[This is a transcription of the Minicon 12 program book done in 2019. It may well have errors. If there are errors in the original, the intent here is to reproduce them faithfully. When we notice that we've done this, we'll add a note in square brackets like "[sic]". Other notes occur in square brackets, with none appearing in the original. We apologize for any inadvertently corrected errors. Lines filled with hyphens indicate page boundaries. When pages have page numbers, these are included. Some things are underlined in the original. To avoid cluttering this transcription (the underlines don't generally seem to change the meaning), this is not noted.] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [Front cover: art by Jim Odbert with "Minicon 12" at the top. The "2" is hugging the "1" and the "1" says "It's nice to be a loved one". There's a dodo saying "Presenting the Dododecacon".] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [Silhouette of front cover art, with numbered figures] COVER KEY 1 Ben Bova- Pro Guest of Honor 2-3 Buck & Juanita Coulson- Fan Guests of Honor 4 Invisible Man- Joe Haldeman - Toastmaster 5 Dodo- Dave Wixon- ExCom 6 Dragon- Margie Lessinger- ExCom 7 Janandra- Jan Appelbaum- ExCom 8 Wombat- Denny Lien- ExCom 9 Gryphon- David Emerson- Publications 10 Ursa Major- Jim Odbert- Art Show 11 Bullwinkle- Dave Murz- Films 12 Hugglebunny- Jerry Stearns- Parties 13 Squeek [sic] Bear- Scott Imes-Video 14 Dwarf- Richard Tatge 15 Lemmings- Ken Hoyme(count them) 16 Echidna- Caryl Bucklin 17 Little Fuzzy- Lynn Anderson 18 Apteryx- Mark Digre 19 Hobbit Frank Stodolka 20 Hoka- Rick Gellman 21 Arnadillo- Louie Spooner 22 Bandersnatch- Gerry Wassenaar 23 GoFers- (bless them one and all) 21 LemmingTon [sic] - where it's at 25 Ecologically Safe Zeppelin 26 HUGO 73 when it's in MPLS Not present for picture- [note: it's not a photo] Joel Lessinger, John Stanley And of course Fred Haskell- Official Happy Deadwood MINICON 12 PROGRAM BOOK Art Credits: Jim Odbert-- cover, 2 Mike Gilbert-- 5, 8, 10 EssJay-- 12, 28 Alexis Gilliland-- 20 Glenn Blacow-- 23 2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ WELCOME TO MINICON! Come, fannish clans and humanoids And gather at the Con, To party, argue, drink and sing, Carouse and buck, or anything -- Disrupt the place 'til dawn. Associate with finer filk. Come in from out the smog. Be not afraid, come as you are And visit our bizarre bazaar, And fill yourself with blog. True fen are drawn to Minicon, (For confans, the Grand Prix) So, if you never say "Sci-Fi," Be not adverse to dropping by -- Minneapolis in '73!!! John Huotari Minnetonka MINICON 12 PROGRAM BOOK is published by the Minnesota Science Fiction Society, Inc. (Minn-stf). Editor is David Emerson. Entire contents copyright (C) 1977 by the Minnesota Science Fiction Society. Inc. All rights revert to the individual writers and artists. All material not credited is the responsibility of the publications staff. April 8, 1977. 3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ NOTES ON THE CON NAME TAGS: Because of the size of the con, and our use of expensive equipment, we are forced to require all convention members to either wear their name tags or show their registration cards in order to enter any convention function or meeting room. We apologize for this inconvenience, but it is absolutely essential. PLEASE -- WEAR YOUR NAME TAG!! COMPLAINTS, INFORMATION, ETC.: If you wish to volunteer to help the convention, or if you have any queries or complaints, please go to the convention Registration Room (Minnesota Room). A message board for those wish- ing to leave messages, requests for rides or room-mates, and so on, can be found there. COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Are the very frazzled-looking fans with the distinctive blue name tags. If you have a problem, request, or any sort of feedback, a blue-tagged committee member can either help you or point you to the appropriate official. RUNE: The club fanzine of the Minnesota Science Fiction Society, Inc. (Minn-stf) is offered to Minicon members at a special subscription rate of merely $1.00 for an entire year. Sign up in the Registration area. HUGO AWARDS: Nomination ballots for the Hugos are available in the Registration area. If you