Something... Unfriendly
| Zine | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Something... Unfriendly |
| Publisher: | Cathi Brown |
| Editor(s): | |
| Date(s): | 1988-1990 |
| Series?: | |
| Medium: | |
| Size: | |
| Genre: | |
| Fandom: | Blake’s 7 |
| Language: | English |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Something... Unfriendly is a gen Blake's 7 anthology with two issues.
Issue 1
Something... Unfriendly 1 was published in May 1988 and contains 290 pages.
The art is by Sheila Paulson, Cathi Brown, Lynne Witten, Mary Robertson, Mary Gerstner, Dorinda Francis, Suzan Lovett, Kathryn Andersen, Ruth Landry, Suzie Molnar, Denise Loague, Gayle F, Theresa Buffaloe, and Dani Lane.
It is an odd size, like a wide digest size (almost square). The zine was also was printed in a full size version. The first time it was printed in two volumes.
- Words to the Wise by Cathi Brown (editorial) (1)
- Close Calls, fiction by Linda Knights (later reprinted as Close Calls) (3)
- ORAC, poem by Alyns Lawchilde (35)
- An Uncertain Future, fiction by Jeanne DeVore (36)
- Cat-astrophe, fiction by May Robertson (39)
- Turnabout, fiction by Mary Gerstner and April Giordano (44)
- A Necessary End, fiction by Mary Robertson (48)
- What Are Legend..., fiction by Linda Terrell (also in Perihelion #2 and The Chronicles #27/28) (51)
- Avon's Nuts by Mary Gerstner and April Giordano (filk, Jingle Bells) (63)
- Then and Now by Teresa Ward (filk, That Was Then, This Is Now, by the Monkees) (65)
- To a Hero by Shoshanna (filk, My Name is Luka, by Suzanne Vega) (66)
- Utopian Heights by Alison Knapp (filk, Wuthering Heights, by Kate Bush) (68)
- Lost Time, poem by Teresa Ward (70)
- Solitary-- Gauda, poem by Sheila Paulson (72)
- Loss, poem by Alyns Lawchilde (73)
- Distorted Reflection, poem by H. Saavedra (75)
- Out of Reach, poem by H. Saavedra (76)
- Avon's World, fiction by Jill Grundfest (78)
- The Face of the Stranger, fiction by Sophia Mulvey (89)
- Decoy, fiction by Sheila Paulson (part of the Jabberwocky series; reprinted in Jabberwocky Collected and Jabberwocky #2) (105)
- The Importance of Being Tarrant, fiction by Alicia Ann Fox (Doctor Who crossover) (149)
- Paradox, poem by Dorinda Francis (151)
- Resolution, poem by Dorinda Francis (153)
- The Interrogator, fiction by Cindy Rancourt (155)
- A Fate Worse Than Death, fiction by Dorinda Francis (167)
- Living in Harmony, fiction by Alicia Ann Fox (169)
- The Ballad of Blake's 7 by Teresa Ward (filk, Gilligan's Island) (171)
- Echoes of the Future, fiction by L.A. Carr and Ann Wortham (201)
- The Wings That Fly Us Home, fiction by Sheila Paulson (reprinted from Interface #6) (221)
- Valley of Shadow, fiction by Leigh Arnold (268)
- Zine ads
from issue #1, Lynne Witten
from issue #1, Mary Robertson, portrays an Avon allergic to cats
from issue #1, Mary Gestner
from issue #1, Suzan Lovett
from issue #1, Suzan Lovett
from issue #1, Gayle F
from issue #1, Gayle F
from issue #1, Kathryn Andersen
from issue #1, Suzie Molnar
from issue #1, Sheila Paulson
from issue #1, Ruth Landry
from issue #1, Theresa Buffaloe
from issue #1, Kathryn Andersen
from issue #1, Dani Lane
Reactions and Reviews: Issue 1
[The Wings That Fly Us Home]: "Ingenious Un-Gaudas" or "Please make it didn't happen" or "All is not as it seems": Terminal" and the entire 4th series are programmed false memories to send Blake after Avon for revenge for the attempted murder. [1]
[zine]:
This one stood out for the evenness of quality in the stories. Although reduced, print is clear and easy to read, although reproduction of some artwork is disappointing. Something here for everyone. [2]
[zine]: Only two issues of this zine (as far as I know), and they're in two different formats: #2 is full-size, and #1 is digest-size. But whereas Standard by Several, Dr. Bellfriar's Memorial Journal, and Power #2 (the other U.S. digest zines that I know of) are made from ordinary letter-size paper folded in half, Something... Unfriendly #1 appears to be made from legal-size paper, halved, so that it's an almost square shape. It's a fat zine, nearly 300 pp., and the paper is neatly cut in half and bound in the usual way with card covers and heavy-duty staples. I've never seen another zine in this format. I have no idea why it was done this way and not as a full-size zine, unless because the printing was significantly cheaper for legal-size sheets than it would have been for double that number of letter- size sheets.
