The Best of Fandom 1958

The Best of Fandom 1958 is a science fiction fandom fanzine, edited and published in 1959 by Guy Terwilleger.

Its 120 pages are spirit-duplicated (“dittoed”) and only about 100 copies were produced. This was the second ever “fanthology,” a collection made up of the editor’s choice of the best fanzine writing of a given year. In the previous year’s volume Terwilleger didn’t make the calls—he left it up to individual fanzine editors to submit their choice(s) for the best fanzine writing in the 1957 issues of their zines. In his summary for this 1958 volume, he writes that enough good material was submitted by the fanzine editors that he was able to exercise his own editorial judgment about which to use and which to consign to an “honorable mention” page near the back of the book. The introduction to this anthology was written by Robert Madle (Fantasy Fiction Telegram, Fantascience Digest), who was at the time reviewing fanzines as part of his “Inside SF” column that appeared in several of the Robert Lowndes-edited sf prozines.

The fan writers and artists anthologized in this collection are John Berry (Retribution), Sid Birchby, Robert Bloch, C.S. Youd (aka “John Christopher”), Charles Burbee, Terry Carr (Innuendo,Lighthouse), Vince Clarke, Ron Ellik (Starspinkle, Dean Grennell (Grue, Filler), Ted Johnstone (aka Dave McDaniel, author of the Man from U.N.C.L.E. novels), Bob Leman, Nigel Lindsay, Sam Moskowitz (Helios), Ken Newman, George Scithers (Amra), Bob Tucker (Le Zombie), Harry Warner, Jr. (Horizons), Jim Weber, Jim Weger, and C.S. Youd (The Fantast).

A new feature in The Best of Fandom 1958 is an art folio prepared by art editor Dan Adkins, contributors to which include George Barr, Colin Cameron, George Scithers, Robert E. Gilbert, Bjo Wells (later Trimble, and with two contributions) (Shangri L'Affaires), Richard Bergeron (Warhoon), Juanita Coulson (Yandro), Art Lee, Barbi Johnson, Larry Bourne, Tom Reamy (Trumpet), Bill Pearson, Arthur Thomson (“ATom”, The ATom Anthology) and Adkins himself. These are all full-page work, done in full ditto color excellently put on ditto masters by Adkins. In addition, the front and rear covers of the anthology are by ATom, too.