are not yet a member of the 1977 World Science Fiction Convention (SunCon, in Miami Beach), you may join at the time you send in your ballot; you must be a member of SunCon to nominate and vote for the Hugos. HOSPITALITY SUITE: Odd-numbered rooms from 553 to 563. Room 563 is a special no-smoking party room. 4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ELECTRONIC MEDIA: We will videotaping [sic] portions of this convention for posterity. You are now a part of history. Speaking of video, there is a video room -- the Wilson Room on the mezzanine level -- where videotapes of past conventions, including Minicon 11 and MidAmeriCon, may be seen. [art] LOUNGES: The Twin Cities Room (basement level) is partly set aside as a lounge for gathering, sitting, talking, catching breath, reading items just bought in the huckster room, etc. etc. In addition, there is a lounge in the Roosevelt Room on the second floor, especially for filk- singing. LIQUIDS: Non-Minnesotans should take local liquor laws into account in their planning. The age limit here is 18. Liquor stores close early: 8:00 PM on Friday, 10:00 PM on Saturday. After those hours you can only buy liquor by the drink (or from room service at about $22.00/qt.). Plan ahead. BREAKFAST AT THE COFFEE SHOP: They don't normally dis- tribute breakfast menus after 11:00 am, but you can order breakfast items anytime the coffee shop is open. BANQUET: A buffet-style, all-you-can-eat dinner, with baked ham and turkey, will cost you $8.50. It also guarantees you a good seat for the GoH speeches after- ward. We must inform the hotel ahead of time as to how many will be attending the banquet, so the deadline for purchasing banquet tickets is 7 pm on Friday. Wine will be available at the banquet for an extra charge; choice of Rose or Chablis -- ask your waitress. 5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ SPEECHIFYING: Seating will be available in the Illinois Room, beginning about 7:00 pm Saturday, for convention members who wish to hear the GoH speeches but are not attending the banquet. DUFF AUCTION: Rusty Hevelin will hold an informal auction between the banquet and the play Saturday evening. All proceeds go to the Down Under Fan Fund. MIDNIGHT SPECIAL: There will be an auction at midnight Saturday. Bring your money and your strongest bidding voice. ARTISTS: Please pick up any unsold art from the art show at closing time on Sunday. Any art left will be held by Jim Odbert until Friday, April 15th. If it is not picked up by that date, it will be shipped COD to the sender. Also, please inform the Artshow Committee if you are leaving the con early and want to take your art with you. NAME TAG HOLDERS: The committee would appreciate it if you would please return the plastic name tag holders at the end of the con. There will be receptacles in obvious places Sunday afternoon. Support re-cycling. CHECK-OUT TIME: Has been extended to 5:00 pm on Sunday. PROGRAM BOOK COVER: Large size (11x17) prints of our delightful cover, signed by the artist, will be on sale for $2.50 during the con. LET'S DO THE TIME WARP AGAIN: Minneapolis in '73!! Credits The editor wishes to thank: Dave Wixon, intrepid publi- cations assistant, for Most Of The Work on the Progress Reports and general assistance; Jim Odbert, for assistance on the Program Book and for the fine, fine cover; Mike Glicksohn, Denny Lien, and Gordy Dickson, for their intro- ductions (and for getting them in in plenty of time); Ken Fletcher, for invaluable assistance and wise words; and EssJay, for dodos, bozos, freehand lettering, puns, peanut butter, and funny noises on the MiniMoog. 6 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [Advertisement for Ace Books] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Guest of Honor Ben Bova by Gordy Dickson [art] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ It was at just such a convention as this one that I found myself walking down a long hotel corridor with Ben Bova, both of us with our hands dripping icy water from the ice cubes we were holding. "Here we are," said Ben to me, "two of the bright lights of science fiction and neither one of us remembered to bring the ice bucket." We had, in fact, just been talking about everything from the Vanguard project, on which