Kiefer/Lou

From Fanlore
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Fandom
Name(s): Kiefer/Lou
Abbreviation(s): K/L
Scope/Focus: Movies and series starring Kiefer Sutherland and Lou Diamond Phillips
Date(s): 1980s – present
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Kiefer/Lou is a slash fandom that started up in the late 1980s, featuring characters played by actors and longtime friends Kiefer Sutherland and Lou Diamond Phillips. Robyn LaSalle was "the 'founding mother’ of this avant garde little fandom.[1]

Early on, the creator of Kiefer/Lou sometimes used this symbol to refer to the fandom, from the editorial of I Still Believe
Early on, the creator of Kiefer/Lou sometimes used this symbol to refer to the fandom, from the editorial of Love of My Life

The first Kiefer/Lou zine was Lost in the Shadows, a fusion with Kiefer Sutherland in Lost Boys and an original character named Indigo, portrayed by Lou Diamond Phillips.

Renegades art from Boys Are Back #3, titled "Sun and Shadow," artist is Suzan Lovett (1995)

Tropes and Characterizations

Origins

From the editorial of the first Kiefer/Lou zine, Lost in the Shadows:

The idea for this post-LB universe came about at a Sting concert, when Paulie and I were suddenly and mutually struck with images of our favorite blond vampire [from Lost Boys] leaving Santa Carla to begin anew. We decided he needed someone with whom he could interact: It had to be someone who would contrast well with his appearance, someone who would look good next to him. Because Paulie and I like to "cast" stars in the roles we create (mostly for artistic reference, and the fact that it helps readers to visualize the character a bit better), we needed someone appropriate for Indigo Ramirez. I had just seen La Bamba on HBO, and considered the young actor who starred in it. "Hey, what about that guy, Lou Diamond Phillips? Just lengthen his hair, make him serious, he'll be great!"

From Media Fandom Oral History Project Interview with TM Alexander (2012)|:

I needed somebody, because I like the whole blond/brunet thing. Light and dark. Light and dark. And I was like, well, I need somebody to be my character Indigo. And there was, La Bamba had just come out. And I saw an ad for La Bamba and I said, "This Lou Diamond Phillips guy would look great next to Kiefer Sutherland."

Historical Context

Kiefer/Lou started at a time when fandoms based on actors and crossover characters as opposed to a single TV show or franchise were rare but not unheard of.

In media fandom, there was still an enormous divide between Fictional People Slash and Real People Slash, making Kiefer/Lou possibly the missing link between FPS and RPS.

Same-actor crossovers were considerably less popular in the 1980s. For example, 6 Degrees of Canada fandom started some time during or after due South's run in the 1990s, and fandoms like Hewligan wouldn't develop until the 2000s.

Examples of Similar Fandoms

Canon

Most Kiefer/Lou fics are based on the three movies they starred in together in 1988, 1989, and 1990, but there is a sprinkling of other films.

Other stories are either crossovers between their films or slash one of their characters with an original character "based on" the other actor.

The primary canon material used in Kiefer/Lou fanworks includes:

Starring both Kiefer and Lou:

In the '00s, the series 24 was added to the list of sources used for the fandom. The series stars Kiefer Sutherland with Lou making a guest appearance in two episodes.

Starring Kiefer:

  • Crazy Moon (1987)
  • Lost Boys (1987)
  • Flatliners (1990)
  • The Vanishing (1993)
  • The Three Musketeers (1993)

Starring Lou:

Fandom

There have been many zines specifically for Kiefer/Lou and a handful of individual stories in numerous multimedia zines.

While the fandom's heyday was largely over by the mid-'90s, stories and zines continued to be published into the '00s. The KieferLouFic mailing list was started on Yahoo!Groups in December 2004 and had 43 members as of 2007;[2] however, its content was possibly lost with the discontinuation of the platform in 2019.

As late as June 2009, a Kiefer/Lou anthology zine, Only the Strong Survive, was published by Mkashef Enterprises.

As of October 2023, there were only 12 works published on AO3 for fandom, most of them online versions of zines or other well-known story sites. However a small range of new works have been added, showing that perhaps the Kieffer/Lou fandom is still very much alive.

