Vulstar Equation
| Zine | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Vulstar Equation |
| Publisher: | Vulstar Star Trek and Science Fiction Club |
| Editor(s): | Teresa Patterson |
| Date(s): | 1976- |
| Series?: | |
| Medium: | |
| Size: | |
| Genre: | |
| Fandom: | Star Trek: TOS |
| Language: | English |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Vulstar Equation is a gen anthology with at least three issues of art, fiction, and news.
It is a club zine published in Texas by high school students. While at a pizza parlor during a Star Trek convention, they decided to publish a zine.
Contributors are Teresa Patterson, Steve Oller, Julie West, Julie Barrett, James Robinson, and Cindy Grinstead.
Issue 1
Vulstar Equation 1 was published in September, year not specified (a reference to Star Trekkin' Austin puts this zine in 1976). It contains 20 pages.
There is no interior art. The zine is typed all in caps.
The editor was Teresa Patterson, who was a high school senior in Arlington, Texas.
One of the zine's creators, Julie Barrett, had this to say in 1991:
When I was a freshman in college ~ back when dinosaurs ruled the earth - I helped publish a Trek zine called VULSTAR EQUATION. It was a dinky little affair, but I suspect it had the dubious distinction of being one of the first zines ever to be produced on a computer. One of our lot had access to an IBM 1620, a hulking machine the size of several major appliances. We typed the whole thing in on punch cards. The theory was that if a typo needed to be fixed, we could just type one or two cards over rather than to do an entire page on a mimeograph stencil. By golly, it worked! The only problem was that the entire manuscript was "typeset" in dot-matrix caps. We went back to the typewriter and mimeo for the next issue. [1]
From the zine itself:
WELCOME TO VULSTAR. WE HOPE THAT YOUR JOURNEY THROUGH THESE PAGES BRINGS YOU AS MUCH PLEASURE AS PUTTING IT TOGETHER DID TO US. THIS ZINE WAS CREATED BY FANS FOR FANS. WITH THIS IN MIND, FAN INPUT WILL 6E AN INTEGRAL PART OF VULSTAR. WE WANT THIS TO BE THE BEST ZINE AROUND AND IT IS ONLY POSSIBLE THROUGH YOUR COMMENTS, SUGGESTIONS, ETC.
AT THIS POINT, THERE SHOULD BE A WORD ABOUT THE FORMATION OF VULSTAR. ACTUALLY, THERE WAS NOTHING SPECTACULAR ABOUT IT. IT ALL STARTED IN A PIZZA PARLOR ONE NIGHT DURING THE DINNER BREAK OF A STAR TREK CONVENTION. WE DECIDED THAT IT WOULD BE POSSIBLE TO PUT TOGETHER A ZINE THAT FANS COULD ENJOY PARTICIPATION IN, AND THIS WAS THE BIRTH OF THE VULSTAR EQUATION.[2]
From the "Destruction of a Classic::
IF THERE HAD BEEN ONLY A FEW TIMES A SEGMENT HAD BEEN CUT OUT ITWOULD HAVE CAUSED NO GREAT ALARM. EVERYONE MAKES MISTAKES AND MOST TREKKIES HAVE SEEN EACH EPISODE ENOUGH TO ENJOY IT EVEN WITHOUT THE MISSING PIECE. BUT I HAVE SEEN IT HAPPEN AGAIN AND AGAIN, TO ALMOST EVERY EPISODE. SOMETIMES AS MUCH AS FIVE MINUTES OF STAR TREK HAS BEEN CUT OUT FOR COMMERCIALS. I CAN UNDERSTAND THE STATION'S WISH TO GET IN AS MANY COMMERCIALS AS POSSIBLE DURING THEIR MOST POPULAR SHOW, BUT TOO OFTEN THESE SEGMENTS ARE NOT REPLACED WHEN THE EPISODE IS SENT BACK FOR REDISTRIBUTION. THE CUT OUT SEGMENTS ARE LOST TO THE GARBAGE.
