Thursday, 14 March 2013

1993: SHADOWSPHERE (Fanzine)

SHADOWSPHERE was a nineties British fanzine dedicated to (as the byline suggests) 'cult media', published by the delightfully-named. Zach Farquharson-Waugh.

I was reading this during my first year at university and I really enjoyed it.  I loved the quality of the writing and also the diversity and broad mix of the contents.  It also helped that it was a really nicely put together package, the layouts were clear and crisp and the print and paper quality high.  I still periodically return to them for another flick.  

After a hiatus, it returned as METAMORPH 2 with a similar look and editorial remit.  I'll post those covers in the near future.

I never saw this for sale in any shops, I always ordered my copy by sending a cheque in the post.  I wasn't a subscriber so I imagine I responded to adverts in TV ZONE or DREAMWATCH.

Posted below are the four issues I have along with a sample article, about the brilliant VIRTUAL MURDER, by way of a sampler.  

I suspect the cover to the fourth issue lost some detail in the printing process... but it's still jolly eye-catching.

5 comments:

  1. Hello! I was a contributor to Shadowsphere (and Metamorph) back in the olden days, so it's great to find this page.

    Especially as I absolutely cannot find my copy of issue 4, which I believe had my short story "Prologue" in it (on page 2, according to my ridiculously OCD records).

    Please forgive my cheek, but is there any way I could persuade you to scan and email that page to me? Or photocopy and post it? Or ... something! Obviously I'd be happy to cover any costs involved.

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  2. I was Features Advisor on Shadowsphere and Metamorph II. I wrote that article on Virtual Murder, as well as She-Wolf, BUGS and many others. I'm surprised anyone remembers us! I've been co-hosting a podcast since 2007 :)

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  3. I wrote the (very) odd article too. Like you, Paul, I am surprised it is remembered!

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  4. I wrote articles and fiction for Shadowsphere and Metamorph 2. Fantastic zines, both.

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