Quelquechose N.1

[page 2] QUELQUECHOSE N° 1 I know I've said I like puns, but a pun-title in French is a bit beyond me; I didn't get the joke until someone else pointed out the meaning of the idiom "quelque- chose" is "something." ("I _had_ to call it SOMETHING" says the editor, Jerry Knight.) This first issue reeks a bit too much of Bob Lichtman, perhaps, but this can be excused on the grounds that Bob is the one who hooked Jerry into publishing. Having done that, I guess it was almost obligatory to write something for the zine, and pro- vide some of the fillers that Jerry wouldn't have access to yet. And they're good, too, so there's really not much ground for complaint, unless it's that there is too little of the editor's own stuff in the zine. Bob's column introduces the editor, tells of a foray into the field of commer- cial publishing (high school history review guides), and then brings up the subject of making a film of a Tolkien book -- not _The Lord of the Rings_, but _Farmer Giles of Ham_, a short fantasy having nothing at all to with Middle Earth or TLotR. Bob suggests that the film be an animated cartoon, rather than a live casting, and that perhaps fandom could do it instead of a professional studio. I doubt this last very much, since the fannish artists, in general, have their own particular styles, and could not possibly co-operate on a project like this which would demand close copying of a single style. Can you imagine a Bjo dragon, a Rotsler giant, and an Adkins Farmer Giles, all in the same film? With a background by ATom? Oooog. Double Ooooog. But the discussion, like that of filming TLotR, which is being carried on in PSI-PHI, will probably draw considerable comment, and that justifies its inclusion I suppose. (All this comment from me, for instance, and I haven't even _read_ Farmer Giles.) There is a piece of "mood" fiction by Raymond Everett, which may or may not have had any effect on me -- is Apathy a mood? And the Gettysburg Address is once again rewritten -- this time as Eisenhower might have spoken it, wishy-washy evasions and all. The rest of the zine is entertaining editorial chatter. (Available for trade, letter of comment, or contribution, from Jerry_Knight, 6220 Damask Ave, LA 56, Calif.) GIMBLE N° 2 The first 6 of the 17 pages are devoted to a story, "Tedron in Conqueror," which treats of Tedron, Duke of Methylonia, and sometimes minstrel, in one of his adventures throughout the land of Coventry. The story is a retelling, from Tedron's viewpoint, of the story which appeared in Steve Tolliver's GYRE in early 1959. The term Conanesque would fit the setting, but a comparison with Fritz Leiber's Gray Mouser would be more in line with the delineaticn of Tedron -- and, for that matter, with the style of writing. Sort of a prudent, cautious Gray Mouser, is such is imaginable. The rest of the zine is a map and outline history of Coventry, by Paul Stanbery. The history is logical, but damned hard to follow -- and I've heard Stanbery talk about it, without my being to fathom all of it. The various place- and personal-names used are allusions to innumerable other stories, esotericisms, and persons Stanbery has brought into the mythos; one would do best to try to ignore their sources. Tie- ins with other mythoses (?) are attempted (i.e., Nehemiah Scudder), with varying degrees of success. A more detailed and _connected_ treatise on the history is needed before the thing will make much sense; small portions should be taken one by one and given detailed attention. But the logic and attention to minutiae which Stanbery has devoted to Coventry, aided by such stories as Ted (and others) can write about it, can make for an excellent world in the style of Hyperboria and other such lands of adventure. (No copies of this issue available, but write for future issues to Ted Johnstone, 1503 Rollin St., S. Pasadena, California.)