Finding Aid
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S. Hereld Collection of Blake's 7 Fanzines and Fan Fiction Access and Restrictions: This collection is open for research. Digital Surrogates: Except where indicated, this document describes but does not reproduce the actual text, images and objects which make up this collection. Materials are available only in the Special Collections Department. Copyright: Please read The University of Iowa Libraries' statement on Property Rights, Copyright Law, and Permissions to Use Unpublished Materials. Use of Collections: The University of Iowa Libraries supports access to the materials, published and unpublished, in its collections. Nonetheless, access to some items may be restricted by their fragile condition or by contractual agreement with donors, and it may not be possible at all times to provide appropriate machinery for reading, viewing or accessing non-paper-based materials. Please read our Use of Manuscripts Statement. Acquisition and Processing Information: S. Hereld donated these materials to Special Collections in May 2008. An additional accession of convention videotapes was received and processed in July 2011. Photographs: None |
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Scope and Contents
The Hereld Collection consists primarily of fanzines and examples of fan fiction by a number of authors, dealing with the British science fiction television series Blake's 7. There are also some items of fan fiction involving other genre shows, including The X-Files, Highlander: The Series, The Sentinel, and The Sandbaggers.
Most of the items are pieces of fan fiction. Fan fiction is defined as stories, novellas, novels, or poems written by fans about the characters, situations or general universe of the original work. Much of the fan fiction is of the "slash" variety. "Slash" refers to fan fiction that is sexually explicit, and same-sex in nature. In slash sex and sexuality are often the centers of the story, rather than the more conventional adventures featured in more traditional fan fiction.
In addition to the self-published fan materials, there is also a fairly long run of the more professionally produced Horizon, the official fan magazine of the Blake's 7 Apprecation Society. The collection also contains VHS videotapes, made by fans, of several fan-run (as opposed to professionally organized) conventions from 1988 through 1992 or 1993. Most of these conventions were Blake's 7-oriented. The tapes were made in order to provide a documentary record of the conventions and were available for sale to attendees or fans who could not attend.
Biographical Note
Sandy Hereld was a major figure in the world of genre fandom in the 1990s. She was a noted slash fan and fanfic writer, and was an especially active vidder. Among her fannish achievements were the founding of Virgule, the first Internet slash mailing list, and the hosting of a number of different fanfic sites. She also, in collaboration with several other fans, created the annual "Vid Review" panel at the annual slash convention Escapade. Hereld was a co-founder of the vidding collective Media Cannibals, which produced a number of vid tape collections and was influential in promoting vidding as a fan activity and fashioning a particular vidding aesthetic.
Beloved by many of her fellow fans for her enthusiasm, her giving nature, and her bubbly personality, Sandy Hereld passed away from cancer on July 19, 2011.
Historical Note
Blake's 7 was created by Doctor Who writer Terry Nation, and was broadcast from 1978-1981 by the British Broadcasting Corporation. The show was popular and well-received by critics and audiences alike throughout its run. The show was based around the adventures of a ragtag group of rebels that battled the tyrannical Terran Federation. For the first two seasons of the show, the group was led by revolutionary Roj Blake (played by Gareth Thomas) and operated from a derelict alien spacecraft comandeered by the rebels and renamed Liberator.
During the first two years, the show was marked by continuing conflict between Blake, an idealist fighting for freedom and justice, and the rest of his crew, a collection of outlaws and criminals. Of particular note was the ongoing duel of personalities between Blake and ruthless, cynical realist Kerr Avon (Paul Darrow). After Blake disappeared at the end of the second season, Avon replaced him as leader of the crew, revealing an ongoing internal conflict within Avon between his sense of self-preservation and a growing, Blake-inspired concern with freedom fighting. This conflict made Avon perhaps the most complex character on the show, and certainly contributed to his immense popularity among Blakes 7 fans.
Blake's 7 was a significant break from its much more optimistic fellow cult shows Star Trek and Doctor Who, as well as the more simple good-evil dualism of the Star Wars movies and of early science fiction movies and TV. The show is notable for its dark and pessimistic tone, its collection of morally ambivalent, sometimes unsympathetic characters, and for the development of long story arcs. These features came to influence much subsequent science fiction television shows, including Babylon 5, the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Firefly, Farscape, Andromeda, and Lexx.
