Pros in multimedia zines: Full Circle 1
Full Circle is a multi-media slash zine published by The Nut Hatch Press in 1992. The Nut Hatch is gone now, so I presume this zine is out of print. I bought it second-hand via zine-list. None of the stories are (as far as I know) online. It has 164 pages. There are two Pros stories, totalling 25 pages, and three crossovers featuring Pros or an AU Bodie and Doyle, totalling 29 pages. So that's 54 of the 164 pages, or a little less than a third. Still, that's a lot of words...
I've acquired a few Nut Hatch zines now, and this is very much in what I am coming to think of as the house style: smallish print, set in double columns, with a lot of words to a page. A rough word count gave me about a word count of 1000 words per page, which matches other Nut Hatch zines - I remember coming up with a similar total for Czardas. This is much, much higher than many other publishers. Gryphon comes close (round about 800-900) but I think 400-500 is not uncommon, and I've seen some which are closer to 250. Nut Hatch zines pack a lot of story into their pages. The proofreading is not perfect (male 'brunettes', best guess at spelling of names in the non-Pros stories - Princess 'Ann', 'Hern' the Hunter, etc - and the occasional missing or wrong word) but it's generally fine.
There's the Nut Hatch's usual halfpage editorial-cum-news column of recent events at the Nut Hatch, a response to comments about a previous zine, Goblin - I conclude from the tenor of the response that people complained because it wasn't slash - and a list of what's coming out shortly, which is lots and lots. I can never get over the prolific output involved here. The artwork is almost all black and white copies of publicity shots. The exception is a picture by Baravan, which is Bodie as portrayed in The Hunting (which I still have not read). This picture goes together with a poem by Jane. This poem is apparently Bodie/Doyle, but I didn't realise it on my first skim. Although 'skim' has something to do with that. There are references to emerald eyes in there, though, so that'll be Doyle.
The non-Pros stories cover Man From UNCLE, Arthur of the Britons, Star Trek, Wizards and Warriors, Highlander, Lethal Weapon, UFO and Robin of Sherwood, and are by a range of authors. Just to be clear here, I am well aware that some of these names are widely thought to be the same person, but for simplicity I'm just going to stick to the name on the title page.
Pros stories first:
In The Mood, by Kathy Keegan. 16 pages. Doyle is startled when Murphy makes a pass at him, but takes him up on it. Afterwards, Murphy confesses the reason for the pass: he and Bodie had been speculating about Doyle. Doyle decides to teach Bodie a lesson by pushing him and then telling him where to get off. But they end up talking instead. There are some terrifically long monologues about feelings in here - at one stage Doyle talks solidly for an entire page (so about a thousand words) - and some authorial insistence that 'this is how it is for men' which, well, um. But there is brief Doyle/Murphy as well as Bodie/Doyle, and I liked that.
Birds of Ill Omen, by Kathy Keegan. 8 pages. Bodie and Doyle wake up with terrific hangovers. Emerging to greet their girlfriends, they are appalled to realise that they each apparently proposed that night, and the girls accepted. Much angst ensues. This one isn't my thing. Part of this is because I find both the basic premise and what they do to solve it unrealistic. Yes, I know I was quite happy to accept Murphy and Bodie laying bets about Doyle. I am not terribly consistent, no.
Codes of Honour, by Jane. Crossover with Arthur of the Britons. 10 pages. Arthur of the Britons was a British series in the seventies which was set in the Dark Ages rather than the usual fantasy version of twelfth century. Long hair, horses, mud-wrestling in the first episode, someone tied up against a big rock with not much on later in the series, you can see the attraction. This story is billed as a follow-up to East Wind Blowing, a Jane story in Fantazine 4 which I had not read when I read this one. I didn't need to. I did need to pay attention, though, to follow the goings-on. Arthur must mediate between feuding factions, most of whom are canon characters in Arthur of the Britons. The Professionals link appears in the form of Baedann and Derai (known as 'Rai'...), two warriors from 'the north'. They don't have a lot to do in this; it's much more an AotB story. I asked for a second opinion from an AotB fan: trepkos enjoyed it, and may be along later to comment.
