Robin Hood (fan)

Fan
Name:	Robin Hood (legal name)
Alias(es):	(NOTE: some of these may be pseuds of Della Van Hise, who also had a plethora of pseuds) -- Mary Adelia, Brandy Amber Allen, Michelle Baker, Wheaten Buckly, Sue Cameron, Susan Delon, Sharon Delon, Marian Flanders, Jane Fury, Rhea Gowan, Ann Guise, Lisa Joas, Janis E. Laine, Carolyn McTarrell, J. Mercedes, Darla Michaels, Lauren Moore, Quilla S. Pongee, Sara Rodale, Diane Seaton, Kate Singer, Pam Smith, Angel C. Soie, Maria Surah, Bryan Taylor, Ellen Thacher, Kathy Tipton, Carole Turner and Carol Turner, Monica Voile, Chris Waken, Cassla Williams, Karn Wills, Elizabeth Whyte, Jacqueline Vale, and many more; see pseuds
Type:	fanwriter, zine editor
Fandoms:	Star Trek: TOS, K/S, Blake's 7
Communities:
Other:	Merry Men Press
URL:
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Robin Hood was a fan writer, zine editor, and owner of Merry Men Press.

She was a collector of fanart and frequent convention attendee.

Robin had also been of great assistance in behind-the-scenes help with The K/S Press.

Robin wrote fiction under many pseudonyms. In 1990, she had over 35 of them.

Robin Hood was her legal name.

She passed away on November 14, 2017.

Not an Online Fan

Hood was quoted about her fiction in the 2007 Blurring the Lines: Online or in Print, It's Still K/S:

Veteran K/S zine publisher Robin Hood disagrees [that K/S on the internet is a good thing]. She has been upfront about disliking seeing the slew of unedited K/S stories self-published on the Web. Says she about stories in her zines later going online, “I don’t like it. I tell my authors that, but it’s not my choice. It’s possessiveness. Those stories were given to me; they’re my babies. I had them the way I want them. There’s too much junk on the Internet; I want to keep my babies safe.”

Interviews

• Legacy Interview with Robin Hood (2007)
• Scribbling Women: Editors Talk Back (2007)

Many Pseuds

It is possible that "Kathy Tipton" is Hood's first pseud. Tipton began writing K/S fiction in 1984.

In 1989 in the editorial for Beside Myself #1, Robin Hood wrote that she had thirty-three pseuds:

This is the true zine of the pen names: We're having a funeral for these ladies. At the present, I have 33 pen names. It's time some... disappeared. Now don't be embarrassed that you raved about FT 8 'Time Enough', it was my first writing effort (and for those of you who didn't like it f... y..!) Anyway. Why do we use pen names? Most for the obvious reasons. That's not my reason. I use them because I like to read your honest comments, (and because if you didn't like it, then someone else wrote it, not Robin Hood).

In 1990, she had more than thirty-five:

I use pen names (lots and lots and lots). At the present tine I've used more than 35 pen names, with more than the general reasons.

Most people either want to write K/S and not have to worry about their name and subject coning back to haunt them, and the others are intrigued with the idea of a neater, different personality with which to write. I use pen names for a variety of different reasons:

I use then in order not to have too many Robin Hood's show up in any one sine. I use then to indulge my whims in that I attempt different styles with several of the names. But most importantly, I use them to garner honest comments. To wit: It is difficult for a reader to write me while asking me to send their next zine promptly and tell me that they hated my work. Who knows what a pissed off editor might do with their next 'fix’? By using pen names, I can also get honest answers (and yes, it gets ouchy sometimes) from friends etc. about my work. Yes, this might make it a bit more difficult for the reader to follow a favorite author, but then it does help the author conceive more work for the reader to read.

In the editorial for Beside Myself #4 in 1996, Robin Hood wrote:

Again? Didn't I say once, many years ago that I'd retired all these damn pen names? What the hell happened? Well...

In 1999, a fan wrote:

In fact one thing I find disorienting about zines, especially Robin's [Robin's series where all the authors are really her], are that there are no authorial comments, no "how I came to think of this story" or "I'd like to thank" or even disclaimers. I now see that in her case there may be good reason for this.

In Her Words: A 1995 Bio

In a self-description (writing as a fan with the real life name (another pseud) of [S S], Hood explains her fannish beginning (with some embellishments):

Okay: I got into K/S in late 84'. Read about fanzines in the New Voyages, wrote David Gerrold (who was listed) about where to buy said zines (kind of poetic justice, don't you think??) and he very nicely gave me some addresses (all gen, of course — can't be picky).

