Starbase M.T.L.

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Zine
Title: Starbase M.T.L.
Publisher: Star Trek Montreal, a fan club
Editor(s): John Spires
Date(s): 1977-1979
Series?:
Medium: print zine
Size:
Genre:
Fandom: Star Trek: TOS
Language: English
External Links:
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Starbase M.T.L. is a gen Star Trek: TOS Canadian quarterly clubzine It has the subtitle: "The Montreal Trekker's Log." There are seven issues.

a 1977 flyer, printed in a McGill University science fiction student-produced zine called "The Thousandth Man"

Summary

Starbase M.T.L. is a clubzine, and I believe it to be one of the best club 'zines I've ever seen. There is something for everyone, and the editors are always encouraging submissions. The policy has become, starting with issue #6, to reprint one of the better American stories in each issue for the benefit of new fans and Canadian fans who may not have had the opportunity to read some of the earlier stories. Maybe editors of these out-of-print stories can submit them to 'Starbase M.T.L. Ever improving, coming out on a steady schedule, this 'zine will undoubtedly continue to be enjoyable reading. [1]

Controversy

Issue #6 contains a story, "A la récherche de l'avenir" by Genevieve Lapierre, that is a responsefic to The Rack that was written without permission or approval. In "A la Recherche de l'Avenir", Spock is gay and has a lover, a minor character from the original story. "The Rack's" authors wrote a lengthy personal statement regarding this story in Scuttlebutt #16.

General Reactions and Reviews

Issues #3 and #4 are good offset reproduction, the layout is nice, the art adequate, and there's enough variety of content to please everyone, but I think the $2.00 plus .50 postage is a bit high for a 22-32 page zine. Club president, Bruce Gilmour, expressed a desire to improve the zine, include more fiction and poetry and will accept submissions from anybody, anywhere. At publication, however, first priority will be given to Canadian club members... I'll echo his plea to all of you North American fen who are keeping your stories locked up in desk drawers. For ALL fen, Stateside included, remember LoCs and constructive criticism is appreciated by every zine ed and lets them know what you want to see. [2]

Issue 1

Starbase M.T.L. 1 was published in 1977.

Issue 2

Starbase M.T.L. 2 was published in 1977.

Issue 3

Starbase M.T.L. 3 was published in Fall 1977 and contains 26 pages. The art is by Susan Armstrong, Maureen Whitelaw, Wendy Pearson, and Barry Tremain.

cover of issue #3, Susan Armstrong

From the editorial by Spires:

Here we are again with a new face and more meat on our bones. This is due to our larger staff now that STAR BASE M.T.L, is running under the banner of STAR TREK MONTREAL. Special thanks are due to Susan Armstrong for her artwork on our front cover, as well as an apology for an incorrect artwork credit in the last issue. Susan Anderson was mistakenly credited as the artist who created the Kzinti Queen.

This issue is mostly devoted to reports on the Star Trek America convention. As an added bonus, we have a report on a Con held in England, courtesy of our overseas member, May Jones. Because of the number of reports, we have only one story for this issue: "A Matter of Opinion" by Roxanne Deslongchamps. It's a story I hope you will enjoy reading. Illustrations for the story are by Susan Armstrong and Barry Tremayne. We finish our comic satire with this issue, and we also have a "find a word" puzzle from David Wax.

From the editorial by Gilmour:

As most of you are aware, Star Trek Montreal has grown enormously since its formal institution in May 1977. With our most recent amalgamation with The Final Frontier, we have not only added at least 20 more members, but also obtained an experienced fanzine editor, John Spires. Our membership is quickly reaching for the 100 mark and may have passed it by the time you read this. We have even had inquiries into the possibility of setting up branches in Vancouver, Ottawa and New Brunswick.

Since part of the aims of Star Trek Montreal is to get closet Trekkies out of the closet, we have recently instituted a membership drive.

The cutoff date is December 17, 1977 so that the prize for most new members brought in can be awarded on December 20, 1977. As of this moment we have not finalized the prize, but it will not be just a handshake and speech. We are considering, among other things, a bottle of Saurian brandy, so if you have any ideas, please let us know. You do not need an application form to join but make sure your name as well as your new member's name and address is included so that you get the credit.

A lot more people have been asking about the aims of Star Trek Montreal. They are very simply, to get Star Trek and/or Science Fiction fans together with others of like mind and to provide an information exchange service about upcoming conventions as well as news about the new Star Trek series. This fanzine, as well as the newsletter, is part of that information service.

  • from issue #3, Susan Armstrong

  • from issue #3, Wendy Pearson

  • from issue #3, Barry Tremaine, Fernando Vieira, and Lorne Shapiro

  • from issue #3, David Wax

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 3

See reactions and reviews for A Matter of Opinion.