Kindred, by Barbara Jones. Crossover with Highlander (the film). 8 pages. Apparently a sequel to 'A Kind Of Magic', also to be found in Fantazine 4, and also unread by me. I have at least seen Highlander, and this takes place during the events of the film. Bodie and Doyle must guard Connor MacLeod when the Kurgan is spotted in London. They already know about Connor and other Immortals, presumably from the previous story. Quite liked the Highlander aspects to this one: things like Connor's comments about fighting through the centuries and how the Kurgan might think. Didn't really need to be told the names of half the actors in the play they go to see. 'Kindred' worried me as a title because I kept expecting a World of Darkness tie-in (ie, vampires, and I am not keen on vampires in my Pros), but it's not about that: it's about the kinship between warriors. Although these are warriors who curl up on the bed to share a box of chocolate and cuddle.
Dead Ringer, by Shawn Gedge. Crossover with Lethal Weapon. 7 pages. I haven't seen this film either! And so I would not have known the crossover if the zine hadn't said. I'd just have assumed it was an OMC called Riggs. It's told from Riggs's point of view. He is undercover in a gay nightclub, hoping to find and pick up a heroin dealer. Bodie and Doyle are also there, observing and acting as back-up, but this is very much a Riggs story. Ends with Riggs thinking happily back to the threesome of the previous night.
The rest:
Downtown Saturday Night, by Felicity Granger. Man From UNCLE, 12 pages. Thrush have kidnapped a female impersonator from a gay nightclub, replacing him with a woman to put people off the trail. Napoleon and Illya must find the trail, and fit in some sex along the way. This is a Christmas story, appropriately enough. How in character it is, I can't judge. I found the commentary on men watching a woman pretend to be a man pretending to be a woman a bit laboured. There were so many references to how Napoleon and Illya had got together on a beach that I found myself wondering if this story was a sequel to another.
Anvil of the Gods, by Madelaine Ingram. Star Trek. 26 pages. Kirk/Spock. Investigating a now-deserted planet, Kirk and Spock enter a transporter which takes them back to a time when it was populated. As Scotty, Uhura and McCoy try to understand the transporter to get Kirk and Spock back, Kirk and Spock have to fend for themselves until they can return. There is a lot about how exactly they do this - slivers of bone for needles, a convenient bush of berries which numbs flesh for, um, aftercare, and how they make plates. All goes well until the inhabitants arrive, one of whom has his eye on Kirk. I like Star Trek as a show, but have read practically no fic for it (except: see a later review today...) I have heard... things... about Vulcan anatomy and was quite disappointed that this story does not elaborate. Ahem. Instead the part in question was 'strangely human' and I still don't know what it is about Vulcans that's special! (Doon't tell me, I am having much fun speculating.) More seriously, this story postulates a very romantic and passionate relationship, but where that fits in the spectrum of K/S, I don't know.
Won't You Come Home, Dirk Blackpool? by Felicity Granger. Wizards and Warriors. 8 pages. Oh. This show again. This is Erik Greystone/Dirk Blackpool. They are normally deadly enemies, despite childhood friendship. Dirk suffers a blow to the head and amnesia, and forgets they are supposed to be enemies. Guess what they do? I didn't really get the point of this the first time I read it. The second time, I had discovered from the internet that Wizards and Warriors was supposed to be a comedy which lampooned fantasy stereotypes. Which made a little more sense of it. But only a little. Sorry. I think we have to conclude that I have no sense of humour :(
Memories Are Made Of This, by Felicity Granger. UFO. 12 pages. Paul Foster/Ed Straker. I don't think I've read any UFO before, and I haven't seen it. From this, I gather that Foster and Straker work for something called SHADO and the work involves a moonbase and something called Skydiver which may be a submarine. They watch for UFOs. A trouble-maker puts it around that Foster and Straker are lovers. Which they are, so they fear for their jobs as more and more people in the building hear the story...
Heron In The Mist, by Jane. Robin of Sherwood. 37 pages. Robin/Nasir. Aha. I like Robin of Sherwood. I loved it, in fact, and wrote to the programme as an angsty teenager, and still have the photos and publicity blurb they sent me. So I was actually a bit worried about reading fanfic based on it. In the event, I enjoyed this story a lot. Jane clearly enjoys writing dark age and medieval fantasy. I really don't get it for Pros, but even I enjoyed one of her historical Pros AUs, the Flesh and Steel trilogy.
