The Barsoomian #9 – July 1965
I made the decision
to go offset while I was still cranking out mimeographed pages for #8.
It took almost a year, but I was pleased with the results. I thought
Ken Webber’s cover was stunning in two colors and it did attract a lot
of attention at the ’65 Dum-Dum in Chicago. He also designed the
logo and issue number and date. Ken was a large part of the Barsoomian’s
success over the years. He provided art for every issue, never missed
a deadline, stuck with me right through to the last issue, and custom drew
a lot of the art to fit with specific editorial content. He really
became my “staff artist” and right-hand assistant.
Editorially, the centerpiece of the issue was the “Burroughs
Publicity” article which I put together with a great deal of assistance
from Clarence “Bob” Hyde, Rev. Henry H. Heins and Hulbert Burroughs.
This was a subject I would re-visit in later issues. And I must say,
looking back on my publishing experiences, I was always amazed at how helpful
and supportive people were -- both fan and pro.
Aside from my own Ras Thavas article, John Harwood took
a look at John Carter from the perspective of a Martian; Darrell
C. Richardson provided a short piece on a Tarzan-like “wild boy” in El
Salvadore; and Fred Kwiecien examined issues Burroughs raised in
“The Moon Maid.” The back cover is by David O. Kohr Jr. The
original was in color, but reproduced quite nicely in green.
~ Paul Allen
