Shadow (Blake's 7 US zine)

Zine
Title:	Shadow
Publisher:	Theresa D. Buffaloe
Editor(s):	Theresa D. Buffaloe
Date(s):	1987-1989
Series?:
Medium:	print, zine
Size:
Genre:
Fandom:	Blake’s 7
Language:	English
External Links:
	Click here for related articles on Fanlore.
	Contents 1 General Reactions and Reviews; 2 Issue 1; 3 Issue 2; 4 Issue 3; 5 Issue 4; 6 Issue 5; 7 References;

Shadow is a gen Blake's 7 anthology of fiction and non-fiction published in the US.

General Reactions and Reviews

This golden oldie is well worth looking for at used zine sales, and it should be cheap. It was done in a very modest way (legal-size sheets with very small print, folded in half), but it's crammed full of good stuff.
I can't decide whether it's really a fiction zine or more a newsletter that happens to have some fiction. It's pretty much a draw, perhaps leaning toward the newsletter end of things as the stories are all very short; many of them were responses to the "Variations" game in which the readers were given a short passage and asked to build a story around it.
Some of the essays are very thought-provoking and would be great for web pages, if the authors would give their permission.
The same group of people did an all-fiction zine with longer stories, Shadow Imaginings #1 and 2... ^[1]

Issue 1

Shadow 1 was published in August 1987 and contains 150 pages.

cover of issue #1, Theresa Buffaloe

sample interior from issue #1, "Questions and Answers with Michael Keating (from Dixie Trek, May 1987)

Theresa Buffaloe?, "Variations" (fiction)
"Allies" (penpal listing) (nonfiction)
Theresa Buffaloe, "Digressions" (editor's page)
Theresa Buffaloe, "Questions and Answers with Michael Keating (from Dixie Trek, May 1987)"
Rhonda Krafchin, "Roj Blake" (essay)
Sara Arnold, "Reviews: The English Shakespeare Company, Henry IV Part 2 and Henry V; Double-Edged Sword" (nonfiction)
Rhonda Krafchin, "Tragedy in Blake's 7: Avon" (essay, is Avon comparable to Shakespeare's tragic fictures?)
Robin Lancaster and Sara Arnold, "BATSCon" (con report)
Fanzine listings
Con listings
Theresa Buffaloe, "In Rebuttal: The Tragedy of Avon: A Second View" (nonfiction)
Sara Arnold and Robin Lancaster, "Rest Center" (quizes)
art: Theresa Buffaloe (front cover), Robin Lancaster, Nola Frame

Issue 2

Shadow 2 contains 136 pages and was published in November 1987. (The flyer says 52 pages, and that its size was to be 7" x 8 ½")

flyer, click to read

cover of issue #2

The art is by Theresa Buffaloe (front cover), Robin Lancaster, and Nola Frame.

Digressions, editorial by Theresa Buffaloe (3)
Questions and Answers with Michael Keating (from Dixie Trek, May 1987, Scorpio 5 Panel) (4)
Variations: Meetings, fiction by Ingrid Maack (Another Bebel is always welcome, aren't they?) (8)
Blake's 7: American Style by Sharon Maust (humorous article, What if American network television produced B7? A thought too horrible for prolonged consideration!) (10)
Spot Previews by Theresa Buffaloe (10)
One Good Turn Deserves Another, fiction by Renee Grace (A Post GP story, Following 'Blake,' only Avon is left alive, and he is in Servalan's hands, literally.) (11)
Letters of Comment (11)
Variations: The Comic by Nola Frame (graphic story, Star Trek: TOS crossover) (18)
Pairings by Barbara Tennison (humor, a guide to all the possible matings in, the B7 universe. From Avon/Blake to Zen/Orac, its all here in alphabetical order. Its a comedic must for that next pornographic story you're planning.) (20)
Spot Previews by Theresa Buffaloe (23)
Did you Know by Robin Lancaster (actor news) (24)
Life as a Shadow (24)
Variations: The Cave, fiction by Renee Grace (Avon meets an old enemy.) (25)
Question, poem by Alyns Lawchilde (29)
Point of View, poem by Alyns Lawchilde (29)
Fanzines (30)
Life as a Shadow (31)
Rest Center, fun and games (32)
Spot Previews by Theresa Buffaloe (32)
Reviews by Sara Arnold
- Last Stand at the Edge of the World
- The World Turned Upside Down
- Powerplay
- Mascarada
Fool's Paradise, fiction by Renya Spratt (Vila dreams of dying a hero's death to save his one trusted friend but what happens when the dream seems to be coming true? Is Avon worth saving after what happened in 'Orbit'? Reprinted from Vilaworld.) (34)
In at the Start by Ros Williams) (memoir, a very personal view of the early days of B7 in England.) (36)
Murder Must Advertise, review by Linda Terrell (37)
Del Tarrant's Biography by Rhonda Krafchin (41)
Vila's Joke Page (41)
Variations: A Variation on "Terminal" by Mary Ann Johanson (Cally & Zen survive but can Avon & Vila?) (also in Shadow Imaginings) (42)
Scorpio V, report (47)
Clubs by Robin Lancaster (50)
Allies (penpal listing) (51)