Ben had worked some years before, to the kind of religious philosophy intelli- gent spiders might have; and left the hotel room in which we were talking, still with our tongues wagging at several miles a minute, without either of us noticing that the other had not picked up a container. When John Campbell died after nearly four decades of being editor of science fiction's largest and most success- ful magazine, there was more than a small body of opinion which was very pessimistic about the future of the magazine. There had been -- there could only be -- one John Campbell, and the magazine had been in his image. How could another great editor be hoped for, to take over? And if such a one could be found, of course he would remake the magazine in his own image, inevitably. In any case, there would be no more Analog in the true sense. But of course there has been -- to the astonishment of a great many people. And the reason for its continuing existence is a unique ingredient known as Ben Bova. Like John Campbell (and this is the secret), he is one of those rare people whose talents spread all over the map. He has written more than forty books of fiction and non-fiction, all excellent. He has been a working news- paperman, an aerospace executive (that Vanguard Project), a motion picture writer, a television writer, a television science consultant. He has been manager of marketing for Avco Everett Research Laboratory, working with leading scientists in fields such as high-power lasers, magneto- hydrodynamics (MHD), plasma physics and artificial hearts. He has written film scripts for teaching films for the 9 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Physical Sciences Study Committee, working with Nobel laureates; been involved in the work for writers' rights; taught and lectured on topics ranging from the history of science to the future of cities. He has directed science fiction film courses at the Hayden Planetarium and elsewhere. He has been a cup-winning fencer, a critic, and a uniquely capable story doctor. His writing has appeared in magazines from the Smithsonian to Harpers. His book THE FOURTH STATE OF MATTER was honored in 1971 by the American Librarians Association, and there have been other awards which we do not have space for here. You may read about them in The International Who's Who, Contemporary Authors, and other such volumes. Right now, his recent novel MILLENIUM [sic] is breaking frontiers in science fiction. Oh yes, and -- I almost forgot to mention -- he has a great sense of humor. [art with caption "Golly captain, I can't figure out why these Americans are giving us such a big welcome!"] 10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [Advertisement for del Rey] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fan Guests of Honor Buck & Juanita Coulson by Denny Lien [art] 12 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Care and Feeding of the Midwesternis Fan-Pro: Con-going People Watchers have long felt the need of a convenient handbook putting them on equal terms with bird watchers, rock hounds, butterfly netters, and similar outdoors types. These few notes are an attempt to provide a start at such, centering around a matched pair of Fan-Pros (or, if you prefer, Pro-Fans) currently filling the ecological niches of Fan Guests of Honor at Minicon 12: Juanita and Buck Coulson. The novice People-Watcher can identify them most readily by such obvious traits as their name badges or their seats at the banquet, but for those more advanced students wishing to spot then in their natural habitat without disturbing then unduly, the following hints should be kept in mind: Juanita is the shortish People with the wide smile and the very tallish singing voice. She is often found behind a guitar, achieving with it a symbiotic relationship which provides an affirmative answer to the age-old question: can life, order, and beauty exist -- and triumph -- in the hostile (though pleasant) environment of the Con Party? But Juanita has been found adaptable as well to a number of other science-fictional ecosystems: when not connected to a guitar's strings, her hands are most likely to be found in close conjunction with one or more of the following: (1) a mimeo crank, with which, 25 years ago, she