Introduction:p>

 :p>

After what has been an almost obsessively consistent publishing schedule for the last six years, there are some major changes afoot here at Xerography Debt headquarters. The changes had started with the last issue, but the next big impact is still a few months away. This summer Donny returned to grad school at for a degree in Turkish studies. Meanwhile, here in Maryland:place>:State>, I embarked was my most ambitious creation yet – a child. :p>

By the time this issue reaches you I should be well entrenched in my 7th month, with a due date in February. I’ll be returning to work full-time after my maternity leave and even I am not so foolish and arrogant to think that I can handle an infant, an occasionally intense full-time job, and publish Xerography Debt on the same consistent schedule. There was a good bit of thought and discussion about what to do and initially Donny and I thought it best that the zine go on hiatus. You will note several of the reviewers mention this in the introductions to their reviews. The hiatus plans changed when several reviewers stepped up and offered to help. We are still working out the details, but Xerography Debt will continue in some format (paper or web, but likely both). I’ll still be involved, but the extent of my role will be determined by the little person I am waiting to meet. There will be some changes, but change can be good, right? :p>

One of the biggest changes is that we are asking zinesters to help make our job easier by sending zines directly to reviewers for review. It will save time and postage. (Note: orders can still be sent to me via the new address below.) On the next to last page of this issue you will find a list of people who plan to review for the next issue, the types of zines they are most interested in reading, and their mailing details. Please don’t send more than two copies of your zine in for review. You can get a sense of each reviewer’s tastes by reading their reviews in this issue and decide who might best appreciate your zine. Also, please indicate that the zine is being sent for review and enclose an info sheet (see backpage or make your own). :p>

If you want to be added to an email list for updates about the forthcoming issues, please send me a quick note (Davida@leekinginc.com) with “XD UPDATE LIST” in the subject line or send the same by post to: PO Box 11064:Street>, Baltimore:City>, MD:State> 21212:PostalCode> USA:country-region>:address>.:p>

 :p>

Yes, please note that is a new address. Again::p>

PO Box:Street> 11064:address>:p>

Baltimore:City>, MD:State> 21212:PostalCode> USA:country-region>:place>:p>

 :p>

Davida Gypsy Breier:p>

November 2005:p>

 :p>

 :p>

Basic stuff you should know:p>

 :p>

If this is your first issue, XEROGRAPHY DEBT is a review zine for zine readers by zine writers. It is a hybrid of review zine and personal zine. Xerography Debt has its own freestyle approach. It is all about communication, so each reviewer has used the format or style most comfortable to him or her. Also, each reviewer "owns" the zine in a communal sense. We are individual artists and writers coming together to collaborate and help keep small press flourishing. :p>

Do your part by ordering a few zines from the many reviewed here and, if you self-publish, please consider including some reviews in your zine.:p>

Xerography Debt’s reviews are selective. To explain the “system”: Some reviewers choose to review zines they have bought or traded with, some review zines that are sent to Xerography Debt for review, and some do both. Also, I buy zines at Atomic Books (my local zine store), as well as zine events, so if you see your zine reviewed and you didn’t send it in, that might be where I found it. Generally the only reviews you will read in here are “good reviews.” Constructive criticism is given, but basically we don’t have the time or money to print bad reviews. If you sent your zine in for review and don’t see it listed, wait a few months and see if it appears in the following issue. I read and then distribute the zines to the reviewers about two months before the print date. If the reviewer passed on reviewing your zine, it will be sent out again for the next issue. So, each zine gets two shots with two different reviewers. Ultimately, many of the review copies stay in the XD archives, but some are donated to zine libraries. Occasionally mistakes happen, postal or otherwise, so if you have a question about a zine you sent in for review, please contact Davida at PO Box 11064:Street>, Baltimore:City>, MD:State> 21212:PostalCode>:address> or davida@leekinginc.com. :p>

XD is available for free online (some reviews and artwork will only be available in print) or paper copies can be ordered for $3.:p>

If you have an event, announcement, or project you would like to share, please get in touch. :p>

The lack of paid advertising within these pages is deliberate. Despite reviewing our friends and lovers, we try to be somewhat objective and free to do as we please. Needless to say, this brings up the point of needing some help to keep the machine running...:p>

 :p>

Sponsors:p>

 :p>

We see Xerography Debt as the PBS of review zines. It is by us, for us, with no financial incentive - just a dedication to small press. If you have a few spare stamps or dollar bills to help support us and the zine community, it would be most appreciated. Also, let me know if you wish to remain anonymous. This issue’s sponsors are: :p>

 :p>

Darlene Veverka, Bobby Tran Dale, DB Pedlar, Christopher Robin, Fred Wright, The NJ Zine Awareness Group and Bob Sheairs, Brooke Young and the Salt Lake City Zine Library, Tom Hendricks, Delaine Derry Green, and several anonymous benefactors.:p>

 :p>

Announcements:p>

 :p>

Submissions Wanted:p>

 :p>

TEAR IT UP! Here in Baltimore:place>:City>, rat stories are like rat-holes – everybody’s got one!  Now, the zine Baltimore City Paper calls “surprisingly fascinating, consistently absurd, and often weird as hell” wants to hear all about your encounters with the city’s unsung vermin for its second-ever special issue!:p>

As a Smile, Hon, You’re in Baltimore:place>:City>! contributor, you will receive a byline credit as well as three (3) complimentary copies of the issue.  All submissions/queries of stories, essays, poetry, photographs (.JPG or .TIF, 300+ dpi) and other rat-inspired artwork are preferably received via e-mail (wpt@eightstonepress.com), or snail mail William P. Tandy, c/o Eight-Stone Press, P.O. Box 11064:Street>, Baltimore:City>, MD:State> 21212:PostalCode>:address>.  The final deadline for Smile, Hon’s rat-story issue is February 1st, 2006.:p>

 :p>

New Contact Info::p>

 :p>

Leeking Ink & Xerography Debt:p>

Davida Gypsy Breier:p>

PO Box:Street> 11064:address>:p>

Baltimore:City>, MD:State> 21212:PostalCode>:place>:p>

 :p>

Anne Thalheimer (Booty):p>

160 N.Maple Street:address>:Street>:p>

Florence:City>, MA:State> 01062:PostalCode>:place>:p>

 :p>

Aj Michel (Low Hug/Syndicated Product):p>

PO Box:Street> 877:address>:p>

Lansdowne:City>, PA:State> 19050:PostalCode>:place>:p>

 :p>

Julie Dorn (Junie in Georgia:place>:country-region>):p>

PO Box:Street> 6584:address>:p>

Minneapolis:City>, MN:State> 55406:PostalCode>:place>:p>

 :p>

Remembering Jeff Chapman:p>

Printed with permission from :p>

Cali:place>:City> Ruchala:p>

cali@diacritica.com:p>

 :p>

On Tuesday, August 23, Jeff, aka Ninjalicious, publisher of Infiltration [http://www.infiltration.org/] and YIP, died after a battle with a terminal illness. :p>

The news was announced a few days ago. I’m attaching a few links from Jeff’s family and close friends below.:p>

I just found out about this today, and, to be honest, I’m still overwhelmed. Jeff was one of the most kind, most humble, and yet most intensely dedicated and brilliant people I’ve ever met. The fact that he practically founded a growing subculture (urban exploration) is only a facet of who he was. Anyone who came into contact with Jeff could hardly walk away without realizing that he was more than a great writer, a modern explorer, or a zine legend (whatever that means), but a remarkable human being. :p>

Jeff and I hadn’t been in contact lately. He told me some time ago then that he’d had some health problems, but spoke in the manner of a man who seemed to believe they were in the past. He was intensely private, often deflecting media attention (though you can still hear him interviewed on an old episode of Ira Glass’ programme *This American Life*). In the last months of his life, he completed a book about urban exploration and even published what will wind up being the final issue of Infiltration in June.:p>

Jeff left a large amount of work behind, and according to his wife Liz, Infiltration will still be publishing his forthcoming book, “Access All Areas.” :p>

I’ll just repeat here what I’ve already written elsewhere: forget about everything I’ve just written, because it doesn’t do him justice. *Read him.*:p>

 :p>

Urban Explorer’s Tribute::p>

http://www.uer.ca/:p>

Jeff’s wife Liz on his illness: :p>

http://www.uer.ca/forum_showthread.asp?fid=&threadid=22279&currpage=6&pp :p>

Torontoist profile from a friend::p>

http://www.torontoist.com/:p>

Infiltration::p>

http://www.infiltration.org/:p>

So long, old friend. You made much more than just a dent in the universe.:p>

 :p>

News from New Orleans:place>:City> and Hot Iron Press:p>

 :p>

Jenny and I snuck into the city and checked out our house and Hot Iron Press last weekend. Our studio was flooded with 5.5 ft. of water, submerging everything. 99% of our artwork, equipment, tools, paper, presses, artists’ book collection - everything - was destroyed. To check out pics of the wreckage go to www.hotironpress.com/hurricane.htm.:p>

Thankfully, our living space was located on the second floor, above the printshop, so it fared well. Luckily, the majority of our distro stuff was upstairs and is fine. We have retrieved the distro and will hopefully be able to get that aspect of the press running soon, though we may just sell off the remainder of our stock and then shut the distro down.:p>

We are still accepting donations from anyone who’d like to give to our unofficial “fund.” The money will go to the rebuilding of Hot Iron Press, the New Orleans Bookfair, and other awesome small businesses, artists, collectives, zinesters, musicians, etc. affected by the hurricane.:p>

You can send donations, kind letters, or anything else to us here: Kyle Bravo, c/o UNT SOVA, PO Box 305100:Street>, Denton:City>, TX:State>  76203:PostalCode>:address>:p>

Again, thanks so much to all of you for all of the support. You’re amazing.:p>

Kyle Bravo:p>

 :p>

HOT IRON PRESS NEWS, Oct. ‘05 :p>

KYLE AND JENNY’S LATEST INFO :p>

Hey everybody. Jenny and Casper:City> and I just moved into an apartment in Denton:City>, TX:State>:place> where we’ll be at least through mid-December. We’re both teaching art at the University:PlaceType> of North Texas:PlaceName>:place>. We’re still uncertain at this point if we’ll be leaving Texas:place>:State> after this semester or staying through the spring. It’s hard to pass up teaching jobs, but it’s also hard to pass up going back home to New Orleans:place>:City> and getting our “real” lives back in order. In the meantime, teaching at UNT is a decent diversion from all of the overwhelming hurricane craziness. We can still be reached here: Kyle and Jenny, c/o UNT SOVA, PO Box 305100:Street>, Denton:City>, TX:State> 76203:PostalCode>:address>. :p>

 :p>

HURRICANE RELIEF FUND :p>

We are still actively collecting donations of money, art supplies, musical supplies, etc. to help rebuild and recreate the many grassroots and independent cultural, subcultural, fringe, artistic, and countercultural activities, individuals, groups, businesses, etc. in New Orleans:place>:City>. Cash, checks made out to Hot Iron Press, or any other donations of ANYTHING, can be sent to us at: Kyle Bravo, c/o UNT SOVA, PO Box 305100:Street>, Denton:City>, TX:State> 76203:PostalCode>:address>. You can also donate funds via paypal. Send it to hotironpress@hotmail.com. :p>

We are also looking for suggestions of where funds we’ve collected should be donated. We have a few specific groups and individuals in mind, but would like any input. Where is money most needed? Who was hardest hit by the storm? Who is having trouble paying rent or bills, restarting their business, replacing items lost in the storm? If you or anyone you know needs financial help, that’s what this fund is for. Let us know your needs! :p>

MAKING STUFF AND DOING THINGS Kyle Bravo’s book, “Making Stuff and Doing Things: A Collection of DIY Guides to Doing Just About Everything,” is out and for sale! You can buy it for $10 directly from Kyle Bravo at PO Box 305100:Street>, Denton:City>, TX:State> 76203:PostalCode>:address>. Make checks out to Hot Iron Press. :p>

 :p>

Columns:p>

The History of Zines: New Orleans:City>:place>:p>

By Donny Smith:p>

915 W 2nd St:Street>, Bloomington:City>, IN:State> 47403:PostalCode>:address>:p>

www.geocities.com/dwanzine:p>

dwanzine@hotmail.com:p>

 :p>

So Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana:place>:State> on August 29, 2005. Only two months later the annual New Orleans Book Fair took place and the Aboveground Zine Library reopened. Here are a few messages from the zinegeeks and zinelibrarians email lists: :p>

 :p>

September 2, 2005 :p>

Hi, I read this message from Donny Smith: “Has anyone heard from Robb of Aboveground Library in New Orleans:place>:City>?” My backyard was the 17 St canal. The hole was in the back of where I lived. I saw the house last night on tv and it was filled with water up to the roof. It was 3 floors. I had a collection of 7,000 plus zines and political magazines. Aboveground Zine Library is gone. I was about to finish with cataloging in 3 weeks after the huricane. Almost all of the zines was in the room besides the ones listed on the website. I am doing good. I went through the huricane in Mississippi:place>:State>. I am in TX right now staying at a ranch with my parents. I will not being doing a zine library in the future. Hope all is good, Robb :p>

 :p>

September 4, 2005:p>

Hi All, Thank you for the kind words. Here’s a picture of where I lived. Its the house with the blown off roof on the 17th street:address>:Street> canal. I am going to open up tours of the canal when the water goes down. Robb:p>

