Fanzine Library: Newfangles #10 (March 1968)

Now officially monthly, the newsletter expanded coverage, noting price increases and other pro news as well as fan items.

News included: winners (including Will Eisner) of the National Cartoonists Society awards; deaths of cartoonist Rudolph Dirks (91) and mystery writer and SF editor Anthony Boucher (56); variant pricing of 15 cents of Gold Key comics in New York City and on the West Coast; a fire at Bill Thailing's house; publication of Zap Comics ("We blithely admit we didn't understand it, but we dig it. Crumb, says [Bill] Spicer, draws like a retarded Basil Wolverton. True." Sigh. Showing our age and non PC-ness, even then.)

National called off editorial-office tours for the time being; Creepy and Eerie Editor Bill Parente was looking for contributors ($25 story, $10 per page art); and lots and lots more.

Reviews of The Spectacular Spider-Man, His Name Is ... Savage!, and Creepy. Bruce Anderson comments, "Charlton lists exact numbers of subscribers, without rounding off. They get credit for the comic with the fewest subscribers -- Army War Heroes, with 5 average for the 12 months."

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Fanzine Library: Newfangles #9 (April 1968)

News included: Gold Key comics' upcoming price hike to 15 cents; correction of the preceding issue's statement that Robert Crumb's background was as a science fiction fan (he was a comics fan, of course) and other corrections; Wayne Howard made the Dean's List at Wesleyan; Russ Manning left Gold Key to do the Tarzan strip; other artist moves; "Yes, Virginia, there is a King Pack containing Flash Gordon #11, apparently sent only to subscribers. At least, no one has reported seeing it on the stands."

And check out our first "Squash That Rumor" -- the rumor being that Stan Lee had quit Marvel, joined Charlton, and was trying to lure Steve Ditko away from DC. We squashed it by calling a news source at Marvel: Stan Lee. But Flo Steinberg had left Marvel, pleading overwork (to which we had contributed, sigh).

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Fanzine Library: Newfangles #8 (March 1968)

News included: death of Rocco (Rocke) Mastroserio; the end of King Comics; the birth of Mort Walker's Boner's Ark; output of Jeff Jones; Gil Kane's leaving DC; plugs for On the Drawing Board and Nostalgia Book Club; articles by Jacquelyn Harper; the "long-long-promised checklist of Dell special edition titles" by Don and Maggie Thompson; and an obsessive chunk of information about circulation statistics.

And this item on page 4: "Fan Makes Good Dept.: Robert Crumb, onetime science fiction fan (publisher of Foo), whose work appeared in the late lamented Help!, is now doing a comic strip called Fritz the Cat for Cavalier. It has been described as the greatest thing in comic art appearing these days. We are unwilling to go that far, but it is great. No kids."

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Fanzine Library: Newfangles #7 (February 1968)

It wasn't officially monthly by this point, but the February issue followed the January one, and Newfangles began its monthly frequency.

News: The Academy of Comic Art Fans and Collectors (ne The Academy of Comic Book Arts and Sciences) became moribund; Mac Raboy died; drops in Batman circulation; other circulation information; editorial moves at DC; convention news; and problems for Cartoonists Showcase.

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Fanzine Library: Newfangles #6 (January 1968)

The rider this time gives an indication of the search for community that was under way by early 1968.

News included: deaths of Ray Miller's father (61) and Don's father, S. Enos Thompson (71); upcoming conventions; the formation of the Society for Comic Art Research and Preservation Inc. (SCARP -- and we included an informational flyer); and a meeting of Los Angeles comics fans.

And we reviewed The Man in the Cannibal Pot and I, Lucifer. (Officers of SCARP were Phil Seuling, Tom Fagan, Maurice Horn, Mike McInerney, and Joseph Salvo.)

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Fanzine Library: Newfangles #5 (November 1967)

Two sheets in an issue? Well, the very idea that strip reprints would be available was thrilling enough to merit the free ad!