A friend of mine, knowing I was getting into Trek (had just been devastated by STII and was still reeling) told me of a Sci/Fi club that met at San Diego State University, where and when. I bravely took my life in my hands and went down. Entered the large auditorium and practically passed out. There waited about 150 .. . fans. From the 'Blue Beetle' down to the worse ears you've ever seen, there they milled. Truly Trekkies!

I turned to leave (flee) and noticed a somewhat normal person leaning against a wall (eyes wide with the same horror coursing through my veins). I sidled up to her and began a conversation. Yes, this was the place to find zines. Chat. Chat. Chat. And did I know that there were ADULT zines out there?

Noooo, I says, Tell me more ....

I'd like to say the rest is history and actually it But there were a few more steps.

The conversation went something like this: Did you know that one of the biggest K/S editors lived in S.D.? No. Who, where, when, how much, and get out of my way!

Della Van Hise.

Okay, I say calmly. Could I have a phone #. Address, etc.?

I called: got Wendy on the phone. Very nice. Sure, come on over. Lots of zines for sale.

$1100 later (maybe more) that week and Wendy was not only getting tired of my endless questions, enthusiasm and delight, she was beginning to feel guilty. She pointed out to me that I could get zines for nothing. All I had to do was write a story for a 'trib copy.

No problem. Never having written much of anything, I immediately started a gen novel. Which was turned into FT 8 TIME ENOUGH, K/S at a much later date, (you might wonder why the last couple of chapters were much better written and much hotter than the rest).

So 100 stories and two years later — now I can say the rest was history.

It really was that simple. David Gerrold, the man who hates K/S and says so at every opportunity, is really the person who got me into K/S. I smile every time I think of it!

In Her Words: A 2007 Interview

I got into K/S in 1982. I read the Phoenix books (The Pride of the Phoenix (1977) and The Fate of the Phoenix (1979) by Myrna Culbreath and Sondra Marshak), then read David Gerrold’s name in the back, wanted more and wrote him. He sent me to the Star Trek Welcommittee, they told me of fandom — genzines — and I went looking for genzines. I ended up at my college [college name redacted] heard about a Sci-Fi club and went. I met a woman, amongst the very strange costumes that looked almost normal, sidled up to her and asked about zines. She told me about genzines and ... those zines. I asked questions, of course; she told me about Alexis Fegan Black and the rest was history. I found Alexis and I left a paycheck there when I walked off with my box of zines. In those days zines were forbidden fruit, delicious but verboten; you talked about stories, art, etc. looking over your shoulder; you got together with friends, discussed whether or not you should invite a friend into the group and you spent the majority of your time writing letters, and waiting for answers.

[...]

Having dropped a paycheck at Natasha’s, she mentioned that I could write a story or two for zines and get them free. Being a cheap bastard, I began to write, started on a typewriter, quickly graduated to my brother’s Apple pie. It took me a while to understand the concept of “saving” my file, a loooong time, and since his wife was getting tired of me in their office for several hours a night, I bought a computer and got serious. At the same time I have been sending out “pre” orders and unluckily was stung by losing $3.00. Incensed, I pissed and moaned for a few months and with encouragement from Natasha, I decided that a zine could be produced, not look too bad, and delivered on time. In 1984, I did just that.

In Her Words: A 2007 Description from Scribbling Women: Editors Talk Back

What made you decide to print artwork given that it is expensive and difficult to reproduce?: “Every editor before me had art, I loved it, therefore....” Ergo her zines are lavishly illoed from cover to cover. In fact the very first thing I do when I get a Merry Men Press zine in the post is flick through for the artwork.

When you decided to publish a zine what were your thoughts about art?: “My general comment is: I can write (be it bad or good) but I can’t even trace a picture, let alone have you recognize the subject. I decided that artists were more...‘artistic’ in temperament and I had to chase them around with a butterfly net, and when caught, they were difficult to threaten, deaf to pleas, etc. Therefore they were to be coddled. After all, we can write a story, or a novel, and they usually have one picture to say it all. My passion for art began when Gayle F. sent me my first cover. I had asked her for a non-explicit cover, and she sweetly ignored me and sent me the first pencil piece for First Time 1. After I picked myself up off the ground, I was hooked. I couldn’t afford the $50 she wanted for it, I later had the privilege of duking it out with Barbara J.”

What was your policy—would you take all art? Or only that judged to be good? What is your policy on very explicit material? And CGA?: “I accepted everything I liked, or that no matter how well elicited, held the essence of what I felt K/S was.” I once had the pleasure of looking through some of Robin’s art at a con and hearing what she had to say about this mysterious “essence.” It was a real eye- opener, and I think encouraged me to try and draw with a little more freedom. Robin may say that she cannot draw but she certainly has a very perceptive eye and a mind to match! Robin says “Explicit, yeah! CGA, Boo! CGA and photos are the only things that are illegal. I know that’s being paranoid, but hey, why give in now?”

