Blue Okoye #1

Blue Okoye! #1
$1
973 Crescent Street #2
Brooklyn, NY 11208
This is an interesting first issue in that has a lot of potential, but as it stands, is a bit empty. I’m not trying to be condescending to the author when I say, “He’s almost there”, but that’s how this zine felt for me. The stories start strong, feel like they are going somewhere, and then abruptly end. They then seem more like poems and less like stories, and I don’t think that’s what the author was trying to do. He’s a good writer and given time I think this zine could really stand out. This issue also has some of his illustrations that are really well done. Blue Okoye is a talented guy, and although the stories didn’t develop the way that I would have preferred, they did leave me wanting more.

Xerography Debt #27

Xerography Debt #27
$3
POB 11064
Baltimore, MD 21212
Beginning with the great cover art by Hai Anxieti, this issue of Xerography Debt is top notch through and through. For years Xerography Debt has been promoting and spotlighting the world of independent publishing and zines in a truly dignified way and this issue is no exception. With Davida Gypsy Breier at the helm and a host of veteran zinesters as columnists and reviewers, this can’t help but be awesome. I really enjoyed reading the “Where are they now” piece about ex-zine writers, as I often wonder (and have wondered aloud in the early stages of this blog) as to the whereabouts of many of my old pen pals. I could also relate to Jeff Somers’s (of The Inner Swine) column about getting older, drinking, and repeating oneself in print. If you’ve never read XD before, it’s essentially a zine-review zine with big personalities behind the reviews, columns, and interviews. Excellent.

Rad Dad #18

Rad Dad #18
Tomas Moniz
1636 Fairview St.
Berkeley, CA 94703
Rad Dad is a collection of essays by a wide array of contributors who are both parents, and involved in radical causes and/or activism. To me this is an incredible premise for a zine. The theme of this particular issue of Rad Dad is sex. Each author explores this controversial topic from the perspective of someone who is often at odds with their fellow activists for the simple fact that they have children, i.e. they are perpetuating procreation and overpopulation. I had no idea how offensive this is to some activists until I read this zine. The titles of these essays say it all, “Why I broke up with the anarchist community”, “Earth Abides” “Sex and (this) single mom” and “Let’s talk about sex” . This is a truly excellent and fascinating zine, which also serves as an important forum for anyone considering becoming a parent.

Christian New Age Quarterly

Christian New Age Quarterly
Winter ‘09, spring ‘10, summer ‘10, autumn ‘10
$3.50ppd
Pob 276
Clifton, NJ 07015-0276

As the title suggests these are essays and stories centered on the Christian religion and New Age philosophies. When I got these in my mailbox I was a little taken aback. I am used to getting punk rock, anarchist, and weird art zines in the mail. This is the first time I’ve gotten anything like this and I wasn’t sure what to make of it. My initial instinct was to write it off as religious garbage, kick out a few Marx and Sam Clemens quotes, and call it a day. But after reading these journals, I found myself surprisingly engaged and interested. These are very well written essays that explore many of the current national issues with regards to religion and politics in a way that doesn’t come across preachy. One of the standout essays for me was from the Autumn ’10 issue where the editor, Catherine, explores the issue of a mosque being built near ground zero, correlating it with the essential American ideal of freedom, and how hypocritical and misguided the bible-thumping quran-burners are. I don’t want a mosque built there either, but nor do I want a church or religious temple of any kind built there. I would prefer instead the money be spent on secular community centers, boys & girls clubs, or a used bookstore. That being said, I do think that Muslims have the right to build it anywhere they want in America. This is the kind of internal dialogue that the Christian New Age Quarterly sparked in me while reading them.

It doesn't snow in Memphis....

reviews to come....





and.....it does snow in Memphis

happy Solstice!

