Jelly Baby Chronicles

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Zine
Title: Jelly Baby Chronicles
Publisher: Otter Limits Press
Editor(s): Paulie Gilmore
Date(s): 1980-1985
Series?:
Medium: print zine
Size:
Genre: gen
Fandom: Doctor Who
Language: English
External Links:
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Jelly Baby Chronicles is a gen Doctor Who anthology.

All of the back covers are identical and done by Mary Bloemker.

Issue 1

Jelly Baby Chronicles 1 was published in October 1980 and contains 62 pages.

front cover of issue #1, Susan Perry-Lewis


Reactions and Reviews: Issue 1

Congratulations on your first issue of Jelly Baby Chronicles.

Since I first discovered the Doctor several months ago I can't have enough on this charming character. I found your first issue at a recent con. One look at that beautiful cover by Susan Perry-Lewis and I was lost. The rest of the artwork was no disappointment. I especially liked David Hosky's work on THE TARDIS AT POOH CORNER and Xenobia's work on THE HUNDRED ACRE BIRTHDAY. All the stories were good though I seem to like some more than others. Kelly Hills IN LOO OF...was my favorite. With my two favorites, Han Solo and the Doctors in one story, it couldn't help but be my favorite. My only regret was that it wasn't longer. I also liked THE HUNDRED ACRE BIRTHDAY. It was nice to see the Doctor in a relaxed setting. THE REVISION OF TIME was interesting. I liked the inclusion of K-9. He's one of the Doctor's more interesting companions and one I haven't had much of a chance to see. Rose Wolf's poem, LITTLE TIME LORD, was one of the best poems of any kind I've read in a long time. And I liked Kelly Hill's FREEDOM'S KEY almost as well. All in all, your premier issue was all I'd hope for and more. It's one I'll read and reread for many years.

Keep up the good work. I'm eagerly awaiting your special Christmas Edition.[1]

Thank you, thank you for this wonderful zine. I love everything — the art, the poetry, and especially the stories. Dr. Pooh is a treasure. I wish you great success with JELLY BABY CHRONICLES and I hope you'll publish many more. [2]

#1 was really terrific! Normally I can take poetry or leave it, but LITTLE TIME LORD, FREEDOM'S KEY, MY FRIEND THE DOCTOR SAID, and TO LEELA -- AN EPILOGUE were all so good!

As far as stories go, I think I liked THE REVISION OF TIME the best, with IN LOO OF,-a very.very close second.(I do like cross-universe stuff!) But then, THE HUNDRED ACRE BIRTHDAY and THE TARDIS AT POOH CORNER were great too. Peter David did an excellent job of copying A.A. Milne's style; I do hope we'll see more of Doctor Pooh. This issue was certainly crammed full of GREAT artwork! More, more! I really couldn't pick my favorite, with so many terrific pieces by Susan Perry-Lewis, Paulie, Connie Faddis, L.J. Juliano, and Todd Hamilton. I loved them all.

Be advised, this letter has been composed by someone very unfamiliar with Doctor Who. I have only seen one show, and only read two of the British books. But if JELLY BABY CHRONICLES is any true indication of what the good Doctor is like, you've made a convert. [3]

I enjoyed my first issue of JELLY BABY CHRONICLES so much that I couldn't wait to get home and send you a dollar. I wanna special Holiday issue of my VERY OWN! I'm also going to force the first issue on a friend. I rather expect she'll love it as much as I did. It's a pity she won't be able to see the POOH pictures and BRIAR ROSE in color as I did at the art show. The POOH pictures looked very Tenniel to me in color, which is a preposterous thing to say but that's the way I saw them. And BRIAR ROSE was much more torrid and hilarious when the roses were really red. I hope they made the artists gobs of money. Keep up the good work! [4]

I do love JELLY BABY CHRONICLES #1! I can't wait to see how the DOC HOLIDAY issue and #2 turns out — it's going to be a little difficult to match the style of the first, I imagine, as it's so well done, better than most zines I've seen — which I'll admit, isn't that many, but enough, I think, to do some comparisons with because if you, keep improving, any other zine is going to look rather amateurish beside the professional layout of JBC #1...

The artwork is fantastic — need I say more? Different styles, different artists — 
hard to compare one with the other, although I do like Connie Faddis' portfolio and I
 like Paulie's work and it's just hard to say I like one artist better than another! The stories, of course, and the poetry -- well what can I say? THE HUNDRED ACRE BIRTHDAY, though, is probably my favorite... although,again, it's hard to pick one story over another, or choose one poem — or filk — over another... you don't make it easy to be a critic! IN LOO OF — Han Solo and Chewbacca meet the Doctor, sort of... more like he dropped in on then! He was probably lucky Han didn't mistake him for a bounty hunter and drop him on the spot, considering how the Doctor invariably manages to find himself in trouble when he pops in like that. I did find the idea that the Doctor had dropped poor Sarah Jane into the wrong time -- 1961 — a bit depressing (REVlSlON OF TlME) since I've always preferred Sarah over Leelah; but, I suppose it all worked out in the and. There are many dimensions and many time/space continuums, after all; what came true in one may not be true in another I do like FREEDOM'S KEY, MY FRIEND THE DOCTOR SAID, and POOF! I like it all.

