Confusion
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An early 1950s fanzine by Shelby Vick.[1] Vick came up with the idea of a fan fund for Walt Willis and promoted it in Confusion as WAW With the Crew in '52. Issues 2–13 and 15–16 ran Willis’ column "Plinth," which, besides other material, included installments of Willis Discovers America and The Harp Stateside.
Confusion became famous for the "Something Up Our Sleeve" feature of tipped-in inserts (indeed in the sleeve of a cartoon pony-tailed Chinese character), for example, the first issue had a colorful paper fan. There was also a regular column, "In The Midst of Confusion," and brief editorial notes at the bacover beside the address space, called "Back Talk."
In 1952, Vick published a one-off Confusion's Conception, explained inside as "… of Tasfic." It was something of a Worldcon cartoon special, serving as an advertisement for the regular Confusion.
At the start of the Tenth Anniversary Willis Fund, Axe 0 (April 1961, p. 2) announced: "Shelby Vick is reviving Confusion — the fanzine where the first Willis fund was promoted and proposed — for the occasion" as a fundraiser; however, this did not materialise.
In 2005, Vick revived his zine under a changed name as confuSon, subtitled "the Son of confusion."
| From Fancyclopedia 2, ca. 1959 |
| Shelby Vick's fanzine which sparkplugged the WAW With the Crew in '52 campaign; but also the little character who appeared on the inside back cover with Something Up His Sleeve. |
| Issue | Date | Pages | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | November 1951 | 18 | ed. Tommy Lee Tracy (address in Florida); Shelby Vick listed as Art Editor (PO Box in same town; many illos, signed "vic"), J L Green as Poetry Editor. Slogan "WAW with the crew in fifty-two" at p. 3. Cover, unnumbered contents page, then pp. 1–12, two unnumbered and two as 13. |
| 2 | February 1952 | 2 | " |
| 3 | 1952 | 28 | ed. is now Shelby Vick solo |
| 4 | 1952 | ||
| 5 | March 1952 | ||
| 6 | 1952 | ||
| 7 | April 1952 | 38 | |
| 8 | 1952 | ||
| 9 | June 1952 | ||
| 10 | June 1952 | 38 | |
| 11 | August 1952 | 36 | |
| 12 | November 1952 | 20 | + AFTERwords (2 pages added to archive scan in 2005). Post-Willis ish, a. o. detailed list of WAW With the Crew in '52 contributions, profiles of the biggest donors and some relevant correspondence |
| 13 | November 1952 | 66 | |
| 14 | February 1953 | 46 | |
| 15 | May 1953 | 34 | |
| August 1953 | 6 | ?? | |
| 15P | December 1953 | 4 | |
| 16 | February 1954 | 36 | |
| revival / new series as confuSon: the Son of confusion | |||
| 1 | September 2005 | 19 | Now named confuSon |
| 2 | November 2005 | 34 | |
| 3 | January 2006 | 8 | A tribute to Howard DeVore |
| 4 | May 2006 | 19 | |
| 5 | March 2007 | 20 | A memorial to rich brown |
- ↑ Publisher credit for several issues reads “Dick and Vick,” “Dick” being Vick's mimeograph of the A. B. Dick brand.
- Confusion online at fanac.org (only issues 12 to 16 as of March 2023)
- Confusion and confuSon online at eFanzines, with essay by Taral Wayne (issues #1, #3, #7, #10, #11 and Confusion's Conception)
| Publication | 1951—1954 |
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