''Fantasy Advertiser'', later abbreviated to ''FA'', 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 ...

, founded in 1965 by Frank Dobson, the "Godfather of British Fandom." Considered the first British comics fanzine, ''Fantasy Advertiser'' started out as an adzine focused on the sale of primarily second-hand comics; it eventually transitioned into a true comics fanzine. ''FA'' now operates as a comics

webzine An online magazine is a magazine published on the Internet, through bulletin board systems and other forms of public computer networks. One of the first magazines to convert from a print magazine format to an online only magazine was the computer ...

Publication history

1965–1979: Dobson/Skinn/McCartney era

Frank Dobson established ''Fantasy Advertiser'' as an adzine — essentially an advertising service for comic collectors. Dobson published 31 issues of ''Fantasy Advertiser'', but when he emigrated to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in 1970 he handed the zine on to two contributors, Dez Skinn and Paul McCartney, to continue. (Dodson, meanwhile, returned from Australia and opened a comics retailing location, Weird Fantasy Bookshop, on Lewisham Way in

New Cross New Cross is an area in south-east London, England, south-east of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Lewisham and the London_postal_district#List_of_London_postal_districts, SE14 postcode district. New Cross is near St Johns, London, St Jo ...

.) Skinn and McCartney expanded the magazine to include more articles and artwork. Regular contributors included

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 ...

Steve Parkhouse Steve Parkhouse is a comics creator, writer, artist and letterer who has worked for many British comics, especially ''2000 AD (comics), 2000 AD'' and ''Doctor Who Magazine''. Biography Parkhouse has worked in comics since 1967, when he drew the ...

Paul Neary Paul Neary (18 December 1949 – 10 February 2024) was a British comic book artist, writer and editor. His first work was for Warren Publishing in the 1970s before working with Dez Skinn at Marvel UK as well as work for '' 2000 AD''. He later ...

, Jim Baikie, and Kevin O'Neill. Skinn left in 1976, at which point it was taken over by retailer/distributor Colin Campbell, who edited ''FA'' until 1978. Dobson returned to publish five more issues in 1978–1979, when the fanzine went dormant.

1981–1985: Lock era

After two years of dormancy, ''Fantasy Advertiser'' was revived in late 1981 by Martin Lock, fresh off publishing his long-running fanzine '' BEM''. Lock incorporated the "BEM News Service" comic industry news feature into ''Fantasy Advertiser'', as well as two other fanzines: Mike Taylor's '' Masters of Infinity'' and Colin Gould's ''Ogre''.

1985–1989: Skidmore & Neptune/Trident era

In 1985, after four years overseeing ''FA'', Lock handed over the editorial reins to

Martin Skidmore Martin may refer to: Places Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Europe * Martin, Croatia, a village * Martin, Slovakia, a city * Martín del Río, Aragón, Spain * M ...

so Lock could focus on his next venture, the publishing company

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 ...

. Skidmore shortened the name to ''FA'' — he didn't want it to "sound like a sexual contacts mag," and wanted to move away from the equation of comics with fantasy, expanding coverage of different genres. Skidmore made the magazine more provocative and political. ''Fantasy Advertiser'' won the 1985 Eagle Award for Favourite Specialist Comics Publication/Trade Publication—UK. With issue #100 (March 1988), ''Fantasy Advertiser'''s publication was taken over by Neptune Distribution. Skidmore stayed on as editor of ''FA'', while also becoming lead editor for Neptune's own

Trident Comics Trident Comics was a short-lived comic book publishing company based in Leicester, UK. Specialising in black-and-white comics created by new British talent, it was formed in 1989 as an offshoot of the comics distributor/wholesaler Neptune Di ...

line. During this period, writer Mike Carey wrote reviews and profiles for ''FA'' before launching his own career as a comics writer. ''FA'' carried the Neptune logo through issue #107 (Oct. 1988), and the Trident Comics logo from that period forward. Editor Skidmore and Neptune/Trident's final issue of ''FA'' was #114, dated October 1989.

1990: Issue #115

In 1990, a new, London-based, publisher, 30th Century Comics, revived ''FA'' and published issue #115, edited by Howard Stangroom (another long-time member of British comics fandom). Although intended to be produced on a bimonthly schedule, issue #115 proved to be ''FA'''s final print issue.

Online relaunch

In October 2010, after a 20-year hiatus, Martin Skidmore relaunched ''FA'' as an online zine, including reviews, articles, interviews, and original comics. Skidmore died less than a year after the return of ''FA''; the e-zine is now published by Tony Keen, Andrew Moreton, and Will Morgan.

Editors

* Frank Dobson — issues #1–31 (1965–1970) * Dez Skinn (with Paul McCartney) — issues #32–58 (1970–1976) * Colin Campbell — issues #59–64 (1976–1977) * Frank Dobson — issues #65–69 (1978–June 1979) * Martin Lock — issues #70–89 (Nov. 1981–1984) * Martin Skidmore — issues #90-114 (1985–1989) * Howard Stangroom — issue #115 (1990)

Awards

* 1977 Eagle Award nomination for Favourite British Fan Publication * 1978 Eagle Award nomination for Favourite Fan Publication * 1985 Eagle Award for Favourite Speciality Comics Publication * 1986 Eagle Award nomination for Favourite Specialist Comics Publication

References

External links

*
Fantasy Advertiser
at CLASSIC UK COMICS ZINES
Fantasy Advertiser section
of Dez Skinn's website {{Comics information sources 1965 establishments in the United Kingdom British comics zines Magazines about comics Magazines established in 1965 Trident Comics titles Websites about comics