Serrated Seven

Zine
Title:	Serrated Seven
Publisher:	Ashton Press
Editor(s):
Date(s):	1993
Series?:
Medium:	print fanzine
Size:
Genre:
Fandom:	Blake's 7
Language:	English
External Links:	B7 zines at Ashton Press
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

front cover by Karen River

back cover by Leigh Mootooka

flyer, note that "The Best Chance" did not appear in this zine, at least with this title. Also, the "updated version" of "The Promise" by Wortham and Rosenthal also did not appear; it's possible that this was the "Bizarro" story mentioned in the editorial.

Serrated Seven -- Blakes 7 gen 203-page anthology with a theme of hurt/comfort.

The color cover is by Karen River.

The zine won a 1994 FanQ.

The art is by Leah Rosenthal, Karen River, Leigh Mootooka, Adrian Morgan, Samantha Hayman, Sue Williams, Daphne Ann Hamilton, and Todd Parrish.

Was Planned to Be a Series

The editor mentions in the zine's editorial that there were more issues planned in this series.

Wortham also mentions in the editorial in Southern Comfort #8.75 that more stories by J.R. "in the 'Saint of Circumstances' series" were to appear in these future issues, but there were no other issues of "Serrated Seven" published.

From a fan in 1996:

Serrated Comfort is supposed to be the adult companion zine to Serrated Seven, the all h-c B7 genzine. So presumably X-rated is okay, though of course Annie can only publish what people contribute. I assume it will be similar to the Southern Comfort zines, as far as explicitness goes.

From the Editorial

Here is Serrated Seven at long last. It's not quite as hurt/comfort as I had intended when I first envisioned it, alas. But it does contain some great "get 'ems" and some all-around good adventure B7 stories. I had hoped that Leah and I would have time for a new Bizarro story for this issue, but it just wasn't meant to be. We are still hoping to start collecting some of our out-of-print material into new volumes with new edits, new stories (sequels), and probably updated art, as well.

[snipped]

I would like to do more issues, but that is dependent on you guys. I need contributions of art, poetry, filler, and stories. THe fines are finally thinking down (probably because I've done five new zines all at once for MediaWest this year.)

[snipped]

My eternal thanks to those of you who have been patient while my life has been in turmoil, and especially those of you who have sent words of support and encouragement. To those of you who think fandom should have taken precedence over everything else, go fly a kite. Your opinion is meaningless to me. My biggest thanks and a big hug go to Bill Hupe, who has helped me out more than anyone.

Contents

• In the Shadow of the Night by Linnadel Cameron (Three sequels to this story were written by Baravan and published in Love and Sacrifice) (4)
• Shoot Feds and Dodge, filk by Anna Collins Smith (32)
• Happy Families by Sheila Paulson ("Avon crawled out of the pit called Gauda Prime and tries to put his life back together.") (also in Author's Choice) (34)
• Death Be Thine Enemy, Death Be My Friend by Beth Masterson (59)
• Avon, We Really Bash You, filk by Anna Collins Smith (64)
• Of Mice and Thieves by Robin Roarke (65)
• Turnabout by Teresa Ward ("A Travis story...really, as the author says, this is more of a "hurt" story, since who would ever dare to "comfort" Travis?!") (66)
• No Friend of Mine, filk by Roxie Ray (73)
• Nietzsche Was Right by Leokadija ("Vila and Soolin have survived Gauda Prime, but at what cost?") (74)
• Voices by B.N. Fish ("Avon is caught in a cave-in with only the sound of another victim's voice to keep him company.") (97)
• Make Me Groan, filk by Roxie Ray (102)
• The Hour of Light and Dark by Dee Dee Winslow and M.R. Robber (104)
• Machinations by Jennifer Smallwood (125)
• Watches of the Night by Joan Hoffman ("As one after the other of the liberator crew is attacked by what they perceive as one of their fellow crewmembers, the horror aboard the ship grow.") (135)
• Fanzines in the Night, filk by Jeff Morris (152)
• Change of Heart by K.T.K, T.T. and O.T. (153)
• Shared Danger by C.A. McCoy (168)
• Firebreak by K.D. Swan ("After Malodaar, Vila is behaving irrationally and, strangely enough, it is Avon who must help him.") (179)
• The Longest Night by Jane Mailander (191)
• Shattered Dreams by Sue Williams (198)

