Southern Comfort (multimedia zine)/Issues 2-2.5
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Issue 2 (Southern Lights, multifandom)
Southern Lights 2 was published in August 1986 and is 276 pages long. It contains both gen and slash.
The art is by Laura Virgil, Dani Lane, Colleen Winters, Leah Rosenthal, Phil Tortorici, Mary Otten, Danaline, Suzy Sansom, Ronda Henderson, T.J. Burnside, Wanda Lybarger, Sheila Paulson, Katrina Snyder, Barbara Frances-Simon, and Vicki Brinkmeier.
From the editorial:
Well, here we are at the second issue of SOUTHERN LIGHTS. It hardly seems like an entire year has passed since the last issue. But then, I've published three other fanzines in the intervening time and you know uihat they say about time flying when you're having, uh, 'fun'! In any case, a big hug and a thank you to all those who nominated SOUTHERN LIGHTS 1 for a Fan Q, even though we didn't win. *sob*. Congratulations to Jacqueline Taero, one of SOUTHERN LIGHT's contributors, who did win.
[snipped]
Once again, I have to thank the contributors for coming through with such marvellously diverse material encompassing many, many universes. However, I take absolutely no responsibility for my 'guest' appearances in stories written by such people as Leah Rosenthal, Cheree Cargill, Laura Virgil and other people who are my *ahem* friends.
A fan wrote a poem about copyright and cease and desist and Miami Vice:
Ode to the Peacock:On television, there's a show. The name of which I'm sure you know.
One hero's black and one is white; I watch them every Friday night. Beyond these facts, I'll not expound Lest they send the lawyers 'round.
I'll not quibble and I'll not fight; And I'll not argue copyright.
Those famous words, "cease and desist". Have made it easy to resist...
So — I love ya, guys, but all the same, I'll do it without naming names!
- Channel Selector (table of contents)
- Editorials (4)
- Ode to the Peacock, poem by Jacqueline Taero (5)
- Letters of Comment (6)
- Dancin’ In The Streets (Blake's 7) (reprinted in The Bizarro Zine #1) (12)
- The Sucky Weekend Of Sonny Crockett by Susanne McGhin (Miami Vice) (18)
- A Word To The Lieutenant, poem by Jacqueline Taero (Miami Vice) (25)
- Images by Sheila Paulson (The Master) (26)
- Yankee Doodle by Leah Rosenthal (Simon & Simon) (52)
- Twins! by Carol Hillman (Simon & Simon) (56)
- Live & Learn by Richard Pollet (Hill Street Blues) (57)
- Mick, poem by Teresa Sarick (63)
- Crossed Universes We Never Want to See by Michele Rosenberg and Leah Rosenthal (64)
- Conspiracy by Jackie Edwards (An old enemy of Hannibal sets a trap (involving Murdock) to try to capture the Colonel.) (The A-Team) (also in Hannibal Collection) (65)
- Dance of the Eagle by Cathy Bryson (Airwolf) (78)
- Dragon Sleeping by Linda Terrell (Blake's 7) (79)
- The ‘Anything Goes’ Art Portfolio Spotlighting: Bizarro 7…Buckaroo Banzai…Professionals…Blake’s 7…Star Trek... Star Wars…Dr Who…Fantasy (87)
- Steaming Wangs by Cheree Cargill and Laura Virgill ("sort of a Western" -- "a smutty historical romance") (107)
- Fall Apart Where I’m Standing, poem by Teresa Sarick (Hitchhiker's Guide) (131)
- To Savor The Bitter Wine by L.A. Carr (Simon & Simon) (132)
- First The Good News… by Carole Regine (Star Trek) (169)
- Battlefield Blues, poem by Carol Hillman (Simon & Simon) (170)
- Small Talk by Leah Rosenthal (Miami Vice) (171)
- Camarand Dreamin’, poem by Teresa Sarick (Wizards & Warriors) (173)
- Black Sheep by Katrina Snyder (Star Wars) (174)
- Raiders of the Lost Carbonite, Archived version by Carolyn Golledge (Indiana Jones/Star Trek) (192)
- Weirdest Women, poem by Jacqueline Taero (Miami Vice) (243)
- Hot Stuff, filk by Roberta Rogow (Miami Vice) (244)
- Spies — A Portfolio by Laura Virgil (245)
