G.B. Love

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Fan
Name: G.B. Love
Alias(es): Gordon Belljohn Love, The Grump
Type: fan writer, zine publisher, zine editor, convention organizer
Fandoms: comics, Star Trek TOS
Communities: Science Fiction and Comics Association
Other:
URL: Inter-Fan Page (via Wayback Sep 25/19)
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"G.B. Love in front of his house at the famous address of 9875 SW 212th Street, Miami Florida (the office of the SFCA and the RBCC!). Photo by Howard Siegel, taken in August 1974, about 2 weeks before G.B. moved to Houston. G.B. and James Van Hise were mailing RBCC #112, G.B.'s last issue."[1]

G.B. Love (1939-2001) was a high-profile fan in the U.S. comics and Star Trek fandoms, He was the editor and publisher of a number of early zines, as well as the founder of the Science Fiction and Comics Association fan club/publisher and was the organizer of some of the first comic book and Trek conventions in South Florida and Texas. All this he accomplished while suffering from severe cerebral palsy at a time when having a disability was equated with being less than a whole person[2] and accomodations were practically non-existent.

In 1959, G.B. and his family moved from Georgia to Miami, Florida. When the 20-year-old was tested by the rehabilitation people, he was told they had nothing for him. Goodwill offered him a job for $25 a week, but he wouldn't take that. G.B. Love had a great deal more to offer than charity make-work, even if his cerebral palsy made telephone communication an uphill battle, and he could only type by clutching a pencil in one hand and striking the keys of an electric typewriter laboriously, one at a time.

In a recent [1990s] interview, Love remembered how he decided to publish a fanzine:

"[In 1961] I was looking for something to occupy my time, and hoped to develop something that might eventually become profitable. My original idea was to combine sf and comics in a fanzine, but I quickly dropped the sf and concentrated on my first love, comic books. I picked the name The Rocket's Blast myself, but I really don't remember how I came up with it."...

..."At the time I produced the first issue of RB, I was unaware of anyone else trying it, too. After I began publishing, I think the first fanzine I discovered was Alter Ego"

 [3]

As a result of his difficulties with physical tasks, Love had a number of fellow fans who assisted him, including Jim Van Hise, Andy Warner, John Ellis, and Rick Coy[4].

"Andy Warner and G.B. Love, Andy's score's [sic] TOR and G.B. with Andy's display art for the RBCC dealer's table. Polaroid Swinger photo by me, taken at MULTICON '70, June, 1970." [5]

Love formed the SFCA and published his first fanzine Rocket's Blast in December 1961. RB was released monthly for 28 issues before it merged with Jerry Bail's The Comicollector to become Rocket's Blast Comicollector, which continued the monthly publication (and numbering) of RB, starting from Issue #29. From 1964 to 1974, almost every issue was released on time[6], an unusual occurrence in fanzine publishing! Jim Ellis describes the experience of working for Love on the 'zine:

I remember we listened to an audio recording of The Adventures Of Captain Marvel movie serial, and I mostly typed subscriber addresses on file cards and then helped open mail…there always was a LOT of mail to open…and to stuff envelopes…always lots of that too at the SFCA. To tell the truth I don’t remember how much G.B. paid me. Minimum wage was $1.60 per hour then, and I remember being surprised that he paid so much per hour, and rounded the pay up to the next hour. I’m sure it was at least a dollar. I always went home with money in my pocket, and a few fanzines that he let me buy for cheap or just gave to me for free. He was a generous guy, always good to me.

I worked for him only on the weekends I went down to Miami, so it was intermittent. The first couple of trips to Miami I had to have Andy translate what G.B. was saying, because of the fact that he had cerebral palsy and had trouble speaking (and walking and doing physical things). This never stopped him from doing anything he was determined to do though. I was surprised when after being around G.B. a few times that I was suddenly able to understand him clearly! This made things a whole lot easier, and I remember translating for G.B. many times after that to others that didn’t understand what he was saying.

I remember G.B. fell and sprained his wrist around that time [August 1969], which delayed an issue of RBCC by a couple of weeks…also around that time his dad (who worked in a bakery) got his arm injured pretty badly in a dough making machine. His parents were nice people and welcomed his frequent visitors.

