No Sex #14

Again published by myself under the Heath Facts logo, I was glad to be able to self-publish so many issues once I was back in the states. This issue was a massive 72-page reduced digest zine on white stock. the cover was a wrap cream hard stock featuring an airbrush cover by Jim Gray. Jim Gray said he would provide to commentary on this issue. I can't wait for that. There were two things going on this issue. First, I had always wanted to get Jim involved in the zine, he did do some small stuff, but he is hard to get motivated to do anything productive.He knows i feel that way and we have discussed it. He hit me with an idea for one my stories that involved the depiction of a galaxy which I have never done well, In fact I blew it in several attempts in stories and that was frustrating to me. Jim suggests using air-brush which he was dabbling in and the rest is history. His galaxy depiction is great on the cover. Jim says this issue had the best art. I am not sure about that, but I will say that I had gotten on a roll again and the issues were starting to show consistency again after my transfer from overseas back to the states.

Contents: Cover by Jim Gray (airbrush), back cover by Jerry Collins/David Heath, more an ad than anything else.

This issue features the infamous Jim Gray cover highlighting my strip A Treasure Hunt. This strip also appeared later in the first issue of Earl Geiers' Bald Ego as well. Jeff Wilcox did a great piece on the patches on the Ion Crush Fleet, he cashes in on Jerry Collins and my love of military art. he also has a great commercial art style. Art continues with a strip by Jerry Collins, Moon Hunters, The Speed of Light Squares by Steve Campos and inked by Jim Gray under the cover as Cosmo Ellis and Inez by Gilbert Hernandez. Story includes The Feel of CWII by David Skov which was illustrated by Jerry Collins. Joseph Shea, Ralph Roberts, Jocelyn Feaster and myself also provided prose to the mix. By the way, I sport a Science Theater TV Series index in this issue thanks to review article by Canadian Jeffrey Talbot.

Jim Gray, David Heath, Rafael Kayanan, Gary Barker, Chad Draper, Jeff Wilcox, Stephen Fox, Steve Campos, John Howard, Willie Peppers, Robert Harris, Steve Sousa, Jerry Collins, Joseph Shea, Jeffery Talbot, George Kochell, Earl Geier, Lari Davidson, Steve Souza, Jocelyn Feaster.

Notes:  

Jim worked hard on the cover to this issue, as I said, he was very interested in air-brush at the time and had his own set. He is a perfectionist with his art though and the difference in opinion we held on how an amateur project should be carried out is probably why we didn't collaborate more in No Sex, though I rather we did. He was an inspiration for me getting my art out and his support in Panama when I was a mere embryo of my later self probably led to my blossoming out in later life. I wanted to get an airbrushed cover for No Sex as Jim and I did a great collaboration earlier that I penciled and he brushed. It was titled "Recon" and was used for the flyer of a Southern convention. It was a real military Heath piece. I note ha ad a couple pieces of art in this issue but want to stay under the name "Cosmo Ellis", well there were a couple other pseudonyms in the issues so I guess I will not complain. Jim comments on some of he frustrations in the presentation of the issue:

"..that was issue 14, as I was looking at them last night, and it was the best ever issue art wise (even had a Hernandez) except for ruining my cover art and putting that grotesquely horrible piece of vile ugly shit right next to my PKD article instead of the PKD illo I did specially for you. But steamed, nah, I'm not steamed about that!"

Jim Gray, from email 4/16/02

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