Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Shop Locally This Holiday Season!
The Eight-Stone Press Shopping Guide offers a guide to many things indy, especially in Baltimore for this holiday season. You'll find zombies (movies and zines), ghost stories, music, t-shirts, books, food, photography and more.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
SMILE, HON Editor on INDIEBOOKMAN Radio Show
If you missed SMILE, HON editor/publisher William P. Tandy on the October 28 edition of THE INDIEBOOKMAN RADIO SHOW , you can now listen to the podcast online at http://indiebookman.podbean.com/2009/11/13/radio-show-4-william-p-tandy/. Hosted by Brad Grochowski, THE INDIEBOOKMAN is a biweekly radio show which airs on Umbrella Radio Wednesday evenings at 8:00 p.m. (EST) and explores issues related to independent publishing. Check out other episodes of THE INDIEBOOKMAN RADIO SHOW at http://indiebookman.podbean.com/.
Xerpgraphy Debt #26 Available Dec 1st!
Available from Microcosm Dec. 1st!
To order a copy of this issue, please send $3 (order online, or send cash, stamps, money order, or check) to Microcosm Publishing
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Maynard Reviews some Zines (November 2009)
Dwelling Portably, 2000-2008
$7.00; 165 pages paperback bound
www.microcosm_Publishing.com
503.232.3666
ISBN 978-1-934620-61-8
Eight years of brief, How-To essays from zine readers and from Bert and Holly – the experts in the art and science of living an off-the-grid lifestyle.
To a person trapped in a midlife crisis, with no survival skills, slowly dying of ennui and purposelessness, and hopelessly burned out by the workplace, this is the best armchair reading Fate can deliver.
To an aspiring survivalist, it's truly great stuff.
Multitude of topics are covered in the excellent index. Learn about what happens when social services finds a family living in the “wild”; how to live on an improvised boat; jug vs spray showers; solar cooking; squatting in an empty house; candles vs flashlight longterm costs.
It's all thought provoking, and makes one wonder about all the hours wasted in an office just so one can have the creature comforts, and if they are worth the effort.....
Urinal Gum, vol. 8
$2.00; ¼ sheet; 41 pages.
P.O. Box 1243
Eugene, OR 97440
urinalgum@gmail.com
www.urinalgum.com
Amusing potty-humor zine with news-like essays on random topics. Highlight is a “Field Trip to the Roller Derby Bout.” By Bjorn Stevens. Gives an excellent history and synopsis of the game, its rules and culture.
Zine contains lots of foul language and adult topics. Includes book reviews and a film review of the ancient Bond flick, Thunderball. Why? I don't know, but the review is great.
Late Night Cuddle Date, vol. 3 [2008]
No price listed.
Holden Wakefield Attradies
latenightcuddledate@hotmail.com
Not quite a poem, not quite a story, but infinitely readable, personal and vital. Somehow the author (Attradies) is able to draw people and scenes with minimal ink, with mind-blowing simplicity; a slightly heroin-tinged, muddle that takes the edge off, but gives incredible clarity.
Duplex Planet, #169
$12 / 6 issues; $25 / 15 issues (US)
$12 / 5 issues; $25 / 12 issues (Canada)
$12 / 4 issues; $25 / 10 issues (Overseas)
Back issues $2.50 ea. 10 or more $2 ea
ISSN 0882-2549
P.O. Box 1230
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
www.duplexplanet.com
Biographical interviews conducted by David Greenberger at nursing homes, adult centers and meal sites.
Gives fascinating, brief glimpses into the history, and personalities of a diverse group of older Americans. Gives one pause to think who will listen to our stories of life before the Internet, and how we weathered the crash of 1999, 2001, 2008.....
The Inner Swine, vol. 15, issue 1
$2.00; 60 pages
subscribe 1 year: $5.00; 2 years $9.00; Lifetime for $50.00 (US dollars)
P.O. Box 3024
Hoboken, NJ
07030
So you want to be a middle-aged, midlist writer? This issue covers how to achieve this remarkable goal in 3 easy steps. Amusing highlights: how to not handle criticism of your work, bad writing in movies, the uselessness of Twitter and Facebook, and a complaint about blogging. Me thinks he even took a swipe at my own self-important, economics blog. Oh well, I suppose as long as they're talking about you, that is not such a bad thing.
Or to quote a poorly remembered Chinese proverb: if the poet doesn't anger the Emperor, he isn't doing his job.
$7.00; 165 pages paperback bound
www.microcosm_Publishing.com
503.232.3666
ISBN 978-1-934620-61-8
Eight years of brief, How-To essays from zine readers and from Bert and Holly – the experts in the art and science of living an off-the-grid lifestyle.
To a person trapped in a midlife crisis, with no survival skills, slowly dying of ennui and purposelessness, and hopelessly burned out by the workplace, this is the best armchair reading Fate can deliver.
To an aspiring survivalist, it's truly great stuff.
Multitude of topics are covered in the excellent index. Learn about what happens when social services finds a family living in the “wild”; how to live on an improvised boat; jug vs spray showers; solar cooking; squatting in an empty house; candles vs flashlight longterm costs.
It's all thought provoking, and makes one wonder about all the hours wasted in an office just so one can have the creature comforts, and if they are worth the effort.....
Urinal Gum, vol. 8
$2.00; ¼ sheet; 41 pages.
P.O. Box 1243
Eugene, OR 97440
urinalgum@gmail.com
www.urinalgum.com
Amusing potty-humor zine with news-like essays on random topics. Highlight is a “Field Trip to the Roller Derby Bout.” By Bjorn Stevens. Gives an excellent history and synopsis of the game, its rules and culture.
Zine contains lots of foul language and adult topics. Includes book reviews and a film review of the ancient Bond flick, Thunderball. Why? I don't know, but the review is great.
Late Night Cuddle Date, vol. 3 [2008]
No price listed.
Holden Wakefield Attradies
latenightcuddledate@hotmail.com
Not quite a poem, not quite a story, but infinitely readable, personal and vital. Somehow the author (Attradies) is able to draw people and scenes with minimal ink, with mind-blowing simplicity; a slightly heroin-tinged, muddle that takes the edge off, but gives incredible clarity.
Duplex Planet, #169
$12 / 6 issues; $25 / 15 issues (US)
$12 / 5 issues; $25 / 12 issues (Canada)
$12 / 4 issues; $25 / 10 issues (Overseas)
Back issues $2.50 ea. 10 or more $2 ea
ISSN 0882-2549
P.O. Box 1230
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
www.duplexplanet.com
Biographical interviews conducted by David Greenberger at nursing homes, adult centers and meal sites.
Gives fascinating, brief glimpses into the history, and personalities of a diverse group of older Americans. Gives one pause to think who will listen to our stories of life before the Internet, and how we weathered the crash of 1999, 2001, 2008.....
The Inner Swine, vol. 15, issue 1
$2.00; 60 pages
subscribe 1 year: $5.00; 2 years $9.00; Lifetime for $50.00 (US dollars)
P.O. Box 3024
Hoboken, NJ
07030
So you want to be a middle-aged, midlist writer? This issue covers how to achieve this remarkable goal in 3 easy steps. Amusing highlights: how to not handle criticism of your work, bad writing in movies, the uselessness of Twitter and Facebook, and a complaint about blogging. Me thinks he even took a swipe at my own self-important, economics blog. Oh well, I suppose as long as they're talking about you, that is not such a bad thing.
Or to quote a poorly remembered Chinese proverb: if the poet doesn't anger the Emperor, he isn't doing his job.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
In My Mailbox
Here we go again: Jeff struggled out of bed and huffed on over to the PO BOx for treats:
- The Ken Chronicles ($2, Ken Bausert, 2140 Erma Drive, East Meadow, NY 11554-1120; passscribe@aol.com)
The latest issue of Ken's ongoing perzine, always a fun read.
- Blackguard #2 ($5, Box 93, Paddington NSW 2021, Australia; blackguard23.livejournal.com; sstratu@gmail.com).
Let me just say, Blackguard #2 is gorgeous. Digest-sized, full color cover, HQ paper stock—it's a delight to hold and read. I'd say it's well worth $5 (postpaid!) to get this lump of great words from Australia. Plus, they love The Swine, what more do you need?
- Rigor Mortis #2 ($3 [or 1 MRE], Davida Gypsy Breier, POB 11064, Baltimore, MD 21212; davida@leekinginc.com; www.leekinginc.com)
Joy in catville here. Another sixty pages of everything undead? Yes please.
- Smog City #1 ($4, POB 29753, Los Angeles, CA 90027; wospress@gmail.com)
An interestingly laid-out litzine with some aerchitectural surprises and plenty of fiction.
- Birdsongs by Jason Deas (3 Day Ranch Press, jasonwdeas@gmail.com). A novel, actually, available on Amazon.
- Wasted Quarter (many issues, no price or mail info listed). Certainly the address to send money to for this zine was probably included when I received them, but I can't find it printed anywhere in the actual zines. Perhaps I am an idiot. This is an interesting zine filled with a *lot* of stories, but all I can offer if you're intrigued is the email address h0nkass@aol.com. Good luck.
That's it! Hope everyone is flu-free and moderately tipsy.
L
J
--
Blog - http://www.jeffreysomers.com/blather/
The Inner Swine - http://www.innerswine.com
- The Ken Chronicles ($2, Ken Bausert, 2140 Erma Drive, East Meadow, NY 11554-1120; passscribe@aol.com)
The latest issue of Ken's ongoing perzine, always a fun read.
- Blackguard #2 ($5, Box 93, Paddington NSW 2021, Australia; blackguard23.livejournal.com; sstratu@gmail.com).
Let me just say, Blackguard #2 is gorgeous. Digest-sized, full color cover, HQ paper stock—it's a delight to hold and read. I'd say it's well worth $5 (postpaid!) to get this lump of great words from Australia. Plus, they love The Swine, what more do you need?
- Rigor Mortis #2 ($3 [or 1 MRE], Davida Gypsy Breier, POB 11064, Baltimore, MD 21212; davida@leekinginc.com; www.leekinginc.com)
Joy in catville here. Another sixty pages of everything undead? Yes please.
- Smog City #1 ($4, POB 29753, Los Angeles, CA 90027; wospress@gmail.com)
An interestingly laid-out litzine with some aerchitectural surprises and plenty of fiction.
- Birdsongs by Jason Deas (3 Day Ranch Press, jasonwdeas@gmail.com). A novel, actually, available on Amazon.
- Wasted Quarter (many issues, no price or mail info listed). Certainly the address to send money to for this zine was probably included when I received them, but I can't find it printed anywhere in the actual zines. Perhaps I am an idiot. This is an interesting zine filled with a *lot* of stories, but all I can offer if you're intrigued is the email address h0nkass@aol.com. Good luck.
That's it! Hope everyone is flu-free and moderately tipsy.
L
J
--
Blog - http://www.jeffreysomers.com/blather/
The Inner Swine - http://www.innerswine.com
Friday, October 9, 2009
COMING CLEAN - Deadline now 11/1/2009!
The deadline has been extended until NOVEMBER 1, 2009!
Call for Entries: COMING CLEAN
After zines about the laundry (Laundry Basket), grocery shopping (12 Items or Less), and cooking (Potluck), this was inevitable. The next issue of SYNDICATE PRODUCT is all about cleaning... house cleaning, washing the car, even picking up the yard debris. (However, it's NOT about laundry, as that's already been done. It's also not about packratting, as that's also been done.)
A few possible ideas:
+ apartment or house move in/out cleaning stories
+ making your own eco-friendly cleaning products
+ I hate to BLANK (dust, vacuum, clean the gutters)
+ biggest cleaning disaster
+ living with a hoarder or a neatnik
+ the most disgusting abandoned item found in the back of the fridge or shoved in a cabinet
+ what I learned about cleaning from my family/friends/ex
+ my biggest cleaning challenge is BLANK
Specifications:
Writers: I'm not going to get too hung up on length for this issue, but I would say between 400-800 words is a good size. If you need to go longer, please do. If the writing is good enough, people will want to read it to the end. I'll let you know if a piece is simply too huge.
Comic artists: The zine will be Digest Sized. Final art size should reduce to 4.5 x 7.5 inches. You can have two pages, but this can be negotiated if needed. B&W only, the zine will be photocopied. Send art as 300dpi TIF files. Also, once entries are in, I may be looking for small illustrations to accompany some of the stories.
Contributors will receive a copy of the final project.
Due date and where to submit: OCTOBER 11, 2009*. Submit your entries to syndprod@gmail.com, either by simply pasting the text into an e-mail, or as an OpenOffice, MS Word, or plain text document. If you want to mail them, send them to: A.j. Michel, PO Box 877, Lansdowne, PA 19050.
* Due date subject to extension if needed, as it usually is.
Call for Entries: COMING CLEAN
After zines about the laundry (Laundry Basket), grocery shopping (12 Items or Less), and cooking (Potluck), this was inevitable. The next issue of SYNDICATE PRODUCT is all about cleaning... house cleaning, washing the car, even picking up the yard debris. (However, it's NOT about laundry, as that's already been done. It's also not about packratting, as that's also been done.)
A few possible ideas:
+ apartment or house move in/out cleaning stories
+ making your own eco-friendly cleaning products
+ I hate to BLANK (dust, vacuum, clean the gutters)
+ biggest cleaning disaster
+ living with a hoarder or a neatnik
+ the most disgusting abandoned item found in the back of the fridge or shoved in a cabinet
+ what I learned about cleaning from my family/friends/ex
+ my biggest cleaning challenge is BLANK
Specifications:
Writers: I'm not going to get too hung up on length for this issue, but I would say between 400-800 words is a good size. If you need to go longer, please do. If the writing is good enough, people will want to read it to the end. I'll let you know if a piece is simply too huge.
Comic artists: The zine will be Digest Sized. Final art size should reduce to 4.5 x 7.5 inches. You can have two pages, but this can be negotiated if needed. B&W only, the zine will be photocopied. Send art as 300dpi TIF files. Also, once entries are in, I may be looking for small illustrations to accompany some of the stories.