- The Two Sides Of A Traitor Raid by Linda Knights (Rat Patrol) (Sealed orders force Troy to deceive his men, jeopardizing their working relationship.) (259)
from issue #2, Leah Rosenthal, Blake's 7
from issue #2, Suzy Sansom, Miami Vice
from issue#2, Sheila Paulson, The Master
from issue #2, T.J. Burnside, Blake's 7
from issue #2, T.J. Burnside, Blake's 7
from issue #2, Dani Lane, Buckaroo Banzai
from issue #2, Sheila Paulson, Blake's 7
interior from issue #2, Danaline Bryant, Star Wars
from issue #2, Ronda Henderson, Star Wars
from issue #2, Wanda Lybarger, Star Wars
from issue #2, Colleen Winters, fantasy
from issue #2, Leah Rosenthal, Blake's 7
from issue#2, Vicki Brinkmeier, Simon and Simon
from issue #2, Barbara Frances-Simon, Ghostbusters (original movie)
from issue #2, Barbara Frances-Simon, Ghostbusters (original movie)
from issue #2, Katrina Snyder, Star Wars
from issue#2, Dani Lane, Star Wars/Indiana Jones
from issue #2, Dani Lane, Star Wars/Indiana Jones
from issue #2, Dani Lane, Star Wars/Indiana Jones
from issue #2, Laura Virgil, I Spy
from issue #2, Laura Virgil, It Takes a Thief
from issue #2, Laura Virgil, Scarecrow and Mrs. King
Reactions and Reviews: Issue 2
This is the first time that I have ever writen a fan letter. But, after reading your SOUTHERN LIGHTS 2 zine I just had to write and tell you how very much I enjoyed it.
Since I am a dyed-in-the-wool SIMON & SIMON fan, I was truly pleased to find a zine with such good work in it. I have read "To Savor the Bitter Wine" by L.A. Carr so often that the pages are dog-eared! Even though SIMON & SIMON is my favorite show, I did enjoy reading all of the other works that you had included in this zine, also. I was also pleased to see that my sister, Ronda Henderson, had a piece of her artwork included. Although I wasn't familiar with some of the characters portrayed in the Art Portfolio, I did enjoy it. [1]
I wanted to tell you how much I loved "To Savor the Bitter Wine" by L.A. Carr. I never even would watch an episode of SIMON & SIMON for some foolish reason. Her story opened my eyes to the beautiful relationship, long-lasting and comitted, between Rick and A.J. And the crossover with AIRWOLF was inspired. Hawke well understood Rick's stubborn concern for his brother—Hawks feels the same way about his brother...
One more thing. I also loved "Dragon Sleeping." It made me cry, because I love Blake so much. He had found another life and was happy. It was truly a lovely story. The artwork for that story, indeed, all the artwork in the fabulous zine was extraordinary. [1]
Just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed reading SOUTHERN LIGHTS 2. The stories were all interesting, and I especially liked Carolyn Golledge's "Raiders of the Lost Carbonite" and Katrina Snyder's "Black Sheep." Teresa Sarick's lovely poem "Camarand Dreamin'" expressed how many of us feel about the cancellation of a truly good fantasy show. And I loved Laura Virgil's "Spies—A Portfolio." [1]
Thought I'd drop you a short note to tell you I got SOUTHERN LIGHTS 2 and spent a few dumb founded minutes trying to figure out where the REST of my stories were, then—eventually—I read your note and understood.... At any rate....SL#2 is great. I wanted to drop a special line that might actually be qualified as a LOC...
To L.A. Carr—"To Savor the Bitter Wine" is by far and away the BEST SIMON & SIMON story I have ever read. It was well written, had enough twists to keep even me guessing and was moving. It was also—maybe more importantly—the only fan story I have ever read that was written about a Vietnam that sounded realistic and used the correct terminology. I'm not an expert on 'Nam but I have many friends who were unfortunate enough to spend time in-country and the words and terms they use are what I read in your story. Thank you for a great story, well researched and well written!
