Scientifiction 37
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Scientifiction New Series #37 Scientifiction A publication of FIRST FANDOM, the Dinosaurs of Science Fiction New Series #37 , 3rd quarter 2013 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Greetings, everyone! First Fandom website. The new look From the reports I received on the will feature photographs, articles, Worldcon, everyone seemed to have interviews and a history of our a great weekend, spending time with awards. Please send your ideas and friends, enjoying programming and any contributions directly to me. hearing the announcement of First Change of Address for the Cokers Fandom’s Awards. David A. Kyle My wife Linda and I are nearly spent a lot of time greeting fans at finished moving into our new home! the First Fandom exhibit table. Please reach us 4813 Lighthouse Next year, the Worldcon will be held Road, Orlando, FL 32808. Our new in London. They will be celebrating telephone number is (407) 532-7555. three quarters of a century since the New Contact Information first Worldcon was held in 1939. Mike Glyer Remembering 1507-1/2 South Sixth Avenue During the past several months, Arcadia, CA 91006 Richard Matheson and Frederik Pohl Tel: (626) 305-1004 both passed away. These dear men [email protected] were giants in our field, and they will We Need Your E-Mail Address be missed. Please see their obituary notices on pages 8-10 in this issue. We are asking all members who are still receiving paper copies of the FAPA newsletter to please provide me with I prepared a long contribution for the an e-mail address, so that they can latest mailing of the Fantasy enjoy the expanded, full-color Amateur Press Association. “Stories versions of SCIENTIFICTION. It will from the First Fandom Archives (Vol. also help us lower our quarterly II)” feature interesting articles with variable printing and mailing costs. photographs and illustrations, based Closing on interviews that I have done with First Fans Murphy Anderson, Robert Finally, after a long, hot summer, the A. Madle, Jack Robins, Julius weather is beginning to turn cooler. I Schwartz and Wilson “Bob” Tucker. hope that everyone has a wonderful Halloween and autumn season, and First Fandom Website I look forward to hearing from you! During the next few months, Keith W. Stokes and I will be updating the John L. Coker III SCIENTIFICTION New Series #37, page 2 CONVENTION REPORTS LoneStarCon. They will contact us very soon as the event grows closer. LONESTARCON3 (By Keith Stokes) Another person who visited was Kim Williams of Marcon, who said that Linda and I flew to San Antonio on they loved having First Fandom Thursday so we could be there that members at their convention a few evening for a small private reception years back and may invite First in honor of Guest of Honor and First Fandom to Columbus in 2015 for the Fandom member, James Gunn. It 50th anniversary convention, was good seeing Jim honored and providing memberships and rooms catching up with many friends for original members who attend. among his former students and She said that she will be contacting colleagues. Nearly half of the John Coker about extending an panels which I attended during the invitation to the membership. convention were devoted to Jim and his impact on our field. There were two contested site selection races this year. Three This was only my third convention cities competed for the chance to this year and I split my time between host the 73rd World Science Fiction photographing the convention for the Convention in 2015 and two cities MidAmerican Fan Photo Archive and competed for the North American staffing the First Fandom table in the Science Fiction Convention in 2014. exhibit hall. The convention NASFiC will be Detcon 1 to be held assigned us a table with a wonderful in Detroit, and the WorldCon will be location on a corner where everyone Sasquan, to be held in Spokane. traveling to the Dealers Room, Bid Tables, or autograph sessions During the weekend, I had a chance passed right by and said hello. to talk to many Associate Members of First Fandom, but David A. Kyle John Coker sent along a new First and Earl M. Korshak were the only Fandom banner and several posters original members who I saw. I with information about First Fandom believe Bob Madle was also there. for the display at our table. David A. Kyle (accompanied by daughter David and Earl were the first Kerry and son Arthur C. Kyle) presenters before the Hugo Awards alternated spending time at the table Ceremony on Sunday night. David with me so that it was staffed for was there to present the Big Heart several hours every day. Many Award (Tom Veal was the recipient), people who have been active in but he was proceeded by Earl's