A Martian War Machine molests Piccadilly Plaza.
Cover art, by Gavin Long.

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When we were assembling the first FONTzine, we thought we should have a cover that was, in some way, Mancunian. After a bit of thought, I settled on having some Manchester landmark being attacked by aliens. The Martian war machine tripod was cut-and-pasted from a magazine that I had lying around, then I just needed a picture of a Manchester landmark.

Since I didn't have time to go and take my own picture (all this was happening at the last minute, as usual), the internet was trawled. I couldn't find a picture of my preferred choice (Manchester Town Hall, a wonderfully exccessive Victorian Gothic edifice) but we did manage to get hold of one of an equally recognisable part of Piccadilly Plaza. A quick bit of photo-montage and doodling later, we had our cover.

The choice of Piccadilly Plaza was made partly on the grounds of its proximity to the con hotel (the Jarvis Picadilly is just out of frame to the left). That and the fact that many Mancunians would LIKE to see the Piccadilly Plaza complex razed to the ground by aliens, as it's an ugly 1960s concrete monstrosity of a building.

In 2001, that wish was partially granted, as part of Piccadilly Plaza, specifically the building in the centre of the picture above, was demolished for redevelopment.