Also to Laura Virgil—your artwork was, as usual, in all of the multi-universes, beyond compare. You are a TRUE artist, someone worthy of the title. Thanks for giving me pictures worth looking at more than once. And a cover, that wasn't half bad either! Everything was good this time, I even went through the BIZARRO SEVEN piece—didn't understand it, but read it!
I can't tell you how great it was to get SL#2... [1]
Just a little note to let you know I enjoyed SOUTHERN LIGHTS #2. Like the beautiful cover.
My favorite story was "To Savor the Bitter Wine" by L.A. Carr. As I'm a big fan of SIMON & SIMON, I really loved that one. Nice story, L.A. Also liked the poems on SIMON & SIMON written by Carol Hillman, they were really beautiful, Carol.
Well, thanks Annie for this beautiful zine. Keep up the good work! [1]
SOUTHERN LIGHTS #2 arrived safe and sound and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Though only a smittering of SIMON & SIMON, both stories were very good. "To Savor the Bitter Wine" had me on the edge of my seat and it was a nice twist to have Stringfellow Hawke in it and even more enjoyable for him to find his brother. Poor Rick, I really felt for him having to leave A.J. alone in Vietnam, a place where he himself was glad to get out of. Am looking forward to SL#3 and if it's half as good as 1 and 2, it will be a masterpiece. [1]
I got SOUTHERN LIGHTS 2 about a month ago and have been meaning to write a LoC ever since. I'm finally doing it! SL2 was a delightful mixed bag of goods and I enjoyed ALL of it.
"Steaming Wangs" had me howling! Being from Houston, I was offended by the first paragraph before I even started reading the story. Lucky for you, I'm not a native Houstonian (or any other kind of Texan) or I'd have to challenge you to a cockroach stomping at thirty paces or at least a round of Texas hold 'em... It was the best example of terrible writing that I've seen—overblown, overdone, over-metaphorized, and certainly a case of overkill!
(By the way, the railroad didn't come to Dallas until 1872, so you can score one point for historical accuracy.) Oops! I just remembered that you personally had nothing to do with writing Still the above remarks should go to Laura Virgil and Cheree Cargill, sorry. (But you did have the guts to print it!)
As for the rest of the zine... "Dancin' in the Streets" was the first BIZARRO 7 story I've encountered, and it's left me eager for more (see SASEs), and the serious BLAKE'S 7, "Dragon Sleeping" was very good, too.
(I haven't watched that much BLAKE'S 7, I just got into it a few months ago—mostly due to the fanfic I've read.) I really liked "Images" and "Live & Learn"—it's great to read a story from the lesser-known universes. I even liked the MIAMI VICE pieces—the show may have gone downhill, but the fanfic hasn't.
I don't go out of my way to read STAR WARS stuff, but "Black Sheep" and "Raiders of the Lost Carbonite" were both interesting and different stories in the STAR WARS universe. Being a stalwart SIMON & SIMON fan, I loved all the S & S pieces, especially "To Savor the Bitter Wine".
The "Anything Goes" portfolio was exactly what it said it was, and Laura Virgil's "Spies" portfolio was a real treat. Can't wait for SOUTHERN LIGHTS 3.
P.S. The cover art was GREAT! I wish there'd been some MAGNUM inside as well—maybe in SL3? [1]
I must admit that the BIZARRO 7 stories have had me nearly on the floor from laughter. Most zines have stories that range from okay to good. Yours starts at good and moves steadily upward. [1]
"Dancin' In the streets" is quite Bizarre, but funny.
I like the ending to "The Sucky Weekend of Sonny Crockett". (Not fond of the title, but...) [I beg your pardon—that title was a tribute to Ye Old Sucky Zine Editor (as my 'friends' call me) Ed.]
"Images" is very good. I wasn't that big a fan of THE MASTER, but I really enjoyed Sheila's story. "Yankee Doodle A.J."—Gee, maybe if Ricky had been nicer about A.J.'s boat, A.J. would have been nicer later on about the Hole in the Water!
"Live and Learn" I'd read before. Can't remember offhand which zine it was in.
