From: ASKIM@POMONA.CLAREMONT.EDU (Tony Kim, User Services Consultant, Pomona College)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.anime
Subject: Der Stuckey
Date: 17 Apr 92 16:42:00 GMT
To: anime-l%vtvm1.bitnet@vtvm1.cc.vt.edu
X-Envelope-To: anime-l@vtvm1.bitnet
X-Vms-To: IN%"anime-l@vtvm1.bitnet"

Hi!
        I made a comment earlier about how R. Stuckey said he had done more for
animation fandom here than just about anyone else.  I'm still looking for the
quote, but here's a little sampling, taken from Electronic Animation Velocity
at the utexas site, that contributed to my uneasiness about him, even though I
got into anime a year ago.
                -Tony


    =========================
    ==                     ==
    ==  ANIMATED THOUGHTS  ==
    ==                     ==
    =========================

    From the July 1989 issue
    ========================
    I'm excited. Although I have been in fandom for over 20 years now and
    published 10 or 12 fanzines over the years, publishing a first issue is
    always exciting. Starting a fanzine is a lot more work now that it used
    to be. My first fanzine was typed on a stencil with an old manual
    typewriter and printed on a mimeograph. Artwork was first traced onto
    the clear cover sheet with a pen, then the cover sheet was placed back
    on the stencil and literally scratched into the stencil.

    It sounds like a lot of work (and, to be honest, it was), but it was
    much more carefree than starting a zine today. You did not  have to find
    a publishing program that produced a postscript file that was compatible
    with a given laser printer. One did not have to worry about fancy logos
    or layouts, or how to convert files from one word processor format to
    another, or anything like that. You also did not have to deal with fans
    who thought that a simple fanzine with a print run of a few hundred and
    a small budget should look like a spiffy newsletter published for the
    stockholders of a Fortune 500 company!

    Despite all the changes over the years, publishing a fanzine is still a
    great deal of fun and is a great hobby. I would not be launching another
    new one this month if it wasn't fun.

    However, if you like this publication, please remember that it is the
    result of the efforts of many people. Steve Krueger designed the cover
    logo. Our authors and artists provided the material to fill the blank
    pages. Marc Ripley provided the laser printer. The FAST Membership
    Secretary provided the updated files for the mailing labels. The Mailing
    Crew collated and stapled this issue, stuffed it in an envelope, put
    your mailing label, a stamp and such on the envelope and dropped the
    finished product in the mail. All I did was type stuff in, edit it
    somewhat, format the publication file, and sent it to Marc for the
    printing of the masters, do a bit of paste-up and drop the masters by
    the printers. So if you like this issue, remember it was a group effort
    and that everyone involved is equally important to the success of the
    publication.

    Randall S. Stukey

    From the August 1989 issue
    ==========================
    About 15 or 20 San Antonio and Austin area FAST members spent the
    weekend of July 14-16 in Dallas attending the summer incarnation of
    Dallas Fantasy Fair. A good time was had by all, including for once,
    your editor who -- for the first time since the November 1985 DFF -- did
    not have to devote much of his con time to fan politics.

    The summer version of DFF attracts more people every year. Among anime
    fen who you might have heard of, this year saw Carol Silverton up from
    New Orleans and David Merrill and Scott Weikert up from Atlanta. If only

    =======================================================================
    Copyright (c) 1989, 1990 by Anime Publications Bureau & Randall Stukey










    Electronic Animation Velocity        Volume 0 Number 1        Page 5
    =======================================================================

    we could get Bulldog Productions to get a few animation/manga-type
    guests and stress animation a bit more.... The Earth Defense Command did
    a very good job on the video rooms -- no Cream Lemons were on the
    schedule (although they may have been requested during the wee-hour
    request times, I can't say). They even had a preview tape running
    outside the anime video rooms. SDF-Fort Worth, as usual, was not present
    in nearly the force that we or the EDC were. Unfortunately, the video
    pirates were there in force -- five different dealers selling apparent
    bootleg anime. Meri Wakefield of the EDC, myself, and a couple of others
    had a great deal of "fun," putting a monkey wrench into the operation of
    these pirates by telling people about to purchase tapes from a pirate
    that they were not buying an original tape and that, if all they wanted
    was a copy, they could get one free from one of the anime fan clubs.
    F.A.N., a alliance of the major Dallas-area fan clubs, ran fan track
    programming and even brought in a guest of their own, Colleen Doran. As
    usual, I spent most of my time hanging around with my Dallas-area
    friends and did not get to many of the panels and such. I probably did
    not miss much, most DFF panels seem to be repeats of panels that were
    popular at previous DFFs. Sigh.

