Confusion
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Early 1950s fanzine by Shelby Vick; publisher credit for several issues reads "Dick and Vick", Dick being Vick's mimeograph of the A. B. Dick brand. Issues 2-13 and 15-16 ran Walt Willis's column "Plinth", which besides other material included instalments of Willis Discovers America and The Harp Stateside. Vick came up with the idea of a fan fund for Willis and promoted it in Confusion as WAW With the Crew in '52.
Confusion became famous also for the "Something Up Our Sleeve" feature of pasted-in inserts (indeed in the sleeve of a cartoon pony-tailed Chinese), 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 back cover 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 also as an advertisement to the regular Confusion.
At the start of the Tenth Anniversary Willis Fund in 1962, Axe #0 wrote "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, also subtitled "the Son of confusion".
| Issue | Date | Pp | 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 p3. 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 |
- Confusion online at fanac.org (only issues 12 to 16 as of March 2023)
- Confusion and confuSon online at at eFanzines, with essay by Taral Wayne (issues #1, #3, #7, #10, #11 and Confusion's Conception)
| 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. |
| Publication | 1951—1954 |
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