( G ) from GALLIFREY GAZETTE to GUESTS & GHOSTS

GALLIFREY GAZETTE

— Faneds: Mary Carson & Dean Shewring. Dr. Who newszine pubbed out of  Peterborough & Oakville, Ontario.

1978 – (#1 – Nov)

1979 – (#2 – Feb)

THE GAMESTER’S GUIDE

— Faned: William Christopher Seth Affleck Asch Lowe. Newsletter of G.O.T. , ‘Gamesters of Triskelion’, a Science Fiction oriented gaming club at Simon Fraser University. Pubbed out of Burnaby, B.C., in the late 1970s & early 1980s. They also published VULCAN MAIL.

1978 – (V1#1 – Oct) – Basic newsletter, two sheets. Describes the foundation of the club in September, lists the executive, and describes several meetings. Already the horrors of infighting over proposed constitutional amendments rears its ugly head, but is contrasted by the delights of planning for the upcoming Battle in March between the G.O.T. Phaser Team and Medieval Society (SCA?) knights in shining armour. Plus more mundane matters like budgetary considerations (only $100 to be spent, for the year? By month? By semester?) and a complete list of all 13 members.

Empty space is filled with a list of topics the editor would like members to contribute: News, events, articles, stories, simulations, Star Trek News… immediately followed by an actual Star Trek news item: “STAR TREK – THE MOVIE began production in mid-august. Filming so far has been on the bridge set only, as the other sets have not been completed as yet…”

A “Starpoem” says essentially the same thing about a man on Mars and a man from Mars, but the subtle differences are best expressed in the Martian translation thoughtfully provided. Taking two lines as an example:

“‘wergi!*’ derf bed ForgI nui, wedio qed tcedf” as opposed to “‘wergi!*’ derf bed serog ForgI, wedio qed tcedf”

See the subtle contrast?…Many more issues, but how many is unknown to me.

[See GOT & THE VULCAN MAIL ]

GATEWAY

— Faneds: Carolyn Clink & Robert J. Sawyer. An incarnation of a newsletter pubbed out of Toronto by OSFIC, the Ontario SF Club, circa 1981/1982 (predated by OSFiC ELECTION BULLETIN and followed by ALL AGOG).

Taral writes: “I don’t think there can be much doubt that the two year period from the middle of 1979 to the summer of 1981represented a record, sustained low point for the club’s publishing.  Meanwhile new members were infiltrating OSFiC from a high school in the suburban north end of Toronto, led by a certain Robert J. Sawyer.  His friend (now wife) Carolyn Clink ran for secretary and published a much improved, if not very fannish newsletter.”

1981 – (#1 – Aug) (#2 – Sep) (#3 – Oct) (#4 – Nov) (#5 – Dec)

1982 – (#6 – Jan) (#7 – Feb) (#8 – Mar)

– (#9 – Apr) – Contains minutes of previous meeting, news including local fans on television and local pros with new books, elections, who’s on the Nebula ballot for 1981, lots of book reviews and ads for Sawyer projects like Ryerson’s White Wall Review and Nasfacon III. (LP)

– (#10 – May) (#11 – Jun) (#12 – Jul)

[ See (in order of publication) OSFIC MAGAZINE, OSFIC SUPPLEMENT, OSFIComm, OSFIC QUARTERLY, NOR, OSFIC EVENTUALLY, SYNAPSE, NIT WIT, MIMEOGRAPHED LONDON SUNDAE THYMES, THE TORONTO STELLAGRAM, LAST WHOLE OSFiC LONDON SUNDAE THYMES, INPUT/OUTPUT, ISHUE, OSFIC NEWSLETTER FOR THIS MONTH, OSFIC MONTHLY, GOOGLE, OSFiC UNCONSTITUTIONAL NEWSLETTER, ANOTHER UNOFFICIAL OSFiC NEWSLETTER, UNNAMED OSFiC NEWSLETTER, DAZZELATIONS, A VERY SHORT OSFiC NEWSLETTER, CHRONIC, OSFiC ELECTION BULLETIN, GATEWAY, ALL AGOG, LUNA & BEYOND, LUNA AND…, DEAR OSFiC MEMBERS ]

