Media Fanzine Collection
| Archive | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Media Fanzine Collection |
| Date(s): | 2011–present |
| Archivist: | Texas A&M University (at College Station) |
| Founder: | |
| Type: | media, zines, science fiction zines, convention materials |
| Fandom: | multifandom |
| URL: | Media Fanzine Collection; search the archives |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
The Media Fanzine Collection is a collection of science fiction zines, media zines, convention materials, and other ephemera that were donated to the Texas A&M University Libraries Special Collections by many fans, some named and some anonymously.
It is a subgroup of Texas A&M Cushing Library Fanzine Collection.
Additions to the collection are ongoing.
Some Named Addendums
- Candace Benefiel Addendum
- Georgia Barnes Addendum
- Alayne Gelfand Addendum
- Martha Wells Addendum
- MPH Addendum
- Kandy Fong Addendum
- Sherry Evers Addendum
Similar Collections
For similar archives at TAMU, see Texas A&M Cushing Library Fanzine Collection.
For similar archives at Iowa, see University of Iowa Fanzine Archives.
Scope and Contents
The Media Fanzine Collection is comprised of numerous pre-Internet fan-produced publications that document their involvement in a particular fandom. Fandoms are based around media productions such as movies (i.e. the Star Wars film series) or television shows (i.e. Star Trek in its various iterations). Although traditionally most media fandoms involve productions from the science fiction and fantasy genres, there are numerous exceptions.
The majority of the contents in this collection consists of fan fiction. Fan fiction is the name given to literary or artistic productions created by fans about the characters, settings and events of the media universe in which they are interested. A substantial portion of the fanworks in the Media Fanzine Collection is identified as "slash”. "Slash" refers to fanworks that feature same-sex relationships and are sometimes (though not always) sexually explicit. In slash, sexual identity, sexuality and/or romance are often the centers of the story, rather than the conventional adventures featured in more traditional fanworks.
A small portion of the collection consists of "het" material. "Het", like slash, refers to fanworks featuring sexual or romantic content, but with opposite-sex relationships.
Slash and het items are identified as such on the item folder. If an item is *not* identified as slash or het, it is to be assumed that the item is “gen” (containing no sexual or romantic content. Both slash and het items have been specifically identified because of their importance as highly visible fan fiction subcultures. (s) indicates slash material. (h) indicates het material.
Fanzines are organized alphabetically by fandom name, and thereunder by title. The term “Multimedia” refers to anthologies of material from different fandoms. The term “Crossover” refers to stories in which characters from one or more media universes interact with those from another. (For example, a story in which Mal Reynolds' ship Serenity passed through a wormhole and encountered Captain James T. Kirk's U.S.S. Enterprise would be a Firefly/Star Trek crossover.)
The October 2016 Addendum includes several "friend books", tiny zines used by pre-teens and teens in the 1970s and 1980s as a way of finding other like-minded fans in the pre-Internet era. Some "friend books" were sized small enough to fit into an international envelope (2-3 inches), and consisted of no more than a few pages. The covers were pages cut from magazines or advertisement and were stapled or taped into a booklet shape. Many were multi-fandom, but some focused on single fandoms like Star Wars. Fans would write their name and address, and list their interests. The book would then passed along to the next fan. When the booklet was filled it was to be mailed back to the original fan. Often times questions were asked (ex: Who is your favorite Star Wars character?)
There are several additional items, including materials from genre conventions, ads and flyers, professional publications that relate to various fandoms, and various items of printed realia. [1]