Exposures (Man from UNCLE zine)

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Zine
Title: Exposures
Publisher: original publisher was Candace Clark and Moppet's World Press, (and possibly Deux Emmes Publications" or "Deux Emes Press), Otter Limits Press was the printer for issue #2 but no other issues, Nuthatch Press reprinted them eleven years later
Editor(s): Kandi Clarke, Linda Howlett
Date(s): 1988-1990, reprinted in 2001
Series?:
Medium: print
Size:
Genre:
Fandom: Man from UNCLE
Language: English
External Links: WayBack Archive link to publisher's page
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Exposures is a slash Man from UNCLE anthology.

It was originally published in Australia between 1988 and 1991. Authorized reprints were published by Nuthatch Press in 2001.

Issue 1

Exposures 1 was published in January 1988 and is 166 pages (the Moppet's World edition) and 240 pages (the 2001 Nuthatch edition).

cover of issue #1, the original 1988 cover
cover of issue #1, the 2001 Nuthatch cover

The zine contains photocopied publicity stills and scenes from the show. Some of these photos include handwritten humorous captions.

From the editorial:

Dear Readers:

Welcome to the very first issue of EXPOSURES an adult U.N.C.L.E, zine — and thank you for your support of our initial venture! We appreciate your show of faith in us.

"We” are a collaborative effort between Massachusetts and Michigan. (we prefer to ignore such trivial details as phone bills and we sincerely hope you enjoy the partnership's product! The advantage of having two states involved is that you, our readers, can order from, and correspond with, the one of us nearest you.

That way we hope to have efficient mailings of EXPOSURES, as well as being able to reply quickly to any and all correspondence you may wish to send. (Letters of comment are most vigorously encouraged... )

Some of the stories featured in EXPOSURES are and will continue to be, insinuated "/” and some are graphic depictions of a sexual relationship between Mssr.'s Solo and Kuryakin. We vehemently do not wish to offend anyone in U.N.C.L.E. fandom; if this material is offensive to you, we did not intentionally set out to cause this reaction.

We base our stories entirely on our own personal opinions that Napoleon and Ilya, by the very nature of their jobs and lifestyles, can depend on and totally trust only each other completely with every facet of their lives, I f each can trust the other with his life, who better to trust with his love?

Again, thank you so much for giving us a chance to share our efforts with you; we hope you have as much fun reading

exposures as we had writing it!

  • Some Kind of Friend by V. Rettig Holt ("Illya, physically abused and mentally tortured, submits his resignation from UNCLE - without Napolean's knowledge.") (4)
  • Craziness by Steve (84)
  • Friday Night by Steven J. Keller (88)
  • More Craziness by Steve (112)
  • Stormy Weather by Candace-Anne Clarke ("Illya is missing and presumed dead on Christmas Eve, but a lonely Napoleon Solo receives a surprise and most-welcome present on Christmas day.") (117)

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 1

If the collection has a "dog," this is it. Kandi appeared to print the zine right off the manuscript pages, using lots of photos to break up the typed text. Here's the hard news: the manuscripts were double-spaced. Yep—the zine is basically manuscript and photos, up to 170pp...[1]

Issue 2

Exposures 2 was published in August 1988 and contains 90 pages (the Nuthatch Australian 2001 reprint has 84 pages). It was printed and bound by Otter Limits Press.

back cover of #2
front cover of issue #2
front cover of issue #2, the Nuthatch 2001 edition

From the editorial:

Welcome to EXPOSURES II! Thank you — all of you — for your loyal support and your wonderful comments on our work to date. It is incredibly rewarding and heartening to hear from you, our readers — ail your letters are read, carefully considered, and always answered. Many of you may recognize your own suggestions being put into effect with this issue. I hope to incorporate as many of the readers' suggestions as possible in every issue; I really want to make this a reader's zine, as well as a zine that the readers can be proud of.

It is of vital importance to me to thank an extraordinarily special group of people; without their invaluable advice, their patience (which I quite often put to the test), their time (lots of it), their equipment (which I monopolized shamelessly) and a good part of their peace of mind, this zine would still be just so many trees on a hill somewhere. These people are the best — they are true friends, and I am unspeakably proud and honored to credit them with the acclamation they so richly deserve. Just for listening to me (for hours) on the phone, these people deserve a medal! Anyway, my greatest thanks and deepest appreciation go to Irene Murphy, Loretta Greco, Michael Patti, Linda Howlett, Theodore Kahn, Ronnie Vernon, Tami, and of course, Paulie. And all of the above, plus my most heartfelt love, go to Vicki Holt, a dreamer whose every dream deserves to come true.