I hope I do half as well with THE GALLIFREY CONNECTION'S zine, once I get enough 
material for it. [5]

I just finished reading issue #1 of JELLY BABY CHRONICLES (which I purchased in Columbus, Ohio at a Doctor Who con in November '81). I would like to take this opportunity to say that I enjoyed it greatly. The quality of the stories were above average and the artwork nothing, if not superb. The cover of the zine, as well as the contents therein, can be described as professional-looking. I was doubly delighted, in that compared to a of zines I've read, there are very few typographical errors! [6]

I feel a little funny writing an LOC on a zine I had so much to do with, but I did want to make some comments. Whazoo, you have outdone yourself. (I HAD A LOT OF HELP M'DEAR) Ounce for ounce, page for page, JELLY BABY CHRONICLES #1 is one of the prettiest zines I've seen in a long time, and it's-without a doubt the best 'baby zine' I've ever had the pleasure of seeing. It's polished, it's pretty, it's professional, and you have much to be proud of. (GODS...THANK YOU!)

PETER DAVID's REVISION OF TIME was very good, even if it DID switch a bit abruptly from funny to serious, and I liked PAT O'NEILL'S final shot of the grinning Doctor especially well.

Paulie's illos are uniformly superb, and I have a passionate fondness for that wicked grin that accompanies MY FRIEND THE DOCTOR — devastating. Personal thanks for the IN LOO OF... illos—smashing I (WE TRY TO PLEASE....)

Stephanie Hawks — my thanks and hats off for the mood-evoking illo to FREEDOM'S KEY —and incidentally, thanks for the inspiration for the title! MY FRIEND THE DOCTOR was delightful and I understand there will be more? Hooray! THE T.A.R.D.I.S. AT POOH CORNER as a devotee of Time Lords and Bears of little brain, I couldn't help being charmed by the whole idea of the piece. Cannot wait for the next installment.(BAWWWWWW! HELP US FIND THIS MAN!!!)

Faddis' VARIATIONS ON a DREAM are indeed fine as usual, bit I do protest over the last one — give the man a lily, he looks dead! LITTLE TIME LORD is lovely, most fitting to the gentleness of the Doctor.

Juliano's and Mary Bloemker's fillos are great.

Todd Hamilton — the kid's disgusting, y'know?

Here I am, almost old enough to have changed his diapers, and he can draw like that ...ain't fair! Bravo Todd! Loved the K-9 cartoon! Lest you think I forgot, I didn't — I merely saved the best for last. Xenobia has my undying gratitude for illuminating THE HUNDRED ACRE BIRTHDAY in such a manner. Very much in keeping with the 'dream' quality of the story, every one was a gem. My personal favorite was the Doctor with Baby Roo, which also happened to be one of my favorite scenes to write. Thank you from the bottom of my semi-artistic heart.

Susan Perry-Lewis' cover... what can I say? Surpassed her usual magnificent standards, a most prestigious and fitting first cover. Kudos to the lady. (UNDERSTATEMENT.)

All in all, a most fine bit of work, and I can hardly wait for the next one. I am proud to have been involved with it and intend to do so for as long as you'll have me. [7]

Issue 2

front cover of issue #2, Paulie
back cover of issue #2, Mary Bloemker, all of the back covers are identical
from issue #2, the editors: Paulie, Lola and Ramona

Jelly Baby Chronicles 2 was published in 1983 and is 91 pages long.

From the editorial:

Welcome to JELLY BABY CHRONICLES #2.

Doctor Whazoo, here, welcoming you folks
 back who've been waiting for us so long. Can't tell you how much we've appreciated a
all the great letters! We even have an LOC column this issue! We want to thank you all for making such a fuss over our little zine! My faithful assistants Lola and Ramona and I hope you' re gonna like this one as much as #1 and the Special Doc Holiday ish.

[snipped]

You're gonna find some old friends in this issue and a few new ones as well. Another difference is that we got some 20+ pages bigger this time. Also we have a couple more dramatic stories than in #l.(And a somewhat lower SSR than in the DH ish....Ramona) Contrary to recent rumors(Spread by the Master, no doubt...Lola) JBC is NOT repeat NOT folding! We will continue to bring you JBC for as long as you folks submit art and fiction to us. And in that vein (Is this the Langella zine...L and R)(GIVE me a break!! Whazoo)we have decided to open our pages to Doctor #2 (Patrick Troughton) as well as #4 since the little guy also had a sweet tooth for...all together now... JELLY BABIES!!!

