China-Li Jade Ma-Ri
Hillman (age 13)
China-Li finally learned what the ERB hoopla
is all about when she attended her first Dum-Dum
in Tarzana last summer. She was just starting to feel at ease among the
very serious adults of ERB fandom when she was completely unnerved by a
traumatic event which took place in the lobby of the Marriott Hotel. China
was aghast as she witnessed her father, JoN -- armed with Johnny Weissmuller's
razor-sharp Tarzan knife -- engage in ferocious hand-to-hand combat
with the mighty Tarak, the Tawny-Haired Barbarian.
China -- in addition to writing fantasy stories
which she illustrates with many media -- plays harp, bagpipes, piano, synthesizers,
trombone and drums and studies highland dance. She is very involved in
the study of Celtic folklore and art. Her interest in SF/fantasy/adventure
has taken her through ERB and into the writings of : Anne McCaffery, Mike
Resnick, Piers Anthony, Tad Williams, Richard Adams, Robin McKinley, Garth
Nix, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Raymond E. Feist, and more.
Obviously her middle name, Ma-Ri (seas of Luna
and Mars) has had a great influence on the directions taken by her creativity.
She is currently studying film animation in a commercial art class and
is busy creating cells with acrylics on acetate as well as working in claymation.
China-Li co-produces RWO - Redwall Online -
an Internet magazine aimed at the online role-playing Redwall community.
Redwall is a series of books by Brian Jacques. Redwall is about anthromorphic/furre
animals (animals with human characteristics, or vice versa). Besides editing
the features in the magazine which accepts contributions from the Redwallers,
China also writes many of the articles and reviews submissions giving feedback.
William Ja-On Campbell Hillman
(age 21)
Ja-On's days are filled with working as kitchen
supervisor and chef at SOO'S, teaching saxophone, body building, taking
computer courses at Brandon University, and caring for 1 1/2 year old son
~ Soulin.
Ja, exposed at a young age to the worlds of
ERB, is an avid SF/Fantasy reader... and writer. He has just completed
a full-length, 15-chapter novel, COURSE OF CHAOS. Influenced by the time-shift
adventures of Highlander, this fast-moving novel should appeal to most
ERB fans.
COURSE
OF CHAOS by "Crafter"
http://home.westman.wave.ca/~hillmans/ja-on00.html
William Robin Monroe Li-Chan
Hillman (age 18)
Robin is majoring in Computer Science at Brandon
University where he also plays trombone in the university jazz band. He
also shares drum duties with mom, Sue-On, in the family band. Robin's affection
for the simian world is evidenced in his subversive website: Bananarchy,
which is a very dangerous document extolling the destruction, mayhem, and
terror brought on by bananas. His Bananarchy Gorilla Warfare Method
describes how Bananarchists can use explosives and other weapons made out
of bananas to wreak havoc upon society, the result being a total collapse
of government... or at least, the family treehouse.
Soulin Jayson Lee Hillman (18
months)
Soulin has spent about 1/3 of his life interacting
with the Tarzan McDonalds toys he stole from his grandfather's hoard. His
crib is wedged among bookcases containing stacks of ERB comics and hardcovers.
The walls of the nursery are festooned with Frazetta prints, a JCB watercolour
original, and mylar window displays absconded from the local theatre. One
of his first sounds was an "aaaawwaaaaww" screamed as he swung (with a
little help) on the upper rail of JoN and Dejah's four-poster bed.
Sue-On Hillman
Sue-On was introduced to the works of ERB
by husband Bill, soon after their marriage 34 years ago. This China-born
mother of three has had a long career as a Musician ~ vocals, drums, piano
and synthesizers ~ a High School Teacher, Evaluator and Supervisor for
the Education Departments of Manitoba Universities, and Advisor to the
RCMP on Cultural Diversity. She and husband Bill own and manage a 265-seat
Chinese restaurant where she puts in long hours. The ERB influence is evidenced
in the SOO'S logo which features an ERB-like bamboo doodad framed by an
exotic setting sun.
A Virtual
Tour of SOO'S Restaurant will reveal even more ERB influences in the
exotic bamboo decor. Sue-On's personal doodad is comprised of a five parts,
each of which stands for a member of the Hillman family. The doodad was
created with broad Chinese brush strokes.
Sue-On spreads the ERB gospel across many Internet
Chat Lines... her Alias?... Dejah, of course.
A popular feature in the ERB
WebRing is Sue-On's
(Dejah's) Amtorian Gardens which teem with alien flora and fauna from
Amtor and Barsoom.
Sue-On
Family Odyssey
William Gerald Hillman
Bill boasts a family doodad of the same style
as Sue-On's although the component strokes are not as curvy and buxom as
those used in symbol.
He maintains many hundreds of ERB websites, including
the weekly online fanzine:
ERBzine
Many of his other interests are highlighted in
the family website:
BILL
& SUE-ON HILLMAN ECLECTIC STUDIO
www.hillmanweb.com
Hillman caricature posters by niece, Cindy
After attending the Star Wars premier on May
19, 1999 we were interviewed by the Brandon Sun... and they turned the
interview into a lengthy front page Star Wars story in the next day's paper.