Contributors will receive a copy of the final project.
Due date and where to submit: OCTOBER 11, 2009*. Submit your entries to syndprod@gmail.com, either by simply pasting the text into an e-mail, or as an OpenOffice, MS Word, or plain text document. If you want to mail them, send them to: A.j. Michel, PO Box 877, Lansdowne, PA 19050.
* Due date subject to extension if needed, as it usually is.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
RIGOR MORTIS Outbreak
Announcing the outbreak of RIGOR MORTIS #2 from its Baltimore-based containment facilities. Horror fans are advised to recognize and beware of the symptoms associated with the zine’s sophomore issue, including, but not limited to:
- Dread Sockett aims for the heart of Klaus Kinski’s Nosferatu;
- Colin Cthulhu rises from the grave in defense of the “ZomCom”;
- DeadVida survives a night in Colorado’s legendary Stanley Hotel;
- John Carpenter’s THE FOG weathers Grim Pickens’s sea trials;
- “Christian horror”, paranormal reality shows, plus a whole lot more.
Written and illustrated by long-time fixtures in the underground press, RIGOR MORTIS digs into the world of horror with a decided focus on the undead and their perennial roles in pop culture, offering essays, reviews and in-depth analysis of films, books, comics, graphic novels, websites and more. From the Resurrection to REANIMATOR, the timeless influences of RIGOR MORTIS #2 will surely appeal to shamblers and sprinters alike.
Supplementing the print edition, the RIGOR MORTIS blog (http://livingdeadzine.blogspot.com/) offers timely updates of all things undead.
RIGOR MORTIS is a Leeking Inc. production and is available for purchase from Atomic Books (http://atomicbooks.com/products/-/13536.html), Microcosm Publishing (http://www.microcosmpublishing.com) and Quimby’s (http://www.quimbys.com), or directly from the publisher (PayPal accepted). For more information, contact:
Davida Gypsy Breier
C/o Leeking Inc.
P.O. Box 11064
Baltimore, Maryland 21212
Paypal to: Davida@leekinginc.com
http://www.leekinginc.com
- Dread Sockett aims for the heart of Klaus Kinski’s Nosferatu;
- Colin Cthulhu rises from the grave in defense of the “ZomCom”;
- DeadVida survives a night in Colorado’s legendary Stanley Hotel;
- John Carpenter’s THE FOG weathers Grim Pickens’s sea trials;
- “Christian horror”, paranormal reality shows, plus a whole lot more.
Written and illustrated by long-time fixtures in the underground press, RIGOR MORTIS digs into the world of horror with a decided focus on the undead and their perennial roles in pop culture, offering essays, reviews and in-depth analysis of films, books, comics, graphic novels, websites and more. From the Resurrection to REANIMATOR, the timeless influences of RIGOR MORTIS #2 will surely appeal to shamblers and sprinters alike.
Supplementing the print edition, the RIGOR MORTIS blog (http://livingdeadzine.blogspot.com/) offers timely updates of all things undead.
RIGOR MORTIS is a Leeking Inc. production and is available for purchase from Atomic Books (http://atomicbooks.com/products/-/13536.html), Microcosm Publishing (http://www.microcosmpublishing.com) and Quimby’s (http://www.quimbys.com), or directly from the publisher (PayPal accepted). For more information, contact:
Davida Gypsy Breier
C/o Leeking Inc.
P.O. Box 11064
Baltimore, Maryland 21212
Paypal to: Davida@leekinginc.com
http://www.leekinginc.com
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Birthing Zine Call for Stories
"I'm interested in compiling a zine of birthing stories, but not only birthing in the conventional way. Did you have a baby? Did your partner have a baby? Did you adopt a baby? Do you know the story of your own birth and would like to share it? Did you choose not to have a birthing story (i.e. abortion)? Did your birthing story end due to miscarriage, still birth, or another ending? What is your story and do you want to share it? We all have different stories, and some are more accepted than others. I'd like to put them all together."
"If you have a story you'd like to tell, please send entries to rebekahb@temple.edu or hard copies to Rebekah B/PO Box 3786/Philadelphia, PA 19125. I'd love to have submissions by December 1st."
"If you have a story you'd like to tell, please send entries to rebekahb@temple.edu or hard copies to Rebekah B/PO Box 3786/Philadelphia, PA 19125. I'd love to have submissions by December 1st."
Sunday, September 20, 2009
NERVES #4- I’ve gotta admit, I do enjoy it when a zine comes with a CD. Unfortunately in this case I haven’t had a chance to listen to the CD, which contains music made by the zine’s author Alex along with a few other songs, but it’s the principle of the thing. It shows that Alex cares enough to throw in something extra. As for the zine itself...well, it was pretty doggone good. Plain text with a few photos interspersed to spice things up. It’s mostly short pieces- Van Reviews where Alex talks about van’s he’s owned, Airport Reviews, and Oral Surgeon reviews (which includes the suggestion “Go to the dentist more than once every 10 years” which is advice I oughta follow) It’s a pretty quick read, but I rather enjoyed it. 16 pages quarter size + a CD Send $5 or a trade to Alex 1920 North Kedzie Ave #3 Chicago IL 60647 www.some-music.org alexh@riseup.net
MILKYBOOTS #6 The author says this is “a diary comic about daily life for Virginia (the author) in simple black & white line drawings.” Now look, I kow the little form you fill out asks a description, but when you’re that succinct about it it really doesn’t leave the reviewer with much to do. Virginia’s own description pretty much sums it up. Though I do beg to differ about the “simple” line art. It’s not exactly highly detailed, but it’s much more than just stick figures. Some of the pages are funny, some are sad, some are somewhere in between and some just are. I liked this one. 16 half size pages. send $2 or trade (maybe) to Virginia Paine 3712 NE 13th Ave, Portland OR 97212 vlpaine@yahoo.com, milkyboots.blogspot.com
CULTIVATOR #1- This one looks just like an old school zine. Cut & paste back when it referred to actually cutting and pasting pieces of paper to each other instead of just making a few clicks on your mouse. The theme of this issue is “Know your place” where the author writes about the place that she both grew up and recently moved back to, the city of St. Catharines ONT. She examines it then and now and I found it quite interesting, especially her discussion of how from one of the largest producers of bikes in all of Canada to a place that barely even welcomes bike riding. Speaking of which, this zine contains a picture of a guy riding one of those old timey bikes with the giant front wheel and the tiny back wheel to illustrate her hometown’s bike obsession. (Yes, I know these bikes are called Penny Farthings, but if I’d have just said “a penny farthing” you may not have known what they were.) (Oooh... I’m totally going to type “penny farthing” into Scribblenauts and see what happens.) At any rate, I got to wondering just whose idea these bikes were? They seem very difficult just to get seated on, they can’t go very fast and they seem quite dangerous to fall off of. Since they didn’t have a lot of electrical devices back then you’d think at the very least they could have taken the time to perfect the design of what they did have. Maybe people really were stupider back then, but you’d think the guy who invented bikes would be smart enough to take another few minutes to make both wheels the both size. OK, I liked this zine. Good stuff. 40 pages, 4.5 x 5.5 Send $2 or a trade to Kate Andres-Toal 16 Atwood St., St. Catharines, ON, L2R 1H1, Canada
RICOCHET, RICOCHET #8- This is another zine that looks like and old school zine. But the typewriter they used for parts of this zine needs a new ribbon. And I can’t quite read some of the handwriting. However, it does come with a free CD and as I mentioned previously, I always like that. I didn’t get a chance to listen to this one either. As far as the overall content of the zine it’s pretty good. Not quite the kind of thing I tend to read but good nonetheless. Some zine reviews, a bit on Prop 8 (which is funny just because they’re from England and I can’t imagine any American zine caring enough to write a piece related to American politics. Not even American politics, but California politics. Maybe Americans are just apathetic goofs.) and dueling restaurant reviews by a married couple who were visiting San Francisco which I liked. Pretty good, but some parts just aren’t as readable as they could (or should be) Half size send $3 US or 80p UK or trade to Colly & Paffy 3d Worlingham Rd, London Se22 9HD UK, ricochetricochet@yahoo.co.uk
ETC #4- LIFT OFF- A lit zine made up of art and writing of a variety of people, but the main architects appear to be Dan Folgar and Chris Wiewiora. Like most zines of this type it’s a hit or miss affair. I liked the comics, didn’t care much for the poems (and to be fair I never care for any poetry) and I found the fiction to be kind of a mixed bag. It’s definitely a nice looking package with a nice cardboard cover. Lots of care clearly went into the layout and it shows. I’d say it’s worth reading even if the whole thing isn’t your cup of tea. Half size send $4 to ETC zine, PO Box 678421 Orlando FL 32867-8421 ETCzine@gmail.com
WTF? #1: JETSET ANALOG FUTURE- This is also sort of a lit zine, but by only one author. I rather enjoyed most of it. The Dystopian Tales are funny (I even kinda liked the poems) There are a few bits that kinda fall flat, but they are pretty short so I can deal with them. It’s well done, especially for a first issue. Certainly worth a read if you’re into a humorous lit zine kinda deal. Half size, 24 pages, send $3 to DJ Burnett PO Box 131 Fryburg, PA 16326 djburnett@yahoo.com
MILKYBOOTS #6 The author says this is “a diary comic about daily life for Virginia (the author) in simple black & white line drawings.” Now look, I kow the little form you fill out asks a description, but when you’re that succinct about it it really doesn’t leave the reviewer with much to do. Virginia’s own description pretty much sums it up. Though I do beg to differ about the “simple” line art. It’s not exactly highly detailed, but it’s much more than just stick figures. Some of the pages are funny, some are sad, some are somewhere in between and some just are. I liked this one. 16 half size pages. send $2 or trade (maybe) to Virginia Paine 3712 NE 13th Ave, Portland OR 97212 vlpaine@yahoo.com, milkyboots.blogspot.com
CULTIVATOR #1- This one looks just like an old school zine. Cut & paste back when it referred to actually cutting and pasting pieces of paper to each other instead of just making a few clicks on your mouse. The theme of this issue is “Know your place” where the author writes about the place that she both grew up and recently moved back to, the city of St. Catharines ONT. She examines it then and now and I found it quite interesting, especially her discussion of how from one of the largest producers of bikes in all of Canada to a place that barely even welcomes bike riding. Speaking of which, this zine contains a picture of a guy riding one of those old timey bikes with the giant front wheel and the tiny back wheel to illustrate her hometown’s bike obsession. (Yes, I know these bikes are called Penny Farthings, but if I’d have just said “a penny farthing” you may not have known what they were.) (Oooh... I’m totally going to type “penny farthing” into Scribblenauts and see what happens.) At any rate, I got to wondering just whose idea these bikes were? They seem very difficult just to get seated on, they can’t go very fast and they seem quite dangerous to fall off of. Since they didn’t have a lot of electrical devices back then you’d think at the very least they could have taken the time to perfect the design of what they did have. Maybe people really were stupider back then, but you’d think the guy who invented bikes would be smart enough to take another few minutes to make both wheels the both size. OK, I liked this zine. Good stuff. 40 pages, 4.5 x 5.5 Send $2 or a trade to Kate Andres-Toal 16 Atwood St., St. Catharines, ON, L2R 1H1, Canada
RICOCHET, RICOCHET #8- This is another zine that looks like and old school zine. But the typewriter they used for parts of this zine needs a new ribbon. And I can’t quite read some of the handwriting. However, it does come with a free CD and as I mentioned previously, I always like that. I didn’t get a chance to listen to this one either. As far as the overall content of the zine it’s pretty good. Not quite the kind of thing I tend to read but good nonetheless. Some zine reviews, a bit on Prop 8 (which is funny just because they’re from England and I can’t imagine any American zine caring enough to write a piece related to American politics. Not even American politics, but California politics. Maybe Americans are just apathetic goofs.) and dueling restaurant reviews by a married couple who were visiting San Francisco which I liked. Pretty good, but some parts just aren’t as readable as they could (or should be) Half size send $3 US or 80p UK or trade to Colly & Paffy 3d Worlingham Rd, London Se22 9HD UK, ricochetricochet@yahoo.co.uk
ETC #4- LIFT OFF- A lit zine made up of art and writing of a variety of people, but the main architects appear to be Dan Folgar and Chris Wiewiora. Like most zines of this type it’s a hit or miss affair. I liked the comics, didn’t care much for the poems (and to be fair I never care for any poetry) and I found the fiction to be kind of a mixed bag. It’s definitely a nice looking package with a nice cardboard cover. Lots of care clearly went into the layout and it shows. I’d say it’s worth reading even if the whole thing isn’t your cup of tea. Half size send $4 to ETC zine, PO Box 678421 Orlando FL 32867-8421 ETCzine@gmail.com
WTF? #1: JETSET ANALOG FUTURE- This is also sort of a lit zine, but by only one author. I rather enjoyed most of it. The Dystopian Tales are funny (I even kinda liked the poems) There are a few bits that kinda fall flat, but they are pretty short so I can deal with them. It’s well done, especially for a first issue. Certainly worth a read if you’re into a humorous lit zine kinda deal. Half size, 24 pages, send $3 to DJ Burnett PO Box 131 Fryburg, PA 16326 djburnett@yahoo.com
Friday, September 18, 2009
In My Mailbox 9-18-09
Hola,
Today may well be the best weather since the formation of the world, at least in Hoboken, NJ. So naturally I put on my walking pants and wandered over to my PO Box. The children teased me cruelly as I huffed and puffed my way there, but I made it! I am an hero.
Aside from some letters (including one from a prisoner who had his issue kicked back because I dared to include a sticker, which is a new reason for the prison system to treat me like I'm trying to raise an army of felons with which to conquer America), I got:
- Worst Future Ever! #1 and #2 ($1 / trade, JD, POB 340971, Columbus, OH 43234; worstfutureever.blogspot.com). A neat, slim digest-sized that considers the various ways in which the future sucks in the imagination. Issue #1 has as a theme the Red Menace and explores films like Red Dawn and Amerika in brief essays; #2 gives the 1990s the same treatment.
