ROBERT BLOCH

from Fancyclopedia 2

The name of a vile pro. "Bloch is the Only True Ghod" was the gospel initiated by Vernon McCain, who received the Revelation in 1955 but, Bloch reports, was singularly lax in sacrificing any virgins. "Bloch is Superb" is the motto of Blochists; its popularity reached horrid heights when Dick Ellington had a rubber-stamp made with this phrase and Jack Harness had a set of pencils blazoned with the slogan. (To date no authenticated instances of tattooing have been uncovered.) This traces back to a letter in which Walt Willis was supposed to have suggested making up a rubber stamp with that legend, an obvious timesaver when commenting on any fanzine with Bloch material in it. But Dean Grennell, checking his back files, finds that in the original instance Willis' words were "Bloch was brilliant. (Will you makes me a rubber stamp for this?)" All fandom could be plunged into warr [divided into two camps, the Superbists and the Brilliantinees] over a thing like this. In the mythology of congoing, Bloch Korshak Esbach and Evans were an inseparable fannish poker group; this idea was invented and popularized by Bob Tucker in 1952.