Xero (fanzine)

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Xero was a science fiction fanzine edited by Dick Lupoff, Pat Lupoff, and Bhob Stewart, published from 1960 to 1963. It won the Hugo Award for Best Fanzine in 1963. The magazine focused on science fiction and comic books, but it also ran essays, satire, poetry, artwork and cartoons on many topics. Much of its material was later collected into two hardcover books.

The first issue appeared September 3–5, 1960 at Pittcon, the 18th World Science Fiction Convention in Pittsburgh, and included the first “All in Color for a Dime” installment about Captain Marvel and Fawcett Comics. In 1961, Lupoff wrote an article for Comic Art about the launch of Xero and its focus on comics. Over the years Xero attracted many notable contributors, including Dan Adkins, Otto Binder, James Blish, Anthony Boucher, Harlan Ellison, Frederik Pohl, Roger Ebert and Ted White, among others.

Xero used a two-in-one “Ace Doubles” style format, with a second cover flipping to articles on comic books and 1940s superheroes. Notable pieces included “The Spawn of M.C. Gaines” and “The First Superhero of Them All” (Popeye). The articles were collected in All in Color for a Dime (Arlington House, 1970), later reprinted by Ace Books (1971) and Krause Publications (1997). Other Xero material appeared in The Best of Xero (Tachyon Publications, 2004), which John Hertz reviewed in Emerald City.