    As far as I could tell, this was the largest con Bulldog has ever put on
    and it really showed. Con Security was terrible -- it often seemed like
    gangs were lose in the hotel and running wild. Security was pitifully
    understaffed (in my opinion) and simply could not be everywhere at once.
    If Bulldog wants to continue to hold large cons, I think they are going
    to have to concentrate on more of their resources on con security or
    their large cons will soon not be welcome in any hotel in the Dallas
    area. I'll be honest, folks, this disgusts me almost as much as the
    video pirates do -- I am old enough to remember when hotels all but
    rolled out the red carpet for an SF convention because the fans tended
    to leave the hotel in at least as good (if not better) shape as it was
    when they came. The fact that fandom now needs elevator monitors, hall
    monitors, and the like simply makes me sick. . . . unfortunately the
    idea that a con expecting 3000 to 4000 attendees would skip this type of
    security and let the "bad elements" in fandom give the rest of us a bad
    names makes me feel even worse. If we do not police ourselves, we will
    soon not be welcome anywhere. Please think about this next time you go
    to a convention!

    My attempt to "shame" some of the EDC and SDF-Fort Worth people into
    coming down to some San Antonio and Austin cons by having our people
    where FAST badges to let everyone know how many of our folks come up
    to DFFs failed completely. Karen Helmer's reaction sort of sums it up:
    "But why should we come down there when you all come up here?" (or
    words to that effect). Oh well, back to the drawing board.

    The reaction to San Antonio and Austin pulling out of the C/FO and
    forming FAST was very good. The other anime clubs in Texas know what we
    have been going through these past few years spending almost all our
    time and energy trying to "save the C/FO" and wonder what took us so
    long to throw in the towel. . . .

    Finally, here is a report on the final fate of the C/FO. The C/FO Board
    of Directors dissolved the club effective July 4, 1989 (Independence Day
    seemed appropriate for reasons that are obvious to those of you who know
    the hell those of us who were trying to save the C/FO for the past three
    years have been through) with the Director of Finance directed to

    =======================================================================
    Copyright (c) 1989, 1990 by Anime Publications Bureau & Randall Stukey










    Electronic Animation Velocity        Volume 0 Number 1        Page 6
    =======================================================================

    liquidate the C/FO's assets, pay its bills, and give any remaining money
    to bona-fide charities. Many of you have heard other versions of this,
    my apologies, but I was trying to trace down a information leak and did
    so by allowing some rumors to spread unchecked to see who would end up
    with what information -- this was very enlightening. Don't blame me for
    the rumors, however, as I did not start them, I just did not bother to
    stomp on them as I usually do!

    Randall Stukey

    From the September 1989 issue
    =============================
    As I've said before, every once in a while I get a letter that really
    grabs my attention. As you might guess from the fact that I mention
    this, I got one of those letters a few weeks ago from the former head of
    the EDC, Derek Wakefield. Now it may surprise some of you with long
    memories that I even get letters from Derek, but you'll just have to
    accept the fact that down here in Texas so-called "fan feuds" seldom
    last more than a few months past the resolution of whatever caused the
    "feud" -- unlike in many other places where "fan feuds" seem to drag on
    for so many years than no one even really remembers what caused the
    "feud". However, that is really beside the point, let's look at what
    Derek had to say:

    "Well, I suppose that's about it for now. Oh...one more thing. I know
    you aren't that fond of the show, but you might make a mention of the
    fact that this year we see the 10th anniversary of Star Blazers first
    showing in this country. It might not be all that big a thing, but we
    need to remember that it was the show that really got Japanime fandom
    rolling in this country."

    As far as I can tell, Derek is right: Star Blazers first appeared on the
    air in the US in September 1979 and Star Blazers did bring a large group
    of fans into anime fandom (just as Robotech would do a few years later).
    As Derek was kind enough to remind me of this (he's right, I do not
    really like Yamato or Star Blazers and would have never thought of this
    myself), I decided to make this issue a special Star Blazers 10th
    Anniversary issue. As this decision was literally made at the last
    minute and I had no Yamato or Star Blazers articles in the slush pile
    and only a couple of appropriate illos, I'd like to thank those of you
    who came through with material at literally the last minute. Without
    your swift and timely assistance, the only thing mentioning Star Blazers
    in this special Star Blazers 10th Anniversary issue would have been this
    editorial.

