Lionheart (Beauty and the Beast newsletter)

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Lionheart is a newsletter for Beauty and the Beast (TV) fans. 
Each newsletter contained fan letters, a bit of fanart, essays, fan discussion, poetry and interviews with the actors and TPTB. Many issues contain poetry and vignettes from Shakespeare, and romantic writers (such as Walt Whitman), as well as song lyrics from modern songs.
The newsletter was published four times a year, and planned for February, May, August, and November.
==The Fan Club==
While it was affiliated with the Lionheart Fan Club, also run by Beth Blighton, it appears that this newsletter was the main component of this club.
==The Lionheart Questionnaire==
Issue #8 contains The Lionheart Questionnaire.
==Focus==
While other characters could be discussed and mentioned, the focus of this publication was the beast, Vincent Wells.
The editor also had very strong and often strident feelings about fan conflict and statements that were not positive about and supportive of the show. This was due to to many fans' disappointment over the show's perceived quality and direction, and the ensuing fandom discussions. 
From a 1993 ad: 
See The Beauty and the Beast Wars.
==Be Positive==
Statement from the editor in the first issue:
==Farewell==
While a final issue (and double issue) was planned for September 1994, the May 1994 issue was the last one. 
In the final issue of "Lionheart, Beth Blighton announced she was ceasing publication and was leaving fandom. She cited falling subscriptions, hurt feelings, fatigue, disappointment and anger about fandom. See An Important Message for All Lionheart Readers.
It was a departure that was a long time coming. See the 1991 open letter by Blighton called All I can see of fandom is something that was once beautiful which has now become painful and almost unbearable..
==Issue 1==
Lionheart 1 was published in February 1992 and contains 35 pages.
The topic discussion appears to be "What are your thoughts about "Dark Vincent"?"
* intermittent poems and quotes from Shakespeare and other non-fan writers
* Editorial by Beth Blighton (1)
* Letters (3)
* The Reality of Enchantment by S.K. Dapoz (essay about fairy tales) (14)
* The Annotated Beast by Beth Blighton ("The purpose of this continuing column will be to take a look at the different letters to Catherine that were read by Vincent on the now defunct 900 number. Since these messages were written by Ron Koslow and were performed for public consumption, in character by Ron Perlman, I do consider them to be a part of the "Beauty and the Beast" canon. With that in mind, what "The Annotated Beast" seeks to bring into conversation is how these letters affect the "Beauty and the Beast" storyline as we know it and possibly, in the process, shed more light on the character of Vincent.") (17)
* The Creator Speaks: Interview with Ron Koslow, CFRB Radio, Toronto, October 16, 1991 (transcription) (21)
* about the rumored possibility of a "Beauty and the Beast" (Ron Koslow, interviewed by S. Wiltse, November 11, 1991: reprinted by permission from "Pipeline") (29)
* review of Disney's Beauty and the Beast movie, by Beth Blighton (30)
* fan birthday dates (32)
* signed publicity still of Vincent (34)
===Issue 1: Excerpts from Letters===
==Issue 2==
Lionheart 2 was published in May 1992 and contains 40 pages.
The topic discussion appears to be "What are your favorite "Vincent episodes"?"
From the editorial: 
* Editorial (1)
* Letters (2)
* Jung at Heart: Beast as Anima, essay by S.K. Dapoz (11)
* The Annotated Beast by Beth Blighton (inspired by Dial-a-Beast, see description of this column in issue #1) (15)
* Movie Reviews for "Sleepwalkers" and "The Cutting Edge" by S.K. Dapoz (18)
* Reviews... Now on Video: "The Bride" by Beth Blighton (20)
* illo by Barbara Gipson (21)
* The 58th Episode: Satire, meta fic by Kathy Millington (22)
* Lionheart Exclusive: An Interview with Howard Gordon (very lengthy!) (One excerpt: "How much effect did CBS, the ratings, Witt-Thomas, Ron Koslow, even the fans, have on the storyline?" I would have to say that CBS, the ratings, Witt-Thomas, all of the above, had really very little impact on the storylines. Occasionally, when ratings dipped, we would get directives from the network to make it more action oriented and we tended to subscribe to those. I would say that we listened to them, but for the most part the direction of the show was staff directed. That we really decided amongst ourselves what stories to tell, what direction to go. Near the very beginning CBS did have their concerns, and we certainly were mindful of them, but soon enough on, we sort of got our own legs and our own feet and felt that we could go where we wanted to."(27)
* Fan Birthday Dates (35)
* Fan Campaign to inundate TPTB with emails and postcards demanding a Beauty and the Beast movie ("I'm not saying this will change anything, or make the movie any more likely to happen. But this kind of little post card campaign certainly isn't going to hurt anything and might just put us back in the media spotlight a little bit. Remember bombarding CBS with thousands of telegrams? Remember tying up Fox Broadcasting's switchboard for days? Remember giving Jeff Sagansky a real bad first day at work? Warm an old radical's heart. Let's inundate E!'s mail room. Just a postcard that says "I WANT A BEAUTY AND THE BEAST MOVIE!" should do... It's been a long time since we've flexed our writing muscles. Let's see if they still work.") (36)
===Issue 2: Excerpts from Letters===
 
==Issue 3==
Lionheart 3 was published in August 1992 and contains 45 pages. 