And I must also extend my gratitude to my contributors — to have my zine graced by their work is an honor I do not take lightly!

This zine specifically depicts a sexual relationship between Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin. This may simply be one facet of the partnership, but it is the concerted opinion of the contributors to this zine that such a relationship was equally entered into by both mane, and that they have decided freely to love each other -- spiritually and physically. We are not saying you must believe as we do: we simply wish you to experience yet another perspective on the Sole/Kuryakin relationship. It is, quite simply, based on love, and it is with love that this zine is presented to you.

  • Editorial (1)
  • Fly the Friendly Skies by Eros (4)
  • Black Tie and Tails by Belle (10)
  • An Impolite Interview with David McCallum by Hannah Eisler (28)
  • On the Other Foot by Casey Melvin (32)
  • Tit For Tat by Johnny Murphy (46)
  • Papasan by Tosya Stohn (59)
  • He Who Loves by Belle (60)

  • from issue #2

  • from issue #2

  • from issue #2, Napoleon Solo shown in a domestic sexy pose

  • from issue #2, inside back cover, a commentary on the editor's perseverance

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 2

The second issue was a "slim" volume of only about 90pp ... and/but it was bulked out with photos. Beeeautifulll photos!!!!! Okay, so they're 25 toner-guzzlers. But you never saw these before, and some of them are really lovely.[2]

Issue 3

Exposures 3 was published in August 1989 (and is 175 pages. It has art by Christine Myers. It was edited by Linda Howlett.

It was reprinted by Nut Hatch in 2001 with the same content but instead a page count of 179 pages.

cover of issue #3, the original cover
cover of issue #3, 2001 Nut Hatch reprint

From the editorial:

EXPOSURES III includes stories by some of the best-known and well- enjoyed authors — such as Casey Melvin and Jacquelyn Midcult — in UNCLE, as well as contributions by established authors DVS and Robin Hood of STAR TREK fandom. And we also present for the first time stories by some new talents on the UNCLE horizon. So there is quite a variation in styles as well as concepts In this issue; hopefully, each of you will find something intriguing within.

As always, please £o write to us!! As many of you know from firsthand (no pun intended!) experience, readers* suggestions and comments are frequently integrated into the EXPOSURES format. All your letters are read and answered, and each of the authors with work in these zines is eager to hear your reactions to her/his story! So please d£ write when you have a chance!

[...]

EXPOSURES III explicitly depicts an intimate, loving and honorable relationship between Illya Kuryakin and Napoleon Solo; please DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER IF SAME-SEX MATERIAL IS OFFENSIVE TO YOU!! I think each of us has our own personal view of how and why this relationship is so special — I only ask that you be tolerant of the views of your fellow fans. Please remember that simply because someone else's ideas are different from your own, it does not mean that he or she is wrong!! Accept and enjoy the diversity!!

  • The Operation Showcase Affair by DVS (1)
  • Lessons To Be Learned by Jacquelyn Midcult (22)
  • Iceberg and Siren, poems by (Hood (Robin Hood) (70)
  • Napoleon's Game by Johnny Murphy (72)
  • The Blondes Have More Fun Affair by Casey Melvin (94)
  • Triangle of Terror Pt 1 by Belle (106)
  • Don't Judge a Book By Its Cover by Tamara (137)

  • from issue #3, Christine Myers

  • from issue #3, Christine Myers

  • from issue #3, Christine Myers

  • from issue #3, not credited

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 3

This one was 181pp ... but here's the "bad news." It was heavily illustrated. Don't mistake me: the photos are gorgeous! If you re-joined the fandom late, like me, this is the only opportunity you're going to get to see these images, and I for one am happy to have them. My IK fixation of 1969 returns when the moon is full ...[3]

Issue 4

cover of issue #4 (1991)

Exposures 4 was published in 1990 and is 225 pages. The 2001 reprint has 210 pages. It was edited by Linda Howlett. The art is by Caro Hedge, Billie Phillips.

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 4

Biggest and best of the issues; very little artwork, none of which is pro-rated for being "75% toner cover" etc ... this one is waaaaay over 200pp, and you'll see at a glance what you're missing when I quote you the featured authors: Robin Hood, DVS, Khylara, Eros, Natasha Barry, Hephaistion, Alys, Julia Donnelly and Bruce Honquichat.... ...The cover price of this zine in 1990 was US$18 "in person." Check out the ordering info under the cover sheet. And there ain't no color cover on it! US$18 is about A$33 right now ... ten YEARS later, with inflated prices. I wanna point out to you that I will be producing the same item, WITH a color cover (!) for A$32 or so. Guys, I can't do any better than this.[4]

From the Editor Who Reprinted These Zines

In 2001, JJ of The Nut Hatch Press proposed reprinting these zines, either separately or as a "Best Of" issue.