 :p>

September 8, 2005:p>

NOLA Bookfair and beyond:p>

Dear Everyone, A lot of people are looking for ways to help in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, and Iwould like to personally encourage anyone who is motivated to donate their time, energy, money to do so in whatever way seems most appropriate. Aside from other relief efforts, I would like to personally help the people involved in the underground press and activist communities of New Orleans:place>:City>.:p>

After hearing about the cancellation of the NOLA Bookfair, I contacted Kyle Bravo, one of the organizers, about helping to get the Bookfair and Hot Iron Press back on their feet.  It is almost certain that their house/studio and all of their equipment presses, type, paper, tools, all of their artwork, and everything else they owned were submerged underwater. In addition, all of the distro stuff artists’ books, zines, etc were also all left behind and are most likely destroyed as well.  This is a crippling blow to a small independent press and it seems like they will be out of operation for quite some time, if not for good.  This is what so many artists are facing in the community.:p>

As a fellow small press, and the organizer for the Boston:place>:City> Zine Fair, I would like to help fundraise for the people who help keep the spirit of activism and art alive.  I told Kyle that I am extraordinarily grateful for all the work they’ve done as a fiercely independent press, distro, and for their amazing efforts to make the NOLA Bookfair what it was.  Even if they never end up reestablishing what they had, I would like to offer my thanks in the form of donations for all that they’ve given the indie/DIY/zine community.  Kyle informed me that they will be setting up a fund to help even more of the area’s organizations like Iron Rail book collective, the New Orleans Anarchists, Nowe Miasto, the Neighborhood Story Project, New Mouth From the Dirty South, and the Plan B Bike Collective.:p>

In order to contribute to their upcoming fund, I have arranged to have any
money sent via paypal to: orders@blackocean.org with the subject “nola” to be forwarded to Kyle in a few lump sums.  I would like to kick off the effort with $20 of my own money, and Black:PlaceName> Ocean:PlaceType>:place> will match every $10 of donations with $1 of our own.  If you would prefer to send something directly to Kyle, I would encourage you to do so as well.:p>

I know there are a lot of people in need, and I am not suggesting this is the only solution. In addition to whatever else you feel compelled to do to alleviate people’s suffering, I would simply like to urge you to take a moment and maybe give back to some people who have given so much to keep the independent spirit alive in publishing, art, and their communities at large.  I am grateful for what they’ve done, and hope that we will see more of them soon in the future.:p>

To learn more about Kyle Bravo and Jenny LeBlanc’s work, you can visit the websites: :p>

http://www.hotironpress.com/:p>

http://www.nolabookfair.com/ :p>

If you have any thoughts, questions, or suggestions please don’t hesitate to contact me as well at janaka@blackocean.org.  Thank you for your time.:p>

Regards, Janaka Stucky:p>

Director, Black:PlaceName> Ocean:PlaceType>:place>:p>

 :p>

September 30, 2005:p>

Zeitgeist in New Orleans:place>:City> relatively ok.:p>

Hey all, I’ve been all over the place besides in front of the computer lately, so I might have missed a post about this...BUT I know at least some people were concerned about Rene and the Zeitgeist Gallery in New Orleans. (Zeitgeist was the location of the New Orleans Book Fair, which was functionally a zine fair with bonuses).:p>

I got an email from the Zeitgeist list today, and it included the following...:p>

“The gallery (which) houses Zeitgeist Multi-disciplinary Arts:PlaceName> Center:PlaceType> (which has temporarily relocated to Shreveport:City>, LA:State>:place>), received almost no damage during Katrina and as of today has electricity and phone service. Barrister’s Gallery is the first art gallery in the city of New Orleans:place>:City> that will be re-opening and continuing it’s exhibition schedule in honor of Art For Arts Sake.  Barrister’s will be having an opening reception for two very colorful exhibitions.”:p>

Don’t know who else cares, but I for one am rather elated.:p>

Rich Mackin:p>

 :p>

October 7, 2005 :p>

Aboveground Zine Library is Alive:p>

Hi Zine Library Humans, My name is Robb and I live in New Orleans:place>:City>. I wrote on this message board a few weeks ago that the zine library I do is gone. Giving where I lived, I thought it was. There was two army tanks outside my house today. Many US Army people in front of the house. 3 news stations were rude enough to try and walk into the room I once lived in. I ask them to leave, its none of there business. One of the news stations was 60 min. Good reporting they didn’t even know where the break in the levee was. Giving where I lived its like the ground zero in NYC. My second floor and third floor was left as when I left 2 days before the hurricane. All the zines are fine. Its going to be hard moving a million or so of papers and I’ll get it done hopefully in the next couple of days. I didn’t care if the zine library was gone. Its was something I wouldn’t cry over. I didn’t. Its there and I have something I am proud of. Maybe it will open up one day in New Orleans:place>:City>. My web address is www.geocities.com/abovegroundlibrary Sign the guest book if you want to. Info on the website is somewhat outdated. Thank you to everyone that wrote to me. It means a lot. Thank you to Jenn for sending me some zines. It reminded me why I been into zines for over 15 years. Good news Aboveground aka below sea level zine library will be back. Thank you again and have a great weekend, Robb:p>

 :p>

October 8, 2005 :p>

RE: Aboveground Zine Library is Alive:p>

Hi Andrea, Thank you for writing again. Yeah, that would be great if you donated some zines to the library. The archives sound also great. I have some zines from the 40’s. Acid free boxes are good for those zines. I am about to head out to the house and recover the zines. Thank you again and take care, Robb:p>

 :p>

October 19, 2005 :p>

New Orleans:place>:City> Bookfair:p>

A celebration of independent publishing featuring small presses, zinesters, book artists, anarchists, rabblerousers, weirdos, and more! Saturday, October 29, 2005, at Barrister’s Gallery (www.barristersgallery.com),1724 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd, New Orleans, LA.:p>

Due to Hurricane Katrina, the Bookfair has suffered some major setbacks which will make it a smaller and more humble event than in past years. However, the bookfair will still go on!:p>

Committed participants so far: Last Gasp, Verso Books, Get Lost Travel Books - San Francisco, Fiction Collective II, Garrett County Press, New Mouth From the Dirty South, Patron Saint Productions. LONG LIVE THE NOLA BOOKFAIR!:p>

Any questions email GK Darby at gkdarby@earthlink.net.:p>

Sponsored by: Get Lost Books, Gorsky Press, The Literacy Alliance:City> of New Orleans:City>, Barrister’s Gallery, Zeitgeist Theatre Experiments, The Crescent:PlaceName> City:PlaceType> Farmer’s Market, Garret:PlaceName> County:PlaceType>:place> Press, Hot Iron Press.:p>

Kyle Bravo:p>

 :p>

November 1, 2005 :p>

Aboveground Zine Library is _ _ _ _.:p>

Hi everybody, I just wanted to write an update while I was reading and writing emails. Aboveground Zine Library from New Orleans:place>:City> has open up once again. The Zine library is open every single day. The reopen was on Oct. 28th. Aboveground Zine Library is the first and still only library to be open in New Orleans:place>:City>. Isn’t that some very good news. Although I had nothing to do with the opening up of the zine library again. It’s some amazing people that have done it for me. :p>

Aboveground zine library is shhhh open. Take care everyone and Boo! -  Robb:p>

 :p>

 :p>

How to Start a Zine Library in Ten Easy Steps: :p>

A Mini-guide for Public Librarians :p>

 :p>

By Miriam DesHarnais*:p>

PO Box 4803:Street>, Baltimore:City> MD:State> 21211:PostalCode>:address>:p>

mdesharn@yahoo.com:p>

 :p>

Starting a zine collection at your library is not as complex as it might seem, but it does take time, teamwork and planning. Having just had the great experience of helping to get the Baltimore County Public Library Zine Collection (www.bcpl.info/zines, bcplzines@gmail.com) up and running, I thought I’d pass on the basic steps we followed while they are still fresh in my mind. We are in our first months so this is mostly focused on the very beginning of the process. Good luck, and hope this helps someone else who’s starting out. Let me know if it does! :p>

Get Inspired :p>

Seeing a presentation about zines at a conference is how our team leader, Julie Harrison decided to suggest a pilot collection. Julie Bartel and Brooke Young, Zine Librarians Extraordinaire of Salt Lake City Public Library, knocked her socks off with their stories of using zines to connect with patrons. You could also: :p>

Read Julie Bartel’s book, From A to Zine: Building a Winning Zine Collection in Your Library. This presents some great arguments for why adding a zine collection is worth doing. :p>

Talk, write and e-mail with folks who work with or use zine collections. Ask them why they feel strongly about having zines at their library. :p>

Go visit an actual zine library if possible (a good list of them can be found here: http://zinebook.com/resource/libes.html ). :p>

Check out the websites and catalogs of libraries online.:p>

Once you have a team you all should read tons of zines and many reviews to get a feel for what’s out there. I brought my zines in from home so we’d have contact with a tangible collection.:p>

 :p>

Get Permission/Funding :p>

Julie H. had to write up a workplan request to get approval from our library system’s administrators. A maverick approach (my natural tendency) would cheat you out of getting the fullest practical, personal and financial support from your supervisors. :p>

u Do this part right, even if it feels slow. Following the proper channels gives the project the legitimacy it’ll need to survive. :p>

u You are presenting a new media and several new ideas bundled up with it. Making your case involves speaking the language of your workplace and showing how this project fits in with the larger goals of your institution. :p>

u Make a list of what materials you think you will need and how much you think it will cost. We actually got more money than we asked for, which was great, ‘cause we’d underestimated at first. :p>

Make Connections:p>

u Form a team: For me this seems like a fun part where synergistic things start to happen. Your team does not need to consist entirely of people who are already into zines. In fact a range of skills and personality types makes a better group. We had, between us, knowledge about collection development, cataloging, networking, zines themselves, and running an effective team. :p>

u Keep talking with other zine librarians. Join the Zinelibrarians Yahoo! Group, read Zine Librarian Zine or other stuff by librarian zinesters, go to workshops and zinefests if you can. :p>

u Set up an email address that can be accessed by the whole team.:p>

u Talk about what you are working on to your friends, families, co-workers, library patrons and people who make, trade buy or sell zines. It helps clarify your thinking on the project and lays early publicity groundwork. Building an e-mailing list as you go makes it easier to invite folks to the opening later on.:p>

 :p>

Set Goals:p>

u Set a timeline. What needs to be done when? Who will do each smaller task and by when? Some things (like getting shelving, planning an opening, waiting for the zines, doing cataloging, or getting processing done) may require a long time so be sure to budget enough time.:p>

u Define success. What do you hope to accomplish by doing this and what data will you look at to decide if the collection is succeeding? Will you be using statistics alone or also testimonials, surveys and media attention to gauge interest? When will you evaluate and what communication is required of you by your library? :p>

 :p>

Hammer Out the Details :p>

u Ask how you want the collection to work. How many zines do you want? Does your collection have a specific focus? (local, multicultural, practical, literary…) What is your Collection Development Policy? How will you handle donations? How will the actual purchasing work?:p>

u Where will the collection be likeliest to succeed? Will it circulate? :p>

u What audience(s) are you hoping to attract? :p>

u What are the fines or fees for a lost zine? How many can be taken out at a time?:p>

u Will each zine be cataloged? How? Will they be available to be borrowed by libraries outside your system?:p>

u How will the zines be shelved? Packaged? (ours are in comic book bags with backers):p>

u Write it all out and run it by people in all departments who will be affected by having the collection, asking if you’ve missed any concerns that will prove important later.:p>

 :p>

Take Action :p>

u Select your core collection. We looked at catalogs, store websites and review zines and went on a field trip to Atomic Books. We also got samples of bags and backers so we could order them at the same time.:p>

u Buy the zines! We had to accept that we just don’t have the ability to handle buying from individuals right now, so we narrowed our shopping options down to just a few distros and stores.:p>

u Once the zines arrived they were looked over to make sure nothing was unbound, obscene (as defined by state law) or otherwise not in keeping with our policies.:p>

u Catalog them, if that’s what you are doing. This is a pretty in-depth process that I don’t know much about. Fortunately Jill, our cataloger, does.:p>

u Process them so they are ready for check-out. Ditto above.:p>

u Put them on the shelves. We ended up with units that wheel, which worked out great. We had them all set up in the staff area for a week before our opening so all the library workers could see the collection before it was presented to the public.:p>

Spread the Word :p>

u First do this amongst staff. You want everyone to know how to pronounce the word “zine” and know how to answer basic questions about what they are and why we have them. I wrote a factsheet for my co-workers, which helped us write our website and official memo. :p>

u We are fortunate to have a marketing department. They really advocated for us with the media by sending press releases out and reporters to us. If you don’t have someone else to do it for you, DIY, kids! By the time our collection opened we had, flyers around town, an article in a small local paper, another in The Baltimore Sun, and an NPR engagement set up. :p>

u Write website content. Using other library’s sites to start you off helps. If you can use a blogging tool that will keep people checking your site.:p>

u Pester your friends. That way you know someone will definitely be there for the opening even if your worst fears come true and no one else shows.:p>

 :p>

Have an Opening :p>

u Start planning this early, early. We decided to have an author reading as our first event. If you have local zinesters give ‘em six months notice so they can commit to the date. If you need to catch traveling writers from out of town you may need longer. Try to get the most diverse group possible.:p>

u Write short bios of your readers so you can introduce them. Let them know what time you are expecting them, how to get there, and how long to read.:p>

u Make or buy food.:p>

u Merchandise books you’ve purchased about zines or other materials you think reading attendees might like.:p>

u Freak out. Then watch your crowd come in, your readers do their stuff, and realize you’ve got a success. Remind people they can get a library card to take zines home (ideally you’ve drawn in some new library users), thank everyone, help them find zines and books, and direct them to an area where your authors sell their wares.:p>

