A fanzine (also called a zine) is an amateur publication created by fans of a particular cultural phenomena (such as a literary genre or type of music) to address or correspond with others who share their interest. Fanzines are not funded or subsidized by commercial interests; contributors are not paid, and the 'zines are traditionally circulated for a nominal cost (to defray postage or production expenses) or free of charge. Some fanzines have evolved into professional publications, and many professional writers were first published in fanzines. A zine—a contraction of the word magazine—is most commonly a small circulation, non-commercial publication of original or appropriated texts and images. ...

Origin

Fanzines emerged from science fiction fandom; the first fanzine was published in 1930 (The Comet by the Science Correspondence Club in Chicago). The term "fanzine" was coined in October 1940 by Russ Chauvenet—"fanzines" were distinguished from "prozines." Prior to that, the fan publications were known as "fanmags" or "letterzines." Science fiction fandom is the community of people actively interested in science fiction and in contact with one another based upon that interest. ... 1930 is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... Louis Russell Russ Chauvenet (February 12, 1920 - June 24, 2003) was one of the founders of science fiction fandom, as an early member of Bostons Stranger Club. ...

Early fanzines were hand-drafted or typed on a manual typewriter and printed using primitive reproduction techniques (e.g., the spirit duplicator or even the hectograph). Only a very small number of copies could be made at a time, so circulation was extremely limited. The use of mimeograph machines enabled higher press runs, and the photocopier increased the speed and ease of publishing once more. Today, thanks to the advent of desktop publishing and self-publication, there is often little difference between the appearance of a fanzine and a professionally produced magazine. Although still popular with a few writers and in less developed countries, the typewriter has largely been replaced by the word processor. ... A spirit duplicator or ditto machine was a low-volume printing method used mainly by schools and churches. ... The hectograph or gelatin duplicator is a printing process which involves transferring from an original sheet prepared with special inks to a gelatin pad. ... Mimeograph machine The Mimeograph machine (commonly abbreviated to Mimeo), or stencil duplicator was a printing machine that was far cheaper per copy than any other process in runs of several hundred to several thousand copies. ... A small, much-used Xerox copier in a high school library. ... Desktop publishing, or DTP, is the process of editing and layout of printed material intended for publication, such as books, magazines, brochures, and the like using a personal computer. ... Self-publishing is the publishing of books or other media by those who have written them. ... This article is about the magazine as a published medium. ...

Genres

Science fiction fanzines

As mentioned above, fanzines originated in science fiction fandom. Never commercial enterprises, most science fiction fanzines were (and many still are) available for "the usual," meaning that a sample issue will be mailed on request; to receive further issues, a reader sends a "letter of comment" (LoC) about the fanzine to the editor. The LoC might be published in the next issue: some fanzines consisted almost exclusively of letter columns, where discussions were conducted in much the same way as they are in internet newsgroups and mailing lists today, though at a relatively glacial pace. Science fiction fandom is the community of people actively interested in science fiction and in contact with one another based upon that interest. ... A science fiction fanzine is an amateur or semi-professional magazine published by members of science fiction fandom, from the 1930s to the present day. ... A newsgroup is a repository, usually within the Usenet system, for messages posted from many users at different locations. ... A mailing list is a collection of names and addresses used by an individual or an organization to send material to multiple recipients. ...

For several decades, science fiction fans have formed amateur press associations (APAs)—the members contribute to a collective assemblage or bundle called an apazine which contains contributions from all of them. Some APAs are still active, and some are published as virtual "ezines," distributed on the internet. Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... An Amateur Press Association or APA is a group of people who produce individual pages or magazines that are sent to a Central Mailer for collation and distribution to all members of the group. ...

