''BEM'', originally known as ''Bemusing Magazine'', was a British

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleas ...

focused on

comic books A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

which was published from 1973 to 1982. The brainchild of

Martin Lock Martin Lock (born 1950Willis, Russell"AN INTERVIEW WITH MARTIN LOCK (PART THREE , THE HARRIER COMICS YEARS),"''Under the Stairs'' (2013). Accessed Feb. 8, 2020. in the United Kingdom) is a British comic book critic, writer, and publisher. As pu ...

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 The Eagle Awards were a series of British awards for comic book titles and creators. They were awarded by UK fans voting for work produced during the previous year. Named after the UK's seminal boys' comic ''Eagle'', the awards were launched in ...

(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 Brian Bolland (; born 26 March 1951)Salisbury, Mark, ''Artists on Comic Art'' (Titan Books, 2000) , p. 11 is a British comics artist. Best known in the United Kingdom as one of the Judge Dredd artists for British comics anthology ''2000 AD (comi ...

Dave Gibbons David Chester Gibbons (born 14 April 1949) is an English comics artist, writer and sometimes letterer. He is best known for his collaborations with writer Alan Moore, which include the miniseries ''Watchmen'' and the Superman story " For the M ...

, Mike McMahon,

Bryan Talbot Bryan Talbot (born 24 February 1952) is a British comics artist and writer, best known as the creator of '' The Adventures of Luther Arkwright'' and its sequels '' Heart of Empire'' and '' The Legend of Luther Arkwright'', as well as the ''Gra ...

Chris Ash Christopher Ash (born December 24, 1973) is an American football coach who is the defensive coordinator of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. He served as the head coach of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights from 2016 to 2019, and defensive coordinator of ...

, and

Dave Harwood Dave may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the 1993 film * ''Dave'' (TV series), a 2020 American comedy series * ...

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 London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, as well as the annual edition of the

British Comic Art Convention The British Comic Art Convention (usually known by the moniker Comicon) was an annual British comic book convention which was held between 1968 and 1981, usually in London. The earliest British fan convention devoted entirely to comics, it was als ...

("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 ''The Comic Reader'' (''TCR'') was a comics news-fanzine published from 1961 to 1984. Debuting in the pre-direct market era (before the proliferation of comics retailers), ''TCR'' was the first regularly published comics industry news fanzine, an ...

'' (''TCR''). ''BEM'' was generally published on alternate months of

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his mellifluous baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s and gave a memor ...

's UK fanzine ''

Comic Media News Richard Burton is a British comic publisher and editor who had a lengthy career at IPC Magazines. While an assistant editor at '' 2000 AD'', he became known to readers as Tharg the Mighty's bumbling assistant Burt, who appeared in a number of st ...

'', 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 Comic Mart is the catchall term for a series of British comic book trade fairs which were held in the United Kingdom from 1972 until the early 1990s. The Comic Mart was one of the earliest recurring public comic events in the UK, predated only by ...

'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

, 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 The British Amateur Press Association (BAPA) was the first Amateur Press Association in Britain. It was founded in 1890. In September 1910 it began to publish a quarterly collection of its members' publications under the title ''The British ama ...

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 Mike Higgs is a British comic book artist, writer, designer, and editor. He is the creator of the oddball humor strip ''The Cloak'', the daily comic strip ''Moonbird'', and the children's character Dopey Dinosaur. In July 1964, Higgs created a pas ...

, Nick Neocleous,

Russ Nicholson Russ Nicholson (died 10 May 2023) was a British illustrator, best known for his black and white fantasy art. Early life and education Nicholson was born in Scotland, and studied at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design (which later ...

Hunt Emerson Hunt Emerson (born 1952) is an English cartoonist. He was closely involved with the Birmingham Arts Lab of the mid-to-late 1970s, and with the British underground comics scene of the 1970s and 1980s. His many comic strips and graphic novels have ...

, Mike McMahon,

Joe Staton Joe Staton ( born January 19, 1948) is an American comics artist and writer. He co-created the Bronze Age Huntress (Helena Wayne), as well as the third Huntress (Helena Bertinelli), Kilowog and the Omega Men for DC Comics. He was the artist o ...

Colin Wilson Colin Henry Wilson (26 June 1931 – 5 December 2013) was an English existentialist philosopher-novelist. He also wrote widely on true crime, mysticism and the paranormal, eventually writing more than a hundred books. Wilson called his p ...

, 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 New Media Distribution/Irjax Enterprises was a comic book Distribution (marketing), distributor and Comic book publisher, publisher active from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s. In 1978, the company's legal actions against the dominant distributor o ...

(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 ''Fantasy Advertiser'', later abbreviated to ''FA'', was a British fanzine focused on comic books, founded in 1965 by Frank Dobson, the "Godfather of British Fandom." Considered the first British comics fanzine, ''Fantasy Advertiser'' started out ...

'', 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 Harrier Comics (officially known as Harrier Publishing) was a British comic book publisher active in the mid-to-late 1980s. Harrier was notable for putting out black-and-white comics in a mold more similar to American comics than to typical Brit ...

, 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 ''Batmania'' is a term coined by Billy Joe (Biljo) White in the early 1960s and the title of his influential fanzine dedicated to the DC Comics, DC comic book character Batman. The name is "almost certainly" a nod to the then-prominent term "Bea ...