 [7]

"From Star Studded Comics #14, GB Love with Howard Waldrop at Southwestern-Con (aka Houston Con) in 1968 .."[8]

By 1968, Love had expanded from publishing fanzines to also acting as a direct point of sale for reprints of the better quality ones, through his "Ye Olde Fanzine Shoppe" mail order business. The zines were advertised in RBCC and the business proved profitable enough to allow Love to make a living from it. It also proved to be the means for many comics fans of the era to discover fanzines and the wider fandom - many credit his classified ads for the SFCA and RBCC in Marvel Comics as their entry point, although some blamed him for the "invasion" of mainstream comics fandom by the "Marvel Zombies" - die-hard Marvel Comics fans who would put down and insult everything else[9].

Following his attendance at his first convention in 1968 (Southwesterncon), Love was inspired to start conventions of his own in his hometown of Miami, Florida. With the help of Andy Warner, who had joined the RBCC "staff" in 1968 as assistant editor, Love (as part and with the help of the South Florida Comics Council) organised "MiamiCon", which was held in the unairconditioned Fireman's Hall in Coral Gables. It would prove to be an important move for South Floridian fandom:

The nucleus of South Florida Fandom would spring from those conventions, bringing together fans like Joe Kimbro, Vince Lavarello, Phil Beracha, Sam Ennis, Glen Lightfoot, Keith Sillman, Rob Miller, Jim Campbell, Mike Zeck, Mike and Rob Zarillo, Jeff Young, and Dennis Lambson (whose uncle was Captain Marvel artist C.C. Beck, who had retired to Miami).

 [10]

That first MiamiCon was followed by others, running through to 1975.

Following his relocation to Houston in 1974, he expanded his fandom activities; having assisted Earl Blair (aka Captain Bijou) with Houstoncon 1971, he acted as co-chair in 1974 and 1975. He also founded (yet another) fanzine, this time for Star Trek, with Walter Irwin as co-editor. Trek's best articles would later be compiled by Love and Irwin into a series of books, "The Best of Trek" and "The Best of the Best of Trek" which were released professionally.

There certainly wasn't much GB wouldn't turn his hand at:

Beck’s paintings have circulated over the years within the comics-fan subculture, but rarely outside it—one can occasionally find them on auction via eBay, or on serious comic-art auction sites such as Heritage or Hakes. For a time, G. B. Love, the founder of the Rocket’s Blast Comicollector, took it upon himself to act as Beck’s agent; per a prominently placed ad in several issues (the original stats for which happen to be currently on offer at eBay), these paintings were sold for five hundred dollars each.

 [11]


In November 2000, Love was injured in a car accident and never fully recovered. He died in January 2001 at the age of 61, resulting in an outpouring of tributes from fandom.

Professional Works

Notable Fanworks

Comics Zines

Star Trek Zines

Science Fiction Zines

Convention Program Books

Article from The Miami Herald (Jan 3/71) on the first MiamiCon, jointly founded by Love and Warner.

Conventions

Reviews and Tributes

Yes, G.B. and I were close friends, but for a lot longer than just the end of his life. From 1969 until his death in 2001, we were close friends. When he moved to Houston in 1974 three house down from my wife and I, you could say we were even "closer".

We worked together on several projects including Houstoncon '74/Star Trek '74, Houstoncon '75/Star Trek '75, countless mini-conventions in the Houston area and San Antonio's first-ever fan convention. We also published Trek: The Magazine for Star Trek Fans, a project from which I departed early due to other commitments. I was never involved in any project with G.B. that wasn't both commercially or aesthetically successful. Batting a thousand ain't too shabby.

After I moved to Los Angeles in 1977, we stayed in touch regularly. He would visit us periodically and we would seem him at two or three fan conventions a year. When my family relocated to Alabama in 1984, we would still see G.B. regularly, either on personal visits or, again, at fan conventions. After his parents died, he would often come to our house for Thanksgiving.

I was with him the day...no, the very moment he died. G.B. had been in the hospital for months, following an auto accident that severely damaged his already fragile legs. I had been to see him twice since the accident, the last a few a few weeks earlier at a rehabilitation center. He seemed to be improving. On, I believe, a Monday night, I received a frantic call from Roy Bonario stating that G.B. was failing fast and they didn't expect him to live much longer.

I hopped on the next available plane and made it to Houston and the hospital before noon the next day. Some member of his church were there sitting with him. He hadn't eaten and was in pain, getting very little sleep. I managed to wake him up and get a small portion of Cheerios with milk down him. His legs were the source of the painful, so I badgered the staff to send in someone to massage his legs. I even got him to sit up for a bit. He seemed to improve.