Live With the Zines :p>

u Merchandise the area daily by putting as many face-out as possible. Colorful ones seem to go out better! (Why are so many zines white?). If possible let books by zinesters, graphic novels, memoir, crafting, music and other hip titles live on a display near the zines.:p>

u Answer questions in a positive, non-defensive, non-desperate way. The woman you are just sure is gonna be your first censorship challenge might come in a month later having written her first zine. People are surprising. So far the most humbling thing for me in this whole endeavor has been adjusting my expectations about the average age of the folks checking zines out. :p>

u Integrate the zines into regular reference work. Try to get the other librarians familiar with them so if they get a question on bike maintenance or the anti-war movement they remember where else to look. :p>

 :p>

Evaluate/ Plan :p>

u If you are someone working in the actual building where the zines are, keep the rest of the team informed. Do you want to keep meeting on the same schedule? Less often but still regularly:p>

u What’s circing, what’s not? How will you maintain the collection and deal with weeding or replacing zines? Are you getting requests for zines you don’t have yet?:p>

u How is the collection being used? Are possible partnerships or creative programs suggesting themselves? :p>

u What is your next event?:p>

u What kinds of new publicity can you do to keep the collection in the public eye?:p>

 :p>

Obviously this is not the only way to do all this. I work in a metropolitan area in a large system with many specialized departments. We try for streamlined, lower-maintenance processes, which obviously affects how our project works. Also, we were lucky enough to get enough money to start, which is why the whole issue of fundraising is skipped. If you are not a librarian but think your library might be interested in our experience, maybe you can share this and see what happens. And, Ok, I admit it, that’s actually way more than 10 steps. But I still say that starting a zine collection is easier than you might think, one of the best things you can do to make your job more fun, a great way to attract new library enthusiasts, and a gift to your community. :p>

 :p>

 :p>

IT MEANS IT’S WANK:p>

By Jeff Somers:p>

P.O. Box 3024:Street>, Hoboken:City> NJ:State> 07030:PostalCode>:address>:p>

mreditor@innerswine.com:p>

www.innerswine.com:p>

 :p>

“So what does that mean? It means it’s wank.”- Vic Flange, www.fleshmouth.co.uk [now defunct], describing my zine.:p>

 :p>

THE :p>

HUMORLESS:p>

 :p>

...in which I ponder those who review zines without any apparent sense of humor.:p>

 :p>

In the word of the great and terrible Gary Coleman, it takes different strokes to move the world, and in the dim, perpetually twilit world of zines you meet most kinds. DIY publishers come in all shapes and sizes, from middle-aged novelists to teenaged pranksters, aging hippies and hardcore conservatives. The only thing linking all these disparate people is their love of self-publishing and their decision to give the straight world of print a big old fuck you and just mail out their photocopied publications despite strong indications that no one will care. In that sense, we all are Gumby, don’t you think?:p>

Of course, having a warm spot in your heart for your fellow DIYers does not necessarily mean that you love all zines equally, because only morons love all things equally. You’re going to like some and dislike others, and that’s natural. You might even write reviews, some positive and some negative, in order to help guide others towards publications that you think are worthy, and that’s a great service to provide. I’ve never been one to demand that everyone love me, or my zine; I accept bad reviews with all the grace and aplomb that I possess, which, admittedly, ain’t much. But I try. Just about the only negative reviews that get my panties in a bunch are what we’ll group together under the heading of Humorless Reviews.:p>

My zine isn’t a ‘humor’ zine per se. I don’t write it thinking it’s comedy gold; rather, I try to be humorous while writing about opinions or theories or my latest drunken exploit (‘humorous’, for me, basically boiling down to repeated references to being pantsless and, when desperate, throwing out smoke grenade-like non-sequitors to disappear behind) but I’d never kid myself that I’m actually funny. But there is a layer of irony and humorous intent in my zine—unless you think I actually drink entire bottle of bourbon, hallucinate a leprechaun named McEgo who dictates my zine articles to me, and then wake up pantsless in Mexico ‘again’—and you have to be capable of sussing that subtle thread if you’re going to give my zine a fair shake.:p>

Don’t get me wrong—giving my zine a fair shake doesn’t mean you have to like it. You can say the humor fails to be funny, or that my ironic pose is merely a technique for avoiding having to actually defend any of my ludicrous opinions. You can say that my writing is flabby, incoherent, or just not very interesting. All I’m saying is that you have to at least start with the acknowledgment that there are layers of intended humor and intended irony in my zine, that there’s a persona being used there. Otherwise, your review is going to fall into the category of The Humorless, and not only is it useless as criticism, it’s downright irritating to have to read. :p>

The Humorless reviews fall into two categories: 1) those who do not get the joke, and 2) those who seem to believe there should never be jokes.:p>

Those who do not get the joke. These jolly reviewers are the ones who take every word I write literally. So if I say that I drank fifteen Tequila Fanny Bangers and spent the evening throwing up and wailing until I passed out and woke up in Mexico:place>:country-region>, pantsless, again, then they comment on my sad alcoholism and how horrible it is that I don’t realize that I have a problem. If I write that I have invented a revolutionary engine that runs off of kittens, they write in horror at my terrible cruelty to animals. Since most of the writing in any given issue of my zine veers strongly towards the ridiculous, the unsanitary, and even the fundamentally impossible, this makes reading reviews of this ilk painful.:p>

One of my favorite examples of this was the reviewer who complained that the “fake letters” were not very funny. This was possibly because the letters were not fake, despite various references to pantslessness, booze, and my worldwide empire of evil.:p>

Those who believe there should never be jokes. Ah, my favorites: those who think that every zine should be politically charged, utterly sincere, and completely honest. I mean, I’ll grant that I’m a privileged white male fop, I’ll stipulate that I am pretty much full of shit, but I don’t think the world needs more humorless pricks. Reviews that have as their starting point a belief that middle-class white men should be grateful and quiet bring only tears and recriminations, because no matter what I write in the zine the critical response boils down to “Shut up, oppressor!”:p>

Great fun, indeed.:p>

You should never complain about bad reviews, of course, but you can certainly complain about incoherent reviews. If you have no sense of humor whatsoever, you should probably not try to review any zines that use humor as a technique, or so it seems to me. But I am, after all, just a humble zine publisher, frequently inebriated, usually pantsless, and too busy oppressing those around me to try and change the world.:p>

 :p>

The Reviews:p>

Donny Smith:p>

915 W 2 St, Bloomington:City> IN:State> 47403:PostalCode>:place>:p>

www.geocities.com/dwanzine:p>

dwanzine@hotmail.com:p>

 :p>

Selam fanzinciler ve arkadaslar! I’ve received so many zines in the past few months and have had so little time to read them. :p>

Really, I’ve kinda been going crazy, reading all this stuff about medieval Sufi organizational structure and strategies for political legitimation in contemporary Uzbekistan and ethnic jokes in Turkey—not to mention memorizing vocabulary words, translating 3 or 4 poems from Turkish into English each week, etc.—and trying to pull together a book on zine librarianship (and still translating Spanish poetry). Oh, and figuring out how to pay for 3 months in Turkey:place>:country-region> next summer. Hey, it’s great! Beats working! :p>

And people keep sending me zines! Amazing zines! Some of the best ever! :p>

So my reviews aren’t as thorough as I’d like. (All you reviewers who I’ve nagged in the past should know that I’m turning this in way after the deadline.) :p>

 :p>

Here’s one: The constant Rider number 7 (spring 2005). Get it from Kate Lopresti, PO Box 6753:Street>, Portland:City> OR:State> 97228:PostalCode> USA:country-region>:address> for $2 (http://www.constantrider.com). This must be the most hilarious mass-transit zine there is! (Sorry, Fred. But yours is more on the informative side.) Transportation-related stories, with illustrations by the wonderful Tim Root (plus a bus driver in need of a bra).:p>

 :p>

Then there’s Fran’s zine: Etidorhpa #10. She sent it in August and I haven’t even read it. But this is one of those zines I have to save for just the perfect moment. Fran’s writing is so amazing I want to be able to savor it. Etidorhpa, 40 E Main St:address>:Street>, PMB 170, Newark:City> DE:State> 19711:PostalCode> USA:country-region>:place> for $2 or trade.:p>

 :p>

And from a fellow librarian, a chronicle of his last days in Wichita Falls:City>, Texas:State>:place>, and a little about his breakup: Thoughtworm 12 (August 2005). Lotsa detail, lotsa bike rides (occasionally a little “poetical” for my taste, but still good—Sean, I bet I owe you a letter, but it’s gonna hafta wait). Sean Stewart, 3600 Buena Vista Ave:Street>, Baltimore:City> MD:State> 21211:PostalCode> USA:country-region>:address> for $2:p>

(http://www.thoughtworm.com). :p>

 :p>

Also from Baltimore:City> (and how!): a new Smile, Hon, You’re in Baltimore:place>:City>! (which to my shame I can’t even find right now—but it was good). You’ll find the contact info elsewhere in this issue. :p>

 :p>

And practically from Baltimore:place>:City>: The Hungover Gourmet issue no. 9 (2005). It’s been a while since I read it so I’ll just type out a few random snippets (which I think can pretty accurately help you determine if you’d like this zine): A poster for The Seka Story: A Feature Length Film captioned “If this is what your restaurant’s aroma makes me think about you’re not doing a good job.” A picture of Carmelita’s Reception House Disco Donut Burger of the Year Coffee House. A picture of Cuchifritos Frituras, a restaurant offering B.B.Q. chicken, mofongo & pilon, and jugos tropicales (pilon even!). Dan Taylor, PO Box:Street> 5531:address>, Lutherville MD 21094-5531 USA:place>:country-region> for $3 in US, $4 elsewhere (http://www.hungovergourmet.com).:p>

 :p>

And now, özür dilerim, a bunch of zines I haven’t read, but they look good::p>

Journal Song #6 (no date), a nicely designed journal-type zine with lovely drawings. No price. Microcosm (http://www.microcosmpublishing.com). :p>

Faking Distance / Birthdays & Christmas (September 2004), a cleverly put together split zine from Alex Wrekk and Korinna Irwin. No price. Also Microcosm. :p>

Spunk issue no.1 (autumn 2003), super gay and arty. Has an interview with Alexis Arquette (of all people—which mentions that Mr. Arquette took off all his clothes during the photoshoot, but only shows him in see-through briefs. Goddamn teases). Aaron Tilford, email for current address, $5 (http://www.spunkmag.net).:p>

The Juniper: A Tiny Journal of Sustainability Issue #5 (September/October 2005). It’s from Idaho:place>:State>! With thoughts on not completely destroying the earth. Dan Murphy, PO Box 3154:Street>, Moscow:City> ID:State> 83843:PostalCode> USA:country-region>:address> for a 37-cent stamp or trade; free to prisoners. :p>

Erik & Laura-Marie Magazine #26: formidable opponent. Nice thoughts. Mine came with a personal letter even. And I don’t think I’ve even sent a trade back in return (I’m such a bad bad zinester). Laura-Marie Taylor, 1728 Richmond St:Street>, Sacramento:City> CA:State> 95825:PostalCode> USA:country-region>:address>: free! :p>

9 and a Half Left issue 10 (May 2005). Another journal-style zine. My favorite kind. Looks good. Wish I had the time. Mike Rodemann, 13426 Merl Ave:Street>, Lakewood:City> OH:State> 44107:PostalCode> USA:country-region>:address> for $1 (Scraps17@netzero.net). :p>

Batteries Not Included Volume XII Issue #11 (November 2005) is up to S in its ongoing videography of horror-themed sex films. So you can read about Sexorcist, She-Male Spirits of the Night, Spermula, and Suck Me, Vampire. Richard Freeman, 513 N Central Ave:Street>, Fairborn:City> OH:State> 45324:PostalCode> USA:country-region>:address> for $3 in US, $4 elsewhere (BNI@aol.com). :p>

And last but not least—the thing about zines, sometimes there’s someone really great, who promises great things, and they just drop off the earth for a while, till you’ve almost forgotten them. Then suddenly in your mailbox, there’s their zine again! Tazewell’s Favorite Eccentric (October 2005?). I don’t even know when I last got a zine from her. 10 years ago? So exciting. Yes, I admit I haven’t read it, except a few pages right when I opened it (and Sarah, I will write to you, sometime). Sarah Rose, PO Box 816, N:Street> Tazewell:City> VA:State> 24630:PostalCode> USA:country-region>:address> for $1 + stamp or trade (piratesarah@gmail.com). :p>

 :p>

And now to bed, so I can get up early tomorrow and translate an article on Turkish slang. Check out http://zinebrarianship.blogspot.com to see how the zine book is going. Sag ol!:p>

 :p>

Dan Taylor:p>

PO Box 5531:Street>, Lutherville:City>, MD:State> 21094:PostalCode>:address>:p>

www.dantenet.com:p>

dante@dantenet.com:p>

 :p>

Dan Taylor hopes you’ll excuse the lameness of these reviews. He recently moved and is still adjusting to different surroundings and more space. You can get the latest copy of his zine The Hungover Gourmet by visiting HungoverGourmet.com or read about his latest audio/visual adventures at Dantenet.com.:p>

