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Xerography Debt is a review zine for zine readers by zine writers (and readers). It is a hybrid of review zine and personal zine (the ancestor to many blogs). The paper version has been around since 1999. This blog thing is are attempt to bridge the gap between Web 2.0 and Paper 1.0. Print is not dead, but it is becoming more pixelated.

Monday, April 18, 2016

Escapist Artist Zine

review from Anne: a whole heap of Escapist Artist Zines

The Escapist Artist Zine Presents: "Color a Comic Coloring Book" (Sept 2015)
$2 US, $3 Can/Mex, $4 World, trades OK, 14 pages
Digest size (8.5 x 5.5)

The Escapist Artist Zine Presents: "Comedians Coloring & Activity Book" (Sept 2015)
$2 US, $3 Can/Mex, $4 World, trades OK, 20 pages
Digest size (8.5 x 5.5)

The Escapist Artist #23 (Nov 2014)
$2 US, $3 Can/Mex, $4 World, trades OK, 16 pages
Digest size (8.5 x 5.5)

The Escapist Artist #32 (Sept 2015)
$2 US, $3 Can/Mex, $4 World, trades OK, 20 pages
Digest size (8.5 x 5.5)

all available from
Jolie Ruin
625 West Division St
Union City, IN 473990
MrsNoggle@yahoo.com
TheEscapistArtist.Etsy.com

So, obviously, you can see the thread that runs through these: Jolie digs comedians. The "Color A Comic" coloring book has 6 different comedians repeated twice (including Amy Schumer and Margaret Cho) that were drawn by her husband Jamie and compiled into a book. Similarly, the "Comedians Coloring & Activity Book" has drawings to color in, mazes, dot-to-dot, and other things. Obviously, these are not for kids and aren't kid safe (think boobs and middle fingers and the like), so, you know, heads up. If you like comedy, these are totally for you.

The Escapist Artist is Jolie's personal zine, in which she writes about "racism, comedy shows I've gone to, details on the comedy zine I'm starting and the centerfold is coloring pages of Amy Schumer and Margaret Cho from the comedian coloring book collaboration with my husband Jamie!" #23 is an interview issues where Jolie interviews Sophie McMahan of "You Were Swell" and comedian Dave Attell. (The copy I got for review was missing pages 3-4 and 17-18, so there might be more to mention that my copy didn't have!)

All of her work is on Etsy along with other art, stickers, and lots of pins. Jolie's work is old school cut & paste, so TEA has a classic "zine feel" to it. If you're into that, you'll dig The Escapist Artist.

Sunday, April 17, 2016

review from Anne: "What's Up, Grim?": Haunted Hayriders In Their Own Words (October 2015)

54 pages, 5.5 x 8.5, $8 US, ? Can/Mex, ? world
white text on black ink with B&W photos and diagram

Adam Finchler
210 Cook St #302
Brooklyn NY 11206
www.adamfinchler.com
ginkner.bigcartel.com

The description that arrived with this book is both pretty straightforward and accurate: "This is a book of actual quotations recorded by the Grim Reader at a haunted hayride in New Jersey. Hundreds of off-the-cuff remarks made by haunted hayriders to Death and his legion of creeps are entombed in this sickening volume."

I'm not sure if I'd classify it as "sickening" but mostly the quotations fall into the "you're cute" category (mostly from teenage girls to the dude dressed up like the Grim Reaper) or into the "WTF" category (people apparently say all kinds of terrible stuff when they don't think people are listening, and there's some terrible stuff in here). People say all kinds of boneheaded things, apparently. The book itself is pretty slick: it's white text on black ink, so it's pretty appropriate for spooky stuff (and might explain the $8 cost as well). Information provided wasn't clear about trades or costs other than the US, so email and ask if you're interested; apparently you can also get the Grim Reaper to sign your copy if you're so inclined.

My favorites:

"He's from Star Wars.
No, he's the Grim Reaper.
I know he's the Grim Reaper!" -- 20 year old girls

"It's 70 degrees out. Last year I was freezin' my nuts off, now I'm sweatin' my ass off." -- Zombie Clarence

so much BROOKLYN! (#91 and 91 1/2)

review from Anne: BROOKLYN: (#91)

BROOKLYN --Special Issue: Signs of the Times (#91 1/2)

24 pages, 5.5 x 8.5 $10 for a 4 issue subscription
(PAYMENT IN CASH! Fred adds: US currency please!)
Fred Argoff
Penthouse L
1170 Ocean Parkway
Brooklyn NY 11230

You know it, you love it: “The name of this zine is BROOKLYN and that's also what the zine is about, Fred's beloved borough of Brooklyn."Both of these issues are mostly photography based. There's a lot of Brooklyn history here,  If you like history, architecture, Brooklyn, urban spaces, etc. you'll want to check out this series -- aaaand I'm pleased to report that the lexicon, one of my favorite things about this series (i.e. You haven't subscribed yet? Wat the hell? You crazy, or wat?), appears again in #91.  


If you're new to all this, you should know that BROOKLYN is a long-standing awesome series that's a fun read even if you're never been to Brooklyn and maybe never will. It's all about Brooklyn (no surprise there), but it's always a combination of history, photography, and other Brooklyn related things, including Brooklyn-related zazzle.com stamps.  I've been reading for a while now and I really enjoy it; I'd recommend a subscription to get the full effect & a full dose of BROOKLYN. Overall, it's a fun read (whether you're from Brooklyn or not), and there are subscriber perks (like the special issues). The layout is crisp and easy to follow, and it's delightful to read about Brooklyn from someone who obviously loves the place. 
Always, always a fun read worth your time. So, whaddya waitin' for? Read some Brooklyn already!

STRATU'S DIARY COMIX

review from Anne: STRATU'S DIARY COMIX (Oct 2015)



10 pages,  11 inches x 8 inches, 3 US /3 Can/ 3 Mex / 3 World. Trades for comix
color cover, B&W inside with some color pages
Stuart Stratu
PO BOX 35 Marrickville NSW 2204 AUSTRALIA
sstratu@gmail.com

This is a diary comic in "about my real life" writes the author & artist. "Just like a diary, but with drawings!"  It's part of a longer series, which I've written about before, and this issue covers all of October. These are daily three-panel strips (well, except for one -- okay, two --  illness-fueled long weekends). Beer and crossword puzzles are frequent in the diary comics (including new vocabulary words, like "shebeen"), and the challenge as far as I understand it, is for one year's worth of daily comics. You gotta hand it to someone who gives it a try; I absolutely can not do any daily anything that involves comics (believe me; I have tried) or drawing or any of that, so it's neat to see how this comic is developing. It's a lot to tackle (as evidenced at one point where Stratu yells "I"m three weeks behind with my diary comics!" and his partner-in-challenge says that he's only TWO weeks behind...).  It's a fun read and worth checking out if you like diary comics.