Drummer No 030 June 1978 cover

Shot by Sparrow-Fritscher, Cover Photo of erotic leather legend Val Martin and Bob/Leo Stone, in the characteristically “imprimatur” Fritscher-design of the arm-wrestling pose of comparative biceps, comparative fists, shot profile after the manner of classic Roman coins. South American Val Martin was the first Mr. Drummer in 1979. Leo Stone, his partner, became the Zeus Studio model, Leo Stone. The leathery *pas de deux* of Val Martin and Leo Stone, photographed by Jim Hawkins for Zeus, appeared in *The Zeus Collection Magazine* titled *Zeus Presents Val Martin and Leo Stone*, designed by Mikal Bales, 1979. Fritscher photographed Val Martin and Leo Stone again, July 4th weekend, 1978, in an as-yet-unpublished storyboard series of spit-and-piss photographs shot in the Sonoma County barn owned by Pacific Drill Patrol founding member Ed Linotti.

In an interesting historical note, *Drummer* #30 carried Chapter Two of the serialized novel *Mr. Benson*, whose first chapter was printed by Jack Fritscher in *Drummer* #29, May 1979. The author of *Mr. Benson* is listed as “Jack Prescott,” the pseudonym which Jack Fritscher counseled writer John Preston to drop in favor of using his real name, in the same way *Drummer* editor-in-chief Jack Fritscher chose to use his real name during an age of strong gay pride. In point of fact, Jack Fritscher, Ph.D., had been a university professor teaching creative writing and journalism for ten years when, in the spring of 1979, he mentored John Preston, who had written a draft of *Mr. Benson* so rough that editor-in-chief Fritscher (after much pressure from *Drummer* publisher John Embry and much consultation with Preston) had to become a “script doctor,” doing the final edit and polish on *Mr. Benson* so the story — which Embry had paid for on spec — could actually be published. There are actually three *Mr. Benson* manuscripts: 1) Preston’s original draft, 2) Fritscher’s polish of Preston’s draft actually serialized in *Drummer*, and 3) Embry’s published book based on the two previous manuscripts.

Editor of issue for *Drummer* #30: Jack Fritscher.