Date: Mon, 20 Nov 1995 13:20:11 -0400 From: [g--l--n] at [bgnet.bgsu.edu] (Metroplex) Subject: FTP 546 ==== FIT TO PRINT by catherine yronwode for the week of November 20, 1995 THIS IS FIT TO PRINT NUMBER 546: It's been a while since i have reviewed a fan-zine by Rodney Schroeter. Too long, actually. If he's been drawing them, he hasn't sent them my way. Rodney was the author-artist of the very strange series _The Weirdo_. This amateur self-published zine (not to be confused with Robert Crumb's _Weirdo_, which, strangely, debuted the very same month) starred a costumed character who, well, who helped people and did good deeds. The premise sounds simple, but there was a quirkiness in the execution which made reading _The Weirdo_ a memorable experience. The art was never all that great, but there was true passion in the story telling. I still recall one vivid scene in which The Weirdo gave a limp, drowned cat artificial respiration by gently breathing into its tiny little mouth, and the funny thing is that i can see it in my mind's eye just as clearly as i can see Steve Ditko's Spider-man lifting the drippy-wet ten-ton doo-hickey off of himself or Will Eisner's Spirit striking a match in Dolan's darkened office as he prepares to relate the story of his lost love Sand or Milton Caniff's Terry standing toe to toe with Warlord Klang. Some things just stick with you. The Weirdo stuck with me. Like i said, i haven't seen a new fanzine from Rodney Schroeter in a long time, but recently, Rodney has reappeared in my life via the internet. His newest fannish venture is a self-imposed electronic publishing project of considerable magnitude: he intends to review at length virtually every silent movie available on video. His new electronic series, Silent Reels, is as well written as in print on the subject but, quirky as always, Rodney makes it accessible via e-mail to anyone who asks to be put on his free mailing list. Here is how Rodney explains the mission behind his electronic zine, in the introductory text titled Silent Reels #0: "My goal in writing these columns is not a modest one. I intend to develop a significant interest, among people who enjoy good movies, in the silent era - an interest that will grow to such proportions that there will some day be a Silent Movie Channel, a special Silents section in the video rental shops, and film restoration will become a multi-billion dollar business (financed completely by the free market; I do not consider the arts a proper concern of the government). "To write these columns, I intend to enjoy watching and re-watching a huge number of good films. In the course of my writing and viewing, I intend to take pleasure in learning about actors and other movie-makers of the silents. "I am not an authority on silent movie history, but I plan to become one. "As I see it, this will be a life-long project, though I doubt it will ever become a full-time one." True to his word, Rodney is not only working his way through the canon of silent classics by the likes of Buster Keaton and Douglas Fairbanks; he is also paying attention to less fannishly-popular films, such as the romantically realistic Sunrise (1927), directed by F. W. Murnau, and starring George O'Brien, Janet Gaynor, and Margaret Livingston. (If you've never seen Sunrise, check out Rodney's review and then rent or buy it for yourself; it is all he says it is and more and Gaynor won an Academy Award for her work in this and two other movies [Best Actor and Actress Awards were not given for single film roles in the early days of the Academy].) Rodney doesn't merely play back the high spots of Sunrise - or The Man Who Laughs or The Cat and the Canary or The General, or any of the other silents he has covered to date. His greatest strength as a writer may be that he subjects the movies to a deep scrutiny that is fueled in part by his own interest in the philosophy of Ayn Rand. In addition to analyzing direction techniques, plot, acting, and emotional impact, he provides back ground detail on the cast and crew, recommends further reading, and lists video sources. To subscribe to Silent Reels, e-mail Rodney Schroeter at <[0--79--6] at [mcimail.com]>. (Oh - and those who are obsessed with spoilers needn't worry; Rodney never gives away the endings.) ==== Fit to Print appears in print each week in Comics Buyers Guide and is available via e-mail. Tell your friends! To subscribe to Fit to Print via e-mail send a request with the words "Subscribe FtP" in the subject header and your address in the body of the message to [g--l--n] at [bgnet.bgsu.edu.] You will be added to the list and receive the next available issue. Back issues are available. FTP to cerebus.acusd.edu and look in the Comics/About Comics/Comics News/Fit to Print directory. FtP is also available on the World Wide Web at http://www.scar.utoronto.ca/~91mithra AND http://www2.csn.net/~searls. Responses are welcome and should be directed to [g--l--n] at [bgnet.bgsu.edu.] Fit to Print is Copyright Cathrine Yronwode. All rights reserved.