Pegasus (Star Trek: TOS and Star Wars zine)
| Zine | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Pegasus |
| Publisher: | Pegasus Press, Tinley Park, IL., (in 1986, T'Kuhtian Press had permission to copy and distribute these zines/parts of these zines) |
| Editor(s): | Judi L. Hendricks, Jan Lindner, Jackie Paciello & Paula Block, others: see below |
| Date(s): | 1976 - 1983 |
| Series?: | |
| Medium: | print zine |
| Size: | |
| Genre: | |
| Fandom: | Star Trek: TOS, Star Wars |
| Language: | English |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Pegasus is a gen Star Trek: TOS (the first two issues) and Star Wars (the rest of the issues) zine. There are six issues altogether, and they were published by Pegasus Press, Tinley Park, IL. One of the editors talks a bit about this zine in S and H #8, saying it was started, in part, because they weren't certain they could get an editor at the time to publish their work.
In 1981, issues #3 and #4 were listed as out-of-print but "available in photocopy form from T'Kuhtian Press" in an ad in Jundland Wastes #5/6.
In 1983, in Datazine #28, Jan Lindner proposed a similar zine, one that didn't materialize: "Pegasus VI was the last... or is it? Can all those RotJedi stories be left homeless? Of course not? Carrying on the 'family tradition' of Pegasus, The Other will be a high-quality offset SW zine with a Faddis cover. Contributions of fiction, artwork (Xerox only), filk, and humor cheerfully accepted. This zine will follow the Lucas guidelines."
This Zine Series Had the Attention of Mark Hamill
From a May 15, 1980 radio interview with Mark Hamill, some of his reactions to fan fiction:
unidentified fan caller: "I know you're a longtime science fiction fan. I was wondering if you had read any of the fan fiction that's been published about STAR WARS?"
Hamill: Oh, everything that they send, even if it takes six months, gets to me, and I've read fiction that has been created by people that have been moved enough by the film to... you know. George has created this history, this populated environment... One of my favorite stories is the story where I got to go to bed with the Princess, 'cause it doesn't happen in the movie. It was a real sexy story — I was really excited by that. But there was another story about how Han Solo met Chewie in flight training school. The fans themselves have enriched George's storyline, populated it with their own ideas. But any of those fan magazines they do send, I read 'em. I'm sort of backlogged on sending out the thank you notes. Actually, I'm glad you asked that because it gives me an opportunity to thank everybody for that kind of stuff. We do read all our mail."
unidentified fan caller: "Well, that's great because several of the authors are right here in this building."
Hamill: "Really? Which ones do you write for?"
unidentified fan caller: "Primarily for SKYWALKER, and GUARDIAN, and PEGASUS, etc..."
Hamill: "Oh, Pegasus I got, definitely, in fact I took a page out of Pegasus, and it was up on my mirror in my dressing room for the entire filming of the picture. So a little piece of you was over there."
unidentified fan caller: "Well, that's wonderful. I'll be sure to tell the editors." [1]
Growing Pains and Changes: A Sign of the Times
In the last issue of this zine series, Paula Block wrote "FIAWOL/AWOL" in which she described how over the last eight years, her fellow editors' lives, and the production of the zine itself, had changed.
An excerpt:
But here it is 1983. and though some of us have gafiated, the majority of us are still around. We still go to a couple of cons every year, but the fight over who gets to sleep in the bed instead of on the floor gets fiercer every year. And if wisdom hasn't come along with the lumbago, a certain amount of sophistication has, when it comes to producing the literature that's sold at those cons, that is. And that's both a blessing and a curse, as you might expect. Putting out a zine these days is not the carefree little jaunt it once was. Just as we "old-pros" take on more polish and profession alism in Real Life, so must our fannish hobby take on those qualities. Staples for binding? Feh—how gauche. Typewriters are out—word processors are in. Color covers? Why not—all it'll take is 25 percent of the baby's college fund, which may or may not be reimbursed.... Case in point: take the evolution of Pegasus...In the beginning, there was mimeo. And staff- written stories illustrated by staff-drawn art work. And brads. A messy process, but cheap, and, in a somewhat masochistic sense, fun. Issues One and Two represented a more leisurely period in our lives. We had an earnest but lackadaisical attitude about our publication. Who cared about profit — we did it for fun! And we did have fun. And Fandom being what it was back then, no one even minded that issues One and Two had the same exact cover. (Well, heck, so did the first two issues of Warped Space.) By issue Three, mimeo was beginning to look like the dodo bird of fandom, and people were in creasingly impressed with offset printing, despite the big boost in printing exprense. So we tightened our belts and went with the flow. Stories from out side our little circle were coming in, respected artists were volunteering their services... We were on the verge of a Renaissance, we figured, and we kept in mind the golden example of Connie Faddis' classic Trek-zine Interphase as a pinnacle to shoot for ultimately.
Between issues Three and Four, bulk became trendy and you could rarely find a zine in a hucksters' room that ran under 100 pages (or under $5, for that matter). We went a little crazy, adopted stories like lost puppies until we suddenly realized that we couldn't staple a zine as big as PEG IV. So we went the infamous two volume route (which, perhaps wisely, no one seems to have found worthy of emulation) . We were running into Big Bucks in terms of expense now, and, as a result, our prices kept climbing, and even then we were in the hole, but still we went on... Issue Five found us crazier still. We had to go to "perfect (ha) binding" because there was no other way to go with something the size of the Brooklyn phone book. And though the issue was chock full of goodies (some of the best art and stories money couldn't buy...) and deemed worthy of last year's Fan Q award, we realized something was lacking... Professionalism had somehow re placed a good percentage of fun. The zine had become as hefty a burden upon the days of our lives as it had to the carriers of the U.S. mail. Two of the editors were married and working at full-time jobs, and one had a kid (which as we all know Is a full-time job in itself)j there was overtime at our mundane jobs to be contended with, and night school classes and creeping senility coupled with a fervent desire to be tucked under the covers by 10:00 p.m....
Anyway, what with all that, and hustling to meet the ever more-demanding standards of producing a zine in the 80s, it truly wasn't as much fun as it could have been. There weren't enough hours in a day to let it be fun. So answering letters, editing stories, rounding up artists, making nice-nice to the printer so he'd print for lower rates...all those normally invigorating activities became chores. And when you look at a task as a chore, it eventually shows in your end product...
But sing no sad songs for us or Pegasus. Jackie says that this essay, which she had originally asked me to pen as a kind of "State of Affairs and Zinedom and Life, the Universe and Everyfan" has turned into a downer of an epitaph. I like to think of it as a "transitional flow" piece... I don't really think of my life today as a downer—I don't think any of the three of us do. But we are most definitely older, we most definitely have more pressing commitments than we did ten years ago and the hours in a day get shorter every year. As the Red Queen told Alice, "It takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get some where else, you must run at least twice as fast that!" And not only do our feet hurt, but some body tied our shoe laces together... But heck, I guess even hobblers can be Truefen...
Issue 1
Pegasus 1 was published in July 1976 (second reprint: November 1976 of which 300 issues were printed) and contains only Star Trek: TOS material. It has 180 pages, and was edited by Sean Rigby, Jan Rigby, Melissa Bayard (later Melissa Clemmer), and Judi Hendricks. It contains stories, drawings, cartoons, filk lyrics, and puzzles. The interior art is by Gordon Carleton, Leslie Fish, Joni Wagner, Judi Hendricks, and Sean Rigby.
Regarding the original cover and other production: "Mary Lynn Skirvin designed the cover Pegasus. It is traced from her original drawings which, due to deadline problems, can't be used for this issue, (adapted by J. Hendricks). Silvering- First edition- Judi, Melissa, & Jan. Second edition: Jan, Judi, and special thanks to Mardy Lamski."
Editorial: "Lord only knows why we're doing this...there are certainly enough zines around... It may be out of a sort of civic-mindedness--we only have our own fiction in this issue, so you can ignore it entirely if you've a mind to. However, we were lucky enough to get some artists who are more talented than we had a right to exoect, and I am unable to express my gratitude to them for bringing the stories alive...and the Purple Bandaid to Judi for the cover inking and staying up till 5 am doing the illos for "Abrasions & Contusions" . (which is what I expect from TLC fans.) PROFOUND DEPT. Consider the ST movie. It will not be all that any of us would like. It may not be deeply significant. It may be a bomb. As someone once said, "Haying is not always so pleasing a thing as wanting.. "' The 'us vs. them' camaraderie had a lot to do with keeping Trek alive...but even if ST has publicly said all it will ever say, (not can say—all Paramount will let it say) the most important thing about it was not the characters, the actors who portrayed them, or even the stories. It was the beauty and love and hope we learned to see within ourselves and each other-- and as long as we can see that, the Enterprise has carried out her mission with honor. End of lecture, Hope you enjoy the zine. --Jan
- Title page (iii)
- Credits (iv)
- Contents (v)
- Editorials (vi)
- Starfarer's Song by Jan Rigby (1)
- This, Our Infinity by Judi L. Hendricks (3)
- Visual Aid for Reduced Offset (48)
- Letter: Research Inquiry by Accident (49)
- Word Find Puzzle by Sean Rigby (50)
- The First Pon Farr by Judi Hendricks (52)
- Snake in the Grass by Judi Hendricks and Jan Rigby (55)
- The Second Step by Mark Sharpe (67)
- T'Pring's Decision by Melissa Bayard (T'Pring is determined that she will never become Spock's wife. And she has a desperate plan to prevent it.) (71) (T'Pring's choice to obtain Stonn as a suitable mate in her family business goes awry when Stonn, though he would have fought for her, refuses to have her once she has lost face and status.)
- Conversation: Spock & Sevrin by M. Octyme (84)
- Tribble Tune by M. Octyme (83)
- Mother Space News by the Staff (85)
- How to Fix a T-Shirt by Jan (86)
- The Great Do-It-Yourself Light-Tracing Box for Bug-Eyed Zine Artists by Sean (87)
- Fragments by Anonymous (91)
- From Out of the Past by Jan Rigby (93)
- The Wait by Melissa Bayard (Scotty has been stranded on a desolate planet for months and he's down to his last supplies. Can he survive?) (144)
- Want Ads
- Mentoniere 1 & 2 by Sean (148)
- Abrasions & Contusions by M. Octyme/Jan Lindner and Judi Hendricks. A satire of Paula Smith's "The Logical Conclusion" (149)
- You are Receiving this Zine Because
- the lyrics for Leslie Fish and the Dehorn Crew's Folk Songs For Folk Who Ain't Even Been Yet (171)
from issue #1, Judi L. Hendricks
from issue #1
from issue #1, Judi L. Hendricks
from issue #1, Gordon Carleton
from issue #1, uncredited, "Visual Aid for Reduced Offset"
from issue #1, Judi L. Hendricks
from issue #1, unknown artist
from issue #1, "The Great Do-It-Yourself Light-Tracing Box for Bug-Eyed Zine Artists," directions
from issue #1, Joni Wagner
from issue #1, Leslie Fish
from issue #1, first page of "Abrasions & Contusions"
from issue #1, Judi L. Hendricks
Reactions and Reviews: Issue 1
See reactions and reviews for From Out of the Past.
See reactions and reviews for Snake in the Grass.
See reactions and reviews for This, Our Infinity.
See reactions and reviews for Abrasions & Contusions.
[zine]:Three reviews received. Art ranged from 2/8; fiction 6/7; nonfiction 6/7; poetry 6/7; readability 3/9; covers 7/8; binding 5/10; editorials 6/10.
A 'fun to read" zine, this issue contains the lyrics to Leslie Fish's fandom folksong album Filksongs for Folk Who Ain't Even Been Yet. "Good parody of Menagerie 7/8," beautiful front cover. Definite potential for the future."
"Thick zine with emphasis on humor. Art could stand some reworking. The pages aren't numbered which is a pain in the ass."
"I enjoyed this 'zine and am looking forward to the second issue. One of the better mimeo 'zines." [2]
[zine]: This had definitely been the year of the Super Zine, with the appearance of a number of high-quality releases. It's a good thing there isn't a prize for the best zine of the year -- the judges would break down under the problem of choice -- but if there were, this first effort out of Chicago would be a definite contender. The price is medium-high, but you more than get your money's worth, both in quantity and quality. There's a lot of sensitive and talented poetry in Trekdom, but Jan Rigby's 'Starfarer's Song' that opens 'Pegasus' sticks in your mind. It's the kind of thing you memorize to yourself in the middle of the night, it's a curtain-raiser for a wealth of memorable stories. 'This, Our Infinity, is a Spock-Gets-Married story that avoids most of the pitfalls of the genre. Mariel, his bride, is not a surrogate for the author but a young woman who can meet Spock's rather unspecialized needs. The sex is subtle and understated, and not the whole purpose of the story but one element of a plot that very nearly turns into a McCoy vehicle. Complaint might be that we aren't told much about the couple's meeting and wooing, and that perhaps more ESp is involved than Vulcans usually exhibit, but it meshes well and is a satisfactory romance. 'From Out of the Past' is a true ST episode material: the characters are perfect, the plot full of turns, and the suspense is edge-of-the-chair. It ends a bit too quickly, a couple more pages would have allowed the reader to calm down a bit before the end, that that's a minor criticism of a story that has profession polish and tautness, and real ST quality. When the series comes back to TV, GR should look at this one! 'T'Pring's Decision' is a fascinating piece which gives us bits and pieces of the lady's mind, enough to force the reader to fill in the whole story. Her characterizations is excellent, and the subtlety is remarkable, creating a very definite illusion of alien intelligence and values. There is one point when it is difficult to tell who is talking/thinking to whom, but it is a delicate and impressive creation. Melissa also includes a short-short sketch of Scotty in 'The Wait,' again characterized by what it asks the reader to supply. This is a very interesting and promising style to be developed. 'Snake in the Grass' introduces us to the Lt. Dale Kirk (no relation, but an exceedingly awkward surname for a brand new lieutenant aboard the Enterprise) who has troubles enough without a grinning pink snake, related to the Cheshire Cat. Cute as can be. 'Abrasions and Contusions' is a parody on a well-known, and largely disliked zine story whose initials do not stand for 'Tender Loving Care.' The author (listed as M. Octyme) I suspect of being very closely related to the author of the aforementioned piece. No matter what our attitude to the original, the parody is delicious. And Judi Hendrick's illustrations are enchanting. While reading this, I got so hysterical, I had to be revived by my alarmed mother. Recommendation: secure seat belt before reading! In closing, the generous editors have included a portfolio of Leslie Fish's Folk Songs for Folks Who Ain't Even Been Yet. For want of space it's impossible to list all the poems, articles, puzzles, and cartoons. The art is professional quality, the reproduction excellent, the type large and readable. You just can't fault this zine.[3]
[zine]:I haven't reviewed a zine in so long, I think I've forgotten how. I hadn't even intending to review this one, but I happen to mention to Randy that I liked it best out of the four he loaned me to read, so he asked me if I'd review it.
For technical execution, out of a possible five points, I would give it three. The typing and type face(s) were good, but on the white sheets there was considerable bleed-through, (Why two different kinds of paper?) The illos and cartoons by Fish & Eubank were great, as were Joni Wagner's illos of Storm and T'Pring. Judi Hendrick's cartoons were, without exception, funny, but suffered somewhat from fainting spelling and weak technique. The covers were excellent (front) and good (back). Format acceptable.
For content, out of a possible five, I would give Pegasus four points. The stories were uniformly well-executed and not overly soapy (I hate soap-operas). This, Our Infinity" while reading well, is technically the weakest, since the plot seems to exist primarily to serve Spook and Mariel, allowing her to satisfy him in pon farr. Even if she is half-Vulcan herself she comes awfully close to being another Mary Sue. "T'Pring's Decision" was one of the best stories in the zine, a pointed Vulcan moral tale. "From Out of the Past" was also good with a solid science fiction background for the telepathic scenes, but the best story has to be "A Snake in the Grass", I nearly died laughing.
The shorter pieces, such as the letter from the Vulcan archeologist on Earth, How to make a light table, ect, and the poetry were also good. Leslie's filksongs were nice to see after having heard them at SeKWester*Con. My favorite is the one about the disabled cargo transport.
All in all, a zine worth the price.[4]
[zine]:This is a massive new mimeo zine with engaging, if not professional-looking cartoon work and art by Bill Eubanks. There is a Mary Sue story by Judi Hendricks, "This, Our Infinity." (I realize now that one can spot a MS story by seeing if there's a starry eyed illo of a female head-and- shoulders shot anywhere in the first third of the story.) Outstanding pieces include the simple "First Pon Farr" in cartoon; very reminiscent of the humor in early mimeo trekzines. "Snake in the Grass" is a delightful romp by Hendricks and Jan Rigby. The Carleton illos fit the story beautifully and the "colored-in" pink snake is cute.
Melissa Bayard's "T'Pring's Decision" is well done, tho it might have been pared down just a wee bit. Two practical articles by Jan and Sean are on T-shirt care and fixing, and building a light box. Jan's "From Out of the Past," illos by Leslie Fish in her block-print style, works very well, bringing us a follow-up story to "Turnabout Intruder." I suspect that Jan read Robert Silverberg's "Sundance" and adapted its idea to the investigation background. Well done, anyway.
"Abrasions & Contusions" by M. Odtyme is an incredible parody of "The Logical Conclusion." The front cover illo is priceless. A gem of a parody with the childlishly simple illos adding immeasurably to its impact.
This first issue concludes with the words to the songs on the filksong album, "Folksongs for Folks Who Ain't Even Been Yet." (Write to the Paulina address for price info.)
Bill Eubanks graces the back cover with a stab at Chicago trekfen. Ratings: Graphics 4 (need more prufereeding); Content 4; $ Worth 4.[5]
[zine]:Every good fanzine has at least one fanzine review. And since I'm sure that everyone considers Fleet to be a good fanzine, that means that we have been lacking in this one department. The time has now come. And if anyone out there would like to write a review, don't hesitate. Remember, all contributions are welcome.
Since this is the first review [in Fleet], we'll start with some thing close to home. Pegasus is a thoroughly enjoyable zine. The printing is easy to read and the articles and stories range from serious (This, Our Infinity) to satire (Abrasions and Contusions). Poems and short comics are scattered throughout the zine. There is a little bit of everything in here for everyone, no matter what your tastes are. How about building The Great Do-It-Yourself Light-Tracing Box? The directions are in Pegasus. Or read about another view on why T'Pring did what she did (T'Pring's Decision. And even if you haven't read The Logical Conclusion upon which Abrasions and Contusions was based, Abrasions will still appeal to the silly side of anyone.
All in all, read and enjoy Pegasus. It's a great way to spend an afternoon.[6]
Issue 2
Pegasus 2 was published in August 1977 and was a TOS-only zine. It had 152 pages. Cover: Mary Lynn Skirvin; back cover: Susan M. Stephenson. Art & illustrations by Clare Bell, Donna Berberitch, Gordon Carleton, Phil Foglio, Beverly Glielmi, Judi L. Hendricks, Jacqueline Paciello, Marty Siegrist, Joni Wagner, Bev Zuk.
This issue came with a crossword puzzle: "By the way, in case you haven't noticed, the crossword puzzle blank is not bound into the zine itself--we've heard too many gripes about having to flip back ft forth to get at the clues. It's folded in between the clue pages. If by some tremor in the force you don't have one, send us a postcard and we'll send you a blank, and our apologies."
From the editorial—Jan:
Thanks also to "Hutch", Po, and the Zebras for moral support, and to Clare Bell for her last-minute Pegasus colts, and, with truffles, flourishes, a 21-blaster salute, and a Rebel medallion, to Jackie Paciello for: typing through the 4th of July in an oven, last-minute illos., doing electrostencil-running, rewriting her story... and rewriting it again.. .insisting that we all ao see Star Wars right away(!) and for being acting motivator (naoqing.) And helpinq stack pages and collate and dragging in emernency cartons of Tab. Also to Judi for turning magically into a crack mimeo operator (use the Force, Luke!) and to Melissa for what she was able to get done before her car was killed and time ran out and...and... Anybody I missed...I'd also like to thank George Lucas for doing Star Wars. Sure, he's making a lot of money, but he could've done that without doinq such a fine, fine job. Here's to a sequel! Stay well, use the Force, and keep your deflectors angled.
From the editorial—Judi:
To those of you who wrote me about the "Meriel" series, Thank You and I'm sorry. Thank you for saying nice things and I'm sorry she didn't find her way into this issue. There are about six stories in the works, and a rough draft sitting on my desk starinq at me with big, sad eyes However, I didn't have a typewriter until last week (I finally broke down and bought one when my scribe fell over dead. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a good scribe nowadays??) so I plead incompetence, or something. Hopefully, we'll get her into the next issue. (Oh, my gHod! What did I say? Not another one!) I must also apologize for any irritating flaws in the printed text of Peg 2. (Not typos. Those are Jan's and Jackie's.) I never really ran the Gestetner before this week and it took me awhile to get to know the beast. It was awfully hard to get interested in Pegasus, what with STAR WARS being so invigoratingly recent and full of new People to net acquainted with and new plots to think out and write about. I'm beginning to think the new Star Trek movie/series/whatever was "but a dream, too flattering sweet to be substantial." Paramount ought to get its collective wrists slapped. oh, well.
- Editorials (iv)
- The Trekzine Alphabet by Paula Smith (1)
- Untitled poem by Jeanne Powers (4)
- The Hand that Touches by Jacqueline Paciello ("Joanna McCoy comes on board with a friend, an alien woman who is keeping secrets about herself and about Joanna. A joyous reunion between McCoy and his daughter turns into tragedy with the death of Joanna's companion, a strange drain on the ship's dilithium and the impending death of Joanna.") (5)
- Word Builder by Audry Rober (97)
- Word Search - ST troublemakers by Audry Rober (98)
- The Evening Tide of a World by Karma Beck (99)
- Through the Glass Darkly by Jan Lindner (100)
- Sara's Secret Weekend by Sara Steinberg (102)
- Crossword Puzzle by Hendricks & Paciello (105)
- Untitled poem by Jackie Paciello (109)
- Out of the Ashes by Jan Lindner ("The Enterprise must find a way to deal with a world that holds the custom of burning widows.") (111)
- untitled poem by Jeanne Powers (137)
- Spock Meets the Messiah by Paula Block (mentions quiz, which is riffed upon in issue #3) (139)
- Word Builder by Audry Rober (144)
- Flame Gems & Lust by Justa Knutt (parody of Diamonds and Rust) (145)
- Last-Minute Notes (150)
- Words to Live By (152)
from issue #2, Marty Siegrist
from issue #2, Jacqueline Paciello
from issue #2, Gordon Carleton
from issue #2, Judi L. Hendricks
from issue #2, Jacqueline Paciello
from issue #2, Joni Wagner
from issue #2, Jacqueline Paciello
from issue #2, Clare Bell
Reactions and Reviews: Issue 2
[zine]: This is a mimeo zine... Mimeo makes a thick zine that takes a lot of postage, but to be readable you need space. between the paragraphs and large type, so there are more pages than you'd need otherwise. And the paper has a spongy texture to it that implies imminent disintegration. But inexpensive offset is not available, everywhere and you use what you've got. There are some nice things in Pegasus -- the art, and Jan's "Through a Glass Darkly" and "Out of the Ashes". There are also some cute 'fan' things in here -- Spock meets the Messiah (wonder where they got that title, heh heh) and 'Flame Gem and Lust' (don't have to tell you what that's about) and the words to live by on the last page, well, you gotta read them. May the force encourage you both to do a Pegasus 3.[7]
[zine]: Well, it's late, but it's worth. Issue 1 was very good, this is even better. Quite a lot of material in 150 well-mimeoed pages. Lovely cover. Interior is graced by good artwork, including a scattering of delightful Pegasus colts by Claire Bell. Poetry is fair, humor good to outrageous (including one visual pun). One very strange 'sort strange play by short strange Poblocki' featuring a couple of well-known characters... and a question of Deity. The longest piece, 'The Hand that Touches' is the best in the zine; it takes 2/3 of the total. It is an unusual and well-handled Joanna story -- certainly one of the better, if not the best, I've read. The mystery is handled well, like a lot of the better ST episodes, there appear to be a couple of sub-plots going. I expected [the] really sad ending, well almost (I guess I've gotten on a doom and gloom kick). but still a recommended story. Poetry is fair, but then poetry is really a matter of personal taste. Definitely a high-quality zine. I recommend it and hope they do a third issue.[8]
[zine]:This issue opens up with two short items, a humorous piece called "The Trekzine Alphabet" by Paula Smith in which she pokes fun at the world of fan publishing & Treklit. Following this is a poem by Jeanne Powers with a very nice accompanying illo by Marty Siegrist.The next 92 pages are taken up by a lengthy piece that turns out to be focused around McCoy. "The Hand That Touches," by Jacqueline Paciello explores what happens v/hen Joanna McCoy beams aboard the Big E with a friend named Samara. The thin plot surrounding this reunion (which is the real meat of the story) is that the Enterprise is on a desperate mission to deliver drugs to a plague planet. Joanna and her companion beam on board before leaving to surprise the good Doctor. About half way to their destination the real surprise comes in. It is discovered that Samara lives by absorbing nuclear energy. Once on the ship and away from a convenient star the only form of nuclear energy around turns out to be the dilithium crystals. If she continues to draw energy from them, they will not reach the plague planet with the necessary drugs. If she stops drawing power from them, she will die, and this has double importance since she just-so-happens to be the last member of her race, and, it is discovered later, Joanna is ill, and Samara is keeping her alive empathically. So, Kirk is faced with the dilemma of allowing Samara (and thus Joanna) to die, or to let them live as long as possible, in which case they will die anyway since the crystals will be gone before they reach the nearest star. Rather than spacing Samara out the nearest waste chute, they give her the bad news and she decides to die with dignity, so we get to see, in turn, both Samara and Joanna die. The ending is not all so grim, but I won't tell you anyway, just to say that it smacks of a cheap cop-out in much the same way that "Caduceus" did. In all, the plot is drawn out just a bit too much. There isn't any real choice in the matter, but there are a lot of people standing around, wringing their hands through-s out the whole story. There are a few nice scenes between Spock-and-Samara and McCoy-and-Joanna in it. The illustrations inside are fair. There are two pictures of Samara by the author that look like something Picasso would have done in his Blue Period.
Aside from this story there are a few puzzles here and there, a short vignette within the Mirror, Mirror universe called, "Through The Glass Darkly" by Jan Lindner Rigby, and a funny but strange play by Paula Block called. "Spock Meets the Messiah!" with an excellent accompanying illo by Gordon Carleton. "Sara's Secret Weekend," if we are to believe the credits, is a true story reprinted from the "Hitchin' Post Office Products Magazine," and is the story of an unmasked closetfan.
"Out of the Ashes," by Jan Lindner Rigby takes place on planet described as similar to pre-war India, complete with caste systems & all. The story involves a woman rescued by the Federation sociologists stationed there. In the planetary society the widows were suppose to follow their husbands into the afterlife by throwing themselves into the funeral pyre. The team of sociologists unknowingly committed sacrilege by providing refuge for one such widow. The Enterprise arrives in the midst of it all and the Captain must find a way out of the problem which v;ill both clear the Federation team on the planet and hopefully save the woman, and all women like her, from needless execution Finally, the last piece in the zine is a parody on the first chapter of Diamonds &Rust called "Flame Gems & Lust," by Justa Knutt. A few of the gags pulled aren't too bad at all. Personally I thought the black leather cape, spike-heeled boots and the whip were nice touches, but then I just publish DSR, I didn't write it, so what do 1 know from a—'good parody? Would be nice if it included more than just chapter 1.
As a whole, the zine ain't too bad. Nothing that would even be R-rated, so you don't have to worry if your parents find it, and peek to see what you're reading these days. The fiction could do to be tighter, a little less wordy. Maybe next issue.[9]
Issue 3
Pegasus 3 from October 1978 was a Star Wars issue with 106 pages. Pegasus 3 from October 1978 was a Star Wars issue with 106 pages. The front cover is by Marty Siegrist, other art by Jane Firmstone, Gordon Carleton (not in table of contents), Phil Foglio, Judi L. Hendricks, Pam Kowalski, Signe Landon, Martynn, Jackie Paciello, Virginia Lee Smith, Becky Aulenbach (not in table of contents), and Robin Wood.
From the editorial—Judi:
-- Speaking of letters, why don't we get any? Don't you people feel moved to waste fifteen godless cents to send us a Letter of Comment? We were going to have a LoC column in Peg III, but as we only got one LoC it was kind of pointless But be warned! Whether or not there will be a Peg IV and what it will contain depends upon the response we get from this issue. (Every so often we get the feeling that people buy our zine to use as a coaster under the teapot, or to level the living room sofa, or something. It's pretty hard on our egos, snif!) All letters will be read, but if you want an answer, please enclose a SASE. I'm $45 in the hole for postage as it is! EEK!One or two notes on my contribution to this issue, Assault on Logaria. Of the people who've read it, 50% think it's better with the naughty bits (which aren't really very naughty at all) and the other 50% think the n.b.'s are totally unnecessary. At any rate, I left 'em in... If you object to exposed genitalia, skip pages 83 through 85. (To those of you who inmediately flipped to those pages -- we know what's on your minds!) Also, I realize that AoL is a marysue story. I do not apologize for this; STAR WARS is probably the biggest marysue story in existence and nobody's groaning about that. Even if you hate AoL, this issue has something for everbody I'm proud to have collected some really great material between these covers...
