The San Diego Comic Fest (October 19-21, 2012) is proud to pay tribute to Ken Krueger (1926-2009). A member of science-fiction’s First Fandom, as a teenage fan Ken attended the first World Science Fiction Convention in 1939. In succeeding decades he played a significant role in fandom, was a pioneering small-press publisher, and a mail-order dealer and bookstore owner.

Along the way, he found time to mentor and encourage many young fans who were aspiring to become professionals in comics and science fiction. Among those who became professionals with his encouragement are science-fiction author Greg Bear, and comic creators John Pound, Scott Shaw!, and Jim Valentino.

Ken also played an important role in making sure that the San Diego Comic-Con got off to a good start by serving as the Chairman of its first multi-day convention in August, 1970, and he continued to help keep Comic-Con running smoothly and successfully in subsequent years. And, of course, Comic-Con has played a significant role in the launching of a huge number of professional careers over the years.

In gratitude for what Ken did for fandom in general, and for Comic-Con and the aspiring professionals he mentored and encouraged in particular, the San Diego Comic Fest will be presenting “pay-it-forward” Q&A sessions to help aspiring writers and artists succeed as professionals. The first two friends of Ken who have generously volunteered to show their gratitude to him by conducting Q&A sessions are Image Comics’ Jim Valentino and comics creator and animator Scott Shaw!.

In addition to the Q&A sessions, you can expect to enjoy other Ken-related programming at the San Diego Comic Fest. We hope you’ll join us in San Diego over the October 19-21, 2012 weekend for what should prove to be a memorable experience.

For more information, please visit www.sdcomicfest.org.

By W. Paul Ganley

W. Paul Ganley

I fear that the above title should be “Me and Ken,” since I think this essay may be more about me than about Ken. Well.…

At the beginning of the year 1950, I was finishing my last year and a half of high school. I had been reading pulp science-fiction magazines since about 1946, when my father brought some home from work. (His boss at the New York Central Railroad read them and passed them on to him.) I soon made the calculation that 15¢ for a pulp magazine was cheaper than 10¢ for a comic book, taking into account that the pulp took a couple of hours to read and the comic took about 15 minutes. From then on I bought every science-fiction pulp in sight (even Weird Tales). And I started letter hacking—writing letters to the pulp letter columns. Thus I got into contact with fandom…far flung, in those days, and accessible mainly by mail; no email or texting back then.

Publishing and writing were hobbies even when I was ten years old, when I had a Swiftset Printing Press (a child’s toy that used rubber type), and I “published” a little neighborhood newspaper, mostly with items stolen from the real newspapers.

I don’t have any of those around any more, which is probably just as well.

In January of 1950 I began publishing a fanzine, Fan-Fare, devoted to fan fiction in the fields of science fiction, fantasy, horror. I used a hectograph, which is kind of a horror all by itself…I wrote to Rog Phillips’ column in Amazing Stories, describing my problems with it, although some folks congratulated me on how clear and easy to read it was. Well, I was also involved with the ISFCC (The International Science-Fiction Correspondence Club—a correspondence club started by my pen friend Richard Abbott—I don’t recall if Ken was member of this) [Ken was not a member, but he was a member of both the Buffalo Fantasy League and the Bohemia Club during this time—Terry Kemp]; Ed Noble, Jr., of Girard Pennsylvania, did the club zine, Explorer; and he got a new mimeograph and offered me his old one, for the price of shipping it. So you can blame him for all my future publishing activities!!!!! Without that, I might have given up, and become a Nobel-Prize-Winning scientist or writer, who knows? Or maybe I would have partnered with Ken on one of his publishing enterprises, in that case.

I had previously met Al Leverentz, who was a semester ahead of me in high school, and lived a few blocks away in our town, North Tonawanda, NY; met him in the cafeteria line in high school, actually. We were both interested in writing, publishing, editing anything science fiction, fantasy, or horror (he was especially into horror and H.P. Lovecraft). I used some of his stories in those early issues—I thought they were great then, and I still think so.

I have to rely on my memory after all these years, because I never kept a diary of any kind. And I don’t recall how we learned about the Buffalo Fantasy League. But we did, and we both traveled to Pearl Place in Buffalo, where Ken Krueger lived, for the meetings, probably beginning some time in 1950…maybe even the first few months.