printed a one-page fanzine named EISFA -- which, 238 issues later and now named YANDRO, has worn out several mimeo cranks (and mimeos), but is still working on the same Juanita; (2) a typewriter, with which she creates at various tines YANDROs, rock music columns for STARLING, science fiction stories for Ace, Laser, and others, and Gothic novels for Berkeley & Ballantine; and (3) a stylus or other drawing implement, with which she illustrates the YANDROs and anything else within her reach. Juanita thus fills 4 Fan/Pro niches at once: she is in theory capable of writing a novel, providing the illustrations, publishing it herself, and then turning the plot into an instantly-popular filk song. This has the potential of making the rest of fandom (and most of prodom) generally superfluous (those of us who aren't so already). Juanita Coulson, in short, is not only a rara avis [sic] but a genuine Natural Resource. Fortunately for all of us, she seems to be an inexhaustable [sic] one. Robert, Bob, or Buck Coulson (the nomenclature of People-Hatching has not been properly standardized) is the 13 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ somewhat taller People with the facial hair and the slightly sinister smile. One of his most frequent habitats is behind a huckster's table (where he may be so spotted during this Minicon -- buy something expensive and make him feel at ease). During his relatively nocturnal hours, his hands may be likely found wrapped around a book, a fanzine (though he will vehemently deny this, even if surprised in the act), one or more of the weapons which he collects, or a type- writer. (It is possible that this last item is redundant: in his hands, a typewriter often is a weapon.) A common misconception (carefully nurtured by the subject) would have one believe that Buck's single greatest joy in life is pulling the wings off neofans; this is of course simply not true. (Fourth or fifth greatest, maybe.) He is known to be aggressive in defense of his territory: in his first hardcover novel, he killed off Bob Tucker in the first chapter. In its sequel, aliens invade Australian fandom. The gregarious agressiveness [sic] of his professional writing is matched only by the brutal honesty of his fan book reviews (his own latest work was cited -- by himself -- as "Not recommended"). Buck Coulson, despite his carefully self-nutured [sic] image as a curmudgeon, is well worth the acquaintance of any People Watcher who is worth his/her salt and is interested in observing something Completely Different. And he doesn't really bite. (Hard, anyway.) As individual specimens, Juanita and Buck Coulson are well worth collecting. But as a matched pair, they are unique. Their gestalt is responsible for (1) producing the Hugo-winning (and for 10 consecutive years Hugo-nominated) YANDRO; (2) editing such occasional publications as VANDY, DEVLIN'S REVIEW, ST-PHILE, and some clubzine called the SFWA BULLETIN; (3) appearing in the joint plumage of Fan Guests of Honor at the 1972 WorldCon in Los Angeles, and numerous regionals before and since; and (4) spawning one Bruce Coulson, who over the years has risen from mimeo- graphing the address labels for the envelopes to running a regular column in YANDRO. People Watchers will be comforted to learn that the next generation has thus already been accounted for, and that YANDRO seems assured of achieving another 25 years without even breathing hard. But dedicated People Watchers need not wait for the next generation, and will not want to do so. Juanita and Buck are here now, in the flesh and the feathers. Watch. Meet. Enjoy. 14 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [Map of hotel basement level] -- BASEMENT LEVEL -- ART SHOW: Chicago & Philadelphia Rooms AUCTIONS: New York Room HUCKSTERS. LOUNGE: Twin Cities Room UNCLE HUGO'S: Detroit & Milwaukee Rooms IMAGINATION UNLIMITED: Cleveland Room [Map of hotel second floor] -- SECOND FLOOR -- VIDEOTAPE VIEWING: Wilson Room FILKSINGING ROOM: Roosevelt Room 15 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ PROGRAM Friday, April 8 -- Noon: Registration opens 1 pm: Huckster Room opens 3 pm: Art Show opens 4 pm: Movie: Everything you Know Is Wrong (70 min.) 6 pm: OPENING CEREMONIES 6:30 pm: Da Fred Haskell Song 'n' Slide Show 