I'm getting carried away (have soapbox will lecture), so I think I'll go feed my scrod and let you get on with the zine.
From the editorial—Jackie:
Pegasus has been quite an experience for me. Before Pegasus II I'd never heard of a fanzine, much less helped put one out. But, aside from that, and aside from introducing me to what have since become close, fast (as in staunch) friends (Jan, Judi, & Poblocki, to name 3 out of 100) it has introduced me to the world of the aspiring fan writer: frustrating, rewarding, the insatiable need to put words to paper. Fandom has also made me aware of the incredible talent tnat lies scattered from one side of this galaxy to the other. Writers and artists using, for the most part, their spare after-work hours to put out the most proffesional non-proffessional work I've ever been humbled to witness. It's a mind-blowing experience to enter a world with such people in it, and the more I write, the more I see, the more my mind gets blown. It's wonderful!
- Editorials by Judi and Jackie (2)
- Duskingtide, poem by Deborah Stokes (4)
- End & Beginning, poem by Jan M. Lindner (5)
- Haiku for Chewbacca, poem by Martynn (8)
- Trivia by Jackie Paciello (9)
- Home by Judi L. Hendricks (poem) (10)
- Wormie, or "Hottest Damn Girl of the World" by Paula M. Block (11))
- Kuta Puta by Jackie Paciello ("linguistic study of Greedo's language) (18)
- Bugles of War, poem by Kelly Hill (20)
- Hotshot by Jackie Paciello (21)
- Ballad of Red Three, poem by Jackie Paciello (31)
- Opus by J. Paciello (poem) (31)
- Han Solo’s Song, filk to the tune of "Bye Bye Blackbird," by Roberta Rogow (33)
- First Flight, story by Virginia Lee Smith (34)
- Bad Break by Nancy Solomon (39)
- Replonza by Joyce Yasner (a very critical review of Alan Dean Foster's Splinter of the Mind's Eye) (50)
- Assault on Logaria by Judi L. Hendricks (part of The Cori Beckett Series) (55)
- Answers to Trivia Quiz (106)
- includes the supplement, tongue-in-cheek quiz mentioned in issue #2
- has a flyer for "Let's Send Coulsons to Newcastle!," a fan campaign to send Juanita and Buck Coulson to WorldCon; they were ineligible for the Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund because they were a pair, rather than one person
- You are Receiving this Zine Because page
from issue #3, uncredited
from issue #3, Judi L. Hendricks
from issue #3, Gordon Carleton
from issue #3, Virginia Lee Smith, from "Hotshot," portrait of Biggs
from issue #3, Martynn
from issue #3, Martynn
from issue #3, Pam Kowalski
from issue #3, Virginia Lee Smith
from issue #3, Becky Aulenbach
from issue #3, Judi L. Hendricks
from issue #3, Signe Landon
from issue #3, Robin Wood
Reactions and Reviews: Issue 3
See reactions and reviews for Assault on Logaria.
[zine]: ANYONE with a passing (or more permanent) interest in Star Wars should by this all-SW issue. Those skeptics who claim there is no depth in the Star Wars universe should also buy this zine. They'll be proven wrong. If you haven't read the Star Wars [pro] novel, do so. The authors assume you have a familiarity with the book, and elaborate on characters and events that were cut out of the movie. As noted in the editorials (which also contain the obligatory apology for tardiness), LoCs are desperately wanted, especially if there is to be fourth issue. Write in, dammit! Paciellos' trivia is vicious. I got 12 right out of 30. All the stories are above average, from Lindner's account of Darth Vader's betrayal and murder of Luke's father to Paciello's account of one of Luke's adventures on Tatooine with his friends Biggs and Tank. Block's 'Wormie' is a fun almost lay-Luke. The poetry and filks range from nice to excellent and are accompanied by artwork, which is uniformly above average. Paciello's 'Kuta Puta' is a stunning linguistic study of Skishkuse, Greedo's language, and there is a liberal sprinkling of cartoons. Smith's pegasi are nicely done, and Soloman's Wookiee story is marvelous, delving as it does into the mind of one Wookiee we all know and love. Wood's accompanying illos compliment the story beautifully. For sheer delicacy of line and expertise, the illo on page 41 cannot be surpassed.Yasner's critique of Foster's 'Splinter of the Mind's Eye' clearly points out the many flaws in the book.
Hendrick's 'Assault on Logaria' is the largest single story in this issue, a self-styled Mary Sue, and a very enjoyable story to boot, one that contains humor, horror, graphic violence, a little naughtiness (one sort of explicit sexual scene), excellent characterizations, and a strong action-adventure plot. Very, very good. This is Pegasus' first foray into offset printing, and the result is very handsome, aside from the microscopic print -- due in part to a misunderstanding of the reduction process used and also to a breakdown in communication between the editor and the printer. But it is entirely readable and completely enjoyable. Definitely, and highly, recommended.[10]
[zine]: This zine impressed me greatly in almost all respects. Pegasus is probably better coordinated, and has better graphics than any other SW fanzine I can name at the moment. The stories are far-ranging in themes, and the artwork overall is the best that I have seen. The major stories start out with "Wormie," by Paula Block, revealing Luke's uneasy encounter with Camie, a girl on Tatooine. The scenario Paula paints captures just enough of a feel of nervous unease and lets the reader feel it too. "Hot Shot," by Jackie Paciello, recounts an accident involving some of Luke's friends on Tatooine. Luke and Biggs save another ship from a fatal crash. While Luke leaves to bring back help, Ben Kenobi arrives to help, as does Luke's aunt Beru, and the two have a short, but poignant exchange. There isn't a great deal of plot here, but as a vignette, the characters are very well handled. "Bad Break," by Nancy Zingrone Solomon, involves a character named D'Shez Pilden, who is a supply clerk for the rebel alliance. D'Shez is a nice break in form for SW characters. As a simple background sort of character she is more easily identified with. She has one of the less glamourous jobs in the alliance. Her back hurts from handling loads of supplies, and she gripes about the paperwork she has to contend with. D'Shez is perhaps one of the most realistic SW characters I've seen so far in fiction. In this story she is injured by Chewbacca accidentally while trying to snatch some of the Wookie's food while he naps.- From there everyone just tries to figure out what has happened and who to blame. The conflicts are resolved nicely at the end however. Aside from having a slightly clich^d title, this story is charmingly simple and unpretentious. I look forward to more good work from Nancy. "Assault on Logaria," by Judi Hendricks, is the longest piece of fiction in the zine, and even has a complex enough plot to fill up the 50-odd pages with enough action to keep interest up. It starts with an attack by Imperial Storm-troopers on the ship of a Corellian named Cori. They kill her first mate and take off in her ship. She discovers that her ship, The Nighthawk, and others like it, had been taken to the Imperial garrison planet of Logaria under the orders of Darth Vader who plans to use them in a quick military build up of the area. Meanwhile, Luke is on a mission to find Han to ask him if he would undertake another mission for the rebel alliance. It seems several agents of the alliance had been captured and Leia must find out if they have revealed the position of the new rebel base. Oddly enough, all of this takes place on Logaria too, which is just a bit too coincidental, but not enough to strain the believably of the story. From there Judi conducts us on an espionage mission on Logaria which has the dual purpose of recovering Cori's ship and finding out what the Empire has discovered from the captured rebel spies. It ends delivering more than that however. Judi's characters are nicely portrayed and the plot is a very good for intrigue, which is often difficult to handle. There are a few plot inconsistencies however that could have been resolved. For example, I wasn't satisfied having Leia participating in an espionage mission on an Imperial planet when her kisser is likely plastered on posters on planets from here to Andromeda. I can't be too critical however. Getting every little thing right in a story of this size, with a plot this complex, can take countless rewrites. There are a few notable fillers in Pegasus III."Kuta Puta," by Jackie Paciello, is a short lesson in Shishkuse, or the language that Greedo used in the film. It may seem a bit dry to some, but I am just amazed Jackie went to the trouble to transcribe it and then try to decipher a sensible "language" out of it all."Replonza" is a wonderfully sarcastic review of "Splinter of the Mind's Eye," conducted by master vivisector Joyce Yasner. I considered doing a review of the book for Alderaan, but Joyce has said it all better than I could.
Deborah Stokes has a reflective poem on Luke called "Duskingtide," and Jan Lindner recreates the brief and violent overthrow of the old Jedi in her vignette "End and Beginning." There are other poems and a trivia quiz, and several good cartoons. The artists in this zine have contributed a great deal to its fine appearance. From the sweepingly graceful cover by Marty Siegrist, to the "Dewar's Profile" parody cover on back, there is a wide range of good art. Some of the art Judi Hendricks does almost resembles the stark-contrasting photographs using Kodalith film, and there are some fine story illustrations by Martynn, Virginia Lee Smith, and Becky Aulenbach, as well as others, even a Faddis cartoon. There may not be any Richard Estes or Norman Rockwell-sorts among the artists, but the quality of the art in general is well above any of the other zines I have seen so far. In general, Pegasus III is a triumph of talent, skill and love. Recommended.[11]
[zine]: ...I received Pegasus III and T'Kuhtian Press' "Dark Interlude" on the same afternoon. I read your zine first (partly because "Dark Interlude" seemed rather heavy, and I wanted to "be prepared" mentally to contemplate the ideas), cover to cover that evening. I enjoyed it thoroughly, with only one point of contention, which I will discuss later. I am particularly fond of the many aspects of humor that appear... [much about scrod snipped]... The cover is quite appropriate, and well done. Overall, the quality is consistent. You are justly proud... ...I like the fact that "Bad Break" shows Rebel personnel other than fighter pilots and generals. As I work with logistics myself, I appreciated the story of D'Shez Pilden.Splinter of the Mind's Eye irritated me no end. I had so many questions left unanswered when the book ended (the story itself cannot be said to have ended). Joyce could have been much tougher in "Raplonza!" Just what was it that the Imperials were mining that required such secrecy? Security is frightfully expensive to maintain, and the hoodlum types portrayed would never be trusted to leave the operation alive which makes for morale problems when the workers finally come to their senses. The major offense, of course, was the complete break with the characterization given us in the movie. There were too many monsters, not enough of the droids, and no Han Solo at all. It's obviously an attempt to rip off the fans (Joyce's conclusion and mine). Every fan zine I've read thus far has been better than Splinter in some ways, and most of them are totally superior (even if they do cost more). Fans should be advised that Splinter makes the better teapot coaster/sofa leveler, though; they're going to want to do something with it after they've read it, because they certainly won't want to reread it...
[See this fan's comments on Assault on Logaria page.] [12]
[zine]: ... I thought the idea of using "Lucas" for the name of Luke's father a good idea ... wish I had thought of it. One problem I can see with future SW fanfic is the confusion of names for the same beings. I ran into this in a later piece when I found myself thinking, "No, Greedo's people are called 'Deseratines'" ... and I had to stop and remind myself that that name comes from the Thousand-Worlds series and that this author can call the creatures anything she damn well pleases. Sigh. I wonder if George realizes the amount of labor he's setting himself up for in naming all these people and places he's shown us or has implied exist? Basically, I enjoyed all the stories. They all show an awareness of a greater universe out there beyond the main characters shown. There are so many facets to the SW universe, it's a shame not to speculate on as many as a story can handle. I thought Obi-wan's having to "be patient" even in the midst of disaster in "End and Beginning" was a nice touch. Sometimes, glimpses of the future appear in the damndest places ... I am curious, tho, where did the baby come from? Why was it at the refectory? I know this piece was just a slice of some larger action, but my curiosity is killing me. Loved "Wormie". Especially after seeing Mark Hamill do the virginity bit in "Corvette Summer." I know a young lady who could play Camie very well; even if the character is only supposed to be 15. Also enjoyed the implied awkwardness of the maneuvering. Much more true to life, even for some 29-year olds I know, than other stories.Is Jackie the person with the neat Greedo costume that I hear has freaked out bar patrons in Michigan? [13] Her presentation of OWK in "Hotshot" was nice; just the right air of mischieviousness about him. The contact with Biggs is a good speculation, too. "Bad Break" was intriguing. I've always enjoyed stories that get into alien thoughts and I found Nancy's presentation of Chewie to be very well done. And a way of thought I could expect from someone who can stand Solo for any length of time. I also thought the presentation of other characters well-handled. Looking at the heroes from an uninvolved person's point of view is always fun.
As for "Replonza"... Joyce has said it all. I found it difficult to get past even the first "How beautiful is the universe" line of the book. One good thing I can see coming out of the book's publication ... we now have a single word to use to describe illogical, inconsistent stories. No need to waste time or paper explaining such failings anymore; all we have to do is intone, "Replonza..." [also, see this fan's comments on Assault on Logaria page.] [14]
[zine]: Pegasus III is just, well, words escape me. After all the words of praise you have gotten already ... PEG III is fantastic, great, terrific, wonderful, far-out, a cleansing experience for the soul — my thesaurus proves insufficient. Before all this sweetness and light goes to your head, I DO have one itsy-bitsy teeney-weeney complaint. The typos got a bit annoying at times. How's that for Hard Criticism? Jan's "End and Beginning" is a good tale of just how Darth killed and betrayed Luke's father. Clever, calling his father Lucas. Right from the start I guessed that this guy named Lucas must be Luke's father (bright one, I). It also conveniently wiped out the whole Jedi populace, except Ben, in one fell swoop instead of dragging out their demise over the years. Which makes hating Vader all the more fun (Sorry, Sharon Emily — I LIKE hating Darth and really don't believe there's any redeemable qualities in him — not now, anyways.). This guy did not just kill and betray Luke's father but quite literally destroyed a group of people and a way of life that goes a hell of aways back in just minutes. I like the story very much. Just one thing bothers me though. Just where exactly did Ben pick up baby Luke? As I read it, Ben enters the elevator empty-handed, but when the elevator plunges to the ground when something falls on it the first thing he does is check his "bundle" which he retrieved from Lucas's quarters — but when?Trivia. Cute, Jackie. No, I did not get EVERY one. Let's just leave it at that. "Wormie." Oh, Po — you can throw a little smarminess in there while still keeping our hero's honor shining. Unlike that nasty Cori Beckett. I thought at several different times that Luke was going to slip and tarnish that shining honor, but no, like the true hero he is, he pulls through. What fortitude. You sure can't say Camie didn't try. Beeeeautiful cartoon at the end of the story. Good show, Pam.
As for "Kuta Puta?", what can I say, Jackie? Twas fun reading, but, ghod, I would hate to guess how much time and work went into those 2 pages. "Hotshot." Great story, Jackie. Old Ben looking out for Luke long before their encounter in the desert. I like that. But now I'm going to be juvenile (I am at heart anywho, so why not admit it). I like Biggs. Alot. Most especially after getting that SW storybook and seeing, to my surprise and delight, the inclusion of the movie part that ended upon the cutting room floor. Biggs is, well, nice to look at. How's that? I didn't get that strong an impression from him in the final scenes of the movie, but the pics in that storybook made me yearn for clips from off the cutting room floor. *sigh* Big brother type for Luke -- I like that. Nice accompanying illos too. And speaking of Virginia Smith's work (nice segue, huh?) your colts are fantastic. By all means, try to get them published ... professionally, I mean.
Jackie, you're frustrating. I cannot remember the tune to "Blue and Gray." I'm sure I knew it once. "The Ballad of Red Three" is good, but I know I would enjoy it more if I could only remember that damn tune!
"Replonza". Not the longest piece in the zine, but certainly one of the most enjoyable. I remember at T'Con last year a bunch of us sitting around talking about the stupidity of Splinter of the... with Poblocki and Joyce reading choice bits aloud to illustrate examples. I haven't read it at that time, but I already had a very low opinion of Foster from the ST logbooks which I have given up on. Well, if I thought listening to them reading those bits from the book were funny I was in for a better time reading the darn book. Really, I can't say anything about the book that Joyce hasn't said already, and better. The cute trick with Vader's arm was funny but I think the bit that takes the cake is when Leia says, "Well, darn." When I first read that in the book, I really could not believe it. The guy is VERY wordy. I think he overused his thesaurus just a bit. The first few pages were the worst offenders. And if you take the time to go back to Lucas's book you will find very little description. Hardly any. Let's hear it for "Replonza"!
Now, as to art: Ghod, guys — must everyone write AND drawl!! Give a guy a break! As if Faddis wasn't enough (what an ego crusher) now our very own Poblocki — and NOW cool 'Han' Hendricks swoops on the scene. The art thruout is fantastic. And Judi, your two self-portraits are great, especially the center- spread of Cori and Han. Your Luke on P.67, and Han and Leia on pp. 99 & 100 (to name a few) were good, damn good. With all these writers becoming artists, now they just illustrate their own stories. Tryin' to put us out of business? ...'Artwise, Judi, your centerspread is the biggest treat for me in PEG III. Virginia's colts are captivating! Where can I get one? And Martynn's illos for Po Skyblocker's "Wormie" are perfect! Ghod! We all know how damn hard it is to draw something straight from the head with out an exact photo of the scene to go by and Martynn is one of the best I've seen to do that. Well, I'm sure I forgot SOMETHING ... oh, yeah. Page 108 (or it would be 108 if it was numbered)! I always love reading those things "you are receiving this zine because ..." But I object. I've heard of the Millennium Falcon so why that check?! Huh? Why?! I am (or was) a member of the Imperial Senate, tho. Coulda checked that one. Woulda been nice. Well, darn. [also, see this fan's comments on Assault on Logaria page.] [14]
[zine]: I have got about half thru Pegasus III, and I have to admit that I'm disappointed...I enjoyed "Wormie" — it is a classic tome, somehow. Even if George Lucas wouldn't approve. Somehow it fits with Luke's character totally... ... I would retitle the whole zine, "Pegasus: Mary Sue." The whole zine somehow seems built around that. I started reading one story, the title which I can't recall right now, about a gal named Pilden ... and a couple of paragraphs into it, that little alarm started ringing in my head. You know the one — MARY JANE MARY SUE MARY WHATEVER GODDAM MARY STUFF! Well, maybe that's too strong, but you get the point. The Pilden-Chewie story was bad — totally pointless, rambled every which way (a la 'he jumped on his horse and rode off in all directions') and in general just stumbled along. I lost interest in it twice, and it took three separate readings to finish it— because it was boring! Pilden and Jess may as well have been made of cardboard, they were so uninteresting and one-dimensional...I don't think I will ever get used to reading these Mary Jane ((sic)) adventures. I used to be guilty of writing myself into the story, but now I am more interested in the character development of the existing characters, rather than how I would react to them if I wrote myself in. Are you sure that whoever wrote that story — that name, I mean — wasn't a pseudonym for Jane Firmstone?... ...How gauche of me—I forgot "Hotshot". It was okay. Too short, though; just when I was getting going, the story was over. And somehow the idea of Ben meeting Beru, or knowing her, did not quite ring true... [See this fan's comments on Assault on Logaria page.] [14]
I'll just start at the beginning — the cover was OK, but I've seen better Lukes. At any rate, it is a fitting idea and Siegrist's Pegasus is superb! I can just see Darth on a big black winged horse too. The bacover is hysterical. Po really had me in traction over the "Dewars" ad. Hereabouts, someone decided Darth would do nicely for the Canada Dry commer cials too — you know, "It's not too sweet ... wheeze... Don't you think it's kinda neat ... wheeze ..." "101 Practical Uses for Light Sabers" was cute. (Has he tried using one as a toothpick yet?) In fact most all the cartoons in PEG 3 were very clever, but my favorites were Jane Firmstone's on pp. 30, 33, 48 (remember, I come from the town of the famous Pittsburgh Scrod) and 106 — that lady is nuts in a pleasantly amusing'way. Of course Gordon's contributions to your cause are good, too —does that guy ever run out of gags? "Duskingtide" and "Home" were both nice poetic offerings. I especially like Stokes work (as I've said to many an ed) — it takes a special kind of writer to do rhyming verse without making it seem hack or gushy and she has that 'touch' in my humble opinion. Po's Luke isn't bad — it just didn't print up well (try a darker pen, Po!). Judi's Leia illo is lovely! In fact, Judi, you are quite an excellent artist your self, PERIOD... "End and Beginning" was a bit confusing due in part to the use of telepathy -- I had trouble following who was "speaking" sometimes despite the italics. "Lucas" — I'm not sure that that isn't a bit much but considering the little in-jokes in "Star Wars" itself, (THX-1138...) I guess it'll pass. It is a nice further delineation of Ben's character. After seeing SW for the 16th time last week, I found the Trivia quiz mildly challenging. "It could be worse," as Leia says. For instance: how many pens in Gov. Tarkin's breast pocket? "Wormie" still delights me even after illoing, which meant reading it many times. Po's special brand of humor and the carefully accurate (my opinion) portrait of young Luke who is naive, but not out of ignorance, more out of choice is fitting and fun. Thank you, Jackie, for explaining the finer points of Shiskuse! As a linguist who has revelled [sic] in the study of alien tongues ... and who has worked as a translator occasionally, I truly understand how a faulty interpretation of a foreign language can influence situations ... All I can say, Greedo, is "Che's poko tuda kftristo!" More kudos go to Jackie for "Hotshot". Luke certainly is in good literary hands with Greedo and Po. No others but Lucas develop Luke's past and character with such care and love. Plus there's the bonus of another glimpse of that wonderful, underrated and short-lived but yummy guy, Biggs. Take another bow, Jackie!... And Virginia Lee Smith did a credible good job on what was a difficult story to illo. Loved the Biggs portrait! While I'm praising Ms. Smith's illos, let me second your vote that she get her little pegasoid colt published. He's adorable! "Bad Break" is a sort of strange and unexpected sort of thing. I am familiar with the populace of Jackie and Po's "Continuator" SW universe, so the framework and time reference of the story were clear to me. Actually, I rather liked it. Chewie is a fine alien who deserves a chance at character development even despite his "language barrier". Pilden came across as an endearingly Poblockian sort of character. Query: if Dr. Savlanoot and Dr.McCoy got into a fight, who'd win? Geez, that Dr. S. is a really outspoken guy...Anyway, "Bad Break" deserves approval for getting Chewie into the foreground and Han out of bed (hurry up and get him patched up, guys!) I didn't care for Robin Wood's illos — especially Chewie seemed out of perspective or something. Her Jess looks like a real grouch, tho! "Replonza" said the proper stuff with Joyce's in imitable, polite, acerbic wit. Foster should get a copy in triplicate. She didn't, alas, even touch upon the gross negligence of Mr. Foster's deficiency in neglecting a certain Corellian and Wookiee sorely to the point of not even mentioning their names! [also, see this fan's comments on Assault on Logaria page.] [14]
[zine]: ."Wormie" left me with the same feeling that I get every time I read the beginning of Star Wars. People can be cruel, in this galaxy, as well as in another. I think George (Lucas) was trying to establish this fact in the book. To make it simple and to the point, I never did like Camie and her sidekicks, and I think I like them even less now."Replonza"— You know, there were parts of Splinter that I really enjoyed, like the mud fight between Luke 'n Leia. But Darth actually allowing himself to fall into another pit!? That's getting to be quite a bad habit. In fact, you might even call him a klutz! Not to his face, of course!!
'First Flight' — Delightful. Ms. Smith's colts are charming. She must be a horse fan! That colt's got character. ... Star Wars has spawned a whole new facet of fandom, and with it, a whole new world of talented writers. Like I said earlier, things can only get better! [also, see this fan's comments on Assault on Logaria page.] [14]
[zine]: ... Love the little cartoon inside the front cover. Just one question: If that's Use No.32, what happened to the other 33? "Duskingtide was very lovely; I so envy anyone who can write rhyming poetry. I've tried and it comes out 'Mary had a little lamb' when what I want is 'The Charge of the Light Brigade.'"End and Beginning" I have mixed feelings about. It is very well-written, as all of Jan's stuff is, but it didn't really explain much of anything, i.e. why Darth betrayed the Jedi, why he went specially after Skywalker... ..."Home" was a very beautiful representation of Leia's thoughts... "Wormie" — absolutely priceless! One of the two best bits in the whole ish. Martynn's illos definitely did the story justice! I read it just before I saw "Corvette Summer," and was almost in hysterics over the similarities between the two seduction scenes. Are we to assume that Luke never did — uh — uh— up until he met Leia? And Camie sure started young, didn't she? I assume she's supposed to be about Luke's age, and already she's laid every available man in Anchoihoad! Busy lady! "Kuta Puta" I read through rather quickly, so I don't think I caught what Jackie was trying to say in it... "Hotshot" was up there with Jackie's best; the lady continues to make me ill with envy. And her "Ballad of Red 3" -- I didn't think anyone had ever heard the original song besides me! I fell in love with it the first time I heard it, and Jackie's new words fit beautifully. "Opus 2187" -- what can I say? Again, terrific! "Han Solo's Song" — Roberta's stories don't do much for me, but the lady do have a way with parody. I'm not familiar with the tune to the lead-in verse, but I got out my guitar and plunked merrily away on the rest of it. "First Flight" was utterly charming! Her little Pegasus is one of the most delightful things I've ever seen! I know what it feels like to want to fly and end up crashing before you even start. But all things must try, and that little guy is going to make it one day! "Bad Break" was the only sour note in the ish— it just didn't sound like Chewie, and the girl is a bit of a Mary Sue ~ and I never use that term lightly, believe me! "Replonza" — Yasner has done it again! I was privileged to hear Joyce's rendition of selected portions of 'Splinter' and thought that was funny; her 'critique' is devastating! I wish Foster could read a copy of it.
[See this fan's comments on Assault on Logaria page.] [14]
[zine]: ..."Wormie" was cute (poor Luke!). I kept wondering, however, if Poblocki has ever met Mark Hamill, as a lot of her descriptions of Luke resemble the descriptions I've been given of Mark by people who know or have met him (naive, non-stop talker who tends to blather) ... Luke comes off as entirely believable, and, I must say, provokes a certain amount of maternalism on my part. Camie seems a little precocious but considering how much there probably was to do on that planet, her choice of pastimes is not too unlikely. [also, see this fan's comments on Assault on Logaria page.] [14]
[zine]: ..."The Ballad of Red Three" is a lovely filk song; the version of the original tune I learned was called "Two Brothers" but call it what you will, it scans quite well. Nancy Zingrone Solomon's "Bad Break" was interesting. I liked her Chewbacca, and by inference, I liked the Han Solo who'd be a partner to that sort of a person. But then, I like Han and I'm sorta annoyed with a few stories I've seen that read him to be an empty-headed conceited jerk. Would Luke like a person like that? I don't think so!Joyce's "Replonza" article was a riot! She has the talent of being critical without being dry... I'll admit, I'm not even able to finish "Splinter of the Mind's Eye" — it grates on my nerves somehow! Everyone I know who's read it says on a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give it about 2.3. Well, I think they're being very generous indeed. No doubt they're counting the the gorgeous Ralph McQuarrie cover in the tally.