Except for Al himself, this was my first experience meeting and conversing with other like-minded people…the camaraderie, the information I received in talking with my new friends (for instance, Ken introduced me to one of my favorite books ever, Jack Vance’s Dying Earth, then out of print in a small edition paperback)…not to mention a couple of bottles of Champale….

I recall especially Joe Fillinger and Charlie Momberger (still among my group of best friends), Bob Fritz, Dave English, Gene Smith, Donald Westphal, and others…many of whom I later lost sight of. Joe, and Dave, and Bob (both Bob Fritz and Bob Briney) all published zines…I remember writing poems and fiction for them as “Toby Duane;” and when Bob Briney decided to write as “Andrew Duane,” we apparently perpetrated a fan hoax….at least, some people regarded it in that way, although we were just playing a game with pen names and never thought of this as hoax at all. When I met Diane Duane, in later years, I decided to give up using that name.

Ken, in those days, was working in his “real job” as a truck driver, while he was selling books by mail, and publishing things, under various names, such as Pegasus, Shroud, etc. I provided a couple of stories for these lines (notably writing as Toby Duane for Space Trails #5). I can’t say that he started me on my publishing career, since I was already embarked on that, but he certainly provided an example that I could follow. I still have copies of his various publications, including some of the early ones, though they have grown a bit battered over the years as I moved from job to job a few times.

I attended my first science fiction convention (Midwestcon) as a member of this group…including Joe, Charlie, and Ken….and later I went to a couple more cons. Midwestcon was a great time…as I recall, Ken was playing poker with a bunch of people including (as I recall…I could be wrong) “Doc” Smith and Arthur C. Clarke…. I was having a bit of fun myself, and at one time a beautiful young woman was sitting on my lap…unfortunately a bit older than I was, though…namely Bea Mahaffey’s sister. And I recall first meeting Harlan Ellison there. And Lee Hoffman, who appeared at our room the first morning, while I still had a shaving brush in my hand and foam on my face (embarrassing moments!). And who even knew before her appearance there that Lee was really Shirley and was a GIRL!!!

Circumstances did not permit that Ken be known as the founder of the Annual New York State SF conventions…but we tried. We had our own convention in May 3/4, 1952, called Bufflocon. Remember, in those days, science fiction conventions were few and far between…not like the present. So it was quite an undertaking.

150 copies of Space Science Fiction were donated to the con; we had a representative from Fantasy Press, we had original artwork to auction, and a movie to show. We had David H. Keller, Betsy Curtis, Basil Wells…it was a nice con, and I recall it (though vaguely through the haze of the decades) with pleasure.

Bufflocon was billed as the First Annual New York State Convention. We had several bids to hold the second convention, and as I recall the voting, a group from Cornell University got the vote. Unfortunately, they didn’t follow through for some reason (I never knew why), so the first NYS Con was also the Last NYS Con.

After a number of us left town, got drafted, etc, the group dwindled, but we still met at times…often, we went out to the Hippodrome and played pool; we also played penny ante poker (2 and 4 cent bets in those days).

Ken looked somewhat younger than he really was in those days…I still remember the time several of us were having a beer in a local establishment, at a time when the legal age for drinking was 18. A couple of us were slightly younger (including me). Who got carded? Ken!!! And he didn’t have a draft card…because he had already served in the army…but the rest of us were laughing so hard at this occasion, that the waiter finally relented and served him his mug of beer. (He didn’t even consider carding the rest of us.)

When I left town to take a job in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, I turned over all my copies of our book Shanadu to Ken, and my pulp collection, in exchange for a few books that would be easier to carry with me than all those boxes. But I would still come back to Buffalo occasionally to visit relatives and friends, and then the remnants of the group would get together for a poker game.

Even when Ken left to go to California, the rest of us still maintained the poker game, and of course, we still were all interested in science fiction.

I did see Ken one weekend a few years later…I believe it was at the World Science Fiction Con in Cleveland, in 1966…I was there trying to get publicity for my new zine, Weirdbook (then in the initial planning stages), and he was there with a dealer table; one of his daughters was helping at the table also.

