In the '40s, '50s, and '60s, science fiction was a nerdy sub-culture that spread primarily through and hand-assembled fanzines. Boo-hooray
In the '40s, '50s, and '60s, science fiction was a nerdy sub-culture that spread primarily through and hand-assembled fanzines.
Lenny Kaye, a guitar player in Patti Smith's band and voracious pop-culture collector, assembled over a thousand of these zines and together with Boo-Hooray press has showcased them in a new book called The Tattooed Dragon Meets The Wolfman . Boo-hooray
"The most surprising thing I noticed about the zines was how closely the format---editorials, letters, essays, reviews---paralleled the format of blogs," says co-author Johan Womack. Boo-hooray
"The most surprising thing I noticed about the zines was how closely the format---editorials, letters, essays, reviews---paralleled the format of blogs," says co-author Johan Womack.
"All this stuff is proto-blog, proto-Instagram, proto-snark, proto-troll, and naturally, also an active exchange of ideas that motivated some very weird people to do great things in their life," adds co-author Johan Kugelberg. Boo-hooray
"All this stuff is proto-blog, proto-Instagram, proto-snark, proto-troll, and naturally, also an active exchange of ideas that motivated some very weird people to do great things in their life," adds co-author Johan Kugelberg.
Two-color printing was rare for zines. Boo-hooray
Two-color printing was rare for zines.
Detail view. Boo-hooray
Detail view.
"The themes in the zines are evergreen---what other genres should be of interest to SF readers, if any; whether or not SF writers/novels are hewing to the standards set by the individual reviewer or editor, and whether they should be reviewed accordingly; the social escapades of fans in the SFF world and in the real world, as well," says Womack. Boo-hooray
"The themes in the zines are evergreen---what other genres should be of interest to SF readers, if any; whether or not SF writers/novels are hewing to the standards set by the individual reviewer or editor, and whether they should be reviewed accordingly; the social escapades of fans in the SFF world and in the real world, as well," says Womack.
Detail view. Boo-hooray
Detail view.
Kugelberg is bullish about the evolution of geekdom. "The nerds of the 20th century have shaped the 21st, for better, for worse," he says. "What we lost, we can probably not know, what was gained is this world we live in." Boo-hooray
Kugelberg is bullish about the evolution of geekdom. "The nerds of the 20th century have shaped the 21st, for better, for worse," he says. "What we lost, we can probably not know, what was gained is this world we live in."
Detail view. Boo-hooray
Detail view.
Many, but not all, science fiction writers of a certain age got their start writing in science fictions zines," says Womack. Boo-hooray
Many, but not all, science fiction writers of a certain age got their start writing in science fictions zines," says Womack.
"Naturally, it was fascinating to see the baby-steps by people who became giants of letters, and to see the interaction between the big name fans of the time as they were quarreling their way through a aesthetic narrative that is now everywhere." says co-author Kugelberg. Boo-hooray
"Naturally, it was fascinating to see the baby-steps by people who became giants of letters, and to see the interaction between the big name fans of the time as they were quarreling their way through a aesthetic narrative that is now everywhere." says co-author Kugelberg.
William Gibson and Harlan Ellison started out writing glorified fan fiction before becoming famous and hitting best-seller's lists. Even Roger Ebert published a zine before securing a prestigious byline. Boo-hooray
William Gibson and Harlan Ellison started out writing glorified fan fiction before becoming famous and hitting best-seller's lists. Even Roger Ebert published a zine before securing a prestigious byline.
The flourishing of this geeky aesthetic as well as social history can be chronicled through these documents. Boo-hooray
The flourishing of this geeky aesthetic as well as social history can be chronicled through these documents.
The level of artistic skill varied from zine to zine, but the level of passion was consistently high. Boo-hooray
The level of artistic skill varied from zine to zine, but the level of passion was consistently high.
Contemporary events like the space race, Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Civil Rights Movement were recapitulated with characters on far-off planets. Boo-hooray
Contemporary events like the space race, Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Civil Rights Movement were recapitulated with characters on far-off planets.
