4x05 Special Report: Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone Magazine with David J. Schow

This week Craig welcomes the charming and erudite DAVID J. SCHOW for an in-depth discussion of that venerable periodical ROD SERLING’S THE TWILIGHT ZONE MAGAZINE. I could go on, but really, I’d just be gushing. Just listen and be enthralled… if you dare.

The Twilight Zone Vortex is on a mission to review every issue of Twilight Zone Magazine:

http://twilightzonevortex.blogspot.com/2012/01/rod-serlings-twilight-zone-magazine.html?m=0

Here’s a great place to view the entire series of beautiful Twilight Zone Magazine covers:

http://realmsofnight.com/2015/11/28/the-twilight-zone-magazine/

Here’s another one:

http://www.luminist.org/archives/SF/TZ.htm

The Twilight Zone is a trademark of CBS, Inc.

Between Light and Shadow: A Twilight Zone Podcast is a nonprofit podcast. Music clips and dialogue excerpts used herein are the property of their respective copyright owners; we claim no ownership of these materials. Their use is strictly for illustrative purposes and should be considered Fair Use as stated in the Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. section 107.

Rag Status: Master Archive Collection complete!

As I reported recently, I was two issues shy of completing my "master archive" set of the entire 61-issue run of Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone Magazine (1981-1989). I am happy to report that I have acquired those elusive two issues.

August 1988. You shall elude me no more.

April 1989. The final stitch in a arduous tapestry of acquisition.

Stacked by year, 1981-1989.

Each issue is in at least "very good condition," but most are "fine" or even "mint." And, in the parlance, each issue is "bagged and boarded"... but I'm considering storing them in binders. For now they're residing in the box shown above, but I'm planning at least upgrade to a sturdy plastic tote for long-term storage.

And this mission is by no means over! As previously reported, I'm collecting a second "utility" set for casual reading/scanning, of which I'm still missing 14 issues. So the search continues. The main set, the "fine-to-pristine" master archive collection, is finally complete, so I'm not in a big rush.... uh-huh, yeah, right. Truth be told, I'm just aching to complete the secondary set (the OCD monkey in my brain has been awakened). In fact, I recently took an afternoon off and headed to downtown Portland to reliable old Periodicals Paradise, where I previously acquired many issues for both sets, only to be greeted with the following:


D'oh! Oh well, it's less than a week away, and I just happen to have January 2nd off.... so of course I'll be there and, with any luck, plug some of the remaining holes in my second set.

Rag Status, Fall 2011 Edition

Longtime readers (all 2 of you) will recall that, early on in the life of this blog, I was endeavoring to recollect all 61 issues of Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone Magazine (60 regular issues and 1 special annual edition), which was published from 1981 to 1989 (I say recollect because at one time I had a complete set, which I sold off years ago in leaner times, probably the late 90's after my first divorce). I decided to go the extra mile and collect TWO sets (a "master archive" set in pristine or near-pristine condition, and a backup "utility" set for casual reading, as detailed here), but abruptly halted my efforts because of some, ahem, anger issues resulting from several last-minute eBay auction losses. At last count, my master archive set was missing a scant three issues, and my utility set was missing fourteen.

As of a few days ago, I acquired one of the final three issues for my master archive set... on eBay, but using a "Buy It Now" option (no bidding necessary). Ladies and gentlemen.... August 1983!


The coveted final two issues are April 1989 and August 1988:



I can't find a reasonably-priced copy of April 1989 without a subscription label, and August 1988 is just hard to find, period. I have multiple copies of both, but none in good enough condition to make the master archive. Alas, the search continues....

Special Report: There Is Nothing Wrong With Your Television Set....

I love The Twilight Zone. If this blog is proof of nothing else, let it stand as a digital testament to my undying love for the series. However, my lifelong relationship with TZ is by no means monogamous. I’ve been known to step out, as it were. It’s what you might call an open relationship. In other words, I love other shows too. However, no matter how far I stray, in the end I always come home to the old girl.

Today, I’d like to turn the spotlight away from my immortal beloved for a change and focus on one of my televisual mistresses. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you… The Outer Limits.