The topic discussion appears to be "When did you start thinking of Vincent in a sexual way?"
From the editorial, which is mostly metafic describing the show's characters and hot summer nights:
* Editorial (1)
* Letters (2)
* full page illo, not credited (15)
* Tunnelcon II, con report by Kate Thomas (16)
* description and transcription of Ron Koslow's remarks at Tunnelcon (17)
* That's Not An It, That's a Him..., essay by Beth Blighton (the sexual and romantic appeal of Vincent, essay is pretty negative about the female canon characters) (20)
* The 57th Episode: The Throat Convergence (satire) by Kathy Millington (28)
* Interlude in Hell, fiction by Marilyn Durham (26)
* fan birthday dates (30)
* Lionheart Exclusive Interview: George R.R. Martin (31)
===Issue 3: Excerpts from Letters===
 
==Issue 4==
Lionheart 4 was published in 1992 (the cover says November, the interior says December) and contains 36 pages.
The topic of discussion was "Vincent: a rose by any other name?"
From the editor: 
* long excerpt from The Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (1)
* Letters (3)
* The Annotated Beast by Beth Blighton (inspired by Dial-a-Beast, see description of this column in issue #1) (11)
* lyrics to Living Proof by Bruce Springsteen (16)
* full page illo by Pam Tuck (not numbered)
* News and Views, review of "The Last of the Mohicans," photos and bit about "The Chronos Device" with Guillermo Del Toro (17)
* lyrics to The Dance by Tony Arata (20)
* full page illo by Pam Tuck (not numbered) 
* fan birthday list (21)
* Lionheart Exclusive: Interview with Judy Evans (show costumer) (22)
* Editorial (36)
===Issue 4: Excerpts from Letters===
==Issue 5==
Lionheart 5 was published in February 1993 and contains 42 pages. 
The art is by Beth Blighton, P.S. Nim, Barb Gipson, and Pam Tuck.
 
From the editorial: 
* long excerpt from Phantom of the Opera (2)
* Editorial (3)
* Once Upon a Time, collage of words and phrases by Linda White (4)
* Letters (5)
* poems by Deborah C. Shanks: "Dark Brother" and "Heart's Reply" (19)
* lyrics to Love Song for a Vampire, by Annie Lennox (20)
* full page by illo by Pam Tuck (21)
* news about Ron Perlman (22)
*review of the for-profit Beauty and the Beast novel by Nan Dibble called "Beyond Words, Beyond Silence (23)
* The Annotated Beast by Beth Blighton (inspired by Dial-a-Beast, see description of this column in issue #1) (26)
* review by Beth Blighton of the movie "Bram Stoker's Dracula" (31)
* many clippings from magazines (34)
* info about "Innovation's" Beauty and the Beast comics (38)
* Editorial (40)
* Tunneltoons, cartoon by P.S. Nim (41)
===Issue 5: Excerpts from Letters===
==Issue 6==
Lionheart 6 was published in May 1993 and contains 44 pages.
The art is by Rosemarie Hauer and P.S. Nim.
The topic of discussion was: "What are your thoughts on the lack of mothers in the series?"