"Conspiracy" by Jackie Edwards had some very nice touches.
I'm afraid I couldn't make it all the way through "Steaming Wangs."
"To Savor the Bitter Wine" — very good. S&S/AW seems to be a good new thing in crossover stories.
"Small Talk"—strange!
"Black Sheep" is well-written.
"Raiders of the Lost Carbonite" is long, but fun. What a crossover story!
"The Two Sides of a Traitor Raid"—boy, everyone really loves to get poor Mark!
It was nice to see IT TAKES A THIEF in the gallery of spies. I always liked that show.
All in all a very nice zine. I'm looking forward to #3. [1]
I've seen enough BLAKE'S 7 episodes to understand the BIZARRO stories—I like the stories much better than the series! [1]
Howdy! A short note to tell you how much I enjoyed SOUTHERN LIGHTS #2. The stories and poems were all quality stuff, but my favorite had to be "Raiders of the Lost Carbonite." It was such fun to read, and the author made it all sound so plausible and so real. In fact, her story has given me the urge to see the STAR WARS trilogy all over again. Han Solo has always been a favorite character and I love him even more after reading this. Kudos to the author—and to you, Ann, for another worthwhile zine—I hope there are many more. [1]
SOUTHERN LIGHTS 2 is another winner! Beautiful cover, great stories, what more could you want?
"Yankee Doodle A.J." was adorable. Funny and touching, al at the same time. I laugh every time at the image of little Rick and A.J. tumbling over the grass from the big fireworks explosion. Such a noble little creature is A.J. It was touching to see his genuine concern for Rick. Thisstory cried out for illos!
My, my! That Annie Worthington sure is a brat, hey?
To Savor The Bitter Wine"—Bitter is right. Lots of emotion needed to be purged from those years. I'm hoping to see that in the aired Vietnam episode, if it ever comes about. I'm glad Rick and A.J. were able to get beyond the anger and resume their natural patterns of caring.
I liked the Hawke/St. John and Rick/A.J. parallels. What joy to see that reunion! Hurt/comfort was beautiful in this one.
A.J. listening to all those '60s songs is something I've done. As for Rick reading DEAR AMERICA, I intend to read that soon. [1]
SOUTHERN LIGHTS #2 is great. At least as good as #1 and that's going some considering how much I enjoyed the first. The size was generous and the variety of stories good. For the most part I was able to follow the stories (Those I couldn't, I'll make a note on as I go.)
Starting with the Laura Virgil cover and going through to the back cover, the art is good. A special note of appreciation on Leah's "Silver Alpha".
Dancin in the Streets" well, it's BIZARRO that's for sure. I loved it and in particular I love the image of Blake discovering Vila and Avon doing a Bowie/Jagger imitation. What a howl!
THE MASTER is one of the shows I am less familiar with, but I did enjoy "Images". They never did find the daughter on the show did they? Also Sheila's artwork along with the story was quite nice.
Yankee Doodle A.J." was a scream. I was surprised that I liked it since I'm not a big SIMON & SIMON fan and don't usually care for stories about kids. Still Leah's touch with the story was good.
"Live and Learn" was an interesting story, but it was terribly condensed for all the subplots that were going on. I liked the writer's portrayal of Mick Belker the most; he's my favorite character on the show. As for "Conspiracy", this is one of the shows I'm not clear on and I must admit I don't care for the A-TEAM. Not to say that the story wasn't well done, I just couldn't get past my lack of interest in the show—my fault—not the writer's.
"Dragon Sleeping"—argh! This was not my sort of B7 story. (I am familiar—most familiar with this show, thanks to the editor and I do mean thanks). Linda is a talented writer, but I feel like she made Avon too womanish. Also, I question the idea that Avon would walk away from Blake once he found him.
Perhaps I'm not that easily offended, but I loved "Steaming Wangs". Very funny and sick, sick, sick. Will there be a seque l.
Like the A-TEAM, I never got into AIRWOLF and SIMON & SIMON isn't a must see, so I didn't follow "To Savor the Bitter Wine" very well.
