U.N.C.L.E. HQ

Zine
Title:	U.N.C.L.E. HQ
Publisher:
Editor(s):	Pat Munson, then Sue Cole
Date(s):	mid 1980s-2007
Frequency:
Medium:	print
Size:
Fandom:	Man from UNCLE
Language:	English
External Links:	HQ News] mailing list
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U.N.C.L.E. HQ is a gen Man from U.N.C.L.E. club zine. It contains articles and photos and a small quantity of fan fiction such as "Duplicate Affair" and "Part Time Agent Affair". The fan fiction may have been published separately as part of a special or annual issue of U.N.C.L.E. HQ.

The newsletter was mailed, however in its last year, the editor attempted to start electronic distribution via a Yahoo groups mailing list.

Early to Mid 1980s:

• 67/68 (1982)

Middle to Late 1980s, issues numbers:

• 117/118 (12 pages)
• 119/120 (10 pages)
• 121/122 (15 pages)
• 123/124 (5 pages)
• 125/126 (24 pages)
• 127/128 (16 pages)
• 129/130 (23 pages) (contains a list of early zines and their publication dates)
• 131/132 (4 pages)
• 133/134 (16 pages)
• 135/136 (4 pages)
• 137/138 (20 pages)
• 139/140 (20 pages)

Late 1980's to early 1990's, issue numbers:

• 141/142 (20 pages)
• 143/144 (4 pages)
• 145/146 (16 pages)
• 147/148 (24 pages)
• 149/150 (4 pages)
• 151/152 (18 pages)
• 153/154 (20 pages)
• 155/156 (6 pages)
• 157/158 (18 pages)
• 159/160 (26 pages)
• 161/162 (4 pages)
• 163/164 (16 pages)

Early to mid 1990's issue numbers:

• 165/166 (22 pages)
• 167/168 (18 pages)
• 169/170 (8 pages)
• 171/172 (28 pages)
• 173/174 (18 pages)
• 175/176 (4 pages)
• 177/178 (22 pages)
• 179/180 (18 pages)
• 181/182 (4 pages)
• 183/184 (22 pages)
• 185/186 (16 pages)
• 187/188 (6 pages)

Mid 1990's to 2001, issue numbers:

• 189/190 (20 pages)
• 191/192 (18 pages)
• 193/194 (8 pages)
• 195/196 (26 pages)
• 197/198 (18 pages)
• 199/200 (6 pages)
• 201/202 (20 pages)
• 203/204 (18 pages)
• 205/206 (6 pages)
• 207/208 (26 pages)
• 209/210 (22 pages)
• 211/212 (4 pages) (2002?)
• 213/214 (2007) (possibly the last issue)

Sample Covers

• 

  from #141/142

• 

  from #141/142

• 

  group shot of issues 141-164

• 

  group shot of the issues 117-140]]

• 

  group shot of issues 165-188]]

• 

  group shot of issues #189-212

U.N.C.L.E. HQ Yearbook 1982 (#67/68)

It contains 48 pages.

• 

  cover of 1982 yearbook

• 

  table of contents of 1982 yearbook

U.N.C.L.E. HQ Yearbook 1985

• 

  cover of 1985 yearbook

• 

  unknown issue titled perhaps "Operations Rep 95/96"

U.N.C.L.E. HQ Yearbook 1990

• 

  from the 1990 yearbook

• 

  from the 1990 yearbook

• 

  from the 1990 yearbook

Sample Issues

• 

  unknown issue titled perhaps "Operations Rep 95/96"

Reactions and Reviews

Although I've just joined, this appears to be a good, well—organized club. Newsletters are monthly,

and range in size according to the amount of material received. Each n/l contains reviews of the Man from U.N.C.L.E. novels, current films featuring the series stars, and news of efforts for reviving the series.

