The Journey Planet team is busy at the moment and has put out a call for contributions for three issues currently being worked on.
LOCAL MUSEUMS
Steven H Silver has been working with the team on an issue about Museums. They have invited fans to reflect on their local museums, museums they love, and seek out the unusual and different, from BatCat in Bangkok to The Little Museum of Dublin. We would like fans to share their local knowledge, to think about their favorite local-to-them museum. We would ask you to share what makes it special, why do you like to visit it, and what it is that gives you that sense of wonderment and excitement and also why you hope others would love it.
Photographs illustrating the museums are very welcome, we know that this can really help, we’re looking for short articles, around 750 words.
The deadline for submissions is March 31.
GIANT SIZE X-MEN
Brenda Noiseux and David Ferguson join the Journey Planet team for an issue looking at Giant Sized X-Men, which was released in 1975. This comic rebooted the X-men and marked a change to the members of the team, bringing the series into the 70s where some of the most poignant stories were told and internationalized the team.
Articles, art, commentary, viewpoints are all very welcome on the comic itself, the characters it introduced and brought together, as well as the initial run of comics up to the Dark Phoenix Saga which began in Uncanny X-Men #129. We welcome hearing from contributors who have a fresh angle or perspective and crafters who wish to create art related to the comic.
The deadline for the Giant Size X-men anniversary issue is 3rd of May, a day that comic fans will be enjoying, with a release in May.
ANDOR II
Allison Hartman Adams also joins Chris Garcia and James Bacon as they explore the forthcoming Andor II season.
Andor Season II has 12 episodes. These will be released three episodes at a time: every Tuesday, beginning on April 22, and then following on April 29, May 6, and May 13.
Journey Planet #65: Rogue One co-edited with Alissa Wales looked at Rogue One with thoughtfulness and affection and then
Journey Planet #69: Andor (Season 1) co-edited by Erin Underwood and John Coxon, proved very popular as fans reflected on the first season of Andor.
The opportunity presents itself now to answer questions: What do you hope for? What do you think will happen? And then, did Season 2 meet expectations?
We have other questions for you to consider as part of our “Instant Fanzine section,” so send us your answers and ideas.
As you enjoy the series, you can write as you go, gathering emotions and feelings and reflections, with a week to cogitate (and even rewatch the full season) and share your views, thoughts, opinions through the fanzine.
Finding an unusual angle is welcome, as is crafting something that ties in with the series. James will definitely be looking for connections to aspects of Irish Rebellion, and so we welcome you contacting us with your ideas.
Let us know if you’d like to be involved; we have a deadline of the 20th May.
The Journey Planet team is back with the second installment of their look at Bram Stoker’s Dracula. There was so much interest in this topic that they received enough contributions to fill two full issues.
Issue 87 — “Mina – Dracula’s Destroyer” — commemorates Bram Stoker’s birthday. Allison Hartman Adams joins Chris Garcia and James Bacon again to do a deeper dive into the text and works of fiction, art, and comics Dracula has inspired.
In “Train Fiend” James looks at the railway connections to Bram Stoker and the railway aspects in the novel, comparing the train movements and times in the novel to timetables of the day, seeking to pinpoint where and when Bram Stoker based these journeys.
Dracula-related comics and movies have a strong presence here as well: Kim Newman’s review of Batman/Dracula; Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill’s The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen from David Ferguson; Dracula Lives from Rob Kirby; Batman and Vampires from James Bacon, and Alberto Breccia’s “I Was Legend” from Jim O’Brien.
In “Molested, Murdered, Maligned: In Defense of ‘Poor Dear Lucy’”, Allison challenges the dreadful treatment Lucy has received at Dracula scholars’ hands over the years.
Allison also considers and reflects on the character of Mina in relation to why she writes, and takes a nerdy wander in “Dracula By the Numbers.”
In “Dracula: Then and Now,” James sets out from Budapest to the Borgo Pass by train, reflecting on the changes and sharing his experience and journey through Hungary and Romania.
With stunning front and back covers by Iain Clark, the issue is beautifully bound.
Allison Hartman Adams joins James Bacon and Chris Garcia in a wide-reaching look at everyone’s favorite Count and his nemeses in Journey Planet #86 – “Dracula Fiend & Foe”, available here.
They examine the enduring legacy of Bram Stoker’s novel, just in time for Samhain, as the evenings draw darker and the chill in the air mixes with the beautiful colors of the decaying falling leaves.
This issue takes a look at a plethora of aspects, including the wide variety of art and culture that represent Dracula, starting with a consideration of the cultural transformations of Dracula as an icon. The contributors present many perspectives, from poetry about Bela Lugosi, to the costumes of Coppola’s Dracula.
The literary aspects are also important, and include a look at Bram Stoker’s Notes and the Rosenbach Museum, as well as why we need to stop calling it ‘Carfax Abbey.’
The issue features a number of interviews, including Dacre Stoker (Bram Stoker’s great grand-nephew), Tucker Christine (editor of Dracula Beyond Stoker) and Karim Kronfli (Re: Dracula voice actor).
Also included are radio plays, comic book interpretations, an essay on vampires in East Asia, and even Dracula recipes.
There was so much enthusiasm for this issue that the matter of Dracula and Mina will be split across two issues. A second issue, Journey Planet #87 “Mina – Dracula’s Destroyer,” will be released November 6, the final date in Stoker’s novel.
Dracula has permeated our culture, and one can see how relevant Stoker’s works continue to be with the recent rediscovery of the long-lost Stoker short story, “Gibbet Hill” receiving worldwide attention.
The Journey Planet team are all massive Dracula fans, as you’ll see from these pages. They hope that you’ll discover new versions of your favorite characters in this issue.
Table of Contents
Fiendish Love: Editor’s Note by Allison Hartman Adams
Man, Wolf, Bat, Monster…Icon: The Cultural Transformations of Dracula by Josh Gauthier
Dracula Movie Posters by Chris Garcia
“Bela Lugosi” by Chuck Serface
“Much to Learn from Beasts:” the Costumes of Coppola’s Dracula by Hannah Strom-Martin
Myths and Mental Health: Journey Planet Interviews Author Dacre Stoker
Eating Molecules With a Pair of Chopsticks: (Mortal) Food in Dracula by Amos Dunlap
Stoker’s Gothic Heroine by Allison Hartman Adams
The Last Voyage of the Demeter – Movie Review by Erin Underwood
Sherlock Holmes v Dracula, A Play for Radio: Review by James Bacon
Interview with a Vampire an Actor by Helena Nash
“Like a Bolt From the Blue” – Bram Stoker’s Notes & the Rosenbach Museum by Allison Hartman Adams
Dracula Beyond Stoker: Celebrating and Continuing the Legacy of Bram Stoker’s Novel by Editor Tucker Christine
Dracula Beyond Stoker: Review by Chuck Serface
Vampires in East Asia: A Evolution of Occidentalism by Arthur Liu
Fiends of the Eastern Front: Review by James Bacon
Tomb of Dracula – A Reader’s Guide by Helena Nash and Chuck Serface
Please Stop Calling It Carfax Abbey: A Fan Rant by Allison Hartman Adams
Dracula 2000 Review by Sarah G. Vincent
Transylvanian Tabletop – 7TV: Dracula by Helena Nash
Joining the Journey Planet team this issue is David Ferguson who has co-edited an issue specifically focused on an LGBTQ topic: LGBTQ comics.
