Revelations (Highlander zine)

Zine
Title:	Revelations
Publisher:	Ashton Press
Editor(s):	Ann Wortham
Date(s):	1998-1999
Series?:
Medium:	print
Size:
Genre:
Fandom:	Highlander
Language:	English
External Links:	Publisher's site
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cover of issue #1

Revelations is a het and slash (mostly) anthology.

Issue 1

Revelations 1 was published in April 1998 and contains 116 pages (97,158 words). The cover is by C.P. Foster. The interior artwork is by Leah Rosenthal.

The editorial:

Howdy!

I certainly never thought this zine would pull itself together in time for MediaWest 1998, but it's a very pleasant surprise that it happened. It wouldn't exist, of course, without all of the wonderful contributors, many of whom are appearing for the first time in a zine. It was great fun to work with all the new contributors, as well as some of my longtime favorites, like Riley Cannon, K. Ann Yost, and Methosia.

There is a definite Methos slant to all the stories. In fact, there is not a single story that is not Methos oriented. We have Methos and Duncan. Methos and Kronos, Methos and Cassandra, Methos and Michaelus (original character), Methos and Byron (sort of), Methos and Avon (a Blakes 7 crossover!)... well, you get the picture. This is not necessarily a bad thing since I bet a lot of you are very happy we're so Methos oriented. I know / am. But...I'd like to put in a plea for some other pairings in future issues. Don't stop sending us the Methos stories (please!) but how about some Duncan and Amanda? Joe and Methos? Richie and whomever? Methos? (I've seen some good Methos and Richie stories on the intemet.) Joe and whomever? How about a few more heterosexual stories? We accept those as well as slash. It would be great to even have a threesome story or two!

One thing I'm really proud of about this issue is that the stories are real stories, with interesting plots, not just excuses for the characters to jump into bed together. Even better, a number of the stories have some great historical tidbits in them. I'd like to really encourage this to continue in future issues! Oh, and I have nothing against PWP (Plot? What Plot?) type stories and will be happy to accept them as submissions.. .it's just nice to see the fan writers truly exploring the history that is open to us in the Highlander universe.

Please write and let the contributors know how much you appreciate their hard work! The only payment a zine writer or artist receives is in the form of your feedback. You can write through regular mail or on the intenet you can send your comments to: [email protected]. Praise and constructive criticism of all kind is most welcome. Please let us know, too, if you mind your comments being used in future Letter of Comment columns, in Linda Knights' review zine or on our website.

Speaking of websites, if you do have web access, please check ours out. We have lots of interesting stuff there and more going up everyday. Right now there is a link to a page full of pictures from the Highlander Anaheim convention (where a great time was had by al!) and there are links to excerpts from some of our other Highlander zines. Some of the links include pictures in full color which are printed in black and white in the actual zines. (Hey, posting them to the intemet is free; printing them in color costs big bucks!) The home page for Ashton Press is: http://members.aol.com/ashton7/ashton.htm.

Well, it's almost one in the moming and I have to be up and to my "real" job in only a few hours. Until next time, please write to us and, by all means, send more submissions! The sooner the next zine fills up, the sooner it will be in print!

• Judas Kiss^{[Dead link]} by Cori Lannam--Methos remembers how he left the Horsemen and considers the nature of betrayal during the time leading up to a final showdown between himself and Cassandra... (4)
• Alone and Palely Loitering by Riley Cannon--Methos and Duncan try to repair their friendship after "Comes a Horseman" and Duncan learns about how Methos previously knew Darius. (18)
• The Gathering Storm by Adam (26)
• Shared Quickening by Adam (27)
• The Apocalypse by Lady Rowena--A story about how Methos finally leaves the Horseman, told entirely from Kronos' point of view! (28)
• A Momentary Lapse of Reason by Quale--In the aftermath of Byron's death at MacLeod's hand, Methos and Duncan have a lot of unresolved issues. (45) (reprinted from Walking Distance)
• Survivors by K. Ann Yost--Methos and Avon are thrown together while trying to escape from the Federation. Crossover with Blake's 7. (54)
• Voyeur by Methosia--Michaelus has a long-standing interest in and friendship with both Duncan MacLeod and with Methos. In the wake of Methos' past with the Horsemen being revealed, MacLeod finds himself unable to deal with his developing desire for Methos. Michaelus endeavors to assist both of his friends in the only way he knows how...and to satisfy a few of his own desires along the way... (59)
• Visions of Methos: A Sweet Winter's Tale by Elizabeth (Dragonfly) Kowols--Cassandra finally has her "revenge" on Methos after taking a little advice from Amanda! (85)
• Drinking the Music by Secret Admirer (89)
• Swords At Sunset by Attilla the HunEE--A late entry into the "Swords at Sunset" contest hosted by Eng and Maygra on their website. It's a Highlander romance, a la Harlequin! Definitely an Alternate Universe for our heroes, set during the mid-seventeenth century. (90)
• Bookends (a Forever Knight crossover) by Lauren Adams (105)

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 1

The one B7 story in this zine is basically a PWP. Given the basic premise of Highlander (immortality, just in case any of the rest of you know even less about the series than I do), set-up is not a problem-- presumably Methos will still be around in the B7 future. And what a pretty pair he and Avon make.

