Difference between revisions of "Lynn Hickman"

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Lynn and his wife, [[Carolyn Hickman]], were fixtures at [[Midwestcon]]. Born in Mount Corey, Ohio, Lynn lived in [[Mississippi]], [[North Carolina]] and downstate [[Illinois]] before returning to Ohio, where he spent most of his life. A lean, lanky man, Lynn was a chain smoker, he suffered from emphysema, and he ultimately succumbed to lung cancer.  
 
Lynn and his wife, [[Carolyn Hickman]], were fixtures at [[Midwestcon]]. Born in Mount Corey, Ohio, Lynn lived in [[Mississippi]], [[North Carolina]] and downstate [[Illinois]] before returning to Ohio, where he spent most of his life. A lean, lanky man, Lynn was a chain smoker, he suffered from emphysema, and he ultimately succumbed to lung cancer.  
  
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Lynn became active in [[fandom]] after joining ISFCC in 1948 and attending [[Cinvention]] in ’49, but he claimed to be a member of [[First Fandom]] based on a [[loc]] he had written on the first, May 1939, issue of ''[[Fantastic Adventures]]'', writing in ''[[Vega]]'' 7 [https://fanac.org/fanzines/Vega/Vega7-04.html 1953, p. 4]): “I didn’t write in to a [[pro magazine]] until the first issue of of ''Fantastic Adventures'' hit the stands. My immortal words were published and I became a halfway fan.” Unfortunately, there is no evidence of such a letter.  
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Lynn became active in [[fandom]] after joining ISFCC in 1948 and attending [[Cinvention]] in ’49, but he claimed to be a member of [[First Fandom]] based on a [[loc]] he had written on the first, May 1939, issue of ''[[Fantastic Adventures]]'', writing in ''[[Vega]]'' 7 ([https://fanac.org/fanzines/Vega/Vega7-04.html 1953, p. 4]): “I didn’t write in to a [[pro magazine]] until the first issue of of ''Fantastic Adventures'' hit the stands. My immortal words were published and I became a halfway fan.” Unfortunately, there is no evidence of such a letter.  
  
 
However, [https://archive.org/details/Fantastic_Adventures_v01n03_1939-09_ufikus-DPP/page/n99/mode/2up page 93 of the third (September) issue] of ''[[Fantastic Adventures|FA]]'' features a letter from '''''Keith'' Hickman''' commenting on the second (June) [[ish]]. '''George Keith Hickman''' (January 10, 1923–November 30, 1944), was Lynn’s older brother; a second lieutenant in the 9th Air Force 397 Fighter Squad 368 Fighter Group, he was killed at age 21 in an air crash over Belgium during [[World War II]].  
 
However, [https://archive.org/details/Fantastic_Adventures_v01n03_1939-09_ufikus-DPP/page/n99/mode/2up page 93 of the third (September) issue] of ''[[Fantastic Adventures|FA]]'' features a letter from '''''Keith'' Hickman''' commenting on the second (June) [[ish]]. '''George Keith Hickman''' (January 10, 1923–November 30, 1944), was Lynn’s older brother; a second lieutenant in the 9th Air Force 397 Fighter Squad 368 Fighter Group, he was killed at age 21 in an air crash over Belgium during [[World War II]].  

Revision as of 04:03, 29 September 2022

Lynn Hickman. Drawing by Joe Mayhew
from the DSC 50 PB.

(June 5, 1926 – October 30, 1996)

Lynn Arden Hickman, a longtime Midwestern fan and huckster from Wauseon, Ohio, founded Little Monsters of America in 1951. He was elected president of the ISFCC later that year.

He was a member of the Midwest Nomads, the Alien Science-Fantasy Club, and was one of the founders of Pulpcon and the founder of the Pulp Era Amateur Press Society (PEAPS). He chaired Illwiscon. He used the pennames of Plato Jones and Arden Cary.

He was publisher of Who Killed Science Fiction? and Why Is a Fan?.

Harlan Ellison called him a “true ‘craftsman’ of the field” of fanzine art in Sol IX.

Lynn and his wife, Carolyn Hickman, were fixtures at Midwestcon. Born in Mount Corey, Ohio, Lynn lived in Mississippi, North Carolina and downstate Illinois before returning to Ohio, where he spent most of his life. A lean, lanky man, Lynn was a chain smoker, he suffered from emphysema, and he ultimately succumbed to lung cancer.

Lynn became active in fandom after joining ISFCC in 1948 and attending Cinvention in ’49, but he claimed to be a member of First Fandom based on a loc he had written on the first, May 1939, issue of Fantastic Adventures, writing in Vega 7 (1953, p. 4): “I didn’t write in to a pro magazine until the first issue of of Fantastic Adventures hit the stands. My immortal words were published and I became a halfway fan.” Unfortunately, there is no evidence of such a letter.

However, page 93 of the third (September) issue of FA features a letter from Keith Hickman commenting on the second (June) ish. George Keith Hickman (January 10, 1923–November 30, 1944), was Lynn’s older brother; a second lieutenant in the 9th Air Force 397 Fighter Squad 368 Fighter Group, he was killed at age 21 in an air crash over Belgium during World War II.

So we are left to ponder whether Lynn misremembered where his early prozine loc appeared, whether he borrowed his sibling’s name as a penname in 1939, or whether, in the ’50s, he took credit for his dead brother’s letter in order to establish his First Fandom bonafides.

See also:

Fanzines and Apazines:

Awards, Honors and GoHships:


Person 1926—1996
This is a biography page. Please extend it by adding more information about the person, such as fanzines and apazines published, awards, clubs, conventions worked on, GoHships, impact on fandom, external links, anecdotes, etc. See Standards for People and The Naming of Names.

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