G-FAN Fanzine History

G-FAN was created in 1992 by Canadian high school teacher J.D. Lees. Aware of the Heisei series of Godzilla films in Japan, J.D. produced a four-page photocopied newsletter for distribution to three recent acquaintances who were also Godzilla fans. Suspecting there might be other Godzilla fans unaware of the new films, J.D. took out a classified ad in Starlog Magazine, and received about thirty expressions of interest.

G-FAN continued to grow in both size and numbers of subscribers, until issue #7 was 30 pages with a circulation of about 100. Submissions of artwork, articles, reviews and photographs from G-FAN readers fueled the growth of the fanzine. J.D. was joined by a variety of knowledgeable Godzilla buffs, who contributed many articles and ideas to G-FAN, helping it develop into a broadly-based periodical. Reviews of Godzilla related products, commentary on films, and fan artwork and fiction all became regular features of G-FAN.

With issue #8, G-FAN was professionally printed, and issue #9 was solicited to several magazine distribution companies. Circulation grew to five thousand, around which it hovers to this day. G-FAN was produced on a bi-monthly basis until 2004, when time pressures demanded J.D. cut back to publishing quarterly; although he doesn’t rule out going back to bi-monthly in the future.