It's a good story, but IMO not worth buying an entire zine for unless you're also a Highlander fan. If you are, this is a must. I haven't read the other stories in detail, but a quick skim indicated that they're well-written and full of sex'n'angst, all the good stuff, yes yes. And cartoons by Leah, for a good laugh in between angsty stories.

There's also one Forever Knight crossover story.

Issue 2

Revelations 2 was published in July 1999 and contains 136-pages (100,682 words).

The color cover is of Methos and is by Karen River. The interior ills (cartoons) are by Leah Rosenthal.

cover by Karen River

[From the editorial]:

Hello again and welcome to our second issue of Revelations!

Once again, there is a definite Methos slant to all the stories. In fact, there is only one story that doesn't feature Methos in some way or another... with a definite slant toward Methos/Duncan. I'm not complaining, you understand. I adore Methos and I like Duncan almost as much. I would never complain about getting these wonderful stories for the zine. Don't stop sending us the Methos stories (please!) but I'm going to repeat my plea from the first issue. How about some Duncan and Amanda? Joe and Methos? Richie and whomever? Methos? (I've seen some good Methos and Richie stories on the internet.) Joe and whomever? How about a few more heterosexual stories? We accept those as well as slash. It would be great to even have a threesome story or two! Anyone who would like a lifelong friend, is invited to write a story about Methos and Cassandra. Leah will love you forever!

We are truly an international zine this time arormd, with contributors spanning the globe from Greece to Germany to England to Australia and, of course, the United States.

Please write and let the contributors know how much you appreciate their hard work! The only payment a zine writer or artist receives is in the form of your feedback and I've heard so many writers lately, both on and of the net, say that they feel no one must be reading their hard work since they receive so little feedback. Many of these writers are some of the best writing in fandom today and I truly believe that folks are reading their work and enjoying it. In fact, the sales of my zines alone confirm that the readership exists. I've met many fans at conventions over the last couple of years, as well, who have expressed their admiration for many of these writers.

Please take a moment to send a letter of comment, either via e-mail or regular mail. You can write through regular mail or on the internet you can send your comments to: [email protected]. Most of our contributors have also provided short bios at the end of the zine and many of them provide their e-mail addresses and even their websites. Praise and constructive criticism of al kind is most welcome. Please let us know, too, if you mind your comments being used in future Letter of Comment columns or on our website.

[snipped]

Well, I'm of to work on Touched by Magic and finish up the edits for So Speaks the Hero #2 (still looking for those last-minute submissions! Hint! Hint!) Until next time, please write to us and by all means, send more submissions! The sooner the next zine fills up, the sooner it will be in print!

• Editorial (3)
• Temptations by Methosia (Duncan/Methos/Kronos): The immediate aftermath of the double Quickening Methos and Duncan share in Bordeaux finds Duncan confused by memories of Kronos' past with Methos... Reprinted from Walking Distance.
• Round 3 to Methos by Jan B. (Methos/Duncan): Methos kills Kristin when Duncan can't bring himself to do it...but there are consequences that the two lovers must then deal with. Kristin isn't going to give up so easily!
• A Midsummer Night's Muse by 'tilla and Hopper (Methos/Duncan; Methos/Kronos): An alternate universe romp in the days of knights and chivalry.
• Strength & Cruelty by Quale (Methos/OFC; Methos/Kronos): Kronos likes to keep Methos happy...but not for too long. The two of them play a longstanding game of cat and mouse with each other in the Bronze Age...
• Out of Bounds by A. C. Langlinais (Methos/Duncan): Duncan reveals that he is feeling rather "possessed" by Kronos after Bordeaux and Methos eventually comes up with a rather unique solution to the Highlander's problem...
• Unexpected by Alice Hill (Amanda/Joe): When Amanda suddenly shows up at Joe's bar, he wonders what she might want...and she's more than willing to show him!
• Impiety by Red Wolf (Methos/OFC): Duncan is out of town but that doesn't stop two old friends from making themselves at home in his dojo!
• The Space Between Us by Olympia (Methos/Duncan): Duncan walks away from his friends and the Game following "Not to Be," but when Methos literally shows up on his doorstep, Duncan soon learns that it's not that easy to leave all those he loves behind.
• Upstairs, Downstairs by Amand-r (Methos/Duncan): Methos has moved into Duncan's loft and made a career out of annoying the Highlander. Well, two can play at that game!
• "For it is Better..." by Alex Vinci (Methos/Duncan): A crossover with Star Trek finds Methos in the future, gone to ground on the planet of Vulcan. But Duncan is drawn to him.
• The Storm Inside Him, poem by Shomeret (Methos/Alexa)
• A Foreign Country by arachne (Methos/Duncan): Methos and Duncan are estranged following their double Quickening in Bordeaux, but both are still drawn together and Amanda decides to interfere...