A Brief History of Klordny, the APA
The Amateur Press Alliance known as Klordny began in early 1980 when Brad Horning had a letter published in issue #265 of the Legion of Super-Heroes. After his letter the editor, Jack C. Harris, mentioned that Brad was forming a Legion of Super-Heroes Fan Club and that if anyone was interested they should write to him. Brad received over 100 responses to that request. He sent out letters asking those who replied for their ideas on what the club should do. The biggest response was for a fanzine. Dues were to be sent in, and a fanzine called "Klordny" was to be started. Brad had asked for suggestions as to the name of the fanzine, but it was Brad himself who found an obscure reference to Klordny and decided to adopt it as the club's official name. Klordny is named after a 30th century festival first shown in LSH #232.
Unfortunately, very few people sent Brad their dues, and because the number was so low the fanzine was not financially sound. Brad refunded the dues that were sent in and the club was disbanded. It was all over by July. In August, Brad sent each of the final respondents a list of the others' names and addresses.
Klordny's first rebirth was about to begin. Member Ira Kalina wrote letters trying to get things started again, but it wasn't until Cindy Gann wrote Brad suggesting that Klordny be revived as an APA instead that things got rolling. In late October 1980, Klordny was reborn. The first 25 respondents to Brad's letter announcing the restart would become members and the rest would be waitlist members. The first issue was to be out by January 1981.
Klordny was a weird hybrid. Although billed as an APA, it still retained aspects of a fan club. Members paid dues ($2 an issue), there were four officers, and it had a five-page constitution. The Constitution also contained our infamous 'rule' which cause derision is the APA world. That was the rule where a member could be dropped if they "consistently wrote about themselves or about non-Legion-related material."
Klordny got off to a rapid start with Cindy Gann as our first Central Mailer and Brad as our first President and has survived the troubles of the years . . . but not without some work and dedication. Its first crisis occurred into its third year. Both Brad and Cindy had departed the APA to pursue other interests leaving Klordny in the hands of Rex Joyner, who assumed the office of President, and a new Central Mailer; all other offices by this time had vanished. But with this new Central Mailer came new problems--problems of missed deadlines and absent dues, a situation which culminated with the disappearance of the Central Mailer all together. Not even Rex knew what had happened. There was no response at all from the CM. It wasn't until Rex contacted member Arthur Lewandowski to find out if Arthur would go along with him by taking over the APA and and seeing if they could save Klordny that things started to get straightened out.
Arthur agreed to become Central Mailer, but first had to find out if the membership was interested in continuing. Letters were sent out, and when half of the members and waitlist members said they were still interested, Rex and Arthur decided to continue. Instead of starting anew, however, they felt it best to resume the numbering with the absent Klordny #15. The new deadline was January 1, 1984. It was also at this time that they decided to streamline the bulky constitution and change the dues system to an accounts system. Rex was to build up the membership by writing to those who got their letters published in the Legion book. He was successful and the groundwork for a new Klordny was set. Membership grew, and the size of the mailings did likewise. Things were looking rosy. Rex and Arthur continued for three years in their crucial positions as President and Central mailer. Arthur would have probably CMed forever if it weren't for the fact that he was feeling that Klordny was becoming his APA.
Klordny saw its next great surge of membership almost three years later with the election of Bob Dobiesz and Jim Kelly as its Central Mailer and President, respectively. Bob and Jim seemed to take over Klordny during a transitional period in its history. Up until 1987 the membership had remained fairly constant and things were getting predictable. By the end of '87 and into '88 there was a large turnover in membership as many old-timers left and new blood arrived. That certainly enlivened the APA and seemed to bring in renewed intrerest, especially in Legion-related talk, but there was still a drop-off in issue size and member participation. It still seemed to be as if changes were in the air as yet another clump of long-time members left.
Before there was even a chance to worry, Klordny was deluged with new waitlist members as simultaneously Bob and Jim went on a membership drive and the new Legion book printed a blurb for Klordny in issue #8. Once again the membership began to swell, and the waitlist membership soon grew so large that it was almost a two-year wait before a spot opened up. Fiction, art, and Legion-talk abounded. And the history of Klordny continued to repeat itself.
In March, 1998, Klordny saw the publication of its 100th issue, a milestone for any APA. We are always interested in new and returning blood. An influx of new blood this past year, along with contributions from our stalwart members, keeps discussion lively and interesting and filled with some of the best fiction and art in Legion fandom today. With members all across Canada and the United States, and some overseas, we continue to be a diverse and friendly crowd. Whether we are teachers or writers or short-order cooks or students, we all share one common interest, the Legion of Super-Heroes. If you share this interest, why not give us a try. We may not be the only Legion-related APA around, but we think of ourselves as one of the best. Whenever the need arises, be certain that we will be there, supporting the Legion's creative team and letting them know when we think they've erred. Legion fandom is one of the funnest places to be, and we take pride in being one of its homes.
If you're a fan of the Adventure-era Legion, Klordny is the place for you to be. If you're a fan of the 1970s bikinis and disco Legion, Klordny is the place for you to be. If you're a fan of the Keith Giffen-Tom & Mary Bierbaum Legion, Klordny is the place for you to be. If it's the current era that best suits your fannish whims, Klordny is the place for you to be.
If you hate all of those things, and all you want to do is whinge and whine about Cosmic Boy and Saturn Girl ... you've got it, Klordny is the place for you to be. You call Dawnstar your favorite character? Well, so do certain members of Klordny. You've got a fondness for the White Witch? Well, so do certain members of Klordny. Ultra Boy, Karate Kid, Ferro Lad, Shrinking Violet, Polar Boy, Hate Face, The Weirdo Legionnaire, Calamity King, Infectious Lass - we love 'em all!! And the Legion villains - Nardo, the Super Moby Dick of Space, Mordru, The Fatal Five or The Blight - we love to hate them!!! And if you like to sprinkle discussions of Civil War history, bikini car washes, monkeys, pirates, private detectives and shenanigans in with your Legion-related discourse - who are we to say ye nay?
We're not going to say ye nay.
Nosiree.
We're Klordny. We don't operate like that.
Check us out. You'll be glad you did.
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