The rather amateurish - though earnest and enthusiastic - magazine covered Star Trek fandom in all its pre-Internet/home video Seventies forms, with fannish articles on conventions, collectibles, episode trivia, pull-out posters, lots of fan art, interviews with the Trek cast (and prominent "Trekkers!"), fanzine reviews, and, as its clumsy title promised, extensive fan club listings.
It was an interesting magazine, and for a rural science fiction fan without access to conventions or fan clubs, it was a window onto a larger world of Trek (and sci-fi) fandom. Anyway, I included scans of the covers of the three issues I owned with that previous post. I've since snagged scans of the other three issue covers, and thought I'd share them here. Enjoy!
As much as I loved Starlog and Famous Monsters, magazines such as this inspired me because I realized then, as a child, that they were created by people, and didn't just pop into glossy existence. Trek Magazine was another one. I had to own all of the BEST OF TREK compilations, because I was too young to go to conventions, and the articles, art, and speculations were like a printed version of a convention. We were fortunate to grow up in the 70's just as monster kids were fortunate to grow up in the 60's. I think the enthusiasm was greater because we had to scrape and dig for correspondence and information. And the shows I watched I had to wait to see with breathless anticipation :)
ReplyDeleteI had the middle one (with Spock cover..), but I'd like to hunt down that Chekov one for the animated pin-up..
ReplyDeleteI attended the 20th Yahren LA Con for Galactica back in '98 and really enjoyed the 'grass roots' feel to it, which harkens back toe the 70s Trek conventions, which I went to one in '76.
Long before THE FRANCHISE swallowed up the earnest fun of these shows, it was a great event to attend. Just to walk around with the actors, like for a 1999 con in 2003, I sat on the couch next to actor Shane Rimmer and his wife (and a packed meeting room) to watch 'Space Brain' on the big screen.. decades after he guest-starred in it..
How surreal is that..?!?
Don't get me wrong, I love all the merchandising you can get nowadays at these cons (or eBay) thanks to corporate sponsors and Paramount, but on the flipside, I still pine for the old days of more intimacy, FREE autographs and shorter lines.
Chris, you always find the greatest stuff! great job!
ReplyDeleteI still have the first issue. I was a rural science fiction loving kid too. Got into town maybe once a month and always spent my time at the biggest magazine stand I could find looking for things like this. Found the first issue of Starlog that way.
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