[See this fan's comments on Assault on Logaria page.] [14]
[zine]: I read yer zine. (Music: Also Sprach Zarathustra rises). I've seen better. I've also seen worse. Yah, the teeny-weeny type detracts, but beyond that the artwork has trouble, too... For stuff that's going to be reproed in offset, you really oughtn't to use so much black, so close together. Check VL Smith's work in"Logaria." She uses much less blobs of black, and her pieces reproduced better. Great big black areas close together and (and did) smear. ...As far as layout composition goes, you guys did a good job. The layout tape makes the first half look like Lori Chapek did the work; it is an effective way of setting off the work, but you may like to try for a look of your own. Virginia Smith's ponysus sequence was grand, as was Siegrist's cover. ...Concerning the stories: Po's story was well written, but it wasn't a very significant episode in Luke's, or even Camie's, life. Jan's story was significant, but not very well written. Such is life. Most of the poetry read like leftover Civil War rhymes, a comparison I make influenced not only by Jackie's "Blue and Grey." Your having Leia use "limbs" in "Home" is positively Victorian; and Stokes' "Duskingtide" , aside from the fact it doesn't scan for beans, recalls the panegyrics "female poets" wrote around 1862. There are a few examples in literature of surviving poems from the Civil War days. "Battle Hymn of the Republic" is one, but the only one I can think of offhand. Well, "Eatin' Gooberpeas" is another. Most of them were so lousy they turned into compost somewhere along 1875. "Hotshot" was pretty well done, and of some significance, not in the least for all the interesting interpretations of Beru. It would had helped if Jackie had not lapsed into Beru's pov on page 28; it wasn't even necessary -- either Ben or Biggs could have given the exact same info from his pov. "But when, thought Kazu to herself humorously, he wouldn't." Also some of the overwritten phrases could have been dispensed with — "liquid-azure eyes"? As opposed to solid-azure or gaseous-azure ones, I assume. Random thoughts on Tatooine last names: maybe the last name is not inherited. Perhaps, since the first name is always one given by the parents, the second name could be one taken by the kid when he gets to be 14 or 15 or so. Hence the similarity in names among Luke and his buddies: Skywalker, Darklighter, Starfighter, etc. Maybe it was a fad at the time to take such lyrical names. When Owen was a kid, names like Lars (or Nils, Ols, Sven?) could have been popular. In which case, naturally, Luke's dad would not likely have been called Skywalker. We don't know. "Bad Break." Yeah! Good bit in the Wookiee physiology. It is always a problem to make one's aliens alien and yet understandable. Solomon does an excellent job; nicely apt characterization. Robin Wood's illos are always pleasant. I am in awe as much as possible over the woman's outstretched hand on p 41 — it looks like an outstretched hand pointed at the reader, and not four small balloons on one large balloon. That takes skill. Incidentally, is the Continuator series to be the Kraith of Star Wars-dom? This obviously fits in after the knifing story (("Resurgence")). But where then does "Assault on Logaria" go? In the knifing story, Solo found out from personal experience that Darth is still among the wheezing; but here Cori tells him that Darth is still around and he acts surprised... Luke's smug reaction to this cosmopolitan acceptance of rain is a good bit, and so is Leia's knowledge of the Force getting her through Darth's interrogation. Yah, I thought the n.b.s on page 85 slowed the pace of the story a bit -- sfine, if they wanna screw, but it's not necessary (and not too polite) to keep watching as they rip each other's shirts off. Moreover, having hung around for the foreplay, you take us away before they really get down to business. If you really wanted to present a naughty bit, why didn't you you go, er, all the way? [also, see this fan's comments on Assault on Logaria page.] [14]
[zine]: The cover is quite appropriate, and well done. Overall, the quality is consistent. You are justly proud... ...I like the fact that "Bad Break" shows Rebel personnel other than fighter pilots and generals. As I work with logistics myself, I appreciated the story of D'Shez Pilden.Splinter of the Mind's Eye irritated me no end. I had so many questions left unanswered when the book ended (the story itself cannot be said to have ended). Joyce could have been much tougher in "Replonza!" Just what was it that the Imperials were mining that required such secrecy? Security is frightfully expensive to maintain, and the hoodlum types portrayed would never be trusted to leave the operation alive — which makes for morale problems when the workers finally come to their senses. The major offense, of course, was the complete break with the characterization given us in the movie. There were too many monsters, not enough of the droids, and no Han Solo at all. It's obviously an attempt to rip off the fans (Joyce's conclusion and mine). Every fanzine I've read thus far has been better than Splinter. in some ways, and most of them are totally superior (even if they do cost more). Fans should be advised that Splinter makes the better teapot coaster/sofa leveler, though; they're going to want to do something with it after they've read it, because they certainly won't want to reread it...
[See this fan's comments on Assault on Logaria page.] [14]
[zine]:I enjoyed PEGASUS I. It was lively, sincere, and communicated "fannishness" to me. PEGASUS II, for some reason, was slightly less satisfactory. PEGASUS III, which I'd been avidly looking forward to since finding out it would be a SWARS issue, was quite a disappointment.
My first impression of this zine was that it was PEGASUS masquerading as WARPED SPACE — graphics, layout, overall feel owed much to that solid perennial. Which may be all well and good when we're dealing with WS. Here we are not. We are dealing with PEGASUS, which some how seems to have lost its identity.
Graphics and layout, where not derivative, are mediocre. If one is; going to pay for the expense of reduction and offset, one should utilize the process to its fullest — and should avoid such obvious, and easily remedied, errors as leaving large gaps in the layout of paragraphs because of paste-up mistakes.
Art ranged from poor to excellent, with Virginia Lee Smith's Pegasi colts, the covers, and some of the cartoons leading the list. Too often, however, mediocre even poor illos were used simply for the sake of having an illo. While an art-filled zine is a delight if the illos used are good, most fen would rather read a zine with only a few nice pieces than one filled with work of a poor or a mediocre quality.
"End and Beginning" by Jan Lindner attempts to tell the story of Darth Vader's betrayal of the Jedi and murder of Luke Skywalker's father. Tell is the operative word here, I never become involved with this story, there is no reader participation -- perhaps because the events are being filtered through Obi-Wan Kenobi's senses as he psychically "tunes in" on what is happening elsewhere. Also, I am never given an understanding of the characters -- particularly Darth. WHY does he betray the Jedi? Lucas glossed over this point in STAR WARS — it was, after all, past history and not truly germane to the story he was telling. But this story purports to deal directly with Darth's actions and the results. How about showing me the motivation for this deed??!?
"Wormie" is the best-written story in the zine -- but what else would one expect from Paula Block? The story gains as much from mood as from storyline. It is written with just the right shade of condescension . ... suitable for the POV character, who just happens to be Camie, the "hottest damn girl in town."
"Bad Break" fails to make it for some reason. It reads a bit too much like a soap opera, and that is death for this kind of story. Robin Woods’ illos are exquisite -- but a bit too delicate for the general tone of the story.
The major piece of the zine is "Assault on Logaria", which the author unabashedly calls a Mary Sue story. It is. It is also a poorly plotted Mary Sue story, a fact which the general writing style -- easily readable, quite good on the whole -- unfortunately makes all too clear. Why, in the name of the Force, does the Empire find it necessary to hijack freighters? Surely, when one is the legitimate government — and let there be 'no mistake! The Empire, evil or not, is, at least for the nonce, the legitimate government --there are easier ways to build up a fleet than by engaging in shooting matches with Wookiees. Like by requisitioning the ships from the source! And somehow I just can't see Darth Vader leading such a juvenile effort -- from "master of evil" to head of a "hot car" ring in one easy lesson! With my disbelief in the entire plot premise so strong, I found it difficult to "get into" the story. As a result, it was difficult to overlook inconsistencies, poor characterization, etc. For example, can you imagine the Luke Skywalker who "used to bullseye womp-rats" and who helped blast a way into the detention cells and out of the Death Star becoming squeamish at the deaths — in close combat — of some Storm Troopers? Would a crack group of Storm Troopers, the creme de la creme of the Empire, in all seriousness be called Vader’s Raiders? Would they allow themselves to be slaughtered quite so easily? Moreover, Vader is not stupid. He was once a pupil of Obi-Man Kenobi. Mould he really be caught by a repetition of so many of the plot elements from STAR WARS? I doubt it. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice3 shame on me. Vader learns from experience. He would not long survive as a renegade Jedi elsewise.
General rating of this fanzine? C-.[15]
[zine]:And SF begot STAR TREK, and ST begot STAR WARS, and so it goes. We're now witnessing the first generation of zines entirely devoted to STAR WARS. One of these is PEGASUS 3, 110 pages of such reduced print that a magnifying glass would be helpful (from the looks of it, I'd guess it was reduced by Xerox, and then given to the printer. My suggestion to the editors is, henceforth let your printer do the reducing, and reduce no more than 30%. My eyesight will thank you.).
STAR WARS, obviously, does not have the same wealth of background material that TREK has. Hence, several people have started “series'1 of their own to fill in the background and flesh out the mythology. One such team consists of Jan Lindner, Paula Block, and Judi L. Hendricks. Unlike the team of Nowakowska/Kirkland, these ladies stay more with the major characters of STAR WARS and less with the development of the “history” of the battles we were privileged to witness.
“End and Beginning" by Jan Lindner is a very short story detailing the death of Lucas Skywalker. I found it lacking because of its length. Lindner “tells" us what is happening, but rarely “shows us the action. Pity.
"Wormie", on the other hand, by Paula Block, is about 15 year old Luke Skywalker‘s first encounter with S-E-X. Paula weaves her tale so well that it took quite a bit of contemplation on my part to figure out why I was dissatisfied with it. I've always considered Luke's attitude towards Leia one of a class distinction -- whether real or imagined — keeping him from getting to know her better. In this story, however, Luke's naïveté is just a little too incredible to be real. Yet, as I said, Paula is an accomplished writer who paces herself well and who holds the reader's interest. Bravo, Paula!
“Assault on Logaria" by Judi L. Hendricks is the major work of the zine, and a beautiful piece of work it is. I don't want to spoil this story for anybody who hasn't read it, but suffice to say this could easily be the sequel George Lucas is looking for: it certainly has the scope and concept of the original. In short, the rebels have infiltrated Vader's new Imperial base, but Vader has caught some of the spies. At the same time, stormtroopers have taken to stealing freight ers, one of which belongs to an “old friend" (female, of course!) of Han Solo, Cori Beckett. While this friend is asking Han for help, Luke and Leia are chartering the Millenium Falcon (again!). Since their goals are practically identical, and because the “prices" are right, Han agrees to attack the Imperial base. In her editorial, Hendricks says that 50% of the people she showed the story to “think it better with the naughty bits... and the other 50% think the naughty bits totally unnecessary.“ Well, I agree with the former, Judi, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
The only other story in this issue is "Bad Break" by Nancy Z. Soloman. I don't believe this story is part of the universe in which the other three appear, but it could easily fit. It's a Chewbacca story for all you Wokkiee fans out there, in which our hero while in a meditating trance, accidentally injures one of the rebels. The results there of show us how mountains from molehills grow from misinformation.
There are also some nice poetry and songs, an explanation and translation by Jackie Paciello of Greedo's conversation with Han that goes beyond the meagre one we read on the screen, and a review by Joyce Yasner of Alan Dean Foster's SPLINTER OF THE MIND'S EYE (reploza, indeed!).
There is even a trivia contest. Jackie Paciello is a fiend. I've seen STAR WARS 12 times and I still couldn't answer all the questions. Methinks I'm going back again, contest in hand, to find all the references.
The artwork is uneven. My favorites are: Marty Siegrist's cover,(gorgeous of course!); the bacover, a Dewar's Profile of Darth -- and a perfect parody of that ad campaign; Virginia Lee Smith's "First Flight"; and Signe Lahdon's "Obi-Wan".
All in all, this is a highly enjoyable zine, and worth the money. Let's see more.[16]
Issue 4 V.1
Pegasus 4 V.1 was published in August 1979. It contains 158 pages. This was part of a two-volume zine, both issued at the same time.
From a flyer printed in Skywalker #3: "It is a period of mental stagnation. Rebel zine eds striking from a hidden print shop in Chicago have won their first victory against the evil functional illiterates. During the battle, rebel spies managed to produce secret plans for the Alliance's ultimate weapon, PEGASUS IV—a massive zine with enough sheer bulk to break the back of the stoutest Imperial mail carrler! In hiding from the Empire's sinister agents, the stalwart crew of this literary fortress race against time to complete the 4th volume of Pegasus before retiring for an indefinite period of deep meditation upon The Jedi Way, custodians of the secret writings that can save their people from pure and utter boredom!"
Inside front cover: Beckey Aulenbach; back cover: Susan Perry; front cover: Virginia Lee Smith; inside back cover: Joni Wagner. Other artists are listed below. One piece by Joni Wagner was reprinted in 1980 in Twin Suns #1.
From the editorial:
I'm retiring Pegasus. At least, I plan to retire Pegasus. With my luck, The Empire Strikes Back will fill me such inspiration that I'll be unable to stay away from the ol' blue pencil and typewriter, and next year this time I'll be once again hunched over Po's table, gluing my fingers together. *sigh* Seriously, though — the old horse is retiring for awhile, to give me a chance to WRITE! Retiring doesn't mean the zine's dead, but it does mean I'm not soliciting contributions. When I'm ready to collect #5, I'll put out word in Warped Space and other zines. A few of you people out there are bound to be griping about the price of this double issue. Sorry it's so steep, but, as you can see, there was too much material to fit under one cover. In fact, there's almost too much to fit under two covers (I want to keep you busy reading until I'm back in circulation)! The cost truly is justified — two big zines for the price of two big zines — although postage will probably be horrendous. Both volumes, by the way, fall under the classification of Pegasus IV—Pegasus Strikes Back! (and with a vengeance!) and are not available separately.
- Editorials by Judi, Jackie and P (1)
- LoCs by Youse Guys (5)
- Pegasus by Robyn Thompson, art by Terri Korthals (14)
- I Will Wait For You by Pat Gonzales, art by Larry Blake (Luke and Leia embark on a dangerous undercover mission.) (Star Wars) (15)
- Touche by Peggy Barilla, art by Connie Faddis (Star Wars vignette) (27)
- Second Time Around by Virginia Lee Smith, art by V. Smith (31)
- The Once and Only Honest-to-Pete Phil Foglio Reject (37)
- Rites of Passage by Nancy Zingrone Solomon, art by Todd Hamilton (How did Chewie meet Malla? Why did he decide to leave his home and travel with humankind?) (Star Wars) (38)
- Master Jedi by Jani HIcks, art by Todd Hamilton (Star Wars) (57)
- Tarot, Divining Star Wars by Paula Block, art by Beckey Aulenbach, Paula Block, and Judi Hendricks (58)
- Skybird by Janie Hicks, art by Paulie Gilmore (63)
- Goodbyes by Beth Bowles, art by Paulie Gilmore (Star Wars) (64)
- The Circle is Complete by Pat Stanley, art by Anji Varesano (Star Wars) (67)
- Tercel by Martynn, art by Judi Hendricks (68)
- A Matter of Conscience by Jane Firmstone, art by Larry Blake (Han Solo picks up a waif...and finds he can't just put it down.) (Star Wars) (69)
- Fortunes of War by Marianne Lindner, art by Jackie Paciello (85)
- Lord of the Rings by Martynn and N.Z. Solomon, art by Martynn (movie review) (86)
- Let Sleeping Corellians Lie by Paula Block, art by Martynn (89)
- Invocations by Angela-marie Varesano, art by A. Varesano (91)
- Even Now by Linda Stoops, art by A. Varesano (93)
- Tuts in Space by Jan Lindner, art by Susan Perry (commentary on Battlestar Galactica) (94)
- Gone by Patricia Malone, art by P. Malone (96)
- Roach Wars by Paula Block, art by Judi Hendricks (comic strip) (Star Wars) (97)
- Apollo's Thoughts by Patricia Malone, art by P. Malone (Battlestar Galactica) (111)
- Darktamer by Susan Pontoni, art by Todd Hamilton (A young girl with unusual talents consorts with the Alliance in order to confront and destroy Darth Vader.) (Star Wars) (112)
from issue # v.4 n.1, from "Rites of Passage," artist is Todd Hamilton
from v.4 n.1, from "Rites of Passage," artist is Todd Hamilton
from v.4 n.1, from "I Will Wait for You," artist is Larry Blake, a bit of pre-jossed art
from v.4 n.1, from "I Will Wait for You," artist is Larry Blake
from v.4 n.1, from "Second Time Around," artist is Virginia Lee Smith
from v.4 n.1, from "Let Sleeping Corellians Lie," artist is Martynn
from v.4 n.1, from "Darktamer," artist is Todd Hamilton
from v.4 n.1, from "Darktamer," artist is Todd Hamilton
from v.4 n.1, from "Apollo's Thoughts," artist is Pat Malone
from v.4 n.1, from "Skybird," artist is Paulie Gilmore
from v.4 n.1, from "Matter of Conscience," artist is Larry Blake
from v.4 n.1, from "Tercel," artist is Martynn
from v.4 n.1, from "Roach Wars," artist is Judi Hendricks
from i v.4 n.1, from "Touche," artist is Connie Faddis
from v.4 n.1, from "Tuts in Space," artist is Susan Perry
from i v.4 n.1, from "Saying Goodbyes," artist is Paulie Gilmore -- "The illo alone is very wrenching and emotional. It was about the fourth perusal of it that we realized much of its
from v.4 n.1, from "Tarot," art by Beckey Aulenbach, Paula Block, and Judi Hendricks
Wait, Wait, There's More!!
from v.4 n.1, from the first volume, the second from the back page, artist is Joni Wagner
Issue 4 V.2
Pegasus 4 V.2 was published in August 1979. It contains 152 pages. This was part of a two-volume zine, both issued at the same time.
Artists for specific works are listed below. Other art by Sheryl Adsit, Beckey Aulenbach, Jane Firmstone, Phil Foglio, Todd Hamilton, Judi L. Hendricks. Celeste Hotaling, Terry Korthals (front cover, inside front cover), and Joni Wagner (centerfold, inside back cover, back cover).
- Initiation by Jaquellne Paciello, art by V.L. Smith (Star Trek) (A green recruit learns about life aboard the Enterprise.) (1)
- Mother's Memory by Jani Hicks, art by Paulie Gilmore (9)
- Dangling Conversation by Jan Lindner, art by J. Paciello (Battlestar Galactica) (11)
- Ode to an Ex-Jedi by Ruffin/Block/Solomon, art by T. Hamilton (14)
- Justifiable Homicide by Joyce Yasner, art by B. Aulenbach (15) (review of the book "Han Solo at Star's End")
- Seasons/Force by Paula Smith, art by A. Varesano (16)
- Fun with Luke and Han by Paula Block, art by T. Hamilton (SW) (18)
- A Plague on Your Empire by Bev Grant, art by Susan Perry (SW) (24)
- Strong and Silent Rebel by Jani Hicks, art by B. Aulenbach (57)
- Adama's Lament by Jan Lindner, art by Gordon Carleton (59) (filk to the tune of "I Need Your Help" by Barry Manilow)
- How to Greedo by Judi L. Hendricks, art by the author (60) (detailed directions for making a Greedo costume)
- Imperial Galactic Quiz by Sheryl Adsit (67)
- Leia's Theme by Judi L. Hendricks, art by Hendricks and Paula Block (69)
- Letters to Her Worshipfulness by the editorial staff, art by Joni Wagner (SW) (71)
- Message to the People by Joni Wagner, art by Celeste Hotaling (84)
- Where Have All the Rainbows Gone by Kelly Hill, art by Joni Wagner (a "Heroes" vignette) (86)
- A Marketable Commodity by Judi L. Hendricks and Paula Block, art by Martynn (Luke finds himself in the clutches of the evil Gerbashe, a whorehouse owner. A flyer describes it as "slightly smarmy." Sequel to Assault on Logaria in the previous issue, part of The Cori Beckett Series.) (SW) (88)
from v.4 v.2, Beckey Aulenbach for "Justifiable Homicide"
from v.4 v.2, Virginia Lee Smith for "Incident"
from v.4 v.2, Todd Hamilton for "Fun with Luke and Han"
from v.4 v.2, Susan Perry for "A Plague on Your Empire"
from v.4 v.2, Susan Perry for "A Plague on Your Empire"
from v.4 v.2, Gordon Carleton for "Adama's Lament"
from v.4 v.2, Greedo costume directions
from v.4 v.2, Hendricks and Paula Block for "Leia's Theme"
from v.4 v.2, Joni Wagner for "Letters to Her Worshipfulness" (one of the characters appears to be the OFC, Cori Beckett, another appears to be the fan Paula Block)
from v.4 v.2, Joni Wagner for "Letters to Her Worshipfulness"
from v.4 v.2, Joni Wagner for "Where Have All the Rainbows Gone"
from v.4 v.2, Martynn for "A Marketable Commodity," see that page for more
Reactions and Reviews: Issue 4: V.1 and V.2
See reactions and reviews for A Marketable Commodity.
[zine]: There is too much in the two parts of this zine to comment on everything, so I will try to hit the highlights. One general comment though: Pegasus IV is far from a bad zine, but I don't feel it lives up to its predecessor. There is a spirit of—I guess— spontaneity missing. Maybe this zine is a little too ambitious. "I Will Wait For You," by Pat Gonzales, has Luke and Leia on an information pick-up mission. Luke is attacked by a local hobo, is missing for a time, and circumstances lead Leia to think he is dead. The purpose of this story seems to be making Leia realize she's in love with Luke. It's mildly interesting, but hardly memorable. Peggy Barilla's vignette "Touche" is another attempt to make Han a Jedi. *Sigh* I rather liked Nancy Zingrone Solomon's "Rites of Passage." It features Chewbacca, and is an interesting conjecture on the Wookie's native planet and culture. It might take a couple readings to sort out the characters with their complicated names, though. Han adopts a little girl waif in Jane Firmstone's "A Matter of Conscience," and in the process learns the pleasure of giving, of making another person happy. I liked this one because it kept Han in character-rough and tough space pirate on the outside, an old softie on the inside. The little girl, Taii, is interesting, too. "Roach Wars" by Paula Block and Judi Hendricks, is an urban slum takeoff on SW, if you can believe that. I was not particularly amused. "Darktamer," by Susan Pontoni , is one of the most unusual fan stories I've ever read. The main character, Adria, comes from a planet where people can "morph," or change their features to fit a pattern of someone they know. Ms. Pontoni keeps this ability believable by limiting it short of seeming magical, and showing the process and effort behind "morphing" through Adria's point of view. Adria leaves her home planet for personal reasons, only to run afoul of Darth Vader. She escapes him and ends up working for the Alliance. The story can be hard reading at times, but is worth a little perseverance. Volume 2 starts off with a Star Trek story, "Initiation," by Jackie Paciello. -The title explains the story; it shows a group of new Enterprise crewmembers being "welcomed" by the old hands. It's cute! "Fun With Luke and Han," by Paula Smith, is a satirical SW primer, It has more than its share of Paula's eventually crazy puns—which I always enjoy. "A Plague on Your Empire," by Bev Grant, is told in the first person by Kenobi 's granddaughter. Bryn Kenobi is also Force-sensitive (of course!) and does her share of helping to foul up the Imperials. Thankfully, though, Bev avoids the Mary Sue-ish pitfall of having her join the Alliance and lead it to victory; the character is reasonably valid and interesting, and not some kind of superwoman. "Letters to Her Worshipfulness," by Pegasus' editorial staff and others, is a collection of mock correspondence between Han, Luke and Leia. It is chock-full of in-jokes, and since I'm not "in," my general reaction was "huh?" The parts understandable to the general fannish public were reasonably amusing, though. Out of the whole zine, I enjoyed Block's and Hendricks' "A Marketable Commodity" the best. It is a sequel of sorts to Judi's "Assault on Logaria" in Pegasus III, and features her very interesting female smuggler, Cori Beckett. Luke and Han go to Llewion to buy some desperately-needed drugs for the Alliance. In order to obtain the drugs, they must dicker with Gerbashe, Cori's ex-owner. Luke ends up selling himself as a slave to Gerbashe on a delayed commencement contract. Han has ten days to buy Luke out of this predicament, is delayed by foul play on Gerbashe's part, and in the meantime some very, uh, not-nice things happen to our boy hero. The story is well thought-out, plotted and written. As I said, I liked it...but felt a little guilty about liking it. It is clearly, definitely a story for adults only. (Now I know all you "adults" are going to leap on it!) Of course, there are plenty of poems in the two volumes of this zine and articles on Battlestar Galactica, the Lord of the Rings feature, how to make a Greedo costume, and a book review. Artwork is outstanding throughout, by Virginia Smith, Larry Blake, Phil Foglio, Beckey Aulenbach, Martynn, Todd Hamilton, Susan Perry, and many others. There is a lot of good reading in Pegasus IV; I wish I could really put my finger on exactly what I have reservations about as far as quality. Well, read it, and judge for yourselves.[17]
[zine]: Tho I know how edited Pat Gonzales' "I Will Wait for You' was since its first trip to the Hendricks' altar, the essential story has remained good. It is a simplistic, one-punch plot, but it works on its own terms. As ever, the question is, Why Is The Princess Out On A Dangerous Mission, but that is questionable only in terms of the Continuator universe. Given that Leia is romping around, perhaps it means in Gonzales' universe that the Alliance is hard up for personnel. Or, Alderaan being croaked, she no longer has any real authority—she's certainly no Senator any more, as the Senate was disbanded at the beginning of the Canon. Similarly, Luke's status as Sole Jedi is not so important as that of Warm Body.Another piece that survived the editors was Bev Grant's "A Plague on Your Empire". Again, here's a self-consistent universe, if not the one of the editors. With scene work, this is the sort of action-adventure tale that could be sold professionally. Grant has some talent as a story-teller, and shows it by creating her own main characters, not relying on Lucas' imagination. Susan Pontoni's "Darktamer" was generally better written than "Plague", but showed more serious lapses from point of view in several passages. There was also a rushed feeling to some of the plot set-up, as in the beginning in the hurry to get both Adria and the plot launched, we are not shown and are barely told why Adria is so uncomfortable at home that she prefers to stumble off into a civil war. But no great matter; the heroine is nevertheless well defined, sympathetic, and interesting. Her powers, tho extraordinary, are believable in context. Adria—and even Bryn of "Plague" and our old friend Cori of Judi's fantasy—should not be given the opprobrium of "Mary Sue", for these characters are more complex and true than that. The SW universe had had its share of incredible heroines, but to a significantly lesser extent that the Trek—why, I don't know, unless experience tells. But the major authors demonstrate both self-knowledge and psychological insight by granting to their protagonist's limits. Everyone who is human has limits; but the Hero is the one who presses himself to those limits, not one who has no limits. The story of Superman would be pointless if there weren't kryptonite, or really, if he had no internalized limits, that is, morals. If there was nothing he couldn't do, no one who could stop him from whatever he pleased, he would not be a Hero. If Adria could morph into anything at will, never suffer ill effects, never fear detection, she would not be a Heroine. But she came against a barrier—Darth—and in combat with him she both gained and lost. Hers was a strong story. And the same is true for Nancy Salomon's "Rites of Passage". Not only the Wookiee, but all Wookiees, we see, have a limit: the Final Spiral. Chewbacca's tragic flaw is his early, unavoidable imprinting by space; it has cut him off from his People. I could go on about the craft of this story, which is high, or its brilliant depiction of an alien way of life, but I think I'll mention Todd Hamilton's artwork instead. He has developed a good, solid, blocky-feeling style uniquely his own, one which astonishingly complements both Nancy's superb physical imagery and Sue's wraithy mind-action. He's young, but he's daily growing. The only difficulty with Nancy's story is an external one: is this nameless, ostracized Chewie the Chewie of the Star Wars' Christmas Show? Or is this Chewie, indeed that familiar man-without-a-planet, Spock, with Malla instead of Amanda to bring him home occasionally. Nonetheless, a piece of excellent speculation. Proceeding to the ludicrous, there's Roach Wars. And the Letters to Her Worship. And The Making of Greedo (obscene!) well, let us pass over these with a shrug of "fanniah" and—oh hell. Roach Wars was a yok. Totally silly. Loved it. "Used Boy" was a pip and a personal boo. "Invocations", like "Force" made as much sense backward as forward. And what's with this creeping Starsky & Hutchism, huh? Paulie Gilmore's illo on page 65 might've been drafted for ZEBRA III given the blond-one-crying-in-his-darkhaired-buddy's-arms-while-the -big-one looks-on-sorrowfully. Christ. Jan's vignette did for BSG what its own producers couldn't, make Apollo and Starbuck act as if they truly liked one another. Finally, re poetry, it nay have been nepotism (or sororism), but Marianne L.'s "Fortunes of War" was the cleanest, most austere, most honest poem on the
lot.[18]
[zine]: You may have noticed a wild-eyed neofan gone berzerk running around the dealers' room at Mos' Eastly Con grabbing one of everything. That was me. I have just had the mind-bending experience of wading through 21 totally new zines in one week, and I wanted to tell you (whether you care or not) that PEGASUS was absolutely the VERY BEST of all of them, I thought. Since my first long story is being published at this very minute in a rival zine, I hope you will fully appreciate this impartial judgement.I won't go back to III, which I also got for the first time, except to note that "Wormie" struck me as the realest story I have read for a long time. Action, high adventure, etc. are great and I love then (obviously, since I love SW), but too often the reality of ordinary people gets lost in blaster fire. Of course, if we wanted slice-of-life, we'd all go buy some mainstream magazine, but still it's a refreshing change of pace to find a story that rings so true to my own memories of agonizing adolescence, so sensitively told, and so blasted funny at the same time. Now, on to IV. Since there is so much there, I can obviously only touch on the things that particularly impressed me. First: I have to vote a qualified "no" on "Used Boy*. The writing was excellent, plotting tight, characters believable, and the alien Kyyche very interesting. Nor did the explicit material per se bother me . I'm all for good honest lust, and if it had been arrived at honestly, I would have enjoyed reading it. But the drugged love slave bit reeked of cheap porno cliche, and then the authors chickened out in the final clinch to boot. Tsk, tsk, just won't do. I hated to see all the writing talent wasted on something so slimy. "Rites of Passage" was a truly remarkable story. I think that Wookiees are the hardest of the SW characters to write about, because there is so little to extrapolate from in the films. The author did an outstanding job of making them truly alien and yet involving the reader with them completely. I think from now on this will be my definitive mental picture of Chewie's homeworld. The idea behind "A Matter of Conscience" wasn't terribly original, but it was wall-handled, and I enjoyed the characterization of Han. I bid for "Let Sleeping Corellians Lie": it rang convincingly on my inner ear as genuine Solo; the turning point of the last line adds the touch of pathos that makes Han likeable and sympathetic rather than obnoxious in the films. Just to add my opinion to the bitter disagreement in the reviews of Lord of the Rings: I entirely agree with Martynn. I liked the Bakshi version very much indeed, felt it was highly faithful to the original and visualized the characters to my satisfaction. The only objections I had were minor quibbles such as the total elimination of Glorfindel, etc. Actually, I was amazed that Bakshi managed to cram as much of the original into a fairly short, movie a she did. I really hope that he'll get to make the third book into a film, though I know it is considered unlikely. However, I agree with Solomon that Galandriel did jar slightly. Like the Queen of Air and Darkness, I'm afraid that any concrete image would have disappointed me somewhat. But I think Bakshi did wonders. And as far as I'm concerned, anybody who can take the tacky Hildebrandt illos as good pictures of Tolkien's torld obviously has a short-circuit in the artistic sense. They remind me of the pictures in a low-grade children's version of Bible stories I was given as a child. Really gross, and totally destructive of the tragic of the original. I stopped buying Tolkien calendars when those two took over. As for "Darktamer": it wins hands down as my favorite story of all I have read in those 21 zines; my very favorite! It was absolutely unique in its creepy insight into Vader's mind. None of the passion there that so many others shows "...all steel and distant intellect..." wow! It convinced me utterly, made my skin crawl; a really villainous Vader. Now, for myself, I like Vader, and I don't believe he is evil, but if it were possible, this story would persuade me. I felt such a deep pity at that section where Adria sees into Vader's deep mind that it almost made me cry, something that happens very rarely in fiction. One of the best things about this story is that none of the characters called for unthinking reactions, they were all dealt with fully and honestly. Altogether, a four star story with real class. On to voluminous II! "Ode to an Ex-Jedi" was delightful: lovely job there, and the same for "Fun With Luke and Han". Oddly enough, I surprised myself by liking "Strong and Silent Rebel" quite a bit. Normally, I distrust the sentimental, sappy romantic poetry—particular in jingly marching rhyme and scansion— which this threatens to become. But this poem has a sort of ingenuous honesty of feeling that gives it the charming quality of folksong. I think it really needs to be set to music—something in simple folk-guitar—and I can see myself happily singing it in unguarded moments.