THE AARDVARK #2

THE AARDVARK #2
Red Roach Press
POB 771
College Park, MD
20740
Joe Smith aka Art Vark, loves the written word, particularly when those words are written on paper, and can be found in libraries and bookstores. He has a lot of opinions and theories as to the future of this medium and shares them throughout this zine, which is mostly what this issue is about. I really enjoyed reading about this as it is something that most people who love books and zines can relate to. These opinions and theories are not knee-jerk and appear to be very well thought out with quotes and statistics punctuating many of his points. There are also some zine and book reviews and a nice intro about what it means to “follow your bliss”. As a lover of hidden bookstores in forgotten parts of town, second hand store book finds, and the great zine underground, I don’t have the same level of anxiety about the decline of the print format that Joe mourns in this zine. I do, however, appreciate his take on it and look forward to more of his words on paper.

EVERY REASON 1&2

EVERY REASON 1&2
everyreasonzine@gmail.com
These are short poetry/prose zines. The first issue is written entirely by Keith, the editor, the second has a number of contributors as well as Keith’s stuff. Poetry is very hit and miss for me. If, for example, the author is simply creating a mood with words then I tend to tune out pretty quickly. But if they are telling a story, following a narrative, I enjoy them a lot more. These zines have a bit of both, and fortunately for me, more of the latter. Most of the stories inside these zines are pretty dark, and the one about the dog is downright disturbing and hard to read. I preferred issue number one in that I really liked Keith’s writing. I had the time to get to know his style and tone, which was something I had a hard time doing with the other authors from a single poem. I would definitely be into another all-Keith issue for sure.

THE PTERODACTYL 1&4, ZAP!!OMANIA #4

THE PTERODACTYL # 1&4
ZAP!!OMANIA #4
James N. Dawson
POB 292
Malden, WA 99149-0292
I wrote to James a few months back noting that he was from Malden, a tiny farming community just southwest of here, and traded zines with him. He sent me a nice long letter back and a small stack of his zines. The zines are full-size and look to be written on an old typewriter. They have a distinctive analogue style to them that harkens back to a lost era of the underground press. In Zap!omania James spends a significant amount of time hashing out his feelings about the internet vs. print communication forums. As a self-proclaimed “POB mail-junkie” he laments the pre-internet days where print was the only way to roll. I miss those days too. Pterodactyl is his APA fanzine about movies, books, music, horror, indie, and retro. He re-prints many of the letters that people have sent to him and responds accordingly. I really like these zines and appreciate his dedication and passion to the craft of self-publishing. There’s an aesthetic to holding these zines in your hand, the way they look, and the content inside that really appeals to me. It gives me hope that guys like James will be around for a long time keeping this format, and the conversation behind it, around.

SCAM: the first four issues

SCAM: the first four issues
$16
Microcosm
222 S. Rogers st.
Bloomington, In
47404
This is a unique review for me in that I haven’t finished reading this yet. I might be done sometime around March 2215. This book is huge and packed with all kinds of visually stimulating and profoundly interesting stuff. The handwritten parts are very sloppy, uneven, and hard to read but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it just takes time to get through a page, especially when it’s full-size. The stories are full of colorful characters and situations, scams, and insight into the inner-workings of highly motivated societal critics and guerrilla street protesters. Arguably, Scam might just be the best punk zine ever created, at least in its entirety. If you are into anarchy, squatting, free punk shows, scamming all corporate and corrupt entities, graffiti, drinking copious amounts of cheap beer, and leaving pianos on hiking trails, well then look no further, your manifesto has arrived.

LOSERDOM #20

LOSERDOM #20
loserdomzine@gmail.com
This is a “Whoops!..oh shit, sorry” zine review, in that I got it in the mail a long time ago, read it, and lost it in a pile of stuff. This is a really fantastic zine of the punk rock persuasion from Ireland. Loserdom is a community oriented, scene-promoting kind of zine that both entertains and informs. The authors explore a host of issues such as the ethics of supporting Israeli food co-ops, school bullying, to drink or not to drink, and other issues with an obvious bent on creating a better community both globally and locally. All of the issues, stories, interviews, and reviews are punctuated by great illustrations and cartoons intertwined within the text and photos. I really got into the interview with Darcy Alexandra, the coordinator of the FOMACS digital storytelling project. The idea of using pretty simple and affordable tools like digital video and editing software to document untold stories of people, issues, and place is very appealing to me personally. It was great to read about dedicated people putting this idea into action.

