Pittsburgh Comix Club
The Pittsburgh Comix Club was a comic book fan club that was formed in 1974. It served as a major Pittsburgh comic book club until it dissolved about a decade after its establishment with the death of president and co-founder Benjamin Pondexter (Sassaman). The club hosted and visited a number of conventions and events centered around comic book fandom. These events would feature cosplayers, merchants, and guest panels. Their membership was largely comprised of Pittsburgh locals (mostly men), ages 13 to 30, with doors open to anyone who shared their love of comics (Sassaman). The group met once a month in a small comic book shop in Etna to discuss club events and publications. Their publications were fanzines and bulletins that would provide information like news, interviews, event details, and member editorials. The bulletin featured in this exhibit is just one of many such publications disseminated by the Pittsburgh Comix Club using xeroxing methods.
Throughout the 70's, comic book readership was dominated by teenagers and young adults, and frequently featured science fiction elements. As a result, the formation of The Pittsburgh Comix Club played an important local role in growing sci-fi appreciation and fandom among this demographic.
Fanzines as a whole are a crucial part of science fiction history. As a newly budding genre of the 20th century, science fiction harbored few forums for discussion in traditional literary circles. Because of this, fans had to create their own spaces for discussion and proliferation of the genre. By creating their own clubs, fans were able to express their interest in sci-fi with likeminded individuals. They provided a space for young enthusiasts to break into the scene and create amateur content. These publications, meetings, and events acted as a portal for teenagers to network and take their sci-fi interests and ideas into the adult world.