GENRE PLAT

— Faneds: Allyn Cadogan, William Gibson & John Park (for first two issues); Allyn Cadogan alone for subsequent issues. Issues 1 & 2 pubbed out of Vancouver, B.C., the rest pubbed out of San Francisco after Cadogan moved there in 1978. (Much more detail to be added)

1977 – (#1 – Spring) (#2 – Summer)

1978 – (#3 – Winter/Spring)“GENRE PLAT is much like the genzines of the early 70’s, and reminds me a lot of GRANFALLOON, but a touch more sercon. The centerpiece of the issue seems to have been the interview Allyn conducted with Kate Wilhelm at Westercon 30. Most interviews, to me, seem to ask the same basic and basically uninteresting questions of people, but Allyn’s questions were intelligent & original, & Wilhelm’s answers fascinating… ‘How to Stop Writing for Fanzines’, a reprint of Charles Burbee’s, was Susan Wood’s contribution…. The appearance of the zine was inspiring… Not the most innovative of zines, GENRE PLAT is nonetheless well laid out & pleasing to the eye. Reproduction is good, & the standard of art high.” – (TW)

1980 – (#4 – Winter/Spring)“This is the long-awaited 4th issue of one of fandom’s best genzines… some fine writing by Allyn on attending a punk evening; and superior artwork by Barr, Canfield, Freff, Gibson, Gilliand, Kinney, Kirk, Leialoha, Pearson, Pesch, Robbins, Roberts, Rotsler, Silverton & Steffan (a truly impressive lineup).. some excellent humorous material by Sherry Gottlieb (her Westercon 32 speech)…plus an interesting piece by Bill Gibson dealing with certain strange happenings in exotic places….Most of the articles, taken together, represent a sort of tantalizing dip into various cultures around the world.” – (CK)

1983 – (#5 – Fall)

1985 – (#6 – Winter)

GHOSTS OF SUMMERS PAST

— Faned: Mike Bailey. Title for three issues of his perzine (#14-#16) pubbed out of Vancouver in the 1970s.

[ See THE LONG GOODBYE ]

GLEAT GLORT

— Faned: Steve George. Some sort of clubzine one-shot.

1979 – (#1 – Jul)

GLIMPSES OF A PRIVATE UNIVERSE

— Faned: Benoit Girard. Perzine? At least one issue pubbed out of Quebec City, Quebec.

1993 – (#1 Aug)

GONZO

— Faned: Mike Bailey. #18 of his perzine pubbed out of Vancouver, B.C., in the 1970s.

[ See THE LONG GOODBYE ]

GOOGLE

– Faned: Lu-Anne Vitalis. An incarnation of the Ontario SF Club newsletter, predated by OSFiC MONTHLY and followed by OSFiC UNCONSTITUTIONAL NEWSLETTER.

Taral writes: “Lu-Anne was the next elected secretary after David Starr and continued to publish in much the same format she had learned from Jim Allan, albeit in a far less scholarly tone. In fact, OSFiC zines mainly would not lie in the mainstream of fannish publishing from this point.”

1980 – (#1 – Mar) (#2 – Apr) (#3 – May)

[ See (in order of publication) OSFIC MAGAZINE, OSFIC SUPPLEMENT, OSFIComm, OSFIC QUARTERLY, NOR, OSFIC EVENTUALLY, SYNAPSE, NIT WIT, MIMEOGRAPHED LONDON SUNDAE THYMES, THE TORONTO STELLAGRAM, LAST WHOLE OSFiC LONDON SUNDAE THYMES, INPUT/OUTPUT, ISHUE, OSFIC NEWSLETTER FOR THIS MONTH, OSFIC MONTHLY, GOOGLE, OSFiC UNCONSTITUTIONAL NEWSLETTER, ANOTHER UNOFFICIAL OSFiC NEWSLETTER, UNNAMED OSFiC NEWSLETTER, DAZZELATIONS, A VERY SHORT OSFiC NEWSLETTER, CHRONIC, OSFiC ELECTION BULLETIN, GATEWAY, ALL AGOG, LUNA & BEYOND, LUNA AND…, DEAR OSFiC MEMBERS ]

