It is with more than our usual humble pride and ridiculous braggadocio that we bring you this, our twenty fifth anniversary issue of SFFY. Few regularly published fanzines have reached such an anniversary issue without ever missing an issue. Joyfully, we flaunt this claim to fame and dare the rising young generation of fan publishers to catch up with us if they can!
In preparation for this momentous occasion yed has been browsing past issues of this sterling journal, and it has come to our attention that previous articles by yhos have been devoted largely to bemoaning the multitude of technical problems encountered in production -- the difficulties of duplication, the miseries of mimeography.
At last, with this issue yed had finally conceived a method of overcoming this difficulty. The solution was so simple it seems odd it had not occurred to yhos before.
Acquire an associate editor/publisher and let him do all the drudgery and dirty work.
Obviously, such a gem of brilliance does not come upon one instantly. Such an idea evolves. For the last issue, SFFY had an editorial associate. Bob Toomey aided in the preparation of the publication, giving great assistance in the overcoming of various obstacles. Still the mimeoing was done then on the erstwhile Spaceship Mimeo by yed. And the technical problems recurred as always. Relocation of the editorial offices and production facilities to the hinterlands of the semi-tropics didn't help any either. Supplies had to be brought in by ox cart. Mail went out, apparently, by The African Queen. Multicolor ink was unavailable. Mimeo replacement parts were unavailable. Staples could be had only through the SPWSSTFM.
So, as 1976 loomed on the horizon, we began our search for the ideal associate editor/publisher for this issue of SFFY.
Bob Toomey, obviously having forgotten or failed to learn from past experience, immediately volunteered. His plan to put out an issue composed entirely of blank pages seemed a perfect solution to duplicating difficulties. However, after much discussion, we realized that neither he nor yed would receive adequate egoboo from a fanzine with no return address.
Jerry Kaufman and Suzy Tompkins were queried about acting as guest editors/publishers (two collators are better than one). They were willing, but it turned out that their own publishing schedule conflicted with SFFY's. Since this would have put an untoward burden on their facilities and, perhaps, stability, we turned elsewhere.
Where, in this vast fandom in the mid-'70's was there a fan with the eager enthusiasm for fanzine publishing of a neo, the anachronistic grasp of things Sixth Fannish of a platypus, and the duplicating facilities of a young Ted White?
We considered asking JoeD Siclari, but he was involved with marriage, a Worldcon, Fanhistorica, Ah, Sweet Idiocy, and A Wealth of Fable. We harbored some doubt as to whether he could give SFFY the total attention it richly deserves.
So we turned to the one fan who, from the very beginning, was the most obvious choice. Who but the publisher of MOTA, a veritable Ralph Rayburn Phillips of a fanzine, dripping with decaying contributors who had long been thought buried by the snows of yesteryear, a fanzine with charm and wit and legibility and an irregular enough schedule that it could hardly conflict with SFFY.
So this lustrum, yhos sits upon a bed of laurels, basking in the glow of past achievement and anticipating fresh shipments of egoboo, while Terry Hughes does the donkey drudgery of producing this issue.
Blessing on thee, Terry Hughes. It is your ilk that have made fandom what it is today!
(illo: LeeH dozing under palm tree)
-- Lee Hoffman
Data entry by Judy Bemis
Hard copy provided by Geri Sullivan
Data entry by Judy Bemis
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