Issue 4

Starbase M.T.L. 4 was published in winter 1978 and 31 pages.

It has art by Bernard Reischl, Barry Tremaine, Linda Huntoon, and Lorne Shapiro.

front cover of issue #4, Bernard Reischl

From the editorial by Spires:

We are starting out the new year with a mixture of good and bad news. Our club is still growing, our zine is likewise, and the Star Trek movie is on again. The unhappy part of it all is that the T.V. series is being shelved due to problems with the fourth network project of Paramount's. We can not expect either a movie or series until some time in 1979. My personal opinion is that we may never see the movie but perhaps after seeing the money that Star Wars and Close Encounters make for their studios, paramount may have second thoughts. At the very least we now can have hope that Leonard Nimoy will be offered a contract to play Mr. Spock. To make things even worse Channel 22 which was running the series has decided to retire it. A letter writing campaign would be in order.

Fortunately we have an alternative. I speak of course of fanzine fiction. As long as you are willing to create new stories and art we will be able to print it and make it available to other fans who would be otherwise waiting listlessly in front of their T.V. sets for the reruns to return. You all must remember that it is only by means of Star Trek Fan Clubs and their fanzines that the world of Star Trek will really live, so get busy and write, draw or create and send it in.

[...]

This issue has several critiques on Close Encounters of The Third Kind. I wish to add my own comments about the book. Unlike the film the book allows the plot to unfold so that the reader is aware of the necessary who, what, when and wheres which were not given in the movie. Either the film was poorly edited (like Star Wars or 2001) or the director chose not to read the book written under his name. After seeing the film, I read the book and enjoyed it more than the movie. I also made a point of seeing Star Wars (for the third time) again to remove the taste of disappointment from my mouth. So if you felt cheated after watching the film, read the book and you might at least get something out of the written version.

We introduce a two part story in this issue, with AFTERMATH by J. S. Lee. This story features some excellent artwork by Bernie Reischl and Lome Shapiro. Bernie who is our graphic design editor is also res ponsible for our cover, the three editions of the Enterprise, and the lonely traveler. For all you puzzle fans we have a maze, a Circle a word, and an insert, a word puzzle. If I continue to tell you any more we soon won't need the table of contents.

  • Editor's Notebook by John Spires (1)
  • T.L.F.C. Report by Howard Naud (2)
  • The Real McCoy, poem by Benjy Eliasoph (4)
  • Lonely Traveler, art by Bernard Reischl (5)
  • Review of "Star Ship Invasions" by Benjy Eliasoph (6)
  • Near Misses by J. Robinson, Benjy Eliasopy, and B. Quicke (views on Close Encounters of the Third Kind) (7)
  • Why the Prime Directive?, article by Judith Fett (10)
  • Verbal Shorthand: Assignment Earth by B. Stewart (11)
  • U.S.S. Enterprise: Past, Present, Future, art by B. Reischl (12)
  • The One That Got Away, article about photography by Bob Quicke (13)
  • Aftermath, fiction by J.S. Lee. (15)
  • Uhura's Choice, fiction by Wendy Pearson ("This two page short-short presents the ideal mate for the Swahili Communications Officer, but loyalty to the Enterprise wins out and Uhura lets him go.") [3]) (26)
  • Close Encounters Maze by F. Vieira and B. Tremaine (28)
  • Trouble with Tribbles Maze by Linda Gorman (29)
  • Aliens, Monsters, and Other Creatures, wordfind by W. Pearson (31)

  • from issue #4, Barry Tremaine

  • from issue #4, Lorne Shapiro

  • from issue #4, Lorne Shapiro

  • from issue #4, Bernard Reischl

  • from issue #4, Bernard Reischl

  • from issue #4, Barry Tremaine

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 4

See reactions and reviews for Aftermath.

Issue 5

Starbase M.T.L. 5 was published in 1978 and contains 54 pages. This fanzine contains 16 stories,poems, photos, and puzzles.

over of issue #5
  • reviews of a number of pro novels, and a rebuttal to a review of a pro novel from an earlier issue
  • Aftermath, fiction by J.S. Lee
  • In Defense of Close Encounters by Paul Schrata
  • It's a Dog's Life by Artaxerxes
  • artwork
  • poetry
  • a con report and photos from the February Star Trek convention in New York City, see that page
  • notes on how to write a sonnet
  • Con Games by B. Quicke
  • The Logical Thing to Do by Jackie Robinson
  • CBS-SF? by Melissa Thomas
  • Little Boy Lost by Cassiopia


Issue 6

Starbase M.T.L. 6 was published in 1978 and contains 70 pages.

