Tag Archives: Vincent DiFate

Pixel Scroll 1/9/24 Our Pixels Now Are Ended, These Our Filers As I Forescrolled You, Were All Fifths

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(1) SUBSTACK MANAGEMENT CLAIMS THERE WILL BE ACTION. Casey Newton has told readers of his Substack newsletter Platformer that “Substack says it will remove Nazi publications from the platform”. Apparently that really isn’t so broad an outcome as it sounds — as Robin Anne Reid says in the “fixed that for you” title of her own piece, “Substack will remove [some] Nazi publications”.

Newton’s Platformer post says:

…The company will not change the text of its content policy, it says, and its new policy interpretation will not include proactively removing content related to neo-Nazis and far-right extremism. But Substack will continue to remove any material that includes “credible threats of physical harm,” it said.

In a statement, Substack’s co-founders told Platformer:

“If and when we become aware of other content that violates our guidelines, we will take appropriate action. 

“Relatedly, we’ve heard your feedback about Substack’s content moderation approach, and we understand your concerns and those of some other writers on the platform. We sincerely regret how this controversy has affected writers on Substack. 

“We appreciate the input from everyone. Writers are the backbone of Substack and we take this feedback very seriously. We are actively working on more reporting tools that can be used to flag content that potentially violates our guidelines, and we will continue working on tools for user moderation so Substack users can set and refine the terms of their own experience on the platform.”

Substack’s statement comes after weeks of controversy related to the company’s mostly laissez-faire approach to content moderation.…

McKenzie also wrote that “we don’t like Nazis either” and said Substack wished “no-one held those views.” But “we don’t think that censorship (including through demonetizing publications) makes the problem go away,” he wrote. “In fact, it makes it worse. We believe that supporting individual rights and civil liberties while subjecting ideas to open discourse is the best way to strip bad ideas of their power.”

The statement seemed to be at odds with Substack’s published content guidelines, which state that “Substack cannot be used to publish content or fund initiatives that incite violence based on protected classes.”

In its aftermath, several publications left the platform. Others, including Platformer, said they would leave if the company did not remove pro-Nazi publications.

Meanwhile, more than 100 other Substack writers, including prominent names like Bari Weiss and Richard Dawkins, signed a post from writer Elle Griffin calling on Substack to continue with its mostly hands-off approach to platform-level moderation….

(2) 3 BODY PROBLEM. Netflix dropped the 3 Body Problem official trailer today. The series begins streaming on March 21.

From multiple Emmy Award-winning creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss (Game of Thrones), and Emmy-nominated Alexander Woo (The Terror: Infamy, True Blood) comes 3 Body Problem, a thrilling story that redefines sci-fi drama with its layered mysteries and genre-bending high stakes. Based on the acclaimed, international bestselling book trilogy, The Three-Body Problem. A young woman’s fateful decision in 1960s China reverberates across space and time to a group of brilliant scientists in the present day. As the laws of nature unravel before their eyes five former colleagues reunite to confront the greatest threat in humanity’s history.

(3) A CAREER REIGNITED. Vincent DiFate shared the distilled wisdom gained from years as a working artist with Facebook readers:

I’ll second what Bill and David [Passalaqua] had to say about life as a working illustrator, but for me this is, I believe, my 57th year at it. I lost my love for making art almost from the moment my freelance career began–long hours creating art and solving the visual problems for sometimes truly unreadable and non-visual novels (mercifully few of them, though), dealing with editors and art directors with no feel for the SF genre or any visual acumen to speak of; and then there was always the letdown of seeing the personally unsatisfying results of my efforts. But after years of feeling unfulfilled I entered Murray Tinkelman’s graduate program at Syracuse University. I’d been teaching in. the program along such luminaries of the field as Chris Payne, Dave Pasalaqua and, of course, Murray himself, who was my best friend, and I saw how transformative the program could be.

On my first day in Dave Pasalaqua’s drawing class Dave came up to me and he said, Vin, you’ve got the best eye of anyone I’ve ever taught, but you’ve forgotten one thing–you’ve forgotten that making art is supposed to be fun. It was like being struck by lightning. In that moment, with that revelation, it brought me back to the memories of the days when I was a kid and couldn’t wait to get home to pick up the brush and start making art again. Dave’s sage remark was spoken to me some 25 years ago.

The down side is that I’ll never be as good an artist as I’d like to be, but now I look at every commission as a new opportunity to try and meet that goal. And I’ve learned to forgive myself for not being perfect.

(4) TOR.COM WILL REBRAND. “Tor.com To Become Reactor, Debut New Site, On January 23rd” the online magazine has announced. And Reactor’s redesigned website will be at this URL: www.reactormag.com on January 23.