David said, “Journey Planet is a fanzine that has always been an ally of the LGBTQ community, featuring various articles covering queer characters, books, and more, and I enjoyed helping bring this issue to life.”
David continued “For years, I worked on the website Irish Comic News, which covered the work of Irish creators and creators based in Ireland, and I developed long lasting friendships with the creators in the Irish comic community. It was, and still is, a very welcoming group of people who care about equality and promoting their fellow creators, including queer creators. So when I was asked to help edit the Journey Planet issue on LGBTQ comics, I immediately reached out to Irish creators, specifically queer creators, to contribute to the magazine. I was delighted with the response.”
“We had no set idea of what the issue would be when we started and. Through my interaction with creators, it organically morphed into an issue where creators talked about creating queer work in comics. We have a wonderful bunch of contributors, some of whom I have written about before for the website of Gay Community News. This includes Anna Fitzpatrick (Alien Heart) and Clare Foley (Forbidden Altars), who wrote pieces about their comic creations. I interviewed artist Cian Tormey (Alan Scott: Green Lantern) and writer / artist Luke Healy (Self-Esteem And The End Of The World). I reached further afield and brought in Welsh creator Joe Glass (The Pride) and interviewed Steve Orlando (Marauders, Scarlet Witch). There are lots more. So many creators with different insights into queer comics. I am grateful to so many people for taking the time to write a piece or answer questions.”
Supplementary image – The Music on the Hill (Clare Foley)
David noted, “I also have to give a lot of credit to my co-editors and the whole team. So many previous co-editors are huge allies of the LGBTQ community. I’d also like to thank James Bacon, who motivated me and whose energy helped push the issue forward. James’ thorough research and engagement also provided multiple articles about the history of queer comics, a journey of discovery for him that I think people will really enjoy. There were characters I’d never heard of, and looking at the history and reading about advocates for queer comics in the eighties was inspiring.”
James added, “We hope this issue shines a light on LGBTQ comics, both historical and importantly of the moment, and on the wonderful creatives involved and the stories. We hope this issue motivates people to seek out comics and creators.”
David finished by saying, “I hope people enjoy the issue. We are already thinking of more queer topics to cover in future issues of Journey Planet and are open to ideas on the subject.”
James Bacon is one of many whose works are published in two books launched today at the James Joyce Centre in Dublin. Flann O’Brien and the Nonhuman, from Cork University Press; edited by Katherine Ebury, Paul Fagan and John Greaney; and Finnegans Wake – Human and Nonhuman Histories from Edinburgh University Press; edited by Richard Barlow and Paul Fagan.
Irish writer Brian O’Nolan wrote under many pen names including Myles na gCopaleen and Flann O’Brien. James Bacon’s 7000-word chapter “For Steam Men, Myles na gCopaleen and Irish Rail” was published in the Flann O’Brien book, but the piece has had an interesting origin.
James Bacon
It started off in 2018 as “Off the Rails – Flann on Track,” an essay in in Journey Planet #43, the Flann O’Brien issue, co-edited with Christopher J Garcia, Michael Carroll, and Pádraig Ó Méalóid.
“From there, with encouragement from Pádraig and others, I took the step of expanding the piece, and developing it into a paper. Robert Cogger, a rail communications officer, David John Adams, a freight driver who also drove steam trains, both supported with contemporary and expert views of Flann O’Brien’s work.”
Work continued. O’Brien featured the railways in a variety of ways: the fictional with “John Duffy’s Brother,” where a clerk having a mental health moment takes solace in “becoming” a train, chuffing about the office; the partially fictional with “A Bash In the Tunnel,” which formed part of an editorial to a literary magazine, The Bell, when Myles na gCopaleen guest-edited a special issue on Joyce; again writing as Myles na gCopaleen, O’Brien’s satirical yet incisive reflection of reality through dozens of humorous articles for The Irish Times column, “An Cruiskeen Lawn,” which challenged the powers that be and advocated for the railways; to his script of TV comedy O’Dea’s your Man episode “Fresh Air,” set in a railway station signal box, featuring Jimmy O’Dea and David Kelly.
There is so much to draw upon. O’Brien wrote over 4000 columns for The Irish Times, in which he took the rail companies to task on a number of occasions, to such a degree that, at one stage, he raised the rail companies’ ire so much that a supplier demanded an apology from The Irish Times.
In 2019, James presented his paper “Off the rails: Flann an expert community advocate for rail transport” at Palimpsest: The V International Flann O’Brien Conference at University College Dublin. Before Covid, there had been a call for essays, and James was delighted when an expansion of his paper was welcomed.
“Researching during Covid was a personal relief to the realities of heading into Paddington to drive trains during a time of such fear. The isolation in the spring and early summer of 2020, allowed for much work, and like the trains, the post flowed as support came from many quarters. My writing grew, as I came to understand more as I engaged with a series of experts, including fellow train driver Noel Playfair of the NIR who drove steam trains for the RPSI and was the last person to drive the Slieve Gullion, a steam train which Myles na gCopaleen wrote about. Nelson Poots in the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland also proved hugely helpful, while the resources of the Irish Railway Record Society were made available thanks to Gerald Beesley and the loan of HCA Beaumont Archive materials from Johnathan Beaumont. It was a busy time.
“The expanded work was ginormous, and too much. Indeed an early draft exceeded 12,000 words. From this though, with the support of the patient editors, the work was edited down to about 7000 words for this publication, which I’m delighted to say has been well received so far.”
Paul Fagan at the lecternCatherine Ebury at the lecternMeg MacDonald, James’ Mom, James Bacon, and Marguerite SmithJames Joyce Center
The editors’ introduction notes:
“James Bacon explores O’Nolan’s interactions with trains and railways in his persona as the ‘steam man’ Myles na gCopaleen. As a working train driver himself, James demonstrates from a historicist and practitioner’s perspective how an appreciation of O’Nolan’s deep and broad knowledge of the railways, stations and institutions of Ireland – and, indeed, his professional-level technical, mechanical and operational understanding of and interest in the trains themselves – is crucial to understanding the specifics of his interconnected political, economic and ecological critiques of the Irish state. While previous critics have read the railway imagery in O’Nolan’s fiction in terms of literary allusion and metaphor, this essay historicises key columns from Cruiskeen Lawn in which O’Nolan’s real expertise in Irish rail is key to his engagement with a diversity of interconnected themes ranging from war and natural resources to language politics and modernisation. Whether presenting fantastic, cyborgian images of human-train hybrids or flaunting his local and insider knowledge to bolster his polemics in the daily paper, James shows us how O’Nolan’s interventions are always supported by a real and detailed knowledge of the underlying technical and operational details that shaped debate, as he promotes good practice and progression with evident affinity and respect for the machines themselves.”
