Rats on the Edge

Zine
Title:	Rats on the Edge
Publisher:	Rainbow Butterfly Press
Editor(s):	J.C. Ward
Date(s):	2001-
Series?:
Medium:	print
Size:
Genre:
Fandom:	Rat Patrol
Language:	English
External Links:
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Rats on the Edge is a gen Rat Patrol anthology.

From Kat Parsons, who maintains Ratworks: The Rat Patrol Fandom Index, "Through no fault of the primary editor, J.C. Ward, this zine was tainted by plagiarized submissions made by a single person under several pseudonyms." These stories are noted below. Some of these same disputed authors also appear in Romancing the Rats.

Issue 1

Rats on the Edge 1 was published in 2001 and has the subtitle "Walking in His Shoes." It contains 188 pages.

cover of issue #1

• Common Ground, poem by Nancy Graves ("Men separated by opposing loyalties can find common ground in honor and respect.") (3)
• The No Man's Land Raid by Patricia Shaw ("After one of his men accidentally kills an Arab boy during an attack on an Allied convoy, Dietrich's patrol is wiped out and he is left badly wounded to die in the sand. When the Rat Patrol finds him, Troy feels conscience-bound to save him.") (5)
• Snapshots by JC Ward ("Dietrich is assigned to show a photojournalist from Deutscher Beobachter around the front, and much to his dismay discovers it to be the woman he almost married.") (19)
• Cap Bon by Patricia Shaw and JC Ward ("Captured by the Allies in May of 1943, when the remains of the Afrikakorps is abandoned by Hitler, Dietrich must struggle to survive, with honor, when he's caught in the conflict between what his captors and conscience demand, and the threats of the hardliners among his own people.") (109)

• art, montage of the Rats and Dietrich, A Pencil drawing of the Rats and Dietrich by Tulliac
• art, Dietrich behind barbed wire, a pencil drawing of Dietrich behind a barbed wire fence, by Tulliac

Issue 2

Rats on the Edge 2 was published in 2001 and has the subtitle "Casualties of War."

cover of issue #2

• eleven/eleven, poem by Dwayne Thompson-Scheck ("It's 50 or so years later, and the son of an unidentified WWII vet (one of the Rats?) is struggling to understand what made his father retreat into a bottle and what made him follow in his father's footsteps.") (3)

• Heimat, ach Heimat, Ich muss dich verlassen" by Jerry Gilbreath ("Vignette in which a young man on the verge of enlisting in the army reads of his great-grandfather's first days in the German army of his day. by Jesse Abfalter.") NOTE: IT HAS BEEN LEARNED THAT THIS STORY WAS PLAGIARIZED. (5)

• Silent Accusations by JC Ward ("In the wake of captivity with the SS, neither Hitch nor Tully is talking--but anger and guilt are obviously eating at the young men and their sergeants struggle to help them.") (11)

• Blame it on Texas" by Patricia Shaw ("Vignette of Troy's first days in the US Army.") NOTE: IT HAS BEEN LEARNED THAT THIS STORY WAS PLAGIARIZED. (81)

• Devilman Raid by Rhonda Kinna ("Captured, Dietrich winds up in the POW camp run by a notoriously brutal American colonel.") (87)
• For King and Country by Gene Wang ("Vignette of Moffitt's first days in the British Army.") NOTE: IT HAS BEEN LEARNED THAT THIS STORY WAS PLAGIARIZED. (113)

• Dark of the Moon Raid by Karon Booth ("Troy shows signs of cracking--or is it possession?--after a confrontation with a native witch-woman.") (119)

• Georgia on My Mind by Max Link. ("Vignette of young Mark Hitchcock's first days in the US Army.") NOTE: IT HAS BEEN LEARNED THAT THIS STORY WAS PLAGIARIZED. (179)

• "The Home Sweet Home Raid by Tulliac ("Badly wounded in battle, Tully fights another battle in his dreams when he finds himself somehow at home in Kentucky--shortly after the Civil War.") (183)