THE GOON’S GAZETTE

– Faned: John Keith “Hollis” Mason. A perzine intended to be pubbed out of Toronto, Ontario, circa summer of 1942 by J. Keith Mason, who went by the name of J. Hollis Mason in fandom.

In #118 of LIGHT (Jul 1942), Leslie Croutch wrote: “John H. Mason.. is an able writer, both pro & fan, fictional & article…..In Toronto Mason works mightily on THE GOON’S GAZETTE…. As an offer, every new fan who writes me will receive a copy of LIGHT free and will be put in touch with VULCAN, CENSORED and GOON’S GAZETTE.”

Harry Warner Jr. wrote: “By the fall of 1942, John Hollis Mason of Toronto and Gordon L. Peck were planning fanzines…This surge soon yielded to the effects of the draft and enlistments.” Well, Canada didn’t have ‘the draft’ (except for the so-called ‘Zombies’, individuals drafted to serve within Canada, as only volunteers went overseas.) but the gist of the statement is that Mason joined the armed forces before he could publish the first issue of THE GOON’S GAZETTE.

As to what Mason planned, the title suggests an element of humour. Having already published his fiction in CENSORED (‘The Watcher’ appeared in #4, Jun 1942), he may have intended TGG to include more of his fiction as well.

[ See CENSORED, LIGHT, & VULCAN ]

THE GREAT NOR-WESTERN NEWS

— Faneds: Randy Thomas for one, plus other members of the Alberta Science Fiction Society. Pubbed out of Calgary (circa 1971). At least 5 issues published, maybe more, since the club is known to have been active into 1972 as well.

1971 – (#1 – ?)

(#2 – ?) – Of this issue Mike Glicksohn wrote a critical LOC which appeared in #3: “Thanks for sending me … (#2).. It fills a need for a Canadian newszine covering the western half of our country.. Ignoring the mechanical difficulties you seem to be having… I cannot ignore the other major drawback of this issue.. your butchering of the English language…I’m generally laughing at the mistakes so much that the news itself doesn’t really penetrate…Only other comment I can make is a recommendation for thicker paper to cut down on the see through. It’s hard enough to read your news as it is without having to separate out the news from the reverse side of the paper! All of which is kind of negative but I do wish you good luck for future issues. Get your production values up a bit and you’ll serve a useful purpose.”

Possibly included episode #1 of a short story titled “A.S.S. and TheM” (unless it appeared in #1).

(# 3 – June) – Cover by R. Thomas has one of those annoying two-prong-no-three-prong vision trick tuning thingies. Back cover a simple lunar probe Space 1999 style by John Byrne. Bill Gemmill gets credit for 7 fillos, 4 of them listed for pages beyond the actual page count, a mild joke of sorts.

John Mansfield lists assorted info including the news — rather amusing spelling error — that the film CLOCKWOK ORANGE would soon be released in North America, and that he had 35mm colour slides for sale of various TV shows, including Star Trek.

This is followed by a crossword puzzle, or rather, instructions on how to draw a crossword puzzle, which squares to black out, etc, followed by a list of questions to insert. Seems a bit lazy on the part of Randy Thomas but his explanation is: “This is a crossword puzzle you draw up yourself, just to get you more active in SF.” Uhuh. Clues include: 17 across – Martian Lion in “Thuvia, Maid Of Mars’, & 32 Down – Name of the Planet that is Earth’s counter; by John Norman.”