There you are. Now that I am totally hooked on this business, you will never again get a virgin neofan's reaction out of me. But for an introduction to fanzine writing, I certainly couldn't have asked for a more satifactory example. Thanks for a bit of real reading pleasure, and for helping me "take my first step into a larger world"...[18]
[zine]: I'd like to congratulate you on a truly incredible piece of work and artistry! Pegasus IV. It must have taken a remarkable amount of industry, and the resulting effort is beautiful. I don't regret the price in the least; I've reread it probably 20 or 30 times, and I doubt it will grow stale on the 300th rereading.It's not a totally unflawed zine, but it comes damned close. The art ranges from superb to average—that's in my opinion, of course, since I'm not an artist and I have to go on taste alone. I think the best art was Virginia Lee Smith's pegasoid colt; the lovely and evocative illo to "Goodbyes"; the title page art for "Darktamer" (a beautiful face); and the first illustration for "A Plague On YourBrpire", which I would go into rhapsodies about but I'm beginning to repeat myself. On the writing end, the standard of quality was excellent. The cost obvious examples ware "Darktamer", "Plague", and of course, "Used Boy". But all the shorter pieces ware equally enjoyable: I very much liked "Where Save All the Rainbows Gone"—it was too good a piece to leave out, s-f or not. Susan Pontoni took a premise that could have been badly handled and turned it into a lovely lyrical story. Adria was very real—and the measure of that was that Susan did not force the story to end happily. She let the characters stay themselves and blow the whole thing sky-high. As they would have. I did feel slightly misled, because what she reported in the story was a Palpatine who had been taken in, and then had him act as a man who had been deceived could not have acted. And virginal heroines usually bore me—I've run into then too often—but Adria was virginal because as the background went, she couldn't have been any other way. Really professional. The end was chilling, and stopped ms cold for about a minute. I'd certainly like to read more by this author. "Plague" again was of the same high standards; an unusual heroine, an unusual plot that moved the action out of the standard area into a new location. There was one problem with this story—Bev Grant repeatedly broke my suspension of disbelief by using Celtic and Welsh names, and points of Druidic ritual. I suppose that in my own mind, I have decided that these people are not related to us, and should therefore not have traces of our primitive cultures. I think it would have been a better story if she had created har own culture. As it stood, though, it was good. Very good. Now, re "Used Boy": first of all, the writing's improved, which means your grasp of your craft has improved with enviable speed...There was only one slight hole in the plot, you brought Cori in cleverly and for excellent reasons, and you resolved the problem neatly. I am not yet certain way exactly Gerbashe wants Cori backs o badly, and I object on principle to holes the size of a sequel. On the other hand, the reason that hole—the slave tattoo—is logical when Gerbashe's character is considered. Objection withdrawn. The last complaint is mare trivial, I suppose—I have noticed a growing cliche that male homosexuals are 1) fat, 2) old, and/or perverted. This is not necessarily true, and it's the only thing I find possibly offensive about the story. But I have read "Stowaway", and I recall that he was "that way" already, so at least you didn't twist him for the story's benefit. Yes, I would very much like to read a sequel. Bow long do I have to wait? The only things I didn't really enjoy ware "Roach Mars" and "Fun with Luke and Han". I suspect my sense of humor is skewed differently than most people's; in humor, I prefer short pieces. I felt that "Roach Wars" was a little labored and "Luke and Han" was fine for the first six or seven verses, but it kept going on. There was, however, one thing that deeply bothered ma about the issue, and that was Ms. [W-B's] letter. I think I can understand where she's coming from, but what I don't see is necessity to be so overwhelmingly vituperative. The letter was so harsh that her line or two of praise was almost totally overshadowed (damning with faint praise, indeed). By the timeI read "I used to be guilty of writing myself into the story" I said to myself, I said-- Jesus H. Christ! If she doesn't quit patting herself on the back, she'll break her am. She sure as hell won't break her arm patting anyone else on the back. And then I read her next crack—"13 years old'—and really lost my head. Luckily for my sense of guilt, all I did was stomp around screaming for ten minutes or so. It isn't that I think you can't take criticism, or (being a writer myself) that I can't take criticism. It was the air of arrogance and almost deliberate cruelty in her letter—I say almost because I hope she was not being deliberate. Is it really necessary to strike out with all four claws?
Couldn't the points have been made more gently? [P S's] letter is an example of a good critical letter. When a point is valid, then it deserves to be made, but not in that fashion. I think it took a great deal of courage to print that letter, Judi, and I only hope that if something of the kind happens to me, I can be as fair and brave. And that sentence sounds pretty stickily sentimental, but I don't think I can better phrase what I was trying to say...[18]
[zine]: Loved PEGASUS IV—it's still one of the best SW zines I've got and has gotten very bent up from numerous re-readings and from passing it to friends who have became equally enthusiastic about it. To get such a varied collection of excellent fiction into one zine...It's really awesome. I especially liked "Assault on Logaria" and admire the way you dealt equally with all the characters, even the 'droids, who have been shamefully neglected in fan fiction, I've noticed. The final scene between Obi-Wan and Vader really wiped me out as well—I remember a friend of mine was in my room reading it while I was studying and all of a sudden he said, "Oh wow, you've got to read this scene!" (I hadn't read the story yet, you see) and even out of context it was fantastic. I find that the most difficult part of writing is coming to a definite stopping point, and you did it so effectively, it seeaad terribly easy-which it probably wasn't, come to think of it. Anyway, I wish I could make some constructive criticism about "Logaria", or even about "Stowaway," which I managed to pick up in SCUM AND VILLAINY, but the brain is feeble and it's been a while, so I'll let you roll contentedly in the praise...[18]
[zine]: The nicest surprise was the consistency of the material—good. Usually I find a story or two I like or a poem, but I keep re-reading your zine and marveling at how nice most of the contributions are. Also, I liked the variety; some humorous stories, some serious, great artwork (I definitely agree that the creator of the pegasus drawings should swallow her inferiority complex, and find someone to write her a story, or write one herself, illustrate it and go pro), poem, songs, cartoons. It was nice to share the STAR WARS world with other friends from BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, RINGS. Was very glad you included Kelly Hill's lively "Where Have All the Rainbows Gone?" from HEORES. I could go on and on...and probably will. After reading issue #IV, I ordered III and had subsequently sent in a few credits for SCUM AND VILLAINY, so I read the Han and Cori stories in reverse order. Loved 'en. What's more I liked Cori as a character (I almost typed person) very much. She's a strong, competent woman. We're seeing more and more of these in STAR WARS stories—an idea whose time has come I guess. (Thank you George, for not making Leia a ninny.) Since you're not planning to put out further issues of PEGASUS (at least not till after TESB) I hope you'll continue to write. I for one would enjoy more adventures of Cori Beckett and her friend, with overtones. Besides, I keep wandering if she'll ever find ac o-pilot or if there will be another encounter with Gerbashe (he maketh the skin to crawl!) "Used boy" indeed. I will also add before closing that the two page drawing you did of Han and Cori jn PEGASUS III was absolutely gorgeous! As an avid collector and reader of fanzines, I've seen a lot of drawings, but that one is my favorite. Very fine, indeed.[18]
[zine]: A Used Boy and his entourage-very voluminous-turned up here the other day. He must have read the sign on my door that says: "The Cave. Young Heroes, Welcome! (Sand People: Keep Out!)" The two volume zine must set some kind of literary precident in the world of fandom—I think you ought to be put up for Best Ed. of the year along with the other damn fools ambitious idealists that helped get it all organized. In my opinion, it is quite worth the price-there are many well-written things of interest, and it does save the eager fanzine reader a long wait between zines. This way, one waits the two weeks after ordering, and receives enough to keep one fascinated for twice as long as the usual zine. The Leia-Luke-Han transmission letters provided many fascinating minutes of chuckles and fun. I've not had the time to read through the lot, but will intersperse the reading with my typing. I am well pleased with Paula's words to "Seasons", and I must write to her directly to tell her so: what she wrote was most inspiring. The Star Wars tarot is an idea that I, also, have worked on, and it's a project well worth pursuing further. (Even all the way to printing up a deck, with commentary.) I should like to read more of Bev Grant's work, as the bit of her story which I have so far read shows some deep thinking. That fine illo by Susan Perry has me wondering if I could possibly afford to purchase it from her...I'd rather read this material than most current paperbacks, and those run about as much...[18]
[zine]: Your're right. It is big enough to choke a moose...At least now I've figured out what a marysue is! (You can call it naive, or a fresh point of view, or—Well, it all depends on whether you like what I - say, or not.) I'd like to respond to some of the points raised in the LoC colunn, first of all, because there are some interesting things there—also, I'm the argumentative type.So speaking of marysue, let me start with that, and [B W-B's] remarks. If "marysue" is the crime of writing yourself into the story, then we're all guilty of it every time we write something for a fanzine. One on, already. If we're going to sit down and write a mainstream story, or a mystery story, or a science fiction/fantasy story, let's all sit down and do it. But if we're going to write a Trek story or a Star Wars story or Man From UNCLE or Starsky and Hutch, knowing ahead of time that somebody else had the original idea and tha we're ripping off somebody else's background, then why can't we admit that we do it because we happen to like that universe, whatever it is, and we want to be there. So we write ourselves in. Even if there isn't a blatantly "marysue" character in it. The author is marysue. The neat trick is to make marysue a good writer, despite the fact that she (generically speaking) has ducked 75% of the creation process by borrowing somebody else's idea. So sometimes you start developing beyond the original idea until you're cut in Ghodknows whereland and nobody could recognize where you started out from unless you told them to begin with; and sometimes you do it by taking your characters—the ones you have inserted into Lucas' world or Blinn's or Roddenberry's, whatever—and you exercise yourself as a writer, and you make those characters at least as real as those who happen to have actors portraying them. Or at least, you try. I agree with Nancy Duncan that "the perfect little misses who save the day without half trying" would be nauseating—I guess I've been lucky, I haven't tripped over any such paragons in my fan reading yet—but the reason why is not so much that the writer has put herself in her story as she has done so atrociously! Such writing is bad characterization. Perfect misses don't exist. Or if they do, they should be repairing nuclear power plants, not writing fan stories. Every writer I know (which is not quite as silly as it sounds, thank god) picks and chooses from his or her own characteristics and those of her friends to create characters for her stories. Including professional stories. Ever read Vardeman's Sandcats of Rhyl? Do you suppose that's not a marysue because he's a) male, or b) sold it professionally? Nuts. Kightwind has an amazing resemblance to Vardeman. But any problems that book has are not because of that but because it was a quick write. Which is the point [B C] was making, exactly. I wouldn't have guessed that AoL was a "marysue" if you hadn't said so, and I don't care. It's still a good story. The extent to which Cori Beckett is modeled on Judi Hendricks or anyone else makes no difference, because I've never met you anyway. For all I know, Judi L. Hendricks could be a figment of somebody else's imagination. But Cori Beckett is a good, believable character in AoL. [S A] has a good point with her large and Glaring Plot Flaw, but I loved the way she mended it. However, what if it wasn't really the Empire stealing the ships, but Darthie, for his own nefarious purposes for which he couldn't wait to process a requisition through Material? The storm troopers taking orders wouldn't know whether they were doing this because of Imperial orders through Darth or because they were obeying orders originated by Darth—maybe Darth was building up a secret navy to start his own rebellion against the Empire. Or maybe he just didn't want to futz around with the bookkeeping. Absolutely irrelevant: Has [P S] ever heard of "The Bonnie Blue Flag* or "Maryland My Laryland" or "Lorena"? All songs from the Civil War period, as is "Goober Peas," and all surviving. (Toldja. Argumentative.) In response to Kelly Hill's quibble with Leia's promotion—it does so work, it does, it does. A viceroy is a man who rules in the place of the king (or in this case emperor, but vica-emperor leads to thoughts of Caligula). The man who ruled in the place of the Emperor in Imperial Rome often took the title of "King," or retained it, rather—the legions would march in, take over, kill the king, and install his nearest heir as King in his place—which made problems of transfer of power much simpler. You could easily posit that Alderaan had a constitutional monarchy with representatives to the Old Republic, and that Leia's grandfather died "mysteriously" whenPalpatine took power. So when her father, the Viceroy and King, was killed, she would become Queen. And ruler of an indeterminate number of Alderaani gypsies. (Somehow I don't think she would bother to resume the Viceregency as well.) Enough on the letters. On to the stories. "I Will Wait For You": There's a very good story idea there, but it wasn't the one Pat Gonzales was writing. The whole thing was written to set Leia up for saying that last line. I would have liked to have seen a story about how Leia misplaces Luke, thinks he's dead, and then can't get off planet...it was all too easy. And I couldn't feel that Leia was really in character. Nor that she would say she would wait for him, next tine—she's backing down from being the strong, independent woman to get all mushy and anti-revolution. She made the right decision the first time, and if there's a next time she should make the same decision. Just because the farmboy has stars in his eyes is no reason for one of the prime movers of the Rebel Alliance to do so too. "Touche": Now this is a setup so Luke can deliver a zinger, but both Han and Luke are right in character. Nice vignette. Jedi Han—in his spare time? "Second Time Around": Love it. What else can I say? "Rites of Passage": This is a part of the Beckett universe? I like this very much, as an effort to explore Wookiee culture; it's also more low-key and thoughtful, which makes a nice change. Poor Chewie. Is there a sequel in which he meets Han?
"Tarot Divining Star Wars": Why isn't there a card for Han in the Major Arcana? (I know, I know, this is like going to Star Wars for the First Time and coming out saying "Why didn't the Wookiee get a medal too?") "Goodbyes": This is probably the only poem I'm going to comment on, and it isn't really a poem, is it? But It is nice. Fits the character. (You might have gathered I'm a Solo fan by this time...) "A Matter of Conscience": is a little smarmy. I can't quite see Han that much of a pushover. Well, maybe. (I have a sneaking suspicion that I use the word "smarmy" to mean something different than you do. Would you believe "saccharine"?) By the way, I'd like to compliment you on the derth of typos in this. I don't think I actually noticed any until I tripped over 'over extended'. Taii is a sweet kid. Maybe that's what bothers me. She's too sweet. I can't visualize a street kid giving away large lumps of money for no good reason. Well, okay, I'll comment on "Let Sleeping Corellians Lie". I wonder if Han is just easier to characterize than Luke or Leia? "Fortunes of War" tries hard but does seem a little shallow. That doesn't bother ma so much with "Corellians". Again, love the illo. "Tuts in Space" is right on target. I get livid about B:G because it had so many terrific possibilities and lived up to so few of them. I hope that there are some fan writers out there with the patience and fortitude to hack their way past the garbage (and selectively weed out some of the premises of the show) and find the good stories. Wherever they are... I loved "Roach Wars'. That'sa really sick sense of humor! "Darktamer" is a really good story. The twist at the end is terrific! And it fits in neatly, which is more than a lot of pros do. Where is the next story coming from Pontoni, and in what universe? The "Fan Author/Fan Editor" cartoon on page ii of Voluminous II is terrific. In fact, you could probably make a poster of that cartoon and sell it to nearly everybody involved in fanzines. I'd like to Xerox it and put it on my wall, in fact. And give copies to my friends!. May I? Two friends? "Initiation" is a good story but a little unexpected. I was afraid for a second there that vol. II was going to be ST rather than SW—I like ST too, of course, but I was in the mood for SW. Which distracted a little from my appreciation of the story. However—those six ensigns, far from making a decision that Kirk would have expected from a member of his crew, have let themselves in for a court-martiall. If they don't have battle stations during a red alert they are supposed to STAY PUT! Otherwise they run the risk of getting in the crew's way; and in addition, it would be impossible to locate them in case of a real emergency, such as a leak. Granted, that kind of impetuous nonsense happened quite a lot in ST, but that doesn't make it right. "Dangling Conversation" still has the bugs in it that B:G was full of. Where are the safety lines, as Jan Lindner painted out? Sorry. "Fun with Luke and Han": should be a punishable offense. "A Plague on Your Empire": has one of the most dazzlingly inconsistent characters I've ever seen. Who is this woman anyway? Now this does come close to being an objectionable marysue. "Strong and Silent Rebel"starts out fine, loses its scansion on Line 5, and goes downhill frcm there. See, I'm not totally susceptible. About "Bow to Greedo":—I always knew them sci-fi folks wuz cruzy. Now Ah'm shure uv id— "Letters to Her Worshipfulness" has to be taken with a chunk more rock salt than I think I can handle, but I enjoyed it anyway. I...think. I missed "Heroes," and having read "Where Save All the Rainbows Gone?", I'm regretting it. I like that.
[See this fan's comments on A Marketable Commodity on that page].[18]
[zine]: Off the top, I enjoyed the zine immensely; one of the few I could sense as an entity, rather than merely a conglomeration of bits and pieces. Took a while to get through it because of the various interruptions, which is nice. I like zines that lay around the house, asked me why I haven't read them yet. First off... good to see a LoC column with "talky" letters rather than just gush. I'm addicted to LoCs as anyone.I'll be sticking to vol.1 in this part, since I don't have v.2 at hand. Nice, clean looking zine, too, which is a precious thing these days. I really don't mind paying for a little white space. Wow, keep hanging onto Larry Blake! How great to see art that is illustrative in such a bold way. Definitely in the american cartoon tradition and nice. I'm a bit tired of portrature. I want to see art that shows the artist has read the story and has thought about portraying action, rather than just faces. I want my art to compliment, perhaps even add to, the story. Larry affects just enough resemblance necessary for identification, which is fine by me. I know who the characters are; I like the interpretation an artist puts into a piece. I have to admit, I don't quite remember what I was going to say about Pat G's story. It was the second I read back in September. I was glad to see the emphasis on Leia and I think she was given a correct role. Perhaps the story was a bit abrupt in style; yes, I remember feeling a bit cut short in places. But that is probably just a result of a desire to make a short story out of it; action often overcomes atmosphere in quick pieces. I am glad Pat had Leia go on and did not give in to the imprudent 'let's be heroic and rescue everybody against great odds' syndrome. I really enjoyed "Rites of Passage". Really. Nancy packed a very thorough description of an alien culture into a relatively short tale. Instead of coming up with a cute or trite explaination for Malla and the reason Chewie is not home much, she exercised her imagination and gave us something to bite our collective teeth into. Good show! This Chewie really is an independent person, not just a funny shadow of Solo's. Ha. Loved the tarot. However, "Goodbyes" I could have done without, however well done the illo. When I began reading "Matter of Conscience" I thought, wonderful, a waif who is a boy, not a girl. Oh well. I really think Jane has a good story here, but perhaps I'm too many fanstories into life to be able to disassociate myself from all the connotations of girl-waifs (whatever) picked-up-by-hero. I really think a bit of the pathos would have been cut without sacrificing the meaning if she had kept the beggar male. We can always speculate that Han wouldn't be any more comfortable clothing a boy than a girl, that the simple child aspect would throw him. Again, perhaps it's just past experience coloring my judgement; perhaps I'm just longing to see soma stories in which the distaff side gets to be vulnerable. My vote is on Martynn's side of the "Rings" question, but, then, I draw, too. And I hated the Hildebrandt's art. Good for Sleeping Corellians. I enjoyed "Darktamer", also. SW is a wonderful universe to write in because it so easily opens the imagination to such a wide variety of characters and places. You don't have to have the principals involved. At least, for me you don't. Such a nice way to combine SF and fanwriting. This Darth, too, was one I could accept as true to the villainy portrayed in the movie, yet a real person behind the mask. The writer did not think the two are exclusive. I found myself wondering all kinds of things about the other people mentioned, about the many subplots touched on, and that is a measure of a good story—involvement beyond the main plot. Let's see...Vol.2. What a conglomeration of bits and pieces. It's always nice to be put a bit off-guard, wondering what's going to come up next. "Fun with Luke and Han* and "Ode to an Ex-Jedi" were delightful, but then I've always liked the Smith's versiful wanderings, and a touch of the morose. About "Plague..." Grateful for one thing I am: the next person who complains about Esse in the TW stuff gets directed to Bryn. Talk about all knowing, all powerful, all correctly-connected...the story-telling was okay and the plot once again shows the diversity of the SW universe, but Bryn was a bit much. I read around her a lot. I do think, on a debatable level, that the idea of Jedi being as pacifistic as presented here is erroneous. Obi-wan is presented as a warrior in SW, and [according] to Lucas, is very much a samuri figure. And although the samuri did subscribe to the idea that the unsheathed sword was prefered, I don't believe their attitude toward fighting and death was as NewLeft as I perceived Bryn's to be. The criticism of the Alliance's part in the war irritated me in its self-righteousness more than in what I thought was its basic error. Perhaps this is also a reaction against holier-than-thou Jedi; I'm sure they existed and always will, but let's not sanctify them. Let's simply acknowledge that they may well exist and examine the cons as well as the pros in their ideas. "Adama's Lament" was delightful, and thanks for the blow-by-blow account of Greedo resurrection. Has proved helpful. Youse guys have more guts than I would to publish "letters". Not that it isn't the kind of thing ones out here think up at odd hours of the day...after a couple glasses of wine I figured it out just fine. Would love to see how the LoC count is on that part of the zine...snicker.
[See this fan's comments on A Marketable Commodity on that page].[18]
[zine]: You could have had the decency to wait for a proper interval after the re-re-release of Star Wars with-the-trailer attached to put PEGASUS IV in the mail. But, noooooooool We had to suffer successive cases of mental burnout!PEG IV has to be the most spectacularly best collection of art, cartoons and stories and other extras to be put out for fan consumption. The price is worth the product, from the Virginia Lee Smith front cover to the Joni Wagner back-back cover (which I wish I bad bought at 2'Con). Not to mention some fantastic fiction. I enjoyed Nancy Solomon's Chewbacca story in Peg III, and even more enjoyed "Rites of Passage" in IV. It explains why Chewie, with a wife and son, would go tripping through the galaxy with a Corellian pirate. Chewie is not the sort of creature to shirk responsibilities—and, after all, every male would like his family around him. Yay, Nancy, for some Wookiee background. (George—take note!) I'd also like to know where some other Susan Pontoni fiction is! "Darktamer" was well-wrought—and that ending was a total shock! AllI could do was sit there after I finished it and say "I don't believe it, I don't believe it." "A Plague On Your Empire" by Bev Grant was not bad, though the maneuvarings of the characters in the last third of the story got me confused at times; I just wasn't paying enough attention when they were introduced at first probably. Also, the story didn't hold my interest as well as some others do, because I have a mental block about accepting galactic relations of the SW main characters: for some reason, whenever I see them, I get the vibration of "mary sue" in my bones. Sorry, Bev. Jane Firmstone's "A Matter of Conscience" bothered me, too, because I probably don't understand Han Solo quite as well as I should, maybe. I don't think Han would transport Taii all around the galaxy looking for a place to drop her off—Han has a heart of gold, but I don't think he's gone through enough fire to render it 24 karat as of yet. And I don't think Han would take her to the Alliance—it has enough on its hands to have to worry about a 12 year-old in its camps. I think Han would drop her off on a decent planet port and find some kind soul to take her in. Han also does not impress ms as a person who would want to go back to the "old homestead," for any reason. I laughed my head off with the humorous bits. "Roach Wars" was great—having had roaches in apartments in my day, I sympathized with whoever had the problems. (Judi's illos ware cute, too.) Paula Smith's "Fun With Luke and Han" had me chuckling all the way through. What hilarity! What puns! What an Illustrating Job! "Letters to Her Worshipfulness" was also hilarious, and had special meaning for me as I had the honor of meeting Her Warship and speaking to Her at length that 2'Con. And now, for something completely different: art. Let's start with the Smith Pegaaoid colts and horses or whatever they are. My dear, let's get them published, huh? They are darling! (Or gorgeous, depending on whether it's colt or horse one is referring to) Beckey Aulenbach's art has increased in quality a zillionfold since I saw her first stuff. Her unicorns on the inside front cover are beautiful. And she draws the best Wookiees of any artist. From Vol. 1-page 65; Paulie Gilmore's illustration of Beth Bowies' poem is my second favorite illo in the zine. It also has to be the most gut-wrenching illo I have ever seen. I would kill for the original. Pg.113-T. Hamilton's "Darktamer" illo title page is, in a word, beautiful. Vol.2-p.43-Is Susan Perry's illustration (supposedly of the character Ruari) supposed to look like Shaun Cassidy? Oh, maybe it's supposed to be Luke! p.70-Joni Wagner, I have a dark picture of that illo—taken amid much laughter at 2'Con. I like your illo better than my terrible photo. Also your Carrie/Leia illo on p.81 is very funny. p.137-what can you say about Martynn? Who has to be the best fan illustrator to put pen to paper. [See this fan's comments on A Marketable Commodity on that page].
Last but no least: Hey, ladies, why did I get honored to be the first author the reader hits in PEG IV? And are you sure that's my story? Somehow, it doesn't seem the same in print...[18]
[zine]: When we first got the zine it fell apart and we had to bind it ourselves—the envelope, too, was a wreck. We wish fans would try to bind their fat lines a little better.The best piece of fiction in PEG IV is "I Will Wait For You." The characters were real—they learned, had feelings, and thought about themselves and each other; they cared. Leia was finally given a good showcase. The illos with it ware interesting and of a new style which helped set the story off. But Larry Blake doesn't know how to do little girls, as in the art for "A Matter of Conscience."
