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Tellus, issue 2, November 1941

Page 8

TELLUS                   PAGE EIGHT

[ILLUSTRATION]  OFF with their HEADS
    by "Larry"

Silly, isn't it? But I had to get your attention some way.
   Off with the old and on with the new. This seems to be the case with the fanmags today. Try as I may, I can't find a trace of similarity between fanmags of today and those of yesterday. In some ways this is for the best. Take format..For which I nominate Phil Bronson's recent Fantasite as the best. All in favor? Of course you are.
   Taken generally, the fanmags are all better in structure than those of the "old days." The art work is better; in fact, the older mags seldom used art. Occasionally they had a front cover. Some of them were pretty good. Clay Ferguson, Jr. did some good work for them. But still, the art work was not as big a part of the mag as it is now.  This is a change I am glad to see.
   The mimeographing is much better. It is hard to understand why the work couldn't always have been as neat as at present. The same materials were at hand. Of course, the SFDigest was printed, as were a few of the others during their lifetime.
   But where do our present day editors get the idea that they're publishing a stf fanmag? A mag used to contain various articles of a science-fiction nature, information about the pro-writers and the eds--opinions on stories in promags (with reasons) etc. 
   Now, alas! I grab a wrapped package from the hands of the postman, run upstairs with my prize, and hopefully scan the wrapper. In the upper left hand corner is an address. (How odd...) The name sounds familiar. Must be a stfan. The cover is beautiful. Could be a Petty gal. The contents? An array of names that should mean some interesting reading. Daytime is the name of the mag. I don't get it...but on to the Editorial.
   "Had trouble getting the issue out. The mimeograph was acting up, so was the typewriter, and so were we. . .on a bottle of Old Ironsides." Hmm, what is this? On to the next page.
   "Damnation." Now, that's a hell of a title for an article. I'll read it, though. Quote: "So-and-so is a flop-eared donkey! Hem-and-haw is not a true fan! Geezleburgh is a liar!" Un-Q. My God? What is this I've got my hands on?
   I find an article about Joe Fann drinking his brother fan under the table at some kind of convention. (After reading the articles about the Denvention, I've been wondering if it was backed by a liquor concern.)
   No use. I can't figure it out. Wait! What is this little ad in the back? "Willins has some extras of the old Wonder Stories Quarterlies for sale, also some SFDigests."

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TELLUS PAGE EIGHT [ILLUSTRATION] OFF with their HEADS by "Larry" Silly, isn't it? But I had to get your attention some way. Off with the old and on with the new. This seems to be the case with the fanmags today. Try as I may, I can't find a trace of similarity between fanmags of today and those of yesterday. In some ways this is for the best. Take format..For which I nominate Phil Bronson's recent Fantasite as the best. All in favor? Of course you are. Taken generally, the fanmags are all better in structure than those of the "old days." The art work is better; in fact, the older mags seldom used art. Occasionally they had a front cover. Some of them were pretty good. Clay Ferguson, Jr. did some good work for them. But still, the art work was not as big a part of the mag as it is now. This is a change I am glad to see. The mimeographing is much better. It is hard to understand why the work couldn't always have been as neat as at present. The same materials were at hand. Of course, the SFDigest was printed, as were a few of the others during their lifetime. But where do our present day editors get the idea that they're publishing a stf fanmag? A mag used to contain various articles of a science-fiction nature, information about the pro-writers and the eds--opinions on stories in promags (with reasons) etc. Now, alas! I grab a wrapped package from the hands of the postman, run upstairs with my prize, and hopefully scan the wrapper. In the upper left hand corner is an address. (How odd...) The name sounds familiar. Must be a stfan. The cover is beautiful. Could be a Petty gal. The contents? An array of names that should mean some interesting reading. Daytime is the name of the mag. I don't get it...but on to the Editorial. "Had trouble getting the issue out. The mimeograph was acting up, so was the typewriter, and so were we. . .on a bottle of Old Ironsides." Hmm, what is this? On to the next page. "Damnation." Now, that's a hell of a title for an article. I'll read it, though. Quote: "So-and-so is a flop-eared donkey! Hem-and-haw is not a true fan! Geezleburgh is a liar!" Un-Q. My God? What is this I've got my hands on? I find an article about Joe Fann drinking his brother fan under the table at some kind of convention. (After reading the articles about the Denvention, I've been wondering if it was backed by a liquor concern.) No use. I can't figure it out. Wait! What is this little ad in the back? "Willins has some extras of the old Wonder Stories Quarterlies for sale, also some SFDigests."