Skyliner #5 a Zine from Pixel Motel
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Everything in its own place. Something about Fan Art ......... 03 Guest Artist: Geneva Bowers . 06 Fan Art Tribute ......................... 11 MovieTime ............................... 22 A Visit with Edgar Rice Burroughs ............. 24 Drinking Things ........................ 28 Things We May Have Done ...... 32 Pixelarium (LoCs) ..................... 33 Cover Art Space Letterman by: Geneva Bowers Skyliner #5 A Zine from Pixel Motel. ©2019 Pixelmotel properties owned only by donating artists and may not be reproduced without express say-so from the artist. In case you haven’t been warned, PC doesn’t live here. If you need a warning about anything, this isn’t for you, and if you can’t take a joke, go no further. Alan White Fandom’s Sin-Cake Eater CONTACT IIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIII Fan Art Hugo Winner Geneva Bowers has graciously shared her splendid art with us for this issue which lead to tracking down artists of yesterday, today and tomorrow to either meet for the first time or reacquaint in this cross-generational celebration of Fan Artistry! What a Long Strange Trip It's Been, as Jerry Garcia was want to say. Nostalgia allows a few of us to mine the gray cells back to the days when artists and writers were held prisoner only by the means with which their work could be reproduced, assembled and distributed. In fact, it was a group effort. I remember nights in Bjo Trimble’s basement watching the mimeo drum spin and joining the group of silent robots walking endlessly ‘round and ‘round the kitchen table collating pages of her latest masterpiece. I met Bjo at Forry Ackerman’s digs in 1960 and discovered I lived only a few miles from her. She introduced me to fanzines and fannish doodles known as “Fan Art”. Art was basically lauded for originality and the technical ability of drawing into Bjo Trimble, 1965 a wax stencil, plus the arcane skills of running a mimeograph. If not that, then being funny, fannish and mentioning other fans was a must. The only way of showing off your art was in poorly reproduced fanzines and convention art shows. But there were some stunning successes too. In fact, some of the work was so damn dedicated, you might wonder why, since zines are now remarkably easy to produce, and there are artists like Geneva Bowers and other Hugo nominees, most covers today are photographs and clipart. Exhibit A. Time and energy shared with friends is a good thing, though the current zine revival has repurposed the word “Fanzine” and returned to paper and scissors which old timers may think more craft project than zine. Artwork for “The Reign of the Super-Man” in the fanzine Science Fiction: The Advance Guard of Future Civilization #3 (January 1933). Written by Superman creators Jerry Siegel as “Herbert S. Fine”; illustrated by Joe Shuster. Fan Art Hugos began in 1967 when there was a marked difference between fan and pro art. In fact, the first winner was Jack Gaughan, taking both Pro and Fan Art Hugos that year. < Jack Gaughan Pro Art for The Wrecks of Time by Michael Moorcock - 1967 Jack Gaughan Fan Art > Captain Rats - 1967 1965 to 1974 Jack was nominated for eleven Pro Hugos taking home three consecutive rockets. He scored a nomination and win for Fan Art Hugo in 1967. It’s fair to ask a current definition of Fan Art as I readily admit I don’t have a clue. In the realm of Comics fandom, the line between Fan and Pro is barely negligible if at all. In TruFandom, you can’t see either shore, the distance becoming vast indeed since the days of George Barr (5 noms, 1 win), and Alicia Austin (3 noms, 1 win). The new generation of artists have successfully closed the gap on that score. Publishing and distributing a zine was tenuous at best, and with much grinding of teeth an artist would send off perhaps a week’s work to a fan-ed which may never see the light of day, nor be returned. Instead of an original, I once sent a photocopy of a fillo to a fan- ed who severely scolded me for destroying “the very concept” of fan art. Today, with so many modes of creation and venues for distribution, least of which is a historical fanzine format, someone much younger and more active will have to tell me just what is the purpose of Fan Art today, and is Fan Art actually done for fans? Back in the day, art was shared for free to liven up fanzines when Fandom was small enough you at least knew (of) everyone. Art since the inception of home computers and the internet, gallops hand in hand with the main- streaming of science fiction and fantasy. As fandom has become a worldwide phenomenon, ubiquitous, yet less about creativity and process while more about derivative replication making