Since its founding in 2008, Tor.com has become a leader in coverage of science fiction and fantasy books and popular culture, with over 3 million visits per month. As an online magazine, Tor.com has won countless awards and has been the Locus Award winner for Best Magazine for 7 years running. In addition to its coverage of all things SFF, the site is also home to an award-winning short fiction program, which has published works by Seanan McGuire, E. Lily Yu, N.K. Jemisin, and scores of first-time authors, and which have gone on to win several Hugo Awards, Nebula Awards, and World Fantasy Awards.

The site has been publisher agnostic since its founding, and the new name will reflect its independence from Tor Publishing Group. The short fiction program will continue under the Reactor name, and in addition to the daily commentary on science fiction, fantasy, and related subjects that readers have come to expect, the site will also now cover all aspects of genre, including horror, romance and and more, from a wide range of writers from all corners of the genre world, creating a true pop culture destination.…

(5) BABY YODA, BIGGER THAN EVER. Grogu is getting a movie: “’The Mandalorian & Grogu’ Star Wars Movie Coming From Jon Favreau” reports Variety.

Baby Yoda is headed to the big screen.

Jon Favreau is directing a new “Star Wars” movie, titled “The Mandalorian & Grogu.” It will go into production later this year.

Favreau created the Disney+ series “The Mandalorian,” which follows a helmet-wearing bounty hunter (played by Pedro Pascal) who starts the show on the run to protect a young, adorable alien named Grogu, better known by fans as Baby Yoda. It is unclear where the upcoming film will fit into the timeline of the live-action series, which has aired three seasons and is currently in development on the fourth….

(6) TRACY TORMÉ (1959-2024). TV and film writer Tracy Tormé, son of singer Mel Tormé, died January 4 at the age of 64. The Hollywood Reporter notes he co-created the 1990s series Sliders and was hand-picked by Gene Roddenberry to serve as the head writer on Star Trek: The Next Generation.

…Tormé also was a writer on Saturday Night Live during its eighth season (1982-83); wrote and produced with Travis Walton the fantasy drama film Fire in the Sky (1993), starring D.B. Sweeney and Robert Patrick; and was a consultant on the acclaimed Robert Zemeckis sci-fi drama Contact (1997)….

On the first two seasons (1987-89) of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Tormé wrote the episode “The Big Goodbye,” which went on to receive a Peabody Award — the only episode of any Star Trek series to win one of those — and was instrumental in the use of the Holodeck as the show’s centerpiece. He also served as an executive story editor and creative consultant before departing.

Sliders, which starred Jerry O’Connell, John Rhys-Davies and Cleavant Derricks, revolved around a group of characters who travel (or “slide”) between different Earths in parallel universes. The series, which Tormé created with Robert K. Weiss, ran for five seasons from 1995-2000 on Fox and the Sci-Fi Channel. (He left amid creative differences with network executives during the third season.)…

Tormé also was a writer for the rebooted The Outer Limits in 1998-2002; a writer and producer on the 1992 CBS sci-fi miniseries Intruders, the 2002-04 Showtime sci-fi series Odyssey 5 and the mythological 2003-05 HBO series Carnivàle; and a producer on the 2020 documentary The Phenomenon.

Plus, he wrote the screenplay for Spellbinder (1988), starring Tim Daly and Kelly Preston….

(7) TODAY’S BIRTHDAY.

[Written by Cat Eldridge.]

Born January 9, 1931 — Algis Budrys. (Died 2008.) I usually can’t remember the cover art for a novel I read some fifty years ago but I remember that for Rogue Moon (1960) by Algis Budrys. It was the Equinox / Avon edition of 1974 with the cover illustration by William Maughan I picked up on some newsstand in those days when newsstands still existed and they had SF novels to purchase along with comics and zines such as Amazing and If.  I’ll get nostalgic later…

It was the first work I read by him. It was quite good. I see it was nominated for a Hugo at Seacon, the year A Canticle for Leibowitz won.  It was by no means his first publication as that goes to “The High Purpose” which been printed in Astounding in 1952, the year he started as editor and manager for such publishers as Gnome Press and Galaxy Science Fiction. 

Between 1965 and 1961, he had two short stories, a novelette and two novels nominated for Hugos. None would win.

I’ve read three of his novels in total, the others being Some Will Not Die and Who? Both of them were well worth my reading time as well. I caution that I’ve not re-read any of these in thirty years so I don’t how well the Suck Fairy would react to them now. 

He was extremely prolific with his writing of short stories, penning well over a hundred. I’ve read enough of them to say he had a deft hand at this story length. So after the early Sixties, he wrote far less fiction and worked in publishing, editing, and advertising to make a much better living.  He edited morrow Speculative Fiction magazine from 1993 to 2000. It was nominated for a Hugo at ConAdian and the next year at Intersection. Alas he did not win.

He’s best known I think for his F&SF book columns that ran for almost forty years starting in 1975. I know that I looked forward to them immensely. They’re collected in Benchmarks Continued, Benchmarks Revisited and Benchmarks Concluded. There’s also Benchmarks: Galaxy Bookshelf which collects his columns there. 