SOMNAMBULIST #16

SOMNAMBULIST #16
$3
POB 14871
Portland, OR 97293
marthagrover@hotmail.com
Another wonderful collection of short stories, poems, essays, and drawings from Martha Grover. The stories, which are set in the Pacific Northwest, are an interesting mix of fact and fiction and it’s up to the reader to decide which is which. I really enjoyed reading about the Columbia River gorge and her historical/conservationist perspective on it. I love that drive, and consider it to be arguably the most scenic stretch of interstate highway in America, which sounds like an oxymoron, until you’ve driven it. This is a pretty bare bones cut & paste zine packed with attitude and a hell of a lot of talent.

LES CARNETS DE RASTOPOPOULOS #7

LES CARNETS DE RASTOPOPOULOS #7
2-7 Larch Street
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada
KIR6W4
Rarely have I encountered a zine-intro wherein the author doesn’t make excuses for why it took so long for that particular issue to come out, myself definitely included. This author, however, has by far the most legit excuse I’ve seen yet, and pictures to prove it. Someone drove a mini-van through his living room, thus rendering him homeless for six months. Now that he’s back in action he’s put out Les Carnets De Rastapopoulos #7. This zine is composed almost entirely of mini history essays. He doesn’t give much lead-in and jumps immediately into the subject matter. Subjects covered, William Topaz McGonagall-the world’s worst poet, Pope Alexander VI-an unrepentant murderous swashbuckler, and the history of the Faroe Islands struggle to gain independence from Denmark through the use of World Cup Soccer. I really enjoyed the articles and found a lot of useful information throughout. My only personal critique of the Faroe Island essay would be the failure to mention the brutal annual slaughter of pilot whales by the Faroese which, in my opinion, renders their sovereignty plee worthless until it stops. But that’s just me being really pissed off about it. The zine, however, is great.

THE FURY #18

THE FURY #18
$4
Mark Novotony
5413 6th ave
Countryside, IL 60525
Thefuryzine@hotmail.com
Hardcore punk zine! Hardcore punk zine! In the tradition of zines like ItS ALIVE, TEN THINGS JESUS WANTS YOU TO KNOW, HeartattaCk, and MAXIMUMROCKNROLL, THE FURY is a breath of fresh air in the oversaturated and aesthetically devoid world of music blogs. The layout is mostly cut & paste and gives it that true DIY feeling and spirit, something I always respond positively to in zines. Interviews with Dez Cadena, 97 Shiki, Antioch Arrow, Bill Daniel, Volcano!, and Nation of Ulysses, and a really informative, in-depth article about Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin that reminded me again of just why I love Abbie Hoffman. I love pictures of bands kicking ass and this zine is full of them. Over the years I have kept nearly every zine I’ve ever received, and I put zines like this into their own special place in my collection. Whenever I need inspiration I will pull out random copies and just thumb through them, simply for that DIY aesthetic which always gets me
active and creative. The FURY is a gift.

LIVING IN A DYING WORLD #3

LIVING IN A DYING WORLD #3
$2 dan.nowhere@yahoo.com

I was reminded of the old anarchist zine Antipathy a lot while reading Living in a dying world. The author, Dan Nowhere has an incredible knack for the descriptive narrative which is punctuated by his heavy use of dialogue. Sometimes the over use of dialogue can kill a story and even seem gimmicky, not the case in this zine. Dan has figured out the equation and knows when to put the breaks on. I really enjoyed reading this zine. The stories are saturated in this odd mix of cynicism and the optimism of a wide-eyed freedom-loving train-hopping tramp. He writes about train hopping and the pitfalls of no-budget travel in a self destructive world with an eye for entertaining detail. Email him today, get a copy.

The world is better because

Two of my favorite people died recently. Both of these men spent their lives making the world a better place. Walkin' Jim Stoltz and Ron Wheeler. Conservationists, radicals, educators, and poets both. My glass is raised.

SHUT UP & LOVE THE RAIN

SHUT UP & LOVE THE RAIN
robotearl@gmail.com
$3microcosm
636 SE 11th
Portland, OR 97241
This is a personal exploration of all things queer by Robnoxious. It’s got cartoons about fooling around with body parts and ideas of all sorts. The stories are about his varied and unique perspectives when it comes not just to sexuality but everything else as well. Neither straight nor gay nor bi, Robnoxious simply identifies with queer and goes on to define this in a simple, yet straight forward way. To him the word queer simply means “I am not normal” I like that. This is a well-written and very honest zine that does an excellent job at examining the grey areas of human sexuality and life.