And I enjoyed this story a lot too. There's lots of references to the episodes - which I am clearly going to have to re-watch, because I had forgotten a lot of it. Some of the characterisation is, um, not as I see them, but I can see that it's how Jane might see them. This actually includes the slash: as a 14-year-old solitary fan, I couldn't believe what I was seeing between the Sheriff and Gisbourne - it was my head canon long before Philip Mark came along and confirmed it for me- but I really don't see the same between any of the outlaws. Although I am always happy to read it :) The only thing I didn't care for was her handling of Much: a bit too close to Doyle in Gentle On My Mind, but this is obviously a Jane thing, because there's a touch of this in the newly-revived Robin as his mind re-develops too.
Oh! Plot! Set after series 3, Belleme is back, and hopes to achieve mastery over Albion (the country, not the sword). Herne is in the process of reviving Robin (of Loxley), and Nasir confesses his love for him. Marion needs to be kept safely away from Belleme and therefore from Robin, Robert and the outlaws too, so she's mostly not in it, or being escorted away. Meanwhile, back at the castle, the Sheriff and Guy are uneasily working together, but also conscious that the relationship that used to exist between them has now shattered. There's a battle against Belleme and his minions and their evil powers which I wish the programme had had the budget for - very visually striking. The meaning of the title is explained right at the very end. This is a superstition I have never heard of, but who cares, I enjoyed it.
Which was a good way to end the zine. What else can I tell you? I think all the stories have at least one fairly lengthy sex scene in them. Not always Bodie/Doyle, mind you. There are almost no illustrations - well, not in the sense of original artwork. Just the one illo opposite the poem. But every story has an illustration in the form of a press photo or a scene from the programme and several have two. This is why my page counts differ from elsewhere. I have not included the picture pages in the count.
So overall? If you're solely a Pros fan, hmm. The Pros-only stories are a very small part of the zine. I think your reaction will depend on how much you enjoy Kathy Keegan's stories generally. And two of the Pros crossovers focus on the other fandom. Only the Highlander one is anything approaching equal time - if either show is favoured, it's Pros - and that's got supernatural stuff in it.
If you like other fandoms as well, there's more in here of interest to you. There were a couple that didn't do a lot for me, but I did like the Robin of Sherwood one, and I and my Arthur of the Britons friend liked the Arthur of the Britons one. I found myself enjoying the plot element of the Trek one more than the slash element, oddly, but I think that's because I'm not familiar with how Kirk and Spock are characterised generally.
I have another Full Circle - Full Circle 2 - which I got at the same time as the first one, but I haven't even had time to read all the Pros stories in it (four Pros, two crossovers, which look like they follow on from two in this one - Highlander and Lethal Weapon), let alone the other stories. Maybe that'll be one for next year...
I've acquired a few Nut Hatch zines now, and this is very much in what I am coming to think of as the house style: smallish print, set in double columns, with a lot of words to a page. A rough word count gave me about a word count of 1000 words per page, which matches other Nut Hatch zines - I remember coming up with a similar total for Czardas. This is much, much higher than many other publishers. Gryphon comes close (round about 800-900) but I think 400-500 is not uncommon, and I've seen some which are closer to 250. Nut Hatch zines pack a lot of story into their pages. The proofreading is not perfect (male 'brunettes', best guess at spelling of names in the non-Pros stories - Princess 'Ann', 'Hern' the Hunter, etc - and the occasional missing or wrong word) but it's generally fine.
There's the Nut Hatch's usual halfpage editorial-cum-news column of recent events at the Nut Hatch, a response to comments about a previous zine, Goblin - I conclude from the tenor of the response that people complained because it wasn't slash - and a list of what's coming out shortly, which is lots and lots. I can never get over the prolific output involved here. The artwork is almost all black and white copies of publicity shots. The exception is a picture by Baravan, which is Bodie as portrayed in The Hunting (which I still have not read). This picture goes together with a poem by Jane. This poem is apparently Bodie/Doyle, but I didn't realise it on my first skim. Although 'skim' has something to do with that. There are references to emerald eyes in there, though, so that'll be Doyle.
The non-Pros stories cover Man From UNCLE, Arthur of the Britons, Star Trek, Wizards and Warriors, Highlander, Lethal Weapon, UFO and Robin of Sherwood, and are by a range of authors. Just to be clear here, I am well aware that some of these names are widely thought to be the same person, but for simplicity I'm just going to stick to the name on the title page.
