Thursday 22 March 2007

Shooty Dog Thing Adventures - Issue One

Issue one of "Shooty Dog Thing" has a free gift, a little brother mini-freezine from the deranged minds of Erik Pollitt and myself that has all the stuff which wasn't the right tone for the main issue, but more like a Tav-zine which we used to do years back.

But rather than being just the one week late, it's actually three weeks behind schedule. That's the last time I trust Auntie Iris with the post...

But anyway, her bus pulled up outside and with much cursing along the lines of "do I look like a bloody postman" and "bloody fanzine editors" she shoved the data-pen through the letterbox and stomped off.

Just like with the main issue, "Shooty Dog Thing Adventures" comes in two versions, a read on screen copy for the majority of you, and a 'print out' version which you can insert into the centre pages of the main zine, just where it was always intended to go. Please note that this one is rather ink intensive - might be better to use a high GSM paper - and don't forget to flip the page to get both sides printed :o)

"Shooty Dog Thing #1 - Screen Edition":
http://preview.tinyurl.com/299jnq

with freebie "Shooty Dog Thing Adventures - Screen Edition":
http://preview.tinyurl.com/2bccxv

"Shooty Dog Thing #1 - Print Edition":
http://preview.tinyurl.com/2bwvhr
and
http://preview.tinyurl.com/22g9j8


with freebie "Shooty Dog Thing Adventures - Print Edition":
http://preview.tinyurl.com/2wger9

Thanks for all the kind comments, keep them coming - don't be shy!

Brax

Wednesday 7 March 2007

Shooty Dog Thing - Issue One

"Shooty Dog Thing" issue one is now online for you to download totally free of charge. Skip to the end if you can't be bothered reading all the stuff below, to find out how you can download it.

I created the fanzine because I love "Doctor Who" in all shapes and forms, and miss the old days of fanzines. Paul Cornell edited a book called "Licence Denied" back in 1997 after Virgin Publishing lost the licence to publish original "Doctor Who" fiction. As a kind of last word on the subject Paul Cornell closed the Virgin era by editing a collection of the very best fanzine articles. Inspired by this I edited my first fanzine, "Eye of Orion", which ran for seven issues over the next four years, but real life intruded as my university days came to an end and it all went pear-shaped.

And then, last summer, I picked up "Licence Denied" from the bookcase as I was rushing out the door, and in the pub and on the train throughout that afternoon I found myself falling in love with the idea of producing a fanzine again. Both my mum and my girlfriend had suggested I get a hobby as my cycle of work-sleep-work-sleep was getting me down, and it was the latter who suggested I start writing fanzines again.

And there the fun began. Lots of texts and random calls on the mobile with my friend Erik Pollitt, together with copious handwritten notes whilst waiting in the pub for the missus to finish work, finally brought together a structure for "Shooty Dog Thing". The title taken from Anthony Stewart Head's line in the David Tennant "Doctor Who" story (describing K-9), the contents from all forty three years of "Doctor Who" on TV, in the comics, books, audios and other media.

The fanzine is available in two different editions. The idea of the issue was to produce as a 48 page A5 fanzine, but the handicap there is that you have to spend money on printing and posting, and ask people for money, and that's where the last fanzine failed. I didn't really want to go down the webzine road as I'm not that keen on them (except as back issues - "Five Hundred Eyes" http://david.gibbs.co.uk/500eyes.htm and "Time/Space Visualiser" http://nzdwfc.tetrap.com/archive/ are great to read) so I compromised: "Shooty Dog Thing" will be published in two editions: one as a simple PDF file you can read on the computer screen, the other as a pair of PDFs you can print out, fold and staple.

"Shooty Dog Thing #1 - Screen Edition":
http://preview.tinyurl.com/299jnq

with freebie "Shooty Dog Thing Adventures - Screen Edition":
(to be uploaded later)

"Shooty Dog Thing #1 - Print Edition":
http://preview.tinyurl.com/2bwvhr
and
http://preview.tinyurl.com/22g9j8

with freebie "Shooty Dog Thing Adventures - Print Edition":
(to be uploaded later)

For the Print Edition you will need to print out file A first, turn the pages over and print file B onto the reverse. It's best that you play with your printer first to find out which way up and what side your printer does its stuff on first, else it'd go wrong... Hey, you're learning how to use both sides of the paper and help save the environment :)

Please let me know what you think of it. You can email me at Paul.Brax.Castle@gogglemail.com or post to the thread in the fanzines forum room at Outpost Gallifrey.

Enjoy,

Brax