- Johnny America #7 ($4 US, $5 Canadian in Canada, 3 pounds for UK, POB 44-2001, Lawrence, Kansas, 66044; www.johnnyamerica.net/store) The McSweeneys of zines returns to my mailbox with a nice-looking issue made of heavy, good quality paper, a nifty purple cover, and many words. Which is, I confess, how I like my zines.
And that was it. I tned to get a lot more correspondence than zines these days, for some reason. Perhaps folks want to keep the mail coming but aren't putting out issues any more - who knows? I myself just went from 4 issues to 2 a year, so maybe it's just the continental drift of the DIY pub world.
J
Today may well be the best weather since the formation of the world, at least in Hoboken, NJ. So naturally I put on my walking pants and wandered over to my PO Box. The children teased me cruelly as I huffed and puffed my way there, but I made it! I am an hero.
Aside from some letters (including one from a prisoner who had his issue kicked back because I dared to include a sticker, which is a new reason for the prison system to treat me like I'm trying to raise an army of felons with which to conquer America), I got:
- Worst Future Ever! #1 and #2 ($1 / trade, JD, POB 340971, Columbus, OH 43234; worstfutureever.blogspot.com). A neat, slim digest-sized that considers the various ways in which the future sucks in the imagination. Issue #1 has as a theme the Red Menace and explores films like Red Dawn and Amerika in brief essays; #2 gives the 1990s the same treatment.
- Johnny America #7 ($4 US, $5 Canadian in Canada, 3 pounds for UK, POB 44-2001, Lawrence, Kansas, 66044; www.johnnyamerica.net/store) The McSweeneys of zines returns to my mailbox with a nice-looking issue made of heavy, good quality paper, a nifty purple cover, and many words. Which is, I confess, how I like my zines.
And that was it. I tned to get a lot more correspondence than zines these days, for some reason. Perhaps folks want to keep the mail coming but aren't putting out issues any more - who knows? I myself just went from 4 issues to 2 a year, so maybe it's just the continental drift of the DIY pub world.
J
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
2 by Kelly Froh, plus Brooklyn!
DEBBIE'S STORY(2009) and THE FIVE YEAR ITCH OF DOROTHY BARRY (2008)
both by Kelly Froh
quarter size, 28 pp with color cover (Debbie's Story), 46 pp. (Itch), $2 US/world ?, trades ?
414 12th Ave E
Seattle, WA 98102
www.kellyfroh.blogspot.com
I love these little comics. The titles are fairly self-explanatory; the first being the story of a woman named Debbie: "She's my mom's sister, who kinda let herself go. She was always cheerful, with pink cheeks. She wore sweatpants, even on Thanksgiving, and still to this day has huge glasses." Debbie, it turns out, has a semi-secret former life, far more exciting than her current one, and it's both a cute read (the drawings and linework are charming) and sort of heartbreaking (in that 'you get what you settle for' sense). The second, the story of a woman in an assisted living home who from time to time would become something of a menace, much to the consternation of the entire staff. Turns out that every five years Dorothy Barry (not her real name!) would go on a rampage of sorts...and to tell you more might ruin the story. Both of these comics are worth tracking down. They're these evocative little books that are charming and I think you'll like them. See for yourself....
BROOKLYN! #65-
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
As was said in an earlier review: "The name of this zine is BROOKLYN and that's also what the zine is about, Fred's beloved borough of Brooklyn." I always enjoy reading an issue when it appears in my mailbox; this issue includes a rewrite of a fairy tale entitled "Jack be Nimble, Jack be Quick, Jack be from Brooklyn" which is, as you'd expect, full of Brooklyn references. It's the first story in an issue that's kind of the Big Book of Brooklyn Fables; Lady Godiva riding through Park Slope, Peter Piper, Humpty-freakin'-Dumpty, ok?, Brooklyn-style nursery rhymes, and so on. I'm not from Brooklyn, though I have a few connections there, but I found the whole thing really entertaining. It's worth reading. I've never read an issue of BROOKLYN! that I didn't enjoy.
both by Kelly Froh
quarter size, 28 pp with color cover (Debbie's Story), 46 pp. (Itch), $2 US/world ?, trades ?
414 12th Ave E
Seattle, WA 98102
www.kellyfroh.blogspot.com
I love these little comics. The titles are fairly self-explanatory; the first being the story of a woman named Debbie: "She's my mom's sister, who kinda let herself go. She was always cheerful, with pink cheeks. She wore sweatpants, even on Thanksgiving, and still to this day has huge glasses." Debbie, it turns out, has a semi-secret former life, far more exciting than her current one, and it's both a cute read (the drawings and linework are charming) and sort of heartbreaking (in that 'you get what you settle for' sense). The second, the story of a woman in an assisted living home who from time to time would become something of a menace, much to the consternation of the entire staff. Turns out that every five years Dorothy Barry (not her real name!) would go on a rampage of sorts...and to tell you more might ruin the story. Both of these comics are worth tracking down. They're these evocative little books that are charming and I think you'll like them. See for yourself....
BROOKLYN! #65-
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
As was said in an earlier review: "The name of this zine is BROOKLYN and that's also what the zine is about, Fred's beloved borough of Brooklyn." I always enjoy reading an issue when it appears in my mailbox; this issue includes a rewrite of a fairy tale entitled "Jack be Nimble, Jack be Quick, Jack be from Brooklyn" which is, as you'd expect, full of Brooklyn references. It's the first story in an issue that's kind of the Big Book of Brooklyn Fables; Lady Godiva riding through Park Slope, Peter Piper, Humpty-freakin'-Dumpty, ok?, Brooklyn-style nursery rhymes, and so on. I'm not from Brooklyn, though I have a few connections there, but I found the whole thing really entertaining. It's worth reading. I've never read an issue of BROOKLYN! that I didn't enjoy.
Monday, September 14, 2009
New Reviews
Some today, more tomorrow...
MY TIME ANNIHILATOR- A BRIEF HISTORY OF 1930’S SCIENCE FICTION FANZINES- I got a zine pet peeve. A lot of zinesters today think that zines started with the Punk zines of the 1970’s which is just not true. I don’t quite know how far back you can trade modern day zines, but you can definitely trace a straight line from zines today back to the sci-fi zines of the 30’s as this zine attempts to show. It all starts when the author of the zine finds something called “The Fanzine Index- From 1937 to the Present.” which was about 1952. He tries to do some research, but reaches dead ends until he finds a fanzine collection in Temple University and finds that this is his “ticket to a lackluster world of 1930’s zine trades, cancelled postage stamps, lazer battles and types” I thought his findings were quite interesting and would be of interest to any zine geek. What really struck m as funny was how little has really changed. The same basic breeds of people do zines now as did them then. 1/4 size, 30 pages, no author listed but I got my copy for $1 at this link right here- http://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/zines/2841/
THE RAINBOW CONNECTION- RICHARD HUNT, GAY MUPPETEER- I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again (though I don’t quite understand why I find myself saying it so often)- if you don’t like the Muppet Show you’re probably an asshole. It’s possible there are some non-assholes out there who don’t like the Muppet Show just like there are some non-assholes who don’t like the Ramones, but a dislike of the Muppet Show is certainly symptomatic of asshole-ism. At any rate, I’ve recently been going through a Muppet phase so I was pretty excited to see a zine about the Muppeteer who did the characters of Scooter, Statler, Beaker & Janice and the Sesame Street characters Gladys the Cow, Forgetful Jones & Bert’s nephew Brad who I mention just because I always got a kick out of him. Like me the author was also a Muppet fan who found herself going through a Muppet phase when she found that Richard Hunt died of AIDS in 1992 which got her curious about him and his work sp she made this zine about him and his work and the subtext behind it all. In addition to being a biography of Richard Hunt it also features short biographies of some of the female Muppeteers. Must read if you’re a Muppet fan. gaymuppeteer@gmail.com 1/2 legal, 82 pages I got it for $7 at Microcosm and the link is here-http://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/zines/2858/
HUNGOVER GOURMET #11- This is the “super sized” final issue which is kind of sad since it was a fine zine, but I guess it’s better to call it quits than to keep on going and doing it half assed. This is a zine about food and this issue is fairly coffee-centric with writings on coffee from a variety of writers. Everything from a history of coffee to a piece on coffee enemas to why Dunkin Donuts is better than Starbucks. But my favorite piece in the issue was Louis Fowler’s article “Stupid Size Me” in which he attempts to make it through a whole week on only $20 worth of groceries because apparently some politician said people wouldn’t need welfare if they only spent $20 a week on groceries. There’s no attribution to this quote so to be honest I have no idea if any politician said anything of the sort. It sure sounds too stupid to be true, but politicians being what they are I wouldn’t put it past them. And the article is entertaining enough that it doesn’t matter. Not only is it funny, it also makes a serious point about why so many poor people are so obese. This zine is god stuff all around. half size, 44 pages, send $3 to Dan taylor, PO Box 5531, Lutherville MD 21094-5531 www.hungovergourmet.com hungovergourmet.blogspot.com editor@hungovergourmet,.com
MY TIME ANNIHILATOR- A BRIEF HISTORY OF 1930’S SCIENCE FICTION FANZINES- I got a zine pet peeve. A lot of zinesters today think that zines started with the Punk zines of the 1970’s which is just not true. I don’t quite know how far back you can trade modern day zines, but you can definitely trace a straight line from zines today back to the sci-fi zines of the 30’s as this zine attempts to show. It all starts when the author of the zine finds something called “The Fanzine Index- From 1937 to the Present.” which was about 1952. He tries to do some research, but reaches dead ends until he finds a fanzine collection in Temple University and finds that this is his “ticket to a lackluster world of 1930’s zine trades, cancelled postage stamps, lazer battles and types” I thought his findings were quite interesting and would be of interest to any zine geek. What really struck m as funny was how little has really changed. The same basic breeds of people do zines now as did them then. 1/4 size, 30 pages, no author listed but I got my copy for $1 at this link right here- http://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/zines/2841/
THE RAINBOW CONNECTION- RICHARD HUNT, GAY MUPPETEER- I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again (though I don’t quite understand why I find myself saying it so often)- if you don’t like the Muppet Show you’re probably an asshole. It’s possible there are some non-assholes out there who don’t like the Muppet Show just like there are some non-assholes who don’t like the Ramones, but a dislike of the Muppet Show is certainly symptomatic of asshole-ism. At any rate, I’ve recently been going through a Muppet phase so I was pretty excited to see a zine about the Muppeteer who did the characters of Scooter, Statler, Beaker & Janice and the Sesame Street characters Gladys the Cow, Forgetful Jones & Bert’s nephew Brad who I mention just because I always got a kick out of him. Like me the author was also a Muppet fan who found herself going through a Muppet phase when she found that Richard Hunt died of AIDS in 1992 which got her curious about him and his work sp she made this zine about him and his work and the subtext behind it all. In addition to being a biography of Richard Hunt it also features short biographies of some of the female Muppeteers. Must read if you’re a Muppet fan. gaymuppeteer@gmail.com 1/2 legal, 82 pages I got it for $7 at Microcosm and the link is here-http://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/zines/2858/
HUNGOVER GOURMET #11- This is the “super sized” final issue which is kind of sad since it was a fine zine, but I guess it’s better to call it quits than to keep on going and doing it half assed. This is a zine about food and this issue is fairly coffee-centric with writings on coffee from a variety of writers. Everything from a history of coffee to a piece on coffee enemas to why Dunkin Donuts is better than Starbucks. But my favorite piece in the issue was Louis Fowler’s article “Stupid Size Me” in which he attempts to make it through a whole week on only $20 worth of groceries because apparently some politician said people wouldn’t need welfare if they only spent $20 a week on groceries. There’s no attribution to this quote so to be honest I have no idea if any politician said anything of the sort. It sure sounds too stupid to be true, but politicians being what they are I wouldn’t put it past them. And the article is entertaining enough that it doesn’t matter. Not only is it funny, it also makes a serious point about why so many poor people are so obese. This zine is god stuff all around. half size, 44 pages, send $3 to Dan taylor, PO Box 5531, Lutherville MD 21094-5531 www.hungovergourmet.com hungovergourmet.blogspot.com editor@hungovergourmet,.com
Friday, September 11, 2009
NODE PAJOMO (Summer 2009)
by Pjm
4 ¼ x 5 ¼, 24 pp., $1 US/ $2 world, no trades
PO Box 2632
Bellingham, WA 98227
nodepajomo@gmail.com
”Mail art contact zine in the spirit of Global Mail!” joyfully proclaims the information form stapled onto this zine, billed as an “analog beacon in the digital fog” and it’s kind of charming. It’s a pretty extensive listing of different Mail Art projects from a variety of different people throughout the world and folks are encouraged to send in their information. The deadlines are the fifteenth of March, July, November and the issues are published on the first of April, August, and December. Good resource if you’re into mail art.
NARCOLEPSY PRESS REVIEW (Summer 2009)
by Randy Robbins
digest-size 36 pp., $3 US/$? World, trades okay? (email to check)
PO Box 17131
Anaheim, CA 92817-7131
narcolepsypresszine@hotmail.com
”With all the zine trading going on I had a lot of zines to write up, and thus Narcolepsy Press Review was born, mostly all zine reviews” writes Randy in the zine’s introduction, and he’s right: the bulk of this zine is reviews (well-written and very interesting) and also includes a very compelling autobio piece about the publisher’s heart transplant in early 2008. Certainly worth checking out for that alone.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Worst Future Ever (#1)
WORST FUTURE EVER #1 ("The red menace")
digest, "8 pages folded over"
$1 (US), $2 (world) ("for US, I will accept one stamp also"), trades OK
c/o J.D.