Over a decade ago, the local science fiction convention (Contradiction) was cancelled, and some of us decided to revive the Buffalo Fantasy League and to do our own convention—Eeriecon (still going—check out www.eeriecon.org). The situation had changed, in fandom; there were lots of conventions nowadays, but one more wouldn’t overload the system; and we were so pleased when Ken came to back to this area in his last years…you’d better believe we put him on a panel immediately!

When I think of my early years in fandom, I have good memories…and I think of the people who were my best friends in those days (three of them still are)…among others, Bob Briney, Rich Abbott, Ed Noble, Al Leverentz, Charlie Momberger, Joe Fillinger…and Ken Krueger.

W. Paul Ganley
20 May 2012

W. Paul Ganley Bio

W. Paul Ganley is a fanzine publisher and editor of science fiction, poetry and horror fanzines.

He has contributed to many zines and small press publications, sometimes using the pseudonyms Toby Duane, A. Arthur Griffin, or Walter Quednau.

The first fanzine published by W. Paul Ganley was Fan-Fare. The first issue was released in 1950 in North Tonawanda, New York, U.S.A. Fan-Fare was published from 1950-1954, reaching at least three volumes of issues.

During the run of Fan-Fare, Ganley also released Snowflakes in the Sun, a one-issue-only poemzine, illustrated by Nancy Share. It was published in 1952, though the Preface is dated March 9, 1953. It is subtitled “A Collection of Fantasy Verse.” In the Preface, though, Ganley comments that “many of the poems herein belong to the realm of science-fiction.” Also during this time, he was one of the co-editors of Cataclysm.

However, Ganley is perhaps best known for his contributions to the genre of weird fiction and horror, both as a writer and publisher. Ganley returned to publishing in the 1970s with the release of Eerie Country, devoted to weird fiction, suspense and horror stories and poetry. Published in Buffalo, New York, U.S.A., nine issues were released, the first issue appearing in 1976, and the last in 1982. At the same time he was also publishing Weirdbook, which was so successful it quickly became a semi-professional magazine. In 1988 Ganley published the one-shot Weirdbook Sampler. In 1990 Ganley began publishing Weirdbook Encores, giving the first issue under this title #11, noting that it was a continuation of both Eerie Country and Weirdbook Sampler. Encores ran four issues, ceasing publication with #14 in 1993.

Starting in 1980, Ganley also published Amanita Brandy, a small press publication of weird, horror, and fantasy poetry. Four issues of Amanita Brandy were released, beginning in 1980 with issue #1, followed by Issue #2 in 1989, issue #3 in 1992, and the last issue published in Summer 1999.

As a publisher of books, he has released a number of titles by authors such as Joseph Payne Brennen, Peter H. Cannon, Brian Lumley, Jessica Amanda Salmonson, Darrell Schweitzer, and Nancy Springer.

Science-fiction and fandom historian Earl Terry Kemp had some very nice things to say about Ken Krueger in the online fanzine eI51 (August 2010). In his article “The Anthem Series, Part VII”, he examines some of Ken’s early publishing efforts along with commenting on Ken’s contributions to science fiction and fandom in a more general way. The following is an excerpt from that article (which may be read in its entirety at http://efanzines.com/EK/eI51/eI51.pdf).

Excerpt from “The Anthem Series, Part VII”
by Earl Terry Kemp

This is it, the very last word about the men and the publications that started the whole science fiction and fantasy industry as we know it today.

Without a doubt, it is the story of one man, Ken Krueger, a truly remarkable and enterprising individual, who spanned the entire history of this movement, from First Fandom, to first true book publication, and beyond.

Often forgotten and dismissed, his major contributions have too long gone unrewarded. Forgotten by subsequent generations, and dismissed by his peers, one person stands out, enduring the test of time having created a legacy of endeavor unmatched by any of his generation.

….

Ken Krueger is one of the unsung heroes of science fiction and fandom. He is not even mentioned in Advent:Publishers’ The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy. His involvement in the field can not be fully measured. He truly deserves recognition for his life-long involvement, if not solely for his publication of Skylark.

Krueger’s persistence of vision is truly amazing; he never licked the publishing bug. Out of the service, he started Shroud, then Kenneth J. Krueger: Publisher.

If no one else will beat the drum for Ken, this reader will. Ken long deserves, at the very least, a Hugo, for lifetime achievement in the field. So, here it is, Ken, my friend, kudos.