    Star Blazers did give Japanese animation fandom in North America a large
    boost. From the influx of new anime fans, two major clubs were formed:
    the relatively short-lived Star Blazers Fan Club and the Earth Defense
    Command (which is still going strong although it is now a general
    Japanese animation fan club instead of a Star Blazers specific fan
    club). Of course, all was not merry in anime fan land, for the SBFC had
    internal problems, the EDC seemed to take several ages to get organized
    enough to do anything, the two clubs did not get along that well and --
    of course -- there was the Trelaina Apa (even I heard about Trelaina at
    the time; and way back then, I'd never even heard of anime...). I still
    hear people moan and groan about how terrible it was with all the fan
    politics and nastiness flying back and forth! Well, I was not involved,

    =======================================================================
    Copyright (c) 1989, 1990 by Anime Publications Bureau & Randall Stukey










    Electronic Animation Velocity        Volume 0 Number 1        Page 7
    =======================================================================

    but the whole thing seems like small potatoes to me -- at least compared
    to some of the feuding that went on in the first few years of Star Trek
    fandom or some of the feuds that went on in SF fandom during the 30s and
    40s -- at least one of which is still going on to this day!

    Unfortunately, we will always have feuding in fandom. Those people who
    get things done in fandom (as opposed to those who wait for others to do
    things) almost always have large egos and strongly held convictions --
    both seem to be necessary to enable them to do everything they do -- and
    as no one can agree on the "one true way" to do things, the "doers" in
    fandom find themselves in conflict with other "doers" more often than
    not. Despite all the feuding and problems, the Earth Defense Command and
    the Star Blazers Fan Club managed to introduce a heck of a lot of people
    to the wonders of Japanese animation -- and, to be honest, what more can
    you really ask of such organizations?

    However, I am wondering a bit far afield from the point I wanted to
    make. I have been editing fan publications in the Japanese animation
    field for four years now and I have noticed a very funny trend in
    submissions. I seldom, if ever, receive submissions on series or
    features that I personally do not like. This has always seemed very
    funny to me as much of the material I do not like is extremely popular
    with most anime fans (Urusei Yatsura, Bubblegum Crisis, Yamato/Star
    Blazers, and Robotech come to mind immediately). I had thought that I
    had always made it clear that I select articles and artwork based upon
    how well-written they are and how popular they are among the readership
    (when I am fortunate enough to even have a choice of things to print,
    that is -- normally, I have to print just about everything I receive
    just to fill up the pages every month) -- not on whether or not I
    personally like the series/feature/manga in question. If you write a
    good article on a popular series such as Robotech or Urusei Yatsura (and
    arrange to have it submitted on disk) it will be just as likely to get
    printed as an equally good article on one of my favorites! Unlike some
    zines, the editor of this one is well aware of the great variety of
    material that the AV readership likes and, within the limitation of only
    being able to print what gets submitted, I try to cover as much of the
    field as possible. Unlike some others in anime fandom, I like what I
    like because I like it and I do not feel the need to "convert" others to
    liking what I like simply because I would feel more secure being part of
    a large group of people who all think that "whatever" is the greatest
    thing since powdered milk.... I guess my ego is large enough that it
    really doesn't bother me that, for example, most other anime fans think
    I am really quite strange for liking the movie Odin; I feel no desire to
    run an article on it every month just to convince everyone else that it
    really is as good as I think it is....

    So, if you have been holding back on writing and submitting articles on
    shows you know to be popular with most anime fans because you were
    afraid that I would ignore them because I did not like the show, please
    reconsider. ANIMATION VELOCITY really belongs to the readership, not to
    the editor, you know.

    Finally, I'd like to do something I very seldom do and dedicate an issue
    of a fanzine to someone -- if memory serves me correctly, this will only
    be the fourth or fifth time I have done this in the well over 150 zines
    I have edited during the past 20 years. This special Star Blazers 10th
    Anniversary issue is dedicated to Derek Wakefield, founder and former

    =======================================================================
    Copyright (c) 1989, 1990 by Anime Publications Bureau & Randall Stukey










    Electronic Animation Velocity        Volume 0 Number 1        Page 8
    =======================================================================

    "commander" of the Earth Defense Command, and Star Blazers fan supreme.
    While I have strongly disagreed with and strongly opposed some of
    Derek's actions in the past (and may again in the future for all I
    know), I do not see that that subtracts a thing from his positive
    contributions to anime fandom in this country. Without Derek to champion
    it, Star Blazers might today be as obscure as other shows of its period.
    Without the organization Derek founded, there would today be a big void
    in the map of anime fandom.

    Randall S. Stukey
Newsgroups: rec.arts.anime