 :p>

I’ve always had a fondness for compilation albums and best of collections. That fondness only grew in the days leading up to my recent move - it was kind of nice to be able to get rid of a handful of vinyl and replace it with one CD, audio quality arguments be damned! Anita j Michel’s PRACTICE APARTMENT is a “best of” collection  from her unique Life Maintenance Series which lovingly dissected such  formerly mundane topics as laundry (LAUNDRY BASKET), trips to the  grocery store (12 ITEMS OR LESS) and cooking (POTLUCK!).:p>

With all three one-shots out of print and unlikely to see the light  of day again, Anita has culled a wide variety of pieces from their  pages, added new section intro illustrations (LOVE the 12 ITEMS intro  image by Shawn Granton!), and bound everything together into one  handy “greatest hits” package. As with each of her works, Michel  packs the pages full of fun and informative contributions and every  zine should be as worthy of your time. Let’s just hope she never decides to follow through on the threat of stepping back from the edge of the self-publishing abyss. ($3 to PO Box 877:Street>, Lansdowne:City>, PA:State> 19050:PostalCode>:address>/ lowhug.blogspot.com.):p>

 :p>

I’ve long admired INFILTRATION, the self-described “zine about going places you’re not supposed to go” and read this issue (#25) with some sadness. Published in June of 2005, it would be the last installment that the zine’s editor would see in print. Two months later, Ninjalicious passed away at the age of 31 after a battle with cancer.:p>

Unlike magazines, zines bring us into the world of the people that produce them, even in the smallest of ways. I didn’t know Ninjalicious well but traded notes and issues with him a half-dozen times or so. More than any personal connection I enjoyed his publications and looked forward to each. His passing bums me out.:p>

If this is how INFILTRATION ends, he can be proud. Sure, the issue is filled with far-flung contributions about everything from a Coast Guard station and an Air Force Base ripe with ghosts of the Cold War to an abandoned hospital and a naval station buried under mounds of snow. But the zine’s success lies in bringing these stories to the surface thanks to the editor’s tireless efforts to chronicle the adventures. ($3 to PO Box:Street> 13:address>, Station E, Toronto:City>, Ontario:State>, M6H 4E1:PostalCode>, Canada:country-region>:place>/ infiltration.org):p>

 :p>

These days it seems like every zine either pigeonholes itself or readers/reviewers insist on forcing it into a neat little category.  Perzines, mamazines, food zines, review zines, and so on. PASSIONS is one publication that defies categorization and for good reason. If ’Seinfeld’ was a show about nothing, this is a zine about everything.:p>

And I mean everything... there’s poetry, photography, travel tales,  obituaries of comic book and animation-related celebrities, lists  (Baltimore did not make the list of ‘Favorite Cities’ OR ‘Places I/We  Most Want to Get To or Get Back To’), the First Amendment, and the  world of B-movies courtesy of American International Pictures. Or, as the masthead states, PASSIONS is “a forum for people who love to write or want to write about things they have a passion for.”:p>

The issue’s centerpiece, and an odd trip down memory lane, comes courtesy of an 11-page article called ‘1990: The Best Year of Our (Fannish) Lives.’ To be honest, I’ve never given 1990 much thought.  For me the highlight was moving out of my parents’ house after a year of post-college tension that involved many late nights and awkward mornings. Who knew all that I was missing as I drank my way through the year?:p>

Apparently, I was missing a lot. Author Chris Barat posits that not just the start of a new decade and the last gasp of the 20th century, 1990 was the beginning of the end for fans of comics and animation.  The late 80s had been a return to greatness in the world of popular culture thanks to a rebirth of interest in comics, STAR TREK, superheroes and more, and 1990 took fans to the pinnacle. Barat supports his theory with a month-by-month look at everything from Disney comics and kids’ animation to bid-budget Hollywood spectacles (DICK TRACY), and the debut - and controversial success - of ‘The  Simpsons.’:p>

It’s in reference to this last topic that Barat reflects on his prediction that “in five years Bart Simpson will be the answer to a trivia question” by stating he is “not related to Nostradamus.”:p>

This kind of article is what passion, zines and PASSIONS (the zine) are all about. Check it out as you’re sure to find something you’ll like. ($3.50 to Ken Bausert, 2140 Erma Drive:Street>, East Meadow:City>, NY:State>  11554-1120:PostalCode>:address>.):p>

 :p>

Anne Thalheimer:p>

160 N.Maple Street:address>:Street>:p>

Florence:City>, MA:State> 01062:PostalCode>:place>:p>

motes@simons-rock.edu:p>

 :p>

Lately my life’s been all about the etching; I joined a printmaking studio earlier this year (www.redhorsepress.org) and have been producing all manner of things since. Except, of course, for BOOTY #20, which is still on tap for coming months but hasn’t made it out of the planning stages (along with all those other minis I plan to do, including ROAD, RIVER, AND RAIL which’ll probably be all the reasons I didn’t move to Vermont this past August…). I signed myself up for the 2006 MA Red Ribbon Ride (www.massredribbonride.org) in hopes that having eight months to train will mean I actually do some training. That’s a hint, by the way. Donations lead to art. Yes.:p>

 :p>

THE QUARK #1:p>

“put out by the BSU Publication Club”:p>

Boise:PlaceName> State:PlaceType>:place> Student Activities:p>

C/o Publication Club:p>

1910 University Drive:address>:Street>:p>

Boise:City>, ID:State> 83725-1335:PostalCode>:place>:p>

publicationclub@hotmail.com:p>

$1 by mail, free in person, 24 pages, half-legal size.:p>

Lately it seems I’ve been getting more than a few university-produced zines in the mail (this one, SUBURBAN BLIGHT #4, etc.) and while I’m not adverse to such things, they also sometimes feel like they’re intended for a very specific readership. That seems the case with THE QUARK #1; there’s an interesting enough interview with the president of the College Democrats club at BSU, which appears between some short fiction and a two-page spread in the back about bovine growth hormone and Monsanto. The thank-you page at the back of the zine is largely unreadable, sadly, and though there are some compelling images and a catchy color cover, it feels a little hodgepodge. That said, the first page of the zine clearly states “first and most flawed” after the volume one indicator; THE QUARK #1 is a good effort for a first zine put out by a club; everyone knows that getting work together with a group of people by any deadline is notoriously difficult. I’m not sure when it was published, but it’ll be interesting to see how later issues develop and change.:p>

 :p>

ZINE WORLD, August 2005:p>

“an interim supplement to issues #22/#23”:p>

PO Box:Street> 330156:address>:p>

Murfreesboro:City>, TN:State> 37133-0156:PostalCode>:place>:p>

www.undergroundpress.org:p>

free to subscribers, $1 to non-subscribers, 18 pages, half-size:p>

(ZW is normally $3 US, $4 Canada:place>:country-region>, $5 world single-issue—see website for details):p>

ZW is basically a review zine, though it astounds me that the supplement is 18 pages packed with reviews in a small font, probably about a hundred of ‘em; I haven’t seen the non-supplement issues, but I imagine there’d be many, many more. I get overwhelmed sometimes with reading so many reviews in such a small space that I found that this issue was more like a sampler; I’d read a few, put it down, come back later, read more…you see what I mean. What I found interesting in particular is that each reviewer times how long it took to read the zine, indicated by a [hour:minute] system at the end of the review. I also enjoyed that from time to time there were “second opinions” when two folks had submitted reviews of the same zine (though not always dissenting opinions).:p>

 :p>

ASH CANYON REVIEW, Summer 2005, Vol. 1, Issue #1:p>

PO Box:Street> 1971:address>:p>

Carson City:City>, NV:State> 89702-1971:PostalCode>:place>:p>

www.ashcanyon.com/submissions.htm:p>

review@ashcanyon.com:p>

$5 (postage included), 44 pages, digest size, no trades.:p>

It’s a poetry zine, which means you’ll either be into it or it might not be your thing. It’s beautifully produced and the layout is crisp, clear (no funny fonts here), and, best of all, consistent. I particularly enjoyed that the author’s biographical notes immediately follow the poem 9and they take a number of different forms; it’s not all free verse) rather than having to flip to the end of the issue. There’s a wide range of folks included in the issue also; some are editors and authors working at colleges, some are incarcerated authors, some are professors, some are MFA students, some Ph.D. students, and so forth. I liked that this range was so easily evident, that I was able to gain a sense of these different pieces both by themselves as well as within the context of the authors who produced them. It also feels as if there’s a real love of poetry in the way the issue’s designed and presented, and I enjoyed reading it. :p>

 :p>

BROOKLYN:place>! #48 by Fred Argoff:p>

Penthouse L:p>

1170 Ocean Parkway:address>:Street>:p>

Brooklyn:City>, NY:State> 11230:PostalCode>:place>:p>

“$10 for four quarterly issues. Read this carefully: payment in cash!”:p>

22 pages, digest size:p>

It’s all about Brooklyn:place>. Pictures, amusing (and sometimes baffling) overheard statements on buses and trains, a very funny “Brooklyn Lexicon & Pronounciation Guide: 32nd edition” as well as a story detailing an irritating and slightly frightening visit to the Gravesend Post Office, a piece about the Navy Yard, and some pieces about the intricacies and history of the subway. The history stuff is all pretty interesting, particularly because I’ve never spent any great length of time in Brooklyn:place>, though I’d be interested to see other issues. How much is there to say about Brooklyn:place>…?:p>

 :p>

GIVING UP THE GHOST edited by William P. Tandy:p>

(a ‘Smile, Hon, You’re in Baltimore:place>:City>’ Production—“issue no. 7.5, if you will”— Sept. 2005):p>

PO Box:Street> 11064:address>:p>

Baltimore:City>, MD:State> 21212:PostalCode>:place>:p>

www.eightstonepress.com:p>

wpt@eightstonepress.com:p>

$3, 36 pages, half-size.:p>

Oh, I love it. It’s an issue all about ghosts, and I got it in the mail right before Halloween, so the timing was perfect, and it’s written in such an engaging, snappy way. The composition is clean and easy to read without seeming spare or plain, and the wacky fonts are legible and fit brilliantly with the theme of the issue. The issue itself is all ghost stores and related ghostly things from a pretty far-flung cast of characters, including the owners of the Fell’s Point Ghost Tours, one of the co-owners of Atomic Books, someone coincidentally from my old haunt (that’d be the University of Delaware) and someone from my new one (yay Florence!). I’ve been meaning for a while to get my hands on back issues of SMILE, HON… and I think now’s the time. Highly recommended.:p>

 :p>

Fred Argoff:p>

1170 Ocean Pkwy.:address>:Street>, Penthouse L:p>

Brooklyn:City>, NY:State> 11230:PostalCode>:place>:p>

wajasay@optonline.net:p>

 :p>

Here we are again, settled in all nice and cozy for another round of zine reviews. Just let me say that, if anyone decides to create an award for dedication to the cause of zinedom, I place Davida’s name in nomination for the first one (and I’m not writing these words because she sends me nice letters now and then). No, I nominate her because she’s willing to keep creating zines even while creating future zinesters! Well, enough of that. Now let’s see what was stuffed into the big, bulky envelope that had my name on it...:p>

 :p>

From the first time I saw Twenty-eight Pages Lovingly Bound with Twine, I liked it. Zines with literal titles often appeal to me. And issue #12 is the best one I’ve seen yet. It’s the Alphabet Issue. 26 letters, one for each page. A is for Answering Machine, B is for Bolton’s Bombers, C is for Cha-Ching and so on, all the way through to Z is for Zine-Making. If I may say so, D is for Don’t Hesitate and get your copy now! $2 (or $5 for a 3-issue sub) from Christoph Meyer, now at P.O. Box 106:Street>, Danville:City> OH:State> 43014:PostalCode>:address>:p>

 :p>

This isn’t the first time I’ve suspected that Davida has an impish sense of humor. She’s sent me—the native-born Brooklynite—a zine dedicated to “the slow life” for review. Well, surprise! I liked The Juniper very much. It takes the viewpoint that technology and “progress” haven’t necessarily changed our lives for the better. Atrocities, injustices, nanoseconds...enough already! This issue features bike riding, and also has some bits about fruits, vegetables and organics. Did you know that the tomato, while botanically a fruit, was legally declared a vegetable by no less an authority than the United States Supreme Court? The zine is free, so get your copy and, for heaven’s sake, slow down! From Dan Murphy, P.O. Box 3154:Street>, Moscow:City> ID:State> 83843:PostalCode>:address>:p>

 :p>

Fort Venom Stories: Eaves of Ass #4. Doesn’t the title grab your attention? Take a bunch of kids and an apartment building. Have the kids take over the building. Voila...stories galore...and the Big Crusty Couch, too. Go for it! No price listed, but surely you could send a little something to Craver Rock, P.O. Box 20692:Street>, Seattle:City> WA:State> 98102:PostalCode>:address>.:p>

 :p>

Hey kids—it’s Natural Gas Joe! Christoph Meyer (see 28 Pages above) created him to teach safety. When Joe has a gas leak—just pull his finger!—the distinctive odor tells you what to look out for. And he’s not just any ethanol-scented comic book super hero. No, there’s a scratch-and-sniff ethanol flame, so everyone can share in the experience. So whether you decide to teach the youngsters, or just want to pull Natural Gas Joe’s finger yourself, all it takes is $1.50. Christoph Meyer, P.O. Box 106:Street>, Danville:City> OH:State> 43014:PostalCode>:address>:p>

