Fanzine Archive acquired by University of Iowa

The University of Iowa Libraries, with the help of the Organization for Transformative Works (OTW,) has acquired The Fanzine Archive, a collection of 3,000 classic fanzines long managed by Mariellen (Ming) Wathne. The bulk of Ming’s collection are Star Wars titles originally collected by Lucasfilm themselves, a valuable cache of fandom and fanfic history. (You can read more about the collection’s history at Fanlore.)

OTW and UI are intent on securing even more ‘zines and documents as part of their Fan Culture Preservation Project.

The fandom minute

From the Blogside

In An American Mythology: Why Star Wars Still Matters Steven D. Greydanus looks at the mythic roots of the saga – and a few common criticisms.

Pablo finds an amusing letter in one of the old Marvel Comics…

Darth Morbus ponders religion and the force. Should we tell him about the folks who think they’re actual Jedi?

The Wookiee has no pants explores the use of religious metaphors in fandom.

Taxy’s adorable Pirates review doodle bring up Star Wars similarities. Beware spoilers!

Discussion: Beej wonders why people still make zines. I’ve been wondering that myself for years. Yeah, having fanfic in tangible form is nice, but that’s why Adobe gave us PDF format.