P.O. Box 340971
Columbus, OH 43234
worstfutureever@gmail.com
http://www.worstfutureever.blogspot.com
J.D. sums up this first issue pretty succinctly in the zine description on XD's zine review info sheet: "The focus of this zine is how people imagines the future would turn out for the worst. This issue concerns people's fixation of a global communist takeover. To that end, movies like Red Dawn, and TV shows like Amerika, are analyzed from a personal perspective." For a first issue, the layout is uncomplicated and the zine well-organized. It's fairly text-heavy, though there are images incorporated into the text. I think, in time, there might be more to it; the issue itself is somewhat short and the reviews and analysis very much come from a personal perspective (what high school teacher has his or her class watch Red Dawn over and over again?! Yikes!). It'll be interesting to see how this zine develops in later issues; I'm not sure if the theme will switch from "The Red Menace!" to something else, but we shall see...
digest, "8 pages folded over"
$1 (US), $2 (world) ("for US, I will accept one stamp also"), trades OK
c/o J.D.
P.O. Box 340971
Columbus, OH 43234
worstfutureever@gmail.com
http://www.worstfutureever.blogspot.com
J.D. sums up this first issue pretty succinctly in the zine description on XD's zine review info sheet: "The focus of this zine is how people imagines the future would turn out for the worst. This issue concerns people's fixation of a global communist takeover. To that end, movies like Red Dawn, and TV shows like Amerika, are analyzed from a personal perspective." For a first issue, the layout is uncomplicated and the zine well-organized. It's fairly text-heavy, though there are images incorporated into the text. I think, in time, there might be more to it; the issue itself is somewhat short and the reviews and analysis very much come from a personal perspective (what high school teacher has his or her class watch Red Dawn over and over again?! Yikes!). It'll be interesting to see how this zine develops in later issues; I'm not sure if the theme will switch from "The Red Menace!" to something else, but we shall see...
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Anne Reviews In Waves
To start, quick reviews of zines I got in trade (so I guess trades would be okay?)
BREAKFAST #5
Half size, $3
c/o Vincent Voelz,
575 12th Ave #3,
San Francisco, CA 94118;
vvoelz@gmail.com, http://www.breakfastzine.com/
A new favorite for me (and very well might be for you). It’s fall here in New England, and that means cider doughnuts, and the timing of this zine in my mailbox could not have been better. This issue’s loaded with donuts—“new insights into donut phylogeny” graces the cover – but there’s other food goodies in there, from Hawaiian cuisine to a guest piece by Gianni Simone about funky New Year’s eats in Japan. But man oh man do I want to go to Voodoo Doughnuts something fierce now.
The Ken Chronicles #12
Digest size, $2
Ken Bausert,
2140 Erma Drive,
East Meadow, NY 11554-1120;
passscribe@aol.com; http://thekenbausertchronicles.blogspot.com/
Described pretty accurately elsewhere here (has everyone else been reading this longer than I have?) as a slice-of-life zine, I enjoyed reading though the back issues I was sent. Straightforward, funny and well-written, worth your time & money.
...and the first wave of what surprised me in my mailbox this time:
THE INDIFFERENCE OF PLACES (Summer 2009)
by Carolee Gilligan Wheeler
6 ¼ x 7 1/2, 52 pp., $4 US/ $5 world, no trades
PO Box 19706
Stanford, CA 94309
carolee@superdilettante.com
http://www.superdilettante.com/
Described as “Prague, regret, anticipating, letdown, Berlin, loneliness, heartsickness, jet lag, travel, running away” this zine is oddly haunting and heartsick. It stayed with me long after I’d finished reading it, not only because it presents such a muted view of Prague and I’d just started planning a trip to Prague when I read it, but because the composition is so visually evocative and beautiful even when Wheeler’s writing about being miserable: “with my eyes and mind I can see how stunning and impressive Prague is, but my heart is cold” she writes, and she’s so stark about this chill that you begin to feel it as well. It’s not a cheery read, but it’s beautifully produced and I am so totally a sucker for pretty handwriting. (I am, however, inspired to make my own Prague zine if I go…!)
LADY CHURCHILL’S ROSEBUD WRISTLET (#24)
(half-legal?), 60 pp. $5, no trades (but a host of subscription options; check out the website)Small Beer Press
150 Pleasant St. #306
Easthampton MA 01027
http://www.smallbeerpress.com/
info@lcrw.net
I’ve only recently become something of a fan of LCRW; it’s a literary magazine with beautiful production values; impeccable layout and the guts of the thing are good too: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, a comic by Abby Denson, and quirky spot illos by Anna Sears. It’s made me want to start reading new short fiction again, and I’m always really excited when it appears in my mailbox because it’s never hit a wrong note with me. Lovely as ever (and congrats to Gavin & Kelly on their best reason to miss a deadline!)
PERMANENT INK (#11, Summer 2008)
5 ½ x 6 ½, 36 pp. $?, trades? (print run of 500?)
PureInjoyment Press
www.flickr.com/dystova
diovaone@yahoo.com
Near as I can tell, this zine’s about photos of graffiti. There’s some prose text and some cut & paste zine aciton, but for the most part this zine reproduces graffiti art. Kind of interesting, kind of weird, might be your thing. Covers look hand-screened, which is a nice touch.
BREAKFAST #5
Half size, $3
c/o Vincent Voelz,
575 12th Ave #3,
San Francisco, CA 94118;
vvoelz@gmail.com, http://www.breakfastzine.com/
A new favorite for me (and very well might be for you). It’s fall here in New England, and that means cider doughnuts, and the timing of this zine in my mailbox could not have been better. This issue’s loaded with donuts—“new insights into donut phylogeny” graces the cover – but there’s other food goodies in there, from Hawaiian cuisine to a guest piece by Gianni Simone about funky New Year’s eats in Japan. But man oh man do I want to go to Voodoo Doughnuts something fierce now.
The Ken Chronicles #12
Digest size, $2
Ken Bausert,
2140 Erma Drive,
East Meadow, NY 11554-1120;
passscribe@aol.com; http://thekenbausertchronicles.blogspot.com/
Described pretty accurately elsewhere here (has everyone else been reading this longer than I have?) as a slice-of-life zine, I enjoyed reading though the back issues I was sent. Straightforward, funny and well-written, worth your time & money.
...and the first wave of what surprised me in my mailbox this time:
THE INDIFFERENCE OF PLACES (Summer 2009)
by Carolee Gilligan Wheeler
6 ¼ x 7 1/2, 52 pp., $4 US/ $5 world, no trades
PO Box 19706
Stanford, CA 94309
carolee@superdilettante.com
http://www.superdilettante.com/
Described as “Prague, regret, anticipating, letdown, Berlin, loneliness, heartsickness, jet lag, travel, running away” this zine is oddly haunting and heartsick. It stayed with me long after I’d finished reading it, not only because it presents such a muted view of Prague and I’d just started planning a trip to Prague when I read it, but because the composition is so visually evocative and beautiful even when Wheeler’s writing about being miserable: “with my eyes and mind I can see how stunning and impressive Prague is, but my heart is cold” she writes, and she’s so stark about this chill that you begin to feel it as well. It’s not a cheery read, but it’s beautifully produced and I am so totally a sucker for pretty handwriting. (I am, however, inspired to make my own Prague zine if I go…!)
LADY CHURCHILL’S ROSEBUD WRISTLET (#24)
(half-legal?), 60 pp. $5, no trades (but a host of subscription options; check out the website)Small Beer Press
150 Pleasant St. #306
Easthampton MA 01027
http://www.smallbeerpress.com/
info@lcrw.net
I’ve only recently become something of a fan of LCRW; it’s a literary magazine with beautiful production values; impeccable layout and the guts of the thing are good too: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, a comic by Abby Denson, and quirky spot illos by Anna Sears. It’s made me want to start reading new short fiction again, and I’m always really excited when it appears in my mailbox because it’s never hit a wrong note with me. Lovely as ever (and congrats to Gavin & Kelly on their best reason to miss a deadline!)
PERMANENT INK (#11, Summer 2008)
5 ½ x 6 ½, 36 pp. $?, trades? (print run of 500?)
PureInjoyment Press
www.flickr.com/dystova
diovaone@yahoo.com
Near as I can tell, this zine’s about photos of graffiti. There’s some prose text and some cut & paste zine aciton, but for the most part this zine reproduces graffiti art. Kind of interesting, kind of weird, might be your thing. Covers look hand-screened, which is a nice touch.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Call for Entries: COMING CLEAN
After zines about the laundry (Laundry Basket), grocery shopping (12 Items or Less), and cooking (Potluck), this was inevitable. The next issue of SYNDICATE PRODUCT is all about cleaning... house cleaning, washing the car, even picking up the yard debris. (However, it's NOT about laundry, as that's already been done. It's also not about packratting, as that's also been done.)
A few possible ideas:
+ apartment or house move in/out cleaning stories
+ making your own eco-friendly cleaning products
+ I hate to BLANK (dust, vacuum, clean the gutters)
+ biggest cleaning disaster
+ living with a hoarder or a neatnik
+ the most disgusting abandoned item found in the back of the fridge or shoved in a cabinet
+ what I learned about cleaning from my family/friends/ex
+ my biggest cleaning challenge is BLANK
Specifications:
Writers: I'm not going to get too hung up on length for this issue, but I would say between 400-800 words is a good size. If you need to go longer, please do. If the writing is good enough, people will want to read it to the end. I'll let you know if a piece is simply too huge.
Comic artists: The zine will be Digest Sized. Final art size should reduce to 4.5 x 7.5 inches. You can have two pages, but this can be negotiated if needed. B&W only, the zine will be photocopied. Send art as 300dpi TIF files. Also, once entries are in, I may be looking for small illustrations to accompany some of the stories.
Contributors will receive a copy of the final project.
Due date and where to submit: OCTOBER 11, 2009*. Submit your entries to syndprod@gmail.com, either by simply pasting the text into an e-mail, or as an OpenOffice, MS Word, or plain text document. If you want to mail them, send them to: A.j. Michel, PO Box 877, Lansdowne, PA 19050.
* Due date subject to extension if needed, as it usually is.
A few possible ideas:
+ apartment or house move in/out cleaning stories
+ making your own eco-friendly cleaning products
+ I hate to BLANK (dust, vacuum, clean the gutters)
+ biggest cleaning disaster
+ living with a hoarder or a neatnik
+ the most disgusting abandoned item found in the back of the fridge or shoved in a cabinet
+ what I learned about cleaning from my family/friends/ex
+ my biggest cleaning challenge is BLANK
Specifications:
Writers: I'm not going to get too hung up on length for this issue, but I would say between 400-800 words is a good size. If you need to go longer, please do. If the writing is good enough, people will want to read it to the end. I'll let you know if a piece is simply too huge.
Comic artists: The zine will be Digest Sized. Final art size should reduce to 4.5 x 7.5 inches. You can have two pages, but this can be negotiated if needed. B&W only, the zine will be photocopied. Send art as 300dpi TIF files. Also, once entries are in, I may be looking for small illustrations to accompany some of the stories.
Contributors will receive a copy of the final project.
Due date and where to submit: OCTOBER 11, 2009*. Submit your entries to syndprod@gmail.com, either by simply pasting the text into an e-mail, or as an OpenOffice, MS Word, or plain text document. If you want to mail them, send them to: A.j. Michel, PO Box 877, Lansdowne, PA 19050.
* Due date subject to extension if needed, as it usually is.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
In My Mailbox 8-15-09
Well, technically this is IMM 8-10 or something, as I wandered to the POB days ago and am just getting around to writing about my treasures. This is due to incompetence and laziness. Which surprises no one.
Anyways:
- Breakfast #5 ($3, Breakfast, c/o Vincent Voelz, 575 12th Ave #3, San Francisco, CA 94118; vvoelz@gmail.com, www.breakfastzine.com) I'd given up hope on Breakfast; I mean, #4 came out like in 1978 or something. Yet here is issue #5! With article titles like "A Field Guide to South American Donuts" and "The First Annual Portland Pie-Off", how can resist this zine? You cannot.
- The Ken Chronicles #12 ($2, Ken Bausert, 2140 Erma Drive, East Meadow, NY 11554-1120; passscribe@aol.com; http://thekenbausertchronicles.blogspot.com) Another episode in the continuing adventures of former Passions editor Ken. I'm a sucker for home repair/renovation stories, but there's plenty more slice-o-life stuff in this neat little zine.
And that was it, aside from sweaty dollar bills and other stuff. I need to get to the POB more often, methinks.
L
J
--
Blog - http://www.jeffreysomers.com/blather/
The Inner Swine - http://www.innerswine.com
Anyways:
- Breakfast #5 ($3, Breakfast, c/o Vincent Voelz, 575 12th Ave #3, San Francisco, CA 94118; vvoelz@gmail.com, www.breakfastzine.com) I'd given up hope on Breakfast; I mean, #4 came out like in 1978 or something. Yet here is issue #5! With article titles like "A Field Guide to South American Donuts" and "The First Annual Portland Pie-Off", how can resist this zine? You cannot.
- The Ken Chronicles #12 ($2, Ken Bausert, 2140 Erma Drive, East Meadow, NY 11554-1120; passscribe@aol.com; http://thekenbausertchronicles.blogspot.com) Another episode in the continuing adventures of former Passions editor Ken. I'm a sucker for home repair/renovation stories, but there's plenty more slice-o-life stuff in this neat little zine.
And that was it, aside from sweaty dollar bills and other stuff. I need to get to the POB more often, methinks.
L
J
--
Blog - http://www.jeffreysomers.com/blather/
The Inner Swine - http://www.innerswine.com
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Maynard Reviews some Zines (July 2009)
Allergies: how to deal, February 2009
Ali Thompson
$4.00 US, 16 pgs.
P.O. Box 95
Runnymeade, NJ
08078
akthoms@gmail.com
bestavailableproductions.com
Allergy self-care zine for the lay person. Includes effective remedies and allergy prevention tips. Ironically, I have had direct experience with the material discussed and have used all the remedies mentioned. How weird is that?
Note to Ali: have you visited naet.org or read Ellen Cutler's excellent book, “The Food Allergy Cure”? I used both of these resources to resolve very serious allergies. I bet the authors of these resources would welcome your interest if you are going to expand that helpful little zine. This kind of info is very helpful, especially for uninsured folks suffering from allergies, as I was when I had to find alternative therapies.
