Wonder
(Were you looking for A Different Wonder?)
Wonder was a fanzine produced by Mike Tealby of Loughborough in Leicestershire, UK. It was often concerned with Fortean or Shaverian subjects.
Its numbering is particularly unclear. Most issues carry volume and issue numbers but reportedly the one for Summer 1953 has the whole number 10. In any rational world, this implies there were – or at least Tealby thought there were – nine earlier issues, but the British Fanzine Bibliography only lists six of them. Sources are uncertain whether the Autumn 1950 issue is v1#3 or v2#3 and if the latter whether it's a mistake and should be the former anyway. The Bibliography believes that v3#2 is whole number 8, suggesting that the missing three issues are somewhere before Spring 1951.
The first issue was distributed with Science Fantasy News Minor #1 (February 1949) but:
Unfortunately, Mike didn't anticipate the large size of the membership of the S.F.S. and didn't send us enough copies. We are trying to overcome this by juggling a few copies about between members of the London Circle, and some of these, may go out with SFN 2. A note will be sent to Mike of anybody who fails to get a copy.
Science Fantasy News #8 (July 1951) notes that 'The non-appearance of Wonder for many months caused its omission from the list of British fanzines in SFN 7. Mike Tealby's off-trail 'zine appeared soon afterwards.' It's unclear whether this is the Spring or Summer 1951 issue.
Science Fantasy News #12 (June 1952) said 'Best wishes to fan Mike Tealby, now recovered from recent illness, will be issuing his Wonder again soon. This seems to be the 'Summer 1952' issue reviewed by Ken Slater in Fan Press #1 (November 1952) where he says it:
... heralds the return of Mike Tealby to the ranks of fandom. ... Frankly, Mike, I think you should have spent a little more time on the ish, and then your 'herald' would have had less of the appearance of a bedraggled harbinger of doom! Normally, folks, Wonder is very well produced, although apt to lack margins. Mike has not done himself justice with this number. Mainly concerned with the Shaver Mystery and allied subjects, I can recommend Wonder to any fan interested in that material. But I’d not like to support my recommendation with a copy of this one ... come on, Mike, give with the better stuff! The contents are good, and deserve to be readable.
| Issue | Date | Pages | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| v1#1 | Spring 1949 | 12 | d/w Science Fantasy News Minor #1 |
| v1#2 | Summer 1949 | 12 | |
| v1#3 | Autumn 1950 | 20 | |
| v3#1 | Spring 1951 | 20 | |
| v3#2 | Summer 1951 | 20 | |
| - | Summer 1952 | ? | |
| 10 | Summer 1953 | 16 |
- Wonder online at fanac.org
| Publication | 1949—1953 |
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