Earl Terry Kemp is the son of Earl Kemp, a Hugo-winning science-fiction fan and publisher who spoke at the first full San Diego Comic-Con (August 1970) by invitation of his friend, Ken Krueger. You can listen to a recording of what Earl had to say at that first Comic-Con at http://www.comicconmemories.com/2010/01/08/recordings-of-the-1970-san-diego-comic-con-1-listen-to-them-here/

Earl Terry Kemp has also contributed to a very cool book that his father co-edited, titled Cult Magazines: A to Z (subtitled A Compendium of Culturally Obsessive & Curiously Expressive Publications).

By Mike Towry

Next year (2012) will see the 40th anniversary of the first El Cortez Comic-Con, which was held August 18-21, 1972. I was Chairman of the con that year, at the ripe old age of seventeen, and it’s always held a special place in my heart. I’m not alone, however, in looking back fondly on that con and the many others that took place at that historic venue. For many longtime attendees, the cons held at San Diego’s El Cortez Hotel in the seventies along with the final one at that site in 1981 constitute a sort of golden age in early Comic-Con history.

Some of those attendees, when asked to write about their favorite Comic-Cons of yore for the 2009 Comic-Con souvenir book, reminisced fondly about the El Cortez years. For instance, Greg Bear wrote, “The El Cortez conventions were among the most fun, the friendliest, and most manageable.” Dave Clark wrote, “I have a special fondness for all of the early El Cortez Hotel conventions. The close-knit feeling of those smaller events is hard to even imagine today. In the evening after the main events were all shut down, a group of guests and hardcore fans would gather by the poolside for drinks, stories, songs and high-spirited fun going on into the wee hours.” And Jim Valentino wrote, “I’d have to say that my favorite era was at the El Cortez. The Con was so much more intimate; there was a real sense of community and camaraderie. It was the party con in those days and everyone had a great time.”

I’ve been thinking for some time that it would be cool to have a new “old school” comic convention in San Diego and with the El Cortez anniversary coming up next year, 2012 seems a good time to put one on. To that end, I’ve been having discussions with early Comic-Con committee members Richard Alf, Barry Alfonso, and Bob Sourk, as well as with other longtime fans about this. Having received a thoroughly positive response, I’m currently finalizing the details for such an old-school con— provisionally named the San Diego Comic Fest—to be held during the fall of 2012. We think it could be a lot of fun to have a relatively-smallish con at which we consciously try to foster the spirit, or “vibe” as we used to say, of those early fan gatherings.

The 1972 Comic-Con had between 900 and 1,000 attendees, which is around the number we’re looking at for next year’s event. Richard, Barry, and Bob are all three onboard as advisors. I’m also happy to announce that we already have our first confirmed Guest of Honor: Comic-Con’s Jackie Estrada. (Jackie was invited in recognition of her accomplishments in shepherding the Eisner Awards, genre editing—such as the Dark Horse Comics: Between the Panels book—creating and running Exhibit A Press, and generally being an important contributor to Comic-Con International’s success for longer than just about anybody else.)

Speaking of awards, every good con needs an awards program, right? I’ve been thinking for some time that there should be a Ken Krueger Award. Ken certainly deserves an award in his name, but what would it be for? Well, Ken was always proud of fans who succeeded in becoming professionals, and that seems like a perfect achievement to recognize with an award in his name.

Ken, in fact, had made that transition himself. Ken had started out as a teenage science-fiction fan attending the first Worldcon in 1939. By 1946 he had managed to become a professional science-fiction publisher, and in the subsequent decades continued to be active as a publisher and retailer of both science fiction and comics.

We can find one expression of Ken’s feelings on the subject of fans becoming professionals in his introduction for Ray Bradbury at the first multi-day San Diego Comic-Con (August 1-3, 1970). Ken proudly informed the audience assembled to hear Ray speak that “the field of science fiction and science-fiction fandom as a percentage has produced more professionals than any other group in the history of the world. We have produced many editors, many authors, many fine artists.” To hear the actual audio recording of Ken’s words at that time, just click on the audio player below to have a listen. (If you’re reading this via news reader or email, you may have to visit the web site to play the clip.)