“I keep laughing at my title,” says James, “as ‘The Steam Man’ is a method for Flann to either insert himself into the narrative as an expert, claiming footplate experience, or to create a humourous situation with the Steam Man, an archetypal older train fan, who is possibly an operator of old, but maybe just nerdy and needy. The Steam Man has a nugget of expertise but often lectures the Train Drivers annoyingly, and always knows best…and who is a piece of writing for, if not the author themselves.”
“There is an agility to how Flann uses language and monikers to suit the argument, and I think that could be a chapter on its own. But I laugh hard, because I think of the Steam Men in Fandom: a danger and concern to either powers that be or the community of hard working expert practitioners.”
“Thanks must go to Gerald Beesley, editor of the Irish Railway Record Society Journal, Paul McCann and Nigel Poots (sadly since passed) of the Railway Preservation Society, Jonathan Beaumont for access to the HCA Beaumont archive, and David John Adams for insight from his steam engine days. Much thanks also to Pádraig Ó Méalóid for continuous encouragement, assistance, other verbs and support. The essay is dedicated to: Robert Cogger, formerly of Railway Communications at Thameslink and Chiltern Railways, who departed for the final time December 2019; to Noel Playfair who passed away in 2023, leaving a huge gap in the cab and on the footplate of NIR and the RPSI; and to John Wyse Jackson of Zozimus Bookshop whom we, who love Myles, will miss. All of whom were generous with patience, their time and understanding, (“repeat back”) and helping me to gain a clear comprehension of challenging matters during a challenging time.”
Journey Planet continues to strive to bring new writing to a broader audience, and while James was in Dublin for the book launch, the final articles for a “LGBTQ+ and Comics” issue with co-editor David Ferguson were being finalized. The issue is due out next week.
James also conducted research at the National Library of Ireland on aspects relating to Bram Stoker’s Dracula, looking at early critique of the work and staying with the railway connection for a continually-expanding article by James entitled “Train Fiend” due to appear in the forthcoming Journey Planet issue on Dracula, due out on the 6th of November.
James’s chapter, “For Steam Men, Myles na gCopaleen and Irish Rail,” is available in Flann O’Brien and the Nonhuman from Cork University Press; edited by Katherine Ebury, Paul Fagan and John Greaney.
Journey Planet #44 “Flann O’Brien” is available here.
(1) THE LAST DANGEROUS VISIONS SPOTTED IN THE WILD. Harlan Ellison’s The Last Dangerous Visions exists! It has started arriving in customers’ mailboxes. Although the book’s official release date is October 1, Jon C. Manzo told the Harlan Ellison Facebook Fan Club his copy came on Friday.
Overhead, without any fuss, the stars were going out…
(2) COVID CONCERN. John Wiswell has canceled plans to attend World Fantasy Con next month over dissatisfaction with the convention’s Covid policy, an announcement that elicited responses in social media from several other writers who have made the same decision about WFC.
Sad to say I'm cancelling my trip to World Fantasy. They asked me to be on disability panels, but ignored months of my pleas for a real COVID policy. Every recent major con has been a spreader.
Many disabled attendees wrote to WFC with concern.
I won’t almost call it historic — I will call it historic. Because it’s the only episode since this podcast began during which you’ll hear me chat with a creator while we eat a flavor of ice cream inspired by their latest book — in this case, Sarah Pinsker’s Haunt Sweet Home — created by the Baltimore ice cream experts at The Charmery.
… The flavor launched on Friday the 13th, and we met at The Charmery yesterday for a taste of that book-inspired ice cream, where we discussed the sculpture she saw at the American Visionary Art Museum which planted a seed for Haunt Sweet Home, the origin of the ice cream collaboration, how she knew her idea was meant to be a novella and not a novel, why she prefers writing books without a contract, how multiple ideas coalesced into one, the narrative purpose of telling a story via multiple formats, how to know a character who doesn’t know themselves, why you can’t tell from the end product whether a piece of fiction was plotted or pantsed, Kelly Robson’s theory about the Han Solo/Luke Skywalker dichotomy and what it means for creating interesting characters, why she’s a fan of making promises in the early paragraphs of her stories, whether our families understand what we’re writing about when we write about families, and much more.
The other week, author George R.R. Martin did something surprising: writing on his Not a Blog, he publicly criticized HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel show House of the Dragon, which is based on his book Fire & Blood. He dinged the show for changing things from the source material in a way that weakened the story, and warned that there were bigger, “more toxic” changes being contemplated for future seasons of the show.
Martin never did anything like this during the nine years that Game of Thrones (which is based on his book series A Song of Ice and Fire) was running on HBO, so the changes that House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal made from his book obviously upset him. We the fans had inklings that something was bothering Martin before he went public, but I certainly wasn’t expecting him to be so up front about it….
(5) JOURNEY PLANET CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS. Sarah Gulde and Chuck Serface are co-editing an upcoming issue of Journey Planet about friendships in science fiction and fantasy. You could approach this topic in several ways:
Famous friendships from science-fiction and fantasy literature, comics, films, or television. Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamjee, Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser, Spock and James T. Kirk, Captain Marvel and Spider-Woman (or She-Hulk), Dana Scully and Fox Mulder, and Katniss Everdeen and Rue come to mind.
Friendships among writers, artists, and other professionals within the genre. The Inklings and other writing or artistic fellowships would fit here.
Friendships between fans. Who are your favorite people to see at conventions? Dare I mention the Futurians or the Greater New York Science Fiction Club? What about your local clubs or associations?
Friendships take many forms, so we accept broad interpretations expressed in fiction, personal essays, art, reviews, whatever we can publish in a fanzine format. Please send your submissions to Sarah Gulde at sarahmiyoko@gmail.com or Chuck Serface at ceserface@gmail.com by November 15, 2024.
One Sunday night in September 1984, between championship darts and the news with Jan Leeming, the BBC broadcast one of its bravest, most devastating commissions. This was Threads, a two-hour documentary-style drama exploring a hypothetical event deeply feared at the time and also somehow unthinkable: what would happen if a nuclear bomb dropped on a British city….
…The BBC has shown Threads only three times to date: in 1984; in August of the following year, to mark the 40th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; and as part of a cold war special on BBC Four in 2003. Another – timely – showing is planned for October. When I watched the film at the end of the 20th century, Threads felt like a piece of history. Today, in a world of conflict in Russia, China and the Middle East, and expanding nuclear capabilities, it no longer does….
… For Jackson, the message of Threads comes down to something very simple: trusting people with the truth. “That’s what I wanted to get across,” he says. “That there’s no going back, that this happens. You can’t go back and press replay.”
But with a film you can. This month, Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov hinted at his country’s intention to change its stance on the use of nuclear weapons “connected with the escalation course of our western adversaries”. The UK and the US recently enhanced their nuclear cooperation pact. Threads airs on BBC Four next month. Be brave for two hours, and then continue the conversation.
(7) MEMORY LANE.
[Written by Cat Eldridge.]