The next day was much the same. He was so terribly thin that he could not accept pain relievers via an injection and his overall condition so weak they didn't want to try to administer by pill, so it was decided to give him the pain reliever as part of a oxygen treatment in the form of a fine mist he would breath through a mask.

As I recall, he began breathing oxygen early in the afternoon, and, shortly after starting, fell to sleep.

He never regained consciousness.

He fell into a deep coma and late that night, passed away. Several members from his church and I were at his bedside.

Plagued for most of his life by crippling cerebral palsy, G.B. be never let his illness impede either his creative spark or, for certain, his business acumen. Walking was difficult as was merely picking up or handling a pencil...a coke can...or just about any object. His speech was difficult and most folks would find nearly unintelligible. None of that deterred him.

He had a close knit group of friends in Houston -- Marc Schooley, Roy Bonario, Glenn Kessler, myself and others -- who gave no quarter to his infirmities. He was always one of the guys...and an outspoken one at that. And those poker games in happier times....as I said no quarter was given...more like ten or twenty bucks and G.B. was usually one of the winners.

Most of all...most importantly...he was my friend.

Ironically, the terrible illness that gnarled his hands and ravaged his limbs left its host leaving no signs of its inhabitation after his passing. Beginning his eternal rest, surrounded in the quiet, his hands rested flatly and smoothly against his body.

At his request, he was cremated and his ashes scattered to the winds. Since the funeral was handled by his sister and the church, the site was never revealed to me or his friends here in Houston.

Should need any photos of G.B. (--we nicknamed him the "Grump"--) please advise.

Best,

Earl Blair

CAPTAIN BIJOU

Gordon Belljohn (GB) Love Page at Interfan.com - note from Earl Blair

The books were edited by Walter Irwin and Gordon “GB” Love, both sadly lost to us since. The pair were pioneers in the modern era of science-fiction fandom. In addition to creating the Science Fiction and Comics Association, for example, Love helped usher in the era of Star Trek conventions. Much of the credit for making Trek such a quality publication goes to Irwin and Love’s dedication, love, professionalism, and commitment to providing fans a voice in the science-fiction community.

 [12]

Photo Gallery

External Links

References

  1. ^ John Ellis post on the G.B. Love, Andy Warner & RBCC Memories! group on Facebook, Jul 20/19.
  2. ^ Inter-Fan Page Biography (taken from an article on CBR.com) - DOC Boucher  
  3. ^ "The RBCC Story", excerpted from The Golden Age of Comic Fandom by Bill Schelly (1995), in Alter Ego #135, June 2015.
  4. ^ "G.B. Love Page" - Inter-fan.org
  5. ^ John Ellis post on the G.B. Love, Andy Warner & RBCC Memories! group on Facebook, Jul 20/19.
  6. ^ "...1963 office fire traumatized and demoralized him and he couldn't imagine continuing publishing! Apparently it was the third week of January at about 7pm when G.B. noticed smoke coming from under his office door...his dad put it out with a garden hose before the Fire Dept. arrived, but the fire and/or water ruined everything including most of his printing equipment and comic collection (including two copies of Fantastic Four #1!). He said that luckily he had kept his subscription files in his bedroom and that with the help of several contributors and a little insurance money he got up and running again and was only about 2 weeks late with issue 16." John Ellis - comment to the G.B. Love, Andy Warner and RBCC Memories! Facebook group, January 12, 2021.
  7. ^ "BACK IN MY DAYS AT THE RBCC" - PART 4 (of many) by John Ellis on G.B. Love, Andy Warner & RBCC Memories! on Facebook, Feb 12/18
  8. ^ John Ellis post on the G.B. Love, Andy Warner & RBCC Memories! group on Facebook, Jul 20/19.
  9. ^ John Ellis reposting Bob Beerbolm's post "G.B. Love, Andy Warner & RBCC Memories! group on Facebook, Jan 22/24
  10. ^ "Gordon Belljohn (GB) Love Page" at Inter-Fan.Org (via Wayback Sep 25/19)
  11. ^ Captain Marvel, C. C. Beck, and the Comics-Fan Subculture Slide Show by Jaime Wolf, The New Yorker, Mar 28/11 (via Wayback Jun 4/23)
  12. ^ "Remembering the 'The Best of Trek' Fanzine" by Maria Jose and John Tenuto at startrek.com, Mar 30/09 (via Wayback May 14/24)
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