Science fiction fanzines are a unique record of participatory culture. Rather than simply read and enjoy science fiction stories and novels, fans of speculative fiction began, in the 1930s, to produce their own magazines. These home-made, hand-produced publications were quickly dubbed fanzines. They documented the rapid growth of science fiction fandom during the 1950s and 1960s, and continue to be produced today.

This month’s item is a copy of Le Zombie, a zine produced by Wilson “Bob” Tucker, a fan living in Bloomington, Illinois. Until his death in 2006, Bob Tucker was a familiar and much loved member of fandom. He produced Le Zombie as a paper zine from 1932 until 1975, and contributed material to hundreds of other zines, in addition to writing several novels.

To the right is an image taken from the cover of a 1942 issue of Le Zombie, featuring a photograph of a model spaceship on an imaginary Mars planetscape. Inside, Tucker provides coverage of the events and issues that were of current interst to other fans. There is an article entitled “Dippy Doings at Denver” describing the antics of certain fans during the third World Science Fiction Convention held in Denver during 1941. Other convention news includes an ad for the next World Con, to be held in Los Angeles in 1942. In the end, due to the effects of the war, “PacifiCon” wouldn’t be held until 1946. The war lingers over other material in this issue, including an account from a British fan who walked through London streets hit during the Blitz to purchase a science fiction magazine - with a cover story entitled “Mars Bombards the Earth!” which Tucker places under the heading “Our Annual Eyebrow Lifter Dept.”

Our copies of Le Zombie are from the M. Horvat Collection of Science Fiction Fanzines which is, along with the M. Horvat Collection of Genre Apazines, one of the largest collections of fanzines in the country. Mike Horvat collected fanzines for many decades. He would receive donations of zines from other fans who no longer wanted to keep their copies, and his many years of apa (amatuer press association) involvement resulted in a collection with significant amounts of apazines.

The history of science fiction can be traced in the fanzines that Horvat collected. Due to the unique characteristics of fandom, however, the collection represents more than just the history of science fiction - it is a valuable tool for the study of American and British culture during the 20th century, from the post-depression 1930s, through World War II and the Cold War, and into the modern information age. Every form of social communication now taken for granted online existed on paper in fanzines decades before the personal computer was a reality. The efforts of Mike Horvat and countless other fans have now ensured that this history will be preserved.