How far do you try to match the fictional content with the artistic? Do you try to illustrate the stories you print, or let art stand alone as a separate treat?: “Generally I’d try to illustrate—in the beginning there were more illustrators—but later I realized that the artists had problems selling illustrations, therefore I went looking for art and then sent out art to people I knew were writing stories, allowing them to pick and fit the art to their own stories. Sometimes it works in inspiration alone, sometimes not.” Robin stands a good chance of finding a picture for every story because she has a large collection of art just waiting for the right story to make its debut. Robin says “I have 65 framed pieces of K/S art hanging on my walls.” I suspect she has more in a portfolio too! She says, “If I have them, I want them up in the house. 25 artists are represented. I am still attempting to find a picture by the artists that are not represented, unfortunately it takes either money or time to do that.”

Given that women are often said to be less visually aroused than men, do you think that the images you print add to the erotic content of the zine, or do you think they provide something more subtle?: “Visually erotic? Oh, I hope so! If something is too explicit, move on quickly. There is something for everyone in the art world. I think a lot of my readers enjoy the ‘naughtiness’ of holding a zine in hand, therefore they don’t have to go too far a-field looking for some spice in their life. A zine in hand many consider ‘naughty,’ a good way to be ‘bad’ without jumping in the water.”

How do you feel about the visual impact of the zines you produced?: My what a modest lot you editors are! Robin simply responded with “I try.” I had to drag further confessions from her like pulling teeth! I wrote, “But I want to know...do you think you succeeded?” So Robin says “I think I succeeded pretty well. There are some zines I like the look of, but a lot are not consistent.” I asked “Are you pleased to look at them all on the shelf?” “Yes!” she says. “Proud?” I ask. “Yes!” she says, and so she should be—I sure love the look of all those lovely perfect bound zines with stunning covers on my shelves!

Memories/Recollections

Robin Hood passed away on November 14, 2017.

During the 1980s, Robin Hood and I were pretty inseparable. We met through fandom - each of us beginning our K/S zines nearly at the same time - but our friendship reached far beyond. We went to plays together, museums, movies, estate sales, conventions. We enabled each other in our shared passion for Victorian lamps and lampshades. We shared hotel rooms and airplanes and cars. We, along with our non-fan friend, went to England and Scotland together. We laughed and we cried and gloried in our shared love for K/S. We wrote for each others fanzines. I often found myself with a piece of art Robin had acquired and told: "Write me a story". My story, "Tango", in First Time #14 is the perfect example of this. She loved art. Collected art and artists. She was a patron of K/S fan art, a passion we also shared. And we enabled each other in our often irrational desire to matte and frame art in the most decorative ways imaginable

As often happens, time sent us in separate directions. I moved from the San Diego area and we only saw each other once or twice after that at cons. I think the last time we talked was at Escapade when it was still in Goleta (CA). She was already in the dealers room when I arrived and she looked up and said something like: "Dovya! Black hair?" Typical Robin. She was never shy in sharing her opinions, good or bad. She was the one who told me that 20 was too young to be going gray and dyed my hair for me the first time (which sent me on a long, rainbow trip of hair coloring).

Robin was often irreverent, nothing was sacred if she saw something funny in it. Laughter was a common language with us.

She left behind one of the most popular K/S zine series, which has more issues than any other zine of which I'm aware. She was a strong woman who drew joy from just about everything.

Her passing is very sad. She was too young to leave us. My deepest sympathies are with her significant other, Robyn.

I was part of the San Diego bunch of fans who met every month in the the early 1980s. I am so proud to have been a part of her first publications. She would peer over my shoulder while I worked on a Trek drawing and ask, "Got any plans for that one?" She would coax poetry out of me that I never planned on submitting anywhere, and understood what they meant. She was a multi-talented creator, and I wish I could have bought everything she published. I am so grateful for whatever caused me to trace her contact info, out of so many I've lost touch with......... Peace and Long Long to those she leaves behind.

She was one of the coolest KSer I have ever met. When I was a KS newbie, she took me under her wings. She was sharp as a tack, had a wicked sense of humor, knew everything about the KS fandom classic and boy did she churn out some great KS anthologies and novels, and always encouraged any and all KSers to write stories or draw illos. She also kicked ass and took names. She was a character who had charisma and can always draw you in. I've enjoyed many of the KS cons with her. I'm going to miss her greatly. She was one of the best, nicest, funniest person you can ever meet and know. I'm really sad that she has passed away. She was a great KS friend and an awesome human being. R.I.P Robin Hood.