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 […]
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The Artful Collector: Collecting Strategies Part 3 “The Easy Way”
Previously, in parts 1 and 2, I talked about collectors whose ambition, in collecting, was to have every one in set (“completists”) and those who had to have every one they wanted, however much it […]
The Artful Collector: Collecting Strategies Part 2 “Whatever It Takes”
Rich men (I am going to fall back on the male gender because most of the collectors in the field of illustration art and books are male) don’t let scarcity stop them from getting what […]
The Artful Collector: Collecting Strategies Part 1 “The Completist”
I came to my role as dealer in SF art in a very old-fashioned way….as a fan. And I’ve still got ‘fandom’ in my blood. I mention this only because dealers in many collecting arenas […]
The Fed Puts Stamps of Approval on Science Fiction Authorship
Sometime after John W. Campbell died in 1971, a few science fiction fans launched a campaign requesting that the U.S. Postal Service issue a postage stamp commemorating the legendary editor of Astounding Science Fiction and […]
The Artful Collector: To Have and to Hold
Young children collect sea shells, older children collect dolls, action figures, trading cards and comic books, and grown up children . . . well, they still collect dolls, action figures, trading cards and comic books. […]
The Artful Collector: Living in Interesting Times
May you live in interesting times. So goes the curse…. Last year at IlluxCon, a convention devoted purely to the buying, selling and showing of painted art – I overheard a young artist saying to […]
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”) […]
John Purcell
A professor of English and ESOL (teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) at Blinn College in Bryan, Texas, John Purcell has also been at various times in his life an insurance assistant underwriter, worked at a pig-packing plant in Iowa, and a professional jazz musician. John gave that last one up for teaching because he needed a steady paycheck to take care of a growing family. Yes, he is married – for 23 years now – and has three children, all grown. Well, almost; the youngest is 17 and still living at home, but as soon as that kid is done with college and gets a job, he gets the boot.
John currently publishes the online fanzine Askance, which is available for viewing and downloading at www.efanzines.com, and has been involved with science fiction fandom in one way or another for 40 years now. He is hosting the fanzine lounge at the upcoming World Science Fiction Convention in San Antonio, Texas – LoneStarCon 3 – and is looking forward to attending his first world con since 1978!
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