenthal, you are a funny lady!

Roberta, you are right... there are a million stories in the TREK Universe. Get busy, all you fans!

I got my copy of GRIP #13 the other day and read through it... I liked 'it, especially Leah's story about what became of Spock, and the drawing of Khan on the back cover... the rest of the 'zine was good as well, especially your comments on the Trek movie and the idea of doing more with it. It should be done; there is so much more that could be filled in. It would he an improvement in Trekfiction as well, as I have seen little that is new or makes full use of the potential of the series in a long time...

Issue 14

front cover of issue #14, Mike B. Smith

back cover of issue #14, Greg Baker

Grip 14 was published in November 1982 and has 68 pages.

The art is by Mike B. Smith, Greg Baker, Donna, Jean Ellenbacher, Terri Lipanovich, Michelle Peterson, Richard Pollet, Alicia Priore, Louise Rogow, Leah Rosenthal, Gennie Summers, and Mark Thorner.

The editor notes that the Paterson Fanzine Library has moved.

From the editorial:

So much for me. NOW, what's in GRIP #14? It's a lot longer, because the stories ran longer, and I just couldn't bear to cut any of them. Alicia Priore's story ends in this issue; I understand this is only the beginning of her Princess Leia Saga! Gregory Baker assures me that he got creative when he finished "Pennywhistle..." but I still say that my Editorial last month might have something to do with it! Richard Pollet has a nice vignette based on ST:WOK, and Shelby Michelin has managed to combine Star Trek, Darkover, and D&D!

Finally, there is a Cartoon Epic called "Vader Gets Fat". This is one of those things that comes upon you at the end of a Con, when' people are starting to feel punchy.

• The Editor Shoots Her Mouth Off (1)
• Air-LOC, letter column (2)
• The Pennywhistle Problem by Gregory A. Baker (5)
• Requiem, poem by Joan B. Shumsky (15)
• Requiem for a Lost Friend, poem by Richard G. Pollet (16)
• All Legends are Based in Fact by Shelby Michlin (a Darkover/Star Trek: TOS/Dungeons and Dragons story) (21)
• Vader Gets Fat, cartoons (36)
• Girl-Watcher's Guide to Star Wars, filk by Roberta Rogow (47)
• Of Things Best Left Forgotten part 2 by Alicia M. Priore (Star Wars) (the 2nd part of the Princess Leia story from issue #13) (49)
• Ooops, Wrong E.T., cartoon by Lean Rosenthal (67)

• 

  from issue #14, Terri Lipanovich

• 

  from issue #14, Leah Rosenthal

• 

  from issue #14, Louise Rogow

• 

  from issue #14, Donna

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 14

GRIP #14 was a delight--"Vader Gets Fat" was worth the late hours I'm sure the 'authors' spent thinking up the thing! It was doubly hilarious because who among us is not always on a diet!

Kishi the Pantuan is a fascinating character. Terri Lipanovich's illo brings him to life. I always find it fascinating to see various alien characters in Starfleet uniform. Speaking of Starfleet uniforms, still like the TV series' the best! Don't go for the Mountie-style or the blah gray of the first movie. How about a story about Kishi and Lt. M'ress? Too contrived???

"Requiem for a Friend" by Richard Pollet was a wonderful characterization of Scotty's relationship with Spock. We never did get to know his exact feelings. We suspected Scotty respected the Vulcan, but we didn't learn how he felt about the man, except through one or two episodes where aliens were controlling the Engineer's mind. Richard also showed us Spock after all was aware of the crew's feelings and that he cared deeply for them. His letter to Scotty tells us that. And Scotty cared deeply to 'ruin' his Scotch with fruit juice in a salute to Spock. Lovely story.

As I am not a Darkover fan, I can't comment positively on "All Legends are Based in Fact" by Shelby Michilin. I do like crossover stories and did enjoy this one. As usual, Spock was portrayed with the dignity Bnd respect he deserves.

Leah's "E.T." (Alien) 'toon was very, very funny and Yoda as President of E.T .' s fan club on the bacover excellent.