Anniversary: September 15, 1991: Eerie, Indiana
You remember Joe Dante, who has served us such treats as the Gremlin films, a segment of the Twilight Zone: The Movie (“It’s A Good Life”) and, errr, Looney Tunes: Back in Action? (I’ll forgive him for that because he’s a consultant on HBO Max prequel series Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai. Anyone seen the latter?)
Dante also was the creative consultant and director on a weird little horror SF series thirty-three years ago on NBC called Eerie, Indiana. Yes, delightfully weird. It was created by José Rivera and Karl Schaefer. For both it would be their first genre undertaking, though they would have a starry future, their work including Eureka, that a favorite of mine until the debacle of the last season, Goosebumps, The Jungle Book: Mowgli’s Story and Strange Luck to name but a few genre series that they’d work on in a major capacity.
SPOILER ALERT! REALLY I’M SERIOUS, GO AWAY
Hardly anyone there is normal. Or even possibly of this time and space. We have super intelligent canines bent on global domination, a man who might be the Ahab, and, in this reality, Elvis never died, and Bigfoot is fond of the forest around this small town.
There’s even an actor doomed to keep playing the same role over and over and over again, that of a mummy. They break the fourth wall and get him into a much happier film. Tony Jay played this actor.
Yes, they broke the fourth wall. That would happen again in a major way that I won’t detail here.
END SPOILER ALERT. YOU CAN COME BACK NOW.
It lasted but nineteen episodes as ratings were very poor.
Critics loved it. I’m quoting only one due to its length: “Scripted by Karl Schaefer and José Rivera with smart, sharp insights; slyly directed by feature film helmsman Joe Dante; and given edgy life by the show’s winning cast, Eerie, Indiana shapes up as one of the fall season’s standouts, a newcomer that has the fresh, bracing look of Edward Scissorhands and scores as a clever, wry presentation well worth watching.”
It won’t surprise you that at Rotten Tomatoes, that audience reviewers give it a rating of ninety-two percent. It is streaming on Amazon Prime, Disney+ and legally on YouTube. Yes, legally on the latter.
(8) COMICS SECTION.
Alley-Oop demonstrates when not to ask about the worst thing that can happen.
Shortly after winning her third Olympic gold medal at the Paris Games last month, out New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart (or “Stewie,” as she is affectionately known by WNBA fans) announced a new signature shoe. The Stewie 3, created in partnership with Puma, is inspired by the Harry Potter films and features design details, like the “Deathly Hallows” symbol, that reference the Potter-verse. Almost immediately, the comments sections of official social media posts promoting the shoe were filled with fans voicing their disappointment that Stewart, one of the league’s highest-profile players and an outspoken trans ally, would be tied to one of the world’s most vocal antagonists of trans people.
The timing of the shoe drop has particularly upset Stewie’s queer and trans fans, considering it comes on the heels of Rowling being named in a cyberbullying lawsuit filed by Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, who alleges that the Harry Potter author, Elon Musk, and other public figures took part in a “massive” harassment campaign that labeled her a “biological male.”
While fanbacklashes to Harry Potter products are almost de rigueur at this point, this particular Potter collab hits harder because of who Stewart is and what the league means to its many LGBTQ+ enthusiasts. The WNBA itself is considered one of the safest and most affirming leagues for queer and trans crowds. Over 25% of the players in the league, including Stewart, are out as LGBTQ+ and the WNBA was the first professional league in the U.S. to officially recognize Pride….
…One of the questions fans like McKenzie want answers to is how a product celebrating Harry Potter and benefiting J.K. Rowling makes sense as a collaboration between an out pro-trans athlete and a company that has demonstrated support for LGBTQ+ people. (Neither Puma nor representatives for Stewart responded to multiple requests for comment.)…
(10) THEY’VE GOT THE GOODS. If you’re interested in Star Wars figure collecting, there’s a large photo gallery of the offerings unveiled here: “Hasbro Pulse Con 2024 – Star Wars Panel Recap” at The Toyark.
The Star Wars panel just wrapped up over on Hasbro Pulse Con 2024. New figures were shown for The Vintage Collection and Black Series from multiple eras. A couple that stood out to me was a refresh of Black Series A New Hope Luke and Leia, which have all new sculpts and no soft goods. Read on to check out details and pics from the stream. Pre-Orders for most go live at 5 PM for the general public!
(11) STAR TREK, 1-YEAR BARGAIN MISSION. [Item by Daniel Dern.] ParamountPlus.com (lotsa Star Trek, if nothing else)(also Daily Show and Stephen Colbert, of course) is offering a year for half price (so $29.99 for with-ads, or $59.99 with “No ads except live TV & a few shows, and SHOWTIME originals & movies”).
Coupon name/ID (in case you need it): Coupon: fall50 (for “50% off”)
You can’t do this as a “renew” — at least not thru the web site, possibly via their phone people.
Our similarly-priced sale year just ended yesterday, so (having deliberately cancelled a few days ago so it didn’t autorenew at full price), I just signed up (for the cheapskate-with-ads, dunno if it’s too late to call and splurge the upgrade).
(Note: If you already have a ParamountPlus account, you don’t have to create a new account; your existing account persists if/when your subscription ends.)
A SpaceX capsule carrying four private citizens splashed down off Florida at 3:36 a.m. ET Sunday, ending a historic mission that included the world’s first all-civilian spacewalk.
Billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, retired Air Force Lt. Col. Scott “Kidd” Poteet and SpaceX engineers Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon returned to Earth in a Crew Dragon capsule, splashing down off Dry Tortugas, Florida, in the Gulf of Mexico….
…It was also the company’s [SpaceX’s] most ambitious expedition, as the crew members and their spacecraft executed several risky maneuvers.
Chief among them was the all-civilian spacewalk Thursday. Isaacman and Gillis exited the Dragon capsule on a tether, each spending around 10 minutes out in the vacuum of space. The duo spent the spacewalk conducting mobility tests in their newly designed spacesuits.
The outing was a risky undertaking, because the Dragon capsule does not have a pressurized airlock. That meant that all four members of the Polaris Dawn mission wore spacesuits during the spacewalk and that the entire capsule was depressurized to vacuum conditions….
…In an interview, David Newell, who played deliveryman Mr. McFeely on Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, went into more detail about what Michael Keaton did on the show. According to Newell, Keaton worked on the floor crew. Because of this job, Keaton ran the trolley that went through Mr. Rogers’ living room. If you’re watching any mid to late ’70s episodes, and you see the trolley come through the hole in the wall, that’s the man who would become Beetlejuice flipping the switch to make the trolley move. Keaton also helped build the sets and take them down before and after shooting an episode….
Marine fossils dating back to as early as 8.7m years ago have been uncovered beneath a south Los Angeles high school.
On Friday, the Los Angeles Times reported that researchers had discovered two sites on the campus of San Pedro high school under which fossils including those of a saber-toothed salmon and a megalodon, the gigantic prehistoric shark, were buried.
According to the outlet, the two sites where the fossils were found include an 8.7m-year-old bone bed from the Miocene era and a 120,000-year-old shell bed from the Pleistocene era.
The discoveries were made between June 2022 and July 2024, LAist reports….
