EXCAVATIONS -- Pterodactyl's Egg, A KU Fanzine
This is a tale of a time at the University of Kansas when a group called the KU Science Fiction Club sprang into being. The year was 1976, and MidAmericon, the 1976 World Science Fiction Convention, had just taken place. Kansas City had become a hotbed of fan activity, and groups had sprung up all around our region. Lawrence, Kansas, was particularly ripe for an active fan club. Professional author and Science Fiction Grand Master, James Gunn, was on staff teaching there. The annual John W. Campbell Conference had made KU its regular home. And graduate student and soon-to-be Nebula Award winning writer, John Kessel was on hand.
James Murray, known far and wide these modern days as "Dr. Paisley," and his wife, Paula Murray were students at KU and, inspired by the experience of MidAmericon, formed the KU Science Fiction Club. And what would a science fiction club be without a fanzine, of course. Jim and Paula and the rest of the club proved completely up to the challenge. Over the course of the next two years, from 1976 through 1978, they would produce six (at least six) issues of PTERODACTYL'S EGG, as fine a fanzine as ever to emerge from a campus club or anywhere else.
The artist of these first two covers, David Reisman, saw my mention of PTERODACYL'S EGG in a previous "Excavations" post and contacted me. I hope he's reading here still, as I regard him as a terrific fan artist. I especially invite him to add any comments to this post and any insights into the production of this fanzine. I'm sure it would be great fun.
PTERODACTYL'S EGG offered a great blend of humor, book reviews, poetry, even some cartoon features. There are interviews, particularly of note one with Frederick Pohl. As with so many fan productions, editors Murray and Murray published whatever struck their fancy.
With issue number three, John Kessel came on board as advisor, whether of the club or just the fanzine or both, I'm unsure. Kessel, previously a graduate in physics at Rochester, NY, had moved to Lawrence to enroll at KU to pursue his graduate degree in writing. In addition to serving as advisor to the KU Science Fiction Club, Kessel was also a member of the Kansas City Science Fiction and Fantasy Society. During this period, he sold his first story, "The Silver Man," to GALILEO Magazine, and his career rapidly took off. Just a year or so later, he won his first Nebula Award for "Another Orphan." I was very proud to go to the New York Nebulas event that year to see him claim the trophy.
By this third issue, PTERODACTYL'S EGG is up to 50 pages. It also sports some terrific back-cover artwork. Here's an example.
In 1978, Jim and Paula graduated from KU and moved to Kansas City where they became important members of the Kansas City Science Fiction and Fantasy Society. Kessel shortly completed his doctorate. He, too, moved to Kansas City for a time and then on to North Carolina where he teaches at the University of North Carolina.
I don't know exactly when the KU Science Fiction Club ceased to exist. Certainly, science fiction still thrives on the KU campus. Jim Gunn is now a professor emeritus and still hosts the annual Campbell Conference, as well as a long-running annual summer writer's workshop. It is the home of the Center for the Study of Science Fiction, as well, and has an impressive science fiction collection in its Spenser Library. However, to my knowledge no group has officially arisen to replace the KU Science Fiction Club, and no further fanzines like PTERODACTYL'S EGG have ever appeared. It was, in so many ways, very much a product of its time.
An additional note: I should have mentioned further up that Paula Murray went on to write a series of excellent stories that appeared in several of Marion Zimmer Bradley's anthologies. She and Jim remain active in fandom and were key figures in the attempt to bring the worldcon back to Kansas City in 2012, an attempt that unfortunately failed.
Meanwhile, back to David Reisman. Once again, please, if you'd like to add some comments or further rememberances about this zine, the club, or your current activities, please do so!
And with these additional covers and back-covers, we come to the end of this "Excavations." I'm having great fun offering these, and I hope some of you out there are finding them enjoyable, incomplete and brief as they are. So, I tip back a small shot of the precious Beam's Choice and close this out.
Good night, Bob Tucker, whereever you are.
James Murray, known far and wide these modern days as "Dr. Paisley," and his wife, Paula Murray were students at KU and, inspired by the experience of MidAmericon, formed the KU Science Fiction Club. And what would a science fiction club be without a fanzine, of course. Jim and Paula and the rest of the club proved completely up to the challenge. Over the course of the next two years, from 1976 through 1978, they would produce six (at least six) issues of PTERODACTYL'S EGG, as fine a fanzine as ever to emerge from a campus club or anywhere else.
The artist of these first two covers, David Reisman, saw my mention of PTERODACYL'S EGG in a previous "Excavations" post and contacted me. I hope he's reading here still, as I regard him as a terrific fan artist. I especially invite him to add any comments to this post and any insights into the production of this fanzine. I'm sure it would be great fun.
PTERODACTYL'S EGG offered a great blend of humor, book reviews, poetry, even some cartoon features. There are interviews, particularly of note one with Frederick Pohl. As with so many fan productions, editors Murray and Murray published whatever struck their fancy.
With issue number three, John Kessel came on board as advisor, whether of the club or just the fanzine or both, I'm unsure. Kessel, previously a graduate in physics at Rochester, NY, had moved to Lawrence to enroll at KU to pursue his graduate degree in writing. In addition to serving as advisor to the KU Science Fiction Club, Kessel was also a member of the Kansas City Science Fiction and Fantasy Society. During this period, he sold his first story, "The Silver Man," to GALILEO Magazine, and his career rapidly took off. Just a year or so later, he won his first Nebula Award for "Another Orphan." I was very proud to go to the New York Nebulas event that year to see him claim the trophy.
By this third issue, PTERODACTYL'S EGG is up to 50 pages. It also sports some terrific back-cover artwork. Here's an example.
In 1978, Jim and Paula graduated from KU and moved to Kansas City where they became important members of the Kansas City Science Fiction and Fantasy Society. Kessel shortly completed his doctorate. He, too, moved to Kansas City for a time and then on to North Carolina where he teaches at the University of North Carolina.
I don't know exactly when the KU Science Fiction Club ceased to exist. Certainly, science fiction still thrives on the KU campus. Jim Gunn is now a professor emeritus and still hosts the annual Campbell Conference, as well as a long-running annual summer writer's workshop. It is the home of the Center for the Study of Science Fiction, as well, and has an impressive science fiction collection in its Spenser Library. However, to my knowledge no group has officially arisen to replace the KU Science Fiction Club, and no further fanzines like PTERODACTYL'S EGG have ever appeared. It was, in so many ways, very much a product of its time.
An additional note: I should have mentioned further up that Paula Murray went on to write a series of excellent stories that appeared in several of Marion Zimmer Bradley's anthologies. She and Jim remain active in fandom and were key figures in the attempt to bring the worldcon back to Kansas City in 2012, an attempt that unfortunately failed.
Meanwhile, back to David Reisman. Once again, please, if you'd like to add some comments or further rememberances about this zine, the club, or your current activities, please do so!
And with these additional covers and back-covers, we come to the end of this "Excavations." I'm having great fun offering these, and I hope some of you out there are finding them enjoyable, incomplete and brief as they are. So, I tip back a small shot of the precious Beam's Choice and close this out.
Good night, Bob Tucker, whereever you are.