JJ, commenting on culling some material to make a "Best Of" issue wrote:

I just know people are going to ask me to make a judgement call on the quality of the contents. Okay ... well, first, it's not my place to make that call, because Kandi was the publisher ... and in the end each one of us must decide if we liked a piece or not. It's very fair to say that I've not-liked brilliantly written stories because the characterizations were poor ... and vice versa! But I can give a steer, in the way of a thumbnail review. Frankly, I would have preferred to produce "The Best of Exposures" at 300pp, where the zine would have been about A$40 + shipping. But you'd have missed out on all the photos, and I'd have been playing "God Editor of Loon." In the end, you'd have saved about US$20, all up, and you'd have received a zine that was built on my editorial whim, and without illustration (on account of the price of toner!). The bottom line?? The stories are a mixed bag; there's exceptionally good ones, there's a few poor ones, and there's a lot in the gray zone between, where "talking heads" could easily be your favorite piece in the zine, or your least favorite! It's really up to the reader to decide (as always). The zines could be prettier ...they were "only" typed (remember, this was before computers!), and as for the first one, it was pasted up off the raw manuscript. But that's the worst of it.[5]

In 2001, the always long-winded JJ of The Nut Hatch Press posted this on her website:

THE ZINES ARE BEING PRINTED AS OF JANUARY 19th, 2001 ... but for the full backstory about copyrights, costs and all else, read on: Four issues of EXPOSURES were published by Candace Clark, from 1988 to 1990. They range in size from about 100pp to way over 200. These were grass roots, "basic" style zines, in the days before Pentium computers, the internet and digital artwork...

In those days zines were mostly typed. Most of the EXPOSURES issues were word processed and produced on an electronic typewriter, with the usual typewriter fonts. The illustrations generally took the form of photos from the editor's private collection.

Originally I had intended to produce, in 2001, something that would have been called "The Best of Exposures." I'd intended to lift out the best stories, leave out the less-than-brill material, re-set the type in modern formatting, produce some digital art, and get a zine of about 300pp that had been brought up close to current zine standards. It was my intention to do this because I felt that the original EXPOSURES issues have not aged well ... by comparison with modern zines, a portion of the content is less than superb, and the graphics are typical of the mid-1980s, when Letraset, White-Out and staples were the norm!

Alas, my "Best of" plan turned out to be impossible, because it was swiftly pointed out to me that fannish copyrights are not quite the same as the contracts and copyrights I'm accustomed to in the professional writing and publishing world. In fact, I don't have the rights to get in there and "meddle" with the existing content! I can't legally "cut" the books into something new/better!

So the stumbling block is this: I can either print these zines exactly as they are, or not print them at all. In other words, the good stuff from EXPOSURES is going to gather mold and grow fungus in the bottom of the cupboard, because—readers beware!—there is a portion of the content that's little more than fluff/dross!

But ... hang on a second ... all the content's not that bad, is it?

Nope. Some of the content is good reading...

So, what kind of tragedy is this, where GOOD stories are going to be left to turn into fungus colonies, because the person holding the reprint rights (me) doesn't have the legal rights to edit the dross out of bygone zines?

Hmmm. Good stories being lost because of passenger-paper. Baby thrown out with bathwater! But read on... Okay, so here's the story so far. We have these typical, average 1980s zines ... not slick and dazzling, like current zines; some of the content is, frankly, "wanting" ... but some is undeniably good. May I point out that the featured writers include Robin Hood, Hephaistion, Natasha Barry, DVS and Khylara —

Several fandoms know these writers, and these are the very stories that are moldering because these old books were, in fact, bulked out with material that would today either not have been run, or else would have been heavily edited.

Remember, I started out on the EXPOSURES project intending to do a "Best of" volume ... and quickly found out that there's a fannish ban on what I'd planned. Was I trying to play "The God Editor of Loon" ...? Hmmm, well, maybe. The facts were soon impressed on me:

Print the whole lot, as-is, or print nothing. Because that's all I have the right to do. So ...

Why not, I thought then, just reproduce the zines more or less the way they were done twelve years ago? Pull them out, plonk them on the photocopier, and bind those suckers!