The Outer Limits was an hour-long anthology series that aired on ABC for a scant season-and-a-half (1963-1965). While The Twilight Zone typically presented morality plays wrapped in science fiction or fantasy stylings, TOL concerned itself with straight science fiction wrapped in monster movie and/or gothic horror stylings. Both series deviated from their respective formulas numerous times, of course, but while TZ kept a fairly cool, urbane head most of the time, TOL took some pretty deep swerves into absolute batshit oblivion. Episodes like “Don’t Open Till Doomsday” and “The Guests,” drenched in psychosexual angst and disturbing alien imagery, were probably the weirdest things to hit the airwaves up to that point in time. “ZZZZZ,” about a queen bee who takes human form and becomes entangled in an entomologist’s family affairs, is one of the most overtly sexual things I’ve ever seen on television, and not just because of Joanna Frank’s astounding, uh, attributes.


There are a few Outer Limits offerings that I’d rank among the finest things EVER presented on television: “The Architects of Fear,” “The Man Who Was Never Born,” “Corpus Earthling,” “Demon With a Glass Hand” and “The Inheritors” are absolutely brilliant (three of those star Robert Culp, a favorite actor of mine who passed away recently). There are many others beyond those that range from good to really great. Episode-for-episode, I’d say The Outer Limits achieved a much higher quality-to-crap ratio than even my beloved Twilight Zone. Of its 49 episodes, there are probably only 1 or 2 TOL episodes (at most) that I absolutely hate. By contrast, TZ has at least a dozen dismal failures in its 156-episode run. Do the math.


I first discovered The Outer Limits in 1984 through my old friend, Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone Magazine. They ran a multiple-issue overview of the series, complete with an episode guide, written by David J. Schow. He later expanded his work and published it in book form as The Outer Limits: The Official Companion, which is an absolute must-have for fans of the show. The book has been offered in two distinct editions, and both are way out print (I still have the original, and my friend Bill Huelbig has the second, much more valuable edition). Resourceful internet users may manage to track down a PDF version of the second edition (which I did a few months back).


Sometime in 1985 (I think), a local channel (KPDX-49) started airing The Outer Limits five nights a week in syndication. I couldn’t tape them, as the VCR was already busy recording The Twilight Zone every night over on KPTV-12, so I caught as many of them as I could (“The Sixth Finger” was the first episode I ever saw). Starting in 1987, MGM/UA started releasing individual episodes on VHS, so I started buying them as they were released (three episodes at a time). I never did collect the entire series on tape, but I did pretty well…. about half, if memory serves.


The VHS boxes were just plain gorgeous. In fact, the basic design has continued to pop up over the ensuing years… first in the packaging of the (wonderful) Sideshow Collectibles deluxe action figures, then in the DVD sets from MGM (whose enclosed episode guides feature several of the episode-specific artwork created for the VHS releases). I’ve actually considered re-collecting the tapes with the express purpose of acquiring high-quality scans of all 49 boxes. Yeah, they’re that gorgeous (and I’m that obsessive-compulsive).



Anyway, the entire series was also available on VHS through Columbia House, and select episodes were made available on laserdisc too. And then the entire series was released on DVD (in two sets, one for each season), effectively rendering the earlier VHS and laserdisc offerings obsolete. The DVDs have been re-released at least twice in different packaging, but the actual discs are identical to the original release… which is unfortunate, since the discs are DVD-18s (double-sided) and are prone to failing (my copy of season two glitches up on “Behold, Eck!” and “The Premonition”). A blu-ray release would be MOST welcome, but I doubt it’ll happen any time soon.