"First the Good News"—Sometimes shorter pieces say it al quickly—something I can't do—I admire how well Carole Regine managed it. "Small Talk" is another Leah Rosenthal goodie. I love MIAMI VICE and Elvis is a favorite of mine. Poor Sonny, I could just see him talking to Elvis. Suzy Sansom did a nice illo and before I forget, I liked the illo for "Sucky Weekend" also.
Black Sheep is my hands down favorite this issue. It's nice to read a story where Leia is the major STAR WARS character involved. The meeting between Shai and Han was truly a gut wrencher. Of course, I had the advantage of having seen the story develop from the start.
"Two Sides of a Traitor Raid" I'm working on. I'm not big on RAT PATROL—ever since I found myself writing one (I shudder at the memory of it.) [Come on, Susanne, I didn't twist your arm hard enough that it STILL hurts, did I? Ed.] But I will give it a fair shot and finish it.
Good job, Annie! You always do your tribbers proud![1]
I finished SOUTHERN LIGHTS 2 and I loved it. My very favorite was "Dancin in the Streets". I never imagined Avon and Vila and heavy metal. Much less Avon playing heavy metal guitar. Now what would happen if Avon and Vila met Twisted Sister? or David Lee Roth? or Van Halen? No, never mind Van Halen, I don't ike them. Ah, I've got it, how about if they met Ozzy? Reading "Dancin'" made me want to go to a concert...
Second favorite story was "Yankee Doodle A.J. and I'm not even a SIMON & SIMON Fan...
The art portfolio is beautiful as is the Spies Portfolio. I love artwork. I really thought the one with Avon on the bear rug was cute!
What can I say about "Steaming Wangs" besides I survived it—barely but I did! I've got nothing bad to say about SOUTHERN LIGHTS 2 because everything was good reading, even "Steaming Wangs"![1]
The cover, the ideas, the art, the stories, the humor, the drama; THE BEST! It seems SOUTHERN LIGHTS can only improve with each issue.
All of the art is super-gorgeous, breathtaking! The portfolios are classic, illos throughout superb. I will not choose one drawing over another when it is so evident that all of the artists worked very hard with excellent results. I will say that it was a neat surprise to find Al Mundy and his dad, Alistair in Laura Virgil's section. IT TAKES A THIEF was one of my earliest obsessions. Thanks, Laura!
I enjoyed all the stories. Among them are the following: "The SuckyWeekend of Sonny Crockett"—I felt as though I was on that boat with them and went through the whole ordeal, a kind of invisible observer. True to form, the Lt. was silent most qf the time, but he did get some interesting, though succinct lines. Not even looking, huh? Did you see his reaction to Erendira in 'Bushido'??
"Yankee Doodle A.J."—seems like the Simons have always been involved in explosions and gunfire, ever since A.J. was just knee-high to a grasshopper. Good characterizations of the young boys. I especially like the image of a tiny, blond A.J. hiding under a bush, or keeping out of his big brother's way. And the final line was priceless.
"Live and Learn"—some good insight into Belker's character and I especially liked Casey's put down of LaRue.
"Conspiracy"—I never watch the A-TEAM, too much cartoon violence. But the stories are always good in zines. I did wish Murdoch was a bit more flakey. For him, normal is close to dull.
"Steaming Wangs"— I don't know what to make of this. I did enjoy reading the intro and opening notes. The story itself is an acquired taste.
"To Savor the Bitter Wine"—good story with the brother's conflicting perspectives. And that crossover was really out of the blue!
"First The Good News..."—oh Carole, what a naughty mind you have. Shall we name the little one Spaarik?
"Small Talk"—I absolutely love it. The little details on Elvis being the team mascot and having all this inside info, the sibilant voice of the 'gator, the tuna can at the end. Perfect! One thing, whatever happened to that timepiece Elvis swallowed? Does he still tick?
"Raiders of the Lost Carbonite"—extremely readable, I couldn't put it down. The crossover was handled nicely and the two men were kept quite in character. Nice division on the first half being in Indy's world; the 2nd half in the SW universe.
Poems & Humor: DW toon on pg. 17 was neat, especially the Cyberman's tie and shirt!
"A Word to the Lt."—when I saw the scene I thought it was a noble gesture on Martin's part. By the 4th showing I found the humor, too!
