Introduction to Star Trek Fanzines
| Zine | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Introduction to Star Trek Fanzines |
| Publisher: | |
| Editor(s): | Danielle Dabbs |
| Date(s): | 1975 |
| Frequency: | once |
| Medium: | |
| Size: | 40 pages, full-size |
| Fandom: | Star Trek: TOS |
| Language: | English |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Introduction to Star Trek Fanzines is a 40-page gen zine.
It is a sampler zine and used mimeo, offset and ditto to demonstrate the techniques. "There are examples of each of the three printing processes in this fanzine. Pages 1-6 are offset. The last two are ditto. All the rest of this zine were printed on my trusty mimeograph."
The editor wrote: "The avowed purpose of this fanzine is not to present anything new to old fans, but to attempt an explanation of what is "going on" to new fans."
The cover was by George Barr, and the interior art was by Alicia Austin.
The zine's dedication:
This fanzine is dedicated to all the Star Trek fan writers who might never have written if fanzines hadn't existed... WRITE LONG AND PROSPER.
The zine article is a primer for new fans. It explains what a fanzine is, and in more than a bit of promotion, has short descriptions of the fan-created universes that were popular at that time. Alternative Universe IV, Epilogue, Federation and Empire, and Kraith.
Fans, hungry for all things Trek, would have been grateful for this information.
Chapters
- Why a Star Trek Fanzine?, article by Danielle Dabbs ("You probably read about them in David Gerrold's book THE WORLD OF STAR TREK. Fanzines, that is, amateur magazine publications about Star Trek.") (3)
- Double, Double, Toil and Trouble, fiction by Nickee Grayson (Joan Verba considered it an early example of a Mary Sue) (also in Overload #1) (12)
- Death of a Flame by Doris Beetem (a Sarek/Amanda sample) (also Grup #1 and Kraith Collected #1) (21)
- Variations in Green, fiction by Lillian Stewart (an example of a ST-universe story without the ST characters) (also in The Babelian Council #1) (25)
- Epilogue 1 by Jean Lorrah (an example of a story set in ST future) (reprinted from Triskelion #4) (30)
- Recommend Reading List (a list current as of October 7, 1974 of "the best zines presently available... not all the good fanzines are included, but all the ones listed are worth owning.")
Sample Interior
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. [1]
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. [2]
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. [3]
References
- ^ from Pentathlon #3
- ^ from Stardate #9
- ^ from Joan Verba in Boldly Writing