We noted the deaths of artist S. Robert Powell (50) and editor Hugo Gernsback (83). Other news: Fred Patten's election to Central Mailer of CAPA-alpha; Mike Royer's career; Jeff Jones' career; and George Metzger's career. We reviewed Ed Aprill's Cartoonist Showcase. There was a plethora of other news -- and a Nostalgia Press ad rider for the Flash Gordon collection.

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Fanzine Library: Newfangles #4 (September 1967)

And so it went, still bimonthly. News included: Wayne Howard becoming Wally Wood's assistant; Mike Barrier passing his bar exam; fan news appearing in King Comics; Steve Kelez' upcoming assignment to duty in Thailand; birth of the third son of Bill and Zylpha Thailing; publishing of "two sexy comics" from Simon & Schuster.

We also reviewed A Nation Grieved, On the Drawing Board, and John Benson's Talk with Harvey Kurtzman.

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Fanzine Library: Newfangles #3 (July 1967)

When I said we wanted to publish news about fans, that's what I meant. This issue featured a pretty big fannish accomplishment -- at least as far as we were concerned. Valerie Lee Thompson was born July 20.

Other news: Bob Butts was drafted; the Ed Wheelan Memorial Fund was established by the Fort Myers Beach Art Association; Tower Press published Cavalcade of Old Time Comic Strips. And there was, of course, the usual etc.

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Fanzine Library: Newfangles #2 (May 1967)

Two months later, we shipped the second issue. Note my current decision to delete home addresses. We reported deaths of Otto Binder's daughter, Jim King, Marti Beck, and Carey Orr. Other news included: job changes for Fred Patten and George Metzger; marriage of John Benson; health experiences of Bob Greene, Biljo White, and Dan Alderson; upcoming postal changes; new postal codes for Australia; the status of the Chicago scene; upcoming conventions; and more.

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Fanzine Library: Newfangles #1 (March 1967)

Don and I wanted to read a fanzine devoted to the doings of farflung fans. So we published one. The first issue defined the project and went on to celebrate the birth of a daughter to Australian fans John and Jan Ryan, and pass on news of Jerry and Jean Bails' Panelologist, The Classic Cartoons, meetings of the Cleveland comics club, the M.M.M.S. newsletter, and more.

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Fanzine Library: Newfangles

Science-fiction fans had long had newsletters that provided news of weddings, conventions, changes of address, and the like. But news for comics buffs had focused on pro, not fan, news. Until March 1967. Don Thompson and Maggie Curtis had become Don and Maggie Thompson five years earlier. We had our own mimeograph machine and a goal.

1967
Newfangles #1
Newfangles #2
Newfangles #3
Newfangles #4
Newfangles #5

1968
Newfangles #6
Newfangles #7
Newfangles #8
Newfangles #9
Newfangles #10

...more to come!

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Fanzine Library: Comic Art #1 (Spring 1961)

Comic Art was one of the very earliest fanzines covering the world of comics and science fiction. Note the inclusion of the (then) current version of the Comics Code, halfway through the issue.

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Fanzine Library: Harbinger #1 (Autumn 1960)

In the autumn of 1960, a one-sheet mailing of a flyer titled Harbinger announced the Comic Art fanzine to come.

Was it the first publication of the Golden Age of comics fandom? Or was it the second (the first perhaps being the science-fiction fanzine Xero, with its first installment of the All in Color for a Dime feature)? There had been what might be termed a Platinum Age of comics fandom earlier, with publications by E.C. fans, by Dave Kyle, and by Ed and Betsy Curtis focusing on one or another aspect of comics. But Harbinger was the start of an ongoing, spreading amateur publishing enthusiasm that built to the world of comics collecting we know today.

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Fanzine Library

Here are scans of some fanzines I've been involved with, stretching back to the beginning of comics fandom. (I'm old. What can I say?) At the moment, it's limited to the first issues of and HarbingerComic Art, and the first year of Newfangles.

Eventually, it should include How to Survive Comics Fandom and our listings of Dell Four-Color comics and history of comics fan awards. Eventually, I said.

1960

Harbinger #1


1961

Comic Art #1

1967-

Newfangles

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