In his tribute to Ken that appears elsewhere on the KenKruegerTribute.com site, Greg Bear wrote of Ken, “He simply enjoyed herding a bunch of wet-behind-the-ears kids into doing what he knew they were capable of doing. And that led to a ring of professional careers, to Comic-Con International, and to some of the yet-to-be-recognized glory days of Southern California culture.” It was evident during Ken’s last visit to Comic-Con in 2009 that he was more than proud of the professional success achieved by those “kids” in comics and science fiction (and in science itself for that matter).

I hope you’ll agree that a Ken Krueger Award to recognize fans who have succeeded as professionals would be a good thing and that it would be fun to have an old-school San Diego comic con at which to present the awards. Please let me know if you agree.

Mark Evanier has written elsewhere of the King Kon mini-convention, which was produced in February, 1974 by Shel Dorf and Ken Krueger. Thanks to Jackie Estrada and Matt Lorentz, we are now able to present a King Kon flyer for your viewing pleasure.

(Click here for a larger view of the flyer.)

Flyer for Shel Dorf and Ken Krueger's King Kon (February 1974)

(Click here for a larger view of the flyer.)

Comic-Con has just posted details for the Ken Krueger panel at http://www.comic-con.org/cci/cci10_prog_fri.php. The panel will be held on Friday, July 23, 2010. Hope to see you there (wearing your Ken Krueger Fan Club t-shirt, if you’ve got one). Here are the details:

1:30-2:30 A Tribute to Ken Krueger— He was the “go-to guy” and the “adult in the room” when Comic-Con first started 41 years ago. Ken Krueger was a dynamo who helped launch the country’s largest comics and popular arts convention in 1970. Comic-Con friends and associates pay tribute to the life of this larger-than-life retailer, publisher, and fan in this special panel. Moderated by author Greg Bear (author, Quantico), and featuring fellow early Comic-Con committee members Scott Shaw! (Oddball Comics), Jim Valentino (Shadowhawk), J.M. Towry, Janice Campbell, and Wendy All. Room 3

Message From Chairman Ken Krueger from 1970 Comic-Con #1 Program Book (Drawing by Scott Shaw!; image courtesy of the Richard Alf archives.)

With Comic-Con #41 coming up next month (July 2010), I thought you might like to read Ken Krueger’s Chairman’s message from the program book for Comic-Con #1 (August 1970). Since Ken just gave first names, here is a list of the full names of the committee members he was thanking: Shel Dorf, Richard Alf, John Pound, Scott Shaw!, Barry Alfonso, Bob Sourk, Greg Bear, Dave Clark, Ron Cearns, Bill Lund, Gary Pagel, David McGlone, Pat McGlone, Steve McGlone, John Hull, Mike Towry, Steve Shipman, Dan Stewart, Bill Rupp, and Glen Walker.

Ad for The Gory Story Quarterly from the Program Book for Comic-Con #1 (Drawing by Scott Shaw!; image courtesy of the Richard Alf archives.)

On the facing page in the program book was an ad for The Gory Story Quarterly, soon to be publish by Ken’s Shroud Publishers, and featuring work by committee members Scott Shaw! and John Pound. (For more on The Gory Story Quarterly, see https://kenkruegertribute.com/2009/12/03/gory-stories-quarterly-intro-page-with-sketch-of-ken-krueger-by-john-pound/

I’ve recently scanned over two-hundred of Shel Dorf’s original negatives from the 1974 Comic-Con, which was the second El Cortez convention. Here is one of those photos, which is of Ken in the dealers room.

Ken Krueger (center foreground) and William Crawford at 1974 Comic-Con

About the identity of the other parties in the photo, comics and collectibles dealer Bob Beerbohm writes as follows: “William Crawford comes to mind, the old guy talking to Ken. IIRC Mr Crawford was a participant in the 1939 first world SF Con in NYC. The young man to the right of Ken next row back is Larry Bigman with the side burns, a doctor in the Bay Area these days. His dad was Irving Bigman – his dad was mentor to many many of us growing up back then.”

Also, more pictures from the 1974 Comic-Con can be viewed at http://www.comicconmemories.com/1974-san-diego-comic-con-photos-batch-1-can-you-identify-people-in-the-pictures.

