INFINITY

"I'm grateful to David for allowing me to re-present the greatest collection of embarrassing typos ever assembled in one run of fanzines… Doomed attempts to type up Infinity properly (especially for a non-typist) were one of the major horrors of producing a fanzine in the 80s. I was bashing stuff out in ink on paper on a manual –– or via a “golfball” on an IBM Selectric or, finally, fare-dodging up to London just to use an electronic typewriter that had memory so that at least some of the typos could be corrected without using globs of Tippex…

The typing paradigm is better now, you’ll be relieved to hear. But what was so much better then was the amazing feedback fanzines received. Detailed, often harshly critical, usually constructive, pages long. And, you know, considered feedback that took time to write and stick in an envelope, affix a stamp and pop in a postbox… It was validating. These days it’s a Like, or if someone's truly passionate about something a Share or a Retweet…

The letters were wonderful –– and then there was the amazing willingness of people to help with contributions. Simon Russell, Dixie, David Lloyd, Dale Coe, Pete Scott, Pete Campbell, Alan Moore, Posy Simmonds and many more. Articles and art streamed through my letterbox in Broadstairs every single day. It was like a continuous Xmas.

Infinity was one of the highlights of my life. The first issue came out in October 1983 and the last (#8) came out in February 1985. I was 16 for most of its publication so please forgive the defensive stridency of many of my comments. (I blame early exposure to The Owl’s Effort for this along with most of my character defects.)

And did I mention there are some typos?"

Russell Willis