A Blog Horde Interview with C.E. Martin
Welcome to the Amazing Stories BLOG HORDE INTERVIEWS! The ASM Blog Horde is a diverse and wonderful species. I have the privilege of talking with all of them, and I get to share those chats with […]
The Clubhouse: Save your stuff!
I had hoped to bring you a little photo journal of some of the fans I knew in Detroit and Ann Arbor in the ’70s and ’80s, but alas, such limited pictures as I had […]
How to Host a Big Bang Theory Party
When the tv show the Big Bang Theory first appeared, I wasn’t sure I liked it. I mean, weren’t people laughing at the nerdy scientists as often (or more often) than they laughed with them? […]
I Got Them Old Kon-Going Blues Again, Momma.
Forgive me, Janis Joplin, for destroying that wonderful album title of yours. But it is true: the urge to get up and go to a con is growing in me. Fortunately, I can do something […]
Ora Pro Nobis. The Zombies Are Coming
Pope Benedict XVI stunned the world on February 11th by announcing his abdication. In related news on your Amazing Stories channel, the zombie apocalypse is coming. Even Snooki agrees! “One day, I know that the world is going to end with zombies.”
Cat Heaven: Neko-sama in Animanga
There is a small fishing island in Japan, Tashirojima, which has been dubbed “cat heaven” because of the phenomenal amount of stray cats living there – there are more cats than people! It sounds, to […]
The Clubhouse: Looking for fandom — ConFusion at 40, Part 4
Wherefore fandom? Fandom does not equal “the science fiction market.” To be a fan it’s not enough just to be a consumer of science fiction. To be part of fandom you have to participate in […]
Me and My Sofa.
Ah yes, me and my Sofa. I feel confident calling it my Sofa. With a capital S because the sofa I’m referring to, StarShipSofa, is a podcast magazine. And I can call it mine because […]
Adding the Human Element: An Interview With Juliet
All right, so I’ve given you all some abstract thoughts about the anime world, and I’ve even thrown in a review. But I think it’s fair to say that one of the most interesting things […]
The FAAn Awards
Are you a Fan? Of course you are, you’re here! Why not demonstrate your fannishness and take a crack at nominating for the annual Fan Activity Awards? It’s FREE and its FUN! The Fan Activity […]
Halo Jones Interview with Ian Gibson
Before From Hell, before Watchmen, before The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, there was The Ballad of Halo Jones. Co-created by writer Alan Moore and artist Ian Gibson, Halo Jones was a space opera about a young woman who is swept up in […]
Interview: John DeNardo of SF Signal
SF Signal is a phenomenon. This past year at the Chicon 7 Worldcon, the website was nominated in two categories – Best Fanzine and Best Fancast – and walked home with the honors in the […]
The Clubhouse: ConFusion at 40, Part 3
Immortal ConFusion was rather a bittersweet experience. I hadn’t been to the convention in years, although I attended annually from A² Relax Icon in 1974, up through my college years in Ann Arbor, when I […]
In Fear Of Dub: How Should You Watch Your Anime?
Ever since foreign film and television have become popular in the English-speaking world (and title cards were a thing of the past, of course), there has been the great debate over whether subtitles or dubbed-over […]
The Clubhouse: ConFusion at 40, Part 2
I went to all the early ConFusions. The name change came about, I’m told, because Ro (who informs me her name was then still Nagey, the change to Lutz-Nagey not occurring till a few years […]
Art + Fandom ≠ Fan Art, part II: Images of Galadriel
Well it looks like I put my foot right into it in my previous post! Several people objected to my definition of the term “Fan Art”. They felt that it was not in accordance with […]
Anime Mondays with Morgana! An Introduction
Happy Monday, everybody! I’m very excited to be joining the Amazing Stories Magazine blogging staff. Every week, I’ll be posting something new, mostly focusing on anime! Anime is an interesting and widespread topic, and I […]
“I Like Science Fiction, It’s Got Like Giant Robots and Stuff, Right?” Science Fiction’s Self-Esteem Problem Part IV: To Boldly Go Where No Fan Has Gone Before
Over the last three weeks I have discussed the sources and causes of Science Fictions self-esteem problem. The genre’s inability to shed it’s pulp roots and ongoing pulpishness, the relative obscurity of SF to the […]
E-Zines vs. Dead Tree Zines: the more things change…
I have been producing fanzines off and on since 1976, shortly after encountering science fiction fandom and this particular aspect of that hobby interest. As anybody who has ever pubbed (that is fanspeak for “published”) […]
The Clubhouse: ConFusion at 40 (more or less)
This year was the 40th ConFusion. Or perhaps it will be next year. The numerology of this Michigan convention has always been somewhat doubtful, since its numbering started with 13, unless you count the initial […]
Blind Geek For Beginners
Folks who read my author bio will have realized I lead an interesting life or that I have a passion for Starbucks. No wait, that wasn’t it. Yes, you will have noticed that I’m something of a […]
A New Generation of Star Wars
A couple of months ago came an announcement that caught many of off-guard. The announcement I refer to is that of the Star Wars franchise being sold to Disney and the plan of a new […]
“I Like Science Fiction, It’s Got Like Giant Robots and Stuff, Right?” Science Fiction’s Self-Esteem Problem Part III: Robots, Reboots and Remakes. How Hollywood Kills Serious Science Fiction
The only time the public pays attention to Science Fiction is when that great machine of mass marketing and “entertainment” called Hollywood inundates the collective consciousness with that most dreaded of phenomena: the Summer Blockbuster. But […]
The Clubhouse: Five words every fan should know
“I have a Cosmic Mind — now what do I do?” Fanspeak is what we call the jargon of fandom that grew up in fanzines and is still in use in the internet age. It’s […]
Steve Stiles A Retrospective
Steve Stiles is a living double entendre: not only does he draw icons of the field, he is an icon of the field. If brushing twilltone off your lap after reading is a familiar experience, […]
The Clubhouse: Common language
I said last time that I wasn’t going to debate the definition of “fan” here. But one of the most important defining characteristics of fandom is our shared language. From founding fan Forrest J Ackerman […]
The Clubhouse Revenant
Hello, I’m Leah Zeldes and I’m a fan. I have been a fan since 1973, not long after I discovered the concept of fandom in the pages of — not coincidentally, an Amazing Science Fiction […]
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