Science Fiction/San Francisco Issue 153 June 2014 The Village Godzilla Batman Daughter Cell Maker Faire Once Upon A Time ...and more! SF/SF #153! 1!June 2014 Science Fiction / San Francisco Issue 153 Editor-in-Chief: Jean Martin May 28, 2014 Managing Editor: Christopher Erickson email: [email protected] Compositor: Tom Becker Contents Editorial ......................................................................................Jean Martin............................. ........................................................................................ 3 Letters of Comment ...................................................................Christopher Erickson.............. ........................................................................................ 5 Visiting The Village: PortmeiriCon 2014 .................................Peter P. Lee............................. Photos by Peter P. Lee ....................................................8 Godzilla’s 60th Anniversary .......................................................Christopher Erickson.............. Photos by Christopher Erickson................................... 17 A Look at 75 Years of Batman ..................................................Christopher Erickson.............. Photos by Christopher Erickson................................... 20 Author Q&A: “Daughter Cell” by Jay Hartlove ....................Yvette Keller........................... ...................................................................................... 23 Maker Faire 2014: The Greatest Show (and Tell) on Earth... Diane B. Rooney.................... Photos by Diane B. Rooney......................................... 30 The PEERS Once Upon A Time Ball........................................ Christopher Erickson.............. Photos by Christopher Erickson................................... 36 BASFA Meeting 1241 .................................................................BASFA ......................................................................................................................... 41 Bay Area Fannish Calendar ......................................................Christopher Erickson.............. ...................................................................................... 43 Art Credits Cover High country by Lucy Huntzinger Page 4 by Kate Kelton Science Fiction/San Francisco is the monthly news zine for the San Francisco Bay Area. All issues can be found at www.efanzines.com. Except as noted, all articles and photos are copyright 2014 by the original creators. Used with permission. SF/SF #153! 2!June 2014 Editorial By Jean Martin Editor-in-Chief I’m missing all the Bay Area conventions over Memorial I’ve been planning more of is going to plays. I haven’t really Day weekend as I’m writing this Editorial. I missed all of done this consciously, but there have been a lot more that I them last year as we were in Germany (how time flies!) but really want to go see lately. Also, they’re less of a time and this year I’ve decided to skip them all to catch up with my effort commitment than costuming events, and also less writing, photography and sewing projects. I’m also, honestly, socializing, which is what my introverted side has been burned out with conventions and need a break. As Thad Gann craving after ten plus years of being a social butterfly. wrote in a recent article for us, he took a break from Christopher and I have already seen some plays and conventions last year and did a lot of other things. musicals so far this year, but in the next few months we have a I’m not skipping conventions altogether this year, just those full roster of them. We just saw the Stanford Savoyards doing that I’ve already done a lot in the past decade or so. And still Gilbert & Sullivan’s “Patience” with a “Star Trek”/“Doctor doing those that are still fresh and new to me. I went to the Who”-theme. We’ll be seeing our friend Cordelia Willis in Xena convention in Burbank and Potlatch in San Jose last another G&S production, “The Mikado,” in June. Then I have February, and I’m going to Comic-Con in July (my one and two Shakespeare plays coming up with “Macbeth” with only trip to that one was in July of 2005) and Convolution in Kenneth Branagh and Alex Kingston in New York City also in September. June and Martin Freeman in “Richard III” in London in I’m also doing a lot of other events, with PEERS always at September. I already bought tickets to see fellow “Hobbit” the top of the list. PEERS did its last two balls in San Mateo cast member Richard Armitage in “The Crucible” in London and all of them are going to be in Alameda now. But Alameda also in September. Stanford is performing the “War of the has proven to not be too far and I’ve been enjoying the dining Worlds” radio play in August and we’re hoping to see that too. establishments in that wonderful small town for dinner in I guess once in a while, it’s nice to take a break from being between rehearsals and the balls. an active participant of creative endeavors and fill up with I’m so behind on my writing, photography and sewing and inspiration from others doing it. But part of being a nerd/geek am trying to not plan any more activities but I’m not doing as is doing things and not just being passively entertained. So I’m well on that score. There are just too many things to do here in sure I’ll be out and about again once I’ve caught up more and the Bay Area and the world! Which is a blessing really. What feel ready to be back in the swing of things. In the meantime, SF/SF #153! 