Mansfield also contributes a short review of the film THX 1138. He argues that “the films industry has finally shaken off the misinterpretation of SF that has plagued it for so long….THX is really a science fiction story. The total idea can only really be understood by a science-fiction reader…”

Michael Roberts contributed ‘REPORT ON THE VANCOUVER EASTER WEEKEND CON’, which is to say, VCON One:

“I was directed to the 12th floor where the fans had 2 adjoining suites….I was hailed as the only person from Calgary…Friday night was an informal evening during which all the members had a chance to get to know one another… a panel discussion about likes & dislikes in SF was organized…the Guest of Honour arrived… Ursula K. LeGuin proved to be a very short, quiet woman with silvery hair. She is only five feet four inches tall, and has piercing blue eyes which look straight through you…after the panel a few 8mm silent movies were shown; mostly old horror movies”

(Note: They were mine! Castle films purchased from ads in monster mags, classic films like Frankenstein & Dracula condensed to 12 minute versions. I loaned my projector & film collection to the con. It was set up in the bedroom, and if anyone wanted to watch, they had to thread and run the projector themselves — RGC)

“I left at 11 PM and was told the next day the party went on to 3 AM!… The con resumed the next morning in one of the large rooms…. There were a number of speakers… the most important speech was given by Ursula K. LeGuin and was entitled: ‘The Crab Nebula, the Paramecium, and Tolstoy.’ Mrs. LeGuin argued that from the microscopic atom to the vastness of the Crab Nebula, nature shows a tendency to order. So too living organisms from the simple Paramecium to the complexity of Man. “Art does what the universe does,” she said. Her definition of art: “The rearrangement of experience in an orderly fashion.” … adjourned at 6:00 PM so that the fans could attend supper at one of the restaurants in Chinatown. At the supper, awards called ELRONS were presented to the worst SF stories of the year and excerpts were read…On the whole it was a most enjoyable con…”

(Below Roberts article is the ‘VAN CON FLAG’, a kind of bug-eyed alien happy face with a hint of legs. I don’t remember a flag at the con, but the critter was used on the posters advertising the con — RGC.)

Mike Glicksohn contributes a full page loc in which he announces: “The TORONTO IN 73 bid is grooving along nicely. Any Porter represented the committee well at the Disclave where Con officials distributed our publicity for us! Andy also arranged for our publicity flier to be franked through FAPA, thus ensuring that not even this remote and isolated bastion of First Fandom could escape our campaigning. In addition, publicity material and posters were shipped out for eventual distribution at the Calgary Open House and at the Westercon. … And talented Jim Shull has agreed to do a double-page ad for us for the Noreascon program book as part of our final push in Boston.” …. And as we all know, the Torcon 2 committee did win the bid and the 1973 World Convention was indeed held in Toronto.

(#4 – ?) – Featured two short stories: episode #2 of “A.S.S. and TheM”, and a story from a fan living in Cochrane, Alberta. Also a puzzle and a conreport on the Alberta Science Fiction Society Open House, the club’s first convention. A second convention took place in 1972.

(#5 – ?) – First issue with the new name ALTAEGO. Unknown to me how many more were published. (Note: ALTA is a common short form of Alberta, hence ‘Alberta Ego’. Cute.)

[ See ALBERTA SCIENCE FICTION SOCIETY, ALTAEGO ]

THE GREAT RAEBURN DOGDIDDLE

— Faneds: Norm & Gina Clarke. Pubbed out of Ottawa, Ontario, in 1964. Consisted of 3 single-sided sheets. The title suggests it was a spoof of or a story about Boyd Raeburn, the faned of A BAS in the 1950s.

GRUNT

— Faned: Gina Clarke. Perzine?

1956 – (#? – ?)

GUANO

— Faned: P. Howard Lyons. Perzine lasting at least 3 issues. 1950s? (CC)

GUARD THE NORTH

— Faned: Daniel Say. Serconzine pubbed out of Vancouver, B.C., in early 1970s. At least 5 issues.