The finest poem is "Goodbyes", by Beth Bowles. This and its accompanying art were superb. The illo alone is very wrenching and emotional. It was about the fourth perusal of it that we realized much of its impact is due to its archetypal nature—its so similar to Michelangelo's Pieta, Christ in the Madonna's arms. The best satire? "Roach Wars", just because it was so dumb and silly. The ending really did it for us. Skywalker and Grasshopper? Cute! Letters to Her Worshipfulness—so in character, and yet only a game! loved the existing question, left unresolved, of just what Luke has been up to! And the running debate over the antibiotics and whose face was on the stationery. Love Luke's salutations—"Your humble hero of the Alliance," and "Your loyal, humble, favorite hero and droid polisher, Luke." Sounds so humble, adorable and cute—just like Luke. One complaint—about the illo on page 70—We don't know what you look like, you should have let us in on who was being who! Unfortunately, your fiction story is not as in character. [See these fans' comments on A Marketable Commodity on that page].[19]
[zine]: Well, at least you bad the brains to do it as two issues. Binding it would otherwise have been impossible. I liked the Cori Beckett story about Luke in whatsisface's greasy paws. However did you manage not to let it get smarmy? Amazing self control. I was expecting another one of those stories! (Empire looks suspiciously like a get movie to me!) The "Darktamer" thing drove me nuts! For one thing, pieces of it are nearly incomprehensible due to ziltcho editing. Some of the sentences aren't even grammatical. We also got all this wild and titillating stuff about the emperor trying to do a number on Darth why, for heaven's sake?—and who was that Caroline person, the emperor's mistress, I mean? Why did she want to be a lord-uh, lady—of the Sith and why wouldn't they let her and why did Darth kill her. You get the idea. How is it that Darth noticed Adria—oh, really, some 15 year-old ass with hip length silver hair that ran away from home. Her middle name must be marisu—poking around in his mind the first time and wasn't going to notice her trying to pop the blood vessels in his brain the second time? Likewise, who would be dumb enough to hold a rebel rally in front of Palpatine's statue? (I figured they shot all of those asses for driving the stormtroopers crazy with their stunning rendition of the Jedi equivalent of 500 bottles of beer on the wall—and after they hadn't had anything to drink in four days tool) Amazing how this all comes back to me! I do so love lousy stories! Let me take another look through the issue to see if there's anything else I want to comment on. I liked the article on doing Greedo's mask...[20]
I have read PEGASUS IV thoroughly, cover to cover, since my Scottish ancestry forbids me to ignore any part of a zine that cost so much; but the thing was worth every hard-won penny! It has what so many fan publications lack—BULK!! And first quality work, too—I hardly know where to begin with the compliments, so I'll limit them to the material that's still rattling around in my head after a week's digestion. (Brace youraelf-huge stories inspire huge LoCs, what can I say?)Touche was beautiful—brief, perceptive, andto the point. It's very gratifying to see SW vignettes that make a point in character development. So much of fan fiction seems to be either massively epic stories that somehow (sometimes) manage to work in a little character growth amid all the action and social-anthropology, or neatly fashioned little scenes that convey some minor background detail but have no significance to characterization. Good to find a short story that combines the best elements of both. I heartily support the idea that Luke is not a Jedi; Ben never said he was, and Ben ought to know! Luke is incredibly talented and sensitive to the Force, and is facing the monumental task of teaching himself how to use it. Such a premise is far more believable, and interesting, than the idea proposed in some stories that there is a whole sub-culture of Jedis in hiding and that Luke has sufficient control of the Force to summon them. How did all these Jedis survive both the Empire's applied persecution and Vader's treachery? And when and where did Luke acquire the training and control necessary to use the Force on such a grand scale? Peggy's portrayal of Luke's uncertainty, basic faith, and fantastic talent is very well done, as is the idea that his motivation for introducing Han to the light-saber is practical rather than philosophical. Han's skepticism is vary wall-balanced, healthy rather than defensive; and his appreciation of the saber is based on the actual performance of the weapon. The demands of their situation and tha quality of their friendship make appeals to nobility or moralistic arguments rather ludicrous. Luke is too intelligent to try to proselytize his friend, and Han is too practical to deny the evidence of his own experience. A very mature treatment of the beginnings of a life-long personal alliance of true, independent equals! "Goodbyes" and the illo by P. Gilmore—either would be excellent alone, but the combination of the two is incredibly powerful—absolutely SHATTERING! Han's reaction is totally accurate: the first reaction to the death of a loved one is always one of denial, of disbelief. His words are beautifully true to his character—that fascinating, incongruous combination of toughness and tenderness, the smart-mouth armor covering unexplored depths of passion. Chewie's expression seems to be one of profound sorrow and wonder—at the terrible frailty of humans, both physically and emotionally. His presence adds a depth of solidity and protectiveness to the picture, which without him might seem to be a contrived heart-tugger. The tension about Han's posture—the desperation of his embrace contrasting with the slack-mouthed disbelief in his in his face -- compelling is not a strong enough adjective. But Luke—omigod, Luke—is too perfect for words: the tilt of his head, the fall of his hair, the deep-hooded eyes and open mouth, and the eloquent turn of his open, empty hand...it hit me like a sledgehammer. It's impossible not to feel as Han does: "He can't be dead—if I just hold him close enough, long enough—Luke CANNOT DIE!" I don't know who to praise more; between them Bowles and Gtlmore gave me a very bad hour or so. (Hour or so!? It still haunts me!)... [See this fan's comments on A Marketable Commodity on that page].
Well, enough of this rambling self-indulgence. There are a dozen other things I'd love to comment on, but after devoting four pages to one character problem, enough is enough! But I sincerely feel that it needed saying, and I hope it will be taken in the caring spirit in which it was intended. Like I said somewhere back a few pages ago (You did say you wanted LoCs, didn't you?), PEGASUS IV is fantastic! Both of it!...[18]
[zine]: Pat Gonzales' story "I Will Wait For You" shows a couple of alarming problems that pervade the entire volume. One is the quality of the art—cartoonist) all the way through, with noticeable exceptions—Martynn, for one. I don't have any large quarrel for cartoonish art, but I feel very strongly that the style of the art should fit the tenor of the story, and this does not. Another is cross-universe pollination (pollution) which PERVADES the stuff in volume I — 'Dyet' is a bad enough blurb to linguists in Beckett's speech, and I feel it is rather characteristic of her. To put it in others' mouths, especially when a little more earthy word seems to be called for, is uncomfortable at best. Also, there is a drastic paragraphing problem in this and a few other stories, notably "Darktamer" and "Matter of Conscience". On p.17, for example, after the section space, the first five paragraphs are rightfully only one paragraph. There was a pretty big blooper in the illo p. 20, too—Skywalker with the sabre and blaster on the right side? That could be terminal for someone who's left handed. I know that he has on a right-handed blaster in the Awards Ceremony, but that's also rather obviously borrowed (along with the pants with the yellow stripe)."Touche": I liked it, a lot. The idea of Solo-as-Jedi cadet has been eating at a lot of fandom lately. I first read Beth's story "Acceptance" about ten months ago, and I still think the idea is delightfully perverse. In a lighthearted vein, of course (sorry—Dracula joke). In the same tone as "Don't Believe It For a Minute". "Rites of Passage": the finest story in the first volume, despite strong problems. Cross-universe pollution (Wookiee, Ves) and the paragraph problems persist, but the philosophy is excellent and well thought-cut. Surely a species as long-lived as the Wookiees would evolve into a very deeply organismistic race and the idea of the Spirals, well-borrowed from Shinto, is fitting. Also the emphasis on harmony, which is necessary when you're likely to be around your neighbors for several centuries. The nearest parallel I can find are in Caldecatt's "The Tall Stones" and in Casteneda. Bravo! The Tarot deck was nice. Po, but a little too obviously a rip-off of Waite's "Pictorial Key to the Tarot". Also, in the illo for the Devil card (is it still trump XV?) the description is that the sabre is in the left hand, and the illo shows it in the right. Now, I don't recall Darth being left-handed (odd, since he's the villain of the piece and therefore 'sinister'). What hoppen? Shoot the typist on "Skybird"!! There was a whole word missing in line eleven ('sets') which blew not only the scanning to the original song, but the sense of the poem! Paulie's illo was gorgeous though, (edit: that'll be little consolation to her after you shoot her ...get it?) "Goodbyes": believe it or not, I'd not read the poem before I saw it. I've heard Beth's parallel filk ("Final Battle") but the poem took me completely by surprise. I don't like her Solo very much—he's 'way too soft, and I doubt if closed-chest compression, which's he's obviously trying to do ("I won't quit pumpin' till you do") is S.O.P. in that technology. I liked "ode" in volume 2 much better—that's Our Wise-Ass Corellian. "The Circle Is Complete" gives me chills every time I read it. I only wish it could be seen the way I saw it first, with the last line on the next page. It doubles the effect. "Tercel": Martynn says she can't write! Bah! And the illo was beautiful, Judi. The falcon lower right was the perfect counterpoint. "A Matter of Conscience": So, Han 'loves tea', too! (p.73) There are a few problems with Terrestriality here—'taxi' on p.76 (come on, Jane) and on p.80 that ain't no dragon, folks. Furthermore, how did Taii learn Wookiee-gab on p.81 where Chewie was 'explaining' the chess game to her? The illos were nice, but she should have become somewhat more female before p.77! "Fortunes of War": Nice, but it's been said before, and better. The poem the way it is spaced seems a bit broken up. The LOR reviews are quite obviously, even without reading the bylines, by a visual artist and a literary critic. Both are very valid as far as they go; folks sometime forget that cinema is a VISUAL art, and that no adaption of a written work, by definition, can be either complete in and of itself, or totally true to the original. I had not read the trilogy before I saw the movie (sacrilege, I know) but if you want a neo's opinion, I didn't know what the hell was going on, that's how faithful it was to the book. I felt like I'd walked in on the middle of a conversation—in Swahili! The second time through, after I found out what-was-who to whom, was delightful, and I could concentrate on the visuals. "Let Sleeping Corellians Lie": I thought you didn't like Han, Po! But TWO illos from the same People magazine pic? I can't be objective about "Invocations" or "Even Now", although the original lyricist on "Even Now" was Marty Panzer and I think his wife would object to tha gender transformation. Also, it is TCIC's companion piece: why separate them? "Tuts in Space": HOORAH! Now, let's grind up Larson's axe and feed it to him a la the Golden Calf! Von Daniken, hell—just turn Larson's pseudo-religious 'science' fiction loose! "Gone": YES! Feels like it should have been next to "Apollo's Thoughts", though. They would have been beautifully run as a pair. I get the feeling that, as in the case of "Circle is Complete" and "Even Now", these two were separated for the sake of 'balance' in the zine. Baloney. "Roach Wars" was hysterical but I thought the cartoons ware rather amateurish. The 'zine was FULL of cartoons, Judi—why not get one of them to do this up right? "Darktamer": Uneven. The overall effect of the ending, which was supposed to be even more chilling than it was, was spoiled by the problems like the Scots accents found at the beginning of the story' ond the references to other universes (Llewion?) and Terrestrialisms like 'hypnopaedic conditioning' (shades of "Brave New World") and the references to the "Necronamioon" and "Thaumaturgioon", and the shere/sherry and brendi/brandy hassles. Also, the characters are a bit uneven; the Han who says 'Goodbye' and blows the 'troopers away on p.152 would not say "I fear that I have developed an allergy to fur" on p. 150. By the way, I love that 'goodbye' line. Finer than Dr. Who and his "Can you help me, I'm a spy." "Initiation": Hysterical! Ronni and I had words about whether or not Kirk would be involved in an RF like this, but then she's one of the ones with the halo around his head—after all, be never breaks a promise, right? I wonder if the names were Freudian references though; really, Greedo -- Ben and Lucas? Oh, well. The fun of the story made up for it, although a fragrant rat was present from the beginning. Paulie outdid herself on the "Mother's Memory" illo. And Shanni forgives you for mucking up the credits—I bribed her with some Corelli wine. Unlike a couple of folk I talked to, I liked the "Dangling Conversation" piece. (Conversation piece?) Starbuck always did remind me of Balloran in his attitude and I think it comes out here. ("It's different, but it's one fine attitude.") "Ode": what can I say! Paybacks are hell, Beth. "Justifiable Homicide": I've never known Joyce without something acid to say. Brian Daley deserves some kind of reward. P'Smith's haiku were nice, but somehow the representation of Luke with all the darkness around him seemed a wee bit inappropriate. "Fun with Luke and Han": I've been giving dramatic readings of this one and keeping the read-ees institches. Todd's cartoons are hysterically appropriate, and the puns were delightfully awful. A kudo from another charter "Member of the Punsters' Guild. "A Plague on Your Empire": I didn't expect to like this one, but I was delightfully surprised. Usually the nobody-special-in-somebody's-universe stories bore me, but this one was nice and different. Especially "You think you're the only one he talks to?" (See "A Whispered Voice" in RV III). Sue Perry should be shot for Outstanding Talent of the Year—Although, the one on p. 53 looks suspiciously like a self-portrait, if memory serves me correctly. Beckey's Han p.57 was a wee bit too stern for what I had in mind, but it's lovely nonetheless. Only there's no "that" in line 16 and line 17 should read "empires". Ah, well. "Adama's Lament": Beautiful! It even cracked up my Bother the Ultimate Mundane! "Bow to Greedo": Now you've done it, Judi. An epidemic of little green men. "Leia's Theme": Incredible. I got out the soundtrack and it even SCANS! Bow did you find thrm little grace notes, Judi, huh? I needed the earphones to hear some of them. I do have a little trouble with the "conquer the stars" line, though (#20). Do you think Leia really wants to conquer the stars? "Letters to Her Warshipfulness": I would have had a little trouble with this one if I hadn't been at 2'Con and got the joke. Eleven pages of in-joke? And the 'speech from 2'Con' (funny, I don't remember Joni doing any speeches!) was the funniest thing I'd encountered since the One About the Bantha. "Where Have All the Rainbows Gone?": I'm sorry I've only seen Heroes once, because a lot of this was lost on me. Kelly does have a way with characters, though—especially when they look like Harrison...[See this fan's comments on A Marketable Commodity on that page]. While we're on the subject of Han (a delightful subject that) a few more words about "Darktamer" (I know, that's volume one, but I didn't have room en the other sheet): The Han Solo who thought the Death Star suicide mission would NOT repeat NOT go blasting into the Emperor's home town under any circumstances! And certainly not without so much as a whimper! He would have raised holy hell, proceeded to unholy hell, and from there to curl up with Chewie and the FALCON in the nearest black hole, and tell Leia to come after him—if she could—when it was all over. After all, what's his gripe with Vadar? No matter who rules things, a smuggler is still outside the law. Not even the Dark Lord can make smuggling legal—then it wouldn't be smuggling, and not nearly as lucrative. The profit motive puts blinders on as many people as the Empire puts binders on. The 'mercenary space pirate with the cream filling' is one thing; the dedicated freedom fighter who sticks his neck into the lion's head is a quantum leap away.
All in all, dear editor, volume two outshines volume one by an order of magnitude. Or two. But the whole 'zine was done well, and I think you can retire in comfort. Let me know when/if the Pegasus arises frcm its ashes....[18]
[zine]: First off, all the pegasus and various equinod and pegasoid creatures pacing the pages of V.1 (and V.2) were absolutely delightful. If I had to pick favorites, I guess V.L. Smith's would be No. 1 on my list. From her heroicially cantering pegasus on the front cover to the endearing "Second Time Around" antics of her pegasoid colt, Smith proves herself adept at the winged wonders in every conceivable pose. Beckey Aulenbach, a bright new artist, did lovely unicorns on the inside front cover. I guess Judi can rest on her laurels about Peg 3 pretty smuggly for awhile. Judging from the wealth of (mostly complimentary) letters in the LoC section. I certainly enjoyed reading all the comments and was glad to note every one liked "Wormie" as much as I did. And please, if you get the chance, Po, thank Joni for the high compliment she paid me on my illos; that's heady praise indeed coning from one of fandom's long-time greats! Now on to contents.Robyn Thompson's "Pegasus" poem created in words what all the beautiful pegasus' soaring throughout the 'zine depicted visually—a fitting addition. Pat Gonzales' "I will Wait for You" was a fair little character study of Leia (particularly) and Luke. Pat's restraint, once she set up the potentially nasty situation, was admirable. Leia, seasoned trooper that she is, does not dissolve into hysterics immediately at Luke's apparent demise. Nor does she make great gusty protestations of love at the reunion. In character, she buries her grief in her work and, upon Lute's suprise resurrection she is affectionate but not unbelievably so. And Luke is the not-too-perfect hero who has the touch of the Force but easily makes mistakes (partly due to inexperience), and is not above relying on his wits (amply proven to exist in SW despite his youth) to find his way "home". Blake's bold illos of this piece are very apt with the "kiss" bound to be a favorite with Luke fans. The first illo though was my fave because of the several jokes therein (the Caitian, the little Vulcan, and the gargoyle all seeming vaguely familiar—I love cameo appearances) "Touche" by Peggy Barilla was definitely my favorite piece on Han in Vol.1. Everyone seems amused by the idea Han wielding a lightsaber, but Peggy's is the mast realistic portrayal of that ficticious historic moment I've read to date. Both Han and Luke delightfully in character: Luke irritated with Han's reluctance and irreverence but patient, Han wary and skeptical then positively smug once he's rationalized his contact with the Force to a concept he can handle. Connie's illo exhibits the usual flawless Faddis technique and a nice contrast of light (saber) dark background and the shadowplay on Han's face. Bravo to Nancy Z. Solomon for more of her thoroughly fascinating, thoroughly alien and frequently unpronounceable Wookiee lore. While I don't feel Nancy's version of Chewie'a reason for taking to space is adequately supported by the introduction to the Wookiee home we glimpsed on the "SW Holiday Special", I do like her story and feel it stands very well just as an individual sf story in itself. Her Chewbacca has a beautifully appealing dignity and a moving, bittersweet quality. Her intricate fabrication of the Wookiee's social structure and life pattern is interesting and complex and the relationship between Chewbacca and Mallatobuck subtly woven. This is not tha proud papa Chewie and devoted wife and mother Malla frcm the special-Chewie's return with Han in that show had no sad overtones-but Nancy's treatment was certainly more revealing and no less a positive picture of the Wookiees. And Capt. Azure is the appropriate Corellien rogue as a predecessor to Han for Chewie. Does Nancy plan any more Wookiee pieces? Hope so. Hamilton's moody Wookiee faces are well-executed. Perhaps Malla could have displayed a little less bust and a softer facial expression as she appeared on the Special. (Aulenbach's is closer) I love the Twinglitl Jani's "Master Jedi" is suitably mystic and yet simple. Her filks are always lovely but I think she's at her best when working totally with her own material as in this poem. Po, I don't know a thing about Tarot cards. Never even seen a real deck, but your SW version had a very appropriate ring to it. Your artwork is coming along fine too—especially your Lute (can't imagine why) Aulenbach's beflowered Chewie is the most authentic looking of the set tho. I had the privilege of reading the rough draft of "Matter of Conscience" and commented favorably then but the final form as printed in Peg IV with some smoothing and elimination of some non-essentials really does Jane Firmstone proud. We all know Han's a soft-touch at heart but this story proves it in a most unusual way. Jane doesn't clean the Corellian's act up at all (he still obviously likes his wine, women, and whatever) but shows how a "kid" like Luke or Taii can get under his facade. And the irony of having Taii be female is all the more telling. Blake's illos are well rendered, but he does overdo that one angle of the 3/4 back of Solo's head. Of course, I can deduce it was to show Taii's face, which is marvelously done. You guys are making doubtful comments on the smarminess of my illo of Luke's afterburners and nary a word about the pre-pubesoent urchin in the buff full front on p.74l Wnew! After reading Nancy Z. Solomon's review of "Lord of the Rings" I could see right in the first paragraph why our viewpoints are so diametrically opposed on Bakshi. Nancy likes the Hildebrant interpretation which I myself found absolutely intolerable with the exceptionof a few nice backgrounds and their orcs (which were, admittedly, more detailed and hideous than Bakshi's). The Hildebrandts presented a stilted, stiff, drawing-room portrait of Tolkien's epic with the magic and fantasy sacrificed to slavish realism. Hobbits, dwarfs, men, elves, and even the women all have the same face (since the bros H. use themselves or friends as models). Every single character in their paintings to me looks like William Bendix—big nose, large hands, full-lips...even the women! The Hildebrandts Bowyn, Galadriel, Goldberry and Azwen all look alike. If Bakshi's Galadriel seemed disneyesque to Nancy, at least the elfmaidenlooked individual and unearthy—not a buxom, big-nosed blonde clone as in Hildebrandt's calendars. I could go on...Anyway, now that I know where we stand I can see our bone of contention. At least Nancy and I agree on the main point: the books are still the very best way to absorb Tolkien. And I still like Bakshi's film. Varesano's Obi-Wan ramblings are always very nicely put together but all so similar and repetitious in their mystical droning that its a bit like sitting and reading the back of the church hymnals "Unison Readings". A bit dry for a non-Obi-wan fans but they have their merit. "Tuts in Space": Right on Jan! "Roach Wars" is great, Po! We are most amused. Mad Magazine or Monty Python would love it as much as I did! Come to think of it, Saturday Night Live's Killer Bees would've fit right in. Love the ice-box cantina, and Chewlotsa the termite and the surprise ending. I hope the Orkin man's name is Mark...Glad you finished this important "saga". Lastly, there's "Darktamer", which began rather Marysuish but due to seme very interesting sf concepts, some interesting added characters and those really excellent scenes with Darth, as well as the strengly ambivalent ending and Hamilton's superb illos, made "Darktamer" very worthwhile. And least I forget—Joni's Princess pics in the back and the bacover are terrific as one would expect from her Royalness... Voluminous II in 25 words or more was, quite simply, more of the same good stuff. Terri Korthal's pegasus' aren't quite as sophisticated stylistically as those on Vol.1 but they do show a nice sense of movement. Joni-a bacover is excellent—and a valuable reproduction for me personally as I never did get to see the full shot of Luke on the Taun-taun as it appeared in Newsweek. (I did finally see a similar shot in the SW fanclub newsletter. Jackie's "Initation" was a pleasant bit of token Trek with appropriate illos by Smith. I especially liked the one of Ben & BEM. "Ben" and "Lucas" for names is a tat suspicious but I'm all for mixed media. Jan's "Mother's Memory" is a little gem, well set off by Paulie's itty bitty and older Lukes. Some really well-turned phrases that seem so obvious but fit so well like "sky-blue eyes" and "living his name" balance out some unlikely descriptions (I don't see Luke as "dainty"-"diminutive" maybe). Lindner's "Dangling Conversation" developed those two colonial warriors as we all wish they'd been handled by the club-foot-fingered writers of "Galactica"—Jackie added a nice accompaniment with her almost negative-effect illo. Bravo to Han and his poetic transcribers (take a bow. Ace and Cap") for the "Ode to an Ex-Jedi". I couldn't take those ultimate get-ums very well either and, as Han aptly demonstrates, delightfully wry, in character, and tongue-in-cheek, there are worse fates than death. Yas' concise, polite and witty review of "HS and Star'sEnd" was all the more gratifying by her admission, as a Darth fan, that she liked the book despite Vader's conspicuous absence. I would quibble a few statements like "Han does not win the hand of the outlaw girl". He'a not confronting her on those grounds but strictly business—she's the one that starts to flirt rather significantly at the end. Where does it indicate this novel's time line pre-dates SW? Smith (P.)'s contributions are diverse and profound, as expected. Her Luke/Ben piece ably illoed by Varesano is an intricate and beautifully complete reflection that, like a Mozart invention, yields new insights at every turn. I haven't often read a "serious" poetic effort from Paula, but if this masterpiece is an example, I'd love to see more. "Fun with Luke and Han" is a dangerous piece whose fierce puns can cause hiccoughs, guffaws, and cold hysteria. Of course one expects such lethal material from the authoress of "Lil Teeny Things". Loved Hamilton's Han-as-a-stove-pilot! The Phoglio Phelgercarb is the usual sweet nothings but then I enjoy short subjects. "A Plague On Your Empire" was the weakest link in Vol.11 and though I read it with open mind, telling my "MarySue" suspicions to stay at bay, reminding them what a fine piece that morph-girl story in Vol.1 turned into, I was frankly disappointed by the Mary-Sue Kenobi/Organa story. Wnether the character lead herself was ill-defined or the action a bit slow, I just couldn't get into it. Perry's portraits added a lot (especially Han and Chewie since they scarcely appeared for 2 words in the story and that's a deficiency in my book...) The names (aside from Bryn) seemed terribly " Welsh compared to Lucas SW appellations. The Leia on p.31 is absolutely gorgeous and really captures the princess' brave vulnerability. If the portrait on p.43 is Ruari, he looks nauseatingly like Shaun Cassidy. Sue is such an excellent portrait artist I refuse to believe the resemblance is coincidental. Beckey's Han on p.56 printed up a bit light but is a creditably faunchable likeness. Lindner's and Carleton's assault on-the *BS Galactica" had me in stitches. Frak—wish that show was still or, just for the laughs it provided unintentionally! "How to Greedo" is quite impressive and I told Greedo so on the phone last night. The whole head is impressive just to observe but when one reads the work that goes into it, it becomes mind-boggling. You both deserved an award for ingenuity. Your "Leia's Theme" fits very well and Po's Lukes are getting better all the time. Now we come to the Big Guns. My 2 fave works in the whole gargantuan ish and the blame and kudos, natually, to to you, Po and Joni. Of course I refer to "Used Boy" and the "Letters". Although I'm sure I missed an "in joke" or 2 In said letters, the general content is so riotously funny even an outsider like me can nearly go into traction reading them. Each of you is as good (bad?) as the other—Her Worship's coy cone-on, Lukie's wormy-but-cute missives and that classic letter under the affluence of inkahol, and Han's faster-than-a-speeding-parsec repartee (and my fave—the episode with the dictaterminal)...Great fun! Any chance those "missing communications" will turn up? I have this cat-friend who would take Solo off the Princess' buns, er hands, if she needs any assistance...Joni's illos for the Letters, as royal stationery designer, are all quite wonderful and the illo of the letter perpetrators at the beginning is adorable.
That leaves "Used Boy" and I think I've Loc-ed it pretty comprehensively as the illos were being done. I did notice a few minor changes—all improvements in the final draft. A couple new alien adages & phrases ("worthless as barroa beans") which added a nice "other galaxy" touch; fleshing out of Kyyche (and an extra illo which was quite fine-why wasn't it signed?); additions to clarify the escape (Luke actually realizing what he's doing to Cori and her encouraging him)...I enjoyed reading it all over again as nuch as the very first reading—maybe more because I could see the changes. So let's have a sequel! [18]
Issue 5
Pegasus 5 was published in late summer/early autumn 1981 and contains 375 pages, reduced, offset, perfect bound. It won the 1982 FanQ Award for 'Best Star Wars 'Zine.'
From an ad in Datazine #16: "Pegasus will be at ChananaCon and WindyCon for those who only want to pay the $15 cover price. For those of you who can't wait, it's $20 FC."
It has art by Karen River, Susan Perry-Lewis, Martynn, Jan Lindner, Gee Moaven, Dot Sasscer, Joni Wagner, Gordon Carleton, Todd Hamilton, Terri Korthals, Sheryl Adsit, Anne Davenport, Michael Griffith, Amy Harlib, Gee Moaven, Delores McAllister, Carol McPherson, Karen Pauli, Janet Schmidt, and Becky Aulenbach.
[From one of the editorials]: A friend of mine saw PEGASUS IV and asked, "How're you going to top this monster?" I guess I figured that the only way would be to make even a BICGER monster. *sigh*. Would you believe no if I told you that Peg V's 400-odd pages were unintentional? I don't know what I was thinking or ... or whether I was thinking at all. I Just kept hearing myself say, "I'll take it!" and hearing Po and Jackie shout, "You did what?" There's a scientific name for it — Idiocy. Or perhaps It's a form of kleptomania. If I lay hands on it, lt's MINE! Oh well. At least this time the staples won't fall out.The first thing that you'll probably notice (after the price, that is) is that we've changed it's layout — in places There's a scientific name for this, too. It's called "an experiment". I've been trying to find out whether youse guys would prefer the copy to be set up in columns as opposed to full-page, which is how this editorial is laid out. I figured that If I printed some of the copy In columns and some full-page, you'd be so irritated that you'd write and tell as which one you'd rather have, just to make me stop doing It. No, seriously, I figured It would be easier to judge the styles If they were In your hands at the same time in the same zine. Drop me a line, please, even If it's a postcard saying nothing more than 'columns' or 'not columns'. I'll tally up the opinions and Peg VI (if and when it comes about) will be styled according to your opinions. I still love getting LoCs, by the way, so IF you don't really care one way or the other about the column issue, just write a LoC. That way I can shape the contents of the zine, too.
Once again, we tried to get something tor everybody, (I mean, yolks — If we couldn't manage to get a bit of variety into 400 pages we might as well give up!) We've got Luke stories, Han strolls, Leia stories, a Darth story, (What! No Kenobi stories?) and none all-of-the-above stories, We've gathered scads of gorgeous artwork, a few serious articles, cartoons, poetry, and stuff I classify under "Other". If you can't find something that you like in here, it's not because we didn't try to please you.