The Outer Limits will turn 50 in September 2013. I was seriously considering starting a blog similar to this one, in which I’d celebrate each episode on the 50th anniversary of its original broadcast… until I became aware of the following:

We Are Controlling Transmission

It’s not an anniversary project like mine, but it’s a similar concept…. in a compressed time frame. Peter Enfantino and John Scoleri (co-editors of The Scream Factory: The Magazine of Horrors Past, Present and Future) are watching an episode every day and publishing their thoughts in a conversational format. Peppered between the daily episode reviews are spotlights and essays by such luminaries as Gary Gerani (author of Fantastic Television and frequent commentator on The Twilight Zone blu-rays) and David J. Schow, author of the aforementioned The Outer Limits: The Official Companion (large chunks of which are being published on the blog in the form of scanned pages… right-click-save, baby!). It’s a truly great blog, and reading it every day these past few months has been a real treat. One truly inspired touch --- they’ve embedded Hulu links for all 49 episodes, so you’re one click away from watching every single episode. I imagine the links will eventually expire, but for now they work.*

Unfortunately, I’m plugging WACT right at the end: as I type these words, they’ve finished reviewing the series and have just posted what appear to be their final entries. Fortunately, internet content doesn’t go out of print, so the blog should be around for a long, long time (just like this blog… I hope…).


So anyway, I’m torn. I was really excited about the prospect of doing an Outer Limits blog, but will I really cover any ground not already traversed? By TOL experts, no less?

I dunno. I’ve just become aware that there are multiple other Twilight Zone blogs out there, chronicling the series an episode at a time just like me, so maybe there’s room. The internet is pretty big, after all.



* Side rant: I can watch The Outer Limits for free on Hulu’s website, but the show ISN’T available through Hulu Plus (which I’m a paying member of)? What the hell?

TZ Promo: "The Four of Us Are Dying" (1/01/1960)

13 is a lucky number for The Twilight Zone, since its 13th episode, celebrating its 50th anniversary tonight, is a true classic. "The Four of Us Are Dying" originated as an unpublished short story by George Clayton Johnson called "All of Us Are Dying" (or "Rubberface," if you ask his agent at the time). As he often did when adapting an existing story, Serling chucked most of the story and kept only the core intact. Said core in this case is a man with an uncanny ability to change his face at will. His name is Arch Hammer and, at various points in the episode, is played by Harry Townes, Ross Martin, Phillip Pine, and Don Gordon (all of whom would pop up again in future episodes). John Brahm directs, and Jerry Goldsmith contributes an excellent jazz score, the first of many fine scores he'd compose for the series.

Incidentally, Johnson's unpublished (at the time) original story was finally published in the May 1982 issue of Twilight Zone Magazine, alongside Serling's teleplay.

Rag Status

My Twilight Zone Magazines continue to pour in from my latest eBay acquisition blitz. I got two boxes of 'em in the mail yesterday, and I am now a mere four issues away from having a complete set (all in good-to-excellent condition, mind you). Buying these magazines in lots has resulted in an unforseen side effect: multiple copies! I figured I might see a bit of overlap, but I'm ending up with (literally) stacks of duplicates. So I came up with a brilliant idea: I can build TWO sets: A "preservation" set of fine-to-excellent-condition copies, which will remain undisturbed and protected inside sealed plastic bags, and a "utility" set of lesser-quality copies, suitable for reading and pawing through (and scanning, should I come across an item deserving of a blog spotlight). I haven't done an exact count (I'll do that tonight, time permitting), but I estimate that I'm about halfway done with the "utility" set already. Once the "preservation" set is complete, I'll slow down and take my time finishing the "utility" set. No rush (I imagine my wife is rolling her eyes with disbelief if she's reading this).

UPDATE: I counted 'em. I have a whopping 35 duplicates, which means my secondary "utility" set is only missing 26 issues. And since condition isn't really an issue, I should be able to complete the set on the cheap.

Oddly enough, I somehow managed to acquire triples of a few issues, including the coveted premiere edition, and all three are in really good shape. No kidding, One of them is absolutely pristine, like it just came off the presses yesterday. And then there's the, um, other end of the spectrum… some of the "utility" copies I've acquired are pretty damned ragged. A few have split or separated covers. One has a couple of pictures clipped out of it (honestly, what the hell?). One looks like it spent some time underwater. And a couple have… um… questionable odors about them. I could've sworn I smelled corn dogs last night as I sorted through my latest acquisitions...

The horror! The HORROR!!!

Top 5 Favorite Twilight Zone Magazine Covers

Regular followers of this blog (all three of you) are aware of my ongoing attempt to amass the entire 61-issue run of Twilight Zone Magazine, which was published from 1981 to 1989. I've made quite a bit of progress in this endeavor, but the job isn't quite done yet (I'm still 8 issues short). For today's blog entry, I thought I'd spotlight my top five favorite covers from the magazine's 9-year run. I'll count 'em down Casey Kasem-style...

