Interlac (APA)
Encyclopedia
Interlac is a bimonthly amateur press association
devoted to the DC Comics
science fiction
superhero
team the Legion of Super-Heroes
. It was the first APA devoted to the Legion and, despite the decline of APAs due to Internet forum
s, continues to operate to this day.
Interlac’s name comes from the designated communication language of the 30th-century United Planets
confederation (the milieu in which the Legion of Super-Heroes operates).
At the time, there were few general-interest comics APAs, CAPA-alpha
and APA-5 being the exceptions. But never before in comic book fandom had the fans of a single comic book come together in a single APA. So while Interlac’s form came from CAPA-alpha, its membership came from the Legion Fan Club (started by 13-year-old Mike Flynn in 1972) and The Legion Outpost (a fanzine started in 1972).
In 1976, the Legion of Super-Heroes’ comic was finally on a solid footing, with the rich Legion mythos giving members plenty to discuss. As the roster grew—soon reaching its 50-member limit—it became clear that the APA had become a true community. Members met each other at comic book conventions and became real-life friends; members Tom Bierbaum and Mary Gilmore
met through the APA, began a romance, and eventually married. Even more notably, the Bierbaums later graduated from Interlac to working as scripters of the Legion comic itself.
The roster, with the exception of a few stalwarts, has turned over repeatedly, breathing fresh life and bringing new points of view into the forum. All the same, in 2000, eight of the 15 founders were still on the roster, waiting list, or honorary membership list, and four of the original 15 had remained on the roster continuously.
At one point, a spinoff APA devoted to music was formed, dubbed Quarternotes by its founders.
Interlac membership is limited to 50 roster slots. Minimum activity requirement is four collated and stapled pages in any three consecutive mailings. Applicants for membership send the Leader $10.00 to join the waitlist. A new waitlister receives a copy of the most recently available mailing and thereafter a Bulletin until becoming a member. Waitlisters are encouraged to submit contributions from the waitlist; for doing so, they’ll be eligible to purchase a copy of the mailing the contribution appears in. Any waitlister, having contributed at least ten pages, may be granted an extension of their invited period at the Leader’s discretion.
Honorary memberships have been awarded to former members of at least three years whose presence “significantly enriched Interlac and furthered its goals.” No more than one person per year may be awarded an honorary membership.
Expenses
Divided evenly among the members, except the Leader(s) (to a maximum of two individuals at a time), who is exempt. Mailings for sale are available to members and waitlisters.
Leadership elections
The Leader is elected by the majority of the voting membership to a one-year term. The Leader is responsible for distributing mailings, appointing a Deputy to serve in case of absence, setting deadlines, presenting a complete statement of the APA’s finances in each mailing’s Bulletin and interpreting the Constitution. The Leader is responsible for setting the copy count within a limit of 60.
Amateur press association
An amateur press association is a group of people who produce individual pages or magazines that are sent to a Central Mailer for collation and distribution to all members of the group.-Organisation:...
devoted to the DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
team the Legion of Super-Heroes
Legion of Super-Heroes
The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team in the 30th and 31st centuries of the . The team first appears in Adventure Comics #247 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
. It was the first APA devoted to the Legion and, despite the decline of APAs due to Internet forum
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
s, continues to operate to this day.
Interlac’s name comes from the designated communication language of the 30th-century United Planets
United Planets
In the , the United Planets is a fictional governing body, traditionally depicted as active in the 30th and 31st century.-History of the published versions of the United Planets:...
confederation (the milieu in which the Legion of Super-Heroes operates).
History
Rich Morrissey founded the APA in June 1976, calling it LEAPA (the LEgion Amateur Press Association); it changed its name to Interlac three mailings later. There were 15 founding members, and the first mailing was 26 pages.At the time, there were few general-interest comics APAs, CAPA-alpha
CAPA-alpha
CAPA-alpha was the first amateur press association devoted to comic books, started by Jerry Bails in the United States in 1964....
and APA-5 being the exceptions. But never before in comic book fandom had the fans of a single comic book come together in a single APA. So while Interlac’s form came from CAPA-alpha, its membership came from the Legion Fan Club (started by 13-year-old Mike Flynn in 1972) and The Legion Outpost (a fanzine started in 1972).
