Thursday, September 26, 2013
Thursday, September 5, 2013
GROW: How to take your DIY project and passion to the next level & quit your job!
review from Anne: GROW: How to take your DIY project and passion to the next level & quit your job!
128 pages, 5.5. x 7, June 2013, $11.95 (no trades, ships via Microcosm)
Eleanor C. Whitney, MPA
microcosmpublishing.com
joe@microcosmpublishing.com
This is a rad little book. The design of it is really cool and visually appealing; I would totally have picked it up just to check it out even if the subject wasn't super interesting (and, honestly, it is -- who doesn't dream of ditching the day job to be your own creative boss?). Organized into smart, clear sections dealing with money and building community as well as marketing and media, Whitney includes points and examples from other DIY small-business owners, like Punk Rope and Brooklyn Soda Works. There's also a really great section about "Building a DIY Life" -- which is something that I think all small business owners struggle with. I own and operate a small business, which in the last year has become a larger project (though not quite yet full time), and these are very important points to think about. How do you make your business not just sustainable, but something that grows? There's also a particularly excellent resource section in the back of the book. Worth checking out, for sure.
PRIMAHOOD: THE SECOND ALBUM
review from Anne: PRIMAHOOD: THE SECOND ALBUM by Tyler Cohen
24 pages, 5.5 X 8.5, $8 US (shipping ? trades? ), full color
Primazonia Press
www.primazonia.com
From Tyler's website: "In her creations—the beings, the Primazons—the artist brings together her interests in nature & nurture, comics, anime, book/arts, anthropology, design, scifi, fantasy, dream, and intergenerational relationships." "Also, Primahood is the interweaving of two narrative spaces: MamaPants and Primazonia. Together, they tell stories and ask questions that might lead to thoughts about femaleness, social constructs, where we are, where we are going, and how we relate to one another. Also, you might laugh." It's a lovely colorful piece that's in full color throughout; kind of about kids and parenting, kind of about gender, with kind of a surreal, dreamlike quality. It took a few reads through for me; it was of course visually appealing on first pass but I wasn't always sure that I was following the narrative -- but there isn't really a single set narrative, as it turns out, and it's worth getting to check out the detailed, unusual art. Recommended.
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
I AM MY OWN STEREOTYPE
review from Anne: I AM MY OWN STEREOTYPE: THE MY SMALL DIARY COLLECTION
112 pages, 5.5 X 8.5, $8 US (shipping $2 US/$6 elsewhere)
www.mysmallwebpage.com
delangel3@hotmail.com
This collection is a perzine filled with diary comics focusing on the normal events of life with a humorous bent. Well, "normal" for Delaine might not be normal for the rest of us, but this collection is hilarious. There's travel and rollerskates, and brushes with fame, a palm reading from Dame Darcy, Emo Phillips (of course!), car accidents, John Waters, throwing up at a Nirvana show, and a number of other seriously notable adventures over the years. (Never mind the fact that Delaine and Lee are about the sweetest folks you ever might have the good fortune of meeting.) This book collects all three out-of-print My Small Diary zines and adds over 40 new pages, including some guest art, great photos, and a super-handy "The people of My Small Diary" glossary of sorts. Plus, each book is autographed! Full-color cover, perfect bound. All-true and all awesome.
Seriously, don't wait. You need this collection; it's awesome and at $8, it's a total deal. You'll laugh, you might cry, and also, there's a fortune fish in there for you! Highly recommended; don't wait.
This collection is a perzine filled with diary comics focusing on the normal events of life with a humorous bent. Well, "normal" for Delaine might not be normal for the rest of us, but this collection is hilarious. There's travel and rollerskates, and brushes with fame, a palm reading from Dame Darcy, Emo Phillips (of course!), car accidents, John Waters, throwing up at a Nirvana show, and a number of other seriously notable adventures over the years. (Never mind the fact that Delaine and Lee are about the sweetest folks you ever might have the good fortune of meeting.) This book collects all three out-of-print My Small Diary zines and adds over 40 new pages, including some guest art, great photos, and a super-handy "The people of My Small Diary" glossary of sorts. Plus, each book is autographed! Full-color cover, perfect bound. All-true and all awesome.
QUITTER #7
review from Anne: QUITTER #7
30pages, 1/4 page (5.5 x4.25), $2 US, $3 CAN/MAX, $4 world, trades yes
Trace Ramsey
2907 Farthing St.
Durham NC 27704
traceramsey@gmail.com
cricketbread.com
QUITTER #7 is a perzine collection of creative non-fiction consisting of "memoir vignettes" -- #7 deals with months and seasons with specific stories arranged in no set order. Color-printed cover, staple-bound. It's a snappy little zine, immaculately set-up and easy to read (it's got a crisp layout and clear typeface). November's a little about hunting, what the author called "deer processing" and about family -- which is a theme that runs through many of the stories. Influenced by memory (weather real memories or constructed ones). Solid writing, complex sentences, evocative.