• Take Me Back to My Boots and Saddle by Keith Green ("Prodded by his grandkids, Tully tells the story of his first days in the US Army.") NOTE: IT HAS BEEN LEARNED THAT THIS STORY WAS PLAGIARIZED. (201)

• Lessons Learned by Patricia Shaw ("In the wake of "The Violent Truce Raid", Dietrich has reports to file--reports that get him thinking about the lessons this experience have given him.") (205)

Issue 3

Rats on the Edge 3 was published in 2001, contains 188 pages, and has the subtitle "Cause and Effect."

cover issue 3

• Choices by Max Link ("In the wake of his captivity with Beckmann, the Aussies don't want Troy back because of what he's been through, and America's not yet in the war, but he wants to get back to the front. As he weighs his options, one December day in 1941, a special news report comes over the radio.")
• Ballad #1, poem by Nancy Graves ("A horse moves through a battlefield and cemetery.")
• A Timely Rescue by Janice Ilott and Rhonda Kinna ("Two young American women traveling across the Egyptian desert in their Hum Vee in 1999 pass through what they think is a mirage--and find themselves facing four men in two heavily-armed jeeps, like something out of World War II").
• Nemesis Raid by Patricia Shaw ("A man Troy knew when he served with the Australians turns up pumping him for information about Dietrich. When Troy and Moffitt become suspicious, they find the man has taken Dietrich prisoner and is torturing him for information--but for whom?")
• Declaration by Janice Ilott ("Mark Hitchcock and two of his friends are listening to the radio and considering their future one day in December 1941 when a special news bulletin comes on and makes up their minds.")
• The Black Widow by CD Robins ("On leave in Cairo, the Rats are stalked by a mysterious woman and then start disappearing.")
• At the Cannon's Mouth by Patricia Shaw ("Dietrich faces his first combat as the panzers are set to roll into Poland.")
• 07-04-DAKDC-hd by Tulliac ("Dietrich has a form to fill out in the wake of "The David and Goliath Raid".")
• montage of the Rats and Dietrich, gen art. ("Pencil drawing of the Rats and Dietrich.
• "What Price?, poem by Nancy Graves ("What price war?")
• montage of the Rats and Dietrich, art by Tulliac ("Pencil drawing of Troy drinking beer, Tully listening to a radio, Dietrich leaning on a machine gun, Hitch carrying a briefcase, and Moffit (looking at a doorknob?).")
• Hitch with lightsaber, art by Tulliac ("Pencil drawing of Hitch playing with a lightsabre.")
• A Day Remembered by Jason Brighton ("A vignette of a December day in 1941, as Tully Pettigrew prepares for an evening on the town.")
• Broken Promise by Rhonda Kinna ("On the eve of his joining up to serve, Jack has a talk with his little brother about the future.")
• The Front Page Raid by Tulliac ("Tully is separated from the group to serve as driver and escort for a reporter and photographer from Life magazine.")

Issue 4

Rats on the Edge 4 has the subtitle "Echoes of Night."

• Fortress poem by Nancy Graves ("A desert soldier reflects on what the war has done to him.")
• The 72-Hour Raid by JJ Rilogy. ("The Rats and Dietrich, all on leave in a neutral town, cut loose.")
• Correct Mentality by John Mason ("An attack is coming. Now Dietrich must convince his superior: his dedicated Nazi superior.")
• Crisis of Conscience by Patricia Shaw ("Dietrich goes home on compassionate leave. What surprises await him there?")
• Of Cabbages and Kings by Patsy Lannon ("Kids and vegetables don't mix.")
• Neutralized by Alix Barnette ("Troy faces his worst nightmare, life as a cripple.")
• Dreams and Hallucinations by Rhonda Kinna ("Moffitt wakes up to the fact that the war never happened.")
• Accused by Terry Gilbreath ("Hitch faces court martial proceedings for dereliction of duty.")
• Heaven Can Wait by Jan Ilott ("A nurse with a special connection to her twin brother asks for Moffitt's help after Kasserine").
• Ultimate Decision by Alana Xmudaus ("Moffitt Must make a choice: help the Germans or watch the team die.")
• Hindsight by Jan Ilot ("Dietrich's report of "The Darers Go First Raid".")