Carol mentioned this zine on Lysator as one that's particularly rich in good Tarrant stories. My own special favorite is her "Rules, Honor, and Chivalry" in #2. PGP, all survive (including Blake), but Avon and Dayna are badly injured. Tarrant goes back to his job as First Champion of Teel, with skills that Soolin has taught him, and uses his earnings to pay for security and medical care. Servalan finds them, and complications ensue.
I'm also especially partial to Sheila Paulson's "Mind-Tender" in #2, a PGP in which an injured Avon is healed both physically and mentally by an appealing alien.
There's plenty of hc in these zines, but not much sex. In "The Face of the Stranger" in #1, Tarrant learns the hard way about betrayal through his doomed affair with an original female character. In "Blood Bond" in #2, Vila experiences (apparently unconsummated) love for another original female character. I wondered whether this story might be a sequel to someting in another zine, since it seems to start in the middle. [3]
Issue 2
Something... Unfriendly 2 was published in 1990 and contains 263 pages. Unlike its predecessor, it is full-sized.
The art is by Cathi Brown, Adrian Morgan (not listed in the credits), Denise Loaque, Sheila Paulson, Suzie Molnar, Sue Williams, Gin Turpin, Kathryn Andersen, and Mary Gerstner.
From the editorial:
Gee, this could very well be the last one of these I will natter your ears on. Now you might ask -- will I miss doing zines? I might, but it will free me up to do some actual writing of my own.[...]
I find that I can't say that this will be the very last zine that I ever put out. (Besides, I still have two volumes of Dial "S" #3 to be copied off, collated, and bound.) Who knows... I might get the urge again. Maybe. But not for a long, long time. I need the rest!
- Editorial by Cathi Brown (2)
- Interview, fiction by Linda Knights (reprinted as a mini-zine) (3)
- Inheritance, poem by Tyndara Meffe (8)
- Mind-Tender, fiction by Sheila Paulson (10)
- Food for the Gods, fiction by Sophia R. Mulvey (42)
- That's What Friends Are For, fiction by Sue Williams (53)
- The Price of Friendship, fiction by Janet Walker (57)
- Flight of Destiny, fiction by Sue Williams (62)
- Resurrection, fiction by Gin Turpin (65)
- The Message, fiction by K. Rae Travers (70)
- Sure as Hell, fiction by April Giordano (81)
- Invictus, fiction by Jill Grundfest (85)
- Weight of the World, fiction by Alicia Ann Fox (106)
- Time Distort, fiction by Sophia R. Mulvey (V crossover]] (113)
- Blood Bond, fiction by Kaye Dunham (139)
- Clone, fiction by Sheila Paulson (Jabberwocky universe; reprinted in Jabberwocky Collected, and Jabberwocky #2) (151)
- Distorted Images, fiction by Mary Gerstner (224)
- Rules, Honor and Chivalry, fiction by Cami (230)
from issue #2, Adrian Morgan
from issue #2, Adrian Morgan
from issue #2, Suzie Molnar
from issue #2, Gin Turpin
from issue #2, Denise Loaque
from issue #2, Kathryn Andersen
from issue #2, Sheila Paulson
from issue #2, not credited, but likely Cathi Brown
from issue #2, Sheila Paulson, portrays "Hugh Tiver", an original character, also in Jabberwocky Collected
from issue #2, Sheila Paulson, portrays "Dorn Suliman", an original character who is a fan-casted character based on Tom Selleck, also in Jabberwocky Collected
from issue #2, Mary Gerstner
from issue #2, Kathryn Andersen
Reactions and Reviews: Issue 2
"The Good, the Bad, and the Unique" (A blatantly prejudicial, biased non-review of some recent zines.) Before going on, please read this disclaimer. I admit that this considers zine stories for only three things: if they are fair in characterizing Tarrant (The Good) if they greatly misunderstand, malign, or ignore Tarrant (The Bad), if they have some refreshing premise or twist (The Unique). I will not comment on quality of good writing and will ignore or pan stories that are better written than some of "The Good" ones. All ratings are based on my own personal impressions, tastes, and interpretations.
