Vintage Rotslerby Sheryl Birkhead  "Some wines are ageless!""And some just turn to vinegar."Um...er...well, I consider
Rotsler to be one of fandom's priceless assets. When I first got into fandom,
way back in the Dark Ages, it took a while to figure out the fannish patois. A
Neofan's Guide helped with the written word, but there was never any doubt
about the content of the simplistic Rotsler cartoons. Don't ever confuse simple
with simplistic. The man is about as chary as they come with lines, but packs a
deceiving wallop in content.Alas, I cannot do much more than
appreciate the man and, sadly, I don't have any juicy anecdotes to relate. I have
never even been privy to one of his legendary dish renditions, when he mystifies all,
waiters and mundanes alike, by turning innocent and unsuspecting dishes into fannish
mementos. However, I have seen the man at various conventions and watched in awe as
he participated in fanartist duels. He wields his felt tip as he would a sword, and
has an economy of motion that is a beauty to behold. Few can keep up with him in
sheer volume, and none can match his contributions to fan publications over
(literally) decades.I have never seen a biography of this
phenomenon, but in bits from various articles have gleaned a bit of understanding of
just how versatile and diverse an individual Rotsler is. But he's more than just
that. Bill Rotsler has been a delight to fandom for over a half century that he's
been in fandom. And there's only one word that adequately describes such a person
of lasting, superior quality...Vintage! - - - - - - - - - -
Lots of readers commented on the feature, with the most amusing one from David
Bratman: "It's like reading Partners in Wonder, only shorter and funnier."
It was all a surprise to Rotsler, who had no clue we were planning this stunt. He
wrote to us: "My God, what egoboo! What a conspiracy! It is unique, fun and
flattering!" And then he was gone, dead of cancer just a few months later. Living
a continent-width away from him, we had no real idea that his condition had been so
dire. And we also didn't know that within three years, two of the artists who
contributed to the article would also be gone.And that wasn't the end of it.
Fandom is now into its ninth decade, and the unfortunate truth about the aging of
fandom is that every year brings depressing news of the deaths of more and more of
those who, in previous decades, were the shapers of what fandom is today. One such
person was Lynn Hickman, active in fandom from the 1950s onward, collector
extraordinaire and friend of all. Here's more about him:Top illustration by Sheryl Birkhead and William Rotsler Middle left illustration by Ian Gunn and William Rotsler Middle right illustration by Teddy Harvia and William Rotsler Bottom illustration by Joe Mayhew and William Rotsler |
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