Comics and Graphic Arts fanzines

Rock fanzines

By the mid-1960s, several fans active in SF or Comic fandom recognized a shared interest in rock music, and the rock fanzine was born. Paul Williams and Greg Shaw were two such SF-fans turned rock zine editors. Williams' Crawdaddy! (1966) and Shaw's two California-based zines, Mojo Navigator (full title, "Mojo-Navigator Rock and Roll News") (1966) and Who Put The Bomp?, (1970), are among the most important early rock fanzines. Crawdaddy! (1966) quickly moved from its fanzine roots to become one of the first rock music "prozines," with paid advertisers and newsstand distribution. Bomp remained a fanzine, featuring many writers who would later become prominent music journalists, including Lester Bangs, Greil Marcus, Ken Barnes, Ed Ward, Dave Marsh, Mike Saunders and R. Meltzer. Bomp featured cover art by Jay Kinney and Bill Rotsler, both veterans of SF and Comics fandom. "Bomp" was not alone; an August 1970 issue of Rolling Stone included an article about the explosion of rock fanzines. Other rock fanzines of this period include Flash, 1972, edited by Mark Shipper, and Bam Balam, written and published by Brian Hogg in East Lothian, Scotland, beginning in 1974, and in the mid-1970s, Back Door Man and Denim Delinquent. In the post-punk era several well-written fanzines emerged that cast an almost academic look at earlier, neglected musical forms, including Mike Stax' Ugly Things, Billy Miller & Miriam Linna's Kicks, Jake Austen's Roctober, Kim Cooper's Scram, P. Edwin Letcher's Garage & Beat, and the U.K.'s Shindig and Italy's Misty Lane. Paul Williams is the name of three popular music musicians: Paul Williams, rhythm and blues saxophonist Paul Williams of The Temptations Paul Williams, songwriter for Carpenters and many others, as well as actor in movies and TV. Other Paul Williams: Paul Williams was a prominent African American architect in Los... Greg Shaw (1949-2004) was a Los Angeles based fanzine publisher and record label owner. ... Crawdaddy! was the first US magazine of rock music criticism. ... Crawdaddy! was the first US magazine of rock music criticism. ... Lester Bangs (born Leslie Conway Bangs, December 14, 1948–April 30, 1982) was an American music journalist, author and musician. ... Greil Marcus (1945-) is an American author, and music journalist. ... Richard Meltzer was one of the earliest rock music critics. ... This article is about the music magazine. ... Kicker redirects here. ... A scram is an emergency shutdown of a nuclear reactor, though the term has been extended to cover shutdowns of other complex operations, such as server farms and even large model railroads (see Tech Model Railroad Club). ... Shindig! was the name of a music variety show which was aired every week on the American ABC network from September 16, 1964 to January 8, 1966. ...

Punk fanzines

Main article: Punk zine A punk zine (or punkzine) is a fanzine devoted to punk rock music, bands, or the DIY punk philosophy. ...

The Punk explosion in the United Kingdom led to a massive upsurge of interest in fanzines as an alternative to the mainstream media that was felt to be too exploitative, capitalist, and essentially uninterested in the Punk Movement and the concerns of disaffected youth. The first and perhaps still best known UK 'punkzine' was Sniffin' Glue, produced by Deptford punk fan Mark Perry, which ran for 12 issues between 1976 to 1977. Other UK fanzines included Blam!, New Crimes, Vague fanzine, Juniper beri-beri and Coolnotes. Punk culture as it is seen today started in the mid 1970s as a movement or rebellion against some styles of music which existed at the time such as Prog Rock and Heavy Metal whose stars were seen as out of touch with their fans. ... In political economy, economics, and sociology, exploitation usually does not include simple theft, since the latter is not a persistent economic or social relationship, as when a pimp exploits his prostitute. ... In economics, a capitalist is someone who owns capital, presumably within the economic system of capitalism. ... A punk zine (or punkzine) is a fanzine devoted to punk rock music, bands, or the DIY punk philosophy. ... Sniffin Glue is the name of a famous and pioneering monthly punk fanzine started by Mark Perry in July 1976 and released for about a year. ... Deptford is an area of the London Borough of Lewisham, on the south bank of the River Thames in south-east London. ... 1976 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1977 was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1977 calendar). ...

In the US, Flipside was an important punk fanzine for the LA scene. Maximum RocknRoll is a major punk zine, with over 250 issues published. Since the explosion of 1994 (when Green Day and Offspring made punk commercial again) a number of other punk zines have appeared, such as Punk Planet, Razorcake, Sobriquet Magazine and Slug and Lettuce. ... Maximum Rocknroll Issue #1 Maximum Rocknroll is a monthly punk fanzine based in San Francisco, USA. Featuring interviews, columns and reviews from international contributors, Maximum RocknRoll could be thought of as one of the most important presences in punk. ... 1994 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... From left to right: Mike Dirnt, Billie Joe Armstrong, and Tré Cool Green Day is a punk rock/pop punk band consisting of Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt (born Michael Pritchard), and Tré Cool (born Frank Edwin Wright III). ... In biology, offspring are the product of reproduction, a new organism produced by one or more parents. ... Punk Planet is a 16,000 print run punk fanzine, based in Chicago, USA, that focuses most of its energy on looking at punk as a sub-culture rather than simply being some music that teenagers listen to! The zine was established around ten years ago in a response... Slug and Lettuce is a free quarterly A3 fanzine based in Richmond Virginia, USA. The zine is made up of columns and reviews, with little space being given to band interviews. ...

In the UK Fracture and Reason To Believe have been the main fanzines in the recent past, but both closed their doors in late 2003. Though not technically a 'national' fanzine Rancid News has to a limited degree filled the gap left by these two zines. Fracture, was the first free, national, UK based fanzine. ... Reason To Believe was a fanzine based in Leeds, UK, which acted - for its brief life - as a focus for the DIY European Punk scene. The zine was run as a collective, which worked to a limited degree, and was distributed by a concept known as punk post, which worked... Rancid News is a relatively young punk fanzine, having only been started in the spring of 2003. ...