- Dedication, illustrated by Karen River (1)
- Editorial by "fingers"
- Letters of Comment (1)
- Love Song of an Electric Bird by Judith R. Conly, illustrated by Karen River (12)
- Spacers Legacy by Jackie Paciello, illustrated by Martynn (13)
- Midnight Sonata: Han by Barbara Wenk, poem illustrated by Joni Wagner (20)
- Time for Choosing by Kate Nuernberg, poem illustrated by Karen River (21)
- Reflections by Marian Lindner, illustrated by Beckey Aulenbach (23)
- Spacers Complaint by Judith R. Conly, poem illustrated by Karen River (28)
- No Guts, No Glory by Pat Gonzales, illustrated by Karen River (29)
- Overture by Jan Linder, illustrated by Terri Korthals (67)
- Do You Think I'm Deadly? by Judi L. Hendricks and Paula M. Block, filk (to the tune of Rod Stewart's "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?") illustrated by Martynn (69)
- Amicus Draconis by Virginia Lee Smith (71)
- The Patriot Game by Jackie Paciello (74)
- Songs of a Spacefarer by Judith R. Conly, illustrated by Karen River (75)
- Bitter Pills by Nancy Zingrone Solomon, illustrated by Todd Hamilton (79)
- Words to a Wookiee Ashley McConnell, poem illustrated by Karen River (95)
- Alderaan Remembered by Jani Hicks, poem illustrated by Dot Sasscer (96)
- Copyright: Can Fan Writing be Afforded Protection as "Literature?" by Melinda M. Snodgrass, Attorney-at-Law, illustrated by Karen River (97)
- Absalom by Karen Osman, poem illustrated by Beckey Aulenbach (103)
- Dream Lady by Tammy Gibbs, poem illustrated by Joni Wagner (105)
- On The Wings of the Morning by Barbara Wenk (107)
- The Loyalist's Lament by Judith R. Conly, illustrated by Karen River (108)
- The Card Game by Marcia Brin, illustrated by Jan Linder (109)
- Further Adventures of the Friends of Luke Skywalker by Karen River (115)
- Best Laid Schemes by Bev Grant and Susan Perry-Lewis (Susan's name is not listed in the table of contents as co-author; this error was pointed out by Bev in the next issue of Pegasus.) This story was illustrated by Susan Perry-Lewis (119)
- Port Fees, fold-out illustration by Pam Kowalski (142a)
- Jedi-Do by Jani Hicks, reference article illustrated by Beckey Aulenbach (143)
- Letters To (and from) Daddy by Paula Block, Nan Lewis, Joni Wagner, illustrated by the authors (145)
- Solo by Paula Block, illustrated by Beckey Aulenbach (149)
- Pas de Deux by Jani Hicks, illustrated by Dot Sasscer (151)
- Han's Theme by Tammy Gibbs, illustrated by Joni Wagner (152)
- Dark Side of the Moon by Paula Block, illustrated by Beckey Aulenbach (155)
- Call Back the Dream by Sheila Paulson, illustrated by Karen River (Trapped on a slave ship bound for Kessel, Han has lost his memory, and Luke, Lando and Chewie must rescue him.) (157)
- Hail Columbia by Tammy Gibbs, illustrated by Karen River (188)
- Han Solo, foldout by Karen River (188a)
- Oh, For a Jedi by Marian Lindner, illustrated by Gee Moaven (189)
- You Do What For a Living? (this zine's tribbers and their current employment/jobs), illustrated by Delores McAllister (191)
- John Williams: A Man and His Music, article by Tammy Gibbs, illustrated by Joni Wagner (193)
- Marian and Indy's Theme by Judi L. Hendricks, illustrated by Karen River (197)
- Jacuzzi Summer by Beckey Aulenback, illustrated by Gordon Carleton (199)
- Season's Greetings by Beth Bowles, illustrated by Karen River (204)
- Two Corellian Strangers by Jani Hicks. Filk, illustrated by Karen River (205)
- Only A Legend by Kate Nuerenberg. Filk, illustrated by Gee Moaven (207)
- Queen's Gambit by Anne Elizabeth Zeek, illustrated by Rosalind Ludwig (reprinted in The Compleat Zeek, discussed in Han and Leia in Fanfiction) (209)
- "Get Away, Kid" (fold-out) by Joni Wagner (237a)
- The Smuggler by Jackie Paciello, illustrated by Gordon Carleton (237)
- One Afternoon in the Rec Room by Marcia Brin, illustrated by Joni Wagner (238)
- You May Be Right (But I Doubt It) by Han Socold & the Frozen Assets, filk illustrated by Joni Wagner (241)
- Kid, Don't You Believe it by Pat Gonzales, poem illustrated by Paulie Gilmore (243)
- Epilogue by Kate Nuerenberg, poem illustrated by Karen River (246)
- Satisfaction Guaranteed by Judi Hendricks & Paula Block, illustrated by Martynn. (This story was the subject of an in-depth review in Issue 8 of the Jundland Wastes, and part of The Cori Beckett Series.) (247)
- At Gerbashe's by Po, Gonzo & "Swanee" River, a filk to the tune of Barry Manilow's "Copa Cobana" (368)
- several pages of zine and fan club ads (369)
from issue #5, Karen River
from issue #5, Martynn
from issue #5, Virginia Lee Smith
from issue #5, Karen River
from issue #5, Joni Wagner
from issue #5, Martynn
from issue #5, Martynn
from issue #5, Joni Wagner, fold-out, "Get Away, Kid"
from issue #5, Gordon Carleton
from issue #5, Pam Kowalski, fold-out
from issue #5, Karen River
from issue #5, Gee Moaven
from issue #5, Todd Hamilton
from issue #5, Susan Perry-Lewis
from issue #5, Beckey Aulenbach
from issue #5, Karen River
from issue #5, Rosalind Ludwig
from issue #5, Karen River
from issue #5, Karen River
from issue #5, Joni Wagner
Reactions and Reviews: Issue 5
See reactions and reviews for Satisfaction Guaranteed.
See reactions and reviews for Copyright: Can Fan Writing be Afforded Protection as "Literature?".
[Queen's Gambit]:In the post-Empire stories Leia remains with the Alliance, but now she is aware of her need for Han as a lover and Luke as a friend. In Zeek's "Queen's Gambit" (Pegasus 5) Leia can wait no longer and attempts to rescue Han her
self, but she only faces Vader's seductive offer to trade Han for Luke; this Leia is courageous and capable, but even she has her limits as her despair after her failed mission threatens to overwhelm her. I [21]
[Queen's Gambit]: Anne Elizabeth Zeek's Jennara Marwen of "Queen's Gambit" in PEG #5 is high enough in the aristocracy that Vader himself comes (uninvitedi) to her birthday party, for purposes of his own. Jennara is Leia's best friend, a secret Pebel sympathizer who delights in sending her royal friend all sorts of apparently innocent gifts with lethal or otherwise unlikely potential. More publicly she exercises her imagination by writing the equivalent of best-selling romantic pulp novels. She comes across as something of a bubblehead at times, but under the flightiness are sharp intelligence, bedrock loyalty to Leia, and a strength she didn't know she had. She demonstrates all three as she plays hostess to Vader when he drops in unexpectedly, the whole time alternating between swearing never to help her crazy friend again (naturally she doesn't mean a word of it!) and speculating black-houmorously on her fate if Vader discovers Leia hiding a few rooms away. After Vader leaves, Jennara finds out that Leia has disappeared to carry on her search for Han, and has unwittingly taken the only nonlethal in the bedroom, a very convincing but totally fake blaster left from a costume party. Jennara leads Lando and Chewbacca in the search for Leia, and maybe Han — they find only the Princess, in very bad shape — and provides Leia with desperately needed emotional and psychological support. Jennara has her moments of doubt and fear, and she occasionally relinquishes leadership to Lando, but she never gives up or falls into the "helpless maiden" trap no matter how bad things get. Her intelligence, courage, and friendship for Leia carry her through.[22]
[The Best Laid Schemes]: Eryn Kenobi of Beverly Grant's "The Best Laid Schemes" in PEG #5 is much more serious minded than Jennarra. Ben's granddaughter and Leia's cousin., she's been trained in using the Force but has refused to become a Jedi or join the Alliance because of her total dedication to non-violence. Her method of opposing the Empire is running a refugee operation rather like an interstellar Underground Railroad. Ostensibly as a favor to Leia, she agrees to sneak into an Imperial installation to leave an escape mechanism for an uncommitted scientist who wants to get out before the Imperials put a discovery of his to a use he doesn't approve. Leia's idea, of course, is to recruit the scientist for the Rebellion; Bryn does the job because she intends to divert him to her own operation, and she sees no likelihood of violence in the assignment as outlined. The problem comes afterwards, as it turns out. Romantic involvement with her friend and mission partner Ruari, which indirectly becomes an element for her unwilling but necessary use of violence during their escape, is part of her development as a character, but it never defines her. In the end she has the strength to face her own potential for violence in spite of her beliefs and at the sane time maintain those beliefs, demonstrating a maturity rare in or out of fiction. Indeed, this story is a prime example of an adult theme in the true sense of the adjective as opposed to the more common connotation of graphic sex.[22]
[zine]: The monstrosity that came to my mailbox was received joyously, until I had looked over it a bit. Then I wondered if my $20 was worth it. The magazine is good, worth reading at least, but it is a visual disappointment compared to earlier issues. If you can borrow it from a friend, don’t bother buying it. Because of its size, I will only touch on some of the highlights. First, the stories are all well-written. “No Guts, No Glory’ is absolutely charming. It is refreshing to meet a female character that does not want throw Skywalker or Solo (or both) into the nearest bed. The characterizations are excellent and the plot interesting since the characters mature a little instead of just going along with the story for the ride. Other notable stories are ‘Spacer’s Legacy,’ ‘Card Game,’ ‘Queen’s Gambit,’ and ‘Call Back the Dream’ (loved it!). ‘Satisfaction Guaranteed’ is a little too long, but it is good. The art for these stories is not so good. It seems the only artist the editors could find was Karen River! Her work is good, but too much of it can get monotonous. Joni Wagner has some pieces but they were not as good as some of her earlier work, and there was just not enough of Martynn in this zine. There are, however, several standouts. Ms. River’s illo of Luke on page 22 is beautiful, and I applaud her. both of Moaven’s illos are perfection in themselves and Joni’s piece on 273A, though it could have been better, was good. I had hoped, with issues like PEG #3 and #$ behind them, the editors could come up with something better, but it seems they shot for quantity instead of quality. Maybe next time, girls? [23]
[zine]: I won’t go on and on about this zine – I’ll just say that Peg 5 is on of the vast majority of zine to come out this year which is quality, through and through. There isn’t a bad piece of artwork in the whole zine, the stores range from better-than-fair to excellent, many poems are fin indeed—which, for me, is saying something, since I generally don’t like much fannish poetry. For those of you who want specifics… ‘Spacer’s Legacy’ is an unusual Ord Mantell story; the plot is not what you expect. Han gets a somewhat unpleasant surpise there, besides the danger of bounty hunters. ‘Reflections’ is also an out-of-the-ordinary speculation on the character of Darth Vader and the disappearance of Kenobi. I understand this is the author’s fanfic debut; she shows every sign of following in the literary footsteps of her two illustrious older sisters. Pat Gonzales contributes a story to please every Luke fan; ‘No Guts, No Glory.’ In it, Luke finds himself a real female friend, and manages to get her into trouble several times, to her dismay. There is a plot flaw in the story, I think – see if you can find it. But overall, the story is well-written and enjoyable. ‘Bitter Pills’ is another D’Shez Pilden story. I like Shez a great deal – she’s a real person, with real sorrows in this story, such as anyone in a rebellion is likely to experience. Solomon is one fan writer who isn’t afraid to remind us that such an undertaking will not be fun and games. It’s also good to see Chewbacca developed in this story as a unique individual and not jus Han Solo’s sidekick. ‘The Card Game’ was written quite competently, and had an interesting plot, if somewhat standard for a SW fanfic. I had the problem believing its setting, though – it was supposed to be Leia telling a story to her grandchildren, but it was not worded as a children’s story. ‘The Best Laid Schemes’ – this is the only story I didn’t like, I didn’t care much for the heroine. But this is purely personal. I’m sure others will enjoy it. I do like Bev’s style of writing, it is almost lyrical at times. Sheila Paulson’s ‘Call Back the Dream’ is my personal favorite of this zine. It is the most believable ‘Han thaws’ story I’ve read to date. Han is sold to slavers by Jabba the Hutt, and is cared for by a female doctor on the slave ship. And no, she doesn’t fall in love with Han, nor he with her – that was a relief! The most interesting aspect of this story, to me, is Han’s temporary amnesia, and how he deals with it. ‘Queen’s Gambit’ is a ‘Leia raging about in obsession with Han story.’ Again, personal preference – I’m wary of this theme. But Zeek handles it well, being the fine writer she is, and the internal logic of the story makes it fairly palatable for me. Besides there are so many well-thought-out details, and so many little references to fannish in-jokes, dialog from SW movies, that it’s very enjoyable reading. Now to the story we’ve all been waiting for: ‘Satisfaction Guaranteed, or Your Used Boy Back,’ the sequel to ‘Marketable Commodity’ in the previous issue. The story is indescribable in the limited space I have – I’ll just say it’s a must for Cori Beckett series fansof all ages,. Oh, the violence gets a little… violent… and the smarmy sections get a little… smarmy… at times, but I hope the majority of readers will see through all that to the story’s essence – the brotherly love between Luke and Han, and the courage to sacrifice for that love. I have mentioned only major stories in this review – there are also vignettes, comedy pieces, an article by Snodgrass on Copyright Law and Fanfic, another by Jani Hicks on Oriental philosophy’s influence on the SW saga, and one on John Williams and his music. Artwork is outstanding… Karen River illoes half the zine (a good thing), plus there are favorite fan veterans… making PEG 5 a ting of betty. If you don’t have Pegasus 5, buy it. (What’s twenty bucks?) If you do have it, read it again.[23]
[zine]: It would be easy to dismiss this zine as the first effort of a gaggle of neofen with more money than sense, drunk on their first experience of SWfandom and paying off some old social debts… For something awaited for so long and so eagerly by many, this zine is a grave disappointment. It is extremely large (373 pages of which 250 are a Cori Beckett sequel written by the editors) and this makes it difficult to read as hot-wax binding does not hold up well on something of this size… The layout is over-ornamented and cluttered. A friend of mine commented that it looked like it was laid out by Lori C-C on acid… Which brings us to the art. Most of it is done by Karen River, a talented newcomer with as style similar to Joni Wagner. Perhaps it is because between them, Karen and Joni managed to draw at least 50% of the zine that I am so under whelmed by their work, or perhaps it is because they, in company with a number of other artists in fandom, spend most of their time on a series of endless copies of published photographs… In order to not make this review for or five times its length, I will pass over the majority of the stories in this zine without comment. With a couple of exceptions, they were trite, clichéd, predictable, unconvincing… Two stories in Pegasus I do intend to comment on: ‘Satisfaction Guaranteed’ and ‘Queen’s Gambit.’… ‘Satisfaction Guaranteed’ appears in this zine in what is essentially first draft form and suffers from excessive and unnecessary length, a wandering storyline, and a lack of editing… Cori Beckett falls into ever trap of the classic Mary Sue she had heretofore avoided. She is the only one with any plans or ideas, and every male within ten meters, including Chewbacca, is in awe of her general wondrousness. Leia, on the other hand, shows great sense, despite the authors’ obvious intention of portraying her as subservient to Cori, by deciding the female Corellian makes her uneasy, and that she (Leia) would just as soon have nothing to do with her. That makes two of us, and that’s a real shame, as I liked all the previous Cori stories very much… And then there’s ‘Queen’s Gambit,’ a story set in Zeek’s ‘Vendetta’ universe… Excellently abetted by Rosalind Ludwig (art), Zeek draws a subtle and convincing picture of the Imperial society from which her Leia came… The characters are well drawn and believable… the writing is witty and intelligent, the plotting is tight without endless digressing or breast-beating. ‘Queen’s Gambit’ is a the best long story I have read lately, and definitely Fan Q material. It is a great pity that it is buried amid so much puerile sludge in Pegasus.[24]
[zine]: A couple remarks — the letter from the Duncans is what one would expect from those two...but I will say no more. No use beating a dead horse after the barn door's been stolen . Re: April Pentland—excellent perceptive comments from a member of that most intelligent of groups, the Luke Fan. The objections she brought up about Luke's characterization in "Used Boy" were resolved, uh, nicely in your "Ships in the Night." ((See WARPED SPACE 46)) "Spacer's Legacy"—an unusual "Ord Mantell" story; the emphasis not on what I'd expected at first. Han's reaction to finding he had a child rang true; he had major twinges of conscience, but decided to fly free anyway, as his own father had. It fits the general rule that often one will follow in one's parents' footsteps when it comes to personal relationships, whether the example set was wise or unwise. I generally don't comment on poems, but "Time for Choosing" impressed me. It brought out the pain and confusion Luke feels at the end of TESB, without becoming maudlin. The accompanying illo was marvelous—Karen River captured all the emotion Mark was able to put across so well on the screen. "Reflections"—I don't think I can stand it— three fine fan writers in one family. Sheesh. Any way, this was an interesting speculation on Where Did Kenobi Disappear To. Vader's intractability— and his doubts—were in character, as far as I could tell (not being one to give much thought to deciphering the DLOTS's personality.) "No Guts, No Glory"—uh, why does the lady with Luke on page 29 look vaguely familiar? (Actually, more than vaguely!) Saibra is a good character, very realistic in her fright during the various predicaments which Luke got her into (I would have been totally petrifled,myself), and she commanded my respect by being able to rise above the dangers. I have a quibble with the plotting, though. Ater Saibra and Luke spotted the Imperials at Telresan base, I'd have thought that the Rebel Commanders would have been highly suspicious of any information originating from there. It seemed totally asinine for them to send Luke and Saibra to Dantooine under these circumstances. I had to put this out of my mind in order to enjoy the rest of the story. On the whole, it was well-written, a bit gruesome at places, but never gory...and I always enjoy stories where Luke is treated with respect by the author. And it was great to see Luke have a woman friend. "Overture" was chilling because it could so easily come true. I hope Jan has sent copies of this to the "Save the Whales" groups. Or better yet, to those who don't seem to care what they do to this planet or its lifeforms. "Bitter Pills" -- I've liked D'Shez Pilden in both stories that Nancy Solomon has written, using her as the main character. In this tale, she's so real when she uses sarcasm to cover the hurt of loosing her loved ones to the Imperials. And Solomon's Chewbacca is beautiful. The "Force" skills he has in this story tie in well with what Kenobi said about the Wookiee race, on the SW radio show—that they have an affinity with the Force. Both the radio serial and this story imply that this affinity is on a very elemental level, ingrained in the race— different from a human's Force-potential. The story itself, with Shez trying to come to terms with her emotional pain, moved me deeply. My sincere compliments to Ms. Solomon on her writing ability.I read the "Copyright" article with particular interest, having written on this topic myself. As it turns out, my conclusions were more correct than I was subsequently led to believe (if Melinda and Leslie Shenker's letter In COMLINK 3 were right) but not as correct as they should have been. I applaud Melinda's suggestion that we "mind our manners"—I've always believed that, even if there was no copyright law, we should apply the Golden Rule in dealing with the creators of our favorite media productions. One somewhat amusing thought I had, though, when reading that bit about "Han Solo" being trademarked, is that Harrison Ford can't be trademarked. Therefore, if an artist draws HF with Han Solo costuming, weapons, an SW back ground, etc., I suppose she's breaking copyright law. However, she's perfectly safe if she draws HF nude! (Well, maybe not safe from HF, if he ever sees the lllo.)
Marcia Brin's "The Card Game"--the main story was a mildly amusing tale. But the setting used— Grandma Leia telling her grandklds a story—sorry, I couldn't believe it. No way was the wording such as young children could comprehend, nor would it hold theirinterest. (I'm assuming here that the human children in that universe are comparable in average mental capacities to ours.) I think that, if I tried to tell a children's story in that way, my kiddy lit teacher at library school would flunk me. It is possible to word almost any story in a simple way, without "talking down' to a child. Thanks to Jani Hicks for the short article on how the various Eastern philosophies and disciplines tie into the concepts in SW. Everyone has been remarking upon the similarities, but I knew nothing specific and never went out of my way to find out. The "Letters" were very funny — I had trouble with the ones In PEG IV at times, because of the references to circumstances of which I was unaware, but I had no trouble figuring things out in #V. Cracked up at "hibachi-head" referring to Vader. Maybe someone should have a contest to see who can disparage his armament the best. "Call Back the Dream"—*clap clap clap clap* This has to be the best, most believable "Han thaws" story I've read to date. (Not that I've seen many in the zines I've got—people seem to be avoiding the subject except for vignette treatments.) Han's amnesia was handled logically, and his reactions to it were in character. The plotting and pacing were, to me, flawless. I liked Niada—a good, competent female character who cares just enough about Han but not too much, and has her own life to lead. Thank you, Sheila—the whole story was just great. And Karen River's illo on page 157—... "Jacuzzi Summer" was a nice, light-hearted diversion (nice to know that the DLOTS has good days now and then) and Gordon's cartoon illo was up to his usual high standards of craziness. One question, though for both Beckey and the editors --when the red-haired girl drug her friend back out the door( p.201) did she use heroin? Coke? Or maybe just grass? I'm inspired to comment on another poem (2 poems in one LoC—some kind of record for me)— Pat G.'s "Kid, Don't You Believe It." That's right,Pat! Hanfans, eat your hearts out! "Queen's Gambit"—I had to get past my personal wariness of the "Leia raging about in an obsession with Han syndrome to enjoy the story. Anne is such a good writer, and her plots and settings so interesting, that I was able to over look the theme that (in stories by fan authors with less skill) has bothered me so. I loved all the little allusions to fan traditions, etc. The best allusion was the "big" one—Lady Jennara herself, straight out of the pages of ONE WAY MIRROR. The best parts of the story were when Jennara was being sociable with Darth Vader, and when Leia used the "proni" to hold off the stormtroopers. I was also glad to see some of the story told from Lando's point of view. There hasn't been enough of him in fan stories yet to suit me. [for this fan's comments on Satisfaction Guaranteed, see that page] [25]
[zine]: I loved the stories and illos. A rundown on my favorites: "Spacer's Legacy"—I had often wondered whe ther or not Han had a son or daughter somewhere. The emotions are so tightly drawn, it makes you stop and think: How would he feel about having sired a child and what would his memories of his own childhood be? I can't say what I really want, because I can't find the words. "Midnight Sonata—Han"—Poignant, Extremely poignant. "The Card Game"—I had no trouble whatsoever picturing Leia telling her grandchildren a bedtime story. The interspersed comments by the children and Leia's responses were hilarious. I do believe the part that rang truest was the argument over the beard—Luke was right, some things never change... "Call Back the Dream"—I could feel Han's anger, helplessness, fear, anguish, hurt...Memory loss is such a terrifying thing, and to have flashes, bits and pieces of memory at the edge of your mind can be so frustrating. Chewie's hurt and bewilderment at Han's seeming rejection came through very clearly. "Queen's Gambit"— I absolutely adore Lady Jennara! What a wonderful character! Her line: "I was afraid I'd have to dance with him," was a classic. The thought of having to dance with Darth Vader is enough to ruin anyone's birthing celebration!... I also enjoyed Jani Hicks' "Pas de Deux" and Tammy Gibbs' "Han's Theme." Doth are lovely. And "Reflections" really made me stop and think for a long while.. [for this fan's comments on Satisfaction Guaranteed, see that page] [25]
[zine]: I honestly enjoyed most everything in PEG V. The only thing that really bothered me was the front cover—the sections of Luke aren't in proportion withitself. Luke should be higher in the saddle and have a longer leg. But Karen did a real fine job on the Pegasus (horse). I got a giggle out of "Letters to Daddy" and an even bigger laugh from "Friends of Luke Skywalker." I'd like to see more of those friends. I love the artwork; my personal favorites are Joni Wagner's foldout and Karen River's Nathan Hamill...[25]
[zine]: "I can't believe I read the WHOLE THING!!!" Er, kidding aside, I like long zines, at least if the quality is halfway decent. Long zines tend towards long stories ((That's what makes 'em long)) and most of the fan fiction that I have especially enjoyed (Foreshadows,'"Last Sanctuary,"and "Desert Seed" pop immediately into mind) have been more on the lengthy side than the sort of story you usually find in a 100 page zine. And while there wasn't anything I loved quite as much as those three, neither were there any stories I actively disliked in PEG V (and that's a first for any zine). For the most part, I thoroughly enjoyed the contents. Also liked the looks of having it bound. (Would love to say I thought it'd hold up so much longer, but one page came loose before I got a third of the way through and another followed seventy or eighty pages later. ((Sorry about that folks—next time we bind that way, we'll talk to the phone company first about how they do their binding. In the meantime, you'll notice that we've switched methods of binding...)) Ah well, it looks much nicer!.... The back page cartoon was perfect. Wonder what Indy will have to go through to get that statuette back to civilization? Good idea that dedication. Although it may be a year or two before Mark wants to read him a couple of those bedtime stories... Okay. By and large I'm not going to comment on poetry. I have this particuliar quirk: if it rhymes, has a discernable beat, and is funny, I'll love it. When it starts getting sentimental, it tends to lose me. Also I have trouble working up a great deal of enthusiasm for the heavily patriotic "how glorious it is to fight and die for Princess and cause" type of thing. That having been said, I loved "A Spacer's Complaint." Ten thousand volts, huh? I knew there were worse things than being a wallflower. And Gonzales' "Kid, Don't You Believe It" was one of my favorite things in the zine. Right on, Pat! If Leia truly prefers that conceited, scruffy-looking nerf-herder, she has rocks in her head! But then again, how can I make her loss my gain? Hmmmm. "Spacer's Legacy." Jackie has this disgusting habit of writing well consistently. Didn't like this one as well as "Kessel Hun" ((See Skywalker IV))— for one thing, there was less of this...and besides, once she mentioned Ord Mantell, she had me all psyched up to find out what happened between Han and the bounty hunter), but it was enjoyable—particularly that line about Isha's having found someone else ("the Corellian supposed, with a certain egotistical disappointment, it was possible "). And in the section where Han gets his first look at the baby, I could just see Jackie bending over little Katie and concocting the description. Pretty image. Like "Midnight Sonata" and the illo that went with it. Particularly liked the part about "too damn soft, once you crack the protective ice." There's something about Leia's eyes all the time... "Reflections" and "Overture." Durned if the two Lindner girls didn't have the most interesting story ideas in the zine. Marian did a decent job with hers. Would love to see her go ahead and tell what happened to the alternate Darth who defected. Did he get shot on sight? Or, if not, how did he avoid it? And how did Leia cope with having to deal with a guy who'd tortured her and blown up her home planet? How did Luke deal with the guy who'd killed Obi-wan? Could be a fantastic story if you can talk her into taking it on, possible with one of her sisters as co-author? I want more! Jan's story was more polished and a real heart-breaker. Let's hope it doesn't turn out to be prophetic! Not bad enough that we seem determined to wipe out our own species... The page 26 cartoon was cute. Good job on Korthals' (p.27) and Aulenbach's (p.244) pegasi. "Amicus Draconis" was delightful. "No Guts, No Glory." This one was the big surprise for me. I hadn't cared much for her story in PEG IV, but liked this one very much. Either her writing has improved a lot or my taste in reading matter has. "Son of a scrod" makes excellent cuss word—will have to adopt it for everyday conversation. Did have a couple of quibbles. 1. Idea of the Alliance being desperately hard up for parts sold so well that I had a hard time believing they would let Luke waste them on a ship all the senior techs had given up on (not to mention wasting the time of a tech on that). 2. Have trouble believing Alliance would have checked out of Dantooine without knowing beyond any shadow of a doubt that every piece of equipment larger than a pencil sharpener had gone with them. 3. Would Luke tell a woman who was obviously already scared out of her wits that he'd been shown a room full of torture equipment that they were threatening to use on her? He strikes me as too sensitive a guy to do that unless he was so scared he wasn't thinking straight. And while he's obviously a little scared, he doesn't strike me here as being out of control to the extent that would lead him to do that. Aside from those points, I thought it was quite believable and I couldn't put it down until I finished it. Nice illo on page 41. I keep trying to place the tune to Jackie's song ("The Patriot Game", p.74) but can't quite put a title with it. ((Jackie says that the original's also called "The Patriot Game" and that it's an old Irish Republican Army song. You may have heard a version by the Clancy Brothers or on an old tv show called "Serpico", wherein, Jackie goes on to say, David Birney also delivered a rendering, which has stuck in her mind to this very day...)) "Bitter Pills." Liked this story quite a lot. It shows a side of the war that isn't touched upon enough in pop fiction—very unglamorous, "with a lot of people getting killed. Nan's Wookiee is someone I'd definitely like to know (providing I could manage not to violate any of his taboos!). 'Words to a Wookiee" definitely sounds like Han— the last four lines in particular. "Copyright." Gulp. My brother thinks that by requesting zine copies for a couple of years without trying to prosecute, Lucas may have placed his characters in the public domain. But what's a computer programmer know? 'Loyalist's Lament." My Empire, right or wrong? This was easily the most chilling piece you printed and capsules very clearly the sort of attitude that made some of my generation regard patriotism as a dirty word. 'The Card Game." This reminded me a lot of Wendy's stories to the Lost Boys in Peter Pan. I was just waiting for one of them to say he'd rather the lead character had been a white rat! Real cute—and as for Han and Luke's rescue technique having improved since the Death Star— well, leave us hope so! I hate to admit liking "The Further Adventures of the Friends of Luke Skywalker" because it couldn't have seemed funny at the time. But Karen's account of it was. Face it, Karen—all mechanical objects are alive and intelligent and their intentions are not friendly! "Letters to (and from) Daddy" was the first thing I read, and then I re-read it while going through this monster. "Who's your tailor"indeed! Keven's second letter and Po's first were the highlights of this. One thing was missing: Luke's thank-you note for the Life-Day gift. "Call Back the Dream." This was the story I had most trouble with. Basic idea was good. Problem is the style (not sure what about it, just that it doesn't feel right—maybe I ate something that doesn't agree with me?) and a few places that were just too pat. I could more or less believe Nlada being so upset by what she'd realized about herself (under Han's guidance) that she would decide to light out. She'd been agonizing over it anyway. But Daneen seemed to be quite adjusted. I have a lot of friends who are to one degree or another anti-war, and the few who have gone the step of tax refusal have all had a period of agonizing between conscience-law, conscience-country, conscience-personal convenience and safety. I think this is sort of an analogous situation, and I just didn't believe Daneen's sudden capitulation. We didn't see much agonizing here. No argument strong enough to have made him suddenly change his mind and take the risk. Maybe if the conversion had come after Han was tortured and the combination of that and Niada's reaction to it could have pushed him over the brink. Or maybe I'm just way off base—anyway, that's how it struck me. There were a number of other things that struck me similarly. But it was a good story idea, and I'm glad I read it. Nice illos too. "Jacuzzi Summer". I loved the first 2-and-a-half pages, particularly the part where the clean ing droids went after his clothes. The last part ... Is this really the Dark Lord we love to hate? (On the other hand, I've been saying all along that one of these days Vader would take off his helmet and be revealed as Henry Kissinger...maybe she's got something after all!) Liked "Queen's Gambit!" Zeek writes extremely well. Was trying to read the story between Innings of the Expos-Dodgers game, and she is responsible for making me miss more lead-off singles, pop flies, and so forth than is quite decent! Very good story. Encourage this writer! She is probably going to catch alot of flak from people wno say Leia couldn't come apart that way. I don't know if I think it's terrifically likely, but it's certainly possible. She's young. She's been through an awful lot (and I've heard psychiatrists say that people who've been tortured never really recover from it). And she has the type of "I-can-handle-anything-I-don't- need-to-lean-on-anyone-I-can't-show-my-weaknesses- to-anyone" personality that doesn't leave itself any escape valves. Put under enough pressure long enough... I found the story gripping and thoroughly believable. Joni's foldout was very nice. Thanks for making it available for those of us who didn't have the cash to bid on it! [for this fan's comments on Satisfaction Guaranteed, see that page] [25]
