March 1985 Galactic Gazette

Our cover is by longtime STAR Tami Bothel.

Here we have more of Tamara Baker's history of comic-book censorship.

Info on costuming for the upcoming Medieval Fair.

Here we have more of Bob Higgs' megastory, "Remember the Heroes."

See you again soon I hope!

February 1985 Galactic Gazette

A fine line drawing by JR Daniels is our cover.

Tamara Baker (later Hodge) was Pres at the time.

Yours truly was VP at the time, reporting on the news that "Spock is back, and Paramount's got him."  Yes, STAR TREK II: The Wrath of Khan was such a big hit that Paramount has announced the filming of a sequel, The Search for Spock.  

The lower paragraphs talk of the plans to share a vendors' booth at Norman's Medieval with NOSFA, the Norman Oklahoma Science Fiction Association.  Also there's mention of Absolutions, and how you can find out more about the concept by checking with your local Catholic parish.  As you will eventually learn, Absolutions can be big sellers, no matter the century.

Treasurer Mike Hodge explains how STAR's swollen cofferes, once containing the lordly sum of $29, has shrivelled down to almost nothing.

Following that is one of many attempts at communal writing, spurred by Mr Hodge.

Pretty sure that the "Chick Tract" on the next two pages was included SARCASTICALLY.

Anybody want to tell me who this person is?  My first guess would be that she was a character from Dr Who or some other bit of Brit TV madness.

See you later!

January, 1985 Galactic Gazette

Remembering STAR Paul Cherry

Paul Cherry, a longtime member of the OKC fan community; a graduate of OKC's Capitol Hill High School; an officer of STAR OKC; Chair of Conestoga (for its sole occurrence; died at the end of August, 2011.

I was his Vice-Prez in STAR for a couple of years and knew him in STAR long before that.  But even fandom doesn't let you in on everything about somebody.  At his funeral I learned some new (nice) things about Paul, like that he was his church's webmaster.

Here is a link to another Paul tribute post:   http://weblog.shaum.com/index.php/2011/08/30/paul-cherry/

The images are by fellow STAR Kevin Hopkins, who has a link on the side.  The smaller line-drawings are all reductions of various drawings Paul made for STAR's Galactic Gazette.

Some time before December, posts of STAR OKC history WILL resume.  Promise!

Re-posting Larry

...And he's even more dashing nowadays!

The Beginning of 1985

Welcome Back, folks, I've been scanning like crazy geting ready for the storm that was SoonerCon, beginning in 1986.  Here we have the beginning of 1985, when the planning began...

1985

Officers for 1985 are: President Tamara Baker; Vice-President Mark Alfred; Treasurer Mike Hodge.

At the first meeting of the New Year, it is decided that STAR will have a merchandise booth at the Mediæval Fair in April. Proposed items for sale include finger traps, rats on a stick, necklaces, and fuzzy dice. GG covers are assigned through August. The January GG includes reviews of current flicks (Dune, 2010, City Heat), and the first instalment of Bob Higgs’ “Remember the Heroes, a Super Hero Adventure Story.”

Compare October, 1984, when STAR OKC had four members, with this list of paid members who attend the February meeting:

Mike Powell
Tamara Baker
Mary Powell
Mark Alfred
Brandon McKay
J.R. Daniels
Cory Furse
Bob Higgs
Mike Hodge
Tammy Bothel
Denise Reedy
David Stone

(plus visitor Gerrod [sp?] Hardwicke) Not a bad little increase.



Time Capsule: The February GG has its first (of many) striking covers by the talented artist (and new member of STAR) Robert “J.R.” Daniels. Demonstrating the wide range of mem¬ber interest, this issue’s contents run the gamut from reports on the next STAR TREK film, to Part 1 of Prez Baker’s series on “The Regulation of Comic Books,” and the first GG look at upcoming conventions (another tradition alive today).

Much of the March meeting concerns the possibility of fundraising by selling concessions at the Fairgrounds or elsewhere, and a discussion leading to a list of 27 possible names for a Con that STAR might someday throw. Among the maybes are Connexion, Control, Convulsion, Convoke, Conclave, Concept, and — next to last, right before GalactiCon — the odd title SoonerCon. This last proposed name is marked with an arrow, but so are Prose and Con, and QuasiCon.

Much of Spring, 1985 is taken up with making items for sale at MedFair, and various concession fundraisers at the Myriad. Also, a tradition begins of scheduling a “second meet¬ing” every month that isn’t a business meeting but a party or other “fun thing.”

A member / contact phone list from March-May includes the first appearances of the names of future STARs Claire Stephens and Syd Henderson.

The April GG features an April Fools cover by Mark Alfred, complete with a mirror-reversed masthead. Titled “Special Movie Sequel Preview Issue,” it features silly captions and cobbled-together pictures, such as one showing Spock mindmelding with Dr. McCoy, who has the head of the Elephant Man. Along with various continuing columns, this issue also includes the first contribution by new member Veronica Blochowiak, a story called “Soul on the Rocks.”

Galactic Gazette for September 1984

With a cover logo by Mike Hodge, that later became art for a STAR flyer.