Jake "Buddy" Saunders (born 1947) is an American author and businessman, working in the fields of

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 ...

and

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

Work

Saunders started out in the world of

fanzines 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 ...

. As part of the "Texas Trio" (with Larry Herndon and

Howard Keltner John Howard Keltner (1928 – July 29, 1998) was an American comics a Media (communication), medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of Panel (co ...

), Saunders published the fanzine ''

Star-Studded Comics ''Star Studded Comics'' is the name of three comics-related publications, including a comic from the Golden Age of Comics, a comics fanzine, and a modern comic homage to the previous. Cambridge House Publishers title The first publication to ...

'' from 1963–1972. It featured early work by

George R. R. Martin George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948) also known by the initials G.R.R.M. is an American author, television writer, and television producer. He is best known as the author of the unfinished series of Hi ...

Grass Green Richard Edward "Grass" Green (May 7, 1939Social Security Death Index. – August 5, 2002) was an African American cartoonist notable for being the first black participant in both the 1960s fan art movement and the 1970s underground comics movement. ...

Jim Starlin James P. Starlin (born October 9, 1949) is an American comics artist and writer. Beginning his career in the early 1970s, he is best known for space opera stories, for revamping the Marvel Comics characters Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock, an ...

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor. He was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics and possibly bes ...

Sam Grainger Samuel E. Grainger (June 14, 1930 – July 25, 1990)

Alan Weiss,

Dave Cockrum David Emmett Cockrum (; November 11, 1943 – November 26, 2006) was an American comics artist known for his co-creation of the new X-Men characters Nightcrawler (character), Nightcrawler, Storm (Marvel Comics), Storm, Colossus (character), Colos ...

Mike Vosburg Michael Vosburg (; born July 23, 1947) is an American comic book artist primarily known for his work on the '' Tales from the Crypt'' TV series. Career Mike Vosburg's comics career began in the 1960s, when as a 15-year-old teenager he started '' ...

Biljo White ''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 comic book character Batman. The name is "almost certainly" a nod to the then-prominent term "Beatlemania" ...

, and Keltner, among others, and featured the early appearances of Dr. Weird, Xal-Kor, Wildman and The Eye. Saunders' cover for its second issue won an

Alley Award The Alley Award was an American annual series of comic book fan awards, first presented in 1962 for comics published in 1961. Officially organized under the aegis of the Academy of Comic Book Arts and Sciences, the award shared close ties with th ...

in the amateur division in 1963. In addition, during this period Saunders was a regular contributor (as an artist) to the seminal comic book fanzine ''

Rocket's Blast Comicollector ''Rocket's Blast Comicollector'' (''RBCC'') was a comics advertising fanzine published from 1964 to 1983. The result of a merger with a similar publication, ''RBCCs purpose was to bring fans together for the purpose of adding to their comic book ...

'' (RBCC). Saunders operated his own

mail order Mail order is the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote methods such as: * Sending an order form in the mail * Placing an order by telephone call ...

service starting in 1961. He owned and operated

Lone Star Comics Lone Star Comics was a chain of comic book stores located in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in north central Texas. The chain's offerings included comic books, action figures, gaming supplies, videos, and many other pop culture items. Originally est ...

, a chain of seven Texas

comic book 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 ...

stores founded in 1977. With the sale of the Lone Star comic book store chain in 2013, Mr. Saunders and his family now operate the online Lone Star Comics
www.mycomicshop.com
As a writer, he co-authored ''A Voice and Bitter Weeping'' with

Howard Waldrop Howard Waldrop (September 15, 1946 – January 14, 2024) was an American science fiction author who worked primarily in short fiction. He received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 2021. Early life Born in Houston, Mississippi, ...

, later expanded into the 1974 novel '' The Texas-Israeli War: 1999'', as well as ''Time and Variance'', with Waldrop and

Steven Utley Steven Utley (November 10, 1948—January 12, 2013) was an American writer. He wrote poems, humorous essays and other non-fiction, and worked on comic books and cartoons, but was best known for his science fiction stories. Biography Utley was bor ...

. Saunders' story "Back to the Stone Age'" was nominated for a

Nebula Award for Best Short Story The Nebula Award for Best Short Story is a literary award assigned each year by Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) for science fiction or fantasy short stories. A work of fiction is defined by the organization as a short sto ...

in 1976. Saunders' recent work includes two novels based on the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs: ''The Martian Legion'' (2014) and ''Tarzan and the Cannibal King'' (2017). In 2020, Saunders attracted controversy for sharing false information regarding COVID 19 via his mailing list, which he continued to do as recently as 2023. Saunders also made unsupported claims on his blog, ''Buddy's Soapbox'', that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

via voter fraud.

References

External links

*
''Back to the Stone Age''
RevolutionSF * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saunders, Jake Living people 1947 births American male writers