[When Ken Krueger became chairman of San Diego’s Comic-Con in 1970, he already had decades of experience in science-fiction fandom, of which he was a well-respected member. This can be seen from the following excerpts from the first issue of Hyperopia, the “official fanzine of the BUFFALO FANTASY LEAGUE,” which was edited by Robert J. Fritz. The month of publication – July – is given but not the year. However, internal evidence indicates this is from 1952. A few obvious typos were corrected and the name of one person was changed to her initials, “G. C.” So, now, read on and get ready to take up the chant: “We Want Ken, We Want Ken!”]

PROGRESSIVE FANDOM

By Ken Krueger
July 1952

This year is a year of destiny. In Chicago there has just ended two of the greatest political conventions of all time. The winners of those conventions we know. One-of the two men there chosen will become the president of this country in November.

And in November there will come another election, a further election in the National Fantasy Fan Federation. An election that could be one of importance, or could be merely another sad rehash of the events of the past.

It is high time that fandom had the equivalent of a political party. They are good things. I think that one like the hypothetical one this article will mention would be a fine thing for the fandom of the future.

An actual party, which we shall call for the time being, PROGRESSIVE FANDOM, could, and should, for an initial step take over as many offices of the NFFF as possible. In the N3F there are the greatest chances to advance the cause, and to advance the NFFF itself.

A party, with enough members, could consolidate the governing body of the club. A party could institute reforms that are sadly needed by the club. A party, in short, could entirely revamp the NFFF into a solid club, with the complete backing of its members rather than the slip-shod affair that it is now.

Let’s look at a few of the things that are wrong with the NFFF, from my point of view, and from the point of view of a good many others that I have discussed this with.

Point one is the asinine way in which the most important post in the entire club is selected. The loser in the Presidential race becomes the Sec’t-Treas., who, as we all know, has more actual control than any other one party. In the last election the members of the club who voted, voted against G. M. C. What their personal reasons were, I don’t know, though some did write them on their ballots. Those who did write in reasons were all against having C. even in the club. She is without a doubt one of the most self-opinionated persons in all of fandom, she butts in where she doesn’t belong, and since her appointment she has made herself obnoxious to practically everyone with any sort of a post. Yet, she is the Sec’t-Treas, because she was unpopular enough to lose an election!

Stupid? You bet! A post of that magnitude should be voted upon, not appointed. And that is my important point one.

Point two is that most of the people who do join the NFFF are fairly adult people. They are usually at least to the age of reason. Yet they are bombarded with floods of juvenile post-cards, letters, slingers, and what-nots from a group of well-wishers called the “Welcommittee”. Most are revolted by the letters that start off “Hiya new fan, Gee, we are sure happy that you have decided to make something of yourself by joining our sterling organization.” Nope, a well written welcoming letter, written by one person, and pointing out the clubs functions and aims would more than suffice in this matter. There are intelligent, well mannered people in the Welcommittee, but there are also some jerks. A fairly well-read person, who has read stf for a few years, is insulted by the references that he is a 12 year old who just learned to read.

Anyone wanting a more vehement reaction to this point is referred to Bill Austin.

Point three would be the formation of a “public relations” department. The functions of this department would be many and varied, though they would be mostly concerned with keeping present members happy, recruiting new members, and keeping the club in the public eye. That last part could be expanded into an entirely separate “Publicity Department” if the need arose.

With a good public relations office, the general pulse of the club could be felt regularly and such farces as the C. appointment could never have occurred.

Elsewhere in this issue you will find a loose page. On it are a few questions, and a great many blank spaces. We are curious as to the initial reaction to PROGRESSIVE FANDOM. We are willing to carry out some of our aims, but we would like to have at least a membership of two hundred people. That would be so that we would have a voice behind us when we speak on these matters.

On this form will be a big blank space, and the entire back is blank. That is where you can put in your ideas.

With a good organizations are all on the enclosed slip. If you want to see a PROGRESSIVE FANDOM, fill it out and return it. And please answer the questions fully. It will help us a lot, and it could help you much more than you think.

—Ken J, Krueger

A Report On the Future of Fandom

By Frank J. Richards

All information contained in this article was from memory and confirmed by a tape recording of the session.

A convention of the new fan organization PROGRESSIVE FANDOM, was held on July 29, for the purpose of nominating the people who will run for office in NFFF in November. The gathering at the meeting was large considering that the organization was founded only a few weeks before.

