An index of prominent figures in the early anime fandom?

[Fireminer]

This scan of Protoculture Addicts mentioned Tim Eldred and his illustrations in the magazine. And from what I can find out, Tim was a huge Star Blazers fan and his comics were influenced by anime. Can anyone here tell me more about him?

Also, Dave, is Claude J. Pelletier of Protoculture Addicts still active in Canada?

[DKop]

Tim is "the" Star Blazers/Yamato guy. He runs https://www.ourstarblazers.com/ as the main site for anything and everything Star Blazers/Yamato material. He's done a documentary that can be found here all about Yamato fandom:
https://www.amazon.com/Space-Battleship ... B0009QTS08

I got to meet Tim last year at AWA and talk to him a bit at Dave Merrill room party, super chill and relaxed guy. He did a Yamato panel that Sunday going over the 2199 series and merchandise. Tim would be someone you can ask questions about Star Blazers fandom in the states since that is one of his main focuses along with him doing work in the entertainment industry.

[Fireminer]

Tim is "the" Star Blazers/Yamato guy. He runs https://www.ourstarblazers.com/ as the main site for anything and everything Star Blazers/Yamato material. He's done a documentary that can be found here all about Yamato fandom:
https://www.amazon.com/Space-Battleship ... B0009QTS08

I got to meet Tim last year at AWA and talk to him a bit at Dave Merrill room party, super chill and relaxed guy. He did a Yamato panel that Sunday going over the 2199 series and merchandise. Tim would be someone you can ask questions about Star Blazers fandom in the states since that is one of his main focuses along with him doing work in the entertainment industry.

Thanks for the information!

[davemerrill]

Tim's been an anime fan for as long as I have, more or less; he ran an anime club in Michigan, got into professional comics, moved to LA, and got into the animation field. Here's his IMDB page: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0253137/?re ... f_=nv_sr_1

He's published award-winning graphic novels, did Captain Harlock and Robotech comics for Eternity, and started his own publishing company to produce licensed comics based on Star Blazers, Votoms, Project A-Ko, Gall Force, MD Geist, and other properties. He's got more energy than ten or fifteen normal people.

I don't know what Claude J. Pelletier is up to these days, if he's still active in anime fandom he hasn't crossed my path.

[davemerrill]

I got curious about Protoculture Addicts and found this blog by one of the editors - I had no idea that there was a collaboration between Anime News Network and Protoculture Addicts! https://clodjee-blog.com/2018/12/31/20- ... toculture/

[Fireminer]

Can anyone here give me an overview of the importance of Toren Smith and Studio Proteus in the early fandom? Was it true that both did most of the legwork advertising the titles published by Eclipse and Dark Horse?

[Fireminer]

Also, was there a C/FO at Cornell University? There is a Japanese Animation Society there, which has in its alumni one interesting person I am trying to learn more about, Lawrence Eng, an anime/otaku social scientist.

[davemerrill]

The first time I became aware of Toren Smith was seeing his name as one of the editors of the 1986 Baycon anime room program guide, and I believe his work in localizing manga via Studio Proteus started soon afterwards.

Toren passed away a few years back, but his Livejournal is still there, and I'm sure he mentioned his fandom history somewhere in there.

https://mrcaxton.livejournal.com/3243.html

[Fireminer]

The first time I became aware of Toren Smith was seeing his name as one of the editors of the 1986 Baycon anime room program guide, and I believe his work in localizing manga via Studio Proteus started soon afterwards.

Toren passed away a few years back, but his Livejournal is still there, and I'm sure he mentioned his fandom history somewhere in there.

https://mrcaxton.livejournal.com/3243.html

Thanks you so much for the help! Also, is it true that the 1986 BayCon room guide was considered very popular with the attendee at the time? Heidi MacDonal said so in her article about Toren Smith.

(Also, she said that her ex-boyfriend held Yamato Con 1983, who also co-ran a fanclub with her at the time. Did she mean Bobb Waller or Mark Hernandez?)

[davemerrill]

at the time, the 1986 Baycon anime room program guide was pretty much the Bible for anime fans. It was very well regarded indeed. The Baycon guide was the best and most comprehensive English-language guide to the most popular Japanese animation films and TV shows, period, unsurpassed until Helen McCarthy and Johnathan Clements' "Anime Encyclopedia."

You may be confusing Heidi McDonald with Lea Hernandez. Lea was married to Mark Hernandez when Mark and Bobb Waller started Yamatocon.