"Moon Phases" was a fan publication "zine" devoted to stories about social issues, while still using Marion Zimmer Bradley's "Darkover" world. This not well-preserved cover illustrates a scene in Bradley's "Thendara House" where the Darkovan heroine is invasively examined by a team of male scientists. She is human but her people have lived on Darkover for 2000 years, and have gained psychic powers. They are the descendants of a lost space colony and ended up breeding with the native humanoids of the planet, whose natural psychic talents the half-breeds inherited. The publisher of the magazine wanted me to emphasize the insensitivity of the male examiners who made her stand naked in a test area where everyone could see her. Marion Z B turned out not to be a great person in real life, but her books helped countless young fan women learn about feminism and the challenges of women which are still a huge issue now.
Original art is black ink on illustration board, 8" x 11", July 1983.
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