Once Upon a Time... Is Now/Issues 031-032
| Zine | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Once Upon a Time... Is Now (Out-In, Out/In, Out...In) |
| Publisher: | |
| Editor(s): | Jeanne Cloud and Joyce DeBoard (issues #1-#27), Jeanne Cloud, Loreen Vanderkrats, and Linda Lakin (issues #27-#33 -- tho perhaps as far as #45), Jeanne Cloud and Loreen Vanderkrats (issues #46-#60 -- tho perhaps as early as #34) |
| Type: | letterzine |
| Date(s): | 1988 to 1996 |
| Frequency: | sometimes monthly, sometimes bi-monthly, at the end much more infrequent |
| Medium: | |
| Size: | digest-sized |
| Fandom: | Beauty and the Beast (TV) |
| Language: | English |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Once Upon a Time... Is Now (Out-In, Out/In, Out...In) is a Beauty and the Beast letterzine. It is digest-sized.
See List of Letterzines for similar fanworks.
Contents
The zine is a collection of letters from fans (titled "From the Helpers") of the show discussing aspects of the show including the actors, characters, stories, and fanfiction. This zine also contains photos (both xeroxed and original), some original artwork, con reports, open letters, and sometimes clippings and interviews.
Some regular features were: "OK Good...OK Fine" (the editorial), "From the Library" (zine listings), and "On the Pipes" (fan clubs).
There were 60 issues published between 1988 to 1996.
Issue 31
Once Upon a Time... Is Now 31 was published in April 1991 and contains 34 pages.
This issue has many comments about the zine Black Cover. While some are excerpted below, many more are excerpted on that zine's page.
This issue has many photos of Ron Perlman, some with fans, some of him signing autographs at "A Few Good Men."
This issue contains a metafic by S.L. Rankin called "What's in a Name."
This issue contains a review of The Chronicler's Tales.
From the editor:
I am getting several things in the mail from "anonymous" people. One set came a couple of weeks ago and contained xerox copies of a rather vicious correspondence between two fans (one of whom I do not even know) dated over a year ago. I have no idea why something so old was sent to me in the first place or what I was suppose to do with it. If you have a point, make it and at least sign your name. I disregard anything that is not signed. Enough said on that!
The editor asks:
What is the current state of fandom? Are we losing a lot of people or is it just quiet out there? If we are losing them, what do you think is the cause - lack of interest, the infighting or what? What do we need to rejuvenate this fandom? What (besides the movie) would you like to see?
Issue 31: Excerpts from the Letters
Once I wished, in this very zine, that we would someday see Catherine and Vincent have a son - I am now saying with 100% hindsight - I wished there never had been a baby, a consummation either. For, like "Moonlighting" on ABC, once the romantic, magical tension was gone, the show died.
I just pray if they DO do a telemovie, it's not on CBS. I know we should be thrilled that it's on at all, but I don't want to owe that pathetic network anything.
Besides, what are they going to show us? Besides, what are they going to show us? Definitely nothing more than we got the first two seasons. And after reading all these 'zines, I'm not too ecstatic about watching C&V holding hands or lighting candles or reading poetry. I need to see some plunging and throbbing and....oh, sorry. I was reading from our fanzine.
I am a self-confessed zine-aholic but in recent months this activity has become problematic for me. As we are all aware, fandom is divided into many different groups, with specific likes and dislikes. I am tired of ordering zines only to discover stories which I do not with to read. I realize that many of you are interested in Vincent/Diana/Third Season stories. I am not, just as many fans don’t wish to read the more sexually explicit zines. From some of the editorial pages I have read, some people have resorted to extreme actions to voice their displeasure in situations like this.
I think it would make it a lot easier for everyone involved if flyers clearly stated just what a zine might contain. Is Catherine alive? Are there any "outside" relationships for the principals? Is Diana friend or lover? There's even been controversy over the manner in which one author returned Catherine to her Vincent -- as a spirit - - which apparently bothered many people. So, it's not just the "To Diana or not" question that can cause trouble. I've even had the misfortune of ordering two "resurrection" zines only to discover that there was also a V/D sexual relationship going on to pass the time until C's return. Spare me, please. Several zine editors have gone out of their way to publish concise, informative flyers — Kim Prosser comes to mind — and they should be commended.