"Crossed Universe"—the girls who cooked up this one should be closely watched! [Believe me, I watch them VERY closely. Ed.] "Dance of the Eagle"—simply gorgeous.
"Battlefield Blues"—lovely. "Hot Stuff"—cute, real cute.
Finally, since my sister wrote a LoC on issue #1, I didn't get to put my three cents worth in. I just want to mention a few things. (And if you believe that...)
Seriously, "Night of the Peon's Death" was very well written, and brought back the WWW world very sharply. I enjoyed the storyline and various characters immensely.
"Time In Its Flight" took me a long time to read, but it was great. After a while, I'd be reading it during the day and when SIMON & SIMON was on the same night I'd find myself thinking back to the childhood incidents Christine described and relating them to the dialogue and reactions of A.J. and Rick in the current episodes. She really created a multi-layered past for the guys, one that is very realistic and very interesting!
"Hogtown Hustle", the very first fan MV story I've read. It was great for the concept alone. Hope to see more from Susanne in issue 3![1]
Dancing in the Streets"...oh my aching sides! Ohhh! Mick and Dave live in the 24th century. Owww! So that's a BIZARRO 7 story, huh? More more more!
I've been missing something, somewhere...Silver Alpha?
Now that I've finished raving (for the moment!), I'll go on to the rest of SOUTHERN LIGHTS #2. "Dragon Sleeping" was very good; it developed logically from what we know of Blake and his disappearance, Tarrant's feelings of being left out, Avon's pain at finding and losing Blake again...very moving. (We are now getting 3rd season "Blake"..is it just me or is Avon mellowing? And I don't really like Arrogant, I mean Tarrant, very much).
"Conspiracy"—I haven't watched the A-TEAM for a while...have they really been cleared, or is this story speculation? Who is Maggie Sullivan? I always wondered what would happen when the Master found his daughter...universal destruct—oops, wrong Master.
"Iimages" could be considered the end of the beginning, instead of the beginning of the end. I don't watch much HILL STREET BLUES, but "Live and Learn" felt right!
"Raiders of the Lost Carbonite"...okay. Let me think about this one. Carolyn Golledge surprised me; I thought we were headed for a cross-universe spoof. Instead she took the premise and ran with it through a number of very well thought out parallels to the Lucas STAR WARS saga and ended it with a nice touch of the Prime Directive! The idea of Indy and Marion in outer space still doesn't do much for me, but Carolyn pulled it off spectacularly!
"Steaming Wangs"~uh, tell me, do Cheree and Laura write historical romances for real?
The "Anything Goes" and "Spies" portfolios were nice, even if they did leave out my favorite man-in-the- white-suit. Excuse please...Silver Alpha? [Shhh...Paul Darrow might hear you. Ed.]
"To Savor the Bitter Wine" demonstrates perfectly why one should always read everything in a 'zine, whether you like the show or not. I don't watch SIMON & SIMON and I'm not real fond of S&S fiction...most that I've read boil down to "A.J. gets hurt and Rick feels guilty." I was skimming through the story, sure enough, A.J. gets shot...helicopter? I know that helicopter! Hey, what's going on here? I finished reading with a great deal more interest than before, then went back and read the first half more carefully. Setting aside my personal prejudice in favor of a certain Mach One Plus helicopter. "To Savor the Bitter Wine" is probably one of the best stories I've read—tension, conflict, motivations...and the crossover was so subtle that I didn't
notice until' it whacked me in the face. And it was so very true to both series. It would be interesting to read this story from Hawke's point of view. And I hope to read more by L.A. Carr, soon. [1]
I received your zine SOUTHERN LIGHTS 2 and wanted to especially comment on how much I liked the back pover. Besides being a SIMON & SIMON and STAR TREK addict, I'm also a HARDCASTLE & MCCORMICK and MAGNUM PI fan.
I found the S&S story "Yankee Doodle A.J." very enjoyable as I like reading stories about when they were children. Some of my favorite stories are those that, while occurring in the present, cause one or the other of them to have a flashback to their childhood.
I found both of Carol Hillman's S&S poems quite moving.