Fan Casting

Fanzines

Example Fanworks

Fanzines

Proposed Zines, Never Published
  • Elk Dreamer, Coyote Man (a proposed Renegades novel by April Valentine, art by Suzan Lovett. Planned for May, 1996.)
  • The Third Power by Tami Marie (A follow-up to The Second Power, in the Russ Logan/Tarri Armstrong universe. From a flyer: "To Russ' horror, Patrick Channing has found away back —this time through someone very close to him, dose as a lover. Can he save Tarri from the evil spirit that possesses him, without permanently damaging —or even possibly killing— him?")
  • Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me (third part of the Lost in the Shadows trilogy. From a flyer: "Indigo finally tracks down David in Atlanta, where the two vampires must come to a serious decision about eternity," planned for October 1996)
  • Anything for Love by TM Alexander (From a flyer: "Young big-screen hot-shot Kieth Sullivan, struggling with life in the Hollywood fast-lane, tries to keep up studio appearances while dealing with the turmoil of his secret relationship with aspiring actor/musician Lee Pearle. The path to stardom is full of broken marriages, drugs, booze, and politics... and making love last through the whole rough ride is a challenge not many can handle.")
  • The Wakan's Dream by Robyn LaSalle & Tosya Stohn and illustrated by KOZ, Renegades/Thunderheart Kiefer/Lou, proposed in 1992. (From a flyer: "Studying under Grampa Reaches, Wakans-in-training Hank Storm and Ray LeVoi follow the old man on a quest for ceremonial peyote. Meanwhile, Buster McHenry approaches Ray's lover Walter Crow Horse for advice on how to tell Hank he loves him. Then they receive word that Hank, Ray, and Grampa have been abducted by drug dealers.")
  • Even Cowboys Get the Blues by Robyn LaSalle, art by KOZ, sequel to the movie, "The Cowboy Way," May 1996 (From a flyer: "Following their trip to The Big Apple, Sonny, Pepper and Teresa return home to New Mexico and another rodeo season. But while Pepper and Teresa are off on their Las Vegas honeymoon, a stranger named Teodoro arrives from Cuba,
 claiming to be the son of the late "Nacho" Salazar. As a favor to his dead friend, Sonny takes Teo on as a new hand, teaching him all the ropes of ranch living and life on the rodeo circuit. But soon Teo begins to show Sonny a thing or two about his deepest, darkest feelings, awakening the cowboy to a side 
of himself that he has never before realized... and the closer they get, the more Sonny falls apart. And all this turmoil ain't doin' a thing to help his concentration out in the arena.")
  • Meltdown, written and illustrated by TM Alexander (From a flyer: "Andrew Fisk has always had whatever he wanted: a rich family, the best schools, and all of the big breaks. All his life, he has had one dream, to go to the Olympics and bring home the gold. On the ice, he's Canada's hero, a true showman who knows how to dazzle his audience and make them fall in love with him unlike any other in the arena. Until Eric Blackrose hit the scene. Already gaining notoriety as the first full-blooded Native American to enter the world of men's figure skating, Blackrose's history as a poor boy from a repressed culture has earned him a great deal of attention from the Press, and love from his country. His passion for skating has everyone captivated, including Andrew. Suddenly, Andrew's dream of winning becomes an obsession sharpened by his competitive edge to prove he's the best -- an effort made even more difficult as he starts to develop a deep, unexplainable attraction toward his rival. The conflicting emotions are soon reflected in his performance, and as the championship draws closer, the ice heats up.")

Fanfiction

Fanvids

Ship Manifesto

Manifest - Kieferlou by callisto24 at deutsch-fandom and crossposted at DW (in German)

Archives, Communities & Resources

References

  1. ^ from a statement in the editorial in "Interludes" #2
  2. ^ "KieferLouFic : KieferLou Fic". Yahoo!Groups. Archived from the original on 2007-10-24.
Retrieved from "https://fanlore.org/w/index.php?title=Kiefer/Lou&oldid=2589029"