#5

Our countdown begins with #5, the December 1988 issue, painted by Alan Reingold. TZ creator Rod Serling was featured on a scant three covers throughout the magazine's run, which I find appalling. Christ, they featured Stephen King on three covers, and he had nothing whatsoever to do with the show (well, besides writing the script for "Gramma" for the 80's revival series)! Sheesh, every flippin' issue of the Gold Key TZ comic book (previously discussed here) had a photo of Serling on the cover. Grrrrr. Anyway, all three Serling covers are quite nice, and two of them are among my top five favorites. This one came near the end of the magazine's run (only three issues would follow it).

#4

In the #4 spot is July 1982's cover, painted by David White. That floating face (might be a porcelain mask, might be a goddess, might be an android, who knows?), along with the blank space in the bottom fourth of the canvas, makes for a compelling visual. Subtract all the text and this would make an excellent wall painting. I guess the same could be said of all these covers.

#3

At #3 we find another Serling cover, this time gracing the April 1985 issue, painted by Luke Ryan. I'm a sucker for infinite-mirror visuals, so naturally I dig this one since it features my idol. I've always wondered if the artist actually painted multiple (increasingly smaller) versions of the main picture, or if it was done by overlapping color copies (this was done pre-Photoshop, after all).

#2

I've always loved this next cover (April 1982), which is perched comfortably at #2 on my list, painted by Kevin Larson. I'm not quite sure what it's supposed to be... is it a woman frozen in a wall of ice? Is it an ice creature, feared and misunderstood but ultimately benevolent? Whatever it is... it's gorgeous. Side note: this image was re-used the following year as the back cover of the 1983 annual issue, with almost no text to distract from its beauty.

#1

And now we arrive at the top. My all-time favorite TZ Magazine cover is.... April 1989, painted by Marvin Mattelson. This one came very late in the magazine's run (the issue that followed it would be the last). Throughout most of the magazine's run, the covers were often overloaded with text, but here... well, there's almost nothing, just that poor guy staring out at you from his underwater prison. Just awesome. The walls of my home office are blue, and my wife is an artist. I already dropped a hint that I'd love to see a similar guy painted directly on the wall. Time will tell if she got the hint....

Dark. Shallow.

Christ, why do I continue bidding on large lots of Twilight Zone Magazines on eBay? It always ends in disaster. Case in point: today's auction, detailed (rather enthusiastically) in my previous entry. Yes, I've been victimized once again in the final seconds of yet another auction. This is the third time in as many weeks. I spent my day glowing with the prospect of completing my collection, and now I'm spending my evening glowing with several consolatory shots of Bushmills Irish Whiskey. Each swallow burns a little less than the last, and each swallow blurs the edges just a bit more.

I'm not even angry, as I was after the previous eBay defeats. I'm just.... I don't even know if sad is the right word. I'm filled with weary resignation. The OCD Monkey in my head has spun himself into such a frenzy that he's rendered himself unconscious, and I'm left to my own pathetic devices. And so I drink.

I know how I sound. People are suffering --- actually suffering --- all around the world. Someone in my own town is starving right now. Someone else, weeping over some incalculable loss. Someone else, breathing their last breath. Me? I lost a fucking auction for some magazines. How small a person I must be to dwell on matters of such little import, to feel sorry for myself over this.

And yet, I do. I want every issue of this god-damned magazine, and I can't be at peace until I have them. I have a problem. You don't have to tell me. I'm well aware.

Funny. I talk of the "joy of acquisition," and how much fun I'm having collecting these magazines, and it's true --- it really is, despite my current depression. Another six issues arrived in today's mail, and I was ecstatic as I opened the box... but then my attention returned to the auction, and those six beautiful, near-mint-condition issues sat across the room, nearly forgotten. What's wrong with this picture? I need to train myself to make the joy last beyond the acquisition. The acquisition should be a means to an end, nothing more. The ownership should be the source of the joy. I should be delighting in the fact that I've collected 35 issues in just under three weeks. Hell, I should be reading the damn things!