Toby Duane, well-known fan writer, opened the historic convention and introduced Ken Krueger, who was appointed Chairman. Alan Leverentz was recognized for the purpose of expressing his view of Fandom and finished by reading the above article.

Knowing the great interest that would develop in PF, there was an urgent need for a secretary of PF. W. Paul Ganley put up the name of Robert Fritz for acceptance. The nomination was seconded and then voted upon. Only one of the fans present said no, and the secretary of PF became Robert Fritz. For any information or questions concerning PF, contact Robert J. Fritz, 819 Michigan Avenue, Buffalo 3, New York.

After that was out of the way nominees for offices in NFFF were accepted. Those nominated were; Charlie Momberger, W. Paul Ganley, Robert Fritz, Alan Leverentz, Ken Krueger, and Bill Austin. All nominees were unanimously accepted.

The problem then was a choice of one of the candidates for President of N3F. Ken Krueger was nominated, but he declined with this speech.

“Well thanks a lot, but I feel a little bit foolish about doing that. After all I am running this thing and I have had a few posts in the N3F that I have had disagreements with; notably among them you may be aware is the farces with G. C. on the Manuscript bureau and so on that I may be a trifle prejudiced. I think actually someone else should take the post as President and not myself.”

Then Bill Harding a science fiction fan in long standing and a research scientist at Westinghouse gave this seconding speech for Ken:

“It has long been noticed in most organizations that invariably the president is the one that is supposed to do all the work and the president is invariably the one who decides policies; who arranges to have things done. Therefore it would seem to me rather definitely the man to whom this office is to be given must be one who is very much interested in the job. Mr. Krueger definitely has shown his vast interest in the N3F by his very desire to reorganize it. Therefore I am quite certain that he is the man for the job.”

After that the fans could not restrain themselves and the chant went up, “We Want Ken, We Want Ken” over and over. Ken finally gave in when he saw the fans were in unanimous agreement to have him run for President in the N3F.

Ken accepted the nomination by saying, “Well, I seem to have been a little bit overruled on that (his speech before). O.K. I don’t like to do it. It’s going to put the thing on a slightly personal basis on my angle, because I’m going to be bucking one person I like very much. That’s Martin Carlson who is at present, President of the N3F and a very good fellow. I couldn’t say a thing against him, if I wanted to.

Then again I’ll be bucking some of the directors. We’ll all be bucking the directors of it. I believe we know their record. Max Keasler, nice fellow, fine chap, has done nothing for it, and Stan Woolston, all the boys like that, even Racy Higgs, as far as hat goes, hasn’t done much. Then of course we’re going to be bucking G. C. I think that’s going to be our big point, our big selling point with this party– buck G. C. We all have our own personal opinions of C. One of us likes her, but that one has never really had much to do with it.”

After this acceptance speech one of the most important conventions in fandom came to a close. The convention which will make fandom progress. Fandom must progress. To make it progress we must get behind PROGRESSIVE FANDOM.

[And here is the introduction to Hyperopia written by its editor, Robert J. Fritz.]

JUST A WORD

By Robert J. Fritz

I know what you are thinking. Who am I? And what business have I to send this fanzine to you? Well first of all I am a member of the BUFFALO FANTASY LEAGUE. I became a member in April of this year just before the Buffalocon. I had noticed an ad in a copy of OTHER WORLDS telling of the Buffalocon and the name and address of Ken Krueger.

Up until then I wasn’t interested in fan activities, but had the inkling of being an active member of fandom. Through Ken I have picked up quite an interest in the activities of the fans of s-f. I’ve been reading s-f for the last 2½ years and have developed such a liking to the stuff that I am now referred to as a Martian among those who are not interested in this type of literature. But to get back to this fanzine, most-of the stories and articles were to be in a new fanzine of Ken Krueger’s, but when the BFL asked to have an official zine, Ken decided to throw all his material into it. He, as president of the BFL, was to be editor and I publisher, but when something far more important came up Ken was unable to handle HYPEROPIA, so he appointed me as editor.

I wish to apologize here and now for the mistakes in typing and the stenciling of the pictures, and the faded pages as this was my first attempt at stenciling and will improve with time and practice as shown in pages 16, 17, and 23. They were later attempts and show improvement.

