I’m going to write a detailed review of the Science Fiction and Fantasy issue of BLT here. But they have less than two days left in the BLT Kickstarter, so I recommend just going over to Kickstarter.com and pledging. BLT is a publication I have loved for many years and I really want to own the omnibus book collecting all of the issues. The Kickstarter is at 92% funded, but that means that, unless the other 8% comes in soon, then the whole thing is lost. That is how Kicktarter works; project creators have to hit 100% funding or they get 0%.
In the SF&F issue of Black Leather Times, BLT also stands for Barsoom Lead by Tinman. Not their best remix, but the issue itself is fantastic. It kicks off with a very humorously hard partying description of DragonCon by Amelia G. Who says gamers don’t know how to party, has apparently never gone out on the town with White Wolf and BLT. Then there is a science fiction true or false which includes line items like “You know what rolling a one on a twenty-sided means.” and “You wish dragons were real.” and “You have a well thought-out opinion on why obese individuals should or should not wear spandex.” and my favorite “You have at least a rudimentary understanding of the fundamental differences between elf ears and Spock ears.” Then Sarah McKinley Oakes tells one of BLT’s most iconic stories that I remember from reading this issue for the first time years ago. She describes how, because she was obsessed with going to see Rocky Horror every weekend, she drugged her mother’s beer so she could sneak out of the house. I won’t spoil the ending, but it went poorly. Next up, your kindly Uncle William explains why he participates in medieval battle reenactment. The short version is that he likes hitting people and he likes the sort of women who are “kinky for armor,” but his long version is very very funny and insightful. Greyloch, Colic MacDonald, and Vladimir Drakovitch share little amusing tidbits of sharp things, picking up girls, cybertechnology, and body modifications. The following feature is Pyro Chris explaining in detail why aimlessly playing Dungeons & Dragons was actually great preparation for an accounting career. I confess some of his points are logical and I like a man who knows that invisibility only increases your armor class by 2. Then Forrest Black reminisces about shooting rocket launchers at Darkon camps. I want to know if he ever shot at battles described in the earlier article in the same issue. You are never sure how much BLT writers are or are not kidding. From seeing them around the science fiction convention scene back in the day, I get the impression that they think everything is funny, but they are usually speaking of real things which actually happened. And Pyro Chris finishes out the issue explaining the dichotomy between Mormons and Battlestar Galactica.
I’m excited to see that Forrest Black, who also designed this issue, has developed a T-shirt design which riffs on the cover of this zine issue for the BLT Kickstarter. The artwork by Slash has references to so many fun fandom things, ranging from Star Wars to Monty Python to Looney Tunes. A perfect mix of science fiction and fantasy tropes. Backers of the Kickstarter get to decide on which shirts and this is definitely one of my picks.
Edit: Now available at BLT.WTF
