Japanese Giants Fan Letter (JGFL) was a ten-issue kaiju newsletter published from 1977 to 1978. Initially produced by Brad Boyle and Dave Milner, and later by Boyle alone, JGFL carried news, articles, artwork, letters, reviews, and material from the growing American kaiju fan community. It also actively supported other fan publishers, giving space to reviews, advertisements, announcements, and publicity for other kaiju and genre fanzines.
Origins of Japanese Giants Fan Letter (JGFL)
Japanese Giants Fan Letter (JGFL) grew out of the increasing pace of kaiju fandom in 1977.
News was arriving faster than Japanese Giants could be published, so by the time an issue
appeared, new news could already be old. Brad Boyle was also receiving more contributions,
especially artwork, than he could use in Japanese Giants. Some did not meet the quality level
he wanted for that fanzine, but he still thought the material should be published. He also
felt the trend toward higher-quality fanzines was taking some of the fun out of fandom.
His solution was a newsletter.
In his Japanese Giants Issue 3 editorial, Boyle announced plans for JGFL, and Dave Milner
volunteered to serve as co-editor. Milner helped with Issues 1 through 4. For Issue 1, he sent
his contributions already typed for publication; after that issue, Boyle handled all layout. JGFL was mostly offset printed,
and its smaller page count allowed Boyle to print issues at his high school. For Issue 10,
Boyle used the previously unpublished artwork readers had submitted, making the final issue
largely an art issue. Barry Kaufman's closing article urged readers to continue supporting
the kaiju fanzines still being published.
Noted contributors:
Brad Boyle, Dave Milner, Barry Kaufman, Bill Gudmundson, Mark Rainey, Ed Godziszewski,
Jeff Gusky, Kevin Grays, Diego Agbayani, John Loffink, Greg Ewald, Richard Campbell,
Peter H. Brothers, Tony Picariello, and Damon Foster.