Trace Ramsey
traceramsey@gmail.com
QUITTER #7 is a perzine collection of creative non-fiction consisting of "memoir vignettes" -- #7 deals with months and seasons with specific stories arranged in no set order. Color-printed cover, staple-bound. It's a snappy little zine, immaculately set-up and easy to read (it's got a crisp layout and clear typeface). November's a little about hunting, what the author called "deer processing" and about family -- which is a theme that runs through many of the stories. Influenced by memory (weather real memories or constructed ones). Solid writing, complex sentences, evocative.
BROOKLYN #81
review from Anne: BROOKLYN #81
24 pages, 5.5 x 8.5 $10 for a 4 issue subscription(PAYMENT IN CASH!)
Fred Argoff
Penthouse L
1170 Ocean Parkway
Brooklyn NY 11230
More Brooklyn reviews! Say it with me, people: “The name of this zine is BROOKLYN and that's also what the zine is about, Fred's beloved borough of Brooklyn." History, photography, you name it and it’s in here…provided it’s got something to do with Fred’s favorite borough. One of the things I particularly like about BROOKLYN is that the issues are always packed with photos, history (things that long-term residents know; every issue has kind of a small-neighborhood feel to it, which is a great advantage), and fabulous little Brooklyn tidbits. It's one of those reads that if you don't live there, it's kind of amazing -- like a little bit of armchair travel. If you do live there, I imagine it's like this whole other world discovering these bits of history and photos of houses and neighborhoods and such.
This issue is no exception. Fred's put together a special theme issue (and that theme is doors). The ever-hilarious "Brooklyn Lexicon and Pronounciation Guide" in each issue is a treat to read, and #81 includes such gems as "ommina" and "ongana." There's also a quick tour of Vinegar Hill in this issue, to incorporate a little history as well.
Always a fun read worth your time. So, whaddya waitin' for? Read some Brooklyn already!
OPUNTIA 71.3 (February 2012), 260 (St. Urho's Day 2013), 262 (May 2013), 263 (June 2013)
OPUNTIA 71.3 (February 2012), 260 (St. Urho's Day 2013), 262 (May 2013), 263 (June 2013)
16 pages (all issues), 5.5 x 8.5, $3 "cash for a one-time sample copy, trade for your zine, or letter of comment." (Note: Americans, please don't send checks; bank fees to cash them are high; US banknotes are better.)Dale SpeirsBox 6830Calgary, Alberta, Canada, T2P 2E7
Here's the story: Whole-numbered OPUNTIAs are sercon, x.1 issues are reviewzines, x.2 issues are indexes, x.3 issues are apazines, and x.5 issues are perzines. However, Speirs wrote back in issue 248 that a lengthy project has shifted his writing, and so future issues will be a mix of articles and reviews. Dig? OK. Here we go.
So, in this span of issues, we've again got a good range of material; 71.3 is an apazine (that's worth googling, by the way, or read more about FAPA in #260), DNA and some non-fiction book reviews and an explanation of the title (see 260; I don't want to ruin the explanation!), evolution and a longer piece about "invisible folk other than the films based directly on Wells' novel" (262), and a review of a book about the history of a specific Toronto radio station as well as some interesting photographs (263). Now as ever, I kind of lean toward the perzine ones, but there's something here for everyone especially if you're into reviews.
16 pages (all issues), 5.5 x 8.5, $3 "cash for a one-time sample copy, trade for your zine, or letter of comment." (Note: Americans, please don't send checks; bank fees to cash them are high; US banknotes are better.)Dale SpeirsBox 6830Calgary, Alberta, Canada, T2P 2E7
Here's the story: Whole-numbered OPUNTIAs are sercon, x.1 issues are reviewzines, x.2 issues are indexes, x.3 issues are apazines, and x.5 issues are perzines. However, Speirs wrote back in issue 248 that a lengthy project has shifted his writing, and so future issues will be a mix of articles and reviews. Dig? OK. Here we go.
So, in this span of issues, we've again got a good range of material; 71.3 is an apazine (that's worth googling, by the way, or read more about FAPA in #260), DNA and some non-fiction book reviews and an explanation of the title (see 260; I don't want to ruin the explanation!), evolution and a longer piece about "invisible folk other than the films based directly on Wells' novel" (262), and a review of a book about the history of a specific Toronto radio station as well as some interesting photographs (263). Now as ever, I kind of lean toward the perzine ones, but there's something here for everyone especially if you're into reviews.
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