ALLTOPIA ANTHOLOZINE

ALLTOPIA ANTHOLOZINE
Harvest 2009, spring 2009
www.alltopia.org

These two zines are collections of short stories, poems, photographs, and drawings from a wide variety of contributors from around the country. I was impressed with the depth of talent involved. The spring 2009 issue’s theme is “Home” and contains stories about just that. The highlight for me was the story “Down Home” by Linda Fielder where she recounts her various trips back home over the years to attend family funerals. Her descriptions of people and place are vivid and engaged without being overly wordy: “Rufus was a giant, copper-colored rooster with only one eye and spurs on his feet the length of my thumb…Rufus didn’t take to strangers, and strange children got him particularly riled. With no kids my age to play with, I had come to think of Rufus as my sort of hillbilly cousin, and we tormented one another mercilessly.” Great story.
The antholozine is a great idea, I hope they keep it up.

Henry & Glenn Forever

Henry & Glenn Forever
Cantankerous Titles
pob 14332
Portland, OR
97293
$6

I’ve seen this thing floating around for a few months now on various websites and in magazines, bookstands, etc. If you are either a Black Flag, Misfits, Samhain, or Danzig fan you can't help but notice it, the cover art draws you in like a guilty moth to the forbidden backyard lightbulb. Recently on a trip to Seattle I had a chance to thumb through a copy at Left Bank Books (Great book store) and found myself giggling, and then looking around to see if anyone was looking at me. This is a very bizarre comic about a love affair between Henry Rollins, Glenn Danzig, and their satanic next door neighbors Daryl Hall and John Oats. Seriously, that’s what it’s about. It’s put together by the Igloo Tornado artist collective in Portland who seem like fun loving, beer drinking folk. I suppose that if the people portrayed in these comics had very, very progressive senses of humor they might think this to be the ultimate tribute to them. I suspect that they don’t and assume that they are pretty pissed off about it all. Did I like the zine? yea, it's quite funny and weird as hell. If someone wrote a comic called Glenn and Randy about Danzig and me, I would laugh my ass off, but then of course I never wrote the song, "Mommy can I go out and kill tonight?".

busy busy busy

Oh man, I got a crapload of zines to review. I'm on it. Stay tuned....

Best picture ever

Taken from the Maximumrocknroll blog, a Scotty Karate photo. beautiful.

CIUTAT PODRIDA #9

CIUTAT PODRIDA #9
POB 6129
50080 Zaragoza
Spain
Unfortunately I can’t read Spanish and so I missed out on what appears to be an amazing hardcore punk zine. I recently gave a power point presentation about zines to a group of high school kids at the University of Idaho, I took this zine with me as an example of the cultural and artistic diversity present in the world of zines. I passed this zine and a few others around and let the kids look through them as I talked. They all seemed to be really into this one based simply on its aesthetic appearance. This zine looks cool, really cool. It has interviews with Bad Brains, Mob 47, Sotatila, Antimaster, and a host of other bands. It’s got reviews, columns, and tons of great pictures of bands tearing it up live. If you are into punk zines and are hip to the Spanish language, you need this zine. It comes with a bunch of stickers and a split CD from the bands Almax (which the author screams in), Mistkafer, and Down to Agony.

SPRAK!

SPRAK! vol. 2 #6
$? does accept trades
Kami POB 278
Edwardstown SA 5039
Australia

Sprak! is a Sexploitation, B-Movie, Trash, Horror, movie review zine from Australia. I’ve always been curious about these genres of movies but personally have only really scratched the surface with movies like Pink Flamingos, Blackula, Death Race 2000, and a few others that I’ve randomly been exposed to over the years. Reading Sprak! Is a wild, somewhat naughty introduction to this seedy underbelly of cinema and art from someone who is freakishly passionate and knowledgeable about it all. With titles like, Cockhammer, The Sinful Dwarf, and the Satanic Rites of Draccula how couldn’t a person be at least a little curious?