(15) WOLVES OF YELLOWSTONE. [Item by Jeffrey Smith.] Balanced Ecology — not particularly sfnal, but certainly adjacent. What happened to Yellowstone National Park when (a) wolves were removed and (b) when they were returned. Very instructive as to what one change can make to an ecosystem. A fascinating read. “Friday Night Soother – Digby’s Hullabaloo” at Digby’s Blog.
…In 1995, something really exciting happened in the nation’s first national park, Yellowstone. 41 wild wolves are reintroduced here by scientists. After 100 years of being hunted, wolves could once again call this place home.
The wolves thrived, but something else very surprising happened. Their return had a spectacular effect on the landscape, an effect that spread wider than anyone thought possible. So how did this all happen?…
(16) AUTUMN CONCATENATION NOW ONLINE. [Item by SF Concatenation’s Jonathan Cowie.] The SF² Concatenation has just posted its northern hemisphere academic autumnal issue. The contents are:
v34(5) 2024.4.15 — New Columns & Articles for the Summer 2024
How common are exo-Earths with water? – Jonathan Cowie Is the lack of watery, inner rocky planets an early Fermi filter? New science sheds possible light.
Ten years ago exactly. One from the archives: My 25 years of Eurocons & ESFS – Roberto Quaglia After a decade as the European SF Society’s Vice-Chair, Roberto reflects on a quarter of a century of Eurocons.
Twenty years ago exactly. One from the archives: Robert Sheckley interviewed The SFWA Author Emeritus reveals his influences, format preferences, idea sources and comments on working collaboratively.
And scrolling further down there are loads of fiction as well as a few non-fiction SF and pop science book reviews. Accessible at www.concatenation.org.
Splundig.
[Thanks to Steven French, Kathy Sullivan, Teddy Harvia, Mike Kennedy, Jeffrey Smith, Chuck Serface, Daniel Dern, Andrew Porter, John King Tarpinian, Chris Barkley, Cat Eldridge, and SF Concatenation’s Jonathan Cowie for some of these stories. Title credit belongs to File 770 contributing editor of the day Daniel Dern.]
(1) RING TIME. Robin Anne Reid’s newsletter Writing from Ithilien offers a collection of links to interesting discussions of the Rings of Power series in“The Vibes Around ‘Tolkien’”.
I love reading what fans who love the show have to say about it, and I’m having great fun reading those posts (including the ones I’ve linked to above!). Let’s just say I enjoy all the varied vibes around a text that is now part of the greater global “Tolkien” phenomenon, i.e. connected to all the things, even if I don’t much like that particular instance!
(2) BALANCED IN THE SCALES AND FOUND WANTING. Meanwhile, The Hollywood Reporter does a roundup of all the complaints about the two epic series adapting George R.R. Martin and Tolkien in “’House of the Dragon’ and ‘Rings of Power’ Facing Epic Headaches”. (Got to love the article’s illustration of a sword-wielding GRRM on a flying dragon.)
… As for Rings [of Power]s’ ratings, third-party services show a steep drop from the series’ debut season. The spin from Amazon goes like this: Of course the ratings are down, they were so huge last time. There is something to this. Even Prime Video hits like Fallout and The Boys haven’t matched Rings’ season one on a global basis (Fallout did top the show in the U.S.). Amazon says the new season is doing well internationally and is on track to be a Top 5 season for Prime Video….
…Then there is Dragon, whose problems are more interesting. The second season incensed some fans after spending eight episodes leading to a massive cliffhanger — a climactic battle sequence that was pushed from a shortened season two to season three, apparently for budget reasons (which has led to more “David Zaslav ruins everything” chatter online). In the ratings, the season dipped about 10 percent from the show’s first season, but the numbers do remain high.
Two weeks ago, saga author (and Dragon co-creator and executive producer) George R.R. Martin, who has been complimentary about Dragon in the past, posted on his blog that he was going to reveal “everything that’s gone wrong” with the show. Smart money could have been wagered on this never happening — surely HBO would do everything in its power to persuade Martin not to post.
But last week, Martin did, and the result was fascinating…
(3) SCOTIABANK GILLER PRIZE 2024 LONGLIST. The Scotiabank Giller Prize 2024 longlist was released September 4. The Prize is a celebration of Canadian literary talent. The 12 titles were chosen from 145 books submitted by publishers across Canada. There is one longlisted work of genre interest:
Anne Michaels for her novel Held, published by McClelland & Stewart
The other longlisted works are:
Caroline Adderson for her short story collection A Way to Be Happy, published by Biblioasis
Shashi Bhat for her short story collection Death by a Thousand Cuts, published by McClelland & Stewart
Éric Chacour for his novel What I Know About You (translated by Pablo Strauss), published by Coach House Books
Corinna Chong for her novel Bad Land, published by Arsenal Pulp Press
Anne Fleming for her novel Curiosities, published by Knopf Canada
Conor Kerr for his novel Prairie Edge, published by Strange Light
katherena vermette for her novel real ones, published by Hamish Hamilton
(4) OCTOTHORPE. In Episode 118 of the Octothorpe podcast, “Och Aye, Sci-Fi”, John Coxon, Alison Scott, and Liz Batty continue their discussion of the Worldcon. (There’s a rough-and-ready transcript here.)
We round off most of our discussion of the Glasgow Worldcon, including talking about Halls 4 and 5, communications, Worldcon structures, and publications. Thanks to Sara Felix, this week, for providing our lovely artwork.
(5) JOURNEY PLANET. Journey Planet 84 “Workers’ Rights In SFF” is available at this link. File 770 promoted the zine with this post.
My article on organized labor in the 1940s and ’50s science fiction of Clifford D. Simak went live! I’d love to hear your thoughts. I’ve spent the last half year researching and reading religiously for this project–from topics such as Minnesota’s unique brand of radical politics to the work of contemporary intellectuals like C. Wright Mills (1916-1962) whom Simak most likely read.
(6) SUPREME GENRE READER. The New York Times learns “Ketanji Brown Jackson Looks Forward to Reading Fiction Again”. (Paywalled.) “The Supreme Court justice has been drawn to American history and books about the ‘challenges and triumphs’ of raising a neurodiverse child. She shares that and more in a memoir, ‘Lovely One.’”
What kind of reader were you as a child? Which books and authors stick with you most?
Pretty voracious. My favorite childhood books were Madeleine L’Engle’s “A Wrinkle in Time” series. I really identified with Meg. I also liked Judy Blume’s “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.” And I went through a Nancy Drew phase.
Which genres do you … avoid?
I don’t think I’ve indulged in reading fiction in many years. I hope to get back to doing so, now that our daughters are grown, but I would avoid anything that would qualify as a horror story. I don’t like to be frightened.
Are there any classic novels that you only recently read for the first time?
I am gearing up to read “Parable of the Sower,” by Octavia Butler, soon. I have it both in paper and as an audiobook, which helps.