Underworld Crawl, no. 6
R. Lee
$2.00, 27 pgs.
P.O. Box 1421
Oshkosh, WI, 54903
Wow! R. Lee's slice-of-life zine kicks major narrative ass. This writer has serious character and narrative chops. Anecdotes are tightly written, and show character with brevity and clarity, and as a bonus, are revelatory of the narrator.
Shows all of humanity (well, a gosh darn large swath) in a few, short, well-placed strokes. Leaves the reader wanting and dreading more.
The honest revelation of the ugliness, uselessness and negativity that goes with the human condition is tempered and curves back on itself; and ironically, after reading, one is left with an aftertaste of compassion. Genius.
No Conversation, #1
Dean
Free with trade or 3 or 4 US stamps
Likes mail, so send comments and letters
P.O. Box 793
Ruidoso, NM, 88355-0793
Great mini-travelogue that clearly and entertainingly depicts that author's travels in Malaysia. Astute, insightful, politically interesting, Dean takes you through everyday life in Indonesia. The sights, the smells, the effects of the sex trade on ordinary moments in life, all are described so the reader can grasp a sense of the chaotic, busy, frenetic pace of a part of the world that remains a mystery to most of us.
Dean captures souls well in his writing, and one feels one has met those that he describes. The details he puts in and leaves out are magic, poignant and downright shattering. His handling of the wealth gap is well done – not preachy or self-serving or even embarrassed. And most worrying is his relation of corruption in government and society. Imagine if the whole US were run by gangs and the mafia, you get an idea of what taking care of business is like in Malaysia. I hadn't considered the corrosive effects of corruption – how it enables poverty and grinds social progress to a standstill.
One of the Founding Fathers, Franklin, observed that we'd hang on to the Republic until the average citizen became corrupt.
Watch the Closing Doors, #46
Fred Argoff
$10.00, 4 quarterly issues, cash only
Penthouse L
1170 Ocean Parkway
Brooklyn, NY, 11230
What a joy! Mass transit all over the globe, this time a stop in Dubai, which looks alarmingly like LA. Really cool pictures from subway systems, and amusing, yet informative essays about the 225th Station and the Z Train in New York City.
Opuntia 67.1E, Victoria Day, 2009
Dale Speirs
$3.00 cash, trade for zine or letter of comment, no US stamps.
Box 6830
Calgary
Alberta,
Canada
T2P 2E7
Steampunk! I would not have connected Speirs as a steampunk fan, as the willing suspension of disbelief for someone who is mechanically inclined would be steep (the reason lawyers hate law shows and doctors are allergic to medical dramas). He has reviewed a huge number of short stories from Extraordinary Engines (2008 mass market paperback edited by Nick Gevers). What bliss to steampunk freaks. This is a fascinating genre to me, what a hoot!
Also included is a rare music review, which Speirs likens to “dancing about architecture” because text and notes hardly are equivalents. Anyhoo, he has a million versions of Bolero, which I also found amusing. Issue also includes zine reviews and his eclectic gatherings of articles from various scientific journals.
Always a treat for a free-range intellect.
The Ken Chronicles , number 9, November 2008
Ken Bausert
$2.00
2140 Erma Drive
East Meadow, NY, 11554-1120
PassScribe@aol.com
Very sweet and personal zine about a really nice guy, Ken. Includes family anecdotes, vacation description, everyday issues (retirement and insurance) and his musical adventures with his kids.
This zine does a great job of showing the reader about Ken, and he seems to be a loving, interesting, older zinester. I thought I was old in zineland, but this guy is my Dad's age, and to a lot of you young-uns, he's grandpa! Scary thought.
The weird point of personal connection I had to this zine was the Tappan Zee Bridge. I spent a miserable 4 hours on that swaying, frozen thing when the family car died on it one bleak winter. Ken tells his tale of adventure on a road trip with his Garvin (GPS) in attempting to avoid the George Washington Bridge. My grandpappy and father were also fond of avoiding the GW Bridge. That was why we were stuck on the Tappan Zee!
Nothing is more annoying that using a GPS when you sort of know the way you want to go, but don't know enough to get there yourself. I recently drove around the Pentagon 80 times and probably got myself profiled for my troubles.
Ali Thompson
$4.00 US, 16 pgs.
P.O. Box 95
Runnymeade, NJ
08078
akthoms@gmail.com
bestavailableproductions.com
Allergy self-care zine for the lay person. Includes effective remedies and allergy prevention tips. Ironically, I have had direct experience with the material discussed and have used all the remedies mentioned. How weird is that?
Note to Ali: have you visited naet.org or read Ellen Cutler's excellent book, “The Food Allergy Cure”? I used both of these resources to resolve very serious allergies. I bet the authors of these resources would welcome your interest if you are going to expand that helpful little zine. This kind of info is very helpful, especially for uninsured folks suffering from allergies, as I was when I had to find alternative therapies.
Underworld Crawl, no. 6
R. Lee
$2.00, 27 pgs.
P.O. Box 1421
Oshkosh, WI, 54903
Wow! R. Lee's slice-of-life zine kicks major narrative ass. This writer has serious character and narrative chops. Anecdotes are tightly written, and show character with brevity and clarity, and as a bonus, are revelatory of the narrator.
Shows all of humanity (well, a gosh darn large swath) in a few, short, well-placed strokes. Leaves the reader wanting and dreading more.
The honest revelation of the ugliness, uselessness and negativity that goes with the human condition is tempered and curves back on itself; and ironically, after reading, one is left with an aftertaste of compassion. Genius.
No Conversation, #1
Dean
Free with trade or 3 or 4 US stamps
Likes mail, so send comments and letters
P.O. Box 793
Ruidoso, NM, 88355-0793
Great mini-travelogue that clearly and entertainingly depicts that author's travels in Malaysia. Astute, insightful, politically interesting, Dean takes you through everyday life in Indonesia. The sights, the smells, the effects of the sex trade on ordinary moments in life, all are described so the reader can grasp a sense of the chaotic, busy, frenetic pace of a part of the world that remains a mystery to most of us.
Dean captures souls well in his writing, and one feels one has met those that he describes. The details he puts in and leaves out are magic, poignant and downright shattering. His handling of the wealth gap is well done – not preachy or self-serving or even embarrassed. And most worrying is his relation of corruption in government and society. Imagine if the whole US were run by gangs and the mafia, you get an idea of what taking care of business is like in Malaysia. I hadn't considered the corrosive effects of corruption – how it enables poverty and grinds social progress to a standstill.
One of the Founding Fathers, Franklin, observed that we'd hang on to the Republic until the average citizen became corrupt.
Watch the Closing Doors, #46
Fred Argoff
$10.00, 4 quarterly issues, cash only
Penthouse L
1170 Ocean Parkway
Brooklyn, NY, 11230
What a joy! Mass transit all over the globe, this time a stop in Dubai, which looks alarmingly like LA. Really cool pictures from subway systems, and amusing, yet informative essays about the 225th Station and the Z Train in New York City.
Opuntia 67.1E, Victoria Day, 2009
Dale Speirs
$3.00 cash, trade for zine or letter of comment, no US stamps.
Box 6830
Calgary
Alberta,
Canada
T2P 2E7
Steampunk! I would not have connected Speirs as a steampunk fan, as the willing suspension of disbelief for someone who is mechanically inclined would be steep (the reason lawyers hate law shows and doctors are allergic to medical dramas). He has reviewed a huge number of short stories from Extraordinary Engines (2008 mass market paperback edited by Nick Gevers). What bliss to steampunk freaks. This is a fascinating genre to me, what a hoot!
Also included is a rare music review, which Speirs likens to “dancing about architecture” because text and notes hardly are equivalents. Anyhoo, he has a million versions of Bolero, which I also found amusing. Issue also includes zine reviews and his eclectic gatherings of articles from various scientific journals.
Always a treat for a free-range intellect.
The Ken Chronicles , number 9, November 2008
Ken Bausert
$2.00
2140 Erma Drive
East Meadow, NY, 11554-1120
PassScribe@aol.com
Very sweet and personal zine about a really nice guy, Ken. Includes family anecdotes, vacation description, everyday issues (retirement and insurance) and his musical adventures with his kids.
This zine does a great job of showing the reader about Ken, and he seems to be a loving, interesting, older zinester. I thought I was old in zineland, but this guy is my Dad's age, and to a lot of you young-uns, he's grandpa! Scary thought.
The weird point of personal connection I had to this zine was the Tappan Zee Bridge. I spent a miserable 4 hours on that swaying, frozen thing when the family car died on it one bleak winter. Ken tells his tale of adventure on a road trip with his Garvin (GPS) in attempting to avoid the George Washington Bridge. My grandpappy and father were also fond of avoiding the GW Bridge. That was why we were stuck on the Tappan Zee!
Nothing is more annoying that using a GPS when you sort of know the way you want to go, but don't know enough to get there yourself. I recently drove around the Pentagon 80 times and probably got myself profiled for my troubles.
In My Mailbox 7-22-09
Hola,
Another week, another trip to my PO Box. At least I'm not getting chastised by postal workers for leaving it for months and forcing them to pile my mail on the floor and scowl.
- Xerography Debt #25 ($3, Davida G. Breier, POB 11064, Baltimore, MD 21212; leekinginc.com) Don't worry, I have inspected this issue to make sure it contains my usual column and at least one review of TIS. It does. Safe for you to read!
XD seems to be getting better with age, actualy. This is a crisp, smoove-looking issue that invites you to read.
- WTF? #1 ("Jetset Analog Future"; $3, DJ Burnett, POB 131, Fryburg, PA 16326) digest-size BW zine is pretty funny, and I like the Letters FROM the Editor. Reminds me of me, which means it rocks.
- Carrots & Condoms #2 ($2/trade, Coco Negro, POB 163327, Sacramento, CA 95816; quothethecat@riseup.net) Apparently my zine made such an impression on Coco years and years ago. . .that it took them years and years to send me a trade. Oh well. It's well-dione and has a pretty cover, and lots of personal words and drawings inside - a classic perzine, methinks.
That was the goods this week! I feel like shit. Summer flu here I come!
L
J
--
Blog - http://www.jeffreysomers.com/blather/
The Inner Swine - http://www.innerswine.com
Another week, another trip to my PO Box. At least I'm not getting chastised by postal workers for leaving it for months and forcing them to pile my mail on the floor and scowl.
- Xerography Debt #25 ($3, Davida G. Breier, POB 11064, Baltimore, MD 21212; leekinginc.com) Don't worry, I have inspected this issue to make sure it contains my usual column and at least one review of TIS. It does. Safe for you to read!
XD seems to be getting better with age, actualy. This is a crisp, smoove-looking issue that invites you to read.
- WTF? #1 ("Jetset Analog Future"; $3, DJ Burnett, POB 131, Fryburg, PA 16326) digest-size BW zine is pretty funny, and I like the Letters FROM the Editor. Reminds me of me, which means it rocks.
- Carrots & Condoms #2 ($2/trade, Coco Negro, POB 163327, Sacramento, CA 95816; quothethecat@riseup.net) Apparently my zine made such an impression on Coco years and years ago. . .that it took them years and years to send me a trade. Oh well. It's well-dione and has a pretty cover, and lots of personal words and drawings inside - a classic perzine, methinks.
That was the goods this week! I feel like shit. Summer flu here I come!
L
J
--
Blog - http://www.jeffreysomers.com/blather/
The Inner Swine - http://www.innerswine.com
Sunday, July 12, 2009
OK, Eric's Month of Reviews Then...
My week of reviews was even more of a miserable failure than I anticipated. In my defense I did end up sleeping a lot last week. I'd intend to do some reviews, then I'd take a little nap not wake up until the next morning. But I still have zines right here and I'm gonna review 'em, by gum.
