Excuse my ignorance; I've only been in fandom a few months, but can someone tell me about Mary-Sue? I guessed a while back that it was self-insertion, usually wishful thinking (going by the few stories I encountered her in), but was why Mary-Sue? Was there an original Mary-Sue who wrote one?

I've also come across Peggy-Sue Servalan in the Bizarro zines. Is this a variation on the theme? Mind you, the Bizarro stories seem to have a lot of fans and writers lurking lightly-disguised in them.

Nico