This is OTCK'S EUROPEAN SFaNCON III SFaNCO N HI SFANCO N III SFANCO N III sfanco n III SFANCO N III SFANCO N III ST GEORGE’ S DAY ST GEORGE' S DAY February - March 197 2 .Address for subscribers and customers in the United Kingdom; Ron Bennett, British School, SHAPE, BFPO 26. (Use only a 3p stamp on letters, do not use the words "Belgium" "Forces" or "Airmail") Address for subscribers and customers in Belgium and elsewhere; Ron Bennett, British School, B-7010 SHAPE, Belgium. Sub scriptio n Rates UK & Belgium. 6 issues for 50p, 58 Belgian francs or U.S.$1.25 Single sample issues 1 £p, 14 francs or 30 cents. 51 sewhere. 6 issues, airmail, for £2.00, U.S.$5.00 or equivalent Sir^le sample issues, airmail, 50p, U.S.&1.25 or equivalent. 6 issues, surface rate, for 50p, U.S.$1.25 or equival ent. U.S. Representative; Robert Coulson, Route 3, Hartford City, Indiana 47 348. Advertising Rates; Full Page £1.25, 145 Belgian francs or U.S.83.15 Half page £0-75, 87 Belgian francs or U.S.$1.87 Quarter page £0.42, 48 Belgian francs or $1.05. Ready Cut Stencils, full page only: £1.00, 116 francs or U.S.$2.50. Headline for advertising copy for our next issue is 1st March. Bow To The Wizard is copyright(c) 1972 by Robert Sampson. SKYRACK BOOK SERVICE. February-March 197 2 catalogue commences on page 4, once more listing the widest range of specialist material at present on offer from Europe, a claim more meaningful than ever before because of the new lines recently added to stock and listed within. Our prices remain highly competit­ ive. Don't take our word for it...compare before you buy. Jfote that whilst many other dealers are taking more and more of our ideas and are producing catalogues, fanzines etc etc we run the complete service..... no hidden extras for postage and packing. SFANCON III Galerij DE ZWARTE PANTER THE BLACK PANTHER GALLERY Hoogstraat 70-7 2 70-7 2 Hoogstraat 2000 Antwerpen B-2000 Antwerp THE DATE: St George's Day, 23rd April 1972 Write for details to: Paul Torfs, Melkmarkt 33, 2000 Antwerpen S> Aft IL IE SFANCON III S.F. PULPS.... COMICS....TARZAN Following two successful, nay, highly MATERIAL... .MOVIE MATERIAL.... SF & successful conventions in 1970 and 1971 HORROR.... SUPERHERO & BOND....... SFan, the go-ahead .and enterprising Antwerp-based sf club have decided to p 0___ S____T_____E____ R_____ S_ try for the hat-trick..... The date is ETCETCEPCETCETCTPCETCETCETCETCETCETC' 23rd April and the place is the Black Panther want s Gallery, a converted historical building ORIGINAL CAPTAIN MARVEL & FAMILY/ of decided interest in itself, situated DICK TRACY/ BOOKS ON COMICS/ in the city centre. The con will swing SUPERHERO FANZINES/ s s is s into being against a background display of the sf paintings of Andre Beguin and ANYTHING ON SHERLOCK HOMES/ will feature talks, discussions, panels, ANYTHING BY CONAN DOYLE/ sales, purchases, auctions, film shows CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED/ TORLD ill/ and..... You’ve been to successful OLD DETECTIVE FICTIONs HEWITT conventions.... .you know what they’re LUPIN ETC made ofl A bar, did you mumble? ££>eak MAGNETS/GEM s/sol S /GH as/com ETS/ up, speak up ...we have that, too. CTTTJC! / iJ’B H »o^0O»OOOOOt>O««O003oO0> OU U O / JllX V •5-i->oort®ooon<»»***'?»eo‘»»o0 GUEST OF HONOUR? He, too, blends into SAE OR IRC FOR LISTS//////////// the background of success and entertain­ SEND FOR LISTS////SEND SAE/lRC..... ment- You'll see, you’ll see. fr francis hertsberg/our ladys/ Membership subscription is 40' Belgian 48 sh al marsh/hr bebingto n/wirral/ francs(£0. 35 or US $0.85)....’.= cheshire/engl and L6 3 2J Z Paul Torfs, Melkmarkt 33, 2000 Antwerp Bel gium . • • F&SF BOOKS _ _ THE GABLES^ 28 MO KHAM S_DrJvE, TOODFORD_ GREEN, ESSEX, _Em AND- We have in excess of 2500 American books for sale, write for a free list now. We are unable to quote ary titles from our 2000 paperbacks but here are a few examples of our specialist hardcover titles available: FOR EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS FANS FOR 'PULPS' & COMICS FANS ERB MASTER OF ADVENTURE BY LUPOFF THE PULPS BY GOODSTONE - 50 YEARS ERB BIBLIOGRAPHY BY DON DAY SURVEYED INCLUDING 48 PAGES OF TARZAN OF THE MOVIES BY ESSOE COLOUR PLATES .......