Inter-Fan Interview with Doc Boucher

Doc Boucher and Inter-Fan

"Doc" Boucher is the leader of Inter-Fan, an organization formed to support Comic Fandom and to record and preserve its history. Doc agreed to be interviewed via email about his organization in May 2008.

Tell us a little about Inter-Fan—how did it get started and who were it's early members?
Inter-Fan (IF) was started in the 70's by dedicated fans (most notably Steve Clement), who had no outlet to get their talent noticed. So he and other concerned fans decided to take things into their own hands and make opportunities where there were none. We are also an historical site for the record keeping of Comic Fandom. We are now awaiting approval of our non-profit status so we can help the comic community even more.

Members have been Jerry Ordway, David Mazzucchelli, Doug Hazelwood, Karl Kessel among others . It was a loose knit group but did illos and stories for publications and publishers such as The Comics Journal, The Comics Buyers Guide, Erik Larsen, Gary Groth, Kim Thompson, Matt Feazell, Paul Curtis, and Allen Freeman.

Jim Bertges took over in the late 70's and I took the reins in the mid 80's. After publishing a fanzine called Inter-Chain I pretty much put a hiatus on IF as I was dealing with family and job issues for a time. In fact I just found the original letter I sent to Jim Main from the article in Comics Scene #3 (1982), and I just recently put all the letters we have gotten through the years in binders and have 10 of them I believe.

Tell us about the website you started for the group.

I started the website in 1998 as a tripod site, but due to my then roommate inadvertently dumping my files which included my access codes, it just sat there for two years with no updates. I had the site in good shape—pretty much what it is now. In 2001, with a friend's help, I was able to redo the site and secured IPower as the provider. It's been consistent ever since.

I've added columns, more galleries, updated the links page, have a Product and Services Section and an Inter-Fan Jam Section.

What's the Inter-Fan Jam all about?
Basically the mission of The Jam is to bring together a gathering of creators, publishers, and fans to bring back the camaraderie of those gatherings of the 60's and 70's. Like it was before the advent of putting so much attention on the retailers, distributors, and publishers before that of the fans. As it's been pointed out more than once, we're trying to bring the fun back to Fandom.

We have a lot of attendees from out of the Illinois area attending. We hope to have a lot of representation from the Chicago-land area. We really want to be an alternative to WizardWorld.

If someone wants to participate in The Jam what should they do?
The Jam will be held at the Homewood Hotel in Homewood, Illinois on Sept. 12 &13, 2008. Tables are available for $35 each ($17.50 per day). This year we have more space, vendors, and activities, so we're anxious to have everyone enjoy the event. There's more information about it on the website and if anyone has questions they can email me.

Getting back to the website, how often do you post updates or add content?
I try to update at least once a week though, The Jam Section is updated more often—as more info on who's attending comes in. There's already an extensive section about Fandom History on the site.

The Fandom History Section is divided by regions and mostly made up from recollections of those who participated. I try to get as much info as I can as more and more of those who were there in the early days have gone to the choir invisible.

As Jerry Bails once advised me: "This sounds like a nice way to stimulate regional interest and perhaps promote regional efforts—cons, apas, etc. Perhaps you can open it to other areas if an active group exists. For myself, I hope it encourages amateur (i.e., non-commercial) fanac. Fandom lost something when it got so commercial. Keep it fun!"

There's also a Fanzine History Section. This is my favorite section because without fanzines we may not have the Fandom we have now. Jerry Bails started it all with Alter Ego and GB Love with Rockets Blast/Comic Collector (RBCC). I have a pretty good personal collection and have scanned most of them. I'd like to have a data base folks can go to when looking up info.

Then there is the IF History section, which documents the background of IF and includes comments and letters from some of those who were there at the start.

What are your future plans for the site?
We're planning now to upgrade the site to a blog-like format so folks can comment directly in the Sections. We've tried running forums in the past, but never had good luck with them.

Are there any other projects in the works?
We're working on an anthology book with Main Enterprises called Inter-Fanthology. This will feature past, present, and future creators from the group. We'll have comics, pages of illos, and a "Where Are They Now" section that reflects our IF Fandom Hall of Fame, which recognizes those that have gone on and left us their legacy. It'll feature Richard "Grass" Green. I am hoping to have the first IF HoF plaque to be given at The jam to Krista Hanley, daughter of local legend Alan Hanley.

We're also thinking of doing an ashcan of Alex Nino's paintings and ink illustrations. (Nino was 70's-80's artist for DC and Marvel.) Maybe even an IF imprint, but don't want to get ahead of ourselves.

Oh, before I forget, I am making arrangements with my writing buddy and Editor, Anthony "Tubera" Gagliardo, to have a West Coast branch called IF Media. More on this on the IF site.

Sounds like you and the group have a lot of things in the works. How do you join Inter-Fan?
Well, anyone interested in comics or who needs help getting their ideas and dreams realized should join. There's no yearly dues. Interested fans and creators can just send me an email. When we add blog-like features to the IF site, folks can easily add comments. We hope it will make the site more interactive anddynamic.

Is there anything else you'd like to add?
I want to thank my wife Krista; my kids Steve, Marcus, and Nicole; my daughter-in-law Sarah and grandson Kyle for their support. Also Kathy and Stacy my office crew for standing by me; and Anthony and Wally for their behind the scenes help. Plus Steve Clement and Jim Bertges for keeping it going before me.

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Thank you for taking the time to write down your responses to my questions, Doc. -RK

The Michael Roden Benefit Portfolio