Blog

One of the best “artzines” to ever be published,
Infinity is back for a repeat performance!

Infinity 6: January 1976
Publishers and editors: Adam Malin and Gary Berman

I have profiled Infinity thrice already, including issues 2, 3 and 5. Infinity was so popular that I believe it was the only fanzine to have a parody zine of itself, Inanity (also profiled)! Gary Berman and Adam Malin, those boys from New York, knew what they were doing, and even more importantly, they knew a lot of good artists and writers to call on for contributions!

For this, the sixth issue, Berman and Malin got the beautifully atmospheric Jeff Jones cover seen above (this is actually the back cover, which is the same image, but without type). Tim Conrad supplied several out of this world pin ups. Feel free to try to contact Tim on his Facebook page here, by the way. I remember really loving his work in the Marvel SF magazines of the 1980s. Below you can see his work done for Infinity this issue.

Following a Neal Adams pin up on the contents page (seen at right), Berman and Malin pop in for an editorial/update, talking about how many artist have moved outside their financial means by the time  this issue was being assembled (Kaluta, Wrightson, etc), and that they have become more interested in film (evidenced by the New York convention they cover, Tele-Fantasy). Keep in mind the boys also had been running the Creation con for a time. Needless to say, their schedules were probably pretty busy. Following the editorial is a story by Clyde Caldwell called Soul Music (one page seen below), and then a review of the year 1975 in film and comics by Doug Murray, Frank Verzyl, and Tom Rogers. Following that is an interview with Joe Stefano, the creator of the memorable Outer Limits television series, by editor Malin, (I can remember clearly having nightmares about those little ant creatures in The Zanti Misfits). Several photos from the show are included, as well as a behind the scenes shot seen above. After immersing ourselves in the science fantasy classic, James Thornton delivers some information on the man behind Mr. Spock, and by that we mean, of course, Leonard Nimoy.

The coverage of the Tele-Fantasy convention follows, with photos of Noel Neill (Lois Lane from the Superman television series), various panels, and some of the guests meeting the fans. Following is a profile of fan sculptor, John Fischner. I found an IMDB page for Fischner (I think) so I guess his fan work paid off! While we are on the subject of film, included in this issue is an interview with film animation specialist, Jim Danforth (see his Wiki page here for various credits). Below is a nice centerfold from Danforth. His credits include When Dinosaurs Rule the Earth and Flesh Gordon, among others.

A letters page is up next, illuminated by a typically exciting Howard Chaykin illustration seen above. Lastly is a one page funny strip by Clyde Caldwell, The Phantasm of the Operetta.

There are several more pieces of art, photos, and movie stills that you can see by downloading/viewing the pdf (available on my site on the Ink Stains page).

This column is a bit shorter than usual, which I apologize for…time got a bit away from me this month! I hope you like what you see regardless…if so, give me a shout out on the comments page! Also, almost forgot, thanks for this installment’s copy goes out to professor Herb Warren!

See you next month with more zine zaniness!

Ken Meyer Jr.
kenmeyerjr@yahoo.com