Keeping Long-Honored Traditions Alive: The Panel Attack

We know our history and aim to repeat it.

To learn more about SF conventions, I’ve been surfing the F.A.N.A.C. website. Studying the archive of photo scans, I came across…well…

Picture it: Lunacon. 1979. The weekend of April 1. Darrell Schweitzer, Mark Owings, Moshe Feder, George Flynn, and a few others chat quietly on a panel at the LaGuardia Sheraton…

Panel. Lunacon 22 (1979). Photo by Ben Yalow. Reprinted with permission.

Suddenly, large toy guns come out. George Flynn “hijacks the panel,” F.A.N.A.C. reports.

Raid! Lunacon 22 (1979). Photo by Ben Yalow. Reprinted with permission.

Yes, Darrell Schweitzer is actually holding a TOY (believe it or not), according to both Ben Yalow and F.A.N.A.C.

Raid continued. Lunacon 22 (1979). Photo by Ben Yalow. Reprinted with permission.

Artist Stu Shiffman brandishes his toy “as the Commander of the Revolution!”

Demands. Lunacon 22 (1979). Photo by Ben Yalow. Reprinted with permission.

Shiffman “makes his demands.” (Check out the sweet propellor beanies!)

Rescue. Lunacon 22 (1979). Photo by Ben Yalow. Reprinted with permission.

Jim Freund put a stop to the nonsense with his raygun and “marches Flynn and Schweitzer into custody,” reports F.A.N.A.C.

“Somebody thought it would be really silly, and ‘really silly’ goes over well within fandom,” Ben told Raconteur Press Saturday. “Stu Shiffman was a major fan artist of the era responsible for a number of hoaxes.”

Ben stated he didn’t believe the panelists knew what was about to happen. “But they roll[ed] with it. These are people who had been around for a while. They could spot fannish silliness whenever it happened.”

Fast Forward to 2024

Raconteur Press is proud to carry on longstanding traditions of attacking fellow panels.

Last September at P-Con, as previously reported by Ian, Raconteur Press executed a full-out raid on our good friends at Cannon Publishing. We were ready. The audience was equipped. As the panel concluded, Ian burst in with his rubber dart gun amidst a hail of plastic whiffle ducks (all made by Jesse Barrett) and rescued Sam Robb as the barrage abounded and levity surged.

But don’t take our word for it. Watch the footage!

We’d like to THANK Liz Yarborough, who captured the opening footage of Ian, and ALL who threw ducks that day.

Regarding the ’79 raid, the F.A.N.A.C. webpage states, “We were there but we don't know what's going on. If you do, let us know.”

We couldn’t agree more.

Until next time.