SUNDOGS #6, Nov./Dec. 2008 This is a good one. It's a zine with 3 panel diary comics about Adam's life as an American living in Japan with his wife and baby son. This issue more or less covering Halloween through Xmas. It's a very enjoyable read with brief snippets about pretty much all aspects of Adam's life including fatherhood, growing a mustache. teaching, odd Japanese customs (A Christmas cake? Seriously? This strikes me as wrong for some vaguely odd reason.) and watching THE WIRE (seriously, THE WIRE is fucking awesome. I could go on and on about THE WIRE. ) It's not quite laugh out loud funny, but most of it is pretty light hearted and will bring a smile to your face. 24 pages, 5.5 x 8.5 Send $2, trade, or 200 yen to
Adam Pasion
1-42 Namiuchi-Cho, Kita-ku
Nagoya, Aichi, 462-0041
Japan
www.biguglyrobot.net
OH HO- This is a mini zine by Susan Boren who did (does?) the zine CLIP TART and it's basically a mini version of CLIP TART. Some really nice looking collages, some black & white, some full color and the full color ones are really beautiful. Like I've said before about Susan's work, I'm not sure what to make of it exactly, but I like it. 24 pages, 2.75 x 4.25 Send either a few bucks or trade to Susan Boren PO Box 66512, Austin TX 78766
BROOKLYN! #64- Sixty four issues? Holy shit. I feel like I'm not as familiar with Fred Argoff's work as I should be. Let's see, this zine is quarterly so that means he's been doing it for 16 years. Wow. Impressive. And it's a good zine though to honest even 16 years of a shit zine would be impressive in it's way. The name of this zine is BROOKLYN and that's also what the zine is about, Fred's beloved borough of Brooklyn. I've always liked zines about one certain topic that the author has a passion for. Even if I don't care about what's being written about I usually enjoy it just for the passion the author brings to it. This issue features a Brooklyn fable, photos of Brooklyn, (my personal favorite being of an SUV that fell into a giant sinkhole.) Brooklyn lexicon, Brooklyn signs and just a lot of info about Brooklyn. Good stuff here. 24 pages, 5.5 x 8.5 $10 for a 4 issue subscription to Fred Argoff Penthouse L 1170 Ocean Parkway Brooklyn NY 11230
SUNDOGS #6, Nov./Dec. 2008 This is a good one. It's a zine with 3 panel diary comics about Adam's life as an American living in Japan with his wife and baby son. This issue more or less covering Halloween through Xmas. It's a very enjoyable read with brief snippets about pretty much all aspects of Adam's life including fatherhood, growing a mustache. teaching, odd Japanese customs (A Christmas cake? Seriously? This strikes me as wrong for some vaguely odd reason.) and watching THE WIRE (seriously, THE WIRE is fucking awesome. I could go on and on about THE WIRE. ) It's not quite laugh out loud funny, but most of it is pretty light hearted and will bring a smile to your face. 24 pages, 5.5 x 8.5 Send $2, trade, or 200 yen to
Adam Pasion
1-42 Namiuchi-Cho, Kita-ku
Nagoya, Aichi, 462-0041
Japan
www.biguglyrobot.net
OH HO- This is a mini zine by Susan Boren who did (does?) the zine CLIP TART and it's basically a mini version of CLIP TART. Some really nice looking collages, some black & white, some full color and the full color ones are really beautiful. Like I've said before about Susan's work, I'm not sure what to make of it exactly, but I like it. 24 pages, 2.75 x 4.25 Send either a few bucks or trade to Susan Boren PO Box 66512, Austin TX 78766
BROOKLYN! #64- Sixty four issues? Holy shit. I feel like I'm not as familiar with Fred Argoff's work as I should be. Let's see, this zine is quarterly so that means he's been doing it for 16 years. Wow. Impressive. And it's a good zine though to honest even 16 years of a shit zine would be impressive in it's way. The name of this zine is BROOKLYN and that's also what the zine is about, Fred's beloved borough of Brooklyn. I've always liked zines about one certain topic that the author has a passion for. Even if I don't care about what's being written about I usually enjoy it just for the passion the author brings to it. This issue features a Brooklyn fable, photos of Brooklyn, (my personal favorite being of an SUV that fell into a giant sinkhole.) Brooklyn lexicon, Brooklyn signs and just a lot of info about Brooklyn. Good stuff here. 24 pages, 5.5 x 8.5 $10 for a 4 issue subscription to Fred Argoff Penthouse L 1170 Ocean Parkway Brooklyn NY 11230
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Eric's Week of Reviews
You know what? I have not shaved since the death of Billy Mays. Is it a touching tribute to America's most beloved bearded pitchman? Is it sheer laziness and poor grooming habits? Or maybe just maybe is it a little bit of both? OK, it's mostly the second one, but I must confess a certain fondness for ol' Billy.
At any rate, every day this week I will be posting some reviews here until I either get through all the zines I have to review or I get bored. Oh, and I got me one of those fancy dan new facebook pages. It's www.facebook.com/ericfishlegs. Add me as a friend. Or don't. Either way.
INNER SWINE Vol.14 #4 December 2008. Josh Saitz who does the zine NEGATIVE CAPABILITY (www.negcap.com) told me that he recently had a dream that he, I, Jeff Somers of INNER SWINE) and R. Lee (UNDERWORLD CRAWL which is one of my favorites and you should be able to find a review of it somewhere on this site) went on a zine tour. He said it was a huge disaster because everywhere we went people to read people just thought "Who the hell are these assholes?" I mention this because this zine has just been reviewed so often that it's hard to come up with something new to say. The theme of this issue is "Kids" and he makes a convincing argument that kids do indeed suck and rule the world. There's a lot of good stuff in this issue. I even found Jeff's story about taking guitar lessons for the first time in his life at age 35 to be almost inspiring. he also wrote a brief anti-Kindle piece which reminded me of something- my Mom got a Kindle for Xmas she loves it and says she rarely even goes to the library anymore. because instead of reading books for free she can now pay $10 to read them on a little machine. I don't quite fathom how that makes any sense, but who am I to argue? 60 pages, 5.5 x 8.5, send either $2 or a trade to Jeff Somers PO Box 3024, Hoboken, NJ, 07030 mreditor@innerswine.com
SLICES- Hey, I just remembered I owed Jaime (the author of this zine) a trade. I'd better get on that. Jaime Crespo does a weekly comic strip called Slice O' Life and this zine collects what Jaime considers to be his 40 best cartoons. His strips are mainly about odd people Jaime has met over the years, many of whom seem to do a lot of drugs and die bizarre deaths. Some of the comics are funny, some were oddly touching, all are worth reading. Jaime also does a zine called TORTILLA that features more comics and stories by Jaime and like SLICES it's also worth reading. SLICES is 40 pages, 5.5 x 8.5, send $5 to Jaime Crespo, PO Box 112 San Anselmo, CA 94979 www.jaimecrespo.com
CRANKY BUDDHA #7- I like this kind of zine. It's basically a compendium of useless and bizarre information (one tid bit so useless and bizarre that I mentioned it way back in issue 7 of my own zine.) along with some reviews of books considered to be "hobo literature", the entire text of Calamity Jane's autobiography, a "stupid cop trick" that is truly stupid, kind of cruel, and I am ashamed to admit I would love to see somebody try and a review of a strange movie featuring a cameo by Col. Sanders. I enjoyed this one. 60 pages, 5.5 x 8.5, $2 or trade Danny Swank 2262 SE 39th Ave, Portland OR 97214 drdannyswank@gmail.com www.crankybuddah.com
At any rate, every day this week I will be posting some reviews here until I either get through all the zines I have to review or I get bored. Oh, and I got me one of those fancy dan new facebook pages. It's www.facebook.com/ericfishlegs. Add me as a friend. Or don't. Either way.
INNER SWINE Vol.14 #4 December 2008. Josh Saitz who does the zine NEGATIVE CAPABILITY (www.negcap.com) told me that he recently had a dream that he, I, Jeff Somers of INNER SWINE) and R. Lee (UNDERWORLD CRAWL which is one of my favorites and you should be able to find a review of it somewhere on this site) went on a zine tour. He said it was a huge disaster because everywhere we went people to read people just thought "Who the hell are these assholes?" I mention this because this zine has just been reviewed so often that it's hard to come up with something new to say. The theme of this issue is "Kids" and he makes a convincing argument that kids do indeed suck and rule the world. There's a lot of good stuff in this issue. I even found Jeff's story about taking guitar lessons for the first time in his life at age 35 to be almost inspiring. he also wrote a brief anti-Kindle piece which reminded me of something- my Mom got a Kindle for Xmas she loves it and says she rarely even goes to the library anymore. because instead of reading books for free she can now pay $10 to read them on a little machine. I don't quite fathom how that makes any sense, but who am I to argue? 60 pages, 5.5 x 8.5, send either $2 or a trade to Jeff Somers PO Box 3024, Hoboken, NJ, 07030 mreditor@innerswine.com
SLICES- Hey, I just remembered I owed Jaime (the author of this zine) a trade. I'd better get on that. Jaime Crespo does a weekly comic strip called Slice O' Life and this zine collects what Jaime considers to be his 40 best cartoons. His strips are mainly about odd people Jaime has met over the years, many of whom seem to do a lot of drugs and die bizarre deaths. Some of the comics are funny, some were oddly touching, all are worth reading. Jaime also does a zine called TORTILLA that features more comics and stories by Jaime and like SLICES it's also worth reading. SLICES is 40 pages, 5.5 x 8.5, send $5 to Jaime Crespo, PO Box 112 San Anselmo, CA 94979 www.jaimecrespo.com
CRANKY BUDDHA #7- I like this kind of zine. It's basically a compendium of useless and bizarre information (one tid bit so useless and bizarre that I mentioned it way back in issue 7 of my own zine.) along with some reviews of books considered to be "hobo literature", the entire text of Calamity Jane's autobiography, a "stupid cop trick" that is truly stupid, kind of cruel, and I am ashamed to admit I would love to see somebody try and a review of a strange movie featuring a cameo by Col. Sanders. I enjoyed this one. 60 pages, 5.5 x 8.5, $2 or trade Danny Swank 2262 SE 39th Ave, Portland OR 97214 drdannyswank@gmail.com www.crankybuddah.com
Saturday, June 27, 2009
In My Mailbox 6-27-09
Good morning alt.zines,
I suppose I should start cross-posting these to things like wemakezines etc but I am lazy. For a while I kept coming to alt.zines because I liked newsgroups better than web forums etc, but now, in all honesty, it's mostly laziness. If there was one mecca-like place where every zine person in the universe congragated I might make the effort to switch over, but signing up for fifteen places is a drag. And also I find I have less to say about zines these days. I still put mine out and still enjoy trades etc but I have less drive to discuss anything. Not that I was ever a Deep Zine Thought kind of fellow to begin with.
Hmmph.
Anyway, we have our first sunny day in Hoboken in 56 years, and a few days ago I actually wandered to my PO Box. Hurrah! Zines in the mail:
- Smile, Hon, You're in Baltimore! #11 ($3, William P. Tandy, Eight Stone Press, POB 11064, Baltimore, MD 21212; www.eightstonepress.com) Another thick, well-made issue from the 8SP folks, a powerhouse of DIY publishing. Always happy to see a new one of these in my box.
- Going Postal #2 (trade/donation, Kris & Lola, Calle Obispo 4B, Plasencia 10600, Caceres, Spain) Full-sized collection of new and reprinted writing about zines, mail art, and other stuff. Favorite thing: A small piece of Kris' favorite old wool sweater, now too dilapidated to wear, pasted onto a page with a brief history of the sweater above.
- .zap!! #6 (no price listed, Heath Row, 101 Russell St. #4R, Brooklyn, NY 11234-0241) I had to sit this one out due to crushing laziness and bad time management, but Heath was kind enough to send me a comp anyway, thank goodness. Loosely the alt.zines APA, this is a fascinating ongoing venture and I'm looking forward to taking part again in the future!
That was it for zines. I also got a letter and some monies, so overall a gangbuster of a day at the POB. Hope everyone is rockin'.
L
J
--
Blog - http://www.jeffreysomers.com/blather/
The Inner Swine - http://www.innerswine.com
I suppose I should start cross-posting these to things like wemakezines etc but I am lazy. For a while I kept coming to alt.zines because I liked newsgroups better than web forums etc, but now, in all honesty, it's mostly laziness. If there was one mecca-like place where every zine person in the universe congragated I might make the effort to switch over, but signing up for fifteen places is a drag. And also I find I have less to say about zines these days. I still put mine out and still enjoy trades etc but I have less drive to discuss anything. Not that I was ever a Deep Zine Thought kind of fellow to begin with.
Hmmph.
Anyway, we have our first sunny day in Hoboken in 56 years, and a few days ago I actually wandered to my PO Box. Hurrah! Zines in the mail:
- Smile, Hon, You're in Baltimore! #11 ($3, William P. Tandy, Eight Stone Press, POB 11064, Baltimore, MD 21212; www.eightstonepress.com) Another thick, well-made issue from the 8SP folks, a powerhouse of DIY publishing. Always happy to see a new one of these in my box.
- Going Postal #2 (trade/donation, Kris & Lola, Calle Obispo 4B, Plasencia 10600, Caceres, Spain) Full-sized collection of new and reprinted writing about zines, mail art, and other stuff. Favorite thing: A small piece of Kris' favorite old wool sweater, now too dilapidated to wear, pasted onto a page with a brief history of the sweater above.
- .zap!! #6 (no price listed, Heath Row, 101 Russell St. #4R, Brooklyn, NY 11234-0241) I had to sit this one out due to crushing laziness and bad time management, but Heath was kind enough to send me a comp anyway, thank goodness. Loosely the alt.zines APA, this is a fascinating ongoing venture and I'm looking forward to taking part again in the future!
That was it for zines. I also got a letter and some monies, so overall a gangbuster of a day at the POB. Hope everyone is rockin'.
L
J
--
Blog - http://www.jeffreysomers.com/blather/
The Inner Swine - http://www.innerswine.com
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Xerography Debt #25 is now available!
Xerography Debt #25 is now available!
Microcosm has copies and is currently distributing to their usual retail outlets. To learn more go to:
http://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/zines/2693/
Microcosm has copies and is currently distributing to their usual retail outlets. To learn more go to:
http://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/zines/2693/
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
In My Mailbox 6-3-09
Hola,
I actually made it to my PO Box some unspecified time in the recent past, but I can't remember when, actually. I just opened a desk drawer and found all this stuff waiting for comment but forgotten. I think I may be senile.
Anyways...
- Inscape (The Ursuline College Fine Arts Annual 2009, 2550 Lander Rd, Pepper Pike, OH 44124) contains a short story by zine personage and full-on-no-kidding professor Wred Fright. Not sure how to get yer mitts on one if you're interested, but thought I'd note it, even though it is not a zine.
- Tenebrous Thaumaturgy #2 (Andrew Conde, GCDC, 2120 East B Street, Torrington MY 82240). Another interestin' issue filled with dense, tightly-packed words by inmates, former inmates, relatives and friends, different, it seems, from other prison zines I've seen.
- The Ken Chronicles #11 ($2, Ken Bausert, 2140 Erma Drive, East Meadow, NY 11554-1120; passscribe@aol.com). Centered around marking the 50th anniversary of Ken buying his first car, this is another great-looking and packed issue. Plus, he mentions TIS in here--what more can I want?
And that's it, sad to say, aside from some correspondence and a returned issue of my zine, marked return to sender, from someone I used to work with. It's odd to me that people I knew 15 years ago, who have been on my mailing list for that long, suddenly deicde to not bother any more, whether they're simply not updating me after they move or purposefully rejecting it. I can totally understand not wanting the zine any more, but after so long it just seems. . .unexpected. I dunno.
L
J
I actually made it to my PO Box some unspecified time in the recent past, but I can't remember when, actually. I just opened a desk drawer and found all this stuff waiting for comment but forgotten. I think I may be senile.
Anyways...
- Inscape (The Ursuline College Fine Arts Annual 2009, 2550 Lander Rd, Pepper Pike, OH 44124) contains a short story by zine personage and full-on-no-kidding professor Wred Fright. Not sure how to get yer mitts on one if you're interested, but thought I'd note it, even though it is not a zine.