 :p>

Here’s the 5th issue of Emergency. In the intro, Ammi concludes with the phrase “get back on the road, again.” I wonder whether she’s read any of Jack Kerouac, because the zine made me think of his writings. Just slightly disjointed (that’s not a bad thing), a look into someone’s life. There are also some movie and music reviews, woven into the narrative, which was certainly an interesting way to do them. I read through this issue, and wished I’d seen the first four. $2 from Ammi Emergency, 831 Elysian Fields, P.O. Box 259:Street>, New Orleans:City> LA:State> 70117:PostalCode>:address>:p>

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Modern Arizona doesn’t actually have anything to do with Arizona:place>:State>...but who cares? Issue #8 is nominally the story of the editor’s sky-diving adventure, followed by a search for soul food in Harlem:place> on Martin Luther King Day. But it’s more than that. There’s some international drug smuggling, a full-color centerspread poster for “Modern Arizona: The Motion Picture” (I’d go to see that in a minute!) and even, yes, Ask Kevin—in this edition, he discusses boogers, which you probably won’t get to read about in your local mainstream media. Merely $1 or trade from Joe Unseen, P.O. Box:Street> 494:address>, Brewster NY 10509:p>

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A good title should make you sit up and take notice. So how about Kung Fu Pimp. It contains the poems and rhymes of St. Paco. In the intro, he explains that he used to think poetry was for women and sissies. Not anymore! This stuff comes at you in the full glare of the day; there’s no need to guess what the poet is saying, or to “interpret” his words. Therefore, I give it a gold star, and recommend that you not waste one more minute of your time, and send for the zine right away. $3 from Paco Taylor, 250 N. Arcadia:City> (#1320), Tucson:City> AZ:State> 85711:PostalCode>:place>:p>

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And last but most certainly not least, there’s Musea. If I was running for political office (which politicians would probably prefer that I don’t), I’d have to disqualify myself from writing about this zine, since the editor has ensconced my own contribution to zinedom in his Hall of Fame. But fortunately, hey, my hat isn’t in any rings, so I’m free to say whatever I want! This zine is devoted to the arts, but not in a stuffy, pretentious way designed to make you feel like a Neanderthal. Instead, it presents the arts, how shall I say, accessibly. And when necessary, with tongue in cheek. The present issue, listed as #141 begins thusly: “Lights! Camera! Screenplay!!!” And we are off on a journey through a very original movie. A movie decades in the making, that only the editor himself could have conceived. Definitely a boffo performance. And the zine is free, but it would be nice if you traded, or included a little donation to help keep the arts alive. Tom Hendricks, 4000 Hawthorne (#5), Dallas:City> TX:State> 75219:PostalCode>:place>:p>

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And now that I’ve done enough typing so that my fingers are beginning to scream in protest, I shall bid you all adieu for the present. Don’t catch a chill over the winter, and if you want to see copies of my own zines, don’t be shy.:p>

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 :p>

Julie Dorn:p>

PO Box:Street> 6584:address>:p>

Minneapolis:City>, MN:State> 55406:PostalCode>:place>:p>

junieingeorgia@hotmail.com:p>

 :p>

My poor brain! Between moving to Minnesota:place>:State>, starting a new job and planning an elopement, I’m barely keeping my head above water. While I tread, here are my reviews. Back issues of Junie in Georgia are available for $2 each or equitable trade (and yes, I will start writing zines again soon). Please note the NEW ADDRESS: PO Box 6584:Street>, Minneapolis:City>, MN:State> 55406:PostalCode>:address>.:p>

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Library Urinal, Issue One:p>

P.O. Box 4803:Street>, Baltimore:City>, MD:State> 21211:PostalCode>:address> or 915 West 2nd Street:Street>, Bloomington:City>, IN:State> 47403:PostalCode>:address>:p>

libraryurinal@gmail.com:p>

No price listed-$2 or $3?:p>

This is the inaugural issue of Library Urinal, a zine about libraries written by two librarians (Donny Smith of DWAN and Miriam DesHarnais of Object Lesson.) Like a good public library, this zine has a little something for everyone. LU is filled with blog excerpts, interviews with authors (Chenjerai Hove from Zimbabwe:country-region> and Aslan Doukaev from Chechnya:place>:country-region>), book reviews, inappropriate coloring sheets, opinions on censorship and freaky library stories. Some sections are a bit too brief, but LU includes a really interesting mix of topics and graphics. I especially liked it after my year in a public library, where I filled my quota of surly patrons, complaints of every possible variety and near-constant computer problems. LU is a promising start to a new zine.:p>

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Papercuts:p>

A.J. Michel, P.O. Box 877:Street>, Lansdowne:City>, PA:State> 19050:PostalCode>:address>:p>

lowhug.blogspot.com:p>

lowhug@yahoo.com:p>

Free (online):p>

Papercuts is a collection of entries from a weblog by A.J. Michel, the creator of Low Hug zine. “Low Hug is a popular culture zine examining the intersection between the personal and the popular, that is, cultural artifacts and people’s attachment to them.” As you can probably tell from that sentence, Papercuts is highly intelligent and makes for a very good read. I found this one-shot particularly refreshing. A lot of zines are brief and surface-level when it comes to the topics they discuss. With Papercuts, A.J. thoroughly analyzes pop culture icons like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the emotional content of mix tapes instead of just bitching or being trite. Articulate, accessible, amusing. Very good. :p>

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Meniscus #14:p>

Matt Fagan, 1573 North Milwaukee Avenue #464:Street>, Chicago:City>, IL:State> 60622:PostalCode>:address>:p>

hadmatter@hotmail.com or :p>

geocities.com/meniscusenterprises:p>

$3?:p>

I’ve always been a fan of Meniscus. I really enjoy Matt’s detailed descriptions of his life, or his ideas of love, or whatever issue he’s working through at the time. It’s a bit like reading a long, personal letter. Not only am I entertained, but I leave knowing more about Matt as a person (without that punishing too-much-information feeling.) I have to admit though, my favorite parts of the zine are always the comics. The drawings are even more revealing and insightful. I’m continually amazed at how much stuff he can convey in just a few panels. :p>

Number 14 includes Matt’s flood/drought battle with writing fiction, his dream of owning a video store, his experiences of repeatedly winning 2nd place in Halloween costume contests and the battles with his Columbia House DVD club membership. Besides the normal comics about his boyfriend Rob (aka Pokie), he includes the adventures of Hobbeson and Chives: crime fighting butlers in love and battle. My favorite is the “Mortality” drawing where Rob tells Matt about a near death accident with a piece of sheet metal. After Rob walks away, Matt imagines all sorts of bloody, deadly scenarios. (I had a similar experience when my mom told me that my father dropped a running chain saw on her head while trimming trees. Fortunately she escaped with only a bruise.) Highly recommended. :p>

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Whiskey Plus #1:p>

Nate Gangelhoff, PO Box 8995:Street>, Minneapolis:City>, MN:State> 55408:PostalCode>:address>:p>

whiskeyplus@gmail.com or :p>

www.pickyourpoison.net:p>

$1:p>

This music zine totally surprised me. I think I’m a bit biased about music zines after having read too many snarky, cliquey, and if-you’re-not-punk-rock-you-suck-ass issues over the years. Besides, I’m out of touch with most mainstream music. The only time I listen to Top 40 is during the long trek to Wisconsin:place>:State> to visit my family. For some reason the rural landscape goes well with lame ballads, disposable dance lyrics and Classic Rock at 2 in the morning while I’m avoiding cops and deer. In fact, I’m so bad that when I recently tried to download a song/ringer on my new cell phone, I didn’t know who 99% of the artists and songs were. Who the hell is Sugarland? Or Rihanna? :p>

But Whiskey Plus had all the things I like: accurate and funny bashings of pop music, karaoke reviews, reviews of songs entitled “Fuck You,” (who knew there were nine of them?) and miscellaneous observations about people and sucky songs. I laughed out loud on almost every page. Well worth the time and the dollar.:p>

 :p>

Extranjero #4:p>

Kris and Lola, Calle Obispo 4 bajo, Plasencia 10600, Cáceres, Spain/España:p>

$2 or trade or nice letter:p>

As I stated in the last issue of XD, I’m a new convert to Extranjero. I missed the path of this zine for three whole issues, only to review one and instantly feel the pangs of love grow in my heart. This issue doesn’t disappoint. Whenever I read even one page, I wish I had more money, more bravery and less ability to ignore my itchy traveling feet. I’d love to go bar and tapas hopping with Kris and Lola (two of the most charming and fabulous zine people I’ve read), or work at some organic farm in the middle of Ireland:place>:country-region> with an expired VISA or immerse myself in a new culture and language. :p>

With just two dollars you can enjoy their stories of life in Spain:place>:country-region>, of how they met, of hilarious manuals from nose hair trimmers! You too will laugh and want to clutch the zine to your chest and rush out of the room looking for someone to read the next page to so they can share in the joy. Truly a gem. Highly recommended.:p>

 :p>

Eric Lyden:p>

224 Moraine St.:Street>, Brockton:City> MA:State> 02301:PostalCode>:address>:p>

Ericfishlegs@aol.com:p>

 :p>

Hello there fellow zine readers. How are things? I’m doing OK, although I do have the theme song from “The Greatest American Hero” running through my head. This happens to me a lot- I just get these horrible TV theme songs stuck in my head and it stays there for a few days until a new one replaces it. The worst is that I can never quite remember how the whole song goes so I’ll just remember half of it and it’ll just keep on going and going in an endless loop. In a way that’s sort of the story of my life- I barely remember how it began, I have no idea how it ends and it just sort of keeps going and going until it becomes repetitive and annoying. I am one cheery bastard, huh? Let’s just get the reviews started, OK?:p>

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UNDERWORLD CRAWL #3  Hey, speaking of cheery bastards... I have to say this- UNDERWORLD CRAWL is one of the very, very few zines in the world that I will read the second  tear it from the envelope. In 3 short issues it has become one of my favorites. This issue is entitled “Nightcrawlers” and is basically about R. Lee and a couple of his friends from work drinking beer while working the night shift. It’s pretty much about them hanging out in the parking lot, shooting the shit, and I don’t suppose it’s the ideal life, but you could really do far worse when you think about it. This zine has great writing- funny and a little poignant and the “story” (which really isn’t a story per se, but if you connect the dots it does tell a story) is a lot more interesting than I make it sound and it features characters who, depending on your point of view, are either unlikable pricks who deep down really aren’t such bad guys or are nice guys who might act like assholes now and then. Even though I’ve never worked the night shift or drank beer on the job, I can still relate to much of what R. talks about. Which might be a little sad for both of us. And while you’re ordering this one you should also pony up another couple of bucks and order BARRELHOUSE #1 which features R. Lee’s writing, along with illustrations by Dug Belan, about his adventures as a beer loving (I see a pattern developing here) young lad. Once again, both funny and poignant. Get both- send $2 for each to R’ Lee PO Box 1421:Street> Oshkosh:City>, WI:State> 54903:PostalCode>:address> :p>

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LAST LAUGH/ QUIET DAYS IN SAINT DENIS #23 This is a split zine between Bill Blackolive and Lisa B. Laflour. Bill appears to be an ex hippy type (I don’t know that he ever was technically a hippy, but he seems like an ex hippy in the same way everyone who did anything mildly interesting in the 60’s appears to be an ex hippy.) who’s now in his 60’s and judging by the picture is looking pretty good for an old dude. His half of the zine contains a sort of rambling essay (and I enjoy rambling so that is not a criticism) that starts with the new computer his family got him for Xmas and just sort of goes on from there. Then there’s Chapter 2 of “‘Wild Bill in Berkeley:place>:City> in the Sixties” which chronicles Bill’s adventures during the 60’s. Then there are letters sent and received and some other stuff combining to make an all around enjoyable read. Lisa’s half features an account of a vacation in Iceland:place>:country-region> an a couple of movie reviews (one is porn, the other apparently could be considered porn though I’d have to see it for myself to determine that) and is also quite an enjoyable read. Recommended. Send $5 to “Wild Bill” Blackolive 1776 North McCampbell  Aransas Pass:City> TX:State> 78336:PostalCode>:place>  billblackolive@awesomenet.com :p>

DORIS- AN ANTHOLOGY 1991-2001 I really hate to review anything before I’ve had a chance to finish reading it or at least have read most of it. Shit, I don’t think I’ve even finished reading half of this one but given what I’ve read I think it is safe to say that it is fucking awesome and I give it my highest recommendation. This isn’t really a zine, it’s a book compiling the first 18 issues of Cindy Ovenrack’s zine DORIS:place>. One thing that always strikes me as odd is when ratty old xeroxed zines are compiled into a nice looking package like this. To me zines are expendable. Not in the “throw them away” sense, but in the sense that once you read them there’s no real shame in passing them along to someone else. Books, however, unless they suck are in my mind indispensable. So there’s a weird disconnect when you compile something from a disposable culture into an indispensable package. But if any zine deserves to be preserved for future generations it would be this one. It’s up there with COMETBUS on most people’s list of all time great zines and in my opinion it deserves to be there. Some of the writings and topics covered are simple, some are complex. It’s just... I feel like a movie reviewer trying to review Citizen Kane here. If you’ve read DORIS:place> before then you should know what to expect and if you enjoyed that then you’ll enjoy this book. If you haven’t read DORIS:place> then you may want to try the individual issues first. But this is some seriously great stuff here so you should really read it in whatever form you choose send $12 + a buck or 2 for postage (I had to check the Microcosm website for the pricing info and while I was there I found a bunch of folks waxing eloquently about this book far better than I do in this review. So if you think I’m a dumb fuck check out www.microcosm.com and see what others are saying) to Microcosm Publishing PO Box 14332:Street> Portland:City> OR:State> 97217:PostalCode>:address>:p>