(7) TUTTLE REVIEWS. Lisa Tuttle’s latest sff review column for the Guardian takes up The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera; Withered Hill by David Barnett; Crypt of the Moon Spider by Nathan Ballingrud; The Stardust Grail by Yume Kitasei; and The Specimens by Hana Gammon. “The best recent science fiction, fantasy and horror – reviews roundup”.
(8) BOB WEATHERWAX (1941-2024). [Item by Andrew Porter.] The New York Times reports a star dog trainer died August 15.
Bob Weatherwax, a Hollywood dog trainer who carried on his father’s legacy of breeding and coaching collies to play Lassie, the resourceful and heroic canine who crossed flooded rivers, faced down bears and leaped into the hearts of countless children, died on Aug. 15 in Scranton, Pa. He was 83.
One of his uncles trained Toto for “The Wizard of Oz” (1939).
Mr. Weatherwax also trained other dogs seen in Hollywood films, including Einstein, the Catalan sheepdog in “Back to the Future.”
(9) TODAY’S BIRTHDAY.
[Written by Cat Eldridge.]
Born September 14, 1936 — Walter Koenig, 88. Walter Koenig’s our Birthday Honoree this Scroll. He really has had but two major roles, though he has also appeared in a number of other roles.
The first was as the Russian born Enterprise navigator Pavel Chekov on the original Trek franchise. He went on to reprise this role in all six original-cast Trek films, and later voiced President Anton Chekov in Picard.
I like the Chekov character even if on viewing the series decades later I cringed on the quite obvious stereotype.
A much better character was played by him in the form of Alfred Bester (named in homage of that author and a certain novel) on Babylon 5. He wasn’t at all a sympathetic character and eventually was wanted for war crimes but was still a fascinating character. His origin story is established in J. Gregory Keyes’ Psi Corps trilogy written after the series was cancelled and is considered canon.
He showed up in The Questor Tapes as an administrative assistant, Oro, for two episodes of Starlost.
Moontrap, a SF film with him and Bruce Campbell, would garner a twenty-eight percent rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Alienable, a sort of comic SF horror film which he executive produced, financed, wrote and acts in has no rating there.
He’s Fireman Frank in Unbelievable!!!!! which apparently parodies Trek. The film has over forty cast members from the various Trek series. The film follows the omicron adventures however unintentional of four astronauts including one of who is a marionette. I cringed when I watched the trailer. I really did. Anyone see it?
Not surprisingly he acts in one of those Trek fanfics, Star Trek: New Voyage as his original character.
Finally he appears via the wonder of digital technology in the Hugo-nominated “Trials and Tribble-ations”.
The staff of Annapurna Interactive, the games division of Megan Ellison‘s Annapurna, has resigned en masse after a deal to spin off the group fell through, Bloomberg reports.
Founded in 2016, Annapurna Interactive has partnered with boutique game studios for several critically acclaimed titles, including “Stray” (pictured above), described as a “third-person cat adventure game set amidst the detailed, neon-lit alleys of a decaying cybercity,” as well as “What Remains of Edith Finch,” “Outer Wilds” and “Neon White.”
The staff exodus came after a breakdown in talks between Ellison and Nathan Gary, formerly president of Annapurna Interactive, to spin the gaming unit off as a separate company. “All 25 members of the Annapurna Interactive team collectively resigned,” Gary and the other employees said in a joint statement Thursday to Bloomberg. “This was one of the hardest decisions we have ever had to make and we did not take this action lightly.”
(12) STREET ART. James Bacon told File 770 readers today about “Dublin Street Art”.
…And, to those that know the Queen City, it’s no surprise that Cincinnati took the street art crown in 2024’s USA Today and 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards. The annual competition, which counts down top tens around the country, uses a panel of experts to determine ten nominees with street art chops. Then, they leave voting to readers to decide the winners. This year, Cincinnati, which has been among the nominees going back to 2021, finally took the top spot, thanks to the more than 300 stunning murals dotting the city’s neighborhood streets….
(13) BLOCH SCRIPT ON EBAY. The Dave Hester Store of Storage Wars fame would be happy to sell you a screenplay from Robert Bloch’s estate, part of his personal archives: “1961 ‘The Merry-Go-Around’ By Robert Bloch”, based on Ray Bradbury’s “The Black Ferris”. Haven’t been able to determine whether it was produced. Taking bids, starting at $99.
This time next year, NASA plans to send its first crewed mission to the moon. NPR’s Scott Detrow meets the crew of NASA’s Artemis II mission, to see how the team is preparing.
[Thanks to SF Concatenation’s Jonathan Cowie, Steven French, Kathy Sullivan, Teddy Harvia, Mike Kennedy, Andrew Porter, John King Tarpinian, Chris Barkley, and Cat Eldridge for some of these stories. Title credit belongs to File 770 contributing editor of the day Jon Meltzer.]
SFF’s occasionally turbulent relationship to work and working people is put in the spotlight in the latest issue of Journey Planet.
The celebrated fanzine released its 84th issue – “Workers’ Rights in SFF” on Friday, September 13, with co-editors Olav Rokne and Amanda Wakaruk bringing together an all-star list of contributors for an examination of the various ways in which employment relationships are depicted (or misrepresented) in the genre. Best-known for their Hugo-finalist fanzine Unofficial Hugo Book Club Blog, Rokne and Wakaruk have been delving into labour rights issues in SFF since 2019.
“The best part of working on a project like this is being able to collaborate with talented writers focused on a subject that we’re passionate about,” Rokne said. “Science fiction became a defined genre at the end of the industrial revolution, when rapid technological and societal change was creating new types of work and new types of workers. From its inception, the genre was connected to work and to working people, making this a fecund area for intellectual exploration.”
The issue includes contributions from Brian Collins, Rich Horton, Octavia Cade, Will McMahon, A.L. Yakimchuk, Kira Braham, Bob Barnetson, Joachim Boaz, Camestros Felapton, James Bacon, Mark McCutcheon, Brett Sheehan, David McDonald, Kris Vyas-Myall, Gautam Bhatia, Farah Mendlesohn, and Jim O’Brien, as well as art by Autun Purser and Collin MacNeil. This stunning list of contributors may also have set a record for the most footnotes ever included in a single issue of a fanzine.
Journey Planet 84 “Workers’ Rights In SFF” is available at this link.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction by Olav Rokne & Amanda Wakaruk
Alientation and Automation by Brian Collins
Pohl Position by Rich Horton
Unpaid Green by Octavia Cade
Learning to Write Science Fiction from
John Steinbeck by Will McMahon
Fit for Purpose (Fiction) by A.L. Yakimchuk
Making Work Sexy With William Morris by Kira Braham
Rule of Acquisition 211 by Bob Barnetson
We Must Start Over And Find Some New Way of Life by Joachim Boaz
A Nightmare of Shopkeepers by Camestros Felapton
Workers of 2000AD UNITE! by James Bacon
Jumping the Shark on the Moon by Mark McCutcheon
The Translator (Fiction) by Brett Sheehan
They Who Build Beneath the Stars by David McDonald
Fighting the Suits by Kris Vyas-Myall
Gesturing Towards the Labour Question by Gautam Bhatia
Kritzer and a Theory of Labour by Farah Mendlesohn
Unions in SFF Recommendations by Olav Rokne
‘Commie nutters turn Tintin into picket yob!’ by Jim O’Brien
(L-R): James Bacon, Sara Felix, Chuck Serface, Allison Hartman Adams, Helena Nash, Regina Kanyu Wang, Alan Stewart, Arthur Liu, Vincent Docherty, Sarah Gulde. Not pictured: Dr. Yen Ooi, Michael Carroll, Ann Gry, Jean Martin, Chris Garcia, and Pádraig Ó Méalóid)
By Allison Hartman Adams: Team Journey Planet was out in full force during Glasgow 2024: A Worldcon for Our Futures. Co-Editors and Hugo Finalists participated in a wide variety of panels and activities, and still found time for dancing, socializing at the Fan Bar, and gallivanting around Scotland.