L.A. Carr's story "To Savor the Bitter Wine" really hit home with me. Reading this story lead me back to a time when I experienced many ambiguous and ambivalent feelings with regard to the Vietnam War. It took me back to when I was a young girl in love and engaged to a man in the service. A time when we had different and often opposite viewpoints as far as this 'conflict' was concerned. After becoming a S&S fan and reading this story, I can't help but think how good it would be to read a story wherein Rick and A.J. bring out and discuss how, not only did they each feel about this was, but also how they felt about each others stand on this was. Of course, I am a fine one to talk considering my husband and I have never done so. While my, now, husband never served in Vietnam, L.A. Carr's story brought back to mind some of the horror stories relayed to us by way of a cousin who did. Although, I must admit his stories were not as horribly graphic as the scene on page 148.
I have to disagree on one point in this story, that being on page 144 where A.J. supposedly wasn't entirely sure Rick wasn't ready to play him as sacrificial lamb in the event of trouble. I felt this entirely out of character for either Rick to ever do anything like.this, or for A.J. to ever doubt Rick in this serious a situation.
I liked how L.A. Carr incorporated Stringfellow Hawke getting his long lost brother back in this story. While I have never watched an entire episode of AIRWOLF, I have seen and heard the narration at the beginning of the show with regard to his brother being missing in Vietnam. All in all, I think that this is an excellent story and I felt that the zine was well worth buying just for this story. I conclude this letter thanking you for hours of enjoyable reading... [1]
Really, the trouble is I'm running out of superlatives particularly in regards to those covers and other art by Laura Virgil. They are all nothing short of phenomenal.
As you know, I really needed "Dancin' in the Streets" when I first read it, and it hasn't lost a whit in the days since. Poor Avon, a frustrated Billy Idol...Poor Blake, a frustrated dope...and Vila in the middle of it. Leah certainly does have Avon's mouth down to a T.
Some of the stories gave me a pause because of that old bugaboo, "unfamiliar with the universe". "Images", for example, was a well plotted story with good character work, but, since I've never seen the show, Teri's motivation rather puzzled me. And I had the same problem with the RAT PATROL story. So maybe I'd better stick to safer ground...
Yankee Doodle A.J." did a difficult thing well—a "childhood of our heroes" story that wasn't hopelessly sappy arid where the kids behaved like kids!...
"Live and Learn" captured the quick pacing and multiple ploting of HILL STREET BLUES quite wel, no mean feat. And is something wrong with me?
"Steaming Wangs didn't offend me at all. I've read enough of those bodice-rippers to recognize all the cliches and the twists. God, what a scream! I loved it when they all did in the Colonel. Suppose he drowned like Rasputin? I was glad that "Savor the Bitter Wine" finally got all those people back. Particularly poor St. John, (I've actually seen AIRWOLF! Twice! Wow!) but I'm afraid that al such stories are just wish fulfillment. Which makes it all the more poignant. Some good 'musings' of the characters there, too.
First the Good News..." hey, that's what I predicted would happen, too. Wonder if they have shotgun marriages on Vulcan? And "Small Talk"...I'm glad someone told Crockett off. "Raiders of the Lost Carbonite" took me a week to read. It was very satisfying, too, al the threads woven together. Carolyn Golledge knows how to put in the detail that most people hurry over, eager to get to the "trash" although poor Han always gets it but good in her stories, anyway! Han and Indy came off as similar but not clones. Still, how come the STAR WARS people spoke English (quibble, quibble) The illos were excellent-particularly the one on paqe 223 of Han (or is it Indy?) and Lando.
Speaking of illos—about that awful cartoon on page B9~that is the last time I send Leah Rosenthal anything! Well, any cartoons, that is. That was downright sneaky.
I said last time I don't usually say anything about stories by relatives, but as I hadn't read all of Sucky Weekend" in even first draft, I can say that it certainly lived up to the promise of the premise. Castilo with a hankie on his head. Sonny contemplating dog food—that ilo is a scream. Susanne is realy sorry about Castillo saying too much in "Hogtown Hustle", fans: she says she'd only seen two episodes with him in them at the time and figured he had to say more sometime. And if Ricardo seems to be leaving a lot un resolved in "Hogtown Hustle" as well, that's probably because she's got this whole series of MIAMI VICE stories, and that storyline is sort of a running background. And, yeah, Bruce is Buckaroo Banzai, okay?