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XTRA TUF #5 And while you’re handing the folks at Microcosm your hard earned money you may as well toss in another pic of Ol’ Honest Abe (There’s no slang term for a $5 bill, is there?) and order up a copy of this one as well. (Late at night when I realized I was going to be reviewing 2 items from Microcosm I actually thought up a little jingle for them. It’s to the tune of the old Picture Pages theme from the Captain Kangaroo show, but in a rare moment of restraint I decided against using it here. Partly because it’s just silly and nobody cares, and partly because I don’t think anyone but me even remembers the Picture Pages song. Really, I think it’s a win-win situation for all involved) Anyhow, XTRA TUF is a per zine of sorts (there are other writers involved, but with all do respect to everyone involved, Moe Bowstern is the main writer and her stuff is the best.) XTRA TUF is a zine about commercial fishing in Alaska and if you think that doesn’t sound interesting... well, you’re dead wrong first of all, but you can just go right back to reading the one-millionth zine about a dumpster diving young punk whining about how society doesn’t understand him and leave the more interesting zines to the rest of us. Second of all, the way Moe writes her stories makes it interesting whether you care about fishing or not. There’s a good deal of fishing jargon in here, but there’s a glossary in the back and all the terms are explained so that shouldn’t give you any trouble. This issue is labeled “the Strike Issue” and most of the articles deal with various fishing strikes including a history of fishing strikes in Alaska, accounts of strikes Moe was involved in, interviews with various figures involved in strikes. In general it’s just really interesting stuff. If you’ve never read the zine before you may want to start with issue 4 which tells how Moe first got involved in. It A) serves as a sort of origin story and B) is 3 or 4 bucks cheaper if you’re a little nervous about getting your feet wet. But I don’t think you can go wrong either way. Send $5 plus some postage to the address I listed in the review above.:p>

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As a result of the above review I learned that “dumpster” is not in the spell check. Which is weird. Is “dumpster” a slang term or something?:p>

 :p>

RICK BRADFORD:p>

PO Box 343:Street>, Bedford:City>, TX:State> 76095:PostalCode>:address>:p>

www.poopsheetfoundation.com:p>

ricko@poopsheetfoundation.com:p>

 :p>

Rick Bradford writes and gathers news and reviews about zines, comics and other good stuff at Poopsheet, which may be found online at http://poopsheet.blogspot.com but will have its own domain very soon. Pathetic and lonely, he often checks his mail at PO Box 2235:Street>, Fredericksburg:City>, TX:State> 78624:PostalCode> USA:country-region>:address>. Just released: a mini-zine of silly poetry written by Ricko and illustrated by Jim Siergey. 50¢ or a couple of stamps. Thanks for reading.:p>

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BLEEP THE PEEPER:p>

by various:p>

(28pp micro-comic w/ heavy stock cover from Wide Awake Press, www.wideawakepress.com):p>

This is a jam comic produced at the most recent Heroes Convention in Charlotte:City>, North Carolina:State>:place>. This little story about a couple of peeping toms has pages by Jim Mahfood, Paul Hornschemeier, J. Chris Campbell, Rob Ullman, Duane Ballenger, Chris Pitzer, Ian Sampson, Jim Callahan, Spencer Hansen, Patrick Godfrey, Ben Towle, Jennifer Young and Josh Latta.:p>

J. Chris Campbell says he’ll send it to you for free if you e-mail him at chris@wideawakepress.com with your name and mailing address. A heck of a deal! :p>

 :p>

LAIKKU 03:p>

edited by Mika Lietzen and Ville Ranta:p>

(68pp b&w book from Asema Kustannus, www.asemakustannus.com):p>

Laikku is another attractive comics anthology out of Finland:place>:country-region>. The production is top-notch, the visuals are appealing and there’s a theme of sorts. This particular volume is devoted to adapting the work of Finnish prose writers into comics. Contained within are Katja Tukiainen (Postia Intiasta) adapting Rosa Liksom, Petri Tolppanen (Takana) adapting Toivo Tarvas, Terhi Ekebom (A Cow’s Dream) adapting Sari Malkamaki, Pentti Otsamo (Väliaikatietoja) adapting Juhani Kylätasku, Jenni Rope (Napa) adapting Laura Honkasalo, and Aapo Rapi adapting Juha Seppälä.:p>

The volume is in Finnish but an English translation runs along the bottom of each page (an idea I really like). Sample pages can be found at the website. :p>

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MAKING STUFF & DOING THINGS:p>

edited by Kyle Bravo:p>

(278pp book, $12.00, Microcosm Publishing; :p>

www.microcosmpublishing.com):p>

Kyle Bravo (Hot Iron Press) has compiled a pretty amazing resource book here in the same spirit as 2002’s Stolen Sharpie Revolution (also from Microcosm). As the cover says, this book is “A Collection of DIY Guides to Doing Just About Everything” and I’m inclined to say that’s no exaggeration. The many chapters include “Get Up & Go”, “Self-Education”, “Self-Publishing & Producing”, “Arts & Crafts”, “Creative Troublemaking”, “Outdoor Survival”, “Pet Care” and “Transportation” but that’s only some of them. This is the book for you if you want to learn basic electrical wiring, bike repair, recycling tips, how to avoid ear infections, how to make root beer, composting, bookbinding, how to juggle or probably just about anything else you might be curious about. Plus, check out that great (wraparound) cover by Cristy Road:address>:Street>. :p>

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RIGODON #3:p>

(68pp digest from The Electric Lodge / http://hometown.aol.com/eleclodge/index.html or Anima Mal Nata / Postbus 6359 / 7401 JJ Deventer / HOLLAND:place>:City>):p>

Ridogon is your window into the world(s) of experimental/noise music and art brut. Contained within this issue: interviews with Fuck the Facts’ Topon Das, Zan Hoffman, Billy McKay (who also did the cover), Dave Fuglewicz and Proper Gander’s Grady Roper (also of Attic Ted); lots of reviews; and lots of great drawings and comix by Billy McKay, Jelle Crama (wow), 4ndr345 M4RCH4L, Marcel Herms, Brioch, Kapreles, Sietse Hoeksma (wow), Claudio Parentela, Monobrain and others. Even if you care nothing about noise music, Rigodon is worth seeking out for the artwork and I assume the same can be said of the reverse.:p>

 :p>

Gavin J. Grant:p>

176 Prospect Ave.:address>:Street>:p>

Northampton:City>, MA:State> 01060:PostalCode>:place>:p>

www.lcrw.net; info@lcrw.net:p>

 :p>

Gavin J. Grant runs an indie press, Small Beer Press, and puts out a twice or thrice annual zine, LADY CHURCHILL’S ROSEBUD WRISTLET (www.lcrw.net), from Northampton:City>, MA:State>:place>. He writes for people who will pay him and shovels snow for free. On some Tuesday long before you read this he will have been on the phone trying to convince some lovely people they should pony up for a translation of one of Argentinean writer Angelica Gorodischer’s novels. :p>

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LIME:p>

No.12, $0.60 stamps/perzine trades, half-legal, 19pp, Ariana/Lime Zine, 6066 Shingle Creek Pkwy #148:Street>, Brooklyn Center:City>, MN:State> 55430:PostalCode>:address>. LIME is a lovely distraction which feels very relaxed and fun — hope it feels that way to Ariana, too. It’s full of thoughtful observations and tales told with humor. Among the best is a simple and timely (for me reading pre-Thanksgiving) story about a turkey tagged by the Dept. of Natural Resources — hint: don’t shoot wild turkeys! Ariana says previous issues of LIME embarrass her, but on the strength of no.12 her writing is clear and enjoyable and has much to recommend it.:p>

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MUSEA:p>

No.142, free, half-legal, 7pp, Tom Hendricks, 4000 Hawthorne, #5, Dallas:City>, TX:State> 75219:PostalCode>:place>. A call to take on the media, to form new newspapers, and for they — and existing media outlets — to sign a Human Decency Pledge. And then a good start at the pledge itself (“#85: We won’t have news geared only for men.”) It’s a lovely idea and who knows? Maybe it will catch on. After all, they’re teaching ethics somewhere in the quagmire of the current government. Years too late — and something that the January 2009 presidential pardons will negate — but we all live in hope that someday someone with integrity will be elected. Maybe another Scotch in the meantime, thanks.:p>

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INCENDIARY WORDS:p>

Vol. V, #41, $0.50, letter, 6pp, Steve “Pudgy” De Rose, 4821 W. Fletcher St., #2, Chicago, IL 60641:p>

A newsletter about adult professional soccer (football, futbol) in the USA:place>:country-region>. In September the USA:country-region> men’s team qualified for the ’06 World Cup in Germany:place>:country-region>. It’ll be fun to see if anyone cares next summer. The women’s team can run rings around almost anyone in the world, but the men are still catching up to the best in the world. Some unhappiness is expressed about the Major League Soccer fans not being aware of the sport’s history in this country. Passing the subject back to the last sentence for a moment: any league that has to title itself Major League is surely taking the piss right from the starting whistle? INCENDIARY WORDS provides some fun insights into soccer fandom — who knew there were “booster” clubs?:p>

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LAZYBONE:p>

No.4, $0.75, half-letter, 27pp, Marc Parker, 2000 NE 42 Ave., #221, Portland, OR 97213. Marc has a languid style but doesn’t stint on baring the truth in the zine Formerly Known as KIMOSABE. He fasts and only drinks some kind of lemon drink. This drink has an impressive effect on his tongue, leaves him a bit low-energy, and then he goes into him and the toilet. So we blithely skip ahead to his criminal record (or lack of one), his two shots at TV stardom, and his ongoing job search. The best part of that is the ad taped at the back (that he stickered all over town) saying he’ll do anything legal (part-time or full-time) for $7.05 an hour. So if you need someone to walk you to the zine store, tidy your room, do the garden, file your stuff, babysit, move house, etc., you know who to call. He credits Doug Holland with the idea. :p>

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EMITRON:p>

No.2, $6/trade, 1/8 letter, 12pp, LAM/Borbonesa, PO Bpx 3429, Brighton, BNI 5UR, UK:place>:country-region>. Borbonesa.co.uk. “An occasional micropaper concerning Emitron (an Art Group). The Masquerade issue!” A beautiful little book printed on wax/tracing paper (makes it a little hard to read) with a color cover. There’s a on of work here and it is a thing of beauty. If odd art and surrealisms fly your monkey then this is your thing. It came with an even tinier DIY zoetrope — parts of which are on their website. :p>

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TWENTY-EIGHT PAGES LOVINGLY BOUND WITH TWINE:p>

No.12, $2/trade, half-letter, 28 pages, mais oui, Christoph Meyer, PO Box 106, Danville, OH 43104. The Alphabetical issue where we get the lowdown on Vanilla Ice (well, some of it), patriotism, the long middle finger of Mr. Meyer, and a breakdown of the steps taken to put this hand-bound zine together. You never need to ask this man where his time goes. :p>

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DANCE OF THE SKELETON:p>

No.3, $1/trades, half letter, 32 pp, Braden Cannon (aka Johnny Aztec), 14-19 Happy Tree Apt 205, Nishi 16 Minima 5, Obihiro, Hokkaido, 080-0027 Japan, emak_bakia@hotmail.com. Anarchist/worker’s rights zine from a Wobblie in Japan:place>:country-region> open to all contributions on the theme of work or labor. Johnny moved from the USA:country-region> to Canada:place>:country-region>. After finishing his film studies degree he was working a crap job (a familiar post college situation!), “pounding the pavement,” and sending out tons of resumes. Nothing. Then he gets a call from the IFCO (Independent Filmmakers’ Cooperative of Ottawa) that there’s a fill-in job he can do for a couple of weeks. He is walking on the moon. But, does he get the job full-time? No. Someone else (who only lasts a year) is hired and Johnny is so put out that eventually he and his wife give it up and go to Japan:place>:country-region>. Extreme, but it makes sense given the passion he had for the job. That and what he was looking at instead of the IFCO job. :p>

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KUNG FU PIMP: THE POEMS AND RHYMES OF ST. PACO:p>

$3/some trades, half-letter, 40pp, D. Taylor, 250 N. Arcadia:City> #1320, Tucson:City>, AZ:State> 85711:PostalCode>:place>. There are occasional beautiful lines in the two sections here: “International Lover” and “Kung Fu Pimp.” Also: this man seriously appreciates cigars. :p>

 :p>

Fran McMillian:p>

PMB 170, 40 E. Main St:address>:Street>.:p>

Newark:City>, DE:State> 19711:PostalCode>:place>:p>

stxeno@earthlink.net:p>

 :p>

Okay, I’m doing better this time around. I’m actually beginning my reviews the night before they’re due. Oh boy.:p>

As usual, too much is going on. Work has been a beast. I look at my production logs and shake my head. Sometimes, I even surprise myself. It’s astounding that one person can produce that much work; it’s criminal I’m not getting paid more.:p>

A new issue of my zine, Etidorhpa, is finally out after about 14 months of silence. This issue has everything you didn’t want to know about the Rapture and then some, written while I was in an extremely charitable mood. The odd thing was I thought it was going to be too short, since I’d written it in small bursts, a few sentences at a time, at various bus stops and the library, but when I formatted it, it came to a whopping 60 pages. I actually had to leave stuff out, which surprised the hell out of me. It’s available for $2 or trade.:p>