& 70 MORE BURROUGHS TITLES UNDER THE MOONS OF MARS BY MOSKOWITZ —HISTORY OF THE MUNSEY MAGAZINES WITH FOR THOSE IN NEED OF MAGAZINE INDEXES HIGHLY QUALIFIED STORY SELECTION FROM INDEX TO SF MAGS 1926-50 BY TON DAY SAME. INDEX TO SF MAGS 1951-65 BY MIT SF SOO HISTORY OF THE COMICS BY STERAKO- VOLS INDEX TO SF MAGS 1966-70 BY NESFA SF SOC ONE & TWO IN STOCK PULP HERO INDEX BY WEINBERG ...MANY MORE COMICS BOOKS ON OUR LIST. INDEX TO WEIRD FICTION MAGS BY COCKCROFT ERB CHECKLIST OF SF MAGS BY ION DAY -------SPECIAL--------FOR ROBERT E HOWARD FANS , RED BLADES OF BLACK CATHAY — volume of classics from the defunct and now extremely rare MAGIC CARPET1 magazine of the mid-1930's- WE ARE INTERESTED in trading and also accept want lists. There is bound to he something you need from our huge selection, in fact our list is a checklist in itself. Write for a free copy now. 2 A BOW TO I HE WIZARD ....foteri sai,PEOn One pulp hero, at least? went adventuring without armament. Thomas Jefferson "Cash" Gounan managed it, moving through six 1940-41 novels armed only with a silver-doll ar pocket piece and his’wits. That was plenty. Goxman's mind, astute, subtle, sharply informed, was the equal of a dozen blazing .45's. His magazine, The Wizard, was sub-titled Adventures in Finance. It was. Written by Phil R. Sheridan, a probable pseudo.r^rm, the stories are literate, taut, with action at both physical and mental levels. They feature corporate intrigue set against a realistic back­ drop of state and local politics, union interactions, syndicated crime and high flying financial machinations. Cash Gorman, an adventurer-financder, invests in shaky businesses to build them up and take a profit. Sounds simple. But he must proceed in the face of clever and ruthless opposition. He i s always under attack. His problems are major, complex and in the real world. He handles then through a series of brilliant and informed manoeuvers. Characterisation fades before the fancy footwork. Goman is well drawn, if shallowly. Other characters are.pencilled in as collections of peculiar traits. Essentially, the story is how Gorman out-brill ianted the oppo sition,' and this is done well. The First issue of THE WIZARD, October 1940, was Gild The Sword ’%ith Gol d. We meet Gorman and he meets Jimmy Ranger, his aide through the series. We are also introduced to Phineas Gardiner, a bulging red-faced caricature of a capital­ ist. His wealth, tapped by Gorman through various deals, provides the operating fluid for most of the stories. In Sword the subject is an involved swindle with worthless helium land as bait. The swindlers are had in virtually the last paragraph of the novel by some highly tricky sleight of hand Gormanry. Mill io n Doll ar Mutual, December 1940, demonstrates how to save a failing race track against intolerable pressures. The mano eu vexing, possibly the most complex, ever put into a pulp magazine, is packed with multiple interactions between politics, law, finance and business — all based in the real world- This is the most .successful of the Wizard novels. Liquid Gold, February 1941, plunges Gorman into labour trouble in the dairy business. Murder in Gold, April 1941, is set in Hollywood. The accounts have been tapped at the studio. The swindlers are very murderous. Gorman is very very slick. With the June 1941 issue, Sabotage( advertised in April as Saboteurs in High Gear) the magazine is retitled CASH GORMAN.. In this novel German takes over an axle-manuf acturing pl ant which Nazi agents and a local traitor are reducing to rubble. Murder in Santa Paula, August 1941, sets Gorman against an entrenched political boss, a massive real estate swindle, an old murder frame, and an ex­ ploding dam. On that high note the series ends, a victim of so-so sales and the wartime paper shortage. Too bad. It was a noble experiment. Whilst the last three novels tend as much to violent adventure as to footwork through the com­ plications of corporate finance all the novels are worth reading. The first two issues are of particular interest and deserve room on any collector's shelf. -----Robert Sampson SFANCON III 23RD APRIL 1972 It is appreciated of course that it is a little difficult for UK fans to trip out to Antwerp at the drop of a hat for a one-day convention. You might also consider making like a tourist and including sidetrips to Bruges, Brussels, etc. I will be willing to help regarding advice on currency exchange, travel arrangements etc. You can also save postage by including your 35p membership subscription when writing to me....I’ll pass it on to Paul, the internationally famous . ' Silent Slave of SFaN. — Ron Bennett. BODK SERVICE The following pages comprise the February 197 2 catalogue of the Skyrack Book Service. Please address all correspondence to Ron Bennett, British School, SHAPE? BFPO 26. (Or, for customers outside the UK, "SHAPE, Belgium.") CASH ’7ITH ORDER please. All items are priced singly unless specifically indicated. .Surface postage to all parts of the world, including Nimy, is free.