Issue 3

Shadow 3 was published in February 1988 and contains 50 pages.

cover of issue #3: "My Bear Doesn't Like You" by Theresa Buffaloe

The art is by Theresa Buffaloe (front and back cover), Lynne Alisse Witten, Suzy Molnar, Nicole Petty, and * Circe Karen Fraguadas.

Digressions by Theresa Buffaloe (editor's page) (3)
Questions and Answers (Excerpts from Scorpio V Liars Panel) (4)
Did You Know? by Robin Lancaster (actor news) (6)
Shadowman, poem by Alyns Lawchilde (7)
Honor, fiction by Janet Paderweski (8)
Letters of Comment (11)
Tanith Lee's Kill the Dead, review by Rebecca Ann Brothers (18)
The Federation: A State of Decay, essay by Nicole Petty (20)
Blake's 7 vs. Star Trek: The Next, essay by Barbara Tennison (21)
Generation (comparative chart)
Whatever Possessed You?, fiction by Jandet Paderewseki (22)
DSV Con Report by Theresa Buffaloe
Found in the Xenon Trash Heap: Vila's Liquors (recipes) (28)
Special Editorial by Theresa Buffaloe (29)
Just a Smile by Theresa Buffaloe (filk, Tar Top by Alabama) (31)
cartoon by Circe Karen Fragundas (32)
Gambit, review by Barbara Tennison
The Last Freedom Fighter, essay by Janet Paderewski (34)
Rebuttal: The True Freedom Fighter, essay by Sara Arnold (37)
The Bizarro Zine, review by Theresa Buffaloe (38)
Variations (39)
Found in the Xenon Trash Base Trash Heap: New Year's Resolutions by The Shadow Gang (40)
What's His Name by Meg Garret (short article) (41)
Shadowplay, review by Sara Arnold (42)
Southern Seven #2, review by Sara Arnold (42)
Rerun #5, review by Sara Arnold (42)
Street Gang Chic and Starship Sleazy by Theresa Buffaloe (44)
Therapy, fiction by Mary Ann Johanson and Theresa Buffaloe (Star Trek: TOS) (47)
Blake's 7, poem by Leigh Burnham (49)
The Stare, poem by Nicole Petty (50)

Issue 4

cover of issue #4

Shadow 4 was published in September 1988 and is 71 pages long.

detail from a 1988 flyer, read to see differences in what was planned and what was printed

From a 1988 flyer:

Well. it's that time of the year again -- SHAOOW is due. This will be our fourth issue and it is even bigger than before. This issue is dedicated to the women in BLAKE'S 7 and has several articles and stories devoted to this theme. We felt it was about time that "the girls" got equal attention. There are several new authors and artists with us this time as well as the usual ~~asylum escapees~~ contributors. Read on to see what the contents ought to be and don't say you haven't been warned!

Two essays that were to appear in this zine but did not (as per a flyer): "Tragedy in Blake's 7: BLAKE by Rhonda Krafchin. We do have it this time! promise! The 2nd installment in Ms. Krafchin's series of comparisons of B7 characters and Shakespearean Tragic Heros. And Servalan: The Human Condition by Theresa Buffaloe. The series most notorious lady had her human side too."