 :p>

Now: on with the show...:p>

 :p>

KUNG FU GRIP! #1: “Where are all the fine Black hackers?” a Black systems analyst asked me at the last science fiction convention I attended. Similarly, I’ve wondered where all the fine Black zinesters are hiding. At the few zine festivals I’ve attended, I’ve been the lone Black face there. I wonder why that is. Surely, I can’t be the only one.:p>

Anyway: I’ve found at least one kindred spirit in St. Paco’s Kung Fu Grip!. This fine first issue features articles about martial artist Count Dante (once advertised as “The Deadliest Man Alive”), photos of graffiti much better than I ever see around Delaware and the childhood memoir, The Way We Were, which moved me to tears. The design is excellent as well. KUNG FU GRIP!, Paco Taylor (checks to D. Taylor:City>) 250 N. Arcadia #1329, Tucson:City>, AZ:State> 85711:PostalCode>:place> :p>

e-mail: kfg@metropolmedia.com :p>

web: metropolmedia.com :p>

Price: $4, US/Can, $5 World:p>

 :p>

GIVING UP THE GHOST (A Smile, Hon, You’re in Baltimore:place>:City>! Production): This zine is a collection of Baltimore:place>:City> spooky tales. Included are: our editor’s tale of a disappearing five and dime store (I encountered one of those in Philadelphia:place>:City>. It was there one weekend and a mere two weekends later, it was no more, leaving not even an empty storefront to be seen. Poof!) Benn Ray’s encounter with a succubus called the Old Hag, Susan Beverly’s poem about the Lachrymose Angel, a statue on Baltimore St.:address>:Street> that may one day come alive as well as other strange and eerie delights. Good light lunch break reading. I enjoyed the variety of voices. Eight Stone Press, P.O. Box 11064:Street>, Baltimore:City>, MD:State> 21212:PostalCode>:address>:p>

e-mail: wpt@eightstonepress.com :p>

web: www.eightstonepress.com :p>

Price: $2:p>

 :p>

MENISCUS #14: This is one of those zines I keep hearing about, but I haven’t had the pleasure of actually reading an issue until now. This issue is a mix of compelling and funny personal essays and fairly good cartoons, especially the strips featuring Hobbeson and Chives, the crime fighting butlers. Among the essays, I enjoyed the introductory essay about not writing as well as the two pieces about being part-owner of a combo video/comic book store and coming in second place all the time. Highly recommended. Matt Fagan/Meniscis, 1573 N. Milwaukee Ave. #464:Street>, Chicago:City>, IL:State> 60622:PostalCode>:address> e-mail:headmatter@hotmail.com:p>

web: geocities.com/meniscusenterprises :p>

Price: Didn’t see one.:p>

 :p>

28 PAGES LOVINGLY BOUND WITH TWINE #13: My, this zine’s gotten bigger and fancier since the last time I saw it, but as Christoph says, even though it has a new look, it still has the same great taste. This issue contains a car review of the Prius Hybrid (and it’s nice to know someone else out there is just as blase about cars as I am. Christoph begins his review with: “First off, it’s a car. It’s got four wheels and goes”. I mean, really, what else matters?) a story about his unusual wedding, and of course, a couple of stories about his son, Herbie.:p>

This issue also comes with a bonus mini-zine, The Scrap Paper Review, which features some of his wife Lisa’s work stories, most of which are pretty funny (except for the one where one of Lisa’s assistants has her health insurance revoked because one month she underpays by a lousy penny. That was just heartless.) Still, reading Christoph’s zine always makes the world seem like a better place. Christoph Meyer, P.O. Box 106:Street>, Danville:City>, OH:State> 43014:PostalCode>:address> :p>

Price: $4 or trade :p>

 :p>

Maynard Welstand:p>

Contact via Xerography Debt:p>

 :p>

Maynard Welstand has kicked around the US:country-region> and Yorkshire:place>. Career highlights include librarian, cataloger, hobo, dot-commer, and homeless person in Silicon Valley:place> during the boom. Maynard is finishing a novel (but has been doing so for years) and has a shocking series of zines in production, due for release in January 2006.:p>

 :p>

I really stepped in it this time :p>

by Brian Dubin (3019 St Paul St Apt 2F:Street>, Baltimore:City>, MD:State> 21218:PostalCode>:address>), no price given. :p>

Anyone who has attempted to do a zine knows how hard it is to make it real, original, personal and interesting. Brian Dubin has a lot of heart and courage to put this out, but as a reviewer, I can’t recommend it to readers. The zine (I saw #2 and #3) lacks a strong sense of self and point of view. By point of view, I mean the way the writer relates to the world and how he uses art and words to show the writer’s view of life as he knows it. This view is either shared by the reader, or the reader learns something new about the universe by experiencing the writer’s view of things. :p>

The artwork is crude, but hey, in Zineland, crude can work. It’s the repeated negative comments about his own artwork that jar the reader out of the fragile world of the zine and into mental territory not conducive for entertainment. There is a lot of repetition without purpose in both plot and language and ultimately, I got the feeling that this was an ad for Ariel Pink and the next Dubin zine. There is total potential here. I hope Dubin will continue to work on his style and spin. Those two things, if developed, can make this zine a total winner. :p>

 :p>

Split zine: I saw Elvis by Benn Ray and When I saw the Monkees by Brian Dubin:p>

(Address given Benn Ray c/o Atomic Books 1100 W 36th St, Baltimore, MD 21211), no price given. :p>

Benn Ray’s selection of details and excellent use of black and white space gives the reader an immediate understanding of characters and relationships. Details about the concert are well chosen and poignant. In eight little pages, Ray shows us about his relationship with his dad, the scraps of memory from youth and his bond with the King.:p>

Brian Dubin uses half the frames that Ray does, so the story has significantly less material and chance for impact. Of interest here is that Dubin only uses one frame for the concert, the rest of the frames have a scattered focus. With a clear story to tell, Dubin does better here than in his stand-alone zines. His honesty and simplicity serve well. He has loads of potential as a zine writer.:p>

 :p>

Grey Matter :p>

by Billy McKay (P.O. Box 542 N.:Street> Olmsted:City>, OH:State> 44070:PostalCode>:address>) no price given.:p>

In only eight frames, McKay takes us into the human consciousness with a riddle. In this miniscule space, there is a fully realized world view, and loads of style. His artwork creates a strangely familiar universe. Text and abstract-Aztec-ugly-cool-image occupy nearly equal space in this tiny zine. It sparks the mind and fuels interest in seeing more work by McKay. Yowza! :p>

 :p>

Boring to the Punchline

Pokie Spout: pokiespout@gmail.com. No price given.:p>

 :p>

This zine is true to its title and it's a damn shame because Pokie has some serious  skillz. His character rendering is great, as is selection of detail for narrative description. He is trying, I think, to break the rules on purpose by having a ho-hum lead into a wildly great ending in order to achieve some artistic goal, but it simply doesn't work. The climax of the story is so good, it demands a better run-up to the conclusion. :p>

 :p>

We all fall into storytelling traps, so Pokie, you are not alone! And what better platform for experimentation than a zine? Don't forget, as writers, we owe the reading audience a good story, well told. Not only that, we owe it to the tale itself. No one is exempt from the rules of good storytelling. Sure you can fool Oprah; those idiots that read fiction for prizes; and all the readers of Harry Potter; but the fundamentals don't change. When we fail as writers to honor story-showing-not telling, the story suffers and so does the reader; standards fall, imagination withers, and general crappiness is encouraged in entertainment.:p>

 :p>

Be kind to your readers. Do your level-best to show (not tell) the story through action and dialog. Sweat out the plot so the action drives and motivates the characters. It's worth it to leave a well-wrought tale behind. Good stories are rare and if done well, they outlive the writer.:p>

 :p>

 :p>

Bobby Tran Dale:p>

3542 Fruitvale Ave.:address>:Street>:p>

PMB #141:p>

Oakland:City>, CA:State> 94602-2327:PostalCode>:place>:p>

 :p>

Sinfernal greetings, Cruel Believers! It’s nice to be here to give one last shout out to all peeps before the illustrious XD takes a lil’ break from it’s paper form. And oooooh how I’ll miss the smell of fresh copy ink printed across hand folded and stapled pages. I love the Net, but it will never ‘taste’ like a REAL zine! But all good things must come to an end….or a hiatus at least, eh? It’s been a fun ride to be sure. So until XD takes on another PHYSICAL manifestation, beast witches to one and all. And most especially to Lady Davidatrix and P’Daddy on their new ‘endeavor’!:p>

I’ll begin and end my reviews with the work of ANGRY DRUNK GRAPHICS. ADG is Steven Vincent & Mike Mclaughlin. I typically am not compelled to focus so much space to one publisher as I am going to here. But the fact is, I really like their work and feel they are deserving of a few extra accolades than I’d normally give (don’t forget what a jaded wanker I am ;-). Their humor can be easily branded way lowbrow, but this is one of the rare cases where it works very well in this reviewer’s three eyes. I was introduced to ADG thru a promo zine that featured snippets of their stuff, and reviewed just that piece in a past XD. So to all you indie peeps, yes, those little flyers do work sometimes! Well here now, I have reviews of WHOLE issues to report on. Needless to say, I was not disappointed in what I read. Some of you will think I’m nucking futs for laughing it up with these issues. So know this: ADG’s work is not for every taste. :p>

That said, ADG’s following goods can be acquired here::p>

 :p>

ANGRY DRUNK GRAPHICS:p>

PO Box:Street> 179:address>:p>

Forked River:City>, NJ:State> 08731:PostalCode>:place>:p>

Website: Angrydrunkgraphics.com:p>

Email: steve@angrydrunkgraphics.com:p>

NOTE: Send a SASE and get cool stickers of the characters featured in their comix!:p>

 :p>

THE SNOW PRINCE:p>

28 pp one shot; comic book sized; color covers:p>

Price: 3.95:p>

According to the introduction for this issue, SP was created because creator Steven Vincent had written a ‘book’ for his little niece. The piece itself didn’t warrant its own true publication (it was quickly scratched out onto 9 pages of folded paper). Which I didn’t see the problem with myself, since that sounds like a number of ‘real’ zines I’ve seen. So Vincent created SP to have an excuse to put out “A Book For Nicole” in published form (it’s now a ‘backup’ feature of sorts). And here it all is. What we the readers end up with is what feels like a crudely drawn, twisted kids comic/story book. Think in terms of if ‘Golden Books’ put out tweeked, Tim Burtonesque, funkily drawn comics, it just might look like this. And if my kid books were this subtly warped when I was a child, I might have done a little bit more reading and became that Serial Killer I’d always wanted to be instead of this boring Brayn Surgeon that I am. The opening line will give you an idea: “Not long ago in the frozen arctic tundra, there lived a royal family of snowmen. Five Snow Princes and a Snow King. And every year when the New Year arrived a Snow Fairy would come from the sky to grant a wish to one of the Princes”. As text, none of this might sound particularly exciting. But if you are already familiar with Vincent’s bent on things, you’ll know that nothing is going to end up very nice in the end. With the premise in mind, we follow SP Peter, who’d already made a wish the previous year. But this year he wanted another to make up for the stupid one he’d already asked for. But when he goes to his father the Snow King to see if he could wish again (it was his brother John’s turn, who always wished for a head of cabbage), he was denied. Thus, after an epiphany of sorts, begins the exterminations of his siblings to move up the wish line. And being literal snow people, he tricks his brothers in different ways. In one instance, he tricks one brother who was always willing to do favors for people, into holding a heated rock for him until he melts away. In another, he gets a brother to look at how beautiful the sun is in the morning….with a magnifying glass. Sound stupid? Yea…probably. But the simply done, borderline ‘not right’ feel of it all just seems to work for me. I chuckled more than a few times reading these pages. It’s the stuff I’ve always wanted to read to kids but couldn’t. In the end, there’s a cool lil’ twist for the mischievous Snow Prince, who BTW, all this time wished to be a REAL boy. But you’ll hafta see how that’s part is handled. I should have seen it coming, but the charm of the previous pages kept the obvious from hitting me in the face. In “Book For Nicole” we get to see what spawned this whole book. In this scant two pages (remember, it was drawn for a little kid), Nicole, having just moved from New Jersey to Uncle Vincent’s neck of the woods, comes with ‘super powers’ that would make fellow school kids pay for picking on her. This super power being the ability to make them fart uncontrollably on command. It’s interesting to see where SP spawned. Matched together, they would almost make a fun little gift for the wicked kids in your life…really. And for all of the surface level goofiness, it’s easy to see there’s really a bit more thought that goes into this and other work by ADG than meets the immediate eye.:p>