A word to the three or four grownups left in the world who haven't yet been told that adding handwritten afterthoughts to your zine on the way to the printer's is verboten: This is the print media equivalent of picking your nose in public. Nice zineds don't. It's vulgar-not to mention a more-or-less lasting testimonial to your lack of forethought in planning the zine. The UNCLE HQ Newsletter's slanty little additions to the regular type stand out like Illya's blond mop in a dark THRUSH dungeon.

So do all the typos-the printed equivalent of doing chili farts in a crowded elevator and hoping no one notices. They always do, folks. Especially the real eye-catchers like "mastters" for "matters," "soold" for "sold," and "darnest" for "darnedest."

Okay, it's a club newsletter, and it can perhaps be argued that HQ's members are less concerned with production values than with news about the UNCLE stars, the cozy feeling of having communed with like-minded fans, and the nostalgia high that comes with dipping once again into a version of the sixties in which Illya and Napoleon, armed with their friendship and an arsenal of ingenious superweapons, saved the world each week. The HQ Newsletter does deliver all of that.

In double issue #187/188, the one currently in hand, news of the actors is weighted heavily in David McCallum's favor due to his visibility in a number of recent film and television projects. It's truly refreshing to see that, in this club, dissenting views and discouraging words are allowed, and members who are less than whelmed with a beloved actor's performance needn't expect to be driven out of the village with torches and catcalls. Fans used the strong terms, "zombie" and "two-dimensional," to express their disappointment over David's guest appearance in SeaQuest, apparently without fear of reprisals from blindly loyal club officers. The result is a nicely spirited in-print discussion of SeaQuest's merits, or lack thereof.

This discussion is a lot livelier than Judy Kartes' amazingly brief "reviews" of SeaQuest and the fanzine, Beloved Traitor. Judy's writing is as vague as the mumblings of a drugged Russian agent. The two paragraphs she invests in SeaQuest are limited to a description of some of the action and of McCallum's character's physical appearance, apparently because she lacks sufficient knowledge in the fields of acting and writing to render an opinion. In the zine review, she recounts a few plot points and sums up the story by saying, "It is very well written and interesting." That's a lot more than can be said for the review, which gave me no clue as to what it was that Judy found so appealing.

Far more readable was the offering from member Bob Perman. Styling himself not a reviewer, but merely a humble letter-writer, he shares with fellow members his own introduction, at age eight, to the television world of superspies. And reminds us what it was like when a show "in Living Color" was the cutting edge of technology. In the same nostalgic vein is William R. Aldrich's article on spy collectibles, a superficial, but fun, sentimental journey.

In fact, the raison d'etre of UNCLE HQ and the HQ Newsletter itself cannot help but evoke a mental timetrip back to the self-conscious coolness of the era during which the show was filmed. So why, oh why, is the zine so style-less? It just cries out for its creators to tap into some of that raucous sixties' color and the series' pseudo-high tech to give the newsletter a look that goes beyond stark black columns of text. C'mon, can't we at least have the U.N.C.L.E. logo or one of those yellow triangle badges to break up the monotony?

In every issue I've seen, HQ's "Quartermaster Files" has offered an extensive list of spy toys, comics, and collectibles for sale, making the newsletter a mighty useful resource for the UNCLE fan. Two extra added attractions are a separate (and really, really loooong) list of paperbacks for series such as Space: 1999 and Rat Patrol, and a flyer for Spycon 10. But Jeez Louise, is writing skill at a minimum. Even Susan Cole, HQ's Number One, Section One, and presumably the editor (there's no masthead, no credits, no nuthin'), has problems. Writing of a photo captioning contest in a previous issue, she says: "Also, we had a contest in issue #177/178. It asked why Robert Vaughn was captured and by whom. Two of our members elected to answer those questions, but each was only able to answer part of the contest." Huh? What? Remember, this is issue #187/188 we're talking about. Susan's been at this a while. Long enough to develop minimal ability to express herself on paper, or, if she's just not interested, to scope out members who do have talent in that area and turn the newsletter over to them.

Or at least to use a Kleenex, and skip the chili at lunch.

Content: Three Trees. Presentation: One Tree.

Marty, get your calculator, and figure it out.