Amid the hubbub, Journey Planet launched both a new Facebook page (facebook.com/TeamJourneyPlanet) and a new Instagram page (@teamjourneyplanet).
For Journey Planet, the enduring theme of Glasgow 2024 was connection.
Arthur Liu noted that, at a small gathering for Chinese and foreign fans, there was plenty of space for conversation and even “friendly yet heated debate.” “It was a most joyful experience, since people from different cultures were willing to share and listen equally, regardless of their social/fandom status,” Arthur said.
Arthur Liu fan meetup. Arthur Liu in front, with back to camera.
Regina Kanyu Wang seconds Arthur’s thoughts, pointing out that “it is wonderful to meet old and new friends at the Glasgow Worldcon, both in person and virtually, from all over the world…I love how Glasgow runs the fannish convention with high inclusivity and professional attitude!”
At table: Regina Kanyu Wang, Emily Xuemi Jin, Gu Shi. On screen: Xueting C. Ni, Dr. Yen Goi
Chris Garcia had a lot to say, even from nearly 5,000 miles away. Chris was a regular presence on the Worldcon Discord channels, was on multiple panels, but was most excited about his famous Flintstones shirt. “I retired it,” Chris said, “so I sent it along with Journey Planeteer Chuck Serface to put in the Fanzine Lounge to be signed by any and all who might. And they did! The photos folks took made me exceptionally happy! A memory that will live in my closet forever…”
Chris Garcia’s Flintstones shirt with signatures.
Similarly, Dr. Yen Ooi was struck by the level of interconnectedness, even for the online-only participants. “I didn’t feel left out at all in any of the events,” Yen noted. “It was a bit surreal doing laundry and cleaning the flat between events. It is wonderful that we have the option of joining online now for something as big and exciting as WorldCon.
Logging in from Thailand, Ann Gry was delighted with how smoothly everything went, in particular the panelists’ breakout rooms and how well online-only participants could see the audience. “I feel very welcome and included at the con despite not being in Glasgow,” Ann said. “This year in particular, it was a breath of fresh air to share ideas about dystopias with Zamyatin’s “We” centennial and AI apocalypse scenarios (with Adrian Tchaikovsky!), figuring out engineering solutions to people’s problems and just having fun talking about food in anime.” In particular, Ann wanted to point out that the “programming team did a fantastic job picking panelists with a broad range of POVs,” and she hopes this hybrid structure remains a staple at future Worldcons.
For Sara Felix, the highlight was “SO MUCH ART!” She was made most happy by “all the art created for the con and by members–art based around my art direction and personal art.” In addition to being a finalist for Best Fanzine, Sara was also a finalist for Best Fan Artist, a well-deserved honor.
Sara Felix art display
Alan Stewart came equipped with exclusive “Australian SF Sci-Pi” ribbons for the whole Journey Planet team during our meet-up on Thursday, during which we held an impromptu planning session for upcoming issues.
For Events Lead Vincent Docherty, the weekend was a blur, but he most enjoyed mc-ing the Symphony and Roger Sayer’s Interstellar Organ recital, moderating a panel on Morrow’s Isle with GoH Ken MacLeod, composer Gary Lloyd, and choreographer Bettina Carpi, and, of course, “the warm feeling of being part of the Hugo nominated Team Journey Planet!”
(L-R) Gary Lloyd, Bettina Carpi, Ken MacLeod, Vincent Docherty. Photo by Simon Bubb
This year, Sarah Gulde celebrated the 10th anniversary of her first Worldcon, and the experience was as wonderful as ever. “I loved seeing all the friends I haven’t seen since at least the 2021 Worldcon in DC, meeting new friends, and meeting authors I’d never met before but whose work I love!”
In front: Sarah Gulde.
Helena Nash noted a similar feeling. Because of the length of the con, Helena got a chance to “sit down for an hour or two with Allison [Hartman] to talk about Journey Planet, or Kat Clay about TTRPGs or Stuart Vandal about the minutiae of Marvel comics history.” Moreover, Helena pointed out an incredibly important piece of Glasgow 2024: “The egalitarian, approachable format of Worldcon meant I felt socially permitted to talk to talented creators, as opposed to, say, getting 10 seconds to say hello to a celebrity at a carefully controlled autographing session before being shuffled along by a minder.”
Allison Hartman, when she wasn’t trying to hack down Meta’s impenetrable walls, found time for chatting, meeting new friends, and participating in panels. “I’ve never felt more at home at a con than I have at Glasgow 2024. I felt listened to, seen, connected. I am so grateful to all the volunteers and organizers. They had a herculean task ahead of them, and they pulled it off beautifully.”
And of course, James Bacon had plenty to say. “Glasgow 2024 was a pretty spectacular and very successful Worldcon. As part of the Glasgow 2024 team, my pleasure comes from seeing the fruits of the labour, the happiness among fans, and delivery of all the good fun things. There was a lot of that. I was a Chairs advisor, and my note now is, “Well that was awesome!” (Read James’ full commentary below.)
One highlight we can all get behind is the arrival of the one-of-a-kind ultra-exclusive Wallace Award, courtesy of Helena Nash. While not a Hugo, we love it just the same. Thank you, Helena!
The Wallace Award
While we were sad not to see 2023 Co-Editors Dr. Yen Ooi, Michael Carroll, Chris Garcia, or Pádraig Ó Méalóid, we were all able to connect with many Journey Planet contributors and friends, including Errick Nunnally, Brenda Noiseux (who also served a Hugo runner for the Awards ceremony), Craig Miller, John Coxon, Yvonne Rowse, Linda Wenzelburger, Pete Young, Alissa Wales, Meg Frank, Iain Clark, GoH Claire Brialey, Mark Plummer, Stuart Vandal, Olav Rokne, Amanda Wakaruk, Dr Meganne Christian, and of course Glasgow 2024 Chair Esther MacCallum Stewart, along with Marguerite Smith and Brian Nisbet. Everyone is hopeful for a Mega-Journey Planet Meet-Up at a future Worldcon. Please join us all on Facebook and Instagram, or reach out to us as journeyplanetsubmissions@gmail.com.