Well, because it gets complex. The content, as you're now well aware, is sometimes of less than a standard that will inspire superlatives; yet the costs to manufacture the books will be exactly the same as the costs involved with producing the most brilliant contemporary book. Xerox machines don't differentiate between Shakespeare and gas bills. So you have a problem here. No matter the quality of what's on the page, I can only make photocopies, and bind books, for a certain cost.

Which brings us down to an inescapable bottom line... Since I don't have the right to muck about with the contents of these books ... if contemporary fans want to complete their collections of older zines; if they are fond enough of the topic to forgive the rough edges of some pretty average, 12-year-old fannishness; if they're willing to take the cabbage in order to get the cream ... then the readers themselves must take the books as-they-are, in total, and "edit out" whatever they perceive as dross by the simple expedient of turning the page and ignoring what doesn't come up to snuff!

I wish I could tell you that I can provide the zines extra-cheaply to facilitate your weeding-out process, but how can I?! Just about everyone knows what it costs to manufacture zines, especially slashy ones, where your options are limited and you may not be able to truck them into high-volume, low-price outlets and hand them to the young kid in charge of the copy machines!

But I do make you this pledge: I'll get the price down as low as possible.

They'll be A4, Xerox copied, coil-bound. They'll have color covers, but inside those color covers, you're looking at the original pages, cuz I'm not allowed to do a darned thing in terms of editing the content! Sorry.

It was suggested a little while ago that I should (gasp!) reformat them all, into compressed type and two columns, so as to squeeze the content into about 250pp or so ...

Good idea. But, guys, that's something like 500,000 words of typing and/or OCR (Optical Character Recognition) correction, after 650 scans have been made and stored!! Do you have any idea how much work that is?? Do you know what that would do to healthy hands and backs and eyes? Do you know how that would hurt a person like me, who is already halfway crippled with RSI from years ago?!

So then I wondered about "hiring" people to do the work, in exchange for free copies. But everyone who gets a freebie is someone who didn't buy one ... my educated guess would be, after the work was complete, we'd sell 10 and give away 10. That would double the price of the compressed-format zine(s)—because I'm not financially able to underwrite a philanthropic project—and you're back to square one. In fact, it's worse: You now have a ludicrously high price for small(er) book, where (!!) the content is exactly the same as it was when we began, it was only reformatted! The dross is still there, and now the price would be up way high, because 50% of the printrun was given away.

No can do, guys. You wouldn't pay that ... I wouldn't ask you to.

I even looked at the possibility of "publishing to disk," where image-files were made of the individual pages, and those pages were then assembled in Adobe Acrobat, to be "read back" to the screen. I made a dummy-run of some pages ... and discovered that to get halfway decent readability, you wind up with image files so big, only about 6pp can be stored per floppy disk!! It would take around 30 to store a single zine, and to get them all would be a 120 disk job. Well, that would cost a heck of a lot more than photocopying them. So much for Plan B.

So ... we reach the bottom line: Here's your ultimate bottom line, folks!

The zines ARE available to be reprinted.
The zines cannot possibly be re-edited or re-formatted.
The zines are sometimes not as brilliant as we'd like, but
The zines contain good stories from good writers too!!
The zines can only be printed as-they-are.
The zines can only be printed at BULK COPY costs, so
The zines can only be printed with a number of pre-orders in-hand.
The readers must "edit" for themselves.
The readers know ahead of time, the content is "mixed."
The readers decide to liberate good stuff from the cupboard, and
The readers agree to turn a blind eye to the dross.
The printer agrees to keep the costs to minimum.
The printer fully informs readers of what they're buying.
The printer volunteers to donate the work to produce the zine...

But...

[MUCH, MUCH detailed production details snipped]

Then it's over to you! If I can get 16 orders, hey, I'm printing! (I'll try and improve on that ... I may be able to trim that to 10 - 12 ... again, email me, I'll be in touch if/when I get a better deal). So... You know there's good stories in here; you know that you will have to turn a blind eye to some typical old-zine waste paper! You know the printing difficulties involved.[6]

References

  1. ^ THE DOAW HOMEPAGE, Archived version
  2. ^ THE DOAW HOMEPAGE, Archived version
  3. ^ THE DOAW HOMEPAGE, Archived version
  4. ^ THE DOAW HOMEPAGE, Archived version
  5. ^ THE DOAW HOMEPAGE, Archived version
  6. ^ from JJ at THE DOAW HOMEPAGE, Archived version,
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