CATS TEETH #6

Cats Teeth #6
wintermuse@gmail.com
This is a short poetry/philosophical musing/perzine that wanders around and explores the author’s consciousness, former lovers, issues, and ideas. Its cut and paste and full of disjointed images and clip art that mimic the tone of the writing. Because I haven’t read any of the previous issues, I didn’t have much context for the stories and poems, and so I often felt out of the loop while reading it. This is an unfortunate byproduct of jumping into someone else’s perzine six issues in. I’m curious for more.

Somnambulist #15

SOMNAMBULIST #15
Martha Grover
pob 14871
Portland, OR 97293
This zine consists entirely of Martha’s notes taken during her weekly family meetings. She had gotten very sick with Cushing’s disease and had to move back in with her parents and four siblings. The zine starts fast, and immediately jumps into the weekly meetings without much explanation or lead up. It doesn’t take long, however, to become familiar with the personalities behind the names, and get a good sense of the who, what, when, and where of this family. There is a lot of squabbling over space in the cupboard and who is responsible for what chore, and believe it or not, this is really funny. It’s a pretty long zine, spanning the course of an entire year, and by the end of it I felt like I really knew this family well. It’s mostly dialogue and short observations centered around the mundane issues present in all communal living situations, “I ask Simone and Sarah to stop leaving half-eaten avocados in the fridge. Sarah says that she never does that. Simone says she will stop doing that….I say that I will attempt to store my urine for my lab tests in a cooler instead of the fridge. Everyone thinks that’s a good idea.” I really enjoyed this zine.

JAVELINA!

A big "HELL YEA!" to Herb from the band Javelina for sending this shirt. Who says writing a zine isn't a lucrative endeavor?

924 GILMAN: the story so far

$18
maximumrocknroll
pob 460760
San Francisco, CA 94146-0760
www.maximumrocknroll.com
Mother of all things punk, this is a great book! Historic, iconic, angry, and fun. I've seen advertisements and reviews of this book around for a few years, but until now had never ordered or picked up a copy. I picked this one up at Powell’s. It was funny because the book was wrapped in plastic on the shelf due to the fact that each page falls out immediately after touching human fingers. The store copy was a hilarious pile of mangled pages stuffed into a plastic bag. Regardless of how poorly this book is bound, it’s great reading and goes into incredible detail about the history, present, and future of this iconic rock club. It’s full of pictures and writing from dozens of people who have been involved throughout. 924 Gilman is an important example dedication and passion. After reading the book I checked in with the club website, www.924gilman.org and saw that they are currently facing a pretty big financial dilemma, that of a $7000 monthly rent increase. Donate if you can.

pic: my old Gilman membership

GOAT FARM #2

Goat Farm has the best cover art ever. This is a personal history of how the author, Kim Riot, came to love metal. This is a very visually stimulating zine full of collage and ironic imagery. I loved this zine and found myself getting jealous of all the bands that she got to see live during those formative teenage years; Neurosis, Cro-Mags, Nuclear Assault. The only concert that rolled through Helena Montana when I was in high school was Huey Lewis & the News……Goat Farm, good stuff.

BURN COLLECTOR #14

Microcosm
222 South Rogers St
Bloomington, IN
If you have read Burn Collector before, then you already know that Al is a really talented writer and artist. I love his strange visuals and ambiguous comic panels that sometimes follow the story and sometimes just make you wonder. In this issue he writes about Chicago public transportation versus biking, and all the shortcomings, pitfalls, and insanity of big city travel, life, and music. He also writes about the often hypocritical forces of gentrification. My favorite part of this zine is Al’s analysis of Daniel Clowes’, Modern Cartoonist and his take on the history of cartooning. He makes it personal and I could totally relate to the stories about reading comics as a kid and trying to mimic the art, coming up short and feeling defeated as an artist. And then you discover punk rock and take the reins of your own artistic journey. This issue of Burn Collector is particularly heavy with comics and art, hallelujah!