And let’s not overlook A Budrys Miscellany: Occasional Writing 1954-2000 which collects some of his fanzine writings.

Algis Budrys. Photo by and (c) Andrew Porter.

(8) HAUL DOWN THE FLAG. This ship is headed for mothballs says Variety: “’Our Flag Means Death’ Canceled After Two Seasons at Max”.

“Our Flag Means Death” has been canceled at Max.

The pirate comedy aired two seasons at the streamer. The series originally debuted in March 2022, with the second season launching in October 2023….

…The series is said to be very loosely based on the real adventures of 18th century pirate Stede Bonnet, played by Darby. The Season 2 logline reads, “After trading the seemingly charmed life of a gentleman for one of a swashbuckling buccaneer, Stede became captain of the pirate ship Revenge. Struggling to earn the respect of his potentially mutinous crew, Stede’s fortunes changed after a fateful run-in with the infamous Captain Blackbeard (Taika Waititi). To their surprise, the wildly different Stede and Blackbeard found more than friendship on the high seas…they found love. Now, they have to survive it.”

(9) INTERPRETING ANCIENT SCULPTURE. Yes. Absolutely.

(10) ASTRA TV AWARDS. Variety brings us another slate of awards: “’The Boys,’ ‘Succession’ Land Most Honors at Astra TV Awards”. The winners of genre interest follow:

BROADCAST / NETWORK AWARDS

Best Actor in a Broadcast Network or Cable Drama Series: Pedro Pascal – The Last of Us (HBO)

Best Actor in a Broadcast Network or Cable Comedy Series: Utkarsh Ambudkar – Ghosts (CBS)

Best Supporting Actress in Broadcast Network or Cable Comedy Series: Danielle Pinnock – Ghosts (CBS)

Best Guest Actor in a Drama Series: Nick Offerman – The Last of Us (HBO)

Best Broadcast Network or Cable Animated Series or Television Movie: South Park (Comedy Central)

Best Casting in a Comedy Series: Ghosts (CBS)

STREAMING PROGRAM AWARDS

Best Supporting Actress in a Streaming Comedy Series (Tie): Ayo Edebiri – The Bear (FX on Hulu) and Christina Ricci – Wednesday (Netflix)

Best Streaming Movie: Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (Roku)

Best Writing in a Streaming Limited Series or TV Movie: Weird: The Al Yankovic Story – Al Yankovic & Eric Appel (Roku)

Best Streaming Drama Series: The Boys (Prime Video)

Best Actor in a Streaming Drama Series: Antony Starr – The Boys (Prime Video)

Best Supporting Actor in a Streaming Drama Series: Jensen Ackles – The Boys (Prime Video)

Best Directing in a Streaming Drama Series: The Boys – Nelson Cragg, Herogasm (Prime Video)

Best Writing in a Streaming Drama Series: Star Trek: Picard – Terry Matalas, The Last Generation (Paramount+)

Best Streaming Animated Series or TV Movie: Attack on Titan (Crunchyroll)

Best Fantasy or Science Fiction Costumes: Wednesday (Netflix)

Best Stunts: The Boys (Prime Video)

Best Casting in a Drama Series: The Boys (Prime Video)

Best Casting in a Limited Series or TV Movie: Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (Roku)

(11) COME ON DOWN. [Item by Mike Kennedy.] Seeking more tourism, Lexington KY has done the equivalent of erecting a huge See Rock City sign on the highway. The highway to the TRAPPIST-1 star system, that is. “Scientists Have Formally Invited Aliens to Visit Kentucky” in Gizmodo.

The city of Lexington, Kentucky, appears so tired of being overlooked by humankind that it has sent a formal invitation to the next-best thing: alien life that may or may not exist in a nearby star system.

It’s a tourism stunt, but the message is very real. The invitation, beamed out last fall via infrared laser toward the TRAPPIST-1 star system, is a project by the Lexington tourism bureau (yeah, we’re sending ads to aliens now). According to VisitLEX, they worked with engineers, linguists, and the FAA to make it happen. The target star is 40 light-years from Earth, which means any extraterrestrials that are eager to visit the self-proclaimed Horse Capital of the World will know they are invited in 2063.

…We don’t know that any life, much less intelligent life, actually exists in the TRAPPIST-1 system. Last year, data from the Webb Space Telescope revealed that TRAPPIST-1b, one of the exoplanets orbiting TRAPPIST 1, has no atmosphere. Because life as we know it needs an atmosphere to survive, that all but confirmed there is no potential for life on TRAPPIST-1b. Webb followed up that discovery with the finding that there is also no atmosphere—or at most, a thin one—on planet TRAPPIST-1c. Luckily for the VisitLEX team, the TRAPPIST system has five other exoplanets that could theoretically host civilizations capable of interpreting their invitation….