[zine]: Speaking as one not really into SW fandom, PEG V almost succeeded in converting me. If I had more time and less in the way of writing- commitments, I could fancy getting my teeth into those characters. Especially Han. I'm a sucker for Mean, Moody and Magnificent... PEGASUS has QUALITY. Just look at the size of the beast—a massive 373 pages. Size is no guarantee of content, true, but surely everyone can find some thing to like in here... The artwork is superb. Some of the best I have seen in any fandom. Joni Wagner and Karen River should share the laurels, but only by a wookiee's whisker—these illos repay detailed study. Very nice. Short pieces—poetry and vignettes: Jan Lindner's "Overture" is beautiful. "Amicus Draconis"—well, It's cute. I like McConnell's "Words to a Wookiee" immensely—the last line in particular. You better believe it, kid... "Letters to (and from) Daddy" gave me hiccups from laughing, and, being an ardent devotee of the Tarot, I could have wished for more from Po. Hmmm...interesting to see how many Cancerians grace fandom, isn't it? Personally I like poetry to be short, succinct, and to the point, and I'm not wildly keen on new lyrics to old songs—but on the whole the editors avoided the slush-trap. "One Afternoon in the Rec Room" illustrates the point rather well—poignant without being mushy. And given the situations/characters, there must be a lot of mush around. I was pleased that it didn't find a home in PEG V. Of the full-length fiction—I read "Satisfaction Guaranteed" first, to check on its suitability for my 13-year old son. Never having made the acquaintance of MS. Beckett (my name sake, even!) before, I was impressed. The lady has style. The story has style, too, even when it leans a touch heavily on the hurt/comfort theme so beloved in fan-fic. I found the char acterizations neat, and the plot well-paced. And I figure what my son doesn't understand, he'll skip—I'm not censoring. Working backwards—"Queen's Gambit" is slickly and sleekly crafted. Same goes for "Bitter Pills." Can't say the same for "The Best Laid Schemes"— first-person fiction is very difficult to write, and writing futuristic first-person even more so. A valiant try, but It doesn't come off. "No Guts, No Glory" was better, though I detect a strong hint of Mary-Sue in Saibra. What-the-hell, it was fun to read. On general production—well, m'dears, I'm speechless and green with envy. You should be proud of it. Clean and clear printing, excellent repro—and binding the monster effectively could have been a problem but wasn't. A very nice job.[25]
[zine]: INCREDIBCGGLE! Boy, you weren't kidding when you said this thing was going to be big. I am rather impressed. I may get hypercritical in my comments, I hope you will forgive me. There were places where my editorial mind kept making noises... First off: while I liked the cover (Karen River is very good) there are problems with the drawing. Luke's proportions are wrong. His legs are much too small in relation to the rest of him...Also the pegasus' wings are a bit small, but they aren't in as wrong proportion. The editorials and LoCs were good (and fun). Your had some good contrasting LoCs— not every editor does. Good idea. I love Joni's drawing of the Dead Editor. How'd she die? ((One critical LoC too many...)) "Love Song of an Electric Bird" was a lovely way to start things off. Both the poem and the illo were very lyrical. "Spacer's Legacy": The story is okay, but there is some awkwardness,in the opening especially (though for the life of me, I can't pin it down exactly). I didn't particularly like the idea of Han leaving a child like that, (I mean, fathering a child), but the ending did improve it somewhat—a reflection back on Han's own childhood. OH, and this is the place to mention a problem I've been noticing in Martynn's illos. This is a minor thing, but one that does bother me after a while (and otherwise I generally really like them!) She does seem to have a problem with the focal direction of people's eyes. The illo on page 15, for example. I would assume that Han is supposed to be looking at Isha, but instead it appears that he is looking off to the side, following Isha's line of sight, as if there were something going on over there that they are both looking at. The same problem is evident in the illo on page 262, where Han is viewing the holo of "Cori" being blastered. (Of course, that could be explained as Han being in shock, and not really looking at anything, right?) "Midnight Sonata": Nice, but there appears to be a missing word in line 3((?)) Joni's illo is also nice, but, uh, isn't Leia in the wrong outfit and hair do? "Time for Choosing": very good; Karen's illo is excellent. "Reflections" was an interesting concept, but only really worked for me at the end. "No Guts, No Glory": Again, an okay story, but there were details that bugged me. The transition on pg.31 from Luke grinning and following Saibra to the ship having been fixed was poor. There is a time gap in there that is not indicated at all. I found the idea of Luke and Saibra going to check the report of usable x-wings hard to take, when they are already in doubt as to the integrity of that base. This setup was just too awkward, after the reports of Imperials (especially from Luke! I'd have expected him to be particularly leery of going out after having seen the Imps himself).... "Bitter Pills" was excellent. I like Pilden; I like the style of writing, which seems very "natural"—it doesn't feel written, it feels as if I'm watching and hearing it: bits of conversation that are fragments, not full speech in written form but the sort of verbal shorthand people tend to fall into naturally. "Card Game": I started this with a feeling of "Oh, no—a cutesy bit" but found myself liking it very much. But I wonder: Rosi? Rosi's CANTINA? Haven't I heard something like that before? ((Not in this universe...)) "The Best Laid Schemes": Well, this still says "Mary Sue"to me. Bryn is interesting but I think that if it wasn't written first person, it might help avoid the Mary Sue feeling. (And in spite of what other people may have said about the Welsh-derived names, I kinda like it—that's one of my pet mythos/languages, etc.) There are places where the Force is too close to deus ex machina for Bryn, though the bit of her being a pacifist is interesting, especially in the idea of the sabre taking over...the old myth of the sword that once un sheathed must drink blood before it could be re-sheathed. The letter exchange was nuts! I loved it. I think my favorite bit was Luke calling dear daddy "hibachi-head." Some people have weird senses of humor, and you guys are certainly among them. "Call Back the Dream" was rather well done, although I do not like Amnesia stories; they are becoming something of a cliche. (The best part for me was Karen's illo on page 157.) "Queen's Gambit": I like the story, although I didn't like some of the characters. I do not care for Anne Zeek's Leia: she is too obsessive and often too cold for my taste. And for some reason, Jennara bugged the heck out of me, although I did like the scene with Vader in the party. Loved "The Smuggler." [for this fan's comments on Satisfaction Guaranteed, see that page] [25]
[zine]: "There could not have been a more resplendent zine in the galaxy. It was huge. It was beautiful. It was not tacky as hell." So you said PEG V would be big. I expected that. But you didn't say it would be BIG! The UPS man had to haul it to my door with an anti-grav device. "Satisfaction Guaranteed"—Splendid piece of fan fic. I have enjoyed every one of the Cori Beckett stories and this one only made me want more! (Hint, hint.) "Queen's Gambit"—a haunting, realistic piece. How much more can Leia take? I kept asking myself as I read, will Leia actually choose between Luke and Han if similar events are told in "Jedi"? I'm glad I don't have to make that decision. I loved Jennara. What a character! And exploding necklaces and armed hair brushes? Nice touch. ..."No Guts, No Glory"—A well-thought out piece about the "other" rebels, the nameless, most of the time faceless people of the Alliance. It's nice to see the major characters interacting with others we never see. "Only A Legend"—a beautiful reworking of the original. For me, Ronnie's poem is the one that tells the story of SW the best. This one only heightens my appreciation of the original. By the way, I love all of Gee Moaven's artwork. I'm so tempted to remove them and frame them—they're that good. "The Card Game" is one of the funniest pieces I've read in the SW universe. I still giggle when I try to picture Han as a grandfather, much less an admiral. I will no doubt find myself reading this over again. Thank you, Marcia Brin. The Tarot cards by Po go along nicely with the sets she did for SW. Terrific. I'm taking an English class at MSU on Ursula K. LeGuin and our prof is always mentioning Tarot and SW and archetypes and the journey of the hero. I always think of Po's work when they are mentioned. "Letters to and from Daddy"—loads of laughs. I loved the nice sounding adjectives, especially hibachi-head. Now I'll never be able to look at DV without that phrase coming to mind. The Miss Piggy letter was hard to read through from me laughing so hard I began to cry and lose my place. I adore Karen River's artwork too. Now I find out she's funny as well. "Absalom"—a nice short spelling out Darth's true feelings in the subject of Luke. (I still can't accept DV as Luke's father and Ben being a liar. I'll believe it only when I hear Ben tell Luke it's true himself.) ((But what if he's lying then?)) Anyway, I enjoy the little shorts about Darth being Daddy better than the long involved stories. ...I think my favorite cartoon of the issue is on page 70— the family portrait. It took me a few minutes to realize all the "kids' have Leia-made hairdos. Wonderful! I was captivated by "Time for Choosing." To me, how Luke will face and solve his problems concerns me more than how Han will ever get out of carbon freeze. As much as Han is liked, the SW story is still Luke's story. And he has suffered so much mental and emotional pain, the kind of pain that doesn't go away.[25]
[zine]: First off, and foremost — a question. Where did Karen River pop up from!!!... Why haven't we seen anything of hers before? She has a feel for cross-hatch that is incredible. It's a difficult technique to master and still get the character across. I can only compare her to one other person— oops, two, that I know that can handle that technique: Gee Moaven and Laura Virgil. Karen does wonderful things with the line. I happen to feel it's tougher than stipple (which is what I do). Bravo!! Her best two would have to be pages 22 and 197. Gorgeous! Not to say, of course, that the rest isn't great, but those two are outstanding! "Midnight Sonata: Han"—Ah...What can I say? Barbara often has a sharp concise way of getting to a feeling, and she's done it so beautifully here. It feels right and Joni's illo completes it perfectly. "The Card Game" was cute. Marcia Brln's alternate universe stories hold up remarkably well, this one especially. Cute idea on the "WHAT for a Living?..." You're right...What??? Certainly some surprises. Joni's centerfold is beautiful, a beautiful job as always. The best poem of all, in the whole ish, for my money has got to be "One Afternoon in the Rec Room." How beautiful! It's such an insight as to the way the princess might think. The ending elicited one of those "Aww... oh, how nice," responses and feelings you get when you read something that touches you right -there-. Well done. [for this fan's comments on Satisfaction Guaranteed, see that page] [25]
[zine]: You guys deserve kudos for gathering and put ting together such a lot of fannish talent. The layout is very find and the artwork is gorgeous. ...Karen River's art is terrific , from the covers to Sheila Paulson's story's illos to the fold-out Corellian (Yumm!) Karen must have worked her talented fingers to nubs! In fact, there is such a lot of fine fannish art I wouldn't know what to say is best. I especially liked Martynn's illos for "Satisfaction Guaranteed", most of all her picture of Han looking like Tommy Lillard and Indy Jones put together! Her illo for "Do You Think I'm Deadly?" is great. To choose the best poetry in the zine I'd have to go with Judith R. Conly's poems, especially "Love Song of an Electric Bird" and "Spacer's Complaint." I heard "Time for Choosing" and Kate's other filks at MWCon, and her talent for verse-making, a difficult art, is real. Karen R's portrait of "the Jedi of today" is powerful. "No Guts, No Glory" is a damn good job. I don't know if Pat Gonzales considers Saibra Michea her alter ego or not, but it doesn't matter. She's made her a very real and believable character. "Mick" is neither Wonder Woman, straight out of the comics, stronger than a speeding blaster, etc. nor is she a Mary Sue who faints dead away within 12 parsecs of HER HERO. Reluctantly, clumsily and more than once over-her-head, "Mick" muddles through a bad situation and stays in one piece, winning nothing more than a pat on the back (and not, please note, the hero's undying love) and an invite to the Han Solo School of Offensive Piloting. Yeah Mick! Yeah Gonzo! Jan Lindner's "Overture" is fine SF, chillingly sad. I hope it never becomes reality. "Alderaan Remembered" is a set of beautiful lyrics set to some really fine, inspiringly sad music. It makes me think of crowds of Rebels, like in the Throne Room, singing and mourning and making new vows. What a scene! On the other hand, I couldn't buy the sticky-sweet image of Han Solo (the pirate who wanted "precious metals, all you've got") as pictured in "Dream Lady". This is not the same character. I have the same objection and more for "Card Game" by Marcia Brin. Except for the names and "props" (i.e.smugglers, cantlnas, etc.) this story does not touch the SW/TESB universe. Instead it seems more like High Victorian Romance. I'm vehement on this point because it bothers me alot. We're writing SW material from a base that could be described as space opera, space fantasy, and even, stretching a genre, science fiction...I think some "tribute" should be paid to the source material/media if one is going to write media fiction. In this case, the unrecognizable people and situations make the story funny in a way I doubt was intended. "Letters to Daddy" is very funny and well thought out, at least it seems so. I have only one question: Who's "Daddy"? I wouldn't know how to choose between "Solo" and "Pas de Deux" (pass the what?) ((Ducks, of course)) as "translations" from the digital TESB recording. Each set of lyrics evoke and delineate one character, Han in Po's lyrics, Leia in Jani's— better than 98 of the post TESB material I've seen. Both lyric poems are beautiful in themselves and with that music—unbelievably good. Perfect word images! "Call Back the Dream", by Sheila Paulson, is very fine work. She suspends my disbelief completely. She makes her characters and TESB's possible, plausible, alive. I think it works so well, so vividly because the story and the people are vividly alive for the author. If she doesn't believe it, neither will her readers. Karen's art is a delight here, especially Han meeting the Wookiee, and the title illo. Sheila should be praised for her clear characterizations and tight plotting too. ...Beth's "Season's Greetings" is a bitter, cynical and fine word-portrait of Barnsby; good stream of consciousness. Jani's "Two Corellian Strangers"is one of her finest filks. It hurts to listen to, she made it so vivid. I want to cry when I hear it because I know that Han (beautifully drawn here) won't cry aloud for the waste of time and life. Damn fine! I'd tie "Queen's Gambit" with "Call Back..." for best fiction in the zine. Anne Zeek's Leia is still the consistently best, most insightful portrait of that confusing young woman I have read anywhere. She's painfully real, alive and obsessed. She's 1000% more clear in motives and actions than TESB showed her. And I care about her. I can sympathize with her here—Carrie Fisher made it VERY difficult to do that in TESB. Lando too takes on a full three-dimensional reality here— showing the promise of a great character. And Lady Jennara is terrific! Finally, w/o giving anything away Leia's dilemma is frighteningly real and plausible, grimly tied into the plot threads of TESB. [for this fan's very negative comments on Satisfaction Guaranteed, see that page] [25]
[zine]: Father mixed reviews for PEG V (aka THE WEIGHT?).[26] I'll start with unreserved cheers for Joni Wagner and Karen River, who seem to be trying to outdo themselves and each other. They're both superb as usual... "Spacer's Legacy" is definitely one of Jackie Paciello's better stories (not that I can think of any bad ones, really) , and her characterization of Han is fine. Marian Lindner's "Reflections" had a very interesting premise which deserved further exploration, from Kenobi's side as well as Vader's. The writing itself needs a bit of work; it's rather stilted. But over all, a worthy effort. "No Guts, No Glory" by Pat Gonzales strikes me as a classic Mary Sue epic, which is a pity. Gonzales has proved she can write without falling into this trap, and "No Guts" started out well. Luke is handled pretty well, but Leia keeps coming across as jealous. Nancy Solomon's "Bitter Pills" is well-done. I especially like her treatment of Chewbacca. Pilden comes across more strongly here than In the past, but I'd like to see her in a situation where she's not basically incapacitated, physically or emotionally. She has definite potential, if only Solomon will use her properly. ...Only a fan could go through the trials and tribulations suffered by the crew of the Millennium Datsun! As for the "eat, drink, and go to the con syndrome," how true, and how very, very fannish. Mundanes just wouldn't understand. Beverly Grant's "The Best Laid Schemes" is excellent. I hope there'll be a sequel—there'll have to be, if only to tell us what happened with the psycho-chemist they were trying to rescue. That delivery of the autoguide was passed over so quickly I had to go back and reread to find out for sure if they'd actually accomplished their mission. And I do have a question on this story—if the lightsabre is the weapon of the Jedi, what's the Ai doing with one? There was no mention of connection with the Jedi that I noticed. But these are small things. Overall, the story is fine. Brln is definitely one of the more original characters in the fanfic, and one of the most interesting as well. And there was that personal touch In the rapelling sequence: I happen to be acrophobic, and there ain't no way you're going to get me to do that (well, maybe if there were storm troopers not far behind...) ...I have one problem with Anne Elizabeth Zeek's "Queen's Gambit"—I can't see Leia leaving her post to go off on a personal search for Han like that. Once I suspend my disbelief, I have to say that this is probably Zeek's best story yet. Jennara Marwen is wonderful—I hope we'll see lots more of her. She's an excellent foil for Leia, delightful In her own right. This is the kind of original female character fanfic needs more of (along with Brin Kenobi). And Zeek's sense of humor keeps things from getting too grim without throwing the balance off. I do not believe that blaster business! As for Jennara's saying she'd nearly gotten arrested with it—shades of a con. Please, more of Jennara! And more of her with Leia — real female friendships are still all too rare in fanfic. On non-fiction, Melinda Snodgrass' article on copyright is long overdue. A lot of fen seem to need the reminder that the SW characters are not public property, that we use them on sufferance, and the permission may be taken away at any time, perfectly legally.Po's "Dark Side of the Moon" is interesting. I know nothing about the Tarot, so I'll have to accept her interpretations generally as to the meanings. But I do find her use of the man as conscious mind, the woman as subconscious too much of a Freudian stereotype. I thought we'd gotten beyond such nonsense.
Thanks to Tammy Gibbs for "John Williams: A Man and His Music." I had no idea he'd composed so many soundtracks. And his list of TV credits is impressive—I used to watch alot of those shows but don't remember paying any attention to the music. A pity. I probably could have become a Williams fan in childhood rather than in my early 30s with SWARS. [for this fan's very negative comments on Satisfaction Guaranteed, see that page] [25]
[zine]: Karen River is a Natural Wonder and a Fantastic Artist. Her likenesses are uniformly excellent, her style of high contrast shadows very appealing and her composition and proportions good with the exception of the front cover. The Pegasus on said cover is classically exquisite but poor Luke is missing a bit of lower extremities. I can't say as I blame her either because horseback figures are heck to draw in perspective. Nothing wrong with the luscious Harrison faces on the bacover and inside front cover, though—they're the stuff of dreams! The subtlety of the humor on the bacover is nicely whimsical too. Karen's Baby Hamill is adorable and reminded me irresistibly of Carey Guffey in "Close Encounters' in his moppetness. A most apt dedication. Joni's nose-to-nose princess and pirate are up to her usual high standards, even to capturing that sappy look on Ford's face. Love Karen's illo for Jackie's Production Editorial! I just finished training on a Lanier "No Problem" (the very name is ludricousl) word processor for my office and I'd love to ship the monster off to Nepal to be drunk under some table by a sherpa. Amazing! Even the editorials and lowly LoCs are cleverly illoed for this PEG. Aulenbach's walkers on parade are wonderfully silly and I know just how Pam's miserable Luke feels! Judith Conly is a fascinating poet whose paean to love and other sentiments definitely transcend the ordinary. Her technological and spatially oriented metaphors soar and lift her verses while awkward phrases like "sweet-hear-wise" (in "Electric Bird") cause ungainly pauses (for this reader). I think what I like best about Conly's poems is that even the most obvious of them seems to couch a hidden story that makes me read it again and again to search it out. Karen's lightening edged bird dancer (lover) reminded me irresistably of Judi and Po's images of Ren dancing from "Satisfaction Guaranteed." Jackie's Han story, which she started at the onset to fill the cravings of a particular Hanatic artist, didn't turn out at all as either of us expected (gave Han quite a surprise too) but it was a gem all the same. For a man who decries re sponsibility and solves his problems "with the business end of a blaster" babies would indeed provide a rather considerable shock to Han's system of values. Jackie builds up nicely, gives a fleeting look at the Corellian's formative past, and builds a sympathetic and strong character in Isha. Terry Korthals must have been hiding her talents under a Black Hole somewhere. That's a very fine pegasus she's drawn with beautiful detailing and all the proportions and musculature right for a very awkward angle. Conly's "Spacer's Complaint" is a riot which called to mind some of Mr. Chekov's bleaker Slavonicisms in "Star Trek" (especially in"Deadly Years"). Once again the poem is liberally laced with half-a- dozen throw-away references that could all be stories in themselves, not to mention the reader's instant desire to know more about this intriguing-if-ill-fated Third Engineer. This one's got to be my favorite of Conly"s impressive offerings. I am not by any means a Luke fan but Pat's version of the Junior Jedi in "No Guts, No Glory" is a lot more fun-loving, less "square", than the movie Luke and he comes across a much more sympathetic character—still impetuous and inexperienced but resilient and courageous in tough situations too. Saibra, an almost Mary Sue, is one of those very appealing fan-SW heroines who has faults enough to be human—no obnoxiously overwhelming beauty of face and/or sex appeal, and has one of those relationships with Luke which are so rare in real life: a friendship with one of the opposite sex based on true companionship. Saibra ribs Luke about the Princess but no jealous overtones escape the reference. I wasn't exactly fond of the torture scenes, especially the one with Luke. TESB proved that the Imps are not above such monstrous actions but somehow I think Vader might have included a clause in the bounty to keep Luke for his own black mercies. A big ovation for Gonzo's constructive, competent, imaginative use of the droids that rang very true to the active roles assigned to them. Too often, I fear, fan writers lack the creative comedic touch to handle these two mechanical characters who should be central to the SW universe. C-3P0 has suffered especially since TESB despite his valor on Bespin (his last words before being blasted by stormtroopers were not those of cowardice but "I must warn the others!") simply because he is seen through Han's cynical viewpoint. R2 fairs better only because he is with Luke who treats him as a companion, not a burden. Karen's illos were a fitting accompaniment with the shadowed close-up Luke-face on 52 particularly nice as well as the skeptical Leia and the decidedly Fordish Han at the end. Jan Lindner's "Overture" is a sad, haunting piece that is a minor classic covering sf, ecology, and unfortunate but highly probable reflections on humanity's species centrism. The layout of the piece with Terri's art is not only pleasing and nicely ba lanced but adds immeasureably to the effectiveness of the piece. What a treat to see more of V.L. Smith's little Pegasoid and his new buddy, who is equally adorable. The expressions on the creatures' faces and their acrobatics almost don't even need the captions. It was great to see another D'Shez Pllden story, being a fan of that loveable and endearingly human rebel underling ever since Chewie broke her arm in Solomon's first story (("Bad Break", in PEG III)). This story in particular has a very important message lurking in amongst the SW trappings and Solomon's competent writing and clever dialogue. Knowing how bereft some fen (myself included) were at Han's untimely removal at the end of TESB, and how not one of us will escape the ravages of grief at one time or another, the Wookiee wisdom in "Bitter Pills" is valuable indeed. Pilden is an every person, mundane character (how many of us are not practical and do eat "comfort foods" first?) without even the inadvertent heroics of a Saibra or the flash of a Cori Beckett, but she loves, hurts and hero worships like all of us and her reactions hit home. Solomon's Wookiees are not just alien decoration either but imbued with patience and knowledge of longer-lived beings, possessed of familiarly human quirks (tem per and a sense of humor) but always decidedly alien. The offside hints at post-TESB happenings featuring the major SW people drifted in and about the fringes of the story enough to maintain that important identification too. My only complaint was the perfectly awful reference to Lando, as a smart dresser, being from the "ordash" (minus the "J") system. Ouch. I thought Judi and Po cornered the market on in-joke planet names with "Radondho" (Beach)! Todd Hamilton's illos worked very well, especially the sad, infinitely understanding-eyed Chewie on the title page. Lastly, kudos to Melinda Snodgrass for the very worthwhile copyright article done in language even I could understand. A couple years ago - I wrote to a couple copyright lawyers in D.C. and it took them 8 pages of gibberish to say what Ms. Snodgrass said in 5+ pages of clear, understandable non-jargon. Every fannish artist, writer and editor should put it on their required reading list.[25]
[zine]: Joni Wagner is WONDERFUL. What else can I say? She sets the style for the whole zine. I'veseen her illos in other zines and she is ever and always wonderful. "Spacer's Legacy": The more things change, the more they remain the same...a well-done story. And graced with two of Martynn's beautiful, strangely Egyptian illos. My favorite story in the entire zine...it was totally in character for Han (I mean, this sort of thing happens everyday and it generally happens to guys like good old Han). Such a sad story, yet he retained his—oh, I don't know—jauntiness? with that "make sure you make it interesting,"...and that infinitely heart-wrenching last line, the door shutting behind him. And the strong yet gentle Isha. She was a well-defined, 3-dimensional character. I also like "Reflections," it was tres, tres outre. I loved that three-way split at the end. It was the sort of story you'd read in "Orbit." There was considerable discussion about the concept of Marysueness in the lettercol. Allow me to put my two cents in. First off, its definition is not simply "putting oneself into the story." If this were true, then great writers like James Joyce, Hemmingway, etc. would be guilty of this heinous crime. You are a victim of Mary-sueitis when you are sitting there reading a story and you say to yourself, "I don't give a good goddam about this character." Sometimes, however, the character has flaws like a human being should, but the character is still a boor. This is how I felt about Saibra Michea. I mean, there she was, full of fears and quirks a la reality, and yet I wanted to boot the critter out of the airlock. Upon reflection, I think I understand why I felt that way...it wasn't the character per se, it was the way the main character reacted to her. I mean Luke. There he was, all officious of her, talking to her, reacting to her, her, HER! I mean, you could hear the wheels turning in the author's mind—Gee wouldn't it be neat to be in the SW universe and then I'd get to talk to the characters and they'd listen to me and maybe we'd be friends. The character was a real person but the main characters were unnaturally cognizant of her existence...Well, maybe I shouldn't be so mean to the author on this— Pat Gonzales still shows her talent in other aspects of the story—style, turn of phrase, the way she handles suspense. She just has to keep on writing and practicing her craft. Oh, how I love irony—"Overture" is my cup of tea. A new twist to the alien communication theme and stylistically written. (I approve of it especially because there was a break in the SWARS theme of the zine.) There was a somehow gentle cynicism to it. And speaking of cynicism: I am a short, pudgy, cute female. I sort of give off this sweet innocent appearance. If I'd been born in any other part of the country except Brooklyn, I would have undoubtedly grown up to be the kind of woman who wears an apron when she bakes cookies for the neighborhood kids, and collects stuffed toys...As a result of this influence, I have grown up to be a cynical, jaundiced-eyed, rotten person—but not so rotten that I won't give you fair warning: if that Tweety-bird of a Pegasoid colt, or his cutesy dragon friend, ever fly over my airspace, I swear to you, I will take my Dad's .38 and blast them to the next county!!! "Failed"??? I'll give them "failed"!! They'll be next week's hot lunches!!! "BitterPills" was no Marysue story. Here we have a strong, self-sustaining character in Pilden. She is an observer of the "glories" of the rebel lion, a little person who always watches the big people do the amazing, brave things they do (and make it possible to do them). The main characters are seen through her eyes and while they do talk to her, they are not unnaturally aware of her ever-so-speclal' presence. Re humor in the zine: "The Empire Strikes Back" is, to be honest, a film that can really bring you down. It is a darkly-filmed and written movie. I wonder if this accounts for the dearth of humorous stories in most zines. We need the comic relief in between the sad stories, if only to keep from going crazy. I was therefore happy to see stories like "The Further Adventures of the Friends of L.S.", the Port Fees foldout (though I must admit it took me a coupla seconds to figger out that it was a dialogue and not meant to be read in two columns), and "Letters to and from Daddy." If I had to pick out the flaw in the whole zine (and it would be difficult) I'd have to hedge a bit and then put in a bid for more humor. I do like the funny stuff. Oh, yeah, "Jacuzzi Summer"—heh, heh, heh. And get some more cartoons in there, willya? "Call Back the Dream" was like a straight line of dominoes (Look out, here comes a metaphor), ya push the first one and they all fall down in a straight row, plink, plank, plonk... There were no plot twists, no surprises, it was all too easy. They just happen to land on a planet with the guy's foster mom on it, they don't have any trouble getting disguises (which just happen to fit), they are never in any danger of getting recaptured by Cap, heck, they didn't even have any problem escaping. N'iada and Daneen are never given much character to stand on. Molly is The-Madam-With-The-Heart-of-Gold; Niada isn't merely a doctor, she's The-Dedicated-Lady- Doctor who is Strong-But-Her-Fragile-Spirit is being crushed under the yoke of slavery; Daneen isn't really much of anything. And there is one bit of dialogue that sort of sums up what is wrong with the story—'She does tend to fuss,'" Han complained tolerantly as soon as there were out of earshot. "Just like a woman," Han agreed, and they exchanged sympathetic smiles. They are talking about good ol' Niada who is justifiably afraid that the Imperials or Cap's troops are going blast Han's and Dan's after-burners off. Now, even assuming that Han and Dan are the types who would make this kind of comment (and I tend to doubt it in Han's case; when he ranks out Leia, it isn't "how dare a woman try to order a man around," it's "how dare your royal worahipfulness try and order me around!"), there are less cliched ways to do it. I haven't read that kind of dialogue since I stopped reading Isaac Asimov novels. Many authors have a tendency to make gratuitous generalities about women which, far from adding depth to their characterization, detract from their individuality. Another example in this story—Niada offering to help out in the kitchen of the whorehouse. I mean, she's a goddam doctor!—a professional who might have offered to examine anyone who might be sick or whatever, but wouldn't have offered to make din-din. Could you see a male character do that in her position? Never! Oh, yeah, one other personal nudge from me—how come sf writers always seem to end the name of a female character with an "a" or an"i" ending? (Kara, Mara, Niada, Cori, Saibra, and (aha!) Leia!!!) It sort of makes you realize what a really great name D'Shez Pildenis. Come on gang—let's get some inventive names going here! Ya know, I'm not in the least belt into Poem-tree, but I tells ya, I Loved the "One Afternoon in the Rec Room" poem. [for this fan's comments on Satisfaction Guaranteed, see that page] [25]
[zine]:Just from sheer weight, PEGASUS gives you a lot of zine for your money. It's also rather an inbred zine — 75% of the contents are by people who live in or around Chicago, and of good number of them- live within two blocks of each other. This shows in the quality of the zine, for although the longer, more serious stories are quite good, the filler pieces range downward to downright fluffiness. The in-joking is not elitist, nor vicious, but it is there — "The Further Adventures of the Friends of Luke Skywalker," "Letters to (and from) Daddy," "You Do What For A Living?" as well as the interlocking references to the mutual Continuator - Cori Beckett universes occurring in most of the Chicago stories. Often there is a savoriness, a delight in linking concepts from separate stories into a tacit understanding of the universe involved, but equally often so united a front can put off a reader.