- [The Good]: Food for the Gods by Sophia R. Mulvey - Avon must care for an injured Tarrant on e planet with unknown dangers.
- [The Good]: The Message by K. Rae Travers - Tarrant is reunited with a family member.
- [The Bad]: Sure as Hell by April Giordano - Tarrant's bullying of Vila continues into eternity.
- [The Good]: Tarrant art by Sheila Paulson, Denise Logue, Brown
- [The Bad]: Blood Bond by Kaye Dunham - Tarrant sneers at anyone and everyone. (If he had been this unpleasant, they'd have spaced him.)
- [The Good]: Clone by Paulson - A Jabberwocky story, where they try to retrieve TMIPAK.
- [The Good]: Rules, Honor, and Chivalry by McCoy - After GP, Tarrant reclaims the position of First Champion of Teal. [4]
This zine is a bit of a mixed bag IMHO. It has a long Jabberwocky episode which will please fans of that series, one or two above average stories and the rest merely adequate. Most of them are action or moderately emotional without any real angst, Jabberwocky excepted. Gan does not appear, Blake and Cally have very little to do, and the lion's share goes to Avon and Tarrant.The "Interview" is with Avon, who has reasons for wanting to give his version of events as the Federation finally falls apart. Archetypal Avon, rather pedestrian story.
The consistent Sheila Paulson is next with yet another enjoyable read. The 32-page "Mind Tender" is a PGP where a distressed Avon is rescued by a hairy alien, the Mind-tender of the title, and is subsequently reunited with some of his former colleagues. It's an emotional but not maudlin story where Avon has his barriers down so expect lots of hugs and other forms of fan wish fulfilment, yippee.
"Food for the Gods" is about Avon and an injured Tarrant in a cave. Not very original but okay.
The next few stories are all pretty short.
"That's what Friends are for" is a light weight shore leave tale.
"The Price of Friendship" is a sombre alternative version of what happened after Dorian's death.
"Flight to Destiny" is a two-pager about Avon and Raiker.
"Resurrection" contains a surprise on Xenon after Scorpio leaves for the last time.
Tarrant meets up with his sister in "The Message": rather melodramatic.
"Sure as Hell" shows there's life after death, in comedy anyway.
"Invictus" is a more substantial story, with a strong plot describing what happens when Avon is blinded and meets a really interesting machine intelligence.
"Weight of the World" is told by Jenna after Atlay. Blake is withdrawn, life ain't what it used to be, when Liberator gets a mysterious plea for help. An unusual conclusion for a Blake story.
"Time Distort" is a 24 page time travel story that has a host of predicable new characters for our heros to relate to. There was rather too much about the former and not enough about the latter for the story to gel.
In "Blood Bond" Avon goes down to an icy planet with a new part-mutoid crew member whom Vila has befriended. While there Avon has a moral dilemma to cope with. Quite good.
"Clone" is a 73-page episode in the Jabberwocky saga. At the start Tarrant's not himself, Blake's worried about imipak, and tensions mount; to say much more would take too long and give away half the plot. Suffice it to say that the charaters are as well drawn and the plot as skilfully plotted as ever. If you like alternative story lines the Jabberwocky series should please you. If not, note that this one takes up a lot of the zine so you may want to spend your money elsewhere.
"Distorted Images" is a staccato short in which Avon and Blake in turn give an account of the events around Gauda Prime. "Rules, Honor and Chivalry" is a long PGP Tarrant story. He gets the crew away from Gauda Prime but Dayna and Avon are badly injured. Soolin leaves for pastures new, and the rest settle on Teal where Tarrant earns money to cover the medical bills; old acquaintances show up in due course. I had trouble believing this one, not just - I hope - because I don't see Tarrant as noble but because the plot failed to convince me. [5]
References
- ^ from Ruth Berman in Horizon Letterzine #4 (November 1992)
- ^ from Aspects #5 (1989)
- ^ from Sarah Thompson at Judith Proctor's Blake's 7 site
- ^ by Carol McCoy in On the Wing #2
- ^ from CB at Judith Proctor's Blake's 7 site