(12) ON YOUR SCREENS. JustWatch has shared its December 2023 rankings for film and TV streaming. (Click for larger image.)

[Thanks to Mike Kennedy, Andrew Porter, John King Tarpinian, Chris Barkley, Cat Eldridge, SF Concatenation’s Jonathan Cowie, and Steven French for some of these stories. Title credit belongs to File 770 contributing editor of the day John A Arkansawyer.]

Chicon 8 Art Show Winners

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Elizabeth Klein-Lebbink, Chicon 8 Art Show Director, reports these are the creators who took home awards from the Chicon 8 Art show.

Best in Show: Vincent DiFate, “The Outer Reach”
Best 2D Work: Eric Wilkerson, “Alien Lives Matter”
Best 3D Work: John Douglass, “Green Autoe Tanker”
Director’s Choice AKA Best subversion of art show rules: Lucy Synk, “Strange New Worlds”

Klein-Lebbink explained the story behind the fourth award: “One of the judges, the lead auctioneer and also a good friend of mine (Bob Passovoy) and I were walking through the art show and ran across Lucy Synk’s piece, which was kind of 2.5 dimensional, fun, irreverent, and really really good. Bob promptly dubbed it great for subverting the 2D vs 3D paradigm and we ran with it. Lucy was there as well telling us how much fun she had making it. Humor aside, it was an excellent piece of work and very deserving, and yes it’s a homage to the newest Star Trek series ‘Strange New Worlds’.”

[Thanks to Elizabeth Klein-Lebbink for the story.]

Vincent Di Fate Elected to Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame

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The 2019 inductees to the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame include Hugo winner and past Worldcon guest of honor Vincent Di Fate. Artists are elected by a committee of former Society presidents and illustration historians, chosen for their body of work and the impact it has made on the field of illustration. Joining di Fate in the Hall are contemporary illustrators Roz Chast and Mark Summers, and posthumous honorees Frank Godwin, Mary Petty, and Alice Barber Stephens. The induction ceremony will be June 14 in New York.

About the Recipients: 

Roz Chast’s work has appeared in numerous magazines through the years, including The Village Voice, National Lampoon, Scientific American, Harvard Business Review, Redbook and Mother Jones, but she is most closely associated with The New Yorker. Chast attended the Rhode Island School of Design, where she studied painting. After graduating in 1977 she returned to New York City, where she quickly established her cartooning career. In addition to collections of her New Yorker cartoons, Chast has written and illustrated a range of books. Her latest, Going Into Town: A Love Letter to New York (2017), a personalized travel guide to New York City that began as a going-away present to her

Vincent Di Fate has been an illustrator working in the specialties of science fiction, fantasy and aerospace art since the late 1960s. Di Fate studied at the Phoenix in New York City (later incorporated into the Pratt Institute as the Pratt Manhattan Center) and holds a Master of Arts degree in Illustration from Syracuse University. He is a full professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology (SUNY), a former president of the Society of Illustrators, a Hugo Award winner for Best Professional Art, an inductee of the Science Fiction Hall of Fame (2011), and a recipient of the Distinguished Educator in the Arts Award. Di Fate has also authored four books on illustration and has written approximately 300 articles on various art, science and film-related topics for magazines, books, encyclopedias and museum publications.

Mark Summers has been a full-time freelance illustrator since graduating from the Ontario College of Art in 1978. Author and illustration historian Steven Heller credits Summers “as giving the scratchboard medium a second life.” Mark had initially worked for clients like The New York Times, the Chicago Sun-Times, The Wall Street Journal and many others, but quickly moved into all forms of publication. He has worked for every major magazine, and has contributed work for Rolling Stone, Newsweek, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Sports Illustrated and numerous covers for Time in addition to contributing covers for most of the major publishers in the world. He has also lavishly illustrated volumes of Poe, Dickens, Moby Dick , Gulliver’s Travels as well as writing and illustrating two books of his own. His work is best remembered for his decade long collaboration with Barnes and Noble, where he created the visual persona of their stores, doing portraits of famous authors that decorated their walls. For his work, Mark has received 6 medals and earned the Hamilton King Award from the Society of Illustrators in New York. At last count he had received just over 350 awards at home and globally

Frank Godwin (1889–1959), was an American illustrator and comic strip artist. Born in Washington D.C., Godwin worked as a young man for his father’s paper, The Washington Star. Godwin studied at the Art Students League in NYC. His book illustrations were featured in classic best-sellers Treasure Island, Kidnapped, Robinson Crusoe, Robin Hood and King Arthur. He is most recognized for his comic strips Connie and Rusty Riley. Additionally, he was a prolific editorial and advertising illustrator. A Society of Illustrators vice-president, Godwin was also a member of the National Press Club and the Dutch Treat and Salmagundi clubs.

