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Spaceways, v. 4, issue 1, whole no. 24, December 1941
20
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20 SPACEWAYS BEACON LIGHT and Fantasy Times. The one is printed and the other foto-offset. There's no denying that they both look very nice as a result. But--the printing or foto-offsetting of a fanzine tends to destroy its amateur standing. When it's done professionally, that means that a line of fences has been built around the fan editor: because it costs more, he has to make it sell in order not to go suicidially deep into the hole on it (which eventually happens every time). He has to go about it in a semi-professional manner, use big names for drawing cards, pay more attention to incidental matters which make for terrific appearance, and so on. More than mere neatness and care in makeup is involved. Sun Spots is featuring articles, etc. by big name authors, abad mistake, but they have to do it......Fantasy Times looks nifty. But it isn't a fanzine any more; it's a semi-pro sheet and cannot compete on an even basis with FFF News Weekly, even though the foto-offset effect is much better. FFF can publish four or six or eight or ten pages per issue of Unger feels like it; he won't run into the expense that Jimmy would on four pages with an 8 page FFF......Your Cynic's opinion is that professionally done fanzines should be discouraged, no matter who puts them out. (Unless some fan with a lot of money can put out a printed fanzine which is still completely a fan effort; theoretically it can be done--but only if the editor is able and willing to put it out at a considerable loss each issue, can, in fact, afford to give it away. Incidentally, we concur heartily with Seabury Quinn's letter in the January Weird Tales, although we would make an exception in the case of a few professionals who are still active fans. But even then, they should be treated as fans by the fan editor. With this bit of celestial wisdom, the Beacon flickers out. THE LOG OF THE FOOFOO SPECIAL (concluded from page 7) About three miles away the thing started blowing an impossibly loud electric blast horn, and from there it got louder and louder. An ordinary locomotive steam whistle is a nice, quiet, genteel affair in comparison. As it passed by our window with a roar and a rattle and a bawling like a million stampeding cattle, Milty and I quivered in terror, and rose two feet in the air, still in our reclining positions, bedsheet and all. If we could only repeat this remarkable feat of levitation we could clean up in the entertainment field. We were certain that the monster was going to climb in the window and go to bed with us. July 3rd--Off early, we came within one mile of the Kansas border, so we took a short detour to add one more state tour our list. The morning dragged along with the endless flatness. I know it's foolish, but I sort of expectedthat when we crossed the border of Colorado, we would immediately tilt up at a 45[[degree symbol]] angle, and proceed thru snowcapped peaks to Denver. So when the flatness merely continued I was kinda disappointed. Milty must have had the same thots for he started looking on the map for the first mountain we should come to. Fremont Butte, he said, off to our right. We looked and looked and after a while we saw it. Pooey! Just a little pile of weathered sandstone or something. Very unimpressive. Then early in the afternoon we spotted them. At first we took no notice, mistaking them for low lying cloud banks. Then Milty cried "Mountains!" We saw. Oh. Ah. Oh. Ah. For several miles we gaped with our mouths open, as we drew nearer and nearer to that incredible escarpment. Then facetious remarks set into cover up our feeling of smallness. An hour later we were in Denver, and the radiator was in bad shape. It boiled almost constantly, fresh water or none. We tried to get it fixed in a couple of places that were all too busy and couldn't do anything over the holiday. So we said the hell with it and went to the Shirley-Savoy. I later found a place that said they would fix it and left it there.... As did my previous article, this sequel shall not deal with the convention itself, since plenty has been written about it already, and plenty more is to come. (concluded next issue)
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20 SPACEWAYS BEACON LIGHT and Fantasy Times. The one is printed and the other foto-offset. There's no denying that they both look very nice as a result. But--the printing or foto-offsetting of a fanzine tends to destroy its amateur standing. When it's done professionally, that means that a line of fences has been built around the fan editor: because it costs more, he has to make it sell in order not to go suicidially deep into the hole on it (which eventually happens every time). He has to go about it in a semi-professional manner, use big names for drawing cards, pay more attention to incidental matters which make for terrific appearance, and so on. More than mere neatness and care in makeup is involved. Sun Spots is featuring articles, etc. by big name authors, abad mistake, but they have to do it......Fantasy Times looks nifty. But it isn't a fanzine any more; it's a semi-pro sheet and cannot compete on an even basis with FFF News Weekly, even though the foto-offset effect is much better. FFF can publish four or six or eight or ten pages per issue of Unger feels like it; he won't run into the expense that Jimmy would on four pages with an 8 page FFF......Your Cynic's opinion is that professionally done fanzines should be discouraged, no matter who puts them out. (Unless some fan with a lot of money can put out a printed fanzine which is still completely a fan effort; theoretically it can be done--but only if the editor is able and willing to put it out at a considerable loss each issue, can, in fact, afford to give it away. Incidentally, we concur heartily with Seabury Quinn's letter in the January Weird Tales, although we would make an exception in the case of a few professionals who are still active fans. But even then, they should be treated as fans by the fan editor. With this bit of celestial wisdom, the Beacon flickers out. THE LOG OF THE FOOFOO SPECIAL (concluded from page 7) About three miles away the thing started blowing an impossibly loud electric blast horn, and from there it got louder and louder. An ordinary locomotive steam whistle is a nice, quiet, genteel affair in comparison. As it passed by our window with a roar and a rattle and a bawling like a million stampeding cattle, Milty and I quivered in terror, and rose two feet in the air, still in our reclining positions, bedsheet and all. If we could only repeat this remarkable feat of levitation we could clean up in the entertainment field. We were certain that the monster was going to climb in the window and go to bed with us. July 3rd--Off early, we came within one mile of the Kansas border, so we took a short detour to add one more state tour our list. The morning dragged along with the endless flatness. I know it's foolish, but I sort of expectedthat when we crossed the border of Colorado, we would immediately tilt up at a 45[[degree symbol]] angle, and proceed thru snowcapped peaks to Denver. So when the flatness merely continued I was kinda disappointed. Milty must have had the same thots for he started looking on the map for the first mountain we should come to. Fremont Butte, he said, off to our right. We looked and looked and after a while we saw it. Pooey! Just a little pile of weathered sandstone or something. Very unimpressive. Then early in the afternoon we spotted them. At first we took no notice, mistaking them for low lying cloud banks. Then Milty cried "Mountains!" We saw. Oh. Ah. Oh. Ah. For several miles we gaped with our mouths open, as we drew nearer and nearer to that incredible escarpment. Then facetious remarks set into cover up our feeling of smallness. An hour later we were in Denver, and the radiator was in bad shape. It boiled almost constantly, fresh water or none. We tried to get it fixed in a couple of places that were all too busy and couldn't do anything over the holiday. So we said the hell with it and went to the Shirley-Savoy. I later found a place that said they would fix it and left it there.... As did my previous article, this sequel shall not deal with the convention itself, since plenty has been written about it already, and plenty more is to come. (concluded next issue)
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