Millennium (Star Wars zine edited by Kelley Harkins and Lin Stack)

For other pages with this title see Millennium.

Zine
Title:	Millennium
Publisher:	Tir-Faoi-Thonn Press
Editor(s):	Kelley Harkins and Lin Stack
Date(s):	August 1980
Series?:
Medium:	print
Size:
Genre:
Fandom:	Star Wars
Language:	English
External Links:
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cover by Lin Stack

Millennium is a gen 106-page Star Wars zine published in 1980. It has art by Lin Stack, Jeff Patterson, Paulie Gilmore, Cary Bucar, and Amy Dodson.

Title Change!

This zine went on to become Crossed Sabers.

The editors changed the name due to embarrassment over the first issue's quality. From the editorial of "Crossed Sabers" #2:

And now for something completely different. About our name change! To save confusion think of it this way: a new name for a completely re-vamped zine! And boy, is it re-vamped! Although Lin waxes poetic about ish 1 her column I'd rather not even remember the blasted thing! So as far as I'm concerned my zine actually starts here. You do not remember Millennium 1, you do not remember Millennium 1...

Contents

• Editorials (2)
• People by Kelley Harkins (5)
• Alliance by Joe Rudich (story) (7)
• Destinal by Michael R. Corbin (19)
• Untitled by Kalynnda Berens (31)
• Save Me! by Lin Stack (filk to the tune of "Renegade" by Styx) (32)
• Classified Ads (33)
• Olympic Deception by Frank R. Cergol (34)
• Caption Contest (35)
• Escape! by Fred James Pagniello (37)
• Wait! by Lin Stack (poem) (44)
• Scoundrel's Plea by Eileen Eldred (poem) (45)
• The Wall by Various Individuals (46)
• The Empire Strikes Out! by Lin Stack (47)
• Empire Strikes Back Trivia Quiz (65)
• Filler (67)
• Summer's Afternoon by Lin Stack (71)
• Luke's Mother's Song by Lin Stack (71)
• Daddy by Lin Stack (74)
• The Knights of the Zodiac by Amy Dodson (75)
• Deception, part 1by Susanna Betzl (story) (77)
• Trilogy by Lin Stack (87)
• To Kill a Solo by Lin Stack (story) (89)

• 

  Lin Stack

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  graffiti

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  Lin Stack

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  sample text

• 

  Lin Stack

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  Paulie Gilmore

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  Lin Stack

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  Lin Stack

Reactions and Reviews

[To Kill a Solo]: Lin Stack's Ariel Solo ("To Kill a Solo," M #1; renamed CROSSED SABRES with #2) is Han's younger sister, also a pilot and smuggler. She has built up her own business, though she maintains close ties with her parents and older brother. When the senior Solos are murdered, Ariel, after initial hysteria, swears vengeance, either on her own or working with Han (this story is the first of a projected series).

[zine]: 'Millennium' is a new zine printed by two young fans from the East; as you can see, it has rated two and a half stars on a four-star scale in my book. It is very impressive for a beginning zine, and my opinion is well worth the purchase price. As an initial effort, it is what one might call a family zine; a few people have done almost all the work of writing, illustration, and production. This does not alter the above-average quality of the zine, however, and in fact the 'family' production seems to be state-of-the-art for a first zine. I personally don't know of a single zine in fandom that hasn't started out in this fashion. To overview, the art ranges from very good to mediocre, with special mention going to editor Stack's portraits of Harrison Ford for the poems 'Wait' and 'Scoundrel's Plea.' Paulie Gilmore has contributed a cute Wookiee-in-the-field picture, and some of the cartoons are no less than excellent, especially some of the likenesses in the parody of EMPIRE, which carries now-standard title, 'The Empire Strikes Out.' In the story area, one standout comes immediately to mind; Susanna Betzl's 'Deception,' a rescue-Han story with what promises to be an unusual twist. An honorable mention goes to 'To Kill a Solo' which despite its gruesome title shows a very human side to Han, and introduces a Corellian female smuggler who, to my astonishment, is not a Cori Beckett clone and does not have a passionate interest in The Scoundrel. A few problems with basic science are evident, as one segment describing a space station 'whose mass would fill a star system,' but these are insignificant. My one major quibble is with the editors' command of grammar, punctuation, and spelling; it is my opinion that one who sets him/herself up as arbiter of another's work, as an editor does, should have a finer-than-average grasp of mechanics of the language. It is in this area that I would encourage concentration on the part of the editors. The only part of the zine with which I take significant issue is the level of humor, both in the Empire parody and on the unfortunate 'graffiti wall'; in both cases the level of sophistication is low, and sometimes slides into high school bathroom humor. I think that zines, which are ostensibly a TRIBUTE to another's work, should at least be inoffensive -- I was quite honestly embarrassed and offended by some of the allusions in these compositions, especially those referring to anatomy. I doubt if these references are insulting enough to merit the attention of Lucasfilm's legal department, but surely there are more entertaining ways of attracting attention. All in all, an enjoyable initial effort from two promising young editors. Keep it up!