fandom for decades stopped to chat. announcement that Sam Basham, Earl Kemp, Lester Mayer and One of the visitors to our table said Norman F. Stanley were inducted that they will be in charge of into the First Fandom Hall of Fame; programing for Detcon I, and that Thaddeus E. Dikty and Raymond A. they want to have more First Palmer were added posthumously to Fandom related programing at the the First Fandom Hall of Fame; and NASFiC than there was at Howard Frank was the recipient of the Sam Moskowitz Archive Award. SCIENTIFICTION New Series #37, page 3 Despite long periods of time being atlatl-thrown spear could penetrate given to things like the designer of their armor. this year's Hugo Award base and the The Nasca geoglyph in South previously presented Seiun Awards, America is not an airfield but part of no time was available to explain a bird. anything about the First Fandom Awards, why the recipients were To understand the Serpent Mound honored or to allow them or their (in Southwestern Ohio) requires that representatives to acknowledge the we first understand the culture that awards. We were told that Earl had built it. Unfortunately, we don’t been allotted just forty-five seconds understand their culture, but the to announce all of the recipients. Mound itself was well within the capabilities of the Indians who lived Over 400 photographs from the there at the time. convention have been posted at http://www.midamericon.org/photoar Cartography and World Building chive/lonestarcon3/ I had volunteered to be on a panel KEITH STOKES on world building. Usually this topic covers things like the chemistry and CONTEXT physics of alien worlds, and I enjoy (By Joe Martino) these panels. However, this panel turned out to be on cartography This is a regional convention held (mapping), and I was the panel annually in Columbus, OH. It’s moderator. Fortunately there were a strictly a readercon. No media, no couple of amateur cartographers on gaming, heavy emphasis on reading the panel. All I had to do was ask and writing. Here are several panels. them questions. The panel went well. Ancient Astronauts Maps are functional artifacts. They Carl Sagan once stated that it was are intended to be used for a specific possible that Earth may have been purpose. A road map differs from a visited by aliens, and artifacts may nautical chart, because each has a still exist. Such evidence would look specific purpose. like: Maps provide a framework for a • Artifacts out of place story. Things happen in specific places, with certain distances apart, • Recognizable artifacts beyond with specific topography, conditions, the capabilities of contemporary humans and resources. Not every reader needs a map, but the writer may. • Artifacts found in a disputable One of the panelists mentioned a context. mapping program intended for Archeologists have traced Hernando gamers but usable by authors, DeSoto’s path through the American Campaign Cartographer, available Southwest by abandoned chain mail, from http://profantasy.com. I intend after the Spaniards realized that an to get a copy. SCIENTIFICTION New Series #37, page 4 How I Wrote My Novel This book has received high praise This was an interesting panel by a from people in the industry, such as first-time novelist, who described Neal Adams and Stan Lee. The how he’d gone about selling his ISBN is 978-0-312-64380-5. It is novel. After striking out on his list of available in hardcover ($27.99 from top-10 agents, he sent it to a small St. Martin’s Press, New York, 2013). press, which bought it. If there was FILMFAX – The Magazine of any take-away message, it was that Unusual Film, Television and persistence pays off. Retro Pop Culture (Summer 2013, Issue 134). Joe Martino This issue contains a profusely RECOMMENDED READING LIST illustrated 12-page interview with the (By John L. Coker, III) late special effects genius (and long- SUPER BOYS: THE AMAZING time member of First Fandom) Ray ADVENTURES OF JERRY SIEGEL Harryhausen. There is also an AND JOE SHUSTER – THE important ten-page article about the CREATORS OF SUPERMAN lost Spider Scene from King Kong (Written by Brad Ricca) (1933) with mentions of Ray Bradbury and Forrest J Ackerman. The author spent a decade looking These two pieces would make the through Cleveland libraries, archives issue desirable, but there is also and private collections as he lovingly other material that is interesting assembled a bittersweet history of reading, such as the story of the the creators of Superman. A lot of premier of the motion picture the story is told in third-person using DRACULA (1931) and Christopher the words of Siegel and Shuster, as M. O’Brien’s solid interview with carefully footnoted by the book’s comic book artist Carmine Infantino author.