Role-playing fanzines

Another sizable group of fanzines arose in role-playing games (RPGs) fandom, where fanzines allowed people to publish their ideas and views on specific games and their role-playing campaigns. Role-playing fanzines allowed people to communicate in the 1970s and 1980s with complete editorial control in the hands of the players, as opposed to the game publishers. These early RPG fanzines were generally typed, sold in an A5 format (in the UK) and were often illustrated with abysmal or indifferent artwork. A fanzine community developed and was based on sale to a reading public and exchanges by editor/publishers. Many of the pioneers of RPG zinedom got their start in, or remain part of, science fiction fandom. This is also true of the small but still active board game fandom scene, the most prolific subset of which is centered around play by mail Diplomacy games. A role-playing game (RPG) is a type of game where players assume the roles of fictional characters via role-playing. ... In role-playing games, a campaign is a continuing storyline or set of adventures, typically involving the same characters. ... Events and trends Although in the United States and in many other Western societies the 1970s are often seen as a period of transition between the turbulent 1960s and the more conservative 1980s and 1990s, many of the trends that are associated widely with the Sixties, from the Sexual Revolution... Events and trends The 1980s marked an abrupt shift towards more conservative lifestyles after the momentous cultural revolutions which took place in the 1960s and 1970s and the definition of the AIDS virus in 1981. ... A publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. ... Science fiction fandom is the community of people actively interested in science fiction and in contact with one another based upon that interest. ... A board game is any game played with a premarked surface, with counters or pieces that are moved across the board. ... Play by mail games are games, of any type, played through postal mail or e-mail. ... Diplomacy is a board game, war game, and strategy game set in Europe in the era before the beginning of World War I. From two to seven may play, but the game dynamics are best with seven. ...

Sport

In the UK, most Premiership or Football League football clubs have one or more fanzines which supplement, oppose and compliment the club's official magazine or matchday programme. A reasonably priced 'zine has a guaranteed audience, as is the culture of passion in being a football fan. An example of a UK football fanzine is TOOFIF. The FA Premier League (often referred to as the Barclays English Premier League for sponsorship reasons) comprises the top 20 football clubs in the league system of English football. ... The Football League is an organisation representing 72 professional football clubs in England and Wales, and runs the oldest professional football league competition in the world. ... The striker (wearing red jersey) has run past the defender (in white jersey) and is about to take a shot at the goal, while the goalkeeper positions himself to stop the ball. ... For an alternate meaning, see Fan (implement). ... Theres Only One F in Fulham (TOOFIF) is an independently owned magazine dedicated to Fulham Football Club. ...

Recent developments

In recent years the traditional paper zine has begun to give way to the webzine (or "e-zine") that is easier to produce and uses the potential of the Internet to reach an ever larger, possibly global, audience. Nonetheless, printed fanzines are still produced, either out of preference or to reach people who don't have convenient Web access. One example of a zine is The Inner Swine. Online versions of approximately 200 science fiction fanzines will be found at the eFanzines (http://www.efanzines.com) site, along with links to other SF fanzine sites. A Webzine is a ezine hosted on the World Wide Web rather than in print. ... The Inner Swine is a zine (which are sometimes referred to as a fanzine although many would argue that a fanzine is simply one subset of zines) that has been published since 1995 out of New Jersey by Jeff Somers, a frequent poster to the alt. ... A science fiction fanzine is an amateur or semi-professional magazine published by members of science fiction fandom, from the 1930s to the present day. ... A science fiction fanzine is an amateur or semi-professional magazine published by members of science fiction fandom, from the 1930s to the present day. ...

See also

• Desktop Publishing
• Literature
• Printing
• Publishing
• Science Fiction Fandom
• Weblog
• Writing
• Alt.zines

Desktop publishing, or DTP, is the process of editing and layout of printed material intended for publication, such as books, magazines, brochures, and the like using a personal computer. ... Literature is literally an acquaintance with letters as in the first sense given in the Oxford English Dictionary (from the Latin littera meaning an individual written character (letter)). The term has generally come to identify a collection of texts. ... The folder of newspaper web offset printing press Printing is an industrial process for reproducing copies of texts and images, typically with ink on paper using a printing press. ... Publishing is the activity of putting information into the public arena. ... Science fiction fandom is the community of people actively interested in science fiction and in contact with one another based upon that interest. ... The first use of the term weblog. ... Writing is a process which may refer to two activities: the inscribing characters on a medium, with the intention of forming words and other lingual constructs that represent language and record information, or the creation of information to be conveyed through written language. ... Alt. ...

External Links

• An article by critic Roger Ebert describing his involvement with science fiction fanzines in the 1950s. (http://www.asimovs.com/_issue_0501/thoughtexperiments.shtml)
• An interview with Bomp! publisher Greg Shaw discussing his experience as a teenage SF fanzine and rock zine publisher, and the evolution of zines through the '90s. (http://scrammagazine.com/shaw.html)
• Garage & Beat (http://www.garageandbeat.com/)
• Roctober (http://www.roctober.com/)