Comlink/Issues 21-30

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==Issue 21==
Comlink 21 was published in February 1985 and contains 10 pages. It has an Indiana Jones cover by Dave Garcia.
* a fan comments about her dismay about so many fans owning VCRs and how this seems to the be norm these days
* a fan writes of her intense dislike of ROTJ: "It is a a manipulative, gimmicky, shallow film. The only thing about it that keeps my attention is Luke's story, but even that is handled very badly."
* a fan, [R S], one who was pretty much burned at the stake for writing a fairly cheery letter announcing that she would not be refunding deposits for her defunct zine, writes a letter and says she is slowly paying folks back their deposits for the zine, "D'Alliance' which never got off the ground. She explains some of the circumstances, and says: 
* a fan writes about Roddenberry and Lucas: 
==Issue 22==
Comlink 22 was published in April 1985 and contains 20 pages. It has a cover called "The Fat Man" "by" Mac N. Tosh (with help from Philip and Carol Reed).
 
* most of the discussion was about current movies and what fans thought of them
* some other fans say they enjoyed the movie "Ewok Adventure," with one fan saying "[It was] better than that "Star Wars Holiday Special" a few years back."
* fans debate pro books vs fanzines, and fanzines always come up the winner. "I don't buy pro stuff because it always reads like formula, and I'd prefer to spend my money on fanzines any day" is one typical comment.
* there is more displeasure shown about George Lucas: 
* a fan writes about the Star Wars Holiday Special: 
* a fan writes of the difference between Star Trek and Star Wars fandoms: 
* a fan writes about Lucasfilm and fandom: 
* a fan talks of why she goes to cons: 
* a fan asks a question about zine art: 
==Issue 23==
Comlink 23 was published in July 1985 and contains 20 pages. The cover is "Evolution of a Jedi" by Chris Soto.
* a fan tries to sort herself out: 
* a fan weighs in on art, or lack thereof, in zines: "If the choice is no zine versus a zine without art, I'll choose a zine without art; otherwise, the art is important."
* another fan weight in on art in zines: "When I get a zine, I do tend to look for the illos, if only as an enhancement for stories. I think it would be less necessary for a a novel."
* another fan says of art: "I've bought one or two zines for the artwork when I wouldn't have otherwise... but in general, if the writing's any good, I don't care whether there's art or not. Admittedly, a striking cover can get more people to look at a zine in the first place, but I think interior art is optional. I know I'm at the far end of this scale in the art-versus-writing contest, but there are people who read zines just for the stories, period. Think about Tales of Feldman: zip art, great story, Fan Q winner."
* there is much discussion on whether ST fen tend to be SF fans or not. One comment: "There's no denying that some ST fen have decided ST is their one hobby, and that they don't really care for anything else. On the other hand, there are people who first entered fandom through Star Trek, who like a variety of media and/or print media."
* a fan comments on the differences between SW and ST fandom: 
* another opinion about the differences between ST and SW fandom: 
==Issue 24==
Comlink 24 was published in December 1985 and contains 18 pages. It has a cover called "Droid" by Bob Miller. 
* there is much discussion on current movies
* a fan writes in and announces the death of Sara Campbell
* this issue contains a Japanimation article by Caro Hedge. The opening paragraph: 
* a fan writes: 
* a fan writes: 
* a fan is unhappy with most SW letterzines: 
==Issue 25==
Comlink 25 was published in March 1986 and contains 20 pages. The cover is "Samurai Pandas" by Dave Garcia. 
* one fan writes that she likes letterzines more than fiction zines
* "Better Late Than Never": the Comlink survey results. The survey was distributed with Comlink #17/18 "sometime in June and the last survey was accepted in December 1984." Ninety surveys were distributed, 56 were returned, though three of those were shared with another fan, making the number of completed surveys 59. In other words, 69%. The questions:
**gender: male = 14%, female = 86%
**age: under 17 = 0%, 18-24 = 14%, 25-35 = 53%, 35-44 = 29%, 45 and older = 2%
**astrological sign, which ranged from 3% (Capricorn) to Pisces (15%)
**employment: full-time: = 64%, part-time = 15%, student = 14%, homemaker = 15%, unemployed = 3%, self-employed =10 % ["No real surprise here, it takes mucho bucks to be an active fan."]
**marital status: single = 56%, married = 34%, separated = 3%, widowed = 2%, no response = 3%
**your income: $0-5999 = 12%, $6000-999 = 9%, 10,000-14,000 = 16%, 15,999-19,999 = 16%, 20,000-29,000 = 28%, 30,000 = 11%
**highest education received: high school = 10%, technical school = 3%, some college = 24%, some graduate school = 3%, BS/BA = 31%, Master's Degree = 20%, MD&JD/LLD = 0%, other = 5%
**which of the following aspects of fandom are your currently interested in/multiple answers welcomed: Star Wars = 95%, Star Trek = 75%, Pern = 42%, Darkover = 37%, Tolkien = 37%, Man from UNCLE = 36%, The Prisoner = 24%, Doctor Who = 20%, with miscellaneous fandoms all having less than 20%
**how many hours a week do you spend on fanac: 0-7 = 27%, 8-15 = 32%, 16-23 = 25%, 24-39 = 3%, 40+ = 5%
**where do you primarily find out out fanzines to buy: direct mail = 9%, word of mouth = 17%, other zines = 68%, flyers = 20%, ads = 19%, conventions = 19
** there were some other questions pertaining to Comlink ie: where did you find out about it, what are your favorite and least favorite parts of it
* a fan wants to know why there isn't more Ghostbusters fanfic: 
* a fan, who admits that she isn't much of a Star Trek fan writes: 
* a fan complains about Star Trek: TPM: 
* Maureen Garrett's resignation letter as an employee of Lucasfilm is printed in this letterzine in its entirety. An excerpt: 
==Issue 26==
Comlink 26 was published in July 1986 and contains 20 pages. The cover is of Rick and Minmei from Macross by Bob Miller.
* it contains a review of the movie: Robotech called "Robotech: More Software than Hardware" by Bob Miller
* there is much discussion about the current movies, about fans acquiring their first VCRs, about Japanese animated comics, about the demise of the Star Wars comic book series, and whether the book Dune was well-told as the movie
* a fan comments on an earlier fan's statement in the previous issue: 
* there is discussion about the new James Bond movie and how Pierce Bronson is having trouble getting out of his contract with Remington Steele. One fan writes of a possible replacement Bond: 
* one fan comments on Star Trek: TMP: 
* a fan cries censorship in other letterzines: 
==Issue 27==
Comlink 27 was published in October 1986 and contains 20 pages. The cover, "Geometry" is by Allyson M.W. Dyar.
* many fans write of their experiences at ConFederation
* there is a flyer for Swatches, a costuming discussion letterzine
* a fan says she's in possession of a printout of a discussion on CompuServe about the storyline to Star Trek: The Voyage Home, and that the movie so far sounds, "dumb... stupid... inept... silly... ridiculous... and get real, folks." She is convinced the storyline leak is a some sort of studio stunt: 
* a fan sums up her thoughts on a Star Trek movie: 
* a fan comments on Interstat and favorite characters: 
==Issue 28==
Comlink 28 was published in December 1986 and contains 22 pages. The cover is of Admiral Kirk and it is by Dave Garcia.
* many, many fans shared their early memories of being a Star Trek fan
 
