Le Zombie
Le Zombie (subtitled "The Ghouls’ Gazette") was a highly-regarded fanzine (often known by its nickname LeZ) published intermittently by Bob Tucker ("Published every time a zombie awakens") from December 1938 through December 1975 for 68 printed issues. (There was, for instance, a decade-long gap between #29 in 1959 and #30 in 1969.) After a 21-year gap, Tucker re-started it as e-Zombie in 2000, ending on August, 2001 for five more issues.
Tucker said that "the original reason for its existence was to wash some of the starch from the stuffed shirts of fandom." One early column was Poor Pong's Almanac.
It began as a satire on Doc Lowndes’ Le Vombiteur, but the tail began to wag the dog. The title may also refer to the Tucker death hoaxes which played such a distinctive role in fandom.
The term space opera may have originated there. Beginning in mid-1942, along with Harry Warner's Spaceways, Le Zombie began sponsoring the Fanzine Service as a way of distributing fanzines to servicemen.
In his obituary of Tucker, John Clute wrote: "It is only in recent years that academic critics have begun to come to terms with the huge amount of intellectual activity -- along with pre-blog gossip -- that filled fanzines, perhaps the most brilliant of them being Bob Tucker's Le Zombie."
Lez-ettes[edit]
Lez-ettes, a regular feature, were the ultimate in literary condensation; one is displayed below.
Chapter 1: Vampire Chapter 2: Mirror Chapter 3: Long time no see
This early form of flash fiction originated with Al Ashley and E. E. Evans, according to Tucker, who wrote about them in Yandro 132, p. 27, online here:
They began appearing in the Jun 1941 issue of Le Zombie and continued erratically for two years, ending with a set contributed by Art Widner. Perhaps he wanted to end them. Ashley and Evans originated the idea and contributed the vast bulk of them; a few others were the work of Jack Wiedenbeck, Walt Liebscher, and myself. Mine can be identified by the poor quality.
| Issue | Date | Pages | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 V1.1 | December 1938 | 2 | The first nine issues were a supplement to Fantasy-News |
| 2 V1.2 | January 1939 | 2 | |
| 3 V1.3 | March 1939 | 2 | |
| 4 V1.4 | April 1939 | 2 | |
| 5 V1.5 | May 1939 | 2 | #s 5, 6 and 7 were bound with Nova #1 |
| 6 V1.6 | May 1939 | 2 | |
| 7 V1.7 | May 1939 | 1 | |
| 8 V1.8 | June 1939 | 2 | |
| 9 V1.9 | July 1939 | 6 | |
| 10 V1.10 | August 5, 1939 | 4 | This was the first issue to be distributed independently |
| 11 V1.11 | August 19, 1939 | 6 | |
| 12 V1.12 | September 1939 | 12 | |
| 13 V2.1 | September 16, 1939 | 4 | |
| 14 V2.2 | September 20, 1939 | 4 | |
| 15 V2.3 | October 14, 1939 | 8 | |
| 16 V2.4 | October 28, 1939 | 4 | |
| 17 V2.5 | November 18, 1939 | 6 | |
| 18 V2.6 | December 2, 1939 | 8 | |
| 19 V2.7 | December 16, 1939 | 8 | |
| 20 V2.8 | December 30, 1939 | 6 | |
| 21 V2.9 | January 13, 1940 | 6 | |
| 22 V2 | January 27, 1940 | 8 | |
| 23 V2.10 | February 1940 | 8 | |
| 24 V2.11 | February 24, 1940 | 5 | |
| 25 V3.1 | March 9, 1940 | 6 | |
| 26 V3.2 | March 19, 1940 | 2 | |
| 27 V3.3 | 1940 | 6 | |
| 27.5 V3.4 | April 1940 | 2 | Included a postcard for readers to vote on Lez's future. |
| 28 V3.5 | May 1940 | 6 | |
| 29 | June 1940 | 12 | |
| 30 | July 1940 | 10 | |
| 31 | August 1940 | 12 | |
| 32-33 V3.9-10 | September 1940 | 20 | |
| 34 V3.11 | November 1940 | 11 | |
| 35 V3.12 | December 1940 | 12 | |
| 36 V4.1 | January 1941 | 20 | 2nd annish |
| 37 V4.2 | March&May 1941 | 10 | |
| 38 V4.3 | April 1941 | 16 | |
| 39 V4.4 | June 1941 | 10 | Mis-numbered as 38 on cover |
| 40 V4.5 | July 1941 | 18 | |
| 41 V4.6 | August 1941 | 10 | |
| 42 V4.7 | September 1941 | 22 | |
| 43 V4.8 | October 1941 | 12 | |
| 44 V4.9 | November 1941 | 10 | |
| 45 V4.10 | January 1942 | 18 | |
| 46 V4.11 | April 1942 | 14 | |
| 47 V4.12 | May 1942 | 12 | |
| 48 V5.1 | July 1942 | 14 | |
| 49 V5.2 | September 1942 | 12 | |
| 50 V5.3 | November 1942 | 12 | Online here |
| 51 V5.4 | March-April 1943 | 72+ | 4th annish; included Fanzine Yearbook 1942 & Le Zombie Advertiser #3; In two parts |
| 52 | April 1943 | 14 | |
| 53 | May 1943 | 12 | |
| 54 | September 1943 | 14 | |
| 55 | November 1943 | 14 | Cover was included in FAPA 26 |
| 56 | January 1944 | 46 | 5th annish; includes Fanzine Yearbook 1943 |
| 57 | April 1944 | 16 | |
| 58 | July 1944 | 20 | |
| 59 | November 1944 | 20 | |
| 60 | September 1945 | 16 | |
| 61 | July 1946 | 14 | |
| 62 | not published | ||
| unnumbered | July 1946 | 2 | Included in Pacificon Combozine (but not numbered as 62!) |
| 63 | July 1948 | 12 | Produced for Torcon and intended to be the last issue. |
| 64 | January 1955 | 40 | Published to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the first fanzine |
| 65 | June 1958 | 4 | Distributed with Fanac |
| 66 | December 1968 | 24 | |
| 67 | December 1975 | 24 | |
| 68 | October 2000 | First ish as e-Zombie | |
| 69 | November 2000 | ||
| 70 | November 2000 | ||
| 71 | December 2000 | ||
| 72 | August 2001 | Final issue | |
- Le Zombie online at fanac.org.
- Le Zombie at Midamericon.org.
| From Fancyclopedia 2, ca. 1959 |
LeZ Pet name for Bob Tucker's legendary fanzine, Le Zombie. (It began as a satire on Doc Lowndes' Le Vombeiteur, but the tail began to wag the dog.) Lez-ettes, invented by Tucker for this 'zine, were the ultimate in literary condensation; one is displayed below.
Chapter 1: Vampire Chapter 2: Mirror Chapter 3: Long time no see |
| From Fancyclopedia 1, ca. 1944 |
| LeZ – Pet name for fanzine Le Zombie. Efforts have been made to call it Lizzie, with little success. |
| Publication | 1938—2001 |
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