Fanzine Reviews

[page 34] FANZINE REVIEWS It may be news to many of you, but there are other fanzines besides Entmoot, there have been other Tolkien fanzines, there are currently many fanzines which publish Tolkien material, and much of it is superior in quality to that appearing in Entmoot. Hence this column. This issue I will describe only fanzines containing Tolkien material of interest, but in future issues I want to have reviews of other fanzines dealing with fantasy. I am asking you readers to contribute capsule reviews of any such fanzines with which you are familiar, since I am forced to admit that I know little or nothing about many of them. I have copies of Kalki and Cortana, but all others, even Amra, I am unfamiliar with. In 1957, when the last volume of LotR came out in hardcover@.@ many fans became interested and published articles about it in their own science fiction fanzines, but it wasn't until 1959 that a group of fans in Los Angeles, where interest in Tolkien has always been strongest, published a fanzine dealing exclusively with Tolkien. This was _i-Palantir_, and it differed greatly from Entmoot. It was a very formal fanzine, impeccably duplicated, with few interior but superlative cover illustrations, and with no letter column. By 1963 three issues had appeared, edited by Ted Jonnstone and then Bruce Pelz, containing articles reprinted from _Critique_ dealing with such topics as symbolism in LotR and the ethical system of Tolkien's world, minor excursions into Tengwar-poetry, several small whimsical articles, and a story by Marion Zimmer Bradley about Celebrian. There may be copies of _i-Palantir_ 3 left at 25¢ from Bruce Pelz, Box 100, 308 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, Calif. 00024. A fourth issue is expected soon (meaning as soon as Pelz works up the energy to pub it) which will contain among other goodies the musical revue of LotR by Kathy Huber called HELLO FRODO, which you may have heard about and which you don't want to miss. Now before you go any further stick 50¢ in an envelope and send it to Felice Rolfe, 1360 Emerson, Palo Alto, Calif. 94301, for a copy of NIEKAS 16. OK, now that you've done that, let me tell you about NIEKAS. It is my favorite fanzine, and it is also indispensable to the Tolkien fan, mainly because it consistently publishes more and better Tolkien material than any other fanzine. It is also the best and biggest sf fanzine, usually running from 60 to 100 pages, and is well worth your money. Each issue invariably has some article dealing with Tolkien, letters discussing LotR and giving the latest news, and the best Tolkien artwork anywhere, because they can afford to have it printed. There is usually a large foldout drawing, which is, as they say, worth the price alone. The current issue has a foldout drawing of GROND, an article on the coinage of Gondor and the Western Lands by Dainis Bisinieks, and Marion Bradley's famous article "Men, Halflings and Hero Worship." A Tolkien fan's education is incomplete without this. Not only that but, NIEKAS has been running in installments Al Halevy's monumental complete Glossary of Middle Earth, containing every proper name in Tolkien's Books and a brief explanation. The first installment was in #9 and it dealt with tne Hobbits (#9 abailable @available@ at 75¢), #10 with the Dwarves (50¢) #ll & 12 with the Men (75¢ & $l, respectively) and #14 with Other Creatures ($l) Part 4 of the Glossary, Elves, has not been published yet. Better hurry before the back issues are gone. You can also send 35¢ for #17 when it comes out, which should be in Sept. FLASH! _I-PALANTIR_ 4 just came out! Big issue! 25¢ from Bruce Pelz......