The long-running Hammers fanzine Over Land and Sea is set to close after more than 20 years.
OLAS - which is still run by founder Gary Firmager - announced today that production of the fanzine will stop at the end of the current season.A statement released on OLAS' Facebook page today read: "After 21 years of publishing, Over Land and Sea Fanzine will cease publication at the end of this season.
"It's been a total blast over those 21 years, and we have seen every other magazine off. But we always wanted to go out on a high, and as sales are still brilliant, now is the time. Thank you all so much for all your support. This is Final."
The explosion of the world wide web in the mid '90s was the death knell for a great many paper-based football publications, although Firmager soldiered on regardless - with great success.
Writing for KUMB.com back in 2004, he said of the new media: "As with this very website, OLAS has changed beyond recognition since the early days. Some say that’s a bad thing, others, that it’s natural progression. I ride the second train. If we had stayed the same, we would have died years ago.
"The argument that there is no place for fanzines now, because of internet message boards is a load of old b*llocks. The subscribers that are currently languishing in various HMPs don’t get the chance to log on to the web, nor do the boys out serving their country around the world where OLAS gets sent to. There is a place for both."
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