EACH EPISODE OF STAR TREK HAS BECOME A CLASSIC IN THE EYES OF MOST FANS, AND YET THESE EPISODES ARE BEING MUTILATED BY CARELESS PEOPLE WHO CANNOT UNDERSTAND THE VALUE OF A FEW PIECES CF FILM WHICH CAME FROM A STAR TREK EPISODE. THEY CONTINUE TO GRADUALLY DESTROY THE CLASSIC ARTISTRY THAT IS STAR TREK THOSE OF US WHO CARE MUST TRY TO DISCOVER WHO IS DOING THIS DEED AND TC PERSUADE THEM TO AT LEAST ATTEMPT TO KEEP STAR TREK WHOLE.
- Destruction of a Classic, article by Teresa Patterson (the topic is local television producer's decisions to cut scenes from Star Trek in order to air more commercials, a practice that destroys the very show it airs) (4)
- How to Write Letters, article by Julie West (6)
- Alien, poem by Teresa Patterson (8)
- Trekkin' and Truckin, article by Julie West (the availability of a clothing line inspired by Logan's Run, updates about the upcoming Star Trek movie, comments on the Shatner movie "The Tenth Level") (10)
- The Admiral, The Alien, and The Ambassador, fiction by James Robinson (11)
Issue 2
Vulstar Equation 2 contains 40 pages and is undated (context puts it at about February 1977).
- Stargazers, poem by Julie West (1)
- An Evening with Leonard Nimoy, fan testimonial by Julie West (Nimoy's appearance at University of Texas at Arlington) (includes some black and white photos) (2)
- The Vulcan Way, poem by Teresa Patterson (7)
- Trekkin' and Truckin', article by Julie West (9)
- Rescue, fiction by James Robinson (10)
- Hyperspace, crossword puzzle (30)
- Chart of the Star Trek Fandom by James Robinson (32)
- Trivia Quiz (33)
- Through the Looking Glass (34)
- The Logic of Emotion, part one, fiction by Cindy Grinstead (37)
- Uhura, poem by Cindy Grinstead (40)
- IDIC, poem by Cindy Grinstead (40)
from issue #2, art by Teresa Patterson
from issue #2 Teresa Patterson
from issue #2
from issue #2, Teresa Patterson
from issue #2, Teresa Patterson
from issue #2, comic strip by Teresa Patterson
Issue 3
Vulstar Equation 3 contains 69 pages. The art is dated 1979, the zine itself is not dated.
The art is by Teresa Patterson, Patricia Nead, Cindy Grimstead, John Battles, and Earlene Benson.
- Star Mistress, poem by Teresa Patterson (science fiction) (inside front cover)
- Prime Directive, fiction by Patricia Nead (Star Trek: TOS) (1)
- Though the Looking Glass: News of the Future, fiction by Julie West (original science fiction) (44)
- THe Logic of Emotion, fiction by Cindy Grimstead (Star Trek: TOS, McCoy-centric) (45)
- Nebula, poem by Julie West (54)
- Flavius, poem by Patrica Nead (Star Trek: TOS/Christianity) (55)
- Dark Shadows in the Sun, fiction by Teresa Patterson (original science fiction, winged horses) (57)
- Review of the Television Show: "Quark" by Jule West (64)
- Nebula's Fire, poem by Teresa Patterson (Star Trek: TOS) (66)
- Welcome Back by Darlene Johnson (Star Trek: TOS) (67)
from issue #3, Patricia Nead
from issue #3, Earlene Benson
from issue #3, Patricia Nead
from issue #3, Cindy Grimstead
from issue #3, Teresa Patterson
from issue #3, Darlene Johnson
from issue #3, John Battles, inside back cover
from issue #3, sample text
References
- ^ from the editorial of A Matter of Time #1
- ^ from the zine