- Tenebrous Thaumaturgy #2 (Andrew Conde, GCDC, 2120 East B Street, Torrington MY 82240). Another interestin' issue filled with dense, tightly-packed words by inmates, former inmates, relatives and friends, different, it seems, from other prison zines I've seen.
- The Ken Chronicles #11 ($2, Ken Bausert, 2140 Erma Drive, East Meadow, NY 11554-1120; passscribe@aol.com). Centered around marking the 50th anniversary of Ken buying his first car, this is another great-looking and packed issue. Plus, he mentions TIS in here--what more can I want?
And that's it, sad to say, aside from some correspondence and a returned issue of my zine, marked return to sender, from someone I used to work with. It's odd to me that people I knew 15 years ago, who have been on my mailing list for that long, suddenly deicde to not bother any more, whether they're simply not updating me after they move or purposefully rejecting it. I can totally understand not wanting the zine any more, but after so long it just seems. . .unexpected. I dunno.
L
J
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Submissions wanted for Going Home zine AND Borderlands 3
Friends! The deadlines for Going Home zine AND Borderlands 3 are being
extended one LAST time! What's that you say? You wanted to submit last
time but didn't have time to write something? The deadline for both
zines is JUNE 27th. Ready, set, write! <3 Nia
GOING HOME ZINE
This call for submissions is open to everyone.
I am looking for your writings and art that speak to any or all of the
following themes:
What does home mean to you? What makes home "home"?
Where is home?
Who is home?
Can you go home?
In what ways have home changed?
Why?
How have the meaning and significance of home been shaped by:
-your experiences (at and away from home)?
-your politicization?
-your race(s)?
-class (including changes in class status)?
-gender(s)/identity(ies)/transition
-sexual orientation(s)
-ability(ies)
-religion(s)
-spirituality
-surviving abuse?
-immigration?
-diaspora(s)?
-gentrification?
-displacement?
-repatriation?
-transience?
-homelessness?
(These are just a few of many themes you could choose to write on.)
How do these things affect your relationship to the places that you're from?
What have your experience of building home and community been like,
successes and challenges?
Please send non-fiction, personal stories and black and white visual
art on these themes to nia.is.king@gmail.com. Writing submissions
should be no more than 1,000 words and in .rtf format. Art submissions
should be .jpeg files. The deadline for submissions is JUNE 27th,
2009. Please repost this call widely!
BORDERLANDS ZINE #3
This call for submission is open to mixed-race, bicultual and
transracially adopted people of color.
I am currently seeking personal stories and visual art on the theme of
(romantic and/or sexual) RELATIONSHIPS and PARENTING for the upcoming
issue of a compilation zine about people of color's mixed-race,
bicultural and transracial adoptee identities. Stories should be
non-fiction and no more than 1000 words. No poetry please. Visual art
should be black and white and replicate well in a copy machine
(minimal grey tones). Submissions for issue 3 are due JUNE 27th,
2009. Please email them in RICH TEXT FORMAT to nia.is.king@gmail.com.
Your stories are valuable, and it's time to bring our often neglected
cross-cultural and multi-racial experiences from margin to center by
telling our own stories!
Please forward this call widely!
Also, download past issues of Borderlands for free @
http://www.qzap.org/v5/index.php?searchword=borderlands&option=com_search&Itemid=5
extended one LAST time! What's that you say? You wanted to submit last
time but didn't have time to write something? The deadline for both
zines is JUNE 27th. Ready, set, write! <3 Nia
GOING HOME ZINE
This call for submissions is open to everyone.
I am looking for your writings and art that speak to any or all of the
following themes:
What does home mean to you? What makes home "home"?
Where is home?
Who is home?
Can you go home?
In what ways have home changed?
Why?
How have the meaning and significance of home been shaped by:
-your experiences (at and away from home)?
-your politicization?
-your race(s)?
-class (including changes in class status)?
-gender(s)/identity(ies)/transition
-sexual orientation(s)
-ability(ies)
-religion(s)
-spirituality
-surviving abuse?
-immigration?
-diaspora(s)?
-gentrification?
-displacement?
-repatriation?
-transience?
-homelessness?
(These are just a few of many themes you could choose to write on.)
How do these things affect your relationship to the places that you're from?
What have your experience of building home and community been like,
successes and challenges?
Please send non-fiction, personal stories and black and white visual
art on these themes to nia.is.king@gmail.com. Writing submissions
should be no more than 1,000 words and in .rtf format. Art submissions
should be .jpeg files. The deadline for submissions is JUNE 27th,
2009. Please repost this call widely!
BORDERLANDS ZINE #3
This call for submission is open to mixed-race, bicultual and
transracially adopted people of color.
I am currently seeking personal stories and visual art on the theme of
(romantic and/or sexual) RELATIONSHIPS and PARENTING for the upcoming
issue of a compilation zine about people of color's mixed-race,
bicultural and transracial adoptee identities. Stories should be
non-fiction and no more than 1000 words. No poetry please. Visual art
should be black and white and replicate well in a copy machine
(minimal grey tones). Submissions for issue 3 are due JUNE 27th,
2009. Please email them in RICH TEXT FORMAT to nia.is.king@gmail.com.
Your stories are valuable, and it's time to bring our often neglected
cross-cultural and multi-racial experiences from margin to center by
telling our own stories!
Please forward this call widely!
Also, download past issues of Borderlands for free @
http://www.qzap.org/v5/index.php?searchword=borderlands&option=com_search&Itemid=5
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Xerography Debt #25
Will be out soon! It is now at press and you can pre-order from Microcosm: http://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/title/2693/
Reviews from Julie Dorn
MIRANDA #18
Kate Haas
3510 SE Alder Street
Portland, OR 97214
oceanreader@gmail.com
www.mirandazine.com
$2, 28 pages, digest
Continually ranking in my top ten zines of all time, MIRANDA delivers another fabulous read. I usually read this zine aloud to my husband, but this time we devoured it together, hunched in a barely-lit room while waiting for a concert to start. Kate’s opening story about watching Obama win on election night with her two sons nearly made me cry. We’re on the cusp of starting to have children, and I’m thinking about the world in a new way. Knowing that the Bush administration’s eight-year plague of war and fiscal irresponsibility and divisiveness is about to end sends me into a happy dance. I finally can support the man that will soon be running our country. What a relief. Kate’s zine strikes a deeper chord in me now, because I not only admire her parenting style but the way she can retain her identity as a woman, a traveler, a storyteller, an activist, a writer—with being a mother.
In #18, Kate compares The Austins by Madeleine L’Engle to the reality of her family, shares homegrown rituals (all three of which are FABULOUS), describes her attempts to memorize “Kubla Khan” one steamy week in Morocco, and her always amazing list of book suggestions. My favorite part is “The Motel of Lost Companions,” where Kate shares a story of a long lost friend and their adventures together. Highly recommended.
RE:PRODUCTIVE v.1
Christa Donner
PO Box 6571
Chicago, IL 60680-6571
http://www.christadonner.com/print/reproductivezine1.html
$5, 48 pages, digest
Christa writes LADYFRIEND, another stellar zine, but RE:PRODUCTIVE is a companion piece to a visual art show from 2008. She collected narratives from twenty seven diverse women on topics related to how reproduction and fertility shape identity (or don’t) and accompany them with drawings similar to those featured in the show. These stories run the gamut from motherhood, labor, midwifery, lesbian parenting, body image, hysterectomies, adoption, egg donation, infertility, miscarriages, abortions, the pressure to procreate and opting out of parenthood. It was particularly interesting for me to read these different perspectives and see how my views of this topic have changed over the years, shifting from my original desires of spinsterhood to my current state of married and ready for kids. Smart, compelling and pro-woman (as always). Highly recommended.
MAN UP
Sarah Morean
PO Box 3629
Minneapolis, MN 55403
$2?, 36 pages, half-size
This compilation zine is about one of the most reviled, misunderstood and polarizing phenomenon in the world: the moustache. Love it or hate it, MAN UP covers the spectrum of commentary—the moustache as indicator of villainy, defense of the humble patch of upper lip fur, knitting patterns to make your own moustache, instructions on how to grow a fab ‘stache, and an interview with local Minneapolis artist Scott Seekins. Each copy of MAN UP includes your very own adhesive moustache (mine was “The Rogue,” a tan stripe of what looked like carpeting). I believe that only certain people can successfully pull off a moustache without looking smarmy or ridiculous, but I have new respect for this underdog of the hair world.
LISTY #3
Maria Goodman
PO Box 303, 2000 NE 42nd Street Suite D
Portland, OR 97213
mariasoapy@yahoo.com
$2, 38 pages, digest
As always, Maria has created a charming zine full of stories and whimsical fun. She and her partner, Andrew Robinson, trade off with list-related topics like the top five awkward moments, literary pet peeves, people currently in a ten-foot radius of her at the public library, the largest amounts of found money (Andrew once found $100!) and displeasing desserts. Delaine Derry Green makes a guest appearance with one of the most organized, detailed list/monthly planners I’ve ever seen. Highly recommended.
POETS ESPRESSO Sept. 2008
Donald R. Anderson and Nikki Quismondo, editors
1426 Telegraph Avenue #4
Stockton, CA 95204
poetsespresso@gmail.com
http://poetsespresso.com
Free locally, $7 for 6 mailed issues, 24 pages, digest
I feel inept when I try to critique poetry. Many times, I have no idea what the poem is really about, but I can appreciate the flow, the rhythm of the words and the way it sounds in my head as I read it. As a reviewer, I get a lot of poetry and fiction. A lot of it is bad, and I don’t write a blurb for XEROGRAPHY DEBT. Sometimes, like in the case of POETS ESPRESSO, it’s good and I’m happy to share my limited opinion with you.
Three poems in particular stood out for me: “Tribute to David Humphreys” by Marie J. Ross and “One Last Farewell” by Patricia Ann Mayorga, both about their late poet and friend, and the delicious “Fig” by Chantel C. Guidry. All were moving, melodic and lingering. This issue also includes Bruce Crawford’s “Variant Pressure,” the first place winner in Scott’s Valley Poetry Contest.
LITERAL CHAOS no.1: the water issue
Amanda Wells
10156 Sakura Drive
St. Louis, MO 63128
editor@literalchaos.com
www.literalchaos.com
$7, 24 pages, digest
Another fiction/poetry zine, LITERAL CHAOS offers enjoyable, solid writing around the theme of water. I especially liked Mister Ben’s silly and fun to read “Wetter Tales : Once Told, Twice Forgotten” and Lisa Ebert’s short story “Mississippi.” Even with the pretty color cover, I’m cheap and would be hard pressed to pay $7 for any zine unless I knew I would love nearly every page of it. I wish this zine well—it’s hard to find a market for poetry/fiction zines (reviewers seem to avoid them like the Ebola virus), especially at that price.
DO-IT-YOURSELF SCREENPRINTING : How to turn your home into a t-shirt factory
John Isaacson
Microcosm Publishing
POB 14332
Portland, OR 97293
www.microcosmpublishing.com
www.unlay.com
$9, 160 pages, paperback (ISBN 0-9770557-4-4)
Can I just say how thrilled I was when Davida sent this to me to review? I took my first class in printmaking in spring 2008 and loved it, but I needed to push aside my free studio art classes to make room for the library science ones instead. I’d dreamed of doing woodcuts at home, mostly because they’re pretty cheap, easy and require only a few items (piece of class, oil based ink, brayer, paper, wooden spoon and ink cleaner). Now, thanks to this wonderful comic book, I can make screen prints at home, too! It’s a bit more complicated, especially if you want more than one color, but John breaks down the process into easy-to-understand steps. He shares his experiences selling his work, moving out of his house and into mass-production and gives helpful hints to DIY printers along the way. John has been a screenprinter, cartoonist and musician for over ten years. Currently living in Berkeley, he’s traveled to Ireland, Chile, China and Peru. Check out the second website to see samples of his work.
BOOTY #21
Anne Thalheimer
8 Clark Street #2
Holyoke, MA 01040
motes@simons-rock.edu
$2?, 16 pages, digest
After a year hiatus, Anne returns with another great comic depiction of her life. After getting a new job that uses her Ph.D., joining the roller derby and launching her very own monster hat venture (check out https://mymonsterhat.com/home.php), Anne’s got a lot to write about! My favorite pages were “100 random facts about me” and her drawings for “All I Need” by Radiohead. I always find Anne inspiring because no matter how busy she is, she incorporates art into her life. (My distractible and procrastinating self is jealous.) I’m grateful I can read about it in BOOTY and hopefully inject the same sense of fun and creativity in my own life amidst the chaos and laziness. Yay, BOOTY!
ZINE WORLD #26: A reader’s guide to the underground press
POB 330156
Murfreesboro, TN 37133-0156
www.undergroundpress.org
$4 US, $5 Canada/Mexico, $6 Everywhere else, 62 pages, full size
ZINE WORLD, like XEROGRAPHY DEBT, is a review zine. Chock full of suggestions for fabulous independent media, this is a wonderful resource (200+ zine reviews plus books). Extra marvelous treats are Heath Row’s article “Censoring news: from Redding to Russia” and the letters to the editor. This is a must-have for those who are new, addicted or curious about the world of zines.
CRANES
Kyt Dotson
http://www.millvexations.com/
Free-$2, printed version pages vary, digest
Dotson writes a serial novella about Vex Harrow, a tough goth in the Mill Avenue area of Tempe, AZ who delves in the supernatural. The story itself currently has nine volumes, and CRANES is a stand-alone “tribute fiction” involving some of the same characters. There is no summary of the story in CRANES, so you’ll have to go to the website to figure out who who’s and what’s happening. By itself, I didn’t have enough context to thoroughly enjoy and understand the story in CRANES but I was impressed by Dotson’s writing abilities and her website, which includes free full-text version of every volume of this story, a discussion forum, links to Mill Avenue business, gothic subculture information and related fiction suggestions. There’s a dedicated following—she has a link to the first fan fiction story related to Mill Avenue Vexations. Dotson also has two published fantasy/paranormal books (one through amazon and the other a free e-book).
