BEM (magazine)

''BEM'', originally known as ''Bemusing Magazine'', was a British fanzine focused on comic books which was published from 1973 to 1982. The brainchild of Martin Lock and billed as "The Comics News Fanzine," ''BEM'' featured American and British comics industry news and gossip, interviews, comic reviews, essays, columns, and comic strips.

Over the years, ''BEM'' transitioned into a professionally produced comics magazine, and was the recipient of multiple Eagle Awards (as well as for publisher Lock). As time went on, the fanzine also became more of a " strip-zine," with original comics content — some of it written by Lock — increasing year by year. Notable artist contributors to ''BEM'' over the years included Brian Bolland, Dave Gibbons, Mike McMahon, Bryan Talbot, Chris Ash, and Dave Harwood.

Publication history

Lock launched ''Bemusing Magazine'' on November 17, 1973, and he sold early issues to customers waiting outside the frequent comic marts held in London, as well as the annual edition of the British Comic Art Convention ("Comicon"). After producing the first three issues of ''Bemusing'' by himself, Lock began accepting contributions from others with issue #4 (Feb. 1975). Nige Edwards became ''Bemusing'''s assistant editor with issue #4, staying on until mid-1977. The zine produced roughly five issues a year.

One of ''Bemusing Magazine'''s key features was its publication of U.S.-based comics industry news that Lock acquired from the long-running American fanzine '' The Comic Reader'' (''TCR''). ''BEM'' was generally published on alternate months of Richard Burton's UK fanzine '' Comic Media News'', which also used ''TCR'' news, thus providing a dose of monthly comic industry news for readers of both publications.

''Bemusing'' #8 (Jan. 1976) was a combined issue with issue #4 of Rob Barrow's '' Comic Fandom Bulletin''. ''Bemusing'' #9 (May 1976) was a double-issue, as it also contained the fanzine-within-a-fanzine ''The U.K. Heroine Addict'', an attempt by Lock to increase British membership in the U.S.-based Comics Heroines Fan Club.

The title of the publication officially changed from ''Bemusing Magazine'' to ''BEM'' with issue #15 (Sept. 1977). (An earlier fanzine called ''BEM'' was published in the UK from 1954 to 1958; that fanzine — whose publishers included Mal Ashworth and Tom White — was focused on science fiction.)

''BEM'' was a supporter of the Eagle Awards, which were introduced in 1977. ''BEM'' published nominating ballots in the lead-up to voting, and always posted a list of each year's Eagle Award winners. In later years, Lock polled his own readers with the "BEM Ballot."

With issue #16 (Dec. 1977), ''BEM'' began incorporating Mike Cruden's adzine '' Fantasy Trader'' into its pages. Cruden at that point became the fanzine's "consulting editor," staying in that role until 1980. One of Cruden's main duties was coordinating ''Reaction'', the lengthy and spirited letters page, of ''BEM''. (The British Amateur Press Association was formed in 1977 in part due to a letter published in ''Reaction''.)

The covers of most early issues featured a selection of miniaturized reproductions of the comics being written about inside the issue. With issue #21 (Nov. 1978), ''BEM'' began featuring original covers, with art by the likes of Mike Higgs, Nick Neocleous, Chris Ash, Russ Nicholson, Hunt Emerson, Brian Bolland, Bryan Talbot, Dave Gibbons, Mike McMahon, Joe Staton, Colin Wilson, Dave Harwood, and Kevin O'Neill. Notable interior illustrators for ''BEM'' included Ash, Mercy Van Vlack, and Kev F. Sutherland.

''BEM'' #31 (Dec. 1980) was a combined issue with another fanzine, Mike Taylor's '' Masters of Infinity'' #6. (Taylor became ''BEM'''s assistant editor at that time.)

By the late 1970s ''BEM'' had become the UK's leading comics zine,"Fan Press," ''The Comics Journal'' #50 (Oct. 1979), p. 19. winning the Eagle Award for Favourite Fan Publication in both 1980"The Eagle Awards 1979," ''BEM'' #31 (Dec. 1980), p. 32. and 1981.