From the editorial: 
The poem "Frustrated Fan" references Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture, a book that had recently been published: 
* Letters (3)
* Frustrated Fan, poem by Caryl Traugott ("apologies to Professor Henry Jenkins for purloining his book title") (17)
* The Man the Beast Would Own, poem by Maxine Myer (4)
* Another Word for Safety, poem by Deborah C. Shanks ("Dedicated to ROY DOTRICE: Thank you for showing me what a Father should be.") (5)
* The Perlman Page, news about Ron Perlman (It includes "a light moment behind-the-scenes of Beauty and the Beast as told by Jo Anderson to the audience at the German Halloween Convention and as reported by Kevin Waters in the fan publication "The Chronicle."") (6)
* In the Name of Love, fiction by Beth Blighton (23)
* song lyrics (30)
* illo by Rosemarie Hauer (31)
* review by Beth Blighton of the pro book, "Phantom" by Susan Kay (32)
* Aloneness, Vincent's Life as an Adoptee, essay by Beth Blighton (34)
* More Than My Heart, transcript by Rosemarie and Gerhard Hauer (a report of Jo Anderson's appearance at the German Hallowe'en Convention in October 1992 in Solingen, Germany) (38)
===Issue 6: Excerpts from Letters===
==Issue 7==
Lionheart 7 was published in August 1993 and contains 44 pages.
At least one fan found the covers of this issue too spicy: "Not insulting - but I had to put a cover over the Issue #7 cover. It seemed slightly pornographic." from A Meeting of Minds: The Results of Our 1994 Lionheart Survey 
Many of the letters were con reports for Great Expectations, see that page.
* untitled non-explicit erotica (2)
* Letters (includes 'Nonny Miss, New York: August 1998, Tunnelcon V) (4)
* con photos from Great Expectations (16)
* Great Expectations Convention Update by Paulette Edwards (post con progress report) (18)
* two poems by Teresa Panizo: "An Uncommitted Passion" and "Parting" (20)
* "To Fall in Love with Vincent", poem by Elisabeth Auer (21)
* The Real World as I Skew It, essay by Beth Blighton (includes "Thirty-Six Subtle Reasons Why Vincent is the Superior Man") (22)
* song lyrics by Peter Gabriel (26)
* illo by Beth Blighton (27)
* The Annotated Beast by Beth Blighton (inspired by Dial-a-Beast, see description of this column in issue #1) (28)
* Movie Review: Much Ado About Nothing by Beth Blighton (32)
* The Perlman Page (includes a letter from David Schwartz thanking Great Expectations con-goers for their generous contribution to the Pediatric AIDS Foundation, this letter also contains a blurb about The Caliendo Tapes) (35)
* Lionheart Exclusive: Interview with David F. Schwartz, part one, interviewer was Beth Blighton (35)
===Issue 7: Excerpts from Letters===
==Issue 8==
Lionheart 8 was published in December 1993 and contains 34 pages. 
The cover is by Beth Blighton. There is no interior art.
This issue contains a questionnaire, and the results were to be printed in the next issue.
From the editorial: 
* essay by Henry Dyke on "keeping Christmas" (not fannish) (2)
* Letters (3)
* two non-fannish poems (8)
* Human Enough to Have Faults...?, essay by Avril Bowles (reprinted from Purr-de-Lion, "the U.K. Vincent Fan Club") (9)
* Thirty-One Reasons Vincent Would Be Impossible to Live With (humor "from the Cincinnati Beast Preserve") (11)
* The Perlman Page by Beth Blighton ("Our adorable Mr. P. has been so busy these last months playing various and sundry thugs and cutthroats that it seems we're hardly able to keep up with him!" -- a report of Perlman's current roles, all apparently as characters who are cruel, ugly, evil, and despicable) (12)
* photos of Perlman from "The Untouchables", along with Beauty and the Beast, with captions (13)
* Music Video Review by Beth Blighton (review of "I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)") (This video is NOT a BatB video but instead the official video for the Meatloaf song; Blighton points out that the theme and visuals are very gothic and remind many fans of Beauty and the Beast, Phantom of the Opera, and Bram Stoker's Dracula.) (15)
* book review by Donna Koich, subject is "Forests of the Night" by S. Andrew Swann published by DAW Books (17)
* Lionheart Exclusive: Interview with David F. Schwartz, part two, interviewer was Beth Blighton (19)
* information about the cancellation of The Caliendo Tapes (32)
* Editorial (33)
 Image:lionheart8-2.jpg| from issue #8 
 Image:lionheart8-3.jpg| from issue #8 
 Image:lionheart8-4.jpg| from issue #8 
===Issue 8: Excerpts from Letters===
==Issue 9== 
Lionheart 9 was published in February 1994 and contains 27 pages.
