Joseph J. Fortier
(1923 – ????)
Joe Fortier from Oakland, CA started reading sf in 1933 and was introduced to fandom by Harry Warner, Jr. in 1938. Early on, he used a nickname 2J4 in imitation of 4sj; but more important was retrogrammatical John Reitrof, used a. o. for some short stories in fanzines. In Who's Who in Fandom 1940, he lists several other pseudonyms, apparently short-lived or one-off and used also for fan art (Guy Francis: "Wot wog said of the latter's 'Girl of Tomorrow' drawings 'If that's the girl of tomorrow, I'm glad I'm living today!'"
He gained some renown as the Type Fifteen Fan.
He was a charter member of The National Fantasy Fan Federation (N3F) in 1941, and an early member of the N3F's advisory board. He was a member of the Science Fictioneers, the IFF, the Golden Gate Fantasy Progress, the SFL and New Fandom. At the Denvention in 1941 he presented San Francisco's bid for the 1942 Worldcon.
His photo appears (with friend and collaborator Tom Wright) on page 172 of Harry Warner's All Our Yesterdays (Advent, 1969).
For an early short biography, see Who's Who in Fandom 1940, page 6. It said that he was a corporal in ROTC; in 1944-5 (and a 1943 letter) he wrote about "my stay in the army" (so his earlier FAPAzines were duplicated by Laney, but towards the end he was able to produce a large one himself, including a cartoon) and suggested his planned marriage would lead to gafiation.
- California Mercury [August and September 1940] – renamed from Mercury, later issues taken over by Phil Bronson; August 1941 issue (still headlined just Mercury) lists Fortier as "Special Correspondent"
- The Comet [1940–1] (as assistant to Tom Wright)
- Fan Editor and Publisher [1942] (with Harry Jenkins)
- Mercury [1940] – first three issues, later ones taken over by Tom Wright
- Scientifan [1939–1942] (for FAPA)
- Starlight [1941] (with Tom Wright and James Bush)
- Twilight Echoes [1944-45] (for FAPA)
Links:
- Joe Fortier in ISFDB (lists only several letters)
- a Founding Member article in April 2018 issue National Fantasy Fan, based largely on Fancyclopedia
| Person | 1923—???? |
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