POTENTIALLY HEARTWRENCHING DISTRACTIONS AND OTHER WONDERFUL POSSIBILITIES
Bucket D. Siler
POB 10192
Santa Fe, NM 87504
yournamehere@hush.com
myspace.com/bucketsiler
$2/2.50/3, 28 pages, digest
PWDaOWP is a tight, satisfying perzine about Bucket’s travels across the country, breaking up, coming out, friends, love and life. Text heavy with a few drawings.
WATCH THE CLOSING DOORS #44
Fred Argoff
Penthouse L
1170 Ocean Parkway
Brooklyn, NY 11230-4060
$10 for four quarterly issues, 20 pages, digest
I’ve heard about WATCH THE CLOSING DOORS for years but have never read it. Thanks to Davida, I finally got one in my review envelope. Fred writes about all things subway, mostly encompassing NYC but also including Guadalajara, Shanghai, Paris and Buenos Aires. I LOVED the photo of the Underground Catwalk in Berlin (the model was wearing leather and pasties) and the detailed description of the no. 4 (Lexington Avenue express) line in New York. This zine is well worth the hype!!!
Kate Haas
3510 SE Alder Street
Portland, OR 97214
oceanreader@gmail.com
www.mirandazine.com
$2, 28 pages, digest
Continually ranking in my top ten zines of all time, MIRANDA delivers another fabulous read. I usually read this zine aloud to my husband, but this time we devoured it together, hunched in a barely-lit room while waiting for a concert to start. Kate’s opening story about watching Obama win on election night with her two sons nearly made me cry. We’re on the cusp of starting to have children, and I’m thinking about the world in a new way. Knowing that the Bush administration’s eight-year plague of war and fiscal irresponsibility and divisiveness is about to end sends me into a happy dance. I finally can support the man that will soon be running our country. What a relief. Kate’s zine strikes a deeper chord in me now, because I not only admire her parenting style but the way she can retain her identity as a woman, a traveler, a storyteller, an activist, a writer—with being a mother.
In #18, Kate compares The Austins by Madeleine L’Engle to the reality of her family, shares homegrown rituals (all three of which are FABULOUS), describes her attempts to memorize “Kubla Khan” one steamy week in Morocco, and her always amazing list of book suggestions. My favorite part is “The Motel of Lost Companions,” where Kate shares a story of a long lost friend and their adventures together. Highly recommended.
RE:PRODUCTIVE v.1
Christa Donner
PO Box 6571
Chicago, IL 60680-6571
http://www.christadonner.com/print/reproductivezine1.html
$5, 48 pages, digest
Christa writes LADYFRIEND, another stellar zine, but RE:PRODUCTIVE is a companion piece to a visual art show from 2008. She collected narratives from twenty seven diverse women on topics related to how reproduction and fertility shape identity (or don’t) and accompany them with drawings similar to those featured in the show. These stories run the gamut from motherhood, labor, midwifery, lesbian parenting, body image, hysterectomies, adoption, egg donation, infertility, miscarriages, abortions, the pressure to procreate and opting out of parenthood. It was particularly interesting for me to read these different perspectives and see how my views of this topic have changed over the years, shifting from my original desires of spinsterhood to my current state of married and ready for kids. Smart, compelling and pro-woman (as always). Highly recommended.
MAN UP
Sarah Morean
PO Box 3629
Minneapolis, MN 55403
$2?, 36 pages, half-size
This compilation zine is about one of the most reviled, misunderstood and polarizing phenomenon in the world: the moustache. Love it or hate it, MAN UP covers the spectrum of commentary—the moustache as indicator of villainy, defense of the humble patch of upper lip fur, knitting patterns to make your own moustache, instructions on how to grow a fab ‘stache, and an interview with local Minneapolis artist Scott Seekins. Each copy of MAN UP includes your very own adhesive moustache (mine was “The Rogue,” a tan stripe of what looked like carpeting). I believe that only certain people can successfully pull off a moustache without looking smarmy or ridiculous, but I have new respect for this underdog of the hair world.
LISTY #3
Maria Goodman
PO Box 303, 2000 NE 42nd Street Suite D
Portland, OR 97213
mariasoapy@yahoo.com
$2, 38 pages, digest
As always, Maria has created a charming zine full of stories and whimsical fun. She and her partner, Andrew Robinson, trade off with list-related topics like the top five awkward moments, literary pet peeves, people currently in a ten-foot radius of her at the public library, the largest amounts of found money (Andrew once found $100!) and displeasing desserts. Delaine Derry Green makes a guest appearance with one of the most organized, detailed list/monthly planners I’ve ever seen. Highly recommended.
POETS ESPRESSO Sept. 2008
Donald R. Anderson and Nikki Quismondo, editors
1426 Telegraph Avenue #4
Stockton, CA 95204
poetsespresso@gmail.com
http://poetsespresso.com
Free locally, $7 for 6 mailed issues, 24 pages, digest
I feel inept when I try to critique poetry. Many times, I have no idea what the poem is really about, but I can appreciate the flow, the rhythm of the words and the way it sounds in my head as I read it. As a reviewer, I get a lot of poetry and fiction. A lot of it is bad, and I don’t write a blurb for XEROGRAPHY DEBT. Sometimes, like in the case of POETS ESPRESSO, it’s good and I’m happy to share my limited opinion with you.
Three poems in particular stood out for me: “Tribute to David Humphreys” by Marie J. Ross and “One Last Farewell” by Patricia Ann Mayorga, both about their late poet and friend, and the delicious “Fig” by Chantel C. Guidry. All were moving, melodic and lingering. This issue also includes Bruce Crawford’s “Variant Pressure,” the first place winner in Scott’s Valley Poetry Contest.
LITERAL CHAOS no.1: the water issue
Amanda Wells
10156 Sakura Drive
St. Louis, MO 63128
editor@literalchaos.com
www.literalchaos.com
$7, 24 pages, digest
Another fiction/poetry zine, LITERAL CHAOS offers enjoyable, solid writing around the theme of water. I especially liked Mister Ben’s silly and fun to read “Wetter Tales : Once Told, Twice Forgotten” and Lisa Ebert’s short story “Mississippi.” Even with the pretty color cover, I’m cheap and would be hard pressed to pay $7 for any zine unless I knew I would love nearly every page of it. I wish this zine well—it’s hard to find a market for poetry/fiction zines (reviewers seem to avoid them like the Ebola virus), especially at that price.
DO-IT-YOURSELF SCREENPRINTING : How to turn your home into a t-shirt factory
John Isaacson
Microcosm Publishing
POB 14332
Portland, OR 97293
www.microcosmpublishing.com
www.unlay.com
$9, 160 pages, paperback (ISBN 0-9770557-4-4)
Can I just say how thrilled I was when Davida sent this to me to review? I took my first class in printmaking in spring 2008 and loved it, but I needed to push aside my free studio art classes to make room for the library science ones instead. I’d dreamed of doing woodcuts at home, mostly because they’re pretty cheap, easy and require only a few items (piece of class, oil based ink, brayer, paper, wooden spoon and ink cleaner). Now, thanks to this wonderful comic book, I can make screen prints at home, too! It’s a bit more complicated, especially if you want more than one color, but John breaks down the process into easy-to-understand steps. He shares his experiences selling his work, moving out of his house and into mass-production and gives helpful hints to DIY printers along the way. John has been a screenprinter, cartoonist and musician for over ten years. Currently living in Berkeley, he’s traveled to Ireland, Chile, China and Peru. Check out the second website to see samples of his work.
BOOTY #21
Anne Thalheimer
8 Clark Street #2
Holyoke, MA 01040
motes@simons-rock.edu
$2?, 16 pages, digest
After a year hiatus, Anne returns with another great comic depiction of her life. After getting a new job that uses her Ph.D., joining the roller derby and launching her very own monster hat venture (check out https://mymonsterhat.com/home.php), Anne’s got a lot to write about! My favorite pages were “100 random facts about me” and her drawings for “All I Need” by Radiohead. I always find Anne inspiring because no matter how busy she is, she incorporates art into her life. (My distractible and procrastinating self is jealous.) I’m grateful I can read about it in BOOTY and hopefully inject the same sense of fun and creativity in my own life amidst the chaos and laziness. Yay, BOOTY!
ZINE WORLD #26: A reader’s guide to the underground press
POB 330156
Murfreesboro, TN 37133-0156
www.undergroundpress.org
$4 US, $5 Canada/Mexico, $6 Everywhere else, 62 pages, full size
ZINE WORLD, like XEROGRAPHY DEBT, is a review zine. Chock full of suggestions for fabulous independent media, this is a wonderful resource (200+ zine reviews plus books). Extra marvelous treats are Heath Row’s article “Censoring news: from Redding to Russia” and the letters to the editor. This is a must-have for those who are new, addicted or curious about the world of zines.
CRANES
Kyt Dotson
http://www.millvexations.com/
Free-$2, printed version pages vary, digest
Dotson writes a serial novella about Vex Harrow, a tough goth in the Mill Avenue area of Tempe, AZ who delves in the supernatural. The story itself currently has nine volumes, and CRANES is a stand-alone “tribute fiction” involving some of the same characters. There is no summary of the story in CRANES, so you’ll have to go to the website to figure out who who’s and what’s happening. By itself, I didn’t have enough context to thoroughly enjoy and understand the story in CRANES but I was impressed by Dotson’s writing abilities and her website, which includes free full-text version of every volume of this story, a discussion forum, links to Mill Avenue business, gothic subculture information and related fiction suggestions. There’s a dedicated following—she has a link to the first fan fiction story related to Mill Avenue Vexations. Dotson also has two published fantasy/paranormal books (one through amazon and the other a free e-book).
POTENTIALLY HEARTWRENCHING DISTRACTIONS AND OTHER WONDERFUL POSSIBILITIES
Bucket D. Siler
POB 10192
Santa Fe, NM 87504
yournamehere@hush.com
myspace.com/bucketsiler
$2/2.50/3, 28 pages, digest
PWDaOWP is a tight, satisfying perzine about Bucket’s travels across the country, breaking up, coming out, friends, love and life. Text heavy with a few drawings.
WATCH THE CLOSING DOORS #44
Fred Argoff
Penthouse L
1170 Ocean Parkway
Brooklyn, NY 11230-4060
$10 for four quarterly issues, 20 pages, digest
I’ve heard about WATCH THE CLOSING DOORS for years but have never read it. Thanks to Davida, I finally got one in my review envelope. Fred writes about all things subway, mostly encompassing NYC but also including Guadalajara, Shanghai, Paris and Buenos Aires. I LOVED the photo of the Underground Catwalk in Berlin (the model was wearing leather and pasties) and the detailed description of the no. 4 (Lexington Avenue express) line in New York. This zine is well worth the hype!!!
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
in My Mailbox 5-5-09
Yo,
After a brief absence caused by completely forgetting, I finally made it back to the PO Box yesterday and gathered my treats, which included an airline bottle of vodka from a kind soul who chose to remain anonymous. If I can get this free-booze-in-the-mail deal off the ground, I believe I will be remembered for generations as a great man.
Anyway, I also got:
- Insignificant Proportions (A Memoir of Sorts) & Insignificant Proportions Companion Coloring Book [No price, DB Pedlar, 25727 Cherry Hill Rd, Camb. Spgs, PA 16403] I love getting stuff from DB, and I love the statement on page 3 that he is making this zine for his grandchildren and hopes that one of us--his readers--will be the one to hand them a copy, someday. The coloring book just blows my mind.
- Fed Up Mag #11 (gerryorchard@iol.ie; myspace.com/fedupmag) 6 screaming pages about shopping, decluttering, and animated movies.
- Blackguard #1 ($7, PO Box 93, Paddington NSW 2021 Australia; blackguard23.livejournal.com; sstratu@gmail.com). Wow, pretty gorgeous 4-color cover and crisp, well-done comix inside by various artists. $7 is high, but looks worth it. Theme is "Religious Crazies" - who can't get behind that!
- Brain Food #15 ($1, Mike Toft, POB 7246, Minneapolis MN 55407; cartoonistconspiracy.com/brainfood; miketoft@usfamily.net) An installment in an ongoing comic story, digest-sized and good-looking.
And that was it! The booze counts for about 27 zines, though.
L
J
--
Blog - http://www.jeffreysomers.com/blather/
The Inner Swine - http://www.innerswine.com
After a brief absence caused by completely forgetting, I finally made it back to the PO Box yesterday and gathered my treats, which included an airline bottle of vodka from a kind soul who chose to remain anonymous. If I can get this free-booze-in-the-mail deal off the ground, I believe I will be remembered for generations as a great man.
Anyway, I also got:
- Insignificant Proportions (A Memoir of Sorts) & Insignificant Proportions Companion Coloring Book [No price, DB Pedlar, 25727 Cherry Hill Rd, Camb. Spgs, PA 16403] I love getting stuff from DB, and I love the statement on page 3 that he is making this zine for his grandchildren and hopes that one of us--his readers--will be the one to hand them a copy, someday. The coloring book just blows my mind.
- Fed Up Mag #11 (gerryorchard@iol.ie; myspace.com/fedupmag) 6 screaming pages about shopping, decluttering, and animated movies.
- Blackguard #1 ($7, PO Box 93, Paddington NSW 2021 Australia; blackguard23.livejournal.com; sstratu@gmail.com). Wow, pretty gorgeous 4-color cover and crisp, well-done comix inside by various artists. $7 is high, but looks worth it. Theme is "Religious Crazies" - who can't get behind that!
- Brain Food #15 ($1, Mike Toft, POB 7246, Minneapolis MN 55407; cartoonistconspiracy.com/brainfood; miketoft@usfamily.net) An installment in an ongoing comic story, digest-sized and good-looking.
And that was it! The booze counts for about 27 zines, though.
L
J
--
Blog - http://www.jeffreysomers.com/blather/
The Inner Swine - http://www.innerswine.com
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