[zine]: This [zine] has some spots which are very bright and others that one wishes would have measured up to the standouts. The first is a story called, 'The Destinal,' The third person omniscient style effectively moves the story along and the ending is a bit of a surprise.... it concerns Obi-Wan Kenobi and his self-imposed exile on Tatooine, before his encounter with Luke... The second bright spot is the thoroughly delightful, panel by panel comic strip spoof of TESB. Although the drawings are sometimes a bit weak (it may be the copying process), the text more than makes up for it... Example: Luke spies Boba Fett carrying away our beloved frozen Solo, in the form of a large popsicle. Another bright spot is 'Deception' which takes place after TESB. Luke arrives on Tatooine using another name and looking for traces of Han and Jabba. The reason I think this story is interesting is not so much for the style or characterizations, which are adequate but not exceptional, but because of the time frame. For once, we have a story that has incorporated the events of TESB and some of the subsequent effects on Luke's psyche. He returns to his home a different person -- in name for security purposes, and in maturity also. He encounters an old peer, Camie, a girl who used to tease him and now finds him attractive, even though she doesn't recognize him. It's a ironic and bittersweet moment for Luke. Another plus is Luke's thought's concerning Leia and Han; he has given up on Leia, feeling that his possible relationship to Vader stands in the way. He's worried about being a threat to the rebellion. Ms Betzl is faithful to the Luke in the films who always puts others before himself. I do feel that this story could have been more complex and descriptive; Luke's actions don't really reflect the mental turmoil he was going through. But all in all, it was a good effort, and despite the few shortcomings, I can't wait for part two. 'To Kill a Solo' is the first in a series of stories about Ariel Solo, Han's sister, with the first story taking place in the interim between SW and TESB. That, in itself, would make it worthwhile, but it is also well-written and interesting. Ms. Stack has managed to peel back some of that Solo cockiness and we get to peek underneath. So much for the bright spots. The pieces that aren't bright, aren't really that bad, just in need of some maturing. I'll mention one as an example. 'Alliance' is in need of work. The characters were a little too out-and-dried, and the Big Three acted like they hardly knew each other, the story substituting action for characterization. The story device -- that of a strange alien with all-encompassing powers who threatens to destroy both Empire and Alliance -- is a new idea; my complaints lie with the treatment of how our heroes react to this alien. The dialogue sounds like comic strip stuff... The rest of the zine is filler-type material, some amusing and some vague. But all in all, I feel that Millennium is a good-intentioned first effort and should improve with age as we all do.

[zine]: Hi! - Just finished reading Millennium-It was lovely! 'To Kill a Solo' was my favorite. Ariel's so real, and I can really relate to that feeling of danger as I get it to! Tiron's a beautiful touch. 'The Empire Strikes Out' was hilarously [sic] funny and the cartoons were great! (Loved the one on the inside back.)

[zine]: Received Millennium 1 and I enjoyed it very much. Good presentation to layout. Tell Lin Stack that I hope she does do a full story of the short 'Daddy'.

[zine]:

I just got through reading the first issue of your zine (which since has changed

its name). On the whole it was pretty good, but the writting [sic] could stand some improvement. Understand I'm not speaking as a famous novelist is as a literary critic, just as a reader. I did enjoy 'Destinal', 'Scoundrel's Plea' ,'Deception Part I' (can't wait till they rescue Han!) and 'To Kill a Solo', though here too the writting [sic] the writting [sic] could be just a bit better. Plo's good though and the illo of Han on page 101 is very nice. I hope I don't sound super critical - keep at it.

[zine]:

First off, let me say how much I enjoyed MILLENNIUM. All the stories were both well written and good (I'm sure you know that many zine authors know how to write but don't have a story to tell, and vice versa). All the stories are excellent, but I especially liked DECEPTION; PART I. It seemed so true without wallowing in excessive sentiment — and your cover was (is) FANTASTIC — and I got a big laugh out of the satire. It equals MAD at its best, I do believe.

But I do have one little complaint. Spelling. Or proofreading. Or both. Spelling and good usage of language appeal to me, and to see the opposite gives me a pain. Some errors

are to be expected, but I think you qualify for the book of records. What strikes me funny, though, is that a lot of hard words were correct but common words were misspelled (ex. "freinds" for "friends," "officiers" for "officers," just to name a few).

[zine]:

I am an artist so I will comment on your zine from an artist's point of veiw [sic]. Is O.K.? First of all I must say that looking through M1, I feel that it is as good a first zlne as I have seen. There ate a few layout boo-boos that happen with any first attempt but on the whole, I find the zine quite charming. Be a little more careful with your margins, ladies you can get a bit more on your pages without looking crowded, 3/4 inch borders are usually the norm. Also on pages where you set art between copy (ex, pg. 9) your illo shouldn't go any further into the margin than your type. Looks cleaner. Lin, I like the loose way you draw. Your Han likenesses are good. You know how I like your Luke. The illo on page 18 Is really fine. A lovely Ben. And I could gobble Lukey right up! I love the border on page 31... but the page number should be placed outside. Also if you look at taht [sic] bourder [sic] you can see that though a bit extreem [sic] you could have actually typed out that far. Very nice. Page 33 had me in stitches. I love the Bantha roll-on commercial. Excellent comedy. Clean up the print though, you've got readers with bad eyes! I'm one of them. Again, the border on page 36 gives a very finished look to the art. But anyone who's seen the zines that I put out knows that I'm into borders. A personal preference, I assure you. 'The Empire Strikes Out' is priceless. Don't mix your numbers tho, Lin, if you start out with rub on numbers, don't fill in with written ones, Any way, TESO is really super, Lin and I doff my hat to you as a fellow catoonist [sic]. — C'mon, 'Leia, It's only a popsicle? Cold. Very cold. Stack. Love it.—

All in all, even though it may seem I've torn your layout up, I really like Millennium and want to get future Issues. Put me on the list, ladies.