I agree that every zine has the right to be advertised. People are then free to purchase it or not.
I'm writing to respond to [Leslie H's] letter about the zine Black Cover and Jeanne's editorial asking for opinions on censorship. (Jeanne, did you KNOW the can of worms you were opening?).
Censorship is a slippery issue at best, the problem being defining precisely when individual freedoms to do something and individual freedoms to choose not to promote/participate in that something clash. Part of the problem is the very real fear that allowing limits to be set opens the door to the possibility that the thing being limited will eventually be disallowed altogether. That, by the way, is the heart of the record label debate. Many recording artists are afraid that their records will no longer be sold if stores create policies not to sell records above a certain rating, so they fight against records being rated like movies at all.
Yes, Leslie, editors do have the right to say to anyone — that means you, too - "thank you, but we're not going to carry this ad." No, that is not censorship. Every paper, every magazine, every newscast, every organization in this world has its own standards and policies and has the right to judge material by those standards....
[...]
However, in my opinion, you have overstepped the bounds from policy to censorship by, in your own words "making a passionate plea to the editors of this and all other letterzines and fanzine reviews." (emphasis added) It is policy to decide for yourself what is acceptable. It is undeniable censorship to ask that something you find unacceptable be wiped off the face of the earth, thereby making the decision as to what is acceptable for everyone else. (If a zine can't advertise, it is doomed.) It is, as always, a fine line.
Saying that you wish no one would advertise this zine because you find it disquieting is your own opinion, which is as valid as anyone else's. Pleading that others take action on your opinion is skating on thin ice, censorship-wise. Particularly if, as you state, you do not have any first-hand experience with the item in question!
This is not to say that I like S&M either, nor that I have any particular respect for anyone who doesn't sign their own name to their own work. Personally, I too would not buy such a zine, nor does the policy of the zine I am part of allow us to run an ad for it. But I must support the right of that zine to exist, like it or not, and the right of other editors to print the ad for it if they wish to do so, just as I must support the right of the KKK to parade and anti-abortionists to demonstrate. The very thought makes my gorge rise, but if I deny their right to speak their opinion, mine could be the next to go...
Like Beth, I dislike the thought of other people deciding what I should be able to read or buy. If Black Cover publishes disclaimers in its ads and counsels that you should write for flyers first, then they are fulfilling their duty to warn the public that they are controversial. Let the buyer beware... would it be the first time that any one of us has bought a zine through the mail and been disappointed with it? There's many a "sincere, loving effort" that has landed in the cat box because I personally didn't like it. However, that is between me, my standards and the cat. I have no more a right to tell others not to read -and enjoy— it than they have to tell me that I must read or enjoy it.
Leslie, I think that your letter was well thought out and as calmly stated as possible, considering the nature of the subject, and I have tried to do the same. It's just that I'm afraid that I cannot agree with you.
Ron is also confirmed at the Pro Star Convention on June 2 (Sun. only - 1:00-5:00). The convention runs all weekend and includes guest stars James Doohan (Scotty), George Takei (Sulu), Michael Dorn (Worf), Jonathan Harris (Dr. Zachary Smith) and Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker). The convention is being held at the Expo Center and I understand there are three good hotels within walking distance to the convention. The registration is $45.00 for the three days or $20.00 per day. Make checks payable to Pro Star and send them to: Eric Parnes, c/o Shoreline Comics, 106 Boston Post Rd., Waterford, CT 06385.
If there is one good thing that has come out of 3S, it is this; it has brought to light the truth that lies in people's hearts, be it good or evil. A division has occurred between light and dark. Once truth is revealed it can be dealt with, it MUST be dealt with. The goats are being separated from the sheep. I have no desire whatsoever to underestimate the intellect in fandom but I do wish to clarify that last statement to those who are not familiar with the ways of barnyard critters. A goat is a wild, independent, unruly, smelly creature, often used symbolically in satanism. When mixed in with a flock of sheep the goat will lead the sheep wherever it desires even across treacherous terrain where the goats are more sure-footed than the sheep. They actually endanger the lives of the flock. A shepherd when gathering his flock in due season, will separate the goats from the sheep for this very reason.
Anyone out there "get the picture"?
[...]