Pros stories first:
In The Mood, by Kathy Keegan. 16 pages. Doyle is startled when Murphy makes a pass at him, but takes him up on it. Afterwards, Murphy confesses the reason for the pass: he and Bodie had been speculating about Doyle. Doyle decides to teach Bodie a lesson by pushing him and then telling him where to get off. But they end up talking instead. There are some terrifically long monologues about feelings in here - at one stage Doyle talks solidly for an entire page (so about a thousand words) - and some authorial insistence that 'this is how it is for men' which, well, um. But there is brief Doyle/Murphy as well as Bodie/Doyle, and I liked that.
Birds of Ill Omen, by Kathy Keegan. 8 pages. Bodie and Doyle wake up with terrific hangovers. Emerging to greet their girlfriends, they are appalled to realise that they each apparently proposed that night, and the girls accepted. Much angst ensues. This one isn't my thing. Part of this is because I find both the basic premise and what they do to solve it unrealistic. Yes, I know I was quite happy to accept Murphy and Bodie laying bets about Doyle. I am not terribly consistent, no.
Codes of Honour, by Jane. Crossover with Arthur of the Britons. 10 pages. Arthur of the Britons was a British series in the seventies which was set in the Dark Ages rather than the usual fantasy version of twelfth century. Long hair, horses, mud-wrestling in the first episode, someone tied up against a big rock with not much on later in the series, you can see the attraction. This story is billed as a follow-up to East Wind Blowing, a Jane story in Fantazine 4 which I had not read when I read this one. I didn't need to. I did need to pay attention, though, to follow the goings-on. Arthur must mediate between feuding factions, most of whom are canon characters in Arthur of the Britons. The Professionals link appears in the form of Baedann and Derai (known as 'Rai'...), two warriors from 'the north'. They don't have a lot to do in this; it's much more an AotB story. I asked for a second opinion from an AotB fan: trepkos enjoyed it, and may be along later to comment.
Kindred, by Barbara Jones. Crossover with Highlander (the film). 8 pages. Apparently a sequel to 'A Kind Of Magic', also to be found in Fantazine 4, and also unread by me. I have at least seen Highlander, and this takes place during the events of the film. Bodie and Doyle must guard Connor MacLeod when the Kurgan is spotted in London. They already know about Connor and other Immortals, presumably from the previous story. Quite liked the Highlander aspects to this one: things like Connor's comments about fighting through the centuries and how the Kurgan might think. Didn't really need to be told the names of half the actors in the play they go to see. 'Kindred' worried me as a title because I kept expecting a World of Darkness tie-in (ie, vampires, and I am not keen on vampires in my Pros), but it's not about that: it's about the kinship between warriors. Although these are warriors who curl up on the bed to share a box of chocolate and cuddle.
Dead Ringer, by Shawn Gedge. Crossover with Lethal Weapon. 7 pages. I haven't seen this film either! And so I would not have known the crossover if the zine hadn't said. I'd just have assumed it was an OMC called Riggs. It's told from Riggs's point of view. He is undercover in a gay nightclub, hoping to find and pick up a heroin dealer. Bodie and Doyle are also there, observing and acting as back-up, but this is very much a Riggs story. Ends with Riggs thinking happily back to the threesome of the previous night.
The rest:
Downtown Saturday Night, by Felicity Granger. Man From UNCLE, 12 pages. Thrush have kidnapped a female impersonator from a gay nightclub, replacing him with a woman to put people off the trail. Napoleon and Illya must find the trail, and fit in some sex along the way. This is a Christmas story, appropriately enough. How in character it is, I can't judge. I found the commentary on men watching a woman pretend to be a man pretending to be a woman a bit laboured. There were so many references to how Napoleon and Illya had got together on a beach that I found myself wondering if this story was a sequel to another.
Anvil of the Gods, by Madelaine Ingram. Star Trek. 26 pages. Kirk/Spock. Investigating a now-deserted planet, Kirk and Spock enter a transporter which takes them back to a time when it was populated. As Scotty, Uhura and McCoy try to understand the transporter to get Kirk and Spock back, Kirk and Spock have to fend for themselves until they can return. There is a lot about how exactly they do this - slivers of bone for needles, a convenient bush of berries which numbs flesh for, um, aftercare, and how they make plates. All goes well until the inhabitants arrive, one of whom has his eye on Kirk. I like Star Trek as a show, but have read practically no fic for it (except: see a later review today...) I have heard... things... about Vulcan anatomy and was quite disappointed that this story does not elaborate. Ahem. Instead the part in question was 'strangely human' and I still don't know what it is about Vulcans that's special! (Doon't tell me, I am having much fun speculating.) More seriously, this story postulates a very romantic and passionate relationship, but where that fits in the spectrum of K/S, I don't know.