''BEM'' was acquired by the U.S.-based publisher New Media Publishing (NMP) in 1981, ostensibly to distribute ''BEM'' in the U.S. and widen its readership. The changeover, however, led to production delays: issue #34 was published in July 1981 and issue #35 (NMP's first issue) didn't arrive until spring 1982. In addition, ''BEM'''s continued focus on the British comics scene led to low sales. The end came shortly when New Media Publishing went out of business in 1982.Willis, Russell
"AN INTERVIEW WITH MARTIN LOCK (PART 1 , THE BEM YEARS),"
''Under the Stairs'' (2013). Retrieved Jan. 8, 2020. In the end, ''BEM'' published 36 issues from November 1973 to 1982.

In 1981, as ''BEM'' wound down, Lock revived '' Fantasy Advertiser'', a popular British fanzine dating back to 1965 which had been dormant for years. Lock incorporated the "BEM News Service" comic industry news feature into ''Fantasy Advertiser'', which he edited until 1985,Gavin Burrows
"Bookmark this, comic fans! The return of sweet 'FA'"
Lucid Frenzy Junior, 8 November 2010 putting out 20 issues.Willis, Russell
"AN INTERVIEW WITH MARTIN LOCK (PART TWO , THE FANTASY ADVERTISER YEARS),"
''Under the Stairs'' (2013). Retrieved Feb. 8, 2020. Meanwhile, in 1984, Lock started his own comics publisher, Harrier Comics, which operated until 1989.

Features and columns

''BEM'' featured a number of recurring columns by a regular stable of contributors, including Lock himself (''News at BEM'', ''Emlock Tale-Enders'', and ''Worlds of Emlock''), Ed Sallis (''Fan Things''), K. Williams (''Sigh''), Kathleen Glancy (''Katholocity''), Ruan Lanihorne (''Made in Britain''/''Unamerican Activities''), Rich Morrisey (''Rich Morrisey's America''), and Howard P. Siegel (''Made in America'').

* ''Bemusings''/''News at BEM'' — Lock's introduction to each issue
* ''Comics News'' — U.S. and British industry news, usually compiled by Lock
* ''Reg Uspatoff'' by "Reg Uspatoff" ("R.U.") — the title being a play on " U.S. Registered Patent Office"
* ''Rich Morrisey's America'' written by the publisher of the U.S. fanzine '' Batmania'' (issues #8–17)
* ''Made in America''by Howard P. Siegel — U.S. comics history
* ''Made in Britain'' by Ruan Lanihorne; later became known as ''Unamerican Activities''
* ''Mal Burns' Unamerican Activities''
* ''Katholocity'' by Kathleen Glancy
* ''Sigh'' by K. Williams
* ''Fan-Things'' by Ed Sallis — "a column of fan news and fanzine reviews"
* ''Review Section'' (later known as ''Bemuscene'') — with contributions from various reviewers
* ''Reaction'' — lengthy letters pages
* ''Emlock Tale-Enders'' by Martin Lock ("M. Lock") — usually at the back of the magazine
* ''Worlds of Emlock'' by Martin Lock

Comic strips

''Bemusing'' began publishing original comic strips early on, starting with Lock's own strip ''Captain Nuts'' (produced under his alias, "Superswipe"). Issue #8 saw the introduction of a dedicated comics page, "Page Four Funnies," which lasted until issue #12, when the strips began to be distributed throughout the fanzine. Cartoonist Chris Ash was a long-time contributor to ''BEM'' in the period 1976 to 1978, with his most regular strips being ''Captain Frog'' and ''The Adventures of Stangroom the Woodpecker'' (possibly a reference to fellow fanzine artist Howard Stangroom). Issue #20 of ''BEM'' (Aug. 1978) featured a 16-page ''Captain Frog'' story by Ash that took up a large portion of the issue.

Terry Moore's ''Thundermole'' was a regular feature in ''BEM'' from issue #13 (May 1977) until issue #34 (July 1981).