So great, I've got it all figured out. But how the hell do I rewire my brain to incorporate this new understanding? How do I tame my OCD Monkey?

Medication? Acupuncture?

Hypnotherapy?

The Joys of Acquisition

As previously reported, I've acquired 35 (out of 60) issues of The Twilight Zone Magazine over the past few weeks. Many of these were either won in eBay auctions or purchased from online retailers. Well, they've started arriving (finally!), and it's like freakin' Christmas for me. Seven issues arrived yesterday, all in pristine condition, including the coveted February 1984 issue (attentive readers will recall that this was the very first issue I ever laid eyes on, way back in the 8th grade, so it has special significance for me). Aside from two devastating eBay defeats (see previous entries), I've been having a blast re-collecting these magazines.

Cue the OCD Monkey, who is quick to remind me that there are still 25 issues left to acquire. I was planning on taking a break from this endeavor, but that damned monkey just won't allow it. I direct your attention to the following eBay auction:

All 61 Twilight Zone Magazines plus...

Holy guacamole! The entire collection in one convenient auction, including a special annual issue from 1983 (an anthology issue containing previously-published stories and articles), which I wasn't planning on getting. But hey, if it's included in the set... well, what the hell, right?

The big bonus in this auction is a complete DVD set of the entire TV series. From the picture, it appears that they're the original DVDs from the late 90's-early 2000's, quite inferior to the newer Definitive Edition season sets. Still, their inclusion in this auction as a bonus is quite impressive.

Am I bidding? Hell yes, I'm bidding. 7 hours, 51 minutes to go. Yes, I know. I've already acquired 35 issues, well over half of the total collection. And I certainly don't need the DVDs. So why the hell am I bidding on this? Well kids, I can easily sell the 35 duplicate issues I'll end up with, and I can also sell the bonus DVDs. In fact, it's entirely possible that I'll break even when all is said and done or, better yet, I might actually MAKE money on the whole affair. Plus, my magazine collection will be complete! See? Sometimes the OCD Monkey looks at the bigger picture, and directs me accordingly.

Now all I need to do is actually win the damned auction. My bid is high, but is it high enough? My heart is already racing. I'm fidgeting in my chair. This is gonna be a LONG afternoon....

Further Consolation Prizes...

I spent most of yesterday morning (Sunday, 9/27) scouring eBay for more Twilight Zone Magazines, and was able to add several more issues to my collection for very little money. They were acquired from a couple of different sellers over multiple auctions, so I don't have a single picture handy (how would I?). I can report, however, that my total now stands at 35 out of 60 issues acquired. I'm more than halfway there! I've decided to take a break at this point. My wife's reaction was less than trusting (I believer her words were something along the lines of "Yeah, right. Uh-huh.").

My happiest Sunday acquisition was this particular issue:


February 1984. The first issue I ever bought (remembered in detail in a previous entry). I can't wait till it arrives... it'll be like going back in time.

In any case, most of the sting from my back-to-back eBay defeats (see previous entries) is gone. I think I'm sufficiently consoled at this point. Now I can get back to anxiously awaiting TZ's 50th anniversary (four days from now!)....

A Consolation Prize of Sorts

Several beers after my humiliating (second) eBay defeat earlier this evening, (see previous entry), I bought myself a small measure of happiness:



That's right, it's the holiest of holy grails when it comes to Twilight Zone Magazine. April 1981, otherwise known as ISSUE NUMBER ONE. Heh, there's even a short story in it called "Grail." I found it on some obscure website called ecrater.com. $13.90 shipped. So suck it, eBay.

...til next time, that is. Because there will always be a next time. Even after all 60 issues of Twilight Zone Magazine are in my possession, there will be more things I will want. Or need. The OCD monkey is a lifelong resident of my head, unless I get some serious medication therapy.

The 'Vulture Swoop' Violation 2: Violate Harder

I can't believe it happened again, especially so soon after Wednesday's horrendous defeat, but... well, it's happened again. Once again, a mere three days later, I've been outbid at the last possible moment in an eBay auction.

