Journey to B-Hive-6
| Zine | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Journey to B-Hive-6 |
| Publisher: | Bearly Spaced Enterprises |
| Editor: | |
| Author(s): | K. Rae Travers and Sophia Mulvey |
| Cover Artist(s): | Betty Enos Costa |
| Illustrator(s): | |
| Date(s): | 1987 |
| Medium: | print zine, fanfic |
| Size: | |
| Genre: | |
| Fandom: | Blake’s 7 |
| Language: | English |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Journey to B-Hive-6 is a gen Blake's 7 20-page novel, a Bear's 7 Adventure by K. Rae Travers and Sophia Mulvey. It is a teddy bear AU and illustrated with (photos?) of bears that resemble the characters. The art is by Betty Enos Costa (cover) and K. Rae Travers.
The zine is online here.
It has a sequel: Bear's on the Roof and We Can't Get Him Down.
From an ad in The Monthly: "A whimsical Blake's 7 take-off... The Bears 7 rebel bear's ship, Honeycomb, needs repairs which brings the crew muzzle to antenna with its creators."
These Blake's 7 character bears were also available for purchase, making them an example of fanart.
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Reactions and Reviews
I can't remember ever having seen these two cute little zines before;[1] I finally ordered them from the publishers, who, fortunately for me, keep all their zines in print. My guess is that the bear zines are mostly bought by the same people who buy the teddy bears, and that bear collectors hang on to their treasures longer than ordinary fickle fans. Bearly Spaced is one of two sources of B7 bears, the other being Marian Mendez. The bears are beautifully made in both cases, so I think the choice is a matter of individual taste and the accoutrements of the individual bear. I know at least one fan who has a bear from each source (hi Dawn!). Reg Bear and his fellow rebels have a ship called the Honeycomb-- because of all the hexagonal passageways, of course! But I confess that I didn't figure that out until I saw the very charming illos. In the first story, the bears must take the ship back to the bee creatures who made it for repairs. Fortunately the bees are much friendlier than the Altas were. This isn't exactly Season 2, though. In addition to Blake, Avon, Vila, and Cally bears, also present are Dayna, Tarrrant and Soolin bears, while Jenna and Gan are missing; they show up in the second book. The villains are Servalan and Travis. My guess is that the Jenna and Gan bears had not yet been designed when the first book was written, but they were available by the time of the second. They show up just in time to help the others rescue Cur Avin from the perverted claws of Bearvalan. (Steve! Furry het alert! I'm afraid it's not quite consummated, this being a gen zine; but one can't have everything.) [2]
What, you’re SURPRISED there’s a teddy bear version of Blake’s 7? Fans have ALWAYS been wonderfully ridiculous. Why shouldn’t there be a teddy bear AU? It’s cute, and that’s reason enough for its existence.
I will bet cash money these teddy bears actually existed too, lovingly created by some fan. And deep down, I want a “Viola Bearstol” on the table next to my bed. (Even though he’d probably steal my Vicks vaporub and cough syrup.) [3]
References
- ^ reference to this zine, and Bear's on the Roof and We Can't Get Him Down
- ^ "Review from Judith Proctor's site". Archived from the original on 2018-08-12.
- ^ bruinhilda.tumblr.com , January 22, 2018