PRIMAHOOD: THE SECOND ALBUM

review from Anne: PRIMAHOOD: THE SECOND ALBUM by Tyler Cohen

24 pages, 5.5 X 8.5, $8 US (shipping ? trades? ), full color
Primazonia Press
www.primazonia.com

From Tyler's website: "In her creations—the beings, the Primazons—the artist brings together her interests in nature & nurture, comics, anime, book/arts, anthropology, design, scifi, fantasy, dream, and intergenerational relationships." "Also, Primahood is the interweaving of two narrative spaces: MamaPants and Primazonia. Together, they tell stories and ask questions that might lead to thoughts about femaleness, social constructs, where we are, where we are going, and how we relate to one another. Also, you might laugh." It's a lovely colorful piece that's in full color throughout; kind of about kids and parenting, kind of about gender, with kind of a surreal, dreamlike quality. It took a few reads through for me; it was of course visually appealing on first pass but I wasn't always sure that I was following the narrative -- but there isn't really a single set narrative, as it turns out, and it's worth getting to check out the detailed, unusual art. Recommended.

Ungrateful Black-White Girl (review by Anne)

"This is, above all, a zine about race, but since I experience the world not only as a mixed-race person, but as a mixed-race queer woman with an inconsistent gender presentation, you will find experiences pertaining to all those identities in this zine." I've reviewed a lot of Nia's work before and I always come away from it thinking, Yeah, this is work people need to read. Because it is. That said, I think of all of Nia's work, Ungrateful Black-White Girl is the most articulate I've seen her be in writing about her own experiences. Her work is always powerful, but there's something about this zine that is both direct like her other work and also proactive; the anger is still there, but the setting feels more external--in this zine she's starting at a new school and is in a few setting different from her other zines. Maybe that's it. Maybe this zine feels more tied to a sense of place, whereas her other work was working through specific events or certain issues. UB-WG takes the form of dated individual entries that are titled things like "How to be a better white ally"and "This is what self-care looks like." It'll make you think; it's honest and forthright, and it's evocative of some of the things that I like best about zines. Get it. It's absolutely worth your time.


$2/Digest/24 pgs
Nia Diaspora
available here:
http://strangerdangerdistro.wordpress.com/catalog/