THE EAST VILLAGE INKY #42

$3
POB 22754
Brooklyn, NY 11202
This is a really funny zine. EVI has been around forever and is always excellent. I really dug this particular issue in that it takes place at a summer camp. Having been involved with summer camps as both a camper and a counselor on and off for over 30 years, I guess you could say that I could relate. Ayun is there to see to it that her youngins get a quality camp experience and some good eats along the way. You can’t just pick up The East Village Inky and start reading casually through, you have to pay attention. There are so many tangents and rants that she goes off on, and so many funny images and cartoons scattered throughout every page that casual reading is totally out of the question. This zine requires you to find a comfortable reading spot, a tasty beverage, and a few hours of your time. Great reading.

COMETBUS #53

POB 4726
Berkeley, CA 94704
This issue is split with longtime Cometbus contributor Maddalena Polletta. This one is an amalgamation of different stories that wander around and explore a wide variety of topics and issues with each author taking turns. As varying as each story is, this zine has a surprising flow to it. I have been a fan of Aaron’s writing for years and always appreciate his perspective on life and living. Like all good writing the reader gets to experience and view the world with someone else’s goggles on and see it through their filters. Aaron’s filters just happen to be shaded punk, and dipped in pure Berkeley. I really liked this issue and the way that each author peppered it with short, often blunt stories that continue to take you into their worlds, introduce you to thier friends, families, cohorts, struggles and triumph.

ASHCAN MAGAZINE #2

660 4th St #420
San Francisco, CA 94107
www.ashcanmagazine.com
This is a new art, music, comic and culture magazine out of glorious San Francisco. It’s a full-sized newsprint mag whose contents include spotlights on artists Michael Frank, and Chance, an interesting story about touring around the amazon entitled, “Swimming with Piranha”where a gram of cocaine goes for a whopping $2, you can fish for piranhas, and riding in a mototaxi can be a uniquely dangerous endeavor. It’s got interviews with Andrew Jackson Jihad, Make Me!, Kepi Ghoulie as well as record & zine reviews, comics, and some fiction. This is a very solid and quality read that will hopefully find a way to survive in the challenging and often depressing world of print journalism.

ARMY OF HER, SHOW AND TELL #1

I can only assume that the author is very new to the zine scene in that there is no contact information whatsoever in either the zine itself, or the envelope that it came in. This is a cute little mini-zine that I read, I’m not kidding, in three minutes. It’s a super quick read about growing up in Portugal, getting her first period, and moving to London. I hope she keeps it up and expands her writing more in the next issue.

Foulweather #3

foulweather.blogspot.com
Pete is another very talented writer. Foulweather is the perfect title for this meandering and often morosely personal zine. Pete writes about and explores the very real subject of death. He processes the reality of his own mortality through surfing, skating, camping with friends, and discussions with family which always comes to the same conclusion; no matter how well things are going, you are still eventually going to die. Obviously this is a spooky subject but Pete tackles it with an openness and honesty that is approachable and at times even entertaining. He also writes about his own struggles with technology and how to balance it out with reality. Highly recommended.

AVOW #22

AVOW #22
$2 Keith Rosson 1615 SE Main St.,
Portland, OR 97214
keithrosson.com
Avow has been around for a long time. I picked this one up the other day when I was on a work-related road trip to Portland and had a few hours to check out Reading Frenzy and Powell’s. This is a collection of stories about Keith’s life. To be honest, this zine started slow for me, I had a hard time getting into it. This wasn’t due to a lack of talent on Keith’s part, I immediately recognized his talent for the written word, but for some reason I couldn’t connect to the first three opening stories. That having been said, there are 12 stories in this zine and from the fourth, “Our Children’s War” on, I was hooked. At times this is a hard zine to read in that it deals with a host of painful issues, foremost of which is the death of his father. It also deals lost love, mortality, substance abuse, and child abuse. Keith’s writing is insightful, engaging, and he has an uncommon knack for bringing the reader into whatever scenario quickly and personally. This is a heavy read that regularly made me uncomfortable, angry, and even happy, often in the same story. But this zine isn’t entirely about the horrors of the real world, case in point is the hilarious story, “Tim Armstrong is Porn” which is quite possibly the funniest thing I’ve ever read in a zine. It explores the insecurities that many of us feel when buying things that may inaccurately stereotype us by the various employees behind the counter. I could relate all too well. This is a fantastic read.