From the editor: 
Also: 
* A Meeting of Minds: The Results of Our 1994 Lionheart Survey (results of The Lionheart Questionnaire) (3)
* F.Y.I.: A Finder's Guide to Beauty and the Beast Fandom (info, phone numbers, addresses for fan clubs and more) (10)
* Letters (11)
* How Sexually Compatible Are You? A Quiz (Or, could you and Vincent share the sheets without scratching each other's eye's out?), meta, not credited, but likely by Beth Blighton (15)
* poem and a word find puzzle (19)
* The Perlman Page, news, many photos of Perlman in a role where he is a soldier on a horse (20)
* A Journey Through the 'Shadowlands', essay by Beth Blighton (about Richard Attenborough film, Shadowlands) (22)
* The Annotated Beast by Beth Blighton (inspired by Dial-a-Beast, see description of this column in issue #1) (24)
* That's a Wrap, editorial (27)
===Issue 9: Excerpts from Letters===
==Issue 10== 
Lionheart 10 was published in May 1994 and contains 24 pages. It was the last issue.
It has art by Barb Gipson, Renate Haller, and Rosemarie Hauer.
In it, Beth Blighton announced she was ceasing publication and was leaving fandom. 
Blighton was discouraged by declining subscriptions to the zine (something that had been observed in several issues), lack of motivation in herself, frustration with what she considered to be powerfully negative fans, and reminiscing about the good old days when fans and fandom was better. Her feelings were also hurt that this newsletter was not nominated for the 1994 Beauty and the Beast Fan Quality Awards. 
While not mentioned specifically, Blighton was also probably disheartened by the failure of The Caliendo Tapes, the fact that the Beauty and the Beast movie never materialized, a lack of a clear path forward with the newsletter as illustrated by responses in A Meeting of Minds: The Results of Our 1994 Lionheart Survey, and minimal fan comments on the lengthy interviews she'd conducted and printed. Like many long-time fans, she had become unable to overlook the negative things that a fresher, newer fan was able to brush off, and was bone-tired. 
Blighton's departure was a long time in coming. See her 1991 open letter called All I can see of fandom is something that was once beautiful which has now become painful and almost unbearable..
* The Production Staff Speaks ("An adult education center called the Learning Tree, in Chatsworth, CA, invited Ron Koslow to conduct a class called "Beauty and the Beast Revisited." Ron was unavailable, but producer Howard Gordon, executive producer Steve Kurzfeld, and musical genius Don Davis accepted the invitation and on the evening of February 18 led a 3-hour discussion with about 25 fans and students.") (This article includes information about fan suspicion about Catherine Chandler's misogynistic death.) (reprinted from The Mirror Pool (Issue 3, Winter 1994) (3)
* 8 letters by fans, (6)
* Ron Perlman at Starfest '94, Dawn Gilbert (includes photo of Gilbert and some cosplaying Vincents, of Ron Perlman), see that page (14)
* Update by Beth Blighton (excerpt from a transcript of an interview, "Early this spring, David Schwartz was able to give Ron Perlman the Vincent costume that was purchased by fandom at the Great Expectations Convention's charity auction to benefit the Austin Pediatric AIDS League.") (18)
* Pluto Conjunct Venus, poem by Linda Goodman (20)
* Blighton's open letter: An Important Message for All Lionheart Readers (21)
 Image:lionheart10-1.jpg| from issue #10, Renate Haller 
 Image:lionheart10-2.jpg| from issue #10, the transcript about Vincent's costume 
 Image:lionheart10-3.jpg| from issue #10, the transcript about Vincent's costume 
 Image:lionheart10-4.jpg| from issue #10, the transcript about Vincent's costume 
===Issue 10: Excerpts from Letters===
===Fan Reaction to Issue 10 and Blighton's Departure===
 
In the July 1994 issue of The Helpers Network Gazette, Nan Dibble addressed fans about Blighton's final departure: 
The closing of the newsletter and Beth's departure prompted one Gazette reader to write a farewell poem for the September 1994 issue of The Helpers Network Gazette, an excerpt of which is quoted below:
==References==
 
Category:Club Zines
Category:Beauty and the Beast Zines
Category:1990s