an accurate definition more important now than ever. Definitions are contradictory and Rules seem vague at best. So far, my pleas have fallen on deaf eyeballs, so yes, I’ll need your help. It’s not what it was in 1960, nor should it be; so let’s take a gander at fannish art today. TruFandom still has it own accolade: The FAAn Award given at the annual Corflu, much like the Hugos except for, ummmm everything. And in these waning years, it’s become more a self congratulatory event for celebrating things they barely remember doing. But as if to prove my point, the purview of older fandom has become so rigid, they don’t allow themselves to enjoy the wider selection of younger fan artists available. If not for Steve Stiles I would have no idea who any of the Hugo contenders were, nor even how I would find out who they are. Thus, inspiration for this issue. How the tribute went down: I tracked down fan artists, starting with anyone nominated for a Hugo still extant; anyone winning a Rotsler or FAAn Award. A few had passed; some had bowed out with no possible contact info. There was a pair of “I’ll think about its," and a pair of “I’m too busy” letters, fair enough. I never asked anyone to actually do any art, just share something representative of what they have done. Venturing into the web unknown I posted to many Facebook pages smacking of fan and genre art; some immediately deleted by admin. Then Deviant Art, Pinterest, Googling Fanart names of yore. China, Canada, Sweden, France, Russia, all about the U.S. A few years back, Taral and I assembled an online Fan Art Gallery lest those gone before be forgotten. It was like pulling teeth and eating their pets. And in the end, interest in such things proved nonexistent. I was hoping the youngsters would come through for this project. With invites exceeding 200 I really thought I’d get at least thirty takers. Who wouldn’t want to share an issue with Geneva Bowers? Nic Farey thought I’d only get two; oh ye of little faith. Well, I showed him, I got 11 (crap!), and not a one under fifty! Not a single younger artist responded. Perhaps they have the same tunnel vision as the old timers. But to be honest, why would they contribute to zines boasting a completely different fannish frame of reference to which they normally subscribe? Oh well, it is, what it is. Thanks to artist wranglers Brad and Taral for casting the nets even wider, much appreciated. Let’s hope when younger artists see Geneva’s work in these pages they will be less reticent to share; they are always welcome here. So with great pleasure let’s visit our Hugo winning guest artist: Geneva Bowers. GUEST ARTIST GENEVA BOWERS Geneva Bowers is a self taught freelance artist residing in the North Carolina Mountains. Her love of nature and fantasy influences her artwork in every degree. Her main medium is digital, working in Adobe Photoshop and Art Studio Pro. When not drawing, she loves to go for a quick cycle and watching cheesy court shows. WEBSITE In 1960 I received fanzines through the mail and fandom became more than a concept; fanzines made it tangible. Brightening covers and each page of badinage were illustrations; outlandish, stylish, pithy yet singular of color. Zines were like smoke signals launched by isolated fans declaring “Here I am and here’s how I see it!” Many cartoons were early avatars of the fans themselves. Listen closely, you can hear voices from sixty years prior; smell the fuzzy paper and ink they were printed with - essence of Fandom itself. However, when Fandom went mainstream with the advent of Star Trek/Wars, history reset itself. Go ahead, Google “Fan Art”, evidently, fanart started yesterday. I’ve been grousing over being out of touch with fandom, particularly fan artists. Thus it’s up to me to offer the olive branch. Our Guest was an easy call for the Best Fan Artist Hugo. The images of Geneva Bowers are delightful in their style and personal originality, breathing a fresh nuance of science fiction and fantasy into real world daydreams. Today them millennial young’ns have the mob, the mode, the enthusiasm and the means to cover the world with art in a heartbeat. They also have the ability to use modern utilities in creating their art in spectacular new ways. We may have been here first, but they are here now. Just maybe it’s time we learn something from them. Let’s see what we get. MMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMM \MMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMM MMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM TARAL WAYNE Canada “If I’ve become a “lifelong fan,” it wasn’t for the lack of trying to be something else – illustrator, comic book artist, writer, SF editor… But being a “fan” seems to be what I was cut out for.