The show was also noted for its surprising willingness to kill off or otherwise remove major characters. Of the original 7 crew members introduced in the show's first season, convicted murderer Gan (David Jackson) was killed in Season 2, Blake himself and smuggler Jenna (Sally Knyvette) disappeared at the end of that season. Telepathic guerilla warrior Cally (Jan Chappell) died at the end of Season 3, along with the Liberator itself and its superintelligent computer Zen (Peter Tuddenham).
The final episode of the series, "Blake", epitomized the show's concern with the fatal costs of resistance. The episode saw the return and death of Blake himself (shot by his ertswhile comrade Avon), the destruction of the rebels' replacement ship Scorpio, and the apparent shooting deaths of 4 additional Scorpio crew members - resistance fighter Dayna (Josette Simon), mercenary Soolin (Glynis Barber), pilot and contraband runner Tarrant (Steven Pacey), and cowardly thief Vila (Michael Keating, one of the original 7) - by Federation forces. In the memorable final shot of the episode (and the show), Avon steps over Blake's body, raises his gun, and smiles at the Federation guards who have surrounded him. The screen goes black as shots ring out.
The show's complex themes of shifting loyalities, freedom for all vs. self-involvement, and the struggle of the few vs. the many have made it a definite cult hit with a dedicated fan base. Many fans are particularly taken with the character of the morally ambiguous Avon, the subject of much of the fan fiction in the collection.
Related Materials
For other fannish collections, many of which contain materials relating to the same media fandoms chronicled in this collection, please consult the Fandom-Related Collections subject page, at http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/sc/resources/FandomResources/.
Box Contents List
Blake's 7 |
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Box 1 |
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| Folder | Item Title |
| 1 | Alternative Seven #2 - 3 (n.d.) |
| 2 | Amare # 2: "Cross-Switch" (n.d.) |
| 3 | Anglo File (1985) |
| 4 | Avon, Anyone? (1987?) |
| 5 | Avon Calling #1-2 (1990-1991) |
| 6 | Avon Calling #3 (1994) |
| 7 | Avon the Terrible (1990) |
| 8 | Before and After (n.d.) |
| 9 | Beloved Adversary (1994) |
| 10 | Bizarro Zine #1-2 (1988-1989) |
| 11 | Bizarro Zine - Bizarro Coloring Album (1991) |
| 12 | Blake, Rabble and Roll #1-3 (1989-1992) |
| 13 | Blake's 7 A-Z: An Index to B7 Fiction #1 (1984) |
| 14 | Blake's 7: A Marvel Monthly #18 (1983) |
| 15 | Blake's 7 Poster Magazine #1 (February 1994) |
| 16 | Blake's Doubles #1-3 (1988-1990) |
| 17 | Blake's Seven: The Other Side #1, 3 (1986-1987) |
| 18 | Blake's Seven: The Other Side #4-5 (1987-1988) |
| 19 | Blake's Seven: The Other Side #6, 9 (1989, 1993) |
| 20 | Brother of Shadows....and Son of the Light (1989) |
| 21 | Checkers: A Tale of Treachery (1992) |
| 22 | Cohorts #2 (1995) |
| 23 | A Companion for My Death (1989) |
| 24 | Crossroads (n.d.) |
| 25 | Dark Between the Stars #2, 5 (1990, 1993?) |
| 26 | Different Destinies #1 (1989) |
| 27 | Double Vision (1993) |
| 28 | Doppelganger (n.d.) |
Box 2 |
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| 1 | The Epic (n.d.) |
| 2 | Fire and Ice #2 (1993) |
| 3 | Freedom City Gazette #1-4 and Fall Special 1987 (1987-1988) |