Interior Gallery

• 

  Samantha Hayman

• 

  Sue Williams

• 

  Kathryn Andersen

• 

  Leigh Mootooka

• 

  Adrian Morgan

• 

  Samantha Hayman

• 

  Samantha Hayman

• 

  Samantha Hayman

• 

  Todd Parrish

• 

  Leigh Mootooka, portrays Carnall

• 

  Daphne Ann Hamilton

• 

  Todd Parrish

• 

  Daphne Ann Hamilton

• 

  filk

• 

  Leah Rosenthal

• 

  filk

Reactions and Reviews

I thought the long-awaited Ashton Press hurt-comfort zine "Serrated Seven" was (with a handful of exceptions) mediocre-to-terrible.

I most enjoyed Sheila Paulson's "blatantly sentimental" "Happy Families" probably because it reminded me of old issues of B7 Complex. The Longest Night" by Jane Mailander was a nice piece, too. However. I feel the most inventive by far was K.D. Swan's "Firebreak.- Wow.

Serrated Seven is a "hurt/comfort" genzine from Ashton Press.

It starts off with an involving, angst-ridden Tarrant story, "In the Shadow of the Night" by Linnadel Cameron, in which everyone somehow survived Gauda Prime, and Blake and co. rescue the pilot from a grisly fate on a Federation penal world.

The "comfort" portion of this tale consists primarily of all the characters repeatedly hugging one another, an action severely outof-character for most of them, but wildly popular in wishful fan fiction.

"Happy Families" by Sheila Paulson is, by the author's own admission, an unmittigatedly sentimental post G-P story in which everyone (except poor Gan) turns up alive, to be reunited (eventually) with an autistic Avon who's been rescued and adopted bv a family of space traders.

In "Death Be Thine Enemy, Death Be My Friend," Beth Masterson fills in the five grim days of Avon's interrogation and torture before the events in "Rumours of Death."

We're afraid we didn't understand the point of Robin Roarke's 1 pager "Of Mice and Thieves," in which Vila talks to a pet rodent, drinks a lot and never gets to do anything.

In "Turnabout" by Teresa Ward, Travis gets the worst of it, and in Leokadija's "Neltzsche Was Right," a much-tortured Soolin, Vila and Avon go after revenge against Servalan.

Avon's trapped in a cave-in, wondering if Blake will come looking for him or not in B.N. Fish's "Voices."

Dee Dee Winslow and M.R. Robber penned "The Hour of Light and Dark" with a post G-P Blake, Avon and Vila put through the wringer bv a gloating Servalan, until Avon agrees to a mysterious deal with her.

Jennifer Smallwood's "Machinations" tortures Avon in excruciating detail as Servalan's minions attempt to extract Liberator's location from Blake.

"Watches of the Night" by Joan Hoffman is a succubus/vampire tale with some softcore porm content, slightly out of place in an otherwise all-gen zine.

"Change of Heart" by a long string of initials (!) puts Tarrant through the gauntlet when he and Avon try to escape Federation troops in rugged forrest terrain.

Poor Tarrant gets the worst of it yet again in C.A. McCov's "Shared Danger," in which the pilot, Vila and Cally are betrayed by a planet's rebel faction and sold to Servalan.

In "Firebreak" by K.D. Swan, Vila develops a peculiarly uncharacteristic self-destructive streak, but in Jane Mailander's "The Longest Night" he acquires the even more credulity-stretching habit of chanting ancient myths round the campfire on good old Terminal. Even more laughable is the shellshocked Avon suddenly bursting forth into - of all things - a maudlin Leslie Fish filksong. This entire story evoked more titters than the obviously intended pathos. (Sorry, filk fans.)

Finally, there's Sue Williams' "Shattered Dreams,' with a wounded Avon accidentally left behind on a planet and hallucinating an angry Blake, whom he fears will not return for him.

Yes, why is there so much emphasis on the hurt and not the comfort? Not just in BELOVED ADVERSARY, but stories in general. SERRATED COMFORT [sic] was a big disappointment that way. It could go back to people wanting to be careful about suggesting anything sexual going on, that if the guys are all concerned over each other it makes them suspect, because Real Men don't do that. Ever look at the sidelines of a football game, though, especially the losing team in a big game? Anyone gonna tell a 6'6", 300 lb. linebacker he's not a real man because he's crying with/hugging his team mates?