* a fan talks about Spockanalia: 
* a fan remembers the blooper reel: 
* a fan remembers watching ST while it was on the air while she was in high school: 
* another fan remembers: 
* a fan recalls the roles of females on Star Trek: 
==Issue 29==
Comlink 29 was published in March 1987 and contains 18 pages. 
* there is talk of starting a Star Wars Welcommittee
* many fans are nervous about the upcoming new Star Trek series on TV, ST:TNG and hope TPTB don't mess it up. "I hope that it doesn't turn out to be the fiasco that V was."
A fan chides another for using initials to represent her first name: 
A fan has just returned from Hexacon: 
The editor writes: 
The editor passes along info about ST: TNG from the very short-lived zine, This is It!: 
* there is a long essay by Joan Verba called Censorship and the Rights of Editors. In it, she responds to an earlier LoC in which a fan accuses letterzine editors of practicing censorship when they don't publish or publish an edited version of the letters they receives. Joan disagrees on the use of the term in this context. An excerpt: 
Whither Fandom? Some Random Thoughts on the Dearth of Young Fen is an essay by the editor. It was written in response to the information about age demographics culled from the survey recently published in Locus, as well as what the editor observed a a recent WorldCon. An excerpt: 
==Issue 30==
Comlink 30 was published in June 1987 and contains 20 pages. The cover is "Luke" by Marty Siegrist.
* there is part one of review/essay by Lance Oszko called "The Hidden Fortress" which discusses, among other things, Akira Kurosawa's films and their influence on Star Wars
* some fans recollect their memories of seeing Star Wars for the first time; one fans' most enduring memory was going to Knott's Berry Farm after the movie for a meal and passing out while waiting in the line for a chicken dinner
* there was much discussion on "censorship" and the editing and decisions fanzine editors need to make regarding letters of comment, most of them fairly bland
* there is a long article called "Where are the Zines of Yesteryear" by Maggie Nowakowska ("with help from the "First Terran Enclave") that explains what happened to all the Star Wars zines Maureen Garrett and Lucasfilm collected, the zines that became the base of Ming Wathne's The Fanzine Archives: A Library for the Preservation & Circulation of Fan-created Material, and then later, University of Iowa Fanzine Archives
* there is an article by Lisa Cowan called "Celebrating Ten Years of Star Wars" which describes the events of a convention called Starlog Salutes Star Wars, the first con (and only?) con that George Lucas attended. Gene Roddenberry was a surprise guest and "the applause was deafening as these two great film creators shook hands for the very first time."
* a fan writes about the future of fandom and neofen: 
* another fan says he attended Comic Con in San Diego and: 
==References==
Category:Multimedia Gen and Het Zines
Category:1985 Zines
Category:1986 Zines
Category:1987 Zines