I ask you my friends to stop for a moment and remember the beauty you discovered in "Beauty and the Beast". For many of you it's as if a shaft of light has pierced your heart and rain down on you a new hope, a new joy, a new life. You've discovered a new person inside of you that you never knew existed, a new talent you never knew you had and, certainly, new friendships formed that will last a lifetime. Someone once said, "There are no strangers in this land only friends we have not yet met". For some of us, our lives have changed so completely we will never be the same again.
With these thoughts in mind, are we going to allow the darkness in other people's lives to overshadow us and snuff out the light we have? I don't know how often Vincent's voice comes back to me with words that appear to fit the situation. This is one of those times.
"Perhaps everything terrible is in its deepest being something helpless that wants help from us. So you must not be frightened, if a sadness rises up before you larger than any you have ever seen; if a restiveness, like light and cloudshadows, passes over your hands and over all you do. You must think that something is happening with you, that life has not forgotten you, that it holds you in its hand; it will not let you fall..."
Don't be afraid or back down. Don't allow yourself to be intimidated. Fight back! One need not get overly excited and jump up and down, yell and curse or seek revenge but simply stand firm in what you believe. When you stand fearless, the fear in others will turn on themselves. So, hold tightly to what you have and don't let go. Smile and, as the saying goes,"Keep on Truckin'".
This is my first-ever LOC to any letterzine, so please excuse any wandering about. There is, however, a problem which has been addressed before in OUT...IN, and must be addressed again.
Despite anything Creation may say to the contrary (and anyone receiving their mailouts will notice that their May "Beast Bash" is billed as "THE B&B Event of the Year"), the fact remains that South of Oz is the national Beauty and the Beast convention for 1991, and from what I understand, registrations are running behind.
There may be many reasons for this. First, Orlando is not exactly at the center of the continent — but then, neither is Las Vegas and TunnelCon certainly had no trouble filling its ranks. Second, Florida is extremely hot in June (again, Las Vegas in July is cool?). Third, and most damaging, there have been persistent, and absolutely unfounded, rumors that South of Oz is a third-season con.
South of Oz is a third-season con in the same way that it is a first- and second- season con. It celebrates the entire show, not just a part of it and anyone who truly loved Beauty and the Beast, and continues to love it, should be aware of that and should not listen to rumors which denigrate this event.
Pardon me, but after reading some of the letters in Issue #30 of OUT...IN, I began to suffer a bout of indigestion, which I seem to get whenever I have too much poppycock. This poppycock was on the subject of the dreaded word "censorship" and how it might apply to fan fiction of beautiful BEAUTY AND THE BEAST; about what "adult fantasy" really is and whether we are qualified to say if anything is obscene or not.
I have read with interest the great censorship debate in recent issues. Now I do think it’s rather pointless to be debating a zine that was yanked from print over six months ago.
Issue 32
Once Upon a Time... Is Now 32 was published in May/June 1991 and contains 30 pages.
It includes a very long open letter by Beth Blighton called All I can see of fandom is something that was once beautiful which has now become painful and almost unbearable..
This issue has a bio of fan, Angela Fernan.
There are two con reports: one for The International Beauty and the Beast Convention and one for Celebration of Life Cruise.
This issue contains a photo of cosplayer, Tom Brecht as "Vincent Wells."
Several fans commented on the zine Black Cover and addressed the topic of censorship.
Issue 32: Excerpts from the Letters
I've been quiet for while m'self. Not from apathy though, more from burn-out. After being so intensely involved in B&B, after concentrating so long and so hard and so totally, heart and soul and mind - I think my survival instincts kicked in and said "take a break, already!" I'm returning because I can't resist the debate bait - "to censor or not to censor."
Since A.'Nea Dodson, Beth Blighton and Sylvia Fisher (and Kathy Millington — do write again, please!) and Elizabeth Helm covered all the salient arguments against censorship and also described the best way to handle the advertising of stories with controversial elements—i.e. "full-disclosure,” or ”we don’t want no nasty surprises, jack,” — I'll just toss out a few additional thoughts.
On responsibility: An excellent point to raise. But I'd like to point out that reviewers have a responsibility both to the writers and the potential readers. Reviewers can wield considerable power; that power must be used as fairly as is humanly possible. Reviewers must not allow their personal feelings about subject matter to color their evaluations of actual writing quality. Was Black Cover badly written? That’s my number one concern. Controversy doesn't put me off—lousy writing does. But, if the review I'd read was biased — if a reviewer lied to me—I might pass by something I might possibly want to read.