Fiction:

April Giordano,"In the Eye of the Beholder" (An interesting look at Soolin's and Jenna's unique relationship with the same man.)
Rene Groce, "Variations"
Tammy Riden, "The Great Meadow Mutoid Massacre" (graphic story, Bloom County crossover)
Mary Gerstner, "Relationships" (Klyn had a very good reason for hating the Federation and joining Blake's group on Gauda Prime.)
Michelle Moyer, "Variations: Freedom" (Blake and Cally's final meeting wasn't what you thought it was! And Terminal didn't happen the way Avon thought it did.)
Nicole Petty, "Variation of the Truth" (Avon had a right to kill Blake. Or at least Blake thinks so. Was there more to the words "I set all this up" that we ever knew?)
Janet Pederewski, "Vigil" (Avon's dying in slow and incredible agony and Vila considers it all his fault. Without a cure, does Vila have the courage to give Avon the one thing he's asked for--a swift death?)
Julie Shook, "Meeting the Enemy" (Blake's meeting with a young soldier brings new perspective to the aftereffects of Star One's destruction. Blake had a reason for not repairing his scarred eye.)
Barbara T, "Between Battles" (Young Roj Blake had to start his rebellious career sometime, but not just yet, not if Niall Avon has anything to say about it!)
Cindy Blish, "Variations: It" (Jenna and Vila dead, Avon and Cally missing, a monster in relentless pursuit, IT may just be the end of Roj Blake.)
Cathy Conrad, "The Day the Girls Took Over the Ship" (The title says it all! But can the men stand it?)

Nonfiction:

Theresa Buffaloe, "Digressions" (editor's page)
Meg Garrett, "Questions and Answers with Sally Knyvette," recorded at (ORAC, April 9, 1988, San Francisco)
Ros Williams, "The Lesser (?) Ladies of Blake's Seven" (essay) (Meegat, Anna, Zeona, Inga, they get all the attention. What about all the other ladies who made their marks on our heroes' lives? A look at the guest actresses who didn't receive intense fan scrutiny.)
"Allies" (penpal list)
Club listings
Barbara T, "Improbable Pairings" (humor)
Rebecca Reeves, "Anglicon" (con report)
Ingrid Maack, "A Rose by Any Other Name" (article; etymology of names)
"Found in the Xenon Base Trash Heap" (candy recipes; humor)
Robin Lancaster, "Rest Center: Blake's 7 Word Search" (puzzle)
Sharon Maust, "Blake's Seven Crossovers" (humor)
Doris Robin, SWars-B7 feghoot
Mary Gerstner, "A Question of Cally" (essay) (Addresses the inconsistencies in Cally's and Auron's histories by both fan writers and the series episodes themselves)
Jean Graham, "Con Review" (ORAC)
Diana Fox, "77 Things To Do on The Liberator When You're Bored" (humor) (Ever wondered how to pass the time on those long watches while chasing Servalan or waiting for Fearless Leader to come up with a new suicidal mission? This list can help!)
Fanzine listings
Jean Graham, "Reviews: Powerplay 2, B7 Complex 13, B7 Complex 14, Shadowplay by Susan Matthews"
Rhonda Krafchin, "Tragedy in Blake's 7: Blake" (essay) (The second installment in Ms. Krafchin's series of comparison of B7 characters and Shakespearean Tragic Heroes.)
Nancy Catherine Bernadski, "Omnicon VIII" (con report)
Roland W. Gagne, "Blake's 7-- A Piece of Star Trek's Action?" (essay)
Letters of Comment

Poetry:

M. J. Dolan, "The Women"
M. J. Dolan, "Le Belle Dame Sans Merci"
Sara Arnold, "For Theresa"
M. J. Dolan, "Jenna's Lament"

Art:

Theresa Buffaloe (front cover)
Mary Gerstner
Tammy Riden
Elizabeth Gagliano
Lynne Alisse Witten
Robin Lancaster
Sara Arnold
Mariann Howarth
Tammy Riden
Nicole Petty

Issue 5

Shadow 5 was published in April 1989.

cover of issue #5