Introduction to Star Trek Fanzines

Zine
Title:	Introduction to Star Trek Fanzines
Publisher:
Editor(s):	Danielle Dabbs
Date(s):	1975
Frequency:	once
Medium:	print
Size:	40 pages, full-size
Fandom:	Star Trek: TOS
Language:	English
External Links:
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

cover by George Barr

Introduction to Star Trek Fanzines is a gen 40-page anthology. It is a sampler zine and used mimeo, offset and ditto to demonstrate the techniques.

Chapters

• Why a Star Trek Fanzine? by Danielle Dabbs (article)
• Double, Double, Toil and Trouble by Nickee Grayson [Also in Overload #1] (Joan Verba considers it an early example of a Mary Sue. )
• Variations In Green by Lillian Stewart [Also in The Babelian Council #1] (ST-universe story without the ST characters example)
• Death of a Flame by Doris Beetem [Also Grup #1 and Kraith Collected #1] (Sarek-and-Amanda example)
• Epilogue 1 by Jean Lorrah (story set in ST future example)

Reactions and Reviews

It is mostly reprints from old out-of-print zines and was made for the absolute novice to ST fandom who wanders in off the street at conventions who has only heard of Fanzines in Gerrold's books.

Authoratative, masterfully written — this magazine is what it says it isj an introduction for the newcomer to the phenomenon of Star Trek fanzines. What are fanzines for? How do they get started? What were the first ones? Why do the fans write? These questions are answered — and answered well — by the editor in the forward.

Mainly, the reason was, "What fans wanted were more new adventures". And so they wrote them themselves. Drawing upon the already long-established techniques and practices of science fiction fanzines, people began putting Star Trek zines together. The spark that was born traveled by many channels, eventually resulting in the approximately 300 entries in the latest Welcommittee directory.

Danielle touches also upon the evolution of Star Trek fan fiction, and mentions the novels that are being or have been written. What follows is the meat of this zine: u stories selected for their representative value, reprinted from some respected zines. The layout, though uninspired, is quite competent. The cover is an exquisite rendering of Spock with the Vulcan harp. Interior illustrations (only a handful, unfortunately) are charming and expert drawings by Alicia Austin from the days when she was doing such stuff. At this price, it is certainly a bargain. Send for one very soon.

Although the preface clearly states that this was a response to fanzine interest generated by David Gerrold's The World of Star Trek, the publication also coincided with the interest in fanzines that Star Trek Lives! generated. The publication was 40 pages long, done alternately in mimeo, offset, and ditto (to demonstrate the various techniques used), and included four prototypes of various fanzine stories. For the Mary Sue story, there was "Double Double Toil and Trouble" by Nickkee Grayson; for a Sarek-and-Amanda story, there was "Death of a Flame" by Doris Beetem; for a story set in the Star Trek universe, but without the Star Trek regulars, there was "Variations in Green" by Lillian Stewart; for a story set in Star Trek's future, there was "Epilogue 1" by Jean Lorrah. This was the most authoritative explanation of fanzines at the time, and it was a pity that this publication eventually went out of print.