In 1976, the Legion of Super-Heroes’ comic was finally on a solid footing, with the rich Legion mythos giving members plenty to discuss. As the roster grew—soon reaching its 50-member limit—it became clear that the APA had become a true community. Members met each other at comic book conventions and became real-life friends; members Tom Bierbaum and Mary Gilmore
Tom and Mary Bierbaum
Tom and Mary Bierbaum are an American husband-and-wife writing team, known for their work on the DC comic book Legion of Super-Heroes.-Biography:...
met through the APA, began a romance, and eventually married. Even more notably, the Bierbaums later graduated from Interlac to working as scripters of the Legion comic itself.
The roster, with the exception of a few stalwarts, has turned over repeatedly, breathing fresh life and bringing new points of view into the forum. All the same, in 2000, eight of the 15 founders were still on the roster, waiting list, or honorary membership list, and four of the original 15 had remained on the roster continuously.
At one point, a spinoff APA devoted to music was formed, dubbed Quarternotes by its founders.
Policies
MembershipInterlac membership is limited to 50 roster slots. Minimum activity requirement is four collated and stapled pages in any three consecutive mailings. Applicants for membership send the Leader $10.00 to join the waitlist. A new waitlister receives a copy of the most recently available mailing and thereafter a Bulletin until becoming a member. Waitlisters are encouraged to submit contributions from the waitlist; for doing so, they’ll be eligible to purchase a copy of the mailing the contribution appears in. Any waitlister, having contributed at least ten pages, may be granted an extension of their invited period at the Leader’s discretion.
Honorary memberships have been awarded to former members of at least three years whose presence “significantly enriched Interlac and furthered its goals.” No more than one person per year may be awarded an honorary membership.
Expenses
Divided evenly among the members, except the Leader(s) (to a maximum of two individuals at a time), who is exempt. Mailings for sale are available to members and waitlisters.
Leadership elections
The Leader is elected by the majority of the voting membership to a one-year term. The Leader is responsible for distributing mailings, appointing a Deputy to serve in case of absence, setting deadlines, presenting a complete statement of the APA’s finances in each mailing’s Bulletin and interpreting the Constitution. The Leader is responsible for setting the copy count within a limit of 60.
Notable members (past and present)
- Jim ShooterJim ShooterJames Shooter is an American writer, occasional fill-in artist, editor, and publisher for various comic books. Although he started professionally in the medium at the extraordinarily young age of 14, he is most notable for his successful and controversial run as Marvel Comics' ninth...
(founding member) - Tom and Mary BierbaumTom and Mary BierbaumTom and Mary Bierbaum are an American husband-and-wife writing team, known for their work on the DC comic book Legion of Super-Heroes.-Biography:...
- Dave CockrumDave CockrumDavid Emmett Cockrum was an American comic book artist known for his co-creation of the new X-Men characters Nightcrawler, Storm, and Colossus...
- Colleen DoranColleen DoranColleen Doran is an American writer/artist, film conceptual artist, and cartoonist. She has illustrated hundreds of comics, graphic novels, books and magazines, and dozens of stories and articles, including works written by Neil Gaiman, Clive Barker, Anne Rice, J...
- Paul LevitzPaul LevitzPaul Levitz is an American comic book writer, editor and executive. The president of DC Comics from 2002–2009, he has worked for the company for over 35 years in a wide variety of roles...
- Tom McCraw
- Mark WaidMark WaidMark Waid is an American comic book writer. He is well known for his eight-year run as writer of the DC Comics' title The Flash, as well as his scripting of the limited series Kingdom Come and Superman: Birthright, and his work on Marvel Comics' Captain America...
See also
- Legion of Super-HeroesLegion of Super-HeroesThe Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team in the 30th and 31st centuries of the . The team first appears in Adventure Comics #247 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
- Amateur press associationAmateur press associationAn amateur press association is a group of people who produce individual pages or magazines that are sent to a Central Mailer for collation and distribution to all members of the group.-Organisation:...
- InterlacInterlacIn the DC Comics fictional universe, Interlac is the designated communication language of the 30th century United Planets.In its basic form it is a simple one-to-one substitution cipher. The Interlac alphabet corresponds perfectly to the twenty-six letters of the Latin alphabet and the numbering...
- Science fiction fandomScience fiction fandomScience fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or "fandom" of people actively interested in science fiction and fantasy and in contact with one another based upon that interest...