Qfer (Beauty and the Beast zine)

:You may be looking for the online resource called The Qfer.
Qfer ("The Q-fer"), short for "The Helper's Network Quarterly Fanzine Review," is an index of Beauty and the Beast (TV) zines compiled by Nan Dibble. It set out to survey the many fan-produced publications inspired by Beauty and the Beast and help fans tell "the best from the rest", which it accomplished via ratings of one to five stars based on how high-quality the zine was considered to be. This practice was somewhat controversial among fans, and the star ratings were dropped in 1995.
The initial compilation, which included nearly 400 zines, was based on Beth Druhan's The Beauty & the Beast Fictionzine Database from Dragonback Publications. 
It appears the zine was published four times a year, and then once a year as a combined issue. The cover of some issues says "quality" and on the others it says "quarterly." This oddly, however, does not seem to correspond to the zine's publication dates (see Gallery).
There are many differences between the print version of the Qfer and the Qfer that was put online in 2001, also known as Helpers' Network Quality Fanzine Review Online. For more on these changes, see: Differences Between the Print Qfer (1995 and after) and the Online Qfer. 
Also see Q-fer, the Catalogue of Dreams, an online essay on the history and origins of the Q-fer.
==Similar Print Projects==
* Beauty & the Beast Checklist (Betsy Jacobs) (1990-ish)
* The Beauty & the Beast Fictionzine Database (Dragonback Publications) (1992?)
* The Beauty & the Beast Buyer's Guide to Fanzines (Elizabeth Helm) (1992)
* The Beauty & the Beast Fictionzine Catalog (Lisa J. Patnaude) (1990)
* The Buyer's Guide to Beauty and the Beast Fanzines (Lyn Musacchlo) (1994)
* The Tunnel Pages: A B&TB Fanzine and Merchandise Directory (Marie Bushman) (early to mid-1990s)
* Qfer (Nan Dibble) (1991-1997)
==Gallery==
 
Image:qfer1991.jpg|cover of 1991 Fall issue, 70 pages (Quarterly)
Image:qfer1992.jpg|cover of 1992 Summer issue, 82 pages (Quarterly)
Image:qfer1995.jpg|cover of 1995 Fall issue, 26 pages (Quality)
Image:qfer1997.jpg|cover of 1997 issue, 91 pages (Quality)
==From a 1991 Flyer==
==Some History==
For a 2011 detailed history of this zine, see Q-fer, the Catalogue of Dreams.
Some excerpts:
==About the Zine==
=== Star Ratings===
From the Fall 1991 edition, an explanation of how zines were rated.
===Reviewers===
From the 1991 Fall issue:
===Age Ratings===
From the Fall 1991 issue:
==Differences in Opinion==
From the Fall 1991 issue:
==Differences Between the Print Qfer (1995 and after) and the Online Qfer: No More Reviews and Opinions==
The information from the print zines was the starting point of the current online listing, however the format was changed in Fall 1995 from providing reviews to giving just the facts of the zine.
See an example of the Qfer and its review format as it existed in 1997 at The HNG Quality Fanzine Review; WebCite 
===Too Much Work===
Two reasons were given for this change: 1) the physical time it would have taken to retype all the information, and 2) fannish discontent regarding reviews on content and objectivity.
 
===Too Much Opinion===
The editing of the online, current Qfer included several types of changes, including:
* taking out almost all descriptive words and opinion and leaving bare, dry descriptions: "Strong art borders" became "art borders." "Startling poetry" became "poetry." 
* shortening reviews, many of them considerably: the comments regarding Dreams of Thee in the print Qfer read: 
: "C, attacked in her basement, is taken Below by V, where she learns she's been blinded. How V/C cope with C's loss and how it's connected to yet other traumas in C's past is the subject of this well-written novel, which includes intervals of highly graphic V/C sex. V tends C, first Below, then in her apartment, steadfast against all her fears and despairs. Yet their closeness brings out all his latent anxieties and uncertainties...and it's C's turn to reassure and comfort him. In the course of this experience, they become lovers. The emphasis in this novel is more on character than on sex, which gives it substance the R/X rating doesn't necessarily connote. Although, in the copy seen, the proofreading left a bit to be desired, the writing is good, the scene-creation vivid and powerful, and the emotional exchanges-not only between V/C, but between each of them and Father-are strongly imagined and rendered." In the online Qfer, this becomes: "C, attacked in her basement, is taken Below by V, where she learns she's been blinded. Includes intervals of highly explicit V/C sex." 
* some reviews in the print Qfer are not included in the online Qfer, perhaps due to a perceived too-frankness of language. One example is for The Crystal Tear. The print Q-fer had this opinion: 
: "Earnest beginner's try to convey her feelings about how the B & B story should have been told. Ideas are better than the execution." The online Qfer has no description of this zine beyond the mention of a title, author, year of publication.
Statements regarding these changes: from the online version: 
From JoAnn Bacca, Q-fer, the Catalogue of Dreams:
From the Fall 1995 print edition of the Qfer: 
 
==References==
Category:2019 Featured Articles
Category:Beauty and the Beast Zines
Category:1990s