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It is with mixed emotions that we dedicate
this first issue of Science-Fiction Five-Yearly to
Walter A. Willis and Bob Tucker. These Greats
of fandom are the cause of our cover. You see, some
time ago Mr. Willis commented on the limitations of
the mimeograph for duplicating, especially art. As
a mimeographanatic, yed was quite taken aback. We
went into conference with our mimeo (at that time
an aged ABDick #90) and soon came up with what we
like to think of as one of the first and finest examples
of a rainbow effect in mimeoing (done with one stencil
and one run). Mr. Willis, who had been dabbling with
a multicolor effect with some archaic method of
duplicating called "printing", admitted his mistaken
impression and told us that as soon as circumstances
permitted he would purchase a mimeo of his own.
In tribute to Mr. Willis we proceeded to mimeo some art work involving line-width variations, that we were told couldn't be cut by hand on a common stencil. Then we sat back on our laurels.
But there was a thorn: in out laurels and a snake in the grass by the name of Tucker. Mr. Tucker, being aged and hoary in the annals of fandom, dug back into his colorful past and came up with a fanzine titled PLUTO which he told us used multi-run color effects. "You haven't yet matched its excellence and ingenuity, Lee." he told us. We cried ... here Tucker was flaunting in our face a fanzine which we had never seen. How could we even try to match its excellence and ingenuity, when we didn't even know what it looked like?
Well, not long ago we received a bundle of Fmz from Forry Ackerman and among them were PLUTO # 2 and #3. "Ah hah!" said we. "Now we have something to try to match in excellence and ingenuity." Gleefully we perused those two copies, noting such achievements as a five-color bacover (counting black). So at no little expense, trouble, and mimeo ink in our hair, we bring you our first attempt at synchronized color work. Out of the 110 sheets we began with, we got 80 covers, most of which were pretty well synchronized. Some were off slightly, but were usable. The remaining 30 were badly misprinted . We are pretty happy at getting 80 prints, since we were told by one who should know, that this multi-stencil work in which colors must be synchronized is practically impossible to do on a Speed-O-Print. It is. The feeder is very inaccurate ... in fact, it kept falling apart while we were working. Anyway this cover is our first attempt as synchronizing colors and we're pretty happy with all but the cost of this stuff.
So we dedicate this issue to these two thorns in the side of a mimeographanatic and gleefully suggest that they should have to pay for all this ink and 20 lb. paper.
The next issue of Science-Fiction Five-Yearly will appear in 1956. You are asked to submit manuscripts for consideration for that issue between January and June of that year. Any manuscripts received before January, 1956, will be considered for some other publication of this organization. There will be a charge of 50¢ a page for running unsolicited material in Science-Fiction Five-Yearly which we hope will help pay for the coffee and doughnuts absorbed by the staff during publication and also discourages talentless amateur writers from wasting editorial effort with miserable mishmosh which they want published in this noble journal.
The material reprinted in this issue of SF FY is here because we feel that it should be circulated in FAPA or because we feel that it should not be lost to fandom because of rather obscure publication originally. For the former reason we are running The Tragedy of Fannius McCainius, which was written for FAPublication but which appeared in Quandry #13 because Redd Boggs failed to come through with a File #13 for which space had been saved. In the latter qualification falls Surprise by Walt Kessel. This was originally published in Ad Infinitum by Al Weinstein in June of 1944. We feel that it is timely so we reprint it here. Little did Kessel know when he wrote it, what repercussions it would cause in fandom today.
IF YOU PLAN TO THROW THIS MAG AWAY you are asked to mail it back to the editor. As there are only eighty copies we will have only ten copies to circulate outside FAPA. We have more than ten friends outside of FAPA and we'd like the eleventh one to get a copy too. So if you return your copy when you're through with it we will return the postage and our thanks. Besides this might become a collector's item and worth a lot of money in a few years, and we wouldn't mind having a few on hand just in case ...
We've learned a lot about mimeography working on this zine. We've learned that 20 lb. paper isn't heavy enough and that the Speed-O-Print is a lot of unprintable things. We've discovered that Ajax Cleanser will take most of the ink off our hands and the woodwork. And we will probably learn in the next mailing, to keep our fingers off the typer keys when it comes to controversial subjects.
We have belonged to FAPA for a year now and the thought of it (FAPA, not the year) still leaves us with cold chills. For a while there, the flame of enthusiasm burned hot, but now after disappointment after disappointment in attempted mimeo effects, not to mention spilling half a pound of yellow ink all over the attic, we are again at our usual state of discouraged despair. All this for a handful of sheets discussing things we know nothing much about. And the cost ...! Honestly, is it worth it? (Add to discouraging incidents that torn stencil inside the bacover.)
We will thank you kindly not to point out Diablerie, Nova, and Nekromantikon as further goals for our publishing efforts. Tho we are a mimeographanatic, we are neither a lithographic lunatic nor a woodcut nut. And we leave fancy foto folderol to Martin Alger. As pressed for cash as we are, you would never be able to press us into purchasing a press for our amateur press publications; so don't expect us to be wracking our brains over a type rack, wondering what type type to press into action next. And heck we say to that graphic means of reproduction, the jelly pan. As far as we are concerned jelly is a flash in the pan when it comes to mass production. Our only adventures with a hekto so far panned out as a mess production ... a publishing venture that didn't jell. The jelly likewise, so it ended up down the drain and we were left holding the pan. So hektographic frills we leave to FAPA's automotive element. And don't expect another SF-FY until 1956, for it will undoubtedly take at least five years for us to forget our adventures with this venture sufficiently to be fool enough to try agaoin ...
L.H.
Data entry by Judy Bemis
Hard copy provided by Geri Sullivan
Data entry by Judy Bemis
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