Talk:MAS-Zine

Okay, found a zine listing that suggests that MAS-Zine is the name of the zine --I think "The Wicked Ones" is the name of the individual issues being listed. I think this is a multifandom anime zine, but someone who knows for sure should take a look at this.--Penknife 15:01, 22 August 2009 (UTC)

I thought MAS-Zine was a yaoi zine? The site is defunct, but here's a page from webarchive, with their individula issues listed (5 themed ones overall). They often poublishedin conjunction with yaoicon...but I've never actually bought it, so I wouldn't know! But calling it a slash zine...hmm...it's Original Slash, rather. --lian 14:01, 24 August 2009 (UTC)

I'm going to call this "original yaoi" as the fandom, then, unless someone comes up with more information.--Penknife 14:12, 24 August 2009 (UTC)

sounds good, I've researched some more stuff and will add a few bits. --lian 15:11, 24 August 2009 (UTC)

I think MAS-Zine would be best described as a zine of original slash and original yaoi. The origins of it lie in the now-defunct MaleAbuseStuff e-mail list (hence "MAS-Zine"), which was founded by Juxian Tang, who was writing stories in both yaoi and slash fandoms, as well as creating original m/m fiction. The MaleAbuseStuff list, which was devoted to darkfic, attracted people from the yaoi, slash, and erotica worlds and was unusually prone (for that time period) to attract original fiction writers. Juxian Tang and Anne Blue were listed as joint publishers of the first issue of MAS-Zine; thereafter, the zine was Anne's alone. Anne advertised MAS-Zine at yaoi, slash, and gayfic Websites, but the zine never attracted much of a gayfic readership. The zine was sold at both yaoi cons and slash cons. At any rate, Anne was definitely recruiting writers and artists from both the slash and yaoi communities, which is why the zine published both original slash and original yaoi, as well as a dash of fanfic. Her Yaoi-con Anthology, by contrast, published only yaoi stories and art (both original and fanfic).

I know that Anne Blue's blurbs were edited by at least one zine distributor, so I don't know whether Agent With Style's blurb (which is quoted in the current Fanlore entry on MAS-Zine) represents what Anne actually wrote. Here is a blurb that Anne herself wrote. You'll see that she describes the zine as publishing "M/M romance. Fantasy, Science Fiction, Yaoi and original slash." (In the yaoi world, at least in those days, both original yaoi and yaoi fan fiction tended to be called yaoi.)

Here's the Web cache of the publisher of MAS-Zine, which has a more polished description of MAS-Zine.

And here's the description of MAS-Zine from its own Website (which I think I might have helped to write): "MAS-Zine offers you stories that show you the darker side of life, dealing with topics like slavery, imprisonment and prostitution. But we're romantics at heart, showing how love can bloom in such unlikely places." In other words, it was a darkfic zine.

I was a regular contributor to both MaleAbuseStuff and MAS-Zine, was in touch with Anne Blue from immediately after the first issue, and she and I had many discussions about her marketing efforts and her editorial work. She's still around, if you want to ask her to verify this information.

One notable fact is that MAS-Zine was one of the earliest - possibly the earliest - electronic zines devoted to original slash. It was founded at a time when the original slash community did not yet exist (as opposed to individual writers of original slash, who had existed for quite a while). I think it's fair to say that MAS-Zine brought the original slash darkfic community together for the first time; the zine served as a focal point for that community for several years.

Also, notice that it won a Screwz award in 2003 and 2004.

--duskpeterson 04:53, 10 June 2010 (UTC)

I'm hesitant to correct this without input, but the section on Issue #5 (The Wicked Ones) looks to me as though it has problems. There are references to "Part 1" and "Part 2," and the stories listed in those two parts overlap.

MAS-Zine's catalogue only lists a single issue, not divided into parts:

http://web.archive.org/web/20080129065858/http://www.mas-zine.com/en/maszine5.htm

I was published in that issue, and I know there was only one CD for Issue #5, though I suppose it's possible that the printed form of the issue came in two parts. In any case, should this section of the MAS-Zine entry be corrected?

--duskpeterson (talk) 23:03, 10 September 2015 (UTC)

First, thank you for all the additions you made to this page, duskpeterson :) Second, since there are two covers for issue #5 that show it in two parts, it must have come that way at some point. Or these are examples of a fan who made some custom zines. I put a note on the main page about the differing versions. duskpeterson, do you think this explains it well enough? If not, feel more than free to elaborate or edit. --MPH (talk) 00:03, 11 September 2015 (UTC)

(Head on desk.) Gosh, yes - thanks for pointing that out. It seems likely, then, that the printed form of the zine (which was a printout of the CD-zine) appeared in two volumes. It was a long zine.

However, the table of contents in the section for Issue #5 still look garbled to me, as though it has duplicate entries within volume 2. I'm going to do what I should have done before I started babbling ignorantly here: drop a note to Anne Blue (the editor) and see whether she can sort out what the table of contents in the printed zines said.

--duskpeterson (talk) 21:10, 14 September 2015 (UTC)

Good idea to contact the editor, duskpeterson. It would be good to get the table of contents straightened out. Again, thank you for working on it. --MPH (talk) 22:56, 14 September 2015 (UTC)

Okay, I talked to Blue by Skype. She told me:

1) She had nothing to do with the print edition; that was the idea of Agent with Style, and they handled it all. Blue hasn't even *seen* the printed editions. Nor was she aware (until I told her) that Agent with Style published the printed edition of Issue #5 in two volumes, using a second piece of art for the cover of the second volume. Blue only knew about the cover art for the CD edition.

2) The way the publication worked is that Blue would issue a run of MAS-Zine CDs for an issue. After that run was sold out, she would send a *second* run of MAS-Zine CDs to Agent with Style to sell. At that point, Agent with Style would use the CD to prepare a print edition, which it would also sell. (I saw the Agent with Style table at the ConneXions con one year, and they were selling the printed zine alongside the CD zine. I remarked upon this to Blue at the time, and I remember her telling me that Agent with Style thought a printed edition would help sales.)

My suggestion for the handling of the MAS-Zine entry: We list the table of contents for the CD edition in the Issue #5 entry, since that was the first-publication table of contents. We then indicate that this issue was reprinted as two printed volumes by Agent with Style, and indicate briefly which stories were in each of the printed volumes. (Agent with Style has the printed-volume table of contents at its website - http://www.agentwithstyle.com - in the Original Fiction section of its site.)

Does that sound like a good way to handle it?

--duskpeterson (talk) 21:04, 20 September 2015 (UTC)

That absolutely sounds like a good plan. Would you add this information, including the explanation from this discussion regarding the Agent with Style stuff to it? It's all very informative, and the printing decisions part of the zine's history. Thank you for helping untangle the snarl! :) --MPH (talk) 00:02, 21 September 2015 (UTC)