'' (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

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 Howard is a masculine given name derived from the English surname Howard. ''The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names'' notes that "the use of this surname as a christian name is quite recent and there seems to be no particular reason for i ...

). 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

, with each strip often running 4-5 pages per issue.

Stephen Baskerville Stephen K. Baskerville (born October 15, 1957) is an American author and political theorist. He was previously an Associate Professor of Government at Patrick Henry College, and currently teaches at the Collegium Intermarium in Warsaw. He is des ...

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

in 1984.) ''BEM'' issue #25 also featured a seven-page comics story by

Eddie Campbell Eddie Campbell (born 10 August 1955) is a British comics artist and cartoonist. He was the illustrator and publisher of '' From Hell'' (written by Alan Moore), and the creator of the semi-autobiographical ''Alec'' stories collected in ''Alec: ...

, 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 ''Peanuts'' (briefly subtitled ''featuring Good ol' Charlie Brown'') is a print syndication, syndicated daily strip, daily and Sunday strip, Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run ext ...

'' * ''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 Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, ...

-type strip * ''H.M.S. Conqueror'' by Lockwood and

(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 Derek Graham "Dez" Skinn (born 4 February 1951) Miller, John Jackson"Comics Industry Birthdays" ''Comics Buyer's Guide'', 10 June 2005. Accessed 14 August 2010WebCitation archive is a British comic and magazine editor, and author of a number of ...

in issue #27, March 1980. *

(#9, May 1976) *

Pat Boyette Aaron P. "Pat" Boyette (July 27, 1923 – January 14, 2000) was an American broadcasting personality and news producer, and later a comic book artist best known for two decades of work for Charlton Comics, where he co-created the character the Pe ...

(#36, 1982) *

Steve Gerber Stephen Ross Gerber (; September 20, 1947 – February 10, 2008) was an American comic book writer and creator of the satiric Marvel Comics character Howard the Duck. Other works include '' Man-Thing'', ''Omega the Unknown,'' ''Marvel Spotlight ...

(#18, Apr. 1978) *

(#33, Apr. 1981) * Alan Grant (#29, Aug. 1980) * Fred Himes (#36, 1982) * "

Howard the Duck Howard the Duck is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Steve Gerber, based very loosely on his college friend Howard Tockman, and artist Val Mayerik. Howard the Duck firs ...

" (#12, Feb. 1977) *

Paul Levitz Paul Levitz (; born October 21, 1956) is an American comic book writer, editor and executive. The president of DC Comics from 2002 to 2009, he worked for the company for over 35 years in a wide variety of roles. Along with publisher Jenette Kahn ...

(#30, Nov. 1980) *

Lee Marrs Lee Marrs (born September 5, 1945) is an American cartoonist and animator, and one of the first female underground comix creators. She is best known for her comic book series ''The Further Fattening Adventures of Pudge, Girl Blimp'', which lasted ...

(#32, Feb. 1981) *

Steve MacManus Steve MacManus (sometimes credited as Ian Rogan; born 1953) is a British comic writer and editor, particularly known for his work at '' 2000 AD''. Biography Born in London and educated in Devon, MacManus joined IPC in 1973, aged 20, as a sub- ...

(#29, Aug. 1980) *

Bill Mantlo William Timothy Mantlo (born November 9, 1951) is an American comic book writer, primarily at Marvel Comics. He is best known for his work on two licensed toy properties whose adventures occurred in the Marvel Universe: '' Micronauts'' and '' R ...

(#24, July 1979) *

Pat Mills Patrick Eamon Mills (born 1949) is an English comics writer and editor who, along with John Wagner, revitalised British boys' comics in the 1970s, and has remained a leading light in British comics ever since. He has been called "the godfath ...

(#35, Spring 1982) *

Arthur Ranson Arthur James Ranson (born 1939) is an People of the United Kingdom, English Comic book creator, comic book illustrator, known for his work on ''Look-in'', ''Judge Anderson, Anderson: Psi Division'', ''Button Man'' and ''Mazeworld''. His work on C ...

(#36, 1982) * "

Red Sonja Red Sonja is a sword-and-sorcery character created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Barry Windsor-Smith for Marvel Comics in 1973, partially inspired by Robert E. Howard's character Red Sonya of Rogatino. A warrior from the Hyborian Age of Ear ...

" (#19, June 1978) * P. Craig Russell (#33, Apr. 1981) *

Kurt Schaffenberger Kurt Schaffenberger (December 15, 1920 – January 24, 2002) was an American comics artist. He was best known for his work on Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family during both the Golden Age and Bronze Age of comics, as well as his work on the tit ...

(#34, July 1981) *

(#27, Mar. 1980) *

John Wagner John Wagner (born 1949) is an American-born British comics writer. Alongside Pat Mills, he helped revitalise British comics in the 1970s, and continues to be active in the British comics industry, occasionally also working in American comics. ...

(#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 The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by Internet Archive, an American nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California. Launched for public access in 2001, the service allows users to go "back in ...

. (Retrieved 9 September 2018.) and the 1978 Eagle for "Favourite British Writer".Previous Winners: 1978
at the official Eagle Awards website, archived at the

. (Retrieved 9 September 2018.) (Lock was also nominated for the 1977 Eagle for "Favourite British Comics Writer".)

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