My favorite thing about Nick Yak's THE HORROR FICTION REVIEW was its reverence for the xerox-and-staples sleaziness of the fanzines of yore. For a measly two bucks, it was possible to relive the 80s stink days of THE GORE GAZETTE, SLEAZOID EXPRESS, and Yak's own STINK. Of course, Nick covered horror fiction more than movies, but his efforts to keep his mind in the gutter were definitely appreciated.

Sadly, HFR has closed up (print) shop. Faced with the realities of small press mimeographing, Nick has moved HFR into cyberspace. I hate to see the switch, just as I hated to see the Horror Writers Association newsletter go this route, but this is the 21st century and we can't allow a fondness for the 1980s to cloud our judgment in an economy gone mad under a certain leader. In fact, I even suggested to Nick that he take HFR online a year ago.

My hope is that the new HFR will flourish, enabling Nick to increase its frequency. What's with this quarterly schedule now that you don't have to staple issues and lick stamps, Nick-o?!? Of course, now that HFR is a webzine, it's in direct competition with Fear Zone, which means we must reduce it to cyber ash! :)

Good luck to Nick and his team--they're true supporters of horror fiction.