The price of HYPEROPIA is 15¢ a copy or 50¢ for four issues and an honorable membership in the BUFFALO FANTASY LEAGUE. If you want the next issue which should come out in October send one of the above prices to me as soon as possible.
This issue may not look so good because of ill stenciling but the stories are good and I can only promise an improvement upwards to 100% in the second issue in the way of stenciling.

I must tell of the need for stories, art work, articles, and most of all, IDEALS on how to make this fanzine the best in the field. I wish to have the biggest circulation, the most friends and the best format.

The reason for the biggest circulation is that I will have a bigger source of writers and artists so I can have the best to pick from to give to you.

I am now running a contest for a mascot for HYPEROPIA. Entries must be in by September 13. The winner will receive a two years subscription to this fanzine.

If you are afraid to enter because you think I may fold; do not be so. I am here to stay no matter what happens. If I am drafted, die, or forced to work you can be sure this zine will continue even if all the work is done and the stories are written by friends.

If your work appears in an issue your copy is free so send in your work. The cover of this issue was to be multilith by a friend as a personal favor but complications developed and I can only say my next issue’s cover will be.

I wish to thank Lee Hoffman for all the drawings she has given to the zine, they are the only ones I have on hand and the only ones I could use except for the Charley Momberger which was done as a personal favor. The stenciling of the picture did not turn out as good as I had hoped.

While attending high school, most of the students seemed to think that s-f consisted of only space travel. I think the general public has the same ideal. I would like a number of articles on the other aspects of s-f to be published in HYPEROPIA.

About a mail column the important parts of letters will be reprinted even if it denounces the zine. I wish you would tell me my mistakes and how I can correct them. If no one writes me then (and this is a warning) I will write myself and my letters are awful dull so save me. I want to know how I am doing, as editor.

If I expect you to read and enjoy this zine the material within must be good and I will try to keep it good. So send in your best work.

By the way, I will trade fanzines with other editors. If they want to.

You have by now come across the loose form enclosed in this zine. Please read page 16 to find out what it is for.

Now a last appeal for subscribers and for more material immediately.

So long see you at the World Con.

The above is the insane writings of Robert J. Fritz.

Hyperopia #1 (July 1952) Cover by Lee Hoffman

Joe Fillinger, Ken’s longtime friend from his early days in the Buffalo, New York area, was kind enough to forward a copy of a tribute to Ken that will be published in the program book for the upcoming EerieCon 12, which will be held April 23 – 25, 2010 in Niagara Falls, New York. Herewith is that tribute:

We Remember Ken

Without Kenneth J. Krueger (1926-2009), there would not be a Buffalo Fantasy League, nor an Eeriecon. He (together with several others) co-founded the BFL back in 1949.

In 1939 he attended the first World SF Con. A member of First Fandom, he lived in the famous “Slan Shack” for a few weeks when he was 16. He helped form the Buffalo Book Company with Grant and Hadley. The first books published by them were THE TIME STREAM, by John Taine. and THE SKYLARK OF SPACE by E. E. Smith.

When he came back to live in Buffalo with his first family, he worked as a truck driver for Denver-Chicago, while buying and running the Buffalo Bookstore, co-founding the BFL, and publishing. Under the Shroud name, he published the first book edition of Lovecraft’s DREAM QUEST OF UNKNOWN KADATH, as well as Burks’ LOOK BEHIND YOU, McDougal’s THE FEMALE DEMON, and Chambers’ MAKER OF MOONS. The Space Trails series (under the Pegasus imprint) included items by Wilson Tucker, Basil Wells, Toby Duane, E. E. Evans, Betsy Curtis, and others. His later “Fantasy Classics” series from the seventies included stories by Machen, Stoker, Blackwood, et al.

Ken was also instrumental in setting up BUFFLOCON, the first local science-fiction convention, in the early fifties… a time when very few SF cons existed.

After his marriage ended, he moved to California, married again and started a second family, operated a number of bookstores, published a lot more books and magazines, and was well prepared to co-found Comic-Con, which is enjoyed annually by up to 150,000 comics fans. In his last years, he moved back to the Buffalo suburbs and back to the Buffalo Fantasy League.

Hey, Ken – we’ll miss seeing you wearing your “first fandom” red coat at future Eeriecons!

You can read more about EerieCon at http://www.eeriecon.org/.