8 pm: Meet the Pros - Autographing Session 8:30 pm: Hucksters, Art Show close 9:30 pm: Hospitality Suite opens (Rooms 553-561) 9:30 pm: Movies: The Mouse that Roared (85 min.) cartoon: "Duck Dogers" 10:00 pm: Registration closes Midnight: Movie: Everything You Know Is Wrong 1:10 am: Movie: Five Million Years to Earth Saturday, April 9 -- 11:00 am: "Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Animation -- Not-so-strange Bedfellows" presented by David Mruz (Michigan Room) 11:00 am: Huckster Room, Art Show open 11:30 am: Registration opens Noon: Art auction 1:30 pm: "Humor in Science Fiction" with Buck Coulson, Bob Vardeman, Jim Young, Joe Haldeman, and Denny Lien 16 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Saturday (continued) 2:30 pm: Debate: "Resolved: Science Fiction Should Get Out of the Classroom and Back into the Gutter Where it Belongs" with Lester del Rey and Ivor Rogers 3:30 pm: "Creating Exotic Alien Creatures" with Clifford Simak, Gordon R. Dickson, Juanita Coulson, and Ruth Berman 5:30 pm: Registration, Art Show, Huckster Rooms close 6:00 pm: BANQUET 7:15 pm: (approximate time) Guest of Honor speeches 8:30 pm: Midwest Side Story 10:00 pm: Hospitality Suite opens 10:00 pm: Movies: The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T (88 min.) Twilight Zone - "The Space Cemetary [sic]" (25 min.) 12:00 pm: Midnight Art Auction 1:00 am: Movies: special surprise feature! Sunday, April 10 -- 11:00 am: Auction 11:00 am: Huckster Room, Art Show open Noon: Registration opens 1:30 pm: Registration closes 1:30 pm: MEET BEN BOVA 2:30 pm: Artists' Panel 3:00 pm: Art Show closes 4:00 pm: Huckster Room closes Easter Weekend, 1978 -- Friday - Sunday: MINICON 13 17 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [Hotel map: Lobby level] REGISTRATION: Minnesota Room OPENING CEREMONIES, PANELS, AUTOGRAPH SESSION, MIDWEST SIDE STORY: Iowa & Wisconsin Rooms MOVIES: Michigan Room BANQUET, GoH SPEECHES: Michigan & Illinois Rooms 18 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [Advertisement for Boston in 1980 Worldcon bid] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Toastmaster Joe Haldeman by Mike Glicksohn [Art including a speech bubble "I want a onion in my martini!"] It's been my privelege [sic] to know Joe Haldeman for over a decade. During that time Joe and I have become fast friends and have shared several of life's more pleasant experiences together. We have roamed the streets of Orly at seven in the morning, stopping ["regularly" struck out] occasionally for pernod [sic] and marvelling at the state of civilization in France. We have photographed spacecraft departing from the Cape, shortly after tossing marshmallows at recalcitrant alligators. We've sipped cheap beer (at our expense) and fancy cocktails (at his editors' expense) in bars and homes all the way from Florida to New York to Canada to the darkest depths of Columbus, Champaign and Cincinnati. 0f such things are introductions made. Joe Haldeman is a splendid choice for Minicon's Toast- master. It'd be hard to find a more social fan or pro, let alone both in one. It'd be hard to find a science fiction figure who gives more freely or more generously of his time and energy to fans, or who enjoys doing so as much. And his credentials for the task are impressive indeed: only Tucker and I know more about drinking and toasting than Joe, and we'll be off in the bar at banquet time; and few denizens of that bizarre and murky world known as fandom have Joe's serious knowledge of science fiction and the people who write it combined with the sort of intimate personal familiarity with the degrading details of our conventional lives that makes for fascinating introductions at banquets! Toss in a formidable ability to hold an audience spellbound, a natural talent and enthusiasm for upfront performing (Joe's only regret about the public spotlight is that it occasionally shines off the thin spot in his hair he prefers I don't mention in public) and an enormous empathy for the frenetic milieu of conventions and you've got yourself a damn fine toastmaster! Can Joe Haldeman string words together well? That, my friends, is the $100,000 question, and if you need to ask it then either you don't belong at this con or it's your first such