Richard Toronto

Shavertron Richard Toronto

Science fiction fan clubs have cranked out thousands of fanzines since Ray Palmer mimeographed the very 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 blackballed the Shaver Mystery and its namesake, Richard Shaver from the SF community. The first Shaver Mystery fanzine to enter this hostile environment was the original and best of the lot--The Shaver Mystery Magazine. Produced by Richard Shaver himself, it was typeset and printed on an offset press. It ran for nine issues (a 10th is rumored to exist) between 1947 and 1949. The Shaver Mystery Club Letterzine followed shortly thereafter. Typed and mimeographed by a small group of Shaver Mystery fans, it produced 16 issues. But by 1950, Dick Shaver had abdicated his throne as leader of the Shaverism movement to become a Wisconsin farmer. Without Shaver and his Shaver Mystery Club to support the fan base, Shaver Mystery fanzines died out forever. Or so everyone thought. Fast forward to 1979, the year the first issue of Shavertron: Your Only Source of Post-Deluge Shaverania rolled off a mimeograph machine. The world had changed in the 29 years since the last Shaver Mystery fanzine saw print. Richard Shaver was no longer among the living and the disco era was well underway. A young fanzine editor named Richard Toronto began to redefine the Shaver Mystery for the post-modern age. Shavertron became the longest-lived Shaver Mystery fanzine, with 29 issues to its credit. Out-of-print for nearly 25 years, this elusive icon of the Shaver Mystery saga is now being offered in four volumes. It is a rare piece of obscurania for the discriminating collector.