Long before the internet and DeviantArt, up-and-coming artists were published in fanzines...
...to get their work in front of an audience, receive feedback, and make a few bucks!
Originally-drawn for
Web of Horror (which explains the spider-like host of
Web, Webster, introducing and concluding the story
), this early tale by
Steve Hickman ended up in the first issue of
Reality, a fanzine published in 1970 by 15-year old Robert Gerson.
When Web died after only three issues, a number of writers and artists had no market for their material without losing all the rights to it, so, in order to get it published to make a few bucks for their labor (and retain the copyrights), they let a young entrepreneur use the stories in his fanzine, which was sold at conventions and in used book stores and head shops alongside underground comics.
(There were
no comic book shops back then.)
Hickman spent a few years working in the comics field before moving on to commercial art, particularly sci-fi/fantasy book covers, with over 400 titles to his credit!
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...besides traversing the Earth on Christmas Eve distributing gifts, Kris Kringle protects the innocent from threats both real and imagined!.