 :p>

FUN WAYS TO KILL YOUR :p>

CHILDREN:p>

32pp one shot; comic book sized; color covers:p>

Price: 3.00:p>

I suppose by the title, one would expect some really low brow...poor taste ways of killing kids for laughs all done with some scratchy-arse drawings depicting such hideous scenes. Well….they are. But before I get tossed in the blender, let me remind you…this stuff ain’t for all tastes. And even for the tastes it’s geared towards, it might be a mood thing that dictates whether or not these one panel comix are funny, down right dumb or just not right in that mentally unstable kinda way. With that disclaimer said, I must admit, I STILL get a chuckle reading these comix now. The illo for ‘Let Them Bungie Jump With A Chain’ still cracks me the heck up. I had briefly mentioned my like for the sampled strips in ADG’s promo sampler. But here, I get to wallow in the entire filth. And boils & ghouls, I enjoyed every minute of it. If I didn’t keep my copy in my zine comix ‘keeper’ files, I’d have it happily sitting on my coffee table for my guests (not that I have a coffee table…nor any guests that can read with their hands bound and gags in their mouths with masks over their heads, but I digress). But anyhow, what we have here are over eighty one-panel strips of kids in varying states of dismemberment. Think Garbage Pail Kids for Serial Killers or really bad parents. Vincent began creating these in 1997 when he first put up his webpage to entice people to keep coming back. It’d be interesting to see who was attracted to them. Amongst the chuckle inducing fodder, there’s FUN WAYS TO KILL YOUR CHILDREN: Take Them Camping (picture a bear walking away after mauling lil’ Junior in his tent); Use Them As A Bumper…Buy Them A Tick Farm…Microwave Them…Make Them A Mask Out Of Plastic Wrap…Let Them Run With Scissors. I think you get the picture. Vincent’s illustrations are always in this kind of scratchy style. The characters are always in some state of bug-eyedness minus pupils. In lesser hands I don’t know if the whole thing could come off as anything more than clunky attempts at bad comix. But in Vincent’s hands, the style works almost perfectly for what it needs to convey. I freakin’ love this compilation, and I definitely don’t hand out the ‘L’ word too often. This has such a MAD Magazine or Far Side kind of feel to it ..well, that is if they were just a little bit grosser and more disturbed. I’d love to see one giant compilation of these strips in TB form cuz they deserve to get out to even more twisted peeps to appreciate.:p>

 :p>

SPAZTIC COLON:place>:City> 1-3:p>

Issues 1-2: 28pp/ comic book sized; #3 32pp digest:p>

Price: 3.50 each:p>

Here we have what amounts to the continuing strip for ADG (so far as I can tell). There are ashcans available that beef up these issues, but I don’t have them for review. In issue #1 we are introduced to Vincent’s (as you might already be able to tell,) ‘obsession’ with warped kids, but we meet and find out about Jade; the multi-pigtailed 15 yr. old waif whose mother separated from her Dad and became weirder and weirder following their separation (read: she became an activist Lesbian, then jezuz freak). Jade got shuffled to foster homes, then after a stint with a perve ‘Uncle’, she makes her way back to New Jersey:place>:State> where this is based. We also meet Billy, her friend, who can’t tell the difference between a Mormon, a Merman or Ethel Merman. Both are alcoholics it seems, so all is forgiven. In one ‘episode’, Billy (a devout carnivore) encounters a vegetarian and the vegetarian gets munched on in a goofy three pager. In another, Jade goes looking for a job so she can pay her electricity bill, but being underage doesn’t help matters. And all she wants is to have light, not eat chunky spoiled milk on her cereal or raw macaroni for dinner. In ‘Billy and Cow’, which I thought was some sillazz funny stuff, Billy proceeds to create himself a new friend, a cow. So off to the grocery store he goes and after purchasing meats there, he comes home and plays Dr. Frankenstein. But after Cow comes to life, they begin to talk. Cow wants to know why one of his legs is so small. Billy tells him the butcher ran out of cow legs, so he substituted a piece of veal for the leg. He also used chopped beef and duct tape for his tail. Yet another instance where the description (even as I write it) sounds just dumb). But in reading this, it’s just ridiculously humorous. Especially the look on Cow’s face when it’s explained to him that veal is a ‘baby cow’. What follows is pretty funny, as Cow becomes a lil’ political and decides he must do the right thing and set himself on fire, but since he has no thumbs he must ask Billy to work the lighter. :p>

In issue #2 we get more of the two. This issue is decidedly Hell bent. In the beginning (hehe;-) Tim, a Devil from below is trying to get to the surface to rescue his other Devil buddy Balfor who was a victim of an exorcism and is now trapped in a potato in New Jersey:place>:State>. The potato belongs to Jade who has given it to Billy. So without giving away too much, the Devil Tim, with the help of Satan’s Son, comes to the surface from the pits of Hell to get Balfor free. But the disturbed duo aren’t so hot to give up their little prize potato and work out a little deal for themselves in exchange. There are a couple short strips padding out this issue. One involves the woes of poor Teen Jesus, where he finds out thru the help of Holy Ghost (is that what he looks like ….wow!;-) , but he finds out that no one wants to be his friends and that everyone’s using him. You know, to do stuff like turn water into wine…..clear acne on chicks before the Prom. You know, typical teen drama. In ‘One Night In The City’ we encounter a little girl and her cat waiting at a bus stop during the wee hours of the morning. She almost falls victim to a predator, you know, the molesting kind. But this is a Vincent strip, and that wee girl and cat ain’t all that wee. :p>

 :p>

In issue #3 Billy dies and and goes to Limbo where he meets up with Cow once again. Cow is there because ‘they’ can’t figure out where to send him after he killed himself because he was not one of the ‘creator’s’ factory jobs. So together they decide to go see God because Billy wants to be alive again. So to the diner that God lives in they go. God looks a tad bit like a bowling ball BTW. God eventually sends them both back. In the second part of the story, Cow and Billy hook up with Santa, who has literally landed on Billy’s doorstep after being beat up by one of his Elves and left for dead. Santa recounts the origins of all the Elves, when they were child eating monsters, that he finally tamed with candy canes (apparently it’s a low blood sugar issue they had). The one Elf that beat down poh Santa is headed back to the North Pole (low blood sugar and all) to wreak havoc and turn the other Elves back to their former nasty selves (hey that kinda rhymed!). Santa has enlisted Cow and Billy’s help. Together they go to Bob’s house…Bob, who has an Ewok imprisoned, captured after the filming of the Jedi movie, (the Ewok, Bob claims was really an alien bent on taking over the Earth), Bob also has a paintball gun that shoots jawbreakers. Santa wants this weapon to regain control of his Elf population and make sure Xmas keeps coming.:p>

 :p>

Ridiculous? It is. To be taken seriously? Of course not. And that’s what I dug about all of these SC issues. They’re just all light hearted goofy fun that obviously took some effort and thinking to get to the printed page (i.e., these weren’t just spit out in two seconds). I had wondered how much longer strips would play out with Vincent’s work. And here, I was able to see there was noticeable flow going on. Nothing felt forced and it all works together as a cohesive unit, but separately, they stand on their own as well.:p>

 :p>

ADG OVERALL: With all of ADG’s pubs, some fine tuning could be had in a number of areas. But, Vincent’s work is stylized enough that it doesn’t need to follow convention too closely. If it did, I’d guess it wouldn’t be as effective and feel forced. I’ve seen other comic creators ‘try’ to be disturbing and funny and it doesn’t work sometimes, in fact, most of the times for some. Here, it’s not in your face, and feels like the work develops its own unbalanced, warped vibe when it needs to and doesn’t seem like its trying to meet some kind of shock quota. ADG’s work is recommended to anyone with more darkly tuned senses of humor. ADG proudly makes claim to their ‘shitty’ artwork, but this reviewer is happy to say he/it thinks it works pretty damn well. Check out their website . There’s some cool work there too.:p>

 :p>

And that Peeps, is it. May the farce be with you. And may yer stapler keep stapling, and may yer copier keep copying. And remember…nothing is forever. But it ain’t ever over till the robust lady sings! Botda, signing off!:p>

 :p>

Kathy Moseley:p>

1573 N. Milwaukee Ave. #403:address>:Street>:p>

Chicago:City>, IL:State> 60622:PostalCode>:place>:p>

semibold@earthlink.net:p>

 :p>

I have developed a serious problem. The 15-year-old girl who lives inside me has taken over my life. Two months ago I was going through a box of old video tapes, when I came across a tape of Duran Duran videos from my ancient youth. I laughingly put it in the VCR for a trip down memory lane. But I shouldn’t have been so cavalier. I immediately felt like a recovering addict who’d been clean for twenty years, and suddenly remembered how great it was to be a junkie. It was just like I mainlined them right into my viens and I was totally obsessed all over again. It’s crazy. Perhaps this is how my midlife crisis has chosen to manifest itself. I’m at a loss to explain it any other way. I don’t care, because it sure is fun. . . :p>

And if you want, you can order a copy of my personal zine, SEMIBOLD for $2 to this address::p>

1573 N. Milwaukee Ave. #403:address>:Street>:p>

Chicago:City>, IL:State> 60622:PostalCode>:place>:p>

 :p>

MOTION SICKNESS:p>

Poetry usually leaves me kind of “meh,” but I really liked a lot of Carolyne’s stuff. Perhaps I am just in a certain mood right now, I don’t know. Her little stories and poems have a very gritty, urban, nomadic feel to them. Lots of disconnection from place and people. But beautiful in their sadness. This is my favorite line in the whole thing, from a poem called “Cheap Thrills”: “I think bees are the luckiest creatures alive because their sole purpose is to fuck flowers. Beauty kills them. Their lust is so overwhelming. But at least they don’t die alone.”:p>

On the last page of the zine, she writes: “She is very bad at replying to zine orders. Orders in general, really.” So I guess you’ve been warned!:p>

28 pages, somewhere between quarter-size and digest size. $2 each:p>

Carolyne Whelan:p>

22 Boynton St. #3:address>:Street>:p>

Jamaica Plain:City>, MA:State> 02130:PostalCode>:place>-3209:p>

xbikexpiratex@yahoo.com:p>

646-318-1945:p>

 :p>

THE BAD LYRICS PROJECT:p>

When I opened the cover of this and saw that it was Liz Mason project, I knew it would be good. And I was not disappointed. Liz dissects with excruciating detail the myriad possibilities of bad lyrics in rock and pop music. She takes her time to define what exactly makes a lyric BAD and not just mediocre or lame, and details her process for listening to heaps of albums and CDs to find those perfect examples of bad lyricism. Then, and only then, do we get to the 16 or so pages of oh-so-bad lyrics, complete with Liz’s commentary. And she only cites one Duran Duran song -”Rio:place>”-which, despite my rekindled love of them, is certainly NOT the worst bad lyric in their 80s oeuvre. Not by a long shot! But I digress. Anyway, this is a hoot, and if you like reading about pop music you’ll love it.:p>

36 pages, digest size. $1 each:p>

Liz Mason:p>

PO Box:Street> 476802:address>:p>

Chicago:City>, IL:State> 60647:PostalCode>:place>:p>

caboosezine@yahoo.com:p>

 :p>

MICROCOSM PUBLISHING :p>

CATALOG 2005:p>

Microcosm is an independent publisher and distro out of Portland:City>, Oregon:State>:place>. They’ve been in business for nine years, and according to their intro, there are 1100 items available in this catalog! That’s pretty impressive. Their huge selection of zines and books is divided into the following categories: Political, Personal, Punk & Lifestyle, Food Politics, Humor, Comics & Artwork, Bicycle, Instructional & Resource and Parenting. This is on top of their own releases, including Stolen Sharpie Revolution, and the $100 and a T-shirt DVD. They also have t-shirts, stickers, patches and buttons covering all your lefty political needs. Art on the cover and the inside by Clutch McBastard.:p>

16 pages, full size. No price listed.:p>

5307 N. Minnesota Ave.:address>:Street> :p>

Portland:City>, OR:State> 97217-4551:PostalCode>:place>:p>

503-249-3826:p>

joe@microcosmpublishing.com:p>

www.microcosmpublishing.com:p>

 :p>

FOR THE CLERISY/GOOD WORDS FOR READERS #60:p>

I hadn’t seen a copy of this for a long time, and I forgot how much I enjoyed it. Brant loves books and shares his latest reads with us, as well as some of the latest movies he’s seen. He also includes a healthy section of reader letters and his responses. Apparently the last issue had a “Sex” theme, and now that I’ve read his reader mail on the subject I want to read that issue too! Brant is very unpretentious in his reading taste and his reviews. No holier-than-thou intellectual snobbery here. If you love to read and love to tell people about what books you’re reading, you should read this.:p>

10 pages, full size. No price listed.:p>

Brant Kresovich:p>

PO Box:Street> 404:address>:p>

Getzville:City>, NY:State> 14068-0404:PostalCode>:place>:p>

kresovich@hotmail.com:p>

biggestfatporker@yahoo.com:p>

 :p>

INCENDIARY WORDS Vol. V #31 (June 2005):p>

I know next to nothing about soccer. So perhaps I am not the best person to be reviewing this, but I will anyway. It seems like a pretty good resource for news and information about professional/major league soccer teams. Since Steve is in Chicago:City>, there was a lot of focus on Chicago:place>:City> teams, which is okay with me, because that’s where I live, too. So it was perhaps slightly less alien to me than it would have been if he were writing from another city. He writes not just about matches and teams, but also about the behind-the-scenes wheeling and dealing in management and related controversies. I’m not sure how often he puts this out, but it seems pretty topical, and if it didn’t come out very often the info would get dated quickly. So I’m guessing he publishes somewhat regularly. If you’re into pro soccer, give it a try.:p>

8 pages, full size. 50¢ each:p>

Steve “Pudgy” DeRose:p>

PQRS Ltd.:p>

4821 W. Fletcher St. #2:address>:Street>:p>

Chicago:City>, IL:State> 60641-5113:PostalCode>:place>:p>

pudgym29@fastmail.fm:p>

 :p>

THE MS. FILMS DIY GUIDE TO FILM & VIDEO/2ND EDITION:p>

This is pretty awesome, and another topic about which I know virtually nothing. It’s a handy little resource for all kinds of information about making your own films and how to get them shown. Included are essays about “cameraless” filmmaking, different methods of animation, how to organize a film festival, how to write a press release, a glossary of basic film terms, and lots of resources to help