gathering and you need to meet Joe Haldeman! He's a raconteur par excellence, a tippler non pareil, a fan without equal, and one hell of a fine writer, speaker, and friend. I applaud his selection as Minicon Toastmaster. And I hope someone will drop by the bar after the banquet and confirm my faith in him! 21 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ A CONTEST! With a startling lack of good taste, and in cooper- ation with nobody, Uncle Hugo's Science Fiction Book- store is running a contest, which requires you to NAME NEXT YEAR'S GOR NOVEL The rules are simple. Each member of Minicon may enter once at Uncle Hugo's room in the basement. Each member may enter again at Uncle Hugo's Book- store (where you will find thousands of used books and magazines, over 100 posters, 100's of comics and underground comix, and lots of other stuff not found in Uncle Hugo's room). Each member will be given an entry blank on which to list his name, address, and guess for the title of the 1978 Gor novel. All entries must be in by 6:00 p.m. on Saturday. Saturday night, amidst lots of chuckling, the entries will be compiled. In case more than one person suggests the same title, a drawing will be held to determine who the potential winner is for that particular title. Sunday, Uncle Hugo's room will have a list of all suggested titles and the potential winner for each title. Next year, when the new Gor book comes out, the winner (if there is one) will receive a free copy of the book, mailed from Uncle Hugo's in a plain brown wrapper. (Second place winners get ["2 free Gor books --er, ah -- a free copy of Pleasure Planet--" struck out] a chance to try again next year. Uncle Hugo's room is open regular Huckster Room hours. Uncle Hugo's Bookstore is open noon-8 p.m. Friday, noon-6 p.m. Saturday, closed Sunday. For a free map to show you how to get to the Bookstore, come down to Uncle Hugo's room. 22 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [Art with a word bubble saying "Professor Cleg Dodderer says Minneapolis in '73 is Better than nine out of ten conventions"] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [Advertisement for Archon 1, arbitrarily included here even though I don't transcribe the other ads:] fly the new spirit of saint louis Archon [art] Yes, the Spirit of St. Louis flies again and will land at ARCHON I, July 15-17, smack in the center of St. Louis' reborn downtown. After too long an era of fan exodus and gafiation, St. Louis fandom is back. Ride the New Spirit of St. Louis to our first open house. Our Guests of Honor highlight the best of the new and old. We're delighted to have as our PRO GOH one of science fiction's fastest rising newcomers: GEORGE R.R. MARTIN. Though his writing career has spanned but five brief years, George has already won the prestigeous [sic] HUGO for his novella, "A Song for Lya". In 1976, he received nominations for "And Seven Times Never Kill Man" and "The Storms of Windhaven" with Lisa Tuttle. Accompanying George R.R. Martin will be our SPECIAL GUEST: GALE BURNICK. Renowned as a prolific progenator of fanzines, including RAUNCH, "The Fanzine Dedicated to the Proposition," Gale is also a highly qualified expert on Fandom's unique mating customs, a topic of interest to us all. St. Louis has festered a long and proud fan tradition. If anyone has personified River City Fandom over the years, it would be our FAN GOH's LEIGH & NORBERT COUCH. Linear heads of the famous fannish clan, the Couches' fanac extends into the decades. Why, they have more friends in fandom than A.B. Dick has mimeographs. Our distinguished TOASTMASTER, DONN BRAZIER, is the toast of fanzine fen for his lucid, literate letterzine, TITLE. Donn is also Curator of the St. Louis Museum of Science and Natural History. As you might guess, ARCHON is a FANclave in the true spirit of the word. We'll have films, panels, hucksters, and plenty of free spirits-both the faanish and alcoholic variety. And we'll have St. Louis' finest hotel, Stouffer's Riverfront, with 24-hour dining and swimming facilities. Come to St. Louis, to the informal atmosphere of ARCHON. Let us share the New Spirit of St. Louis with you. Come share yourself with us. [art] ARCHON 1, July 15-17, is $5 in advance, $7 at the door. Huckster tables are 311. Sunday afternoon brunch tickets are TBA. Please make checks payable to: ARCHON, c/o John Novak. 