Remember the old ‘fanzine’ format? Science fiction clubs used to produce paper newsletters called ‘fanzines’; some still do. Ian Gunn’s artwork was an essential element of fanzines as well as featuring in educational text books back in the day. Hence this illo, where a friendly alien tells us we only have a few pages to go.
Ian Gunn, creator of these silly illos (illustrations), was a beloved award-winning artist based in Melbourne. Cancer took him from us too soon.
Ian left a legacy including lots of great illustrations. Many of these illustrations are available for sale.
Victoria’s science fiction convention, Continuum, occasionally presents the Ian Gunn Memorial Award recognising the ‘unsung heroes’ of fandom: people consistently working in the background who never expect any recognition of their efforts. This commemorates Ian’s selfless efforts to reach out to others, encouraging others and thereby building the science fiction community.
K’rin Pender-Gunn, Ian’s widow, gave Dark Matter Zine permission to republish Ian’s artwork. Thanks, K’rin!