GASlite appears to be the interview zine to see! Kirby! Adams! Giordano! Bode! Asimov!
GASlite 10: 1973
Editors/publishers: Peter Kuper and Seth Tobacman
I will be the first to admit, I had not heard of this particular fanzine until uberzine aficionado, Emanuel (Manny) Maris pointed it out to me and very graciously sent me hi res scans and a pre-made pdf as well. But, judging by this issue, they had some clout!
Manny stated to me, via email that
‘G.A.S. lite,‘ usually referred to as GASlite (originally Unofficial Organ of the Graphic Arts Society of Northeastern Ohio, then Official Magazine of the Cleveland Graphic Art Society) was started by Tony Isabella and published by him, starting with #1 in 1969, up to #7.
Tony moved to NYC, and gave the title to Peter Kuper (later publisher/co-founder of World War 3 magazine and successor to Spy vs Spy creator, Prohias in Mad Magazine) and Seth Tobocman (also publisher/co-founder of World War 3 magazine, started in 1980, with the 43rd issue published in November of 2017)
Both Peter and Seth were obvious Crumb fanatics – just before publishing this last quadruple-size 68-page issue of GASlite (their previous two issues – #8, 1971 and #9, 1972 – were digest-size 20+ pagers), they published the first (1972) of two volumes of the Melotoons sketchbooks by R “The Shlep” Crumb; the 2nd was published in 1975.
As stated, this particular issue (also referenced inside) is actually four issues combined into one, accounting for the high page count. Very much a good bang for your buck! Above you see the Crumb cover and also an early piece by P. Craig Russell (who, at the time of this publication, was probably finishing up his assistant status to the great Dan Adkins, also in this fanzine). You can read an interview I did with Craig a few years ago here. So, let’s dive into the heat of the meat, as Colbert would say.
After a Gary Dumm strip (he would go on to work extensively with Harvey Pekar) and the table of contents, we are immediately thrust into the dichotomy that was Jack Kirby (his interview). A plain spoken worker bee with a fairly unparalleled imagination, he comes across as well mannered and humble, probably just as we all expected. Below you see a couple of Kirby pieces adorning the interview in particular and the zine in general.
A two page Flakey Foont strip by Crumb follows (in sketch form), and then another good sized interview follows, this with inker of great standing (among many other things), Dick Giordano. The questions are intelligent, probing and insightful in all the interviews…although, hooboy, they could have used a proofreader! No art by Dick, but there is a nice Frazetta sketch folded between the pages, seen below. Following that is one of a few illustrations by another incredible inker, Klaus Janson.
GASlite originator, Tony Isabella, is next, with a story entitled Gift Horse. Then Neal Adams takes over in a succinct and to the point interview, peppered with quick sketches (see one below). Neal comes off a bit terse and full of himself here, but I have a feeling there was some humor that did not come through the cold type. They do mention that the interview was done at 3 am at the tail end of a convention, so it is understandable!
Following Adams is a single page sketch strip of Mr. Natural by Crumb, and then the next interview…with none other than Mad founder, William Gaines! More fan fiction, this one being Tonan? by M. Hudak, succeeds Mr. Gaines, and then a double header interview greets our eyes. The iconic Vaughn Bode and award winning Warren writer, T. Casey Brennan fill the bill admirably. Of course, Bode spot illos are sprinkled throughout. This is a 13 page interview, folks, they did not skimp!
More Crumb sketches appear (one seen below), and then a severe about face appears in the form of an interview with, that’s right, Isaac Asimov! I know, there are a lot of exclamation points in this installment, but I cannot help it! See? There goes another.
That about wraps up this issue, but really, there is a lot to digest! If you like a variety of in depth interviews (most of them), then this is really for you. A few more visual treats follow below (Janson, then Kane).
Obviously, seeing the full pdf is essential in a zine like this (which can be gotten on my site at kenmeyerjr.com). The visuals are wonderful, but those interviews really make this an outstanding fanzine. Thanks this time goes out to Manny for providing this for me, as well as giving up his time to add more info that I would have had on my own. Please check out the fanzine pages on Facebook, where a lot of us old geezers hang out talking zines!
Have a great (rest of the) holiday, everyone!
Ken Meyer Jr.
kenmeyerjr@yahoo.com
Interesting stuff, Ken! Thanks for sharing!
thanks, Rich!