Mary Petty (1899–1976) was a self-taught, prolific illustrator of books and magazines whose works appeared regularly on the covers of ?The New Yorker. In total, Petty completed 273  drawings and 38 covers for the publication. Her work often depicted the New York elite, centering around the characters of the Peabody family including Mrs. Peabody and her maid, Fay. During her lifetime, Petty exhibited work both nationally and internationally. Today, her art resides in the permanent collection of several prestigious museums including  the Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of the City of New York, and the Wichita Art  Museum. The largest single collection of her work was gifted to Syracuse University by the artist.  

Alice Barber Stephens (1858–1932) was educated at the Philadelphia School of Design for Women (later called Moore College of Art & Design). In 1876, she was one of the first women to be granted admission into the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts where she studied under Thomas Eakins. Her illustration work appeared in Scribner’s Monthly, Harper’s Weekly, and The Ladies Home Journal. Her work was also featured on numerous books for Houghton Mifflin and Crowell publishers, including Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, Mary E. Wilkins’ The People of Our Neighborhood, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Stark Munro Letters, George Eliot’s Middlemarch, and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Marble Faun.

Founded in 1901, the Society of Illustrators and its Museum of Illustration together comprise America’s longest-standing nonprofit organization dedicated to the art of illustration. The mission of SI/MI is to promote the art and appreciation of illustration and its history and evolving nature through exhibitions and educational programs.

[Based on a press release.]

Worldcon Wayback Machine: Friday at MagiCon (1992) Day Two

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INTRODUCTION: Twenty-five years ago today MagiCon began in Orlando, Florida. A great con, and I thought it would be fun to reprint the report I ran in File 770. Here is the second of five daily installments.

The Worldcon was held in the Orange County Convention and Civic Center, The Peabody Hotel, and The Clarion Hotel.

PROGRAMMING: Interview With Vincent Di Fate: Questioned about his career by Joe Siclari and Roger Reed, of Illustration House (a coordinator of the Di Fate retrospective displayed in the Art Show), MagiCon guest of honor Vincent Di Fate continued to dazzle listeners with his historical knowledge, critical perception and capacity for explaining technical art matter to everyday fans in understandable terms.

“It was not my intention to go into art,” insisted Di Fate. “It seemed like every artist I ever talked to was angry about something and I didn’t want to spend my life in the visual arts.”

Attracted by the set design of Rocket Ship X-M, the Disney style and the astronomical art of Chesley Bonestell, Di Fate brought to him profession a great deal of intuitive knowledge about the look of spacecraft and equipment.

Part of MagiCon’s bookmark set, with artwork by Vincent DiFate

Di Fate answered his interviewers so candidly that their open-ended questions about doing art drew responses too sophisticated for listeners to fully comprehend without the translations he supplied. For example: A generic question about his reputation as a hardware artist launched Di Fate on a cryptic commentary: “I have found no market for the exploration of the viscous properties of paint.” Said Di Fate, art directors want the images more sharp and hard-edged, adding dismissively, “but that’s what photographs are for.” He has faith the current standard will ultimately be abandoned. “The artist needs to provide an alternative. There needs to be some room left for viewer participation, imagining what those shapes mean.”

Answering another question, Di Fate observed that artists absorb a sense of how spaceships capable of flying in atmosphere must look from the way Cadillacs are shaped and the design of thousands of other familiar artifacts. Yet if the spaceship never needs to fly in atmosphere it can look like anything. One John Schoenherr black-and-white spaceship in Analog was based on a washing machine agitator; the artist created false details simply by varying his brushstrokes.

Like the stereotyped artist, DiFate has never done a painting that satisfies him. “When paintings leave the studio I utterly loathe and despise them, and loath and despise myself.”

John Young

Keynote Luncheon: The guests of honor and astronaut John Young were presented at a Friday luncheon. Young’s speech, which was repeatedly interrupted by applause, was all the more remarkable given some of the obstacles he overcame. According to Becky Thomson, Delta canceled Young’s Thursday night flight. Mere hours before his talk he reached Orlando as co-pilot of a military plane. Since NASA had not relayed Magicon’s correspondence to Young he didn’t even know he was appearing at a science fiction convention before talking to Thomson. On the ride from the airport Young pored over the Program Book and pocket program — often uttering things like, “Oh, I’ve read that!” Thomson concluded, “By the time he was done he knew more about last year’s Hugo nominees than I do!”

An inspired track of programming recreated panels from the first Worldcon in 1939 — and even fielded one of the original panelists, Sam Moskowitz. Hal Clement gave a contemporary version of “Seeing the Universe”, Vincent DiFate paid tribute to Frank R. Paul’s 1939 talk “SF: The Spirit of Youth,” and after 53 years such panels as “The Changing SF” (this time with Gardner Dozois and Beth Meacham) and “The Fan World of the Future” have become traditional fare.

Rudy Sigmund and Sam Moskowitz at an ERBdom event in 1990.