1260 Moorlands Dr., Richmond Hts., Mo. 63117. Room rates in the twin towers of Stouffer's Riverfront are: Single (really a double)-$25, Double (really a triple)- $29, and Triple (indisputably a triple)-S34. Reservation cards will be sent on request. ARCHON I is sponsored by the St. Louis Science Fiction Society. Barbara Fitzsimmons and Tim Hayes, Chairpersons. arcon 1 july 15-17 st.louis ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [Advertisement for Ace Books] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [Advertisement for Ace Books] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ IN MEMORIAM Edmond Hamilton 1904-1977 Co-Guest of Honor at Minicon 11, 1976 27 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The TRUE and SECRET origin of the DODO by S.Jay It was Spring of '73. For sale time now, KQ had been playing a strange little tune at odd hours with no explanation as to why or what for. Bereft of any musical backup, it was sung by four or five men and went thusly: "Oh never be a dodo Don't ever be a dodo Oh never be a dodo As far as I'm concerned." After hearing this a few hundred times, I was inspired enough to draw up a cartoon strip about the Curse of the Dodo. This never made it past the pencil stage and was lost amongst the other flotsam in the place I was then living (?) in. Sometime later, I did a strip which was never entitled; it showed a dodo chorus line doing a Roc-ettes number. dancing to the aforementioned tune. There was even a big producer in the audience who chose the third dodoine from the left to star in an upcoming strip. Lured by the promise of instant fame and a little pin money, I had the ditto travesty delivered to the Minicon 28 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ even then taking place. It was offered up on the sketch table for a mere $1.25. It gives me great pleasure to say that the dodo was an instant success. Unfortunately, there's no great pleasure in this article. No one wanted the dodo (which gave me more insight as to how the critter got extinct), but Ken Fletcher bought the thing and ran it through MINNEAPA. You'll have to ask him what his motivation was. I wasn't around to see the reaction to the comic because by then I was on the road, headed West. When I came back to the Cities two years later, I found that the dodo was not extinct; it seemed to have inspired a few people. (Amazin!) Jim Young had written his version of the Dodo Song, Reed Waller drawed [sic] a dodoette, and people were using dodos in their dungeons. Jon Singer did a Jewish dodo. I rejoined MINNEAPA and used the dodo as a stumble-on in several cartoons. I also created a mythos (which as of yet has not seen publication) concerning dodo revivification. Part of this work appeared in MINNEAPA as a drawing entitled "Defenestration." The drawing showed a member of the Aldebaran Audible (Autobahn?) Society tossing a revivified dodo through a trans-dimensional window. The dodo was supposed to end up in Mpls, for the 1973 Worldcon. Since we are still trying to get the 73 Worldcon, this caused a rift in the dimensional space-time relationships and the dodo is bouncing around -> somewhere <- waiting until we either get the 73 Worldcon here or drop the subject, so that the balance will be restored and the corresponding "window" will open. Koff. Which brings us to the current day -- the dodo was chosen as the official pun-symbol for this Minicon, and as such is enjoying a wave of popularity which I personally feel is long overdue. Yes, I sanction this dodo-decadence and plan to capitalize on it in every way I ((Ed. note: At this point, the manuscript trails off in a flurry of dodo tracks and feathers.)) 29 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [Advertisement for Doubleday] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Autographs [Big empty space] (This space may also used [sic] for room party numbers, notes for your con report, addresses, illos, fillos, doodles, or any- thing your fannish heart desires.) 31 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [Back cover: Advertisement for Nocrescon 2] ------------------------------------------------------------------------