Mike Worley's front cover art was beautiful, especially his interpretation of Lt. Saavik. I really find this character, to borrow a phrase from our favorite Vulcan, 'fascinating'.

I don' t think, however, I'd like a romance to develop between her and Kirk's son. I think she is too mature for him, not in years, mind you, mentally, even though he is a scientist.

I would like to see a few more earlier Saavik stories. According to the novelization of ST:I1, she had a dreadful childhood until Spock rescued her.

Congratulations, Roberta for attaining the 5th Anniversary in publishing GRIP! I'm looking forward to reading the 15th Anniversary issue.

Issue 15

front cover of issue #15, Michael B. Smith

back cover of issue #15, Terri Lipanovich

Grip 15 was printed in June 1983 and has 64 pages. It contains Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica and Star Trek: TOS.

The art is by Michael B. Smith, Terri Lipanovich, Mary Bohdanowicz, Jean Ellenbach, Nancy Gervais, Elaine Gregory, Andrea Kunz, Andrew Morrison, Richard Pollet, Mel Rondeau, Carol Salemi, Gennie Summers, and The Unknown Scribbler.

From the editorial:

It's taken a while to get GRIP 015 off the press. When I started (back in 1978!) I planned four issues a year. This was cut back to three: February, July, and November, co-inciding roughly with the three large Trek conventions.

Well... things have changed. There has been no major Star Trek Convention in the New York area for several years; the Creation Cons have taken up some of the slack, but the flavor is brisker, and they are more local, less of a gathering of TrekFans, and far more comics and media oriented. Last year, as I said in my last Editorial, I changed jobs, and while this has certain advantages (like use of this dandy IBM Selectric with interchangeable type), it also means I have more to do. Sooooooo...

The publishing schedule of GRIP is...variable. This is why I prefer not to take "subscriptions", but instead announce each issue as it becomes available. This time around, I could not afford to put out an issue in February, since I had no place to market it. Printers have a habit of wanting to be paid, and deficit financing can be as disastrous for fanzines as it is for the nations of the world.

• The Editor Shoots Her Mouth Off (1)
• Scrum of the Universe by Gregory A. Baker (2)
• Death is Not a Metaphor by P. Carlene Deaton (Star Trek) (18)
• Riding the Genesis Wave by Charles Garofalo (Star Trek) (29)
• In More Detail, poem by Richard Pollet (Star Trek) (33)
• Triad, poem by Louise Rogow (Star Trek) (34)
• Station Break by Jeannie Webster (36)
• Princess Leia, to a Renegade, filksong by Roberta Rogow (Star Wars) (also in Rec Room Rhymes #3) (37)
• Explanations by Joan Shumsky (38)
• Through the Stars, poem by Teresa Sarick (41)
• To Taste First of Life by Linda Knights (Star Wars) (42)
• Good Intentions by Carol Mel Ambassador (Battlestar Galactica) (48)
• To Athena, poem by Cheryl Hendricks (Battlestar Galactica) (55)
• Notes from an Archeologist by Mary Nuss and Jeanne Webster (Indiana Jones) (56)
• Twin Suns, poem by Cheryl Hendricks (Star Wars) (58)
• Three Million Miles, filksong by Jeannie Webster (E.T.) (59)
• The Thrilling Saga of the Mariner One Spacecraft by Harry Andruschak (science fiction) (61)
• Passing in Review, fanzine by Tony Zierau (review of Sarpeidon) (62)
• Air-LoC, Letter of Comment by Joan Shumsky (63)
• Backscratching Department (64)

• 

  from issue #15, Jean Ellenbach

• 

  from issue #15, Nancy Gervais

• 

  from issue #15, Mary Bohdanowicz

• 

  from issue #15, Richard Pollet

• 

  from issue #15, Andrea Kunz

• 

  from issue #15, Elaine Gregory

• 

  from issue #15, Andrew Morrison

• 

  from issue #15, Gennie Summers

• 

  from issue #15, Melody Rondeau