There is another problem in PEGASUS — its typos. Now, I have seen mistyped words, misspelled words, misplaced words, paragraphs, even pages, but never all in the same zine, and in such avalanches. The lace of profreading is truedis traction. Granted, the editors must have spent three months just typing up the copy and did include a passel of errata pages, but that still doesn't make up for a job that should have been done before going to print. Easy proofreading is one of the advantages of offset, and the editors should have taken advantage of it.
Turning to the stories, there are a few turkeys. "Reflections," by Marian Lindner, has two equally unbelievable Darth Vaders meeting; one is squeaky-clean, the other is not only bad, evil, and nasty, he's also mighty slow to catch on to the fact they're from parallel universes. Nothing happens. "No Guts, No Glory " by Pat Gonzales is a severe disappointment coming after her much better characterized story in PEGASUS IV. "Guts" continually contradicts itself, sometimes within paragraphs. On page 32, the heroine, Sabira, dreams of being engineer on a ship and swears, "I'm going to be sitting in fr9nt of one of these"; half a page later, when Luke wants to take his new tub for a spin with her, she babbles, "I can't... what if something goes wrong" (not showing much confidence in her own repair work) "all right, I'll go... under protest." On p. 42, Commander Ryel offers her a mission because she "did such a spectacular job of converting a cruiser" — and when she dithers reassures "it's a very simple check." There are no reasons given for Sabira's guilt ("what have I done now?"), insecurity, and all-around wimpiness, nor does she grow out of it in the course of the story. The plot is a series of cliches, ending with Sabira universally beloved and taken on by Han as an apprentice, signs of the Mary Sue. Gonzales should have done better.
Bryn Kenobi, heroine of Bev Grant's "Best Laid Schemes" is also a Mary Sue, but at least she's an enthusiastic and more enjoyable one. She is at her worst in the company of the Star Wars regulars, but palatable off on her own, or with Grant's other characters, being smart but not a know-it-all, brave but not foolhardy. The worst one can say about her and her boyfriend Ruari is that they are adolescents, not adults, though towara the end Bryn makes a step in that direction by coming up against one of her limits. Unfortunately, the confrontation is a straw argument, and is rather dishonest, psychologically. In a lightsabre fight, she almost kills a man. She didn't actually kill him; at the last moment she kept from violating her principle of non violence, but she still beats her breast for three pages because she wanted to kill him. Nobody says the obvious, which is that we all have impulses that would shame Hell, and it's when we restrain ourselves from wrong and force ourselves to do good that we show our morals. The plot is fast-paced and fairly shallow, with escapes over the castle wall and invasions of the local sacred temple, regular Raiders-of-the-Lost-Ark stuff. Fun when not serious, the story fails when it tries to get profound.
On the goodo side: Nancy Zingrone Solomon's "Bitter Pills." D'Shez Pilden of Solomon's previous "Rites of Passage" meets Chewbacca again as he and Lando hit the rebel base for supplies. Like Chewie, Pilden recently lost a beloved — not to death necessarily; he's "only" missing in action. Solomon delineates poignantly how death may devastate, but the survivors can rebuild and go on, while the MIA widow must continually shore up hope against the uncertainty that gnaws at it. An excellent piece, in emotion and characterization certainly the best in the zine.
Melissa Snodgrass's article on current copyright law and how it affects fandom is must reading; best I've seen on the subject anywhere. "Call Back The Dream" by Sheila Paulson is good, being believable, literate, well-told, and well-characterized. Han, still in carbon freeze, has been sold by Jabba to a private shipper; the ship's doctor, Niada Karlee, chisels him out but he has amnesia — reasonable under the circumstances and credibly presented. Niada and her fiance are also bond slaves like Han, so all three jump ship, just as Chewie and Lando catch up with the owner, intending to buy off Han. Well, no such luck. The major problem with the story is Niada repeating "I promise you'll remember (your past)" to Han 3 milllion times; he certainly ought to remember her promise anyway. Otherwise, the people are interesting, adult, and fully fleshed, no one all good or all bad. Just like life.
Anne Elizabeth Zeek's "Queen's Gambit" is another ripping yarn, with chases, escapes, and weird 007 equipment. Leia, uncharacteristically, decides to split the Alliance for a while to search for her Hansicle, and goes to her old buddy Lady Jennara for help, since Lady J, ostensibly an Imperial, has been feeding her info for years — mostly for the thrill of it. While Leia snoops through the governor's palace, Vader shows up. She never does track down Han, but there are other compensations. As long as she's not pounding on her general's desk, Leia is nicely drawn in "Gambit", as are the other characters. I particularly like Jennara's first meeting with Darth at her own party: "Jennara .looked up — and up, and up — at Vader. Accustomed to thinking of herself as a tall woman, she found it disconcerting to have someone towering over her. Merciful Morga, the man doesn't stop. It was like Standing next to a black-caped cliff." Insights like this make a story richer and more interesting to read.
And so we come to "Satisfaction Guaranteed (Or Your Used Boy Back)" by two of the editors, Judi Hendricks and Paula Block. Gerbashe, the villainous nogoodnick of "Stowaway" and "A Marketable Commodity" is back, bigger and brazener than ever. Having managed to have Luke kidnapped and hauled to Disneylandoid brothel for training as a "pleasurer," he orders the shotgunning of Cori Beckett, and a hologram of the event is sent to Han at the rebel hideout, which sets Han out for Gerbashe's blood. Two-thirds of the Alliance shortly follows, because naturally Han gets captured, pumped full of an aphrodisiac-producing organism, and locked in a room with Luke. Meanwhile, Gerbashe's overseer becomes convinced of his employer's gathering insanity and... well, suffice to say that Gerbashe finally gets his, rather nastily. This story really hasn't much to do with Star Wars; it's a long (120 pp), albeit fascinating and well-crafted, detour through the authors' personal created world. With a judicious (not to mention politic) rewrite to file off the Lucas-based serial numbers, this possibly could be sold professionally, except it's probably too well written for the sleaze market. There is a small problem with time; the scenes with Han, Luke, and various incidentals are calm, almost optimistic, even in the face of slavery and death, whereas whenever Cori shows up, there's a strong odor of irrationality. Granted, the woman feels pushed too far by Gerbashe, but the discordance is marked, and seems to set Cori off from the rest of the story.
Many of the stories feature further uses of characters that appeared in previous issues of PEGASUS, but they are not so dependent on the previous stories that a new reader can't get into them. Despite a few poor short pieces, the many fine long pieces recommend the zine. It's worth the money — works out to 25 pages per dollar.
CONTENTS-4 GRAPHICS-3 (good-looking, but typo city) $ WORTH-4 [27]
Issue 6
Pegasus 6 was published in April 1983 and has 192 pages.
Art not accompanying specific fanworks is Cheree Cargill, Gordon Carleton, Connie Faddis (front cover), Celeste Hotaling, Jean Kluge, Karen River (back cover), and Rob St. John.
From an editorial:
Anyway, with impending retirement, we decided we should go out with an explosion to rival the Death Star Biggie, and if we lack the quantity of Pegasus V, then at least we have maintained the quality. Something we hope will be remembered. And even though they may never be printed, we sincerely hope you will deign to spend the postage for aLoCKLoCHLoC to let us know what you thought of our efforts. My personal, sincere thanks must go to Cindy Brown for typing a major portion of the text on her word-processor in a very short time with unrelenting precision, to Nancy Stasulis for her superbly professional flips, some of which were sketched literally at the last moment (to save us from "aesthetic white spaces" after another artist failed to meet repeated deadlines). Further thanks to Connie Faddis, who generously offered her considerable talents to these humbly editors and produced the extraordinary cover art for this issue. And, finally, to all the artists and writers whose work has graced the pages of PEGASUS over the years—our thanks and gratitude for helping to make this zine one of the best in fandom, and for giving us and you, the reader, many, many hours of enjoyment. After all, in the final analysis, that's what fandom's been all about, hasn't it? -- by Jackie
From an editorial:
Thanks to everyone involved for making this issue of PEGASUS and all of its predecessors the good stuff it is/was. I confess to feeling more than a little guilty that I haven't contributed much of a scribal nature to this ish, considering that my combined efforts with Judi provided a heaping hunk of the last two issues. It's another example of why we're letting the zine lapse; if I hadn't been helping get this issue out, I might have actually had time to do a story for it. But I can only work on so many things at once. As for the further adventures of Cori Beckett, well, I'd better let Judi keep you informed on that front, being her creation. There is a possibility that Pegasus Press will someday put out a Cori Beckett Collected, if we think there's enough interest. We know that some of you have complained about searching for some of the early stories in the series, published in other zines. And there's a chance that if we got involved in putting out a Cori. Collected, we might fill in some gaps in her literary history with some unpublished (and as yet unwritten) stories. Again, these are just possibilities, so don't place any bets yet, A word about editorial, responsibility in putting out a good zine. A good editor should edit and edit as fairly as possible. I apologize now to any of you out there who over the space of the past few years sent us submissions and were hurt or angered by comments we made or suggestions we offered. An editor must by nature create or follow a consistent editorial policy that he/she will stand by for as long as he/she is editing a zine (or whatever). We've tried to keep our personalities out of editing chores, and thereby eliminate personal biases (for example, I happen to dislike stories wherein the main character is killed off; Jackie, on the other hand, likes such stories when they're well done). If a story is well written and well thought out it will be accepted for the zine, whether I or Jackie or Judi personally care for it or not. We realize that our audience is diverse, and there's always somebody out there who will enjoy a gushy (again, well written) love poem or a story where Luke buys the farm (not the one on Tatoaine) or whatever. (And if you don't believe there's a wide disparity in fannish opinion about content, check out this issue's LoC column; what's one person's meat and potatoes is just as likely to be another reader's airline barf bag ((some metaphor, eh?)). Anyway, we've tried to be equally fair to everyone over the years, so there. -- Paula Block
From an editorial:
I always hoped that PEGASUS would go on forever...in the same vein that people hope that the things they like will never change, that they will never age beyond their dreams, that life truly can be one continuous adventure in existence. Jackie is practical, Po is philosophical—me; I'm the one who gets depressed. After Peg V, when my job began to transform itself into a career and I knew I could no longer do the noble beast justice, I voted to retire the zine. Jackie, not knowing quite what she was getting into, I think, wanted just one more issue. Po said she'd like just one more, too. Pegasus VI is their baby. Any applause belongs to them (overdub the sound of Judi's hands clipping). I think they—and particularly you, Jack—have done a superb job. A Cori Collected? I'm not adverse to the idea. Anyone out there interested? We've got at least four stories floating around in the back of my mind that haven't been told yet,.. Let's see what you think. I've got this morbid, "So this is goodbye..." feeling at the moment, but it's not, really; in fact, the freedom this retirement could give us might GET ME WRITING AGAIN! (Which is something I sorely miss.) So thank you, gentlefen, for the support over the years; for the friendship, for the hours of conversation, the comeraderie. I hope you've enjoyed our little publication. -- from Judi
- Dedication (1)
- Editorials (2)
- Letters of Comment (5)
- FIAWOL/AWOL by Paula Block (19) (see Pegasus (Star Trek: TOS and Star Wars zine)#Growing Pains and Changes: A Sign of the Times)
- Windstar Princess by Lucinda Brown, art by Nancy Stasulis (21)
- With the Tables Turned by Sheryl Adsit, art by Wanda Lybarger (What would Han have done, had Vader threatened to destroy his business, unless he betrayed Lando Calrissian? (22)
- The Song of Songs, Which is Ariel Solo's by Eluki bes Shahar (25)
- All The Emperor’s Men by Bev Grant, art by Todd Hamilton (Caught in political intrigue at the age of 16, Senator Leia Organa will have to learn the game quickly in order to stay alive.) ( 26)
- Printer's Guide to Reproduction of a Non-Biological Nature, article by Lou and Pat Montiel (47)
- The Ballad of Jedi Clampett by Linda River, art by Gordon Carleton (51)
- Foreign Waters/Familiar Shores by Irene Shafer, art by Karen River (52)
- Choices by B.J. Kreuz, art by Karen River (56)
- Stowaway by Judi L. Hendricks, art by Martynn (58) (reprinted from ...Scum & Villainy)
- Close Encounters of the Tax Kind by Bev Grant, art by Gordon Carleton (88)
- Time by Jenny McLean, art by Karen River (90)
- Pawn's Game by Jackie Paciello, art by Nancy Staulis (Han was alive and he was free... Now if he could only rid himself of that same, terrifying nightmare.) (92)
- Last Flight, First Dance by Virginia Lee Smith (art) (102)
- Fold Out art by Jean Kluge
- Heritage by Marcia Brin, art by Ros Ludwig (108)
- Reflections by Tammy Gibbs, art by Karen River (114)
- Anatomy by Carol Hines-Strode, art by Nancy Stasulis (Young Vader, burned nearly beyond recognition and in constant agony, would soon learn that living was even more of a hell than dying.) (116)
- In Search of the Real Ark, article by Carol Mularski, illustrated by Karen River (158)
- Release by Jani Hicks, art by Connie Faddis (162)
- Perchance To Dream by Anne Zeek, art by Ros Ludwig (reprinted in The Compleat Zeek) (Indiana Jones) (165)
- ads (182)
from issue #6, Connie Faddis for "Release"
from issue #6 fold-out by Jean Kluge
from issue #6, Ros Ludwig for "Perchance To Dream"
from issue #6, Karen River for "Choices"
from issue #6, Celeste Hotaling
from issue #6, Virginia Lee Smith for "Last Flight, First Dance"
from issue #6, Nancy Staulis for "Pawn's Game"
from issue #6, Nancy Staulis for "Anatomy"
from issue #6, Jean Kluge
from issue #6, Rob St. John
from issue #6, Wanda Lybarger for "With the Tables Turned"
from issue #6, Todd Hamilton for "All the Emperor's Men"
Reactions and Reviews: Issue 6
[zine]:With Big Name Zines like Pegasus, a curious game has grown up in fandom, particularly among those who've been around a while and can qualify as being more than a bit jaded; it's called Great Expectations. Because these zines are known as good, expectations swell — to the point that no zine can match up.
I've heard some grumblings of the sort on Pegasus VI, most to the tune of "Pegasus isn't what it used to be". Well, maybe, but I think that nostalgia is speaking louder than reality here. The early issues were good, especially when compared to the many truly awful early SW zines, but I think if you paw through your collections and drag out your Peg III and IV, you'll find about the same balance of good, bad, and mediocre stories. That will probably be more apparent to recent fans who aren't looking at the older stories through a pink haze. To my eyes, Pegasus is a good zine. Not great perhaps, but with no more bad stories than most other zines I've seen. I like it much better than Peg V which suffered from such a weight of material that the good stories (of which there were several) were pressed from the conscious mind. Also everything in Pegasus V stood overwhelmed by the lengthy novel, "Satisfaction Guaranteed", so that whether a reader liked or disliked the zine as a whole rested mainly on how she felt about Cori Beckett's latest adventure.
Peg VI boasts a more manageable amount of material. This more modest proportion is enhanced by the more restrained layout in this issue. While the editors still occasionally succumbed to the format side of the Force, with their over-elaborate borders and lettering, I noticed an immense improvement over last issue. On the whole. Peg VI is a clean-looking zine, the only visual problem being an occasional spottiness in the printing process. The literary content, as with most zines, is mixed: some very good, some pretty good, some fit for a slow night, and one very disappointing short piece. I didn't find anything truly awful, which is something I can't say for every zine I read. There's no one here who can't write their way out of a paper bag, though some could use some editing.
Carol Hines-Stroede stands out as a fairly new name among fan writers who can tell a workmanlike story with a minimum of fannish cliches and a maximum of interesting characterization. "Anatomy", the story of Darth Vader's treatment following his disfiguring accident, is told with clean style, a keen eye towards political realities, and an awareness of some of the less endearing aspects of interpersonal relationships. Her created character is a real person, one that could not possibly earn the dreaded title of "Mary Sue". One major problem: This story almost exactly parallels Hines-Stroede's story in Kessel Run #3: "Witness for The Defense", which again features Vader and a lady who helps him in time of distress, under slightly altered circumstances. I had already read "Witness" when I came across "Anatomy", and while I read I kept feeling that I was seeing the same story couched in slightly different terms.
I noted the same kind of problem with Marcia Brin's "Heritage". Brin, as I've noted before, is a very good writer, but lately I've noticed that her stories are sounding one or two notes, over and over. Brin's talented with words; I think she should use some other plots and devices to craft those words around.
"Stowaway" by Judi L. Hendricks is the kind of story I miss in fandom these days. It's a literate adventure, with the "feel" of the saga movies, and, while it has plenty of motivation for the two main characters. It's free of the morass of endless agonizing that bogged so many of the post-TESB fan stories to a complete halt. Cori Beckett is possibly the prototype of the female Corellian in fanfic and she's— to my mind--at her best in this story, much more understandable as a person than she becomes in Pegasus V's "Satisfaction Guaranteed". This is Gerbashe's first appearance too, where he nobly fulfills his role as spiritual predecessor to ROTJ's Jabba the Hut. One quibble: No credit line was given to Scum and Villainy, the zine where "Stowaway" originally appeared back in the Dark Ages of fandom. A credit line is a courtesy I believe in very strongly.
No one can outdo Anne Elizabeth Zeek in the field of "gotcha" stories. In "Perchance to Dream", she brings this, her own particular form of literature, to the Indiana Jones universe, with...interesting results. It's the visual quality to Zeek's writing that's particularly apparent here, in the rose garden scenes and in the terrifying climax. The occult aspects of Raiders is used effectively, and—unlike some writers in this universe—Zeek does keep a careful eye on the period. Marion and Indy have twin beds like any good couple in the forties, and the references to current events, dress and customs all ring true. While not as fully fleshed as Zeek's "Queen's Gambit" in the last Pegasus. "Perchance to Dream" is a well-crafted shocker, with a compelling, nightmarish quality that takes the reader by the throat.
Pegasus' lead-off story, "With the Tables Turned" by Sheryl Adsit, is a major disappointment. The idea is so good that it makes me practically froth at the mouth to see it so poorly realized. "Tables" takes Lando's betrayal of Han in TESB and stands it on its ear: What if Han were in Lando's situation -- what would he do? The result makes a lot of fannish prejudice against Lando look like what it is -- dumb.
However. Instead of giving the idea the development it needed, Sheryl compressed it into a two-page "vignette", almost solely composed of narrative exposition, leading up to the final line. It violates the most basic rule of fiction: tell, not show. The crime of it is that so many dramatic scenes could have been written for this idea…the possibilities are endless. It could have been what every editor wants for her zine — a blockbuster story, lifting PEGASUS from good to fantastic.
The art deserves a few words: The cover, obviously, is a stand-out, a color Connie Faddis in her most mythological mode. To my mind, the Leia that graced last year's THE PRINCESS TAPES was better--the colors less harsh and monochromatic. But still, any of Connie Faddis' color work is well worth resting one's eyes on. There's other good artwork, too, notably among the "illustrators' (as opposed to strict portrait artists), which seem to be more humorous (much to my delight) than previously. Most notable: Wanda Lybarger In "Tables", Nancy Stasulis in "Anatomy", Roz Ludwig in "Perchance to Dream" and Martynn in "Stowaway".
The last issue of Pegasus perhaps does not loom as a giant among zines, but it has some entertaining, well-crafted reading in it. Which is the most you can expect from almost any zine — and more than you get from most.[29]
[zine]:
As the alate [sic?] equine rides again for the last time, editors Paciello, Block, and Hendricks make it extremely hard to say good-bye. PEGASUS 6 is the best issue they ever put out, and an excellent zine by any standards.
There are no stories here that are less than fine. Some can be disturbing for the lefthand turns they take into alternate or uncomfortable universes, but the quality of their construction compels the reader to accept their points at least for the duration of the story. Paciello's "Pawn's Game" has the most deflected universe, in which one of the regular characters is actually killed by ultra-long distance Machiavellian machinations. But Sheryl Adsit's "With the Tables Turned," a most succinct and elegant two-page depiction of Han in a situation that forces him to do unto Lando as Lando will later do unto him at Bespin, is also fairly improbable within the givens of the Saga, although it too works quite well on its own terms. "Heritage" by Marcia Brin falls into an alternate universe mostly because of Return of the Jedi, a fate several stories suffered this past spring. In it, everybody is related to everybody else (Luke, Ben, Darth, and--surprise--Han) as Vader destroys the Jedi's Enclave Central. Brin gives interesting and believable descriptions of sensing via the Force. "Perchance to Dream" by A. E. Zeek is a superbly done Indiana Jones story that finishes with a line heard early on in Raiders of the Lost Ark; literally, there is nothing Indiana can possess that Belloq cannot take away. Devoted Jones fans will wish this to be an alternate universe, but Zeek's good use of phrase, characterization, even accurate details of clothing style, make this story distressingly convincing. Perhaps she'11 write a sequel.
"All the Emperor's Men" by Beverly Grant features a not only likable but thoroughly credible Leia Organa as the freshman senator from Alderaan, who in pre-Rebellion days must get a quick education in political maeuvering in order to outthink Moff Tarkin, Darth Vader and the conniving Senator Imi over an intra-galactic arms deal. Grant is back in form; her plot is fast-paced and convolute, and her characters all intelligent and well-drawn. Both Leia in this story and Jenret Beranni in Carol Hines-Stroede's Anatomy" are that Holy Grail of fan writers, a female character with no taint of the Mary Sue about her. Both are mightily interesting people, not superfemmes, but not stupid femmes, either--they are human, capable, intelligent, sensitive women. Jen's utter humanity, touched with pathos, gives "Anatomy" an extra dimension of enjoyment, which adds to the levels provided by the story's equally excellent characterization of Darth recovering from his massive burns; by the suspenseful plot; by the meticulous and informative medical details; and by the depths and conflicts of the protagonists ' emotions. I was disappointed at the end (though not by the end) for I wished Jen and Darth could've come to a less unhappy settlement. Editor Judi Hendricks, in a reprint of "Stowaway," chronologically both the first Gerbashe story and the first Cori Beckett story, also offers us a "good girl" character. Insofar as Beckett is Hendricks' persona character, she is Mary Sue-oid, but the difference is that here only the story revolves about the character, whereas the whole universe revolves about the honest-to-migawd Mary Sue. Hendricks is moreover a dialogue artist--one can practically hear H. Ford, S. Greenstreet, and J. Hendricks speaking those lines. "'My co-pilot's a Wookiee.' Solo smiled. 'Very few people will bother a Wookiee.'"
Carol Mularski has a non-fiction item, "In Search of the Real Ark," explaining the background to Lucas's poetic license. Speaking of which, "The Song of Songs Which is Ariel Solo's" by eluki bes shahar is a dedicated, noble, courageous pastiche of the Bible, Lin Stack's character Ariel Solo, the National Lampoon, and apparently anythingelse that happened to've crossed her path. "I am terrible as an army with banners; more powerful than a locomotive." Wish I'd said that.
Fairly goofy fillers by Gordon Carleton, Virginia Smith and others, but totally terrific art throughout, Nancy Stasulis' illos in "Anatomy" and Ros Ludwig's in "Perchance" especially for their visualization of the stories' characters. Karen River's dedication page pegasus soars, and Connie Faddis's color cover painting is more than mildly heart-stopping.
So I'm impressed.
[rated on a scale of 1-5]: Content -- 5, Graphics -- 4.5 (print fade) $'s Worth -- 5 [30]
References
- ^ transcript of a May 15, 1980 radio interview from a station (KTR) in Kirkland, Washington for the show "Turn It Up."
- ^ Fanzine Review 'Zine #2 (1977)
- ^ The Halkan Council #23
- ^ by Theresa Holmes from Sehlat's Roar #3
- ^ Sharon Ferraro in Menagerie #10 (1976)
- ^ review in Fleet #11 (May 1977)
- ^ Stardate: Unknown #4
- ^ Scuttlebutt #4
- ^ Spectrum #35 (1978)
- ^ Scuttlebutt #9
- ^ Alderaan #4
- ^ "Pegasus #4 v.1 LoC section
- ^ a reference to Jackie Paciello's costume at the previous MediaWest*Con, see the illo at [:http://fanlore.org/wiki/File:Pegajackie.jpg]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j from "Pegasus #4 v.1 LoC section
- ^ review by Laurel Winter from Right of Statement #2 (1978)
- ^ review by Linda Deneroff from Right of Statement #2 (1978)
- ^ Alderaan #7
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l from a LoC in Pegasus #5
- ^ a LoC by two sisters in Pegasus #5
- ^ a LoC in Pegasus #5
- ^ From Star Wars to Jedi: The Fanzine Way (1985)
- ^ a b from the 1982 essay Visible Women
- ^ a b from Jundland Wastes #7
- ^ a much, much, MUCH longer review in Jundland Wastes #7
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l from the LoC section in Pegasus #6
- ^ a reference to how much the zine weighs, referring to the zine The Weight
- ^ by Paula Smith for Bored of Review in Warped Space #47 (1982)
- ^ Jundland, Too #1
- ^ Jundland, Too #1
- ^ review by Paula Smith in Warped Space #49