Sam Moskowitz delivered two talks at the 1939 con, one of them “The Fan World of the Future.” In concept, he was to deliver his original talk again, followed by a discussion between himself, Bruce Pelz, Wilma Meier and myself. By the time SaM got to the con he still hadn’t found his original text: perhaps it had even been extemporaneous. So he began with his own look back at the way fans lived 50 years ago, a series of recollections that enthralled everyone.

In 1939 many fans still didn’t have phones — including the four who organized the first Worldcon. But in those days if Moskowitz mailed a Special Delivery letter by 6 p.m., the other party would get it by 11 if he wasn’t more than 50 miles away, at a cost of 3 cents. Progress isn’t always progress.

Moskowitz’ own Fantasy Times in 1940 was the first offset fanzine. Early fanzines were often reproduced by hektograph: a process in which a typewriter’s impressions on a purple master were transferred to a bed of hekto jelly, and a careful fan could make about 60 readable copies by pressing down one sheet at a time.

Most early fans didn’t own automobiles or travel by plane, but a legendary trek to the 1941 Denvention involved both forms of transportation. Art Widner owned a 20-year-old car that broke down every 15 miles. He and six friends from Boston and New York contributed $10 each for the round trip to Denver. Moskowitz winked, “Needless to say, there was a bit of thievery along the way.” One of the riders, John Bell, became so disgusted with Denvention he made the first recorded fan plane trip — home.

Returning to the topic Moskowitz said they planned to hold a 1939 World’s Fair Convention. The fair had agreed to give them meeting space, and declare it jointly “Science Fiction/Boy Scout Day.” But the fair expected fans to pay admission: three days at 75 cents, $2.25, was out of the question so “fair” was dropped from the name of the event.

They also shortened it to a one-day con because none of the fans could afford a hotel room. Except Jack Williamson put himself up for $1 a night at Sloane House — sort of like a YMHA — an expense befitting his status as a successful author!

During the first Worldcon, fans took the opportunity to visit Coney Island where this foto-op took place: Front: Mark Reinsberg, Jack Agnew, Ross Rocklynne Top: V. Kidwell, Robert A. Madle, Erle Korshak, Ray Bradbury Coney Island, July 4, 1939)

A Talk With Walt Willis: Ted White conducted an interview with fan guest of honor, Walt Willis. It took a moment to pick up Walt’s lilting Irish accent in the room’s bad acoustics — but once anyone did he was likely to keep it! (Later in the weekend Art Widner explained the odd diction of his First Fandom award acceptance speech as the product of listening to James White for hours.)

The health and age of guests Vance and Willis contributed to each man’s decision to be interviewed rather than give a GoH speech. This was certainly a successful choice for Willis who sat surrounded by an audience of fanzine readers who were encyclopedically familiar with his work and offered questions more to express their appreciation than to learn anything new. For example, Moshe Feder recalled, “I embarrassed Walt at Tropicon by saying it was like meeting somebody out of the Bible.” Then Feder asked who Walt admired in fandom. Willis answered that he admired Charles Burbee for his versatility, and Bob Tucker for his faanfiction.

Ted White interviews Walt Willis. Photo by Carol Porter

THE JACK VANCE FESTIVAL OF ALL WORLDS: Answering a call for jugglers, mimes and “balloon zoologists”, fans instigated an indoor street fair Friday night in honor of GoH Jack Vance.

Martin Morse Wooster walked about in an orange and red balloon headdress looking like he’d survived a bungee jump into a vat of giant Life Savers. He called it his idea generator. “I go out and stand in the crowd and ideas come to me.” I agreed, “People passing by will shout them out at you!”

ALTERNATE AWARDS CEREMONY. Guy Gavriel Kay emceed a Friday event set aside for groups who wanted their award announced at a Worldcon. He said, “All these awards show the diversity and scope represented in the field of science fiction.”

Jerry Pournelle at MagiCon. Photo by Lenny Provenzano

The non-Hugo awards ceremony suffered a notorious glitch because Brad Lineaweaver sent Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle to the wrong building.  Together with Michael Flynn, they were to receive the Libertarian Futurist Society’s prize for Best Libertarian Novel of 1991: Fallen Angels. Making the mistake memorable for photographers, Niven and Pournelle later posed driving the award plaque through Lineaweaver’s skull at a 45-degree angle…

  • Electric SF Award (from ClariNet Communications): Geoffrey Landis, “A Walk in the Sun”
  • Prometheus Hall of Fame Award (from the Libertarian Futurist Society): Ira Levin, This Perfect Day
  • Prometheus Award for Best Libertarian SF Novel (from the Libertarian Futurist Society): Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, and Michael Flynn for Fallen Angels
  • Golden Duck Award for Best Children’s SF Book (from DucKon): Bruce Colville’s My Teacher Glows in the Dark
  • Golden Duck Award for Best Children’s SF Picture Book (from DucKon): Claire Ewart (illustrator), Time Train
  • Golden Duck Honorable Mention (from DucKon): Monica Hughes, Invitation to the Game
  • Seiun for Best Foreign Novel in Translation: Charles Sheffield, The McAndrew Chronicles
  • Seiun for Best Foreign Short Story or Novelette in Translation: John Varley, “Tango Charlie and Foxtrot Romeo”

Peabody Hotel. Photo by Carol Porter

PARTIES: The Peabody had been designated the ‘party hotel’ so that hosts would reserve their rooms in a central location. Lloyd and Yvonne Penney brought their 14-year-old niece Nicole with them to the con who discovered the heavy-metal group Metallica was staying on their floor at the Peabody when she met them in the lobby.