JAMES BACON’S THOUGHTS ON GLASGOW 2024: A WORLDCON FOR OUR FUTURES
By James Bacon: Glasgow 2024 was a pretty spectacular and very successful Worldcon. As part of the Glasgow 2024 team, my pleasure comes from seeing the fruits of the labour, the happiness among fans and delivery of all the good fun things. There was a lot of that. I was a Chairs advisor, and my note now is, “Well that was awesome!”
The weekend began early. I arrived on the Sunday before the con, but on Wednesday, an impromptu Journey Planet gathering occurred, as a group known as “Le F*ckers” (said with a fake French accent) gathered and drank in the Crowne Plaza bar. It was mostly JP people, but also other fans, and enjoying a drink was a nice start after a long day.
It feels like such a short time since Dublin 2019–and yet it is five years! It was good to reconnect so many people, and here were some lovely interactions about both Dublin and Journey Planet. There is a lot of love for the zine, and I was pleased that some recent issues really resonated with fans, who were keen to engage and chat about them.
As the Batmobiles rumbled into Hall 4, I knew it would be an amazing Worldcon, and likewise when I saw the excitement for what must have been the best events proposition that any Worldcon has ever had, all under the leadership of Vincent Docherty. Craig Miller in LA, whom I hold in the highest regard, set the bar high. He is an amazing fan, and if anyone can challenge our Co-editor Vince, it is Craig. I spoke to Vincent afterwards, and I hope we can do an issue soon, on music all going well.
I arranged a couple of “meet-ups” slotting them into a spreadsheet, and I was delighted that these occurred. I was frightfully busy at the convention, but ensuring these occurred was important. The first co-editors JP meet-up, after the impromptu “Le F*ckers”, was on Thursday in the vast Hall 4 with everything from a Batmobile to Free Books. I was delighted to speak with the amazing fan Arthur Liu, whom I had not met yet, and while not all co-editors were present, we still filled an entire table. New ideas sprung forth and it looks like our year got busier following the Thursday meetup. I was sad that all editors could not be there, but many were. Vincent was even busier than I was, for sure.
Journey Planet has had 37 co-editors to date, with 84 issues completed, and hundreds of contributors. I would love to meet them all, and at some stage we may even have a Con JP. They all work so hard, but like friendships, they come in, are amazing, and drift away to other projects. So it was wonderful to meet with co-editors, sit down, discuss, and solidify these friendships (although maybe we could have done a better job alerting them all). It was also great to greet some co-editors who I do not speak to much at all these days, just because I am not seeing them at cons I go to, like John Coxon and Yvonne Rowse. I carved out time to have dinner post con with Linda Wenzelburger, but missed Pete Young (I shall write to him, though) and I watched on as some co-editors, such as Alissa Wales and Esther MacCallum Stewart worked so hard. I got to see Meg Frank briefly (their art is so amazing) and was delighted to spend a whole session with Iain Clark who is working on some covers for us. There were so many people!
How friendships evolve in the fan community is interesting, and I am looking forward to Sarah Gulde and Chuck Serface joining us on an issue and writing about that.
Of course, co-editor Claire Brialey was a GOH, and I saw her and Mark Plummer a number of times, but that was more on behalf of the con than the long friendship that we have, although there was an intersection or something there, which is pretty unique.
I think I would like more time to welcome contributors next year in Seattle. If I go, I think I’ll look to my fellow co-editors to arrange some sort of workshop or panel about getting involved in writing and editing. There are so many young people and enthusiastic fans at Worldcon. I felt like I should have gone around to every one of them and given them business cards with ideas about how to volunteer to run conventions on their own terms and see if the enthusiasm could be harnessed for the future. I also felt like so many had something to say, and wished to share the conduit that is JP.
While all this was going on though, our latest initiative, a Journey Planet Facebook and Instagram page, was being rolled out by Allison Hartman, with Sara Felix on graphics. Allison captured what co-editors were doing during the con. We had discussed a structured and planned approach, consistency rather than frequency–the long game. So far it looks amazing.
We also had a meet up on Saturday evening. I am part of the Belfast Eastercon team, and had invited Team Journey Planet, and so we were joined by a number of contributors and supporters, as well as current and previous co-editors. Errick Nunally and Brenda Noiseux are always a delight to see. I enjoyed serving them all nice whiskeys and catching up.
Journey Planet meetup
I met Stuart Vandal, and that was superb. Stuart and I worked for an events company some 15 years ago, and it was a revelation to catch up. He is a freelance writer, but is really a Marvel Indexer, with over 100 indexes to his name, and often supports us with the comics aspects in our issues.
The Hugo Awards are really very special, but also can be overwhelming. We gathered beforehand and worked as a group. We previously did not always do this, which was a mistake. As a pack, a team, problems that crop up can get fixed immediately. While I had to go and accompany a surprise visitor, and was slightly late for the official Journey Planet photo, Olav Rokne and Amanda Wakaruk were very understanding. We were joined by Dr Meganne Christian, Reserve Astronaut, Exploration Commercialisation Lead at the UK Space Agency, and Glasgow 2024 Special Guest, who was delightful.
While we sadly lost the Hugo Award, we were together, which was nice. Helena Nash made the Wallace loser rocket (which I now covet) and that was fun. I was sad that Sara Felix and Iain Clark did not win a Hugo Award; being a finalist is such an amazing achievement and honour, and the Worldcon and its fans, do that so well.
So much hard work goes into a Worldcon, and as we break up to pursue different projects and conventions, I will miss many aspects of being on the committee. There are so many good people with amazing plans. I am looking forward to seeing what Marguerite Smith and Brian Nisbet do with Dublin 2029. My thoughts now move on to thinking about enjoying future cons but working less on them. I saw less of Glasgow 2024 than I did of Dublin, which sounds bizarre, but I was more mobile. I walked 88 miles in 9 days.
We might try to make a concrete plan for meeting up–like Boskone, Eastercon in Belfast, and Worldcon in Seattle–as Chris might be at Boskone and Seattle. Sitting together and discussing ideas and welcoming new writers is always nice. Our ideas list for issues now stands well over 50 proposals, and next year is already filling up. I think the meet up could be expanded, especially if we can manage it at Seattle and LA, giving consistency. There is so much more to write about, another time though.
While many co-editors were not present, I was sad that Chris could not make it, but am hopeful that we will get to reconvene together. Perhaps it will be Seattle, perhaps somewhere else. I do not see enough of Chris, and while we talk a lot, meeting is always great, especially if I can take Chris for a meal.
Overall, Glasgow 2024: A Worldcon for Our Futures was very, very good.
For Journey Planet issue 83, “Food & Science Fiction”, Jean Martin joins Christopher J Garcia and James Bacon in featuring food and drinks in sci-fi and fantasy stories. A key part of worldbuilding is creating comestibles and libations that offer the audience an elevated sensory experience along with the characters.
Contributors to this issue share varied and interesting articles, photos and artwork about made-up gustatory delights in novels, movies, etc. Cosmic culinary questions such as “What does one order at an intergalactic diner?” and “Where should we go for the best Star Wars-themed cocktails?” will be answered. There are also reviews and recipes of science fiction food and drinks available in real life!
