Once Upon Another Time
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| Zine | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Once Upon Another Time |
| Publisher: | |
| Editor(s): | |
| Date(s): | December 1991 |
| Series?: | |
| Medium: | print zine |
| Size: | |
| Genre: | |
| Fandom: | Beauty and the Beast (TV) |
| Language: | English |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Once Upon Another Time is an anthology of het 60-page Beauty and the Beast fiction by Wendy Darling. It includes one drawing.
Reactions and Reviews
Superlative, controversial, excellently written zine that's overtly unimpressed with Catherine and not too excited about the more excessive forms of fan adulation, either. The centerpiece and best story, “Long Ago and Far Away in the City of New York” is a plausible alternative to the pilot in which C dies of the original attack and her body is returned to her apartment (a la “Walk Slowly”) by a saddened but not devastated V, who never really got to know her. C's death is then investigated by Diana, who thereby becomes the original Beauty, with significant divergences, as a result, from how events developed in the pilot as shown. Also notable is “Vincent's Pride,” in which C complains, to Peter, about her returning to the tunnels after years in the Witness Protection Program's unwanted custody, to find that she'd roused more than she bargained for in awakening Vincent's sexual propensities in the Trilogy cave. The final, and very funny, revelation must be read to be believed. The portrayal of C here is decidedly jaundiced, and will instantly send any die-hard Catherinite into furious orbit. In “Two Beauties and a Beast,” V intervenes when two panting fans pursue Ron Perlman in the park...and tells them off in no uncertain terms. Also another story, a pair of poems, and miscellaneous swipes at this and that. If you take V&C's romance desperately seriously, you'll loathe this zine. If you enjoy imaginative, well-written alternative speculations and revere C only moderately, you'll find this superb but sardonic zine a revelation. [1]