| 4 | Freedom City Gazette# 5-8 and Winter Special 1989 (1989-1990) |
| 5 | Gambit #2 (1988) |
| 6 | Gambit #4 (1989) |
7 |
Gambit #6 (1990) |
| 8 | Gambit #9 (1992) |
| 9 | Ghost - Blake's Seven: A Sixth Series #1-2 and All That Was Ever Ours (1986-1987) |
| 10 | Ghost - Blake's Seven: A Sixth Series #3-5 (1987-1990) |
| 11 | The Great Lord Shiva's Dance (n.d.) |
| 12 | Hip Deep in Heroes: A Blake's 7 Filk Song Book (1989) |
| 13 | Horizon #12, 17-20 (1983?, 1986-1988) |
| 14 | Horizon #21-24 (1988-1990) |
| 15 | Horizon #25-28 (1990-1992) |
| 16 | Horizon #29-31 (1992-1994) |
| 10 | Horizon #32-35 (1995-1996) |
| 11 | Horizon #36-37, 39 (1997-1998) |
| 12 | Horizon (Fan Fiction) #2, 17 (n.d., 1992) |
| 13 | I, Avon (n.d.) |
| 14 | Interface #1 (June 1982) |
| 15 | Input #1, 3 (1988-1989) |
| 16 | Klyn's Seven, or, How to Really Run a Revolution (1989) |
| 17 | Laidback #3-4 (1983, n.d.) |
| 18 | Liberator #3, 5-6, 10 (n.d., 1980) |
| 19 | Liberator Dreams (1991) |
Box 3 |
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| 1 | Log of the Hellhound #1-2 (1988) |
| 2 | Log of the Hellhound #7-8 (n.d.) |
| 3 | The Long Way Back (1989) |
| 4 | The Machiavelli Factor (1982) |
| 5 | Magnificent Tails (1988) |
| 6 | Mascarada (1985) |
| 7 | The Measure of Affection (1992) |
| 8 | The Mind of a Man is A Double-Edged Sword (1983) |
| 9 | Morgan (1998) |
| 10 | Oblaque #1-2 (1988-1989) |
| 11 | Oblaque #3-4 (1989-1990) |
| 12 | Oblaque #6 (1993) |
| 13 | Oracle (1986) |
| 14 | Out of Orbit (n.d.) |
| 15 | Panning for Pyrites (1989) |
| 16 | Power #1-2 (1989-1990) |
| 17 | Powerplay #1-2 (1987-1988) |
| 18 | Powerplay #3 (1988) |
| 19 | Probability Square (1989) |
| 20 | Program - Blake's Seven: A Fifth Season #1-2 (1986) |
| 21 | Program - Blake's Seven: A Fifth Season #3-4 (1986) |
| 22 | Promises, Promises (1993) |
| 23 | Raising Hell #1-2 (1987-1988) |
| 24 | Raising Hell #3-5 (1990-1992) |
| 25 | Rallying Call #12-15 (1995) |
Box 4 |
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| 1 | Rallying Call #16-19 (1996) |
| 2 | Rallying Call various (1992, 1994, n.d.) |
| 3 | Resistance #2-3 (1988-1989) |
| 4 | Resistance #4-5 (1990-1991) |
| 5 | Resistance #8 (1994) |
| 6 | Return of the 7 (1985) |
| 7 | Return to Cygnus Alpha (n.d.) [Originally appeared in Liberator #1] |
| 8 | Risk (1997) [Multimedia slash zine with television show Wiseguy] |
| 9 | Second Chance (n.d.) |
| 10 | Seventh Sector #1 (n.d.) |
| 11 | Shadow at the Edge (1995) |
| 12 | Shadowplay (1988) |
| 13 | Signals From Scorpio #17-20 (1987) |
| 14 | Songs of Innocence (1993) |
| 15 | Southern Comfort #5.5 (May 1990) |
| 16 | Southern Comfort #6.5 (April 1991) |
| 17 | Southern Comfort #7.5 (May 1993) |
| 18 | Southern Lights Special #2.5, 3.5 (1986-1987) |
| 19 | Southern Seven #1 (December 1986) |
| 20 | Southern Seven #2 (October 1987) |
| 21 | Southern Seven #3 (August 1988) |
| 22 | Southern Seven #4 (December 1988) |
| 23 | Southern Seven #5 (July 1989) |
| 24 | Southern Seven #6 (October 1991) |
Box 5 |
|
| 1 | Southern Seven #7 (April 1992) |
| 2 | Southern Seven #10 (May 1995) |
| 3 | Standard By Seven #11 (April 1982) |
| 4 | Standard By Several #1-3 (1987-1990) |
| 5 | Straight Blake's #3 (1996) |
| 6 | Ten-Credit Touch: The Lighter Side of B7 Kink (1993) |
7 |
Terminal: A Behind the Scenes Look at Blake's Seven (1990) |