1972 – (#1 – ? )

1973 – (#2 – ? )

1974 – (#3 – ? ) – Contains the complete text of a talk on H.P. Lovecraft which Professor Mason Harris of SFU delivered at VCON 1 in 1971, and the text of an interview Say conducted with Frank Herbert at LA CON (1972 World Con). GUARD THE NORTH was available at VCON 3 in 1974 at which Frank Herbert was Guest of Honour and Prof. Harris repeated his (somewhat revised) Lovecraft talk.

1975 – (#4? – ? )

1977 – (#5? – ? )

GUARDIAN KRONICLES

— Faned: K Z’en. Klingon clubzine pubbed out of Victoria, B.C. , in the early 1990s. (Details to be added)

1995 – (#9 – Apr) (#10 – Jun)

GUESTS AND GHOSTS

– Faned: Al Betz. Printed circa 1985; a digest-sized, 12 page listing of audio & video recordings Al Betz had made over the years of events at VCON, Vancouver’s annual SF convention. Some of these are his personal property, the majority constitute the Official BCSFA Electronic Archive.

The audio tapes start with VCON 3 in 1974 and end with VCON 13 in 1985. Highlights include:

VCON 3 – (I recall seeing Al lurking above the main meeting room in a balcony festooned with multiple arcane pieces of recording equipment, and I thought, the Mighty Oz at work? Is this the true Master of Fandom?) – SCIENCE FICTION AND THE WORLD IN CRISIS talk by Frank Herbert / FEAR OF SEX AND FOREIGN RACES IN THE FANTASY OF H.P. LOVECRAFT talk by Professor Mason Harris.

VCON 4 – GUEST OF HONOUR ADDRESS by Robert Silverberg, the infamous occasion when he announced he was quitting writing SF (fortunately turned out only for a brief period).

VCON 5 – H. Warner Munn interviewed by Mason Harris / HUGO GERNSBACK, A 50TH ANNIVERSARY SALUTE slideshow & talk by Al Betz.

VCON 6 – GUEST OF HONOUR ADDRESS by A.E. van Vogt.

VCON 13 – LOVECRAFT PANEL with Robert Bloch and H.P. Lovecraft (played by Mason Harris).

The video tapes start with VCON 6 in 1978 and go up to VCON 13 in 1985. Sample highlights include:

VCON 6 – DEAD AUTHOR’S PANEL with Mason Harris as H.P. Lovecraft, Elinor Busby as Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Ed Hutchings as H.G. Wells, & Al Betz as Hugo Gernsback, moderated by Chuck Davis.

VCON 8 – ROGER ZELAZNY INTERVIEW by F.M. Busby.

VCON 13 – DARK FANTASY PANEL with Robert Bloch, H.P. Lovecraft (Mason Harris) & Bram Stoker (David George) / HISTORY OF SCIENCE FICTION ON TELEVISION TO 1965 produced by Al Betz.

Throw in coverage of the Elrons, panels with Susan Wood, Samuel R. Delaney, Georges Giguere, Judith Merril, Evelyn Beheshti, A.E. van Vogt, Steve Forty, H. Warner Munn, John Gustafson, Ben Bova, Ed Hutchings, Eileen Kernaghan, Michael Walsh and William Gibson among others, and you have a superb visual record of a decade of SF both Pro & fannish.

After 1985 Al continued to record VCONs for a few years, then handed the job over to others while still providing the necessary equipment from his personal collection.

Few if any recordings, audio or visual, have been made at VCON since about the mid-1990s to date, which is a pity. On the other hand, some of the more interesting, older videos, or compilations thereof, are occasionally shown at VCON. A problem which looms larger and larger, however, is the growing obsolescence of the technology involved. Some of the earliest audio & visual recordings in the collection are no longer playable because the appropriate machines in Al’s possession have given up the ghost and cannot be repaired, and are no longer commercially available. At the very least, one would hope that someone, someday, will transfer these records to more durable, modern recordings, or at least type out transcripts of the more interesting panels & talks. It’s the only way the fannish future can directly experience the fannish past.

1985 – (#1)