Over the weekend the Peabody boasted 10 to 20 open parties each night, plus the invitational receptions held by publishers. Crowds were rationed into the elevator cars a dozen at a time by monitors doing the second-most-thankless worldcon job (emcee of the meet-the-pros being first, of course…)

Counters at the “Slightly Higher In Canada” party said over 1000 fans came through in just one night. That made them better off than the Atlanta in ’95 bid party: I think when the thousand fans got there, they just stayed. Pressing through a solid wall of flesh to enter the party made me so claustrophobic I promptly shoved my way out again. According to Kurt Baty, Atlanta bidders kept a quiet VIP room in the rear of the suite and steered guests like Kelly Freas and Dave Kyle there to comfortable seats and the hospitality of a well-stocked bar.

New Orleans’ favorite son, Joey Grillot, visited the LA in ’96 party. Joey laughed about confusing the hell out of somebody at a party he’d just left when he told him, “I’m going to LA.” The other fan said, “But LA’s in California!” Joey said, “No, it’s up on the ninth floor.” His slower companion asked, “How’d they get it up there?” Joey smiled, “They got everybody out, then folded it up REAL SMALL.”

At another point Joey remembered John Guidry’s announcement to New Orleans fans they had won the 1988 bid. Guidry told them the rules required the committee to do certain things, like present the Hugos. “What’s that?” Joey asked, wondering if he’d heard right. Said Guidry, “That’s the science fiction award we give every year.” Joey was amazed. “John, how’re you gonna get 26 of those Hungarian automobiles in the grand ballroom of the Sheraton?”

CONTINUES: Worldcon Wayback Machine: Saturday at MagiCon (1992) Day Three

Support the Carol and Murray Tinkelman Scholarship Award

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Carol and Murray Tinkelman. Photo courtesy Walt Engels.

Carol and Murray Tinkelman. Photo courtesy Walt Engels.

The YouCaring fundraising appeal for the Society of Illustrators’ Carol and Murray Tinkelman Scholarship Award is backed by famed sf artist Vincent DiFate.

Murray and Carol Tinkelman were virtually inseparable in life and together they influenced and transformed the lives of thousands of young artists, many of whom are among the top illustrators of the day.

Murray was a Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame artist as well as Distinguished Educator of Art. Together, he as Director, and Carol as the Program Administrator, pioneered the development of graduate programs in illustration. These two wonderful human beings made our field better and richer and gave hope to many.   Let’s honor them by funding a continuing scholarship for young illustrators eager to make their mark in the world.

Every year since 1981 the Society of Illustrators has held the Student Scholarship Competition.

In a competition which can kick start a career, students bring their most sophisticated, well-crafted and original work to be tested. A jury of professional peers, including illustrators and art directors, selects the most outstanding works created throughout the year. Pieces are accepted based on the quality of technique, concept and skill of medium used. Scholarship awards are granted to students whose work is deemed the best of the best.  The Tinkelman’s lifelong dedication to the art of illustration and education impacted hundreds of creators. What better way to honor them then to establish a scholarship in their names, continuing their legacy of supporting our future illustrators.

The goal is $5,000, of which $2,495 has been raised as of this writing.

Murray and Carol Tinkelman Pass Away

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Carol and Murray Tinkelman. Photo courtesy Walt Engels.

Carol and Murray Tinkelman. Photo courtesy Walt Engels.

Acclaimed artist Murray Tinkelman (1933-2016) died January 30. He was 82. He was preceded in death by his wife Carol, who died January 16.

Arnie Fenner notes, “Fans might remember him best for his covers for Ballantine’s Lovecraft paperbacks in the late 1970s. Murray also did the covers for the hardcover and paperback Brunner’s The Sheep Look Up, Haldeman’s The Forever War, and others.”

Leading sf artist Vincent DiFate, a former President of the Society of Illustrators, describes the unique style of those covers:

In the 1960’s for example, he formulated an interesting method that applied colored inks and dyes to drawings rendered exclusively in line. Using this technique, Tinkelman almost single-handedly revolutionized the horror genre a decade later when his work began appearing on the covers of del Rey’s mass-market editions of books by noted horror author H. P. Lovecraft.