THE MATCH! a Journal of Ethical Anarchism #108

THE MATCH! a Journal of Ethical Anarchism #108
donation (give what you can)
POB 3012
Tucson, AZ 85702
The Match has been around since 1969 unapologetically keeping tabs on elite power, religion, authoritarianism, and all statist laws. I haven’t read the Match in a while, 8 years to be exact. It’s still as beautifully laid-out and informative as I remember it. It is inspirational to know that the Match hasn’t lost its razor’s edge over the years. This issue explores the topics of workplace politics, Islamic apologists: not so fast!, a very scary story about a botched hernia that left the patient impotent (and just how common this has become), and a host of other pertinent issues explored from the perspective of well-informed anarchists.

THE FURY #11

THE FURY #11
Mark Novotny
5413 6th ave
countryside, IL 60525
formerly known as Shazzbut, this is a straight-up hardcore punk zine that I got in the mail in trade. Its old, I think it came out around ’02. Interviews with Soophie Nun Squad, Frontside, and a funny story about dressing up like nerds and going out on the town.

EXTINCTIONS #5

EXTINCTIONS #5 &
POLVO 1-5
$1ppd, prefers trades
Joseph Delgado
2290 Peck Rd
Mohave Valley, AZ 86440
Extinctions is a really beautiful zine. Joseph’s drawings are haunting, moody, and meld seemlessly into his poetry to create thought-provoking and, at times, graphic imagery.

Whereas Extinctions is focused on the personal life of the author, Polvo is more radical and protest-oriented. Like Extinctions, Polvo is also a mix of collage, drawings, and poetry, but has more of a “Fuck you” attitude. The author does not hold back his opinion which appears to be totally fed up with the straight world of Draconian Arizona politics. Intense stuff.

I AM A SILLY BITCH

I AM A SILLY BITCH &
AN UNEDITED MIND
by The Force of Nature
$1ppd rabblemonster@gmail.com
These are two zines that completely explore the author’s every waking thought. He explains at the beginning of An Unedited Mind that, “I promise when I am sitting at this type writer I will write everything that pops into my head. No matter how dark, or evil, or cheesy, or random, or embarrassing it may be” and that is exactly what you get. Most of this consists of thoughts, reflections, and regrets about a past relationship. He doesn’t hold back and lets it all out

I Am a Silly Bitch is also a random collection of stories and thoughts. Topics explored are, Douche Bags (which I thought was hilarious), the idea of being completely honest, drinking, do we really care about the environment, and some interesting stories about the author living in the psychiatric ward of a hospital for a while. These zines are both well written and written on a type writer. They are pretty bare-bone and raw, which I always like.

I’M ONE OF AN ODD FAMILY

I’M ONE OF AN ODD FAMILY #1
meandmyfamily@ymail.com
This is an incredibly sloppy and very odd zine. I liked it a lot. It’s sloppy sloppy sloppy, purposely sloppy and full of sloppy colors and sloppy interviews. The author is young (I’m guessing high school) and is tapped into some pretty interesting music. Most of it appears to be underground hip hop and noise. There’s also an interview with the Brown Panthers and some weird drawings. I liked this zine because it feels kind of subversive and edgy, but looks so goddamn cute.

YOU DON’T GET THERE FROM HERE #13

YOU DON’T GET THERE FROM HERE #13
$2ppd, Carrie McNinch, POB 49403
Los Angeles, CA 90049
One of my favorite things over the past 18 years of reading and writing zines is opening the mailbox to find a new issue of anything that Carrie is involved with. I love her art, her humor, and her ability to be vulnerable and honest about her daily life. She really lets the reader into her world, sometimes that world sucks, sometimes it’s funny, sometimes it’s embarrassing, and sometimes it’s touching enough to make a big guy like me tear up and cry. This issue primarily deals with the steady decline and heartbreaking loss of her cat Jesse. It also has stories about the ever-present rattlesnakes along her jogging routes, as well as loneliness, booze, and food. If you haven’t seen her comics before, its time.