I'll leave that story in a far away galaxy but I thought the related story
might be of interest to ERB fans.
Being an ERB fan first and foremost, I did a crafty
<g> segue to ERB fandom... so they included the following promo for
a second story at the bottom of the Star Wars feature:
BRANDON SUN
Thursday May 20, 1999
by Diane Nelson
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Front page promo:
Bill Hillman was a Star Wars fan even before
the show existed.
That’s because he’s a devotee of Edgar Rice
Burroughs,
an early writer of science fiction who may
have been the
catalyst behind George Lucas’ ultra-popular
films /
See Page 2 (Burroughs Buffs)
BURROUGHS BUFFS
Tarzan creator inspired Star Wars, local
sci-fi fan says
“Star Wars is an obvious spin-off,” Hillman
said Wednesday.
“In fact, the rumour is that Lucas had originally
contacted
ERB, Inc. to film A Princess of Mars, Burroughs’
first book.
And they couldn’t get together on it, so
Lucas went off
and wrote his own version of it and it became
Star Wars.”
Hillman and his family were among the first
to see Lucas’
latest creation, Star Wars I: The Phantom
Menace --
they joined a group of dedicated fans at
the first public
screening of the show at Brandon’s Capitol
Theatre at
12:02 Wednesday morning.
********************************
MORE STAR WARS...BLAH BLAH BLAH
********************************
“I guess I turned them (our 3 kids) on to
Star Wars back
when they were little kids, and they’ve been
immersed in it
ever since,” Hillman said.
“I’ve been a science fiction fan since the
‘50s
so it’s nice to see SF come into its own
or at least space opera, which is basically
what Star Wars is.”
Hillman is such a Burroughs and sci-fi fan,
in fact,
that he, his wife Sue-On and daughter China-Li,
will be attending a convention of the
Burroughs Bibliophiles - the Edgar Rice Burroughs
fan club - taking place in Tarzana, Calif.
in mid-June.
Although Hillman has been a member for years,
this is his first time attending a convention.
And there may be an unexpected bonus
involved in the trip for buffs of Burroughs.
“He’s the creator of Tarzan and the grandfather
of science fiction, SF adventure and whatnot,”
Hillman said.
“And now with the new Disney Tarzan (animated
movie)
coming out, based on his first Tarzan novel,
there’s a lot of
excitement again. The Burroughs Bibliophiles,
of which we
are members, have been promised a special
preview showing
of the film, on the Disney Lot, before the
actual Hollywood
premiere.”
While Sue-On is looking forward to the trip
and has become
a fan of Burroughs’ work, she said that wasn’t
always the case.
“When we first got married, I said ‘What do
you mean
I’ve got to read Tarzan?” she recalled with
a laugh.
“But then I really got into the Martian/Barsoom
stuff.
I liked that.”
Hillman puts out a weekly classic SF magazine
on the Internet based on the life and works
of
Burroughs, and has an extensive collection
of
first editions of many of his works.
Hillman credits Burroughs with being the
first multi-media writer, since he formed
his own
publishing company, and delved into radio,
TV, movies,
magazines, comics, toys, merchandising and
real estate.
“He was the first -- just as I like Elvis
and The Beatles
and early blues artists -- they were
firsts in
their genre,” Hillman said.
“And certainly, there’s adventure --
imagination, I guess, is the big thing.”
While catching up on my computer magazine reading
I came across this review that I missed somehow a year ago. It appeared
in Canada's largest Internet Magazine... Just to let everyone know that
we're spreading the gospel up here in the frozen wasteland, here 'tis.
JoN
SYMPATICO
NETLIFE:
CANADA’S HOME INTERNET MAGAZINE
July/August 1998
Voice of Canada’s Largest Internet Service:
Sympatico
ARTS & LITERATURE SECTION
"EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS: MOTES & QUOTES"
http://www.erbzine.com/mag
http://www.erbzine.com/all
**** FOUR STARS
****
Best known as the creator
of Tarzan, Edgar Rice Burroughs led a colourful life, almost as full of
adventure as his many novels. Out of Brandon, Man., comes an outstanding
online homage to this creative thinker, his work and legacy as the "grandfather
of science-fiction." His stories are set everywhere, from Mars to the jungles
of Africa and have captivated millions of readers worldwide and continue
to do so. Burroughs’ imagination has inspired authors such as Ray Bradbury
– and why not? The man predicted the invention of antigravity propulsion,
living-organ transplants and the automatic pilot. But what really makes
Motes & Quotes a terrific site are the offbeat tidbits about Burroughs’
own exploits – such as how he fought Apache Indians led by Geronimo in
Arizona when he was a 16-year-old in the U.S. 7th Cavalry in the 1890s.
Through dozens of interviews, photos and excerpts from Burroughs’ war correspondent
days in the early 1940s, Webmaster Bill Hillman gives us a complete Burroughs
picture. You can read about Hillman’s own pilgrimage to ERB Inc. headquarters
in California and his fantastic collection of memorabilia. Then swing through
the jungle of more than 100 ERB-related links. ****
.
WEBJED:
BILL HILLMAN .