On the nature of "controversy:” As Beth so eloquently pointed out, the censor-able list could be endless. We don't need it, not so long as we have access to reliable, trustworthy reviewers. Because, to sum up Marilyn Durham's point, we may not be able to define pornography, but we know it when we see it. All pornography is degrading and defiling to the human spirit, male and female alike, whether it involves anonymous characters or the very real to us people of the tunnels. And it does hurt me to think of Vincent or Catherine being made into objects of humiliation. While it is no doubt true that bad things do happen to good people, I believe that the core of the spirit of B&B is love, and any story which does not have love (in any one of its myriad forms) as its theme is not true to the spirit of the show. For example: "Outsiders". An episode which featured animals masquerading as humans. Bad things happened to good people in that show, but yet it also gave us our best, most in-depth look into how Vincent feels about his dark side. And into how much he loves his world. And into how much Catherine loves Vincent, dark side and all.
As far as Black Cover goes, I wouldn’t classify it as a fantasy or a ’’retelling”. I'd label it "alternate universe" - in the extreme. By definition, an alternate universe is one in which things occur or are presented which contradict the "known facts" as revealed in the aired episodes. (Which, I believe, covers any story in which Vincent is not a virgin. Obviously, before Lisa, he had no idea how his other side could take over; after Lisa he swore himself to celibacy. Being Vincent, he could do no less.) Most fan fiction is alternate universe to one degree or another. But advance warning is imperative! The classic a/u example, from Classic Trek: the episode "Mirror, Mirror."
I've read with interest all the thoughtful, well-written letters in the censorship "debate." Just as the letters started, I read a very interesting article in the April issue of "Writer's Digest" dealing with the very issue of censorship and boycotts. I believe columnist Art Spikol summed up my feelings best when he said, "The public votes with its pocketbook. The community, in its larger, all- encompassing sense, tells you what to publish by buying or refusing to buy your product." I think this is how it should be since each person knows what he/she finds acceptable according to their own tastes and beliefs. To once again quote Mr. Spikol, "There have been many kinds of boycotts but the most dangerous are those that seek to diminish our choices as opposed to expand them."
[from a report on a recent Creation Con in New York]: In retrospect, [Roy Dotrice] felt that they had made the "wrong choice" in regards to third season and that maybe the show should have ended second season. He stressed that the actors were forced to make the best of a "bad job" and had absolutely NOTHING to do with the decisions made. He agreed with James Avery's assessment that once they had "done the deed (had sex)," the tension was gone from the show. (Roy remarked how he knew about all the sex maniacs in our fandom who wanted Vincent to jump into bed with Catherine!) [See more of this con report at The International Beauty and the Beast Convention. </ref>
...the status of fandom... well, for me this recent convention proved that there is_ a lot of interest out there but that problems still exist. Frankly, I was shocked at the overt signs of fandom's continued in-fighting. Exchanging words over South of Oz, wearing a t-shirt that derides those who hope for Catherine's return, making sarcastic and nasty remarks to such t-shirt wearer, telling security guards that the Hamilton fans might attack the guests, and so on, only deepens the rift. The changes wrought by the third season and the lack of any new episodes cost us numbers but I would bet that the in-fighting has done far more damage. As for the future, I believe the movie will be the watershed event. If Catherine's not resurrected then most of the Classic fans I know feel they will have little reason to remain in fandom. On the other hand, if she's back, then just about everyone can enjoy the film (and I also hope Diana is in the movie so that her fans are happy, as well).
It was reassuring to discover that I wasn't the only person baffled and bothered by some of the fan fiction out there. Since EVERYTHING seems to start a controversy these days - look at "The Black Cover" - I've refrained from bringing the subject up. However, the Catherine rape story in "Heartsounds III" and others like it are far too horrible for my taste. (I loved the rest of the series, however, and the art is gorgeous!) The same goes for "You, Darkness" found in "Acquainted with the Night." For me, "Beauty and the Beast" was love and light, hope and the promise of a happy ending - all WITHOUT such horrible pain and suffering. However, I would never seek to ban these zines. It's always a matter of personal choice.