We also have a schedule, now. JBC will come out once a year around the end of May, This is so that Lola, Ramona and myself can jump in the old type-whatsit PORT-A-TARD is and show up at MEDIA WEST CON in Lansing. (If any of you are at Media, Look us up at the OTTER LIMITS PRESS table Saturday!!) We're gonna try to stay around the 80 to 90 page mark in an effort to remain affordable to those of us TIME WARPERS who don't carry much more than yo-yos in our pockets.

  • Twaddle by The Editors (1)
  • Cosmic Feedback by Various (3)
  • The Chameleon Circuit by Kelly Hill (7)
  • Wrong Way Round by Jody Nye (19)
  • The Mephistopheles Gambit by L.S. Willard (35)
  • Repertoire by Peter David (61)
  • Leela of the Sevateem by Meg Garret (72)
  • Doctor by Zoe Dyson (73
  • Inspiration Dear by Catherine Siema (74)
  • He's a Time Lord After All by Jaime Yingling (76)
  • The Epic of Doctor Who by Catherine Sieman (77)
  • Savage by Teresa Sarick (86)
  • For the Doctor by Phyllis Wilson (87)
  • My Friend the Doctor Said, Pt. 2 by H.P. Benedict (89) (filk)
  • Artwork: Paulie (front cover), Stephanie Hawks, XenophobiA, Cheryl Whitfield-Duval, P.A.M., Joy Riddle, Lucy Synk, Mary Bloemker (back cover)

Issue 3

Jelly Baby Chronicles 3 was published in May 1984 and contains 58 pages. It premiered at Marcon. The editor notes that "This issue has returned to the smaller size we originally planned on. Much more affordable, eh?"

front cover of issue #3, Paulie
back cover of issue #3, Mary Bloemker


Issue 4

Jelly Baby Chronicles 4 was published in 1985 and contains 82 pages. It is a cross-universe edition. The zine contains a flyer for the next issue, but despite this and the statements in the editorial that this zine would continue on, the fourth issue was the last issue.

front cover of issue #4, Zynaa
back cover of issue #4, Mary Bloemker
flyer for issue #4
flyer for a projected issue #5

From the editorial:

It has come to my attention that there are some folks out Colorado way who are reproducing and selling JBC and totally ignoring our copyright. Not only are they doing this without our sanction, they are charging twice the cover price! This was brought to our attention by one of our valid dealers at TARDIS 21. Now I have I also heard of the rumor that JBC has folded. This one has been trying to surface for about two years now and yet we have never missed in an issue in four years! So, here we are... we're not folding, we're not quitting. We will continue to do JBC as long as you folks send us submissions. We don't see any need to fold for at least the next two years! Anyway, so we are in the process of setting things to rights. In the meantime, don't pay more than you have to! You can get JBC from OTTER LIMITS.

  • Twaddle by The Editors (1)
  • When Ruling Passion Conquers Reason Still by Paulie (crossover with Time After Time (1979)) (3)
  • Chaos by CarolMel Ambassador (25)
  • Take Off, Eh by Teresa Sarick (crossover with Bob and Doug McKenzie, the pair of fictional Canadian brothers who hosted " Great White North", a sketch which was introduced on SCTV) (27)
  • Portfolio by Zynaa (38)
  • Sword of Doom by Zynaa (crossover with Elric of Melniboné, a character created by Michael Moorcock) (41)
  • Chameleon Circuit by Teresa Sarick (76)
  • Guess Who's Coming to Dinner by Melissa Gelhaus (Star Wars, featuring Yoda, crossover) (79)
  • Artwork: Zynaa (front cover and portfolio), Paulie, Teri Smith, Ted Delorme, Mary Bloemker (back cover)

Holiday Special (1981)

Jelly Baby Chronicles Holiday Special was published in December 1981 and contains 34 pages. The editor referred to it as the "Doc Holiday Special."

front cover of the holiday special, Connie Faddis

References

  1. ^ from an LoC in issue #2 of "Jelly Baby Chronicles"
  2. ^ from an LoC in issue #2 of "Jelly Baby Chronicles"
  3. ^ from an LoC in issue #2 of "Jelly Baby Chronicles"
  4. ^ from an LoC in issue #2 of "Jelly Baby Chronicles"
  5. ^ from an LoC in issue #2 of "Jelly Baby Chronicles"
  6. ^ from an LoC in issue #2 of "Jelly Baby Chronicles"
  7. ^ from an LoC in issue #2 of "Jelly Baby Chronicles"