| 8 | Terra Nostra Underground #2 (1990) |
| 9 | Those Who Favor Fire (1989) |
| 10 | Time Distort #1-2 (1983) |
| 11 | The Totally Imaginary Cheeseboard (1988) |
| 12 | Touched #1-7 (1984-1986) |
| 13 | Touched #8-11 (1986-1987) |
| 14 | The Unique Touch #2 (1988) |
| 15 | The Void Aflame, Like a Bonfire (1989) |
| 16 | Wallow Zine (n.d.) |
| 17 | The Way Back #1 (1983) |
| 18 | Miscellaneous SF Magazines with Blake's 7-related articles (1979, 1981, 1992, 1995) |
| Other Media Properties | |
Escape From New York/The Man from U.N.C.L.E. |
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| 19 | The "Escape From New York" Affair (1992) |
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Forever Knight |
| 20 | Lizards In The Grass (1995) |
Highlander: The Series |
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| 21 | Futures Without End #1-2 (1998-1999) |
| 22 | Futures Without End #4 (2001) |
The Sandbaggers |
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| 23 | Cities and Thrones and Powers (1982) - Photocopy [Possibly Pirated] |
| 24 | Gods of the Copybook Headings (Part One)(1984) - Photocopy [Possibly Pirated] |
| 25 | It Couldn't Happen Now.... (1992) |
| 26 | A Sense of Occasion, volume 1, issues #1-6 (1990-1991) [Issue #1 incomplete] |
| 27 | A Sense of Occasion, volume 2, issues #1-5 (1991-1992) |
| 28 | Trade Secrets (n.d.) |
The Sentinel |
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| 29 | Hope (May 1998) |
| 30 | Love and Guns VIII (May 1999) |
| 31 | Pregnant Pauses (1999) |
| 32 | Rough Trade (May 1998) |
| 33 | Your Kink Or Mine? (August 1999) |
Box 6 |
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The X-Files |
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| 1 | Beach Blanket Frisky (May 1995) |
| 2 | Incident UXP #1-3 (1994-1995) |
| 3 | Layup (1995?) |
| 4 | Property of the FBI #4-5 (1995-1996) |
| 5 | The Skeptic and the Believer #2 (May 1996) |
| 6 | Travels with Mulder (April 1995) |
Assorted |
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| 7 | Various fan fiction (n.d.) |
Box 7
Convention Videotapes
1988 Anglicon (Seattle) [1 tape]
Guest: Paul Darrow
Opening, Darrow Q&A, Liar's Panel, Masquerade
1988 Confederation (New Zealand) [1 tape]
1989 Gambit (New Jersey) [3 tapes]
Tape 1: Opening, Las Vegas Nite, Big Wheel Revue
Tape 2: Makeup Session, Auction
Tape 3: Auction, Liar's Panel, Closing, Sock Hop
1989 Unicon '89 [1 tape]
Guest: Paul Darrow
B7 Panel, B7 Liar's Panel, Auction, Heroes & Villains
1990 Orbit [4 tapes]
Guests: Paul Darrow, Michael Keating
Tape 1: Opening, Director's Panel, Dramtic Reading
Tape 2: Paul Darrow's One-Man Show, Panel: Avon Wins?
Tape 3: Panel: Vila Restal - Hero?, Darrow's Acting Workshop, Keating's Comedy
Tape 4: Panel: Orbit, Panel: Avon/Vila, Closing, Staff Party
1992 Visions (Chicago) [2 tapes]
Guests: Gareth Thomas, Michael Praed (Robin of Sherwood), Colin Baker (Doctor Who)
Tape 1: Opening Ceremony, Thomas, Charity Auction
Tape 2: Thomas, Praed, Baker, Closing
1992 Unicon '92 [1 tape]
Guests: Ray Sharkey (Wiseguy), Jim Burns (Highlander: The Series)
Also contains "Later" interview with Sharkey by Katie Couric
1993? DSV [2 tapes]
Guests: Paul and Janet Darrow, Terry Nation, Jan Chappell, Michael Keating
Tape 1: Multiple actor panels
Tape 2: Banquet, Auction
1993? Scorpio IV [2 tapes]