Won't You Come Home, Dirk Blackpool? by Felicity Granger. Wizards and Warriors. 8 pages. Oh. This show again. This is Erik Greystone/Dirk Blackpool. They are normally deadly enemies, despite childhood friendship. Dirk suffers a blow to the head and amnesia, and forgets they are supposed to be enemies. Guess what they do? I didn't really get the point of this the first time I read it. The second time, I had discovered from the internet that Wizards and Warriors was supposed to be a comedy which lampooned fantasy stereotypes. Which made a little more sense of it. But only a little. Sorry. I think we have to conclude that I have no sense of humour :(
Memories Are Made Of This, by Felicity Granger. UFO. 12 pages. Paul Foster/Ed Straker. I don't think I've read any UFO before, and I haven't seen it. From this, I gather that Foster and Straker work for something called SHADO and the work involves a moonbase and something called Skydiver which may be a submarine. They watch for UFOs. A trouble-maker puts it around that Foster and Straker are lovers. Which they are, so they fear for their jobs as more and more people in the building hear the story...
Heron In The Mist, by Jane. Robin of Sherwood. 37 pages. Robin/Nasir. Aha. I like Robin of Sherwood. I loved it, in fact, and wrote to the programme as an angsty teenager, and still have the photos and publicity blurb they sent me. So I was actually a bit worried about reading fanfic based on it. In the event, I enjoyed this story a lot. Jane clearly enjoys writing dark age and medieval fantasy. I really don't get it for Pros, but even I enjoyed one of her historical Pros AUs, the Flesh and Steel trilogy.
And I enjoyed this story a lot too. There's lots of references to the episodes - which I am clearly going to have to re-watch, because I had forgotten a lot of it. Some of the characterisation is, um, not as I see them, but I can see that it's how Jane might see them. This actually includes the slash: as a 14-year-old solitary fan, I couldn't believe what I was seeing between the Sheriff and Gisbourne - it was my head canon long before Philip Mark came along and confirmed it for me- but I really don't see the same between any of the outlaws. Although I am always happy to read it :) The only thing I didn't care for was her handling of Much: a bit too close to Doyle in Gentle On My Mind, but this is obviously a Jane thing, because there's a touch of this in the newly-revived Robin as his mind re-develops too.
Oh! Plot! Set after series 3, Belleme is back, and hopes to achieve mastery over Albion (the country, not the sword). Herne is in the process of reviving Robin (of Loxley), and Nasir confesses his love for him. Marion needs to be kept safely away from Belleme and therefore from Robin, Robert and the outlaws too, so she's mostly not in it, or being escorted away. Meanwhile, back at the castle, the Sheriff and Guy are uneasily working together, but also conscious that the relationship that used to exist between them has now shattered. There's a battle against Belleme and his minions and their evil powers which I wish the programme had had the budget for - very visually striking. The meaning of the title is explained right at the very end. This is a superstition I have never heard of, but who cares, I enjoyed it.
Which was a good way to end the zine. What else can I tell you? I think all the stories have at least one fairly lengthy sex scene in them. Not always Bodie/Doyle, mind you. There are almost no illustrations - well, not in the sense of original artwork. Just the one illo opposite the poem. But every story has an illustration in the form of a press photo or a scene from the programme and several have two. This is why my page counts differ from elsewhere. I have not included the picture pages in the count.
So overall? If you're solely a Pros fan, hmm. The Pros-only stories are a very small part of the zine. I think your reaction will depend on how much you enjoy Kathy Keegan's stories generally. And two of the Pros crossovers focus on the other fandom. Only the Highlander one is anything approaching equal time - if either show is favoured, it's Pros - and that's got supernatural stuff in it.
If you like other fandoms as well, there's more in here of interest to you. There were a couple that didn't do a lot for me, but I did like the Robin of Sherwood one, and I and my Arthur of the Britons friend liked the Arthur of the Britons one. I found myself enjoying the plot element of the Trek one more than the slash element, oddly, but I think that's because I'm not familiar with how Kirk and Spock are characterised generally.
I have another Full Circle - Full Circle 2 - which I got at the same time as the first one, but I haven't even had time to read all the Pros stories in it (four Pros, two crossovers, which look like they follow on from two in this one - Highlander and Lethal Weapon), let alone the other stories. Maybe that'll be one for next year...