Starting with issue #25 (Sept. 1979) and running through the final issue was the ongoing science-fiction strip '' H.M.S. Conqueror'', written by Lock and illustrated by Dave Harwood, with each strip often running 4-5 pages per issue. Stephen Baskerville was a guest artist on ''H.M.S. Conqueror'' with issue #30. A bonus episode of ''H.M.S. Conqueror'', written and drawn by Paul Alexander, appeared in ''BEM'''s final issue, #36. (The stories published in ''BEM'' later made their way into the first few issues of ''Conqueror'', the first title published by Lock when he founded Harrier Comics in 1984.)

''BEM'' issue #25 also featured a seven-page comics story by Eddie Campbell, which was illustrated by Harwood. Other cartoonists with strips published in ''BEM'' over the years included Leslie Stannage, Philip Morton (''Gleitzman''), Martin Dutton, Martin Longley, Mark Casto, and J. H. Szostek. Other one-off strips were produced by the likes of Rex Dixon and Rob Davis (issues #23 & 24), Marc Baines (#14), and Dave Byrom (#14).

Regular strips in ''BEM'' over the years included:
* ''Captain Nuts'' by "Superswipe," "Schwipe" or "B. L. Schwipe" (some episodes written by Mark Bryant, penciled by Malcolm Lomax, and inked by Superswipe) (issues #6–12) — a spoof of ''Peanuts''
* ''Mighty Man'' by Leslie Stannage (issues #9–12)
* ''Captain Frog'' by Chris Ash (issues #13–19)
* ''The Adventures of Stangroom the Woodpecker'' by Chris Ash (issues #13-16)
* ''Thundermole'' by Terry Moore (most issues #13–34)
* ''Blue Lamp'' by Terry Moore (issues #21, 28)
* ''Nasty Comix'' by Mark Casto (issues #23–28, 36) — underground comix-type strip
* ''H.M.S. Conqueror'' by Lockwood and Dave Harwood (issues #25–36)
* ''The Imago'' by B. J. Martin and Nick Martin (issues #28, 31–34) — a strip which moved over from the defunct fanzine '' Graffik Sense''

Notable interview subjects

Although ''BEM'' ran interviews in early issues, it began running regular interviews with comics industry figures in earnest with Dez Skinn in issue #27, March 1980.

* Rob Barrow (#9, May 1976)
* Pat Boyette (#36, 1982)
* Steve Gerber (#18, Apr. 1978)
* Dave Gibbons (#33, Apr. 1981)
* Alan Grant (#29, Aug. 1980)
* Fred Himes (#36, 1982)
* "Howard the Duck" (#12, Feb. 1977)
* Paul Levitz (#30, Nov. 1980)
* Lee Marrs (#32, Feb. 1981)
* Steve MacManus (#29, Aug. 1980)
* Bill Mantlo (#24, July 1979)
* Pat Mills (#35, Spring 1982)
* Arthur Ranson (#36, 1982)
* "Red Sonja" (#19, June 1978)
* P. Craig Russell (#33, Apr. 1981)
* Kurt Schaffenberger (#34, July 1981)
* Dez Skinn (#27, Mar. 1980)
* John Wagner (#29, Aug. 1980)

Awards

''BEM'' was nominated for the Eagle Award for "Favourite Fan Publication" three times, winning the award in 1980 and 1981. The fanzine had earlier led to publisher Lock winning two Eagle Awards — the 1977 Eagle for "Favourite British Fan Personality"Previous Winners: 1977
at the official Eagle Awards website, archived at the Wayback Machine. (Retrieved 9 September 2018.) and the 1978 Eagle for "Favourite British Writer".Previous Winners: 1978
at the official Eagle Awards website, archived at the Wayback Machine. (Retrieved 9 September 2018.) (Lock was also nominated for the 1977 Eagle for "Favourite British Comics Writer".)

See also

* '' Fantasy Advertiser''
* ''Speakeasy''

References

Notes

Sources

*

External links

''BEM'' at CLASSIC UK COMICS ZINES''BEM'' at British Comics
(includes many issue PDFs)

{{Use dmy dates, date=December 2020

British comics zines
Defunct magazines published in the United Kingdom
English-language magazines
Magazines about comics
Magazines established in 1973
Magazines disestablished in 1982
Magazines published in London
Visual arts magazines published in the United Kingdom