Let s see if they know who Shai Arkadriss is! I'm impatiently waiting for #3. [1]
Issue 2.5 (Southern Lights, Blake's 7)
Southern Lights 2.5 was published in March 1986 and is 65 pages long. it contains a mix of slash and gen stories, including the “infamous” “Rogue,” by London Bates and a “Hellhound” story. It is an all-Blake's 7 issue.
This issue contains two black and white photos of the cast but no other interior illustration.
From the short editorial:
Welcome to the second issue of the 'SPECIAL.' Some of you may have noticed that 2.5 is in print before Issue 2 this year. There's a good reason for that. Actually, there are a couple of reasons. First off, I had time to type the masters for 2.5 as it is such a small zine. Secondly, I got a good print deal. Thirdly, there seems to be a lot of interest in my upcoming BLAKE'S 7 [zine?] and since there's no way it was going to make it into print for MediaWest Con, I put this one together, instead. I hope it satisfies some of you hungry for new B7 material.
Yes, if you haven't noticed yet, this issue of the SPECIAL is all-B7. I haven't quite decided what next year's issue will consist of. Write me and let me know what you'd like.
[...]
I guess I'm out of things to say. I hope you enjoy the zine. The material is about evenly divided between 'straight' and 'slash' type stories. The slash stories are in the back and begin with the story "The Weight of a Feather". [2] If you don't like slash, then please skip those stories. You have been warned!
- Aftereffects, fiction by Barbara T ("Cally is suffering from the aftereffects of her ordeal on Centero and goes to the one person on Liberator she feels can help her work out her fear.) (gen) (3)
- Intermezzo in B fiction by London Bates (Blake is still feeling guilty over the death of Gan on Earth but Vila, some special brandy, and Cally combine to help him feel better. Jenna and Avon are making discoveries of their own in the meantime...") (also in The Other Side #1) (gen) (7)
- Paradise Loused Up, fiction by Louisiana Bailey & A. Toyten Bankes (aka Planet of the Slave Boys) ("Xanadu was supposedly a paradise, but Avon, Tarrant and Vila are in for a few surprises.") (gen) (13)
- Sharing, fiction by Mara Calahan & Crystal Adams (gen) (21)
- Have Another, fiction by Lotta Sleaze (slash) (30)
- The Weight of a Feather, fiction by Katrina Snyder & Susanne McGhin (Hellhound Universe) ("Avon hadn't planned to have company on his shore leave, but things seldom worked out the way Avon planned them.") (slash) (32)
- Reluctant Rebel by London Bates (slash) (39)
- Personal Management, fiction by Barbara T ("Vila Restal followed Blake willingly, yet he still feared him.") (slash) (40)
- Nearly Beloved/Rogue, fiction by London Bates (See Nearly Beloved) (also in The Unique Touch #1 and The Other Side #1) (slash) (47)
Reactions and Reviews: Issue 2.5
See reactions and reviews for Nearly Beloved/Rogue.
[zine]: This edition has a delectable cover drawing of Avon (silver shirt phase) by Leah Rosenthal; I am not particularly an Avon fan but I can appreciate ART. Otherwise the only illustrations are photos.I presume from the editorial that other editions of Southern Lights, unlike this one, aren't necessarily all B7. Southern Lights Special 2.5 is adult, roughly half the content being straight and half slash. There are nine stories.
Being a Vila fan I loved [Barbara T's] two short stories "Aftereffects" (C/V) and "Personal Management" (V/B). Both are totally believable, and written with real insight.
This is definitely a zine for Vila fans, as there is yet another good C/V story -oh joy - "Sharing". This is not to say that no-one else gets a look-in. Of the longer stories there is one post-GP concerning Avon, Blake and Tarrant. Writers include London Bates, Louisiana Bailey and A. Toyten Bankes, Mara Calahan and Crystal Adams, Katrina Snyder and Susanne McGhin. [3]