Since the artist used an open crosshatch technique, his illustrations appeared light in tone, reminiscent of an old photograph that had faded with time. Contrasted with the fully rendered paintings of other paperback artists, Tinkelman’s drawings looked so unlike traditional book cover art that they had an immediate and significant impact. In the case of the Lovecraft books, especially, which had been repackaged dozens of times before with the most dire and morbid of cover illustrations, Tinkelman’s airy, often whimsical visions lightened the look of those books and no doubt helped to introduce them to an entirely new audience of readers.”

Carol Tinkelman was Murray’s partner in his art studio from its inception in 1957. The Norman Rockwell Museum’s tribute credited her work on its behalf, and the couple’s generosity:

“Carol was a driving force behind Norman Rockwell Museum’s illustration collecting mission, and her passion was to help the Museum build its collection of original illustration art,” notes Museum Deputy Director/Chief Curator, Stephanie Haboush Plunkett. “She and Murray donated from their own collections extensively, and invited other artists to do so as well. Carol will be greatly missed. Her spirit was infectious and she truly loved the Museum and its work.”

Murray Tinkelman’s illustrations appeared in Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times, and The Washington Post. The National Park Service commissioned him to do drawings and paintings of National Parks and Monuments. He was an artist-reporter on several U.S. Air Force missions.

He had a one-man exhibit of his baseball art at The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown in 1994. He also exhibited at The United States Sports Academy in Alabama, which named him the 1995 Sports Artist of the Year.

His work is represented in the permanent collections of the Brooklyn Museum, the Delaware Art Museum, the International Photography Hall of Fame & Museum, and the New Britain Museum of American Art.

In 1956, Tinkelman joined the celebrated Charles E. Cooper Studio and remained there until its disbanding, some eight years later. From the mid-1960s on, he became fully freelance and pursued simultaneous careers in illustration and as a painter of abstract expressionist artworks. In 1970, was named Artist of the Year by the Artists Guild of New York for his work as an illustrator.

He also enjoyed a reputation as a great teacher. In the late 1960s he joined the faculty at the Parsons School of Design and, as its Associate Chairperson. He later taught at Syracuse University, in its undergraduate and graduate programs. He received the 2001 Syracuse University Faculty Service Citation. He also was named the recipient of the 1999 Distinguished Educator in the Arts award from the Society of Illustrators in New York, the second living artist/educator to be so honored.

In the spring of 2013, Tinkelman he received an honorary doctorate from Ferris University’s Kendall College of Art in Grand Rapids, MI, and was inducted to the Society of Illustrators’ Hall of Fame.

[Thanks to Arnie Fenner and Andrew Porter for the story.]

Ellison’s Health Overshadows
Hall of Fame Induction

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Harlan Ellison will be inducted into the SF Hall of Fame tomorrow, June 25. Neil Gaiman will accept on his behalf. Ellison had not been expected to attend, however, a new CNN report says the reasons are dire:

Ellison, who had been extremely ill for several months, said in a telephone interview that he’s in the “last stages of something.”

“And I don’t have a cold,” he sarcastically noted.

Editor Gardner Dozois and artists Vincent Di Fate and Jean “Moebius” Giraud are also being inducted.

[Thanks to Andrew Porter for the story.]

Ellison Added to SF Hall of Fame

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For Harlan Ellison it never rains but it pours. Lucky for him it’s raining honors this week.

He learned from the Science Fiction Museum in Seattle that he’ll be inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame this June.

His editor at IDW greeted him with the news that his hardcover graphic book Phoenix Without Ashes entered the New York Times Bestseller List at #6 in its first week of publication – Harlan’s first-ever appearance on that list.

And the Encyclopaedia Britannica has created an entry about him. According to Harlan, “I am right next to Ralph Ellison, just following Ellis Island. What a wonderful thing.” Call it a story of requited love. Harlan has been irresistibly attracted to the encyclopedia since he was a kid.

When he accepted the 1970 Forry Award Harlan told those of us at the banquet about his times as a young fan in Cleveland. Harlan joined the first local sf club (Andre Norton was also a member). He started collecting. Then… “I went into the phase I called ‘liberating’ volumes from my high school library. I stole the first 23 volumes of the Encyclopaedia Britannica. They never suspected a thing. But then I got greedy, and they finally caught me when I tried to stuff both the Index and the World Gazetteer under my jacket…” So now the circle has closed in a way his high school librarian would not have predicted. It’s a well-deserved accolade.

Locus reports that the full list of 2011 inductees to the Science Fiction Hall of Fame includes Ellison, Vincent Di Fate, Moebius, and Gardner Dozois.

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame was founded in 1996 by the Kansas City Science Fiction and Fantasy Society (KCSFFS) in conjunction with the J. Wayne and Elsie M. Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas. Four individuals are added each year, chosen on the basis of their continued excellence and long-time contribution to the science fiction field.