On Fanlore, users with accounts can edit pages including user pages, can create pages, and more. Any information you publish on a page or an edit summary will be accessible by the public and to Fanlore personnel. Because Fanlore is a wiki, information published on Fanlore will be publicly available forever, even if edited later. Be mindful when sharing personal information, including your religious or political views, health, racial background, country of origin, sexual identity and/or personal relationships. To learn more, check out our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Select "dismiss" to agree to these terms.
Phantom Notes
| Zine | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Phantom Notes |
| Publisher: | |
| Editor(s): | Jenn Bills |
| Type: | |
| Date(s): | 1988-1992 |
| Frequency: | |
| Medium: | |
| Fandom: | Phantom of the Opera |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Phantom Notes is a newsletter and letterzine that has twelve issues that were published between October 1988 to September 1992. It contains poetry and fan art.
Issue 1
Phantom Notes 1
Issue 2
Phantom Notes 2 was published in February 1989 and contains 16 pages.
The editor notes the contents have doubled since the first issue.
- description of the newsletter
- fan letters (mostly about the various stage productions, costuming, the different theaters, performers)
- clippings
- some fictional letters written by characters to the advice columnist, Ann Landers
- upcoming theatre performances
- an article about how to stand in line at the Majestic Theatre in New York to see shows (reprint from an unknown source, February 1989)
- ads for things to buy
From one letter, the Phantom is just misunderstood:
First of all, I must apologize. Re: My letter in issue #1. Okay, so the Phantom IS a cold-blooded killer. [Ed: Yes, there is definitely a red Punjab lasso around the dear-departed Buquet’s neck.] I'll give you that. But I still stand by my basic premise, that the Phantom is essentially a good person, [Ed: if somewhat immature,] under severe stress.
Another fan, Diane Smith, wrote that she was obsessed by the Phantom of the Opera but hadn't yet seen the musical. She also touts the upcoming zine, Faded Roses:
She asked if we'd be interested in writing for it, just to see what we could come up with, Pat and I discussed it and chose the Phantom by default.
I'd only seen one or two episodes of B&B and didn't feel comfortable with the subject. Mozart seemed too overwhelming the amount of research necessary would take far too long and I felt using such "real" people would be somewhat limiting, at least for me. That left the Phantom. It had been years since either one of us had seen any of the movies [fortunately] and all we really knew was that some guy in a mask ran around the Paris Opera House. A couple of trips to the library yielded the original novel and The Complete Phantom of the Opera (copies of both are now in my collection], we spent that first weekend totally engrossed in the books. swapping back and forth, reading the novel and the libretto.
And then we heard the music. With its first notes the music captured my soul, the story my imagination. Soon it became an addiction, satisfied only by frequent readings of the book as well as daily playing of the album. Listening to it at bedtime made sleeping difficult —my body continued to throb with the music, and the "Angel of Music" haunted my dreams.
Anything associated with the Phantom soon joined my collection. My pride and joy is a book of sheet music for voice, piano and guitar — now I can sing my own "Music of the Night".
We're excited about Cheryl's upcoming zine, and not just because we were successful in our attempts at writing our own Phantom tales. We're anxious to read other stories of the Phantom's life, to see which versions inspired creative juices. We've drawn on the novel and Lloyd Webber, adding our own interpretation and spanning the 19th through the 23rd centuries. And no doubt beyond, knowing us.
Unable to manage a trip to New York, we're hoping to see the play when it travels to California. Perhaps they'll stop off in Denver, but at the very least perhaps our finances by that time will allow for a trip West. In the mean time, we'll replay our album, read and write stories, and enjoy Phantom Notes.
Some Phantom feelings:
Has anyone who's heard the Phantom of the Opera not found this to be true? The music -- both the lyrics and the melody stays with you forever. It overwhelms you. Completely. No matter what you're doing when you first put the album on the turntable, all activity slows, then finally stops. You're faced with a dilemma: Should you [try to] sing along, or just stay quiet and absorb the beauty of the music and those incredible, haunting words?
Issue 3
Phantom Notes 3 was published in June 1989.
Issue 10
Phantom Notes 10 was published in Sept/Oct 1991.
Issue 11
Phantom Notes 11 was published in April 1992.
Issue 12
Phantom Notes 12 was published in Aug/Sept 1992.
Reactions and Reviews
Review: Phantom Notes, one of the earliest 'zines on the POTO theme, is a 12-issue newsletter. The layout here is not as sharp as later publications, like Beneath the Mask, would have, and the spirit of the newsletter, like a gathering of fans, is more open to personal reporting of Phantom experiences and what the show means to its followers, than printing hard news coverage. The graphics content of Notes is quite high, and includes noteworthy cartoons by Thomas Bevel, who draws a great (and funny) Erik. Notes may not surprise you with much new information, but it will remind you of everything you enjoy about chatting with fellow fans. [1]
Phantom Notes was the US Phantom fanzine, which ran for six years. All the issues can be bought from Avon Boutique, so, since I've pinched some of their ideas in this issue, I thought I'd review the publication.
Phantom Notes is mostly made up of letters from fans around America, Canada and some from Europe and other places. Most British fans won't know many of the casts mentioned, though there's a lot about Dave Willetts in it. Of course I have my usual complaint of not enough Peter Karrie, but with so few contributions from Britain that's not surprising. There are also some wonderful stories and amazing artwork and cartoons in it.
I noticed, reading it, that the American fans seem to interpret much more of the show than we do over here, and read much more into the staging and lyrics. There were times when I thought some people over-interpreted, like a reader who read great meaning into Peter K catching Christine in Toronto, when he does that because that's what they all do here. On the other hand, I found myself thinking about aspects and details of the show I’d never considered before, and it was interesting to discover the differences between the US and UK productions.
For American fans who want to know more about casts they've seen than we can give them, Phantom Notes is invaluable. For other fans, it's also pretty invaluable... I personally can never read enough about the show and story, and 12 issues of fans' observations is wonderful, especially when I don't have to type them! <ref> from the editor of Beneath the Mask, printed in #6 of that zine <ref>