Shavertron: The Mimeograph Years

By Richard Toronto

Science fiction fan clubs have produced thousands of fanzines since Ray Palmer mimeographed the first one in 1930. Out of these thousands, only three were dedicated to the science fiction phenomenon known as the Shaver Mystery. There was a reason for this: SF fandom blacklisted the Shaver Mystery and its namesake, Richard S. Shaver from the sci-fi community.

The first Shaver Mystery fanzine to enter this hostile environment was the original Shaver Mystery Magazine, edited by Richard Shaver himself. He typeset it and even printed it himself on an offset press in his home. It ran for nine issues (a 10th is rumored to exist) between 1947 and 1949.

The Shaver Mystery Club Letterzine followed shortly thereafter. Mimeographed by a group of Shaver fans, it produced 16 issues. By 1950, Dick Shaver had abdicated his role as the leader of the "Shaverism" movement. Without Shaver and the Shaver Mystery Club to support his fan base, Shaver Mystery fanzines died out.

Fast forward to California, 1979, the year the first issue of Shavertron: Your Only Source of Post-Deluge Shaverania rolled off a mimeograph machine. The world had radically changed in the 29 years since the last Shaver Mystery fanzine saw print. Richard Shaver was dead and the disco era was well underway.

A young editor named Richard Toronto began to redefine the Shaver Mystery for a post-modern era, making Shavertron the longest-lived Shaver Mystery fanzine, with 29 issues to its credit. Out-of-print for more than 35 years, this rarity of the Shaver Mystery saga is now reprinted in four volumes for the discriminating collector.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0991139607
• ISBN13: 9780991139606
• Release Date: November 2013
• Publisher: Shavertron Press
• Length: 134 Pages
• Weight: 0.72 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 8.5" x 11.0"