It's basically a repeat of Wednesday. This morning, I discovered a pretty impressive stack of Twilight Zone Magazines (16 in all, 10 of which I'm missing, and all in excellent condition) on eBay, in an auction ending at 7:48 p.m. tonight. The current bid was $9.99. Here's the auction pic:



All issues looked to be in beautiful condition, with no apparent damage or pesky subscription labels. I did the only sensible thing and jumped into the fray, placing a bid for $10.51 and supplanting the original bidder. Next, attempting to ward off any potential last-minute problems with swooping vultures, I jacked up my maximum bid to $25.27. I then spent the day checking on the auction from time to time. All was well throughout the day.

Until 7:47. That's right, ONE MINUTE before the end.

But I would not be denied this time. I was at my computer, fingers on the keys, poised to respond. I raised my bid, only to be met with the dreaded "YOU HAVE BEEN OUTBID" message (with the demoralizing red X). I raised my bid over and over, only to be repeatedly slapped down by escalating numbers. Only seconds remained. I entered one final, desperate bid of $46.09....

...and then the clock struck 7:48. The auction ended.

The winning bid was $47.09. Exactly as in the Wednesday auction, I was ONE DOLLAR short.

How much more of this can my heart take?

The upside? This time I'm not stuck at work. I'm safe at home, with lots of alcohol at my disposal.

Writing Distance

All this blogging about Twilight Zone Magazine reminded me of a funny story. Okay, it's actually not funny at all.

Anyone reading these words is likely familiar, at least on some surface level, with what TZ Magazine was all about. It featured reviews of (then) current books and films, articles and episode guides pertaining to genre TV shows (the classic Outer Limits, for example, not to mention copious amounts of coverage of the 80's revival Zone series), and occasional nostalgia pieces on the classic TZ series. But the bulk of the magazine was devoted to short stories. Science fiction, fantasy, horror... and sometimes humorous variations thereof. Big names wrote for this magazine: Stephen King, Harlan Ellison, Richard Matheson (if Charles Beaumont hadn't died so young and so tragically, I imagine he would've been represented too, and not by the cadre of ghostwriters he used as his mind progressively failed him).

As I've previously mentioned, I discovered the magazine when I was about 14, right about the same time that I made the life-altering decision to become a writer (I didn't realize at the time that one doesn't "become" a writer; one either writes or... well, doesn't). And since I was reading predominantly short stories at the time (thanks to this wonderful new magazine I'd discovered), it made sense to write short stories. So I did; a few, anyway. They weren't very good. Well, maybe they weren't bad for a 14 year-old, I dunno. My favorite was a quick two-or-three-pager called, simply, "Recharge," written feverishly at a friend's house late one night (they had a computer; we didn't have one yet).

Twilight Zone Magazine, much to my surprise and delight, hosted an annual short story contest for unpublished writers. It was an easy decision: I'd submit "Recharge," win the $500.00 grand prize, and launch a long, illustrious career as a teller of tales.

Here's what I got back:



You know what? That rejection slip WAS a launching of sorts, just not the type I was dreaming of. It was the launching of a fruitless career that, twenty-five years later, finds me still unpublished, almost forty years old with lots of gray hair, stuck in a job I hate, buckling under a mortgage I can't afford, raising my kids to follow their hearts and dreams while providing them with a living example of dreams unfulfilled, of failures realized, of a life that never really went anywhere special at all.

Heh. I sound like a character in a Twilight Zone episode, at the end of his rope, just a few seconds away from some extraordinary journey. Martin Sloan. Gart Williams.

This is my life in the shadow of The Twilight Zone. I'm waiting for some supernatural opportunity to rewrite my own destiny, to fix my mistakes, to take roads less traveled.

I imagine I'll keep right on waiting.

The 'Vulture Swoop' Violation

I have a problem. It’s not a new problem, and perhaps it’s not even really a problem. More of a behavior, really. My wife would most certainly call it a problem, though, rolling her eyes and shaking her head with disdain. I am the poster child for OCD, or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. I’ve never been diagnosed, but who needs diagnosing? When I want something, it consumes my every waking thought, and I cannot rest until I have it. I visualize it as a little monkey, living inside my head. The OCD monkey strikes suddenly and without warning and, when it does, all my focus and energies converge on a singular object or goal. My current goal, as outlined previously, is to re-acquire my long-lost Twilight Zone Magazine collection, all 60 issues.