3!June 2014 I’m vicariously enjoying everyone’s posts and photos on Facebook and I hope people don’t forget about me and want Join our crew! me to be involved again when I return. We are always looking for writers to cover local events, conventions, fan groups and the fannish scene in general. Contact Jean Martin at [email protected] by Kate Kelton SF/SF #153! 4!June 2014 Letters of Comment Lloyd Penny writes: Thank you both for the newest Science Fiction/San Francisco, My letter … we haven’t started watching the Harry Potter issue 152. Getting caught up I am … typing like Yoda talking I am, movies yet. Yvonne has gotten herself a new job, in accounts too! Let’s see what I can say… payable again, and it starts on June 16. I am still looking, but Christopher says: Understand you I can, young padawan. hoping for something soon. We never did see “The Grand Budapest Local conventions haven’t been the same since the loss of Hotel,” and may get it on DVD or a download. We do go to local Polaris, the annual fan-run media SF convention. With it gone, cons now for the Saturday only to save money on memberships and other smaller cons have started up, and one or two have grown to hotel rooms, and I get the feeling we will be doing that from now nearly replace Polaris. In Hamilton, down the highway, there is a on. convention in its fifth year called ConBravo!, and we only recently The “Harry Potter” series was very good. The only real met the organizers, who live in Toronto. Already, attendance is misfire was “The Order of the Phoenix.” It was directed by around 3,000, and we’ve decided to go to it for the Saturday, and someone who had experience in television only before the movie, see what it’s like. It’s coming up in July. and it really showed. He seemed to direct from the idea that the That is understandable. We have gone through that in the Bay only people who watched the movie were rabid fans who would Area as well in the last few years. SiliCon disappeared about already know the plot. There seemed to be a disconnect when three years ago or so, and another on called Con-volution has Harry goes to one of the teachers who he hates for help that been started that seems to have taken its place in October/ needed a couple of lines of dialogue to help explain it. November. Since the loss of WonderCon, Big Wow! Comic Fest I have always been a fan of doing local conventions, since you has grown from its small show roots as Super-Con in the last can help support the local community and economy, as well as couple of years and WizardWorld had a show in Sacramento reduce travel, save money and keep from having to take days off around the same time WonderCon would have been. just to get there. I have always enjoyed sleeping in my own bed Age is relative, true, but if you subscribe to the notion that since as well as being able to have breakfast available without growing old is mandatory, but growing up is optional, age feels having to scrounge for it. I have only consistently traveled for less important. Your mind can stay young, but every so often, your Gallifrey One down in Los Angeles. I would like to go to body reminds you that you’re not as young as you’d like to think Convergence in Minneapolis and to Dragon*Con one day. you are. CostumeCon 32 was great fun. So much creativity and Having a youthful outlook helps with a lot of problems. positivity. We were all given a ribbon with a Facebook-style SF/SF #153! 5!June 2014 thumbs-up to hand to people, it was four days of masquerades, Letter writing is probably never going to go away. Letters will Yvonne gave two well-attended workshops on how to read patterns always be more personal, similar to actually sending a card on a and what to look for in buying your first sewing machine. We did birthday or special occasion (or calling someone on the phone) about $540 of sales at our table, so we were pleased with that. We instead of a Facebook invite or some other form of electronic learned that there was a vote going on to choose the 2017 location correspondence. The postal rates keep going up here in the for CostumeCon, with San Diego as the only bid on the ballot, but United States as well and the Post Office can’t enact reforms we heard about a write-in bid to bring it back to Toronto. Write-in since the U.S.