Tolkein-esqe high fantasy and jungle fiction in the mold of Tarzan novels provided a pastoral pause in a time of technological expansion. Boo-hooray
Tolkein-esqe high fantasy and jungle fiction in the mold of Tarzan novels provided a pastoral pause in a time of technological expansion.
Even with their crude production values it's hard not to look at these pages, held together with staples, scotch tape, and a pinch social anxiety and feel something has been lost. Boo-hooray
Even with their crude production values it's hard not to look at these pages, held together with staples, scotch tape, and a pinch social anxiety and feel something has been lost.
Today, superhero and sci-fi movies are keeping Hollywood afloat, but in the ’40s, ’50s, and ’60s, science fiction was a nerdy sub-culture that spread primarily through and hand-assembled fanzines. Producing a zine was a gritty, labor-intensive business. Prior to the advent of blogs, streamlined content management systems, and Kinko’s, mid-century geeks used mimeographs and cyanide-based printing techniques to duplicate their dorky digests. There were no message boards to promote their content, aside from an actual cork boards at local book stores. And before RSS, geeks depended on the USPS to argue the merits of Heinlein vs. Herbert.
Lenny Kaye, a guitar player in Patti Smith’s band and voracious pop-culture collector, assembled over a thousand of these zines and together with Boo-Hooray Press has showcased them in a new book called The Tattooed Dragon Meets the Wolfman .
Despite being produced with a limited tool set, and existing in a vastly different milieu, these hacked-together pamphlets laid the groundwork for modern day fandoms. “The most surprising thing I noticed about the zines was how closely the format—editorials, letters, essays, reviews—paralleled the format of blogs,” says co-author Jack Womack. “All this stuff is proto-blog, proto-Instagram, proto-snark, proto-troll, and naturally, also an active exchange of ideas that motivated some very weird people to do great things in their life,” adds co-author Johan Kugelberg.
Part of the appeal of these nerdy newsletters comes from the caliber of authors they attracted. “Many, but not all, science fiction writers of a certain age got their start writing in science fictions zines,” says Womack. William Gibson and Harlan Ellison started out writing glorified fan fiction before becoming famous and hitting best-seller’s lists. Even Roger Ebert published a zine before securing a prestigious byline.
“Naturally, it was fascinating to see the baby-steps by people who became giants of letters, and to see the interaction between the big name fans of the time as they were quarreling their way through a aesthetic narrative that is now everywhere.” says Kugelberg.
A Mirror Onto the Culture at Large
The flourishing of these aesthetic and the related events of social history can be chronicled through these documents. Contemporary events like the space race, Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Civil Rights Movement were recapitulated with characters on far-off planets. Tolkein-esqe high fantasy and jungle fiction in the mold of Tarzan novels provided a pastoral pause in a time of technological expansion.
Zines were never cash cows, but they did serve as glue for burgeoning sub-cultures, like Filk musicians at fan conventions, and for good or ill, LARPers. “The deeper you dig in science-fiction fandom, the weirder it gets,” says Kugelberg. “It is amazing to see the overlap with what became punk, counter-culture, deviant underground sexuality, etc.”
Aesthetically, these zines look nothing like the glossy web properties that foster today’s discussions, but the content remains similar. “The themes in the zines are evergreen—what other genres should be of interest to SF readers, if any; whether or not SF writers/novels are hewing to the standards set by the individual reviewer or editor, and whether they should be reviewed accordingly; the social escapades of fans in the SFF world and in the real world, as well,” says Womack.
Even with their crude production values it’s hard not to look at these pages, held together with staples, scotch tape, and a pinch social anxiety and feel something has been lost. Marvel’s comic books are now merely loss-leaders for billion dollar box office hauls and ComicCon has more chiseled celebrities than chubby cosplayers. Still, Kugelberg is bullish about the evolution of geekdom. “The nerds of the 20th century have shaped the 21st, for better, for worse,” he says. “What we lost, we can probably not know, what was gained is this world we live in.”
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