On that note… the hunt continues! After scoring 13 issues on Sunday, I ordered 8 more issues from Mile High Comics yesterday. 21 down, 39 to go.

The holy grail of this endeavor (in my opinion) is the first year of the magazine’s run, 1981. Nine issues, April through December. And as it happens, I’m currently the high bidder in an eBay auction offering these exact nine issues. I’m stuck at work, so I’m monitoring the auction on my Blackberry.

8:25 a.m.

Here's the picture from the auction.What a thing of beauty....

1 hour, 5 minutes left.

9:31 a.m.

56 minutes to go. I’m still the high bidder. In fact, I’m the only bidder. The current bid is $4.99, which is impossibly low. I’m sure somebody somewhere is watching the auction like a predatory hawk, ready to outbid me the last minute (anyone who’s done much eBaying has likely fallen victim to the Vulture Swoop at one time or another). I just raised my maximum bid to $33.01, just in case. If it goes higher than that… well, I dunno. That’s a lot of money for 9 issues. But they are the coveted first 9…

The tension is almost palpable.

9:59 a.m.

27 minutes left. The high bid (mine) stands at $4.99. If I win this auction, I’ll have amassed 30 issues… exactly half of the total collection. Dare I get my hopes up?

My heart is pounding. My head is starting to hurt.

10:10 a.m.

17 minutes left. Still $4.99. I can see the throbbing of my jugular, reflected in the stainless steel of the backside of my iPod. My blood pressure must be through the roof right now. I remember years ago, probably around 1993 or so, being down on my luck and trying to donate plasma for cash, and being told that my blood pressure was obscenely high, that I was literally a “walking time bomb.” My blood pressure is more or less managed these days with medication, but I wonder if I be should avoiding eBay. If I’m going to die of a massive stroke, I’d prefer it to be over something a little more important than a stack of magazines.

10:23 a.m.

4 minutes left. Some nameless vulture swooped in, predictably enough, and outbid me. Caught up in the feverish whirlwind of the auction, I raised my bid to $41.59. I’m the high bidder again… but for how long?

10:26 a.m.

1 minute left. Outbid again. Raising my bid to $42.99. I can’t breathe.

10:27 a.m.

The auction ended with a winning bid of $43.99. I didn’t win. The holy grail, glittering in my grasp, has slipped through my fingers.

I’m literally shaking as I type these words, trembling in the aftermath of the adrenalin rush, engulfed in a heady mix of anger and loss. I need a drink. I don’t smoke, but I need a cigarette. I need to lie down. I’d go home, but I don’t have any vacation or sick time saved up.

This is the nature of the hunt, I suppose. Sometimes the hunter comes up empty. Sometimes the prey is there in plain sight, lined up perfectly in the cross-hairs, and someone else’s bullet whizzes by at the last possible second and steals the kill. I’ve been buying and selling on eBay long enough to know this. With over 400 auctions under my belt, I shouldn’t be affected by this defeat. I should simply shrug my shoulders and move on to the next opportunity.

All 60 issues will be mine eventually. I don’t doubt this. I just hate waiting. It’s not in my nature to wait. My OCD monkey is raging inside my head like a caged tiger, flinging itself against the walls of my skull, demanding satisfaction, howling furiously at being denied this latest prize.

The Hunt Begins....

As I mentioned in a previous entry, I once owned all 60 issues of Twilight Zone Magazine, a collection that took me several years to complete. In a moment of either desperate poverty or rampant stupidity (likely both), I sold them off several years back, and have been haunted by their absence ever since. The only apparent solution to this haunting is obvious: I must re-collect them all. Today, the hunt began.

Wait, back up. The hunt actually almost began on Friday. I had placed bids on two different lots on eBay, 37 issues total, which would have put me more than halfway to my goal in one shot. However, I was outbid on both auctions. Unfettered, I immediately called Periodicals Paradise, and was informed that they had a couple dozen issues in stock. I was unable to go yesterday (Saturday) due to numerous family commitments, but today I set aside a couple of hours and made the journey to NE Portland (really not much of a journey, since it's only about 20 minutes away).

