Richard E. Geis, the “Alien Critic” died February 4th. Richard Geis’s fanzines – Science Fiction Review and The Alien Critic were among the first fanzines I subscribed to and avidly sought back issues to. In a large way, one could say that Mr. Geis helped start me on my fannish career. He and his publications were nominated and won numerous Hugo awards for Best Fanzine and Best Fan Writer; he was one of the few writers and publishers able to elevate themselves past what was the Locus juggernaut. I am deeply saddened by the news of his passing and even more so by the fact that it took nearly a month for the news to reach fandom. Multiple outlets including File 770, with an obit by Andrew Porter are offering up words. Some of Richard’s fanzine work can be found on EFanzines; a listing of the publication history of Science Fiction Review here and his entry in the SF Encyclopedia here. Like many, I never met the man, but he was certainly influential and reading his work was a regular highlight of my day.
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Crossroads: Science Fiction Romance – A Niche Before Its Time?
What Science Fiction Lacks
Ten Totally Illogical Science Fiction Premises
More Sci-fi Shows to Hit Screens in 2013
Pulling Back the Publishing Veil: Return Reserves, Buy-in, and Sell-through
Why Piracy is Never Okay
Theodore Sturgeon, The Next Question, Well-Meaning Scientists and The Evil They Can Cause.
Playing the Short Game: How to Sell Your Short Fiction (Part 6)
Fred Haskell – long-time Minn-STF fan, entertainer and wide-traveler is in the process of scanning RUNE, the club’s fanzine. Like SFR, Rune was one of the first fanzines I acquainted myself with. It’s chock-a-block with all of things that make a fanzine a FANZINE. Check it out here
I sent him a bunch of LoCs back in the day. as far as I know none were ever published, but I have to say that I actually looked forward to getting SFR in the mail more than the digest mags. There was always something I agreed with and something I disagreed with in every issue.
I think Geis' unsung passing brought home the 'graying of fandom' more than any other recent event. It genuinely saddened me. That it took nearly a month for the news to filter out genuinely angered me.
I think someone ought to do a retrospective on him – any takers?
Those 'zines were great. Geis had opinions and he knew how to cogently express them.
Now that I think about it, I think you could say Geis' work was very similar to the best of the modern bloggers. He had wide-ranging interests and he talked about whatever was on his mind that day.