cover of issue #6
  • Editor's Notebook by John Spires (2)
  • Input/output, letters (2)
  • Transportation of the Future, art by Bernard Reischl (a cartoon comparing various types of spaceships, ending with a phallic shaped space ship for Flesh Gordon, see gallery below) (4)
  • The Healing, fiction by Marcy Gilmour, Illustrated by Lorne Shapiro (5)
  • Let's Hear From the Rank & File, fiction by Roxanne Deslongchanps, Illustrated, by Susan Armstrong (18)
  • The Guiding Light, poem by - Brian Stewart (29)
  • The Evolution of "Slaver Weapon" article by Melissa Thomas (30)
  • Diaspar, art by Barry A. Tremaine (surrealistic science fiction art) (32)
  • Maiden Voyage, fiction by J.S.Lee, Illustrated by Barry A. Tremaine (34)
  • Where No Man Has Gone Before, poem by Crystal Ann Taylor (41)
  • Pieta, art by Wendy Pearson (poetry and art, see gallery below) (42)
  • Pieta, poem by J.S.Lee (42)
  • Brother's Keeper, fiction by Ruth Berman, Illustrated by Susan Armstrong (Reprinted from T-Negative 15 by permission of the author; also in Deck Five Digest #1) (43)
  • Sonnet to a Ship's Doctor, poem by J.S.Lee (46)
  • Aftermath, pt. 3, fiction by J.S.Lee, Illustrated by Wendy Pearson (47)
  • A la récherche de l'avenir, fiction by Geneviève Lapierre, Illustrated by Wendy Pearson (54)
  • Fanzine Reviews by Wendy Pearson (Alnitah 7, Epilogue, Pt. II, Organian Questor 4, The Beast: A Star Trek Tale and The Thousandth Man - see those pages (62)
  • Book Reviews by Wendy Pearson (65)
  • Meditation on the Death of a Friend, poem by Gifford Owens, Jr. (60)
  • Silent Running, art by Bernard Reischl (cartoon artwork for the film Silent Running) (61)

  • Transportation of the Future by Bernard Reisch

  • illo for Let's Hear From the Rank & File art by Susan Armstrong

  • Art by Wendy Pearson accompanying the poem Pieta . By today's standard's the image and poem are clearly slash."Christ, how I've longed to hold you/in my arms/Or kiss those lips that now are/stilled and cold,/New-sealed against the uttering of your love/ is strong, both visually as well as through the written word..." (click on image for larger version). The Pieta imagery was echoed decades later in Shelley Butler's art piece of the same name in First Time #46, except the positions are reversed.

  • an example of the smaller drawings scattered throughout the text. These illos are by Susan Armstrong and accompany Ruth Berman's Brother's Keeper

  • Wendy Pearsons illustration for "A la recherche de I'avenir" uses a style that is very distinct from fan art. It has similarities to the covers of published science fiction books in the 1970s.

  • amusing header for Wendy Pearsons Fanzine Review section. While the art is uncredited, the initials WGP may indicate it was drawn by Wendy.

  • cartoon accompanying the Fanzine Review section. In it, Dr McCoy asks if Captain Kirk has finished reading his technical manual copy of Grup yet. Cartoon is not credited, although, like the header, the initials read WGP and may refer to Wendy. To read the cartoon, click to see the larger version.

  • back cover

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 6

See reactions and reviews for A la récherche de l'avenir.

Issue 7

Starbase M.T.L. 7 was published in Summer 1979, contains five stories and is 76 pages long. Art by Susan Armstrong and Bernard Rischl.

cover of issue #7, Bernard Reischl
  • Editor's Notebook (2)
  • Two by Two by Jeremy Edward (2)
  • Input/Output, letters (3)
  • Sonnet to a Human Teacher, poem by J.S. Lee (7)
  • Shakespeare in 'The Conscience of the King' by Cathy Tribble (8)
  • Then to Piece the Broken Chain by Nancy Kippax and Bev Volker (9)
  • Tomorrow is Yesterday by Bernard Reischl (20)
  • Fanzine Reviews by Melissa Thomas (21)
  • Book Reviews by Melissa Thomas, Lillian Moir, and Wendy Pearson (25)
  • Sonnet to a Vulcan, poem by J.S. Lee (27)
  • Aftermath, Part 4 by J. S. Lee (48)
  • But Who Will Guard the Guardian? by Roxanne Deslongchamps (28)
  • Star Wars: Racism as Science Fiction by Henry Srebrnik (58)
  • Con Report for Empathy Stag Con, by May Jones (60)
  • A Broken Bubble by Cassiopeia (62)
  • Prelude by Jeremy Edward (64)
  • Transportation of the Future, part three by Bernard Reischl (73)
  • Why "Trekker" by Lillian Moir (74)
  • The U.S.S. San Diego Bernard Reischl (75)

References

  1. ^ from Scuttlebutt #8
  2. ^ from Scuttlebutt #6
  3. ^ from Scuttlebutt #6
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