Periodicals Paradise had about 30 issues, some duplicates, a few of them really thrashed, but most in pretty decent shape. I bought 9 of them, all in very good condition. I skipped a few good specimens because they had those damned subscription labels on the covers (my goal is to collect all 60 issues without those; I wonder, though, if there's an effective way to remove them without damaging the actual covers, maybe Goo Gone or something. Hmmm....).

Next, I headed over to Cameron's Used Books and Magazines, downtown on SW 3rd. They had about 8 issues, 4 of which were in pretty good shape. Yes, I bought 'em.

So in my first day of hunting, I acquired 13 (out of 60) issues.

Not bad for my first day. However, the rest of hunt will likely be more difficult. TZ Magazine isn't what you might call a common item in the collectible magazine world, and I've already tapped out my local sources (the guy at Cameron's said he almost never sees them anymore). This means I'll be finishing my collection online, through eBay or other used magazine dealers, and it'll likely take me a while, since I'm not in a position to shell out lots of money for this endeavor. I paid $28.00 for 13 issues today (averaging $2.15 per issue), but I'm sure I'll be spending more online (due, if nothing else, to the inevitable shipping costs).

47 issues to go. The hunt continues....

Period(ical) Piece

February 1984: I was an 8th grader, getting good grades and living a relatively worry-free life. My ongoing amassing of home-videotaped Twilight Zone episodes was in full swing. I'd already purchased Marc Scott Zicree's The Twilight Zone Companion and I was becoming an emerging authority on the series.

One day, at the Lancaster Mall in Salem with my mom, I was killing time looking through magazines at the bookstore (probably B. Dalton's, which I think is out of business now), and I was greeted by a thrilling sight:


Oh my God, could it be? An entire magazine devoted to my favorite TV show of all time? I snagged it eagerly and, in the car on the drive home, read it cover to cover. It was amazing. Short stories! Articles! Full color glossy photos! It was like porn without the naked women. It also included the first of a multi-part series of articles on another vintage TV series, The Outer Limits, which would later become one of my top five favorite TV shows of all time. The magazine was a bimonthly affair, which meant an excruciating 60-day wait between issues, but I vowed to never miss an issue.

And I didn't. For the next five years, I collected every single issue up until June 1989. After that, I couldn't find it anymore. I searched desperately over the next year or so, assuming that my usual stores had simply stopped carrying it, and eventually I gave up. It was only when I replaced my worn-to-shreds copy of Zicree's Twilight Zone Companion with a new revised-and-expanded second edition did I discover that that fateful June 1989 issue was indeed the magazine's final edition.

In the early 90's (I'm guessing 1993, since my first wife and I were living in Milwaukie --- Oregon, not Wisconsin), I discovered a store in nearby SE Portland called Periodicals Paradise, where back issues of magazines could be acquired on the cheap. And, much to my delight, they had several early issues of The Twilight Zone Magazine, published before my first issue in Februrary 1984 (the magazine's debut issue came out in April 1981), and I snagged as many as I could.

In the late 90's, the rise of eBay allowed me to complete my collection. Finally, all 60 issues, in my possession. They resided in a box, they moved with me when I got divorced, and then they sat neglected in a closet. At some point several years ago (we'll say 2002, but who knows?), I ended up selling the collection on eBay. I don't remember exactly why at this late date, but I imagine it was the usual reason: I was in a cash crunch. I don't remember how much I got for the collection, but I hope it was a lot.

Here's a great site that shows 59 of the 60 covers. Here's the one that's missing:



As the show's 50th anniversary looms closer (16 days now), I find myself missing those magazines. I've maintained a small collection of TZ stuff over the years (books, mostly, along with the DVDs and a few odds 'n ends, like a beautiful Hallmark card from several years back), but it seems woefully incomplete without those magazines.

Ladies and gentlemen, I think I've found my next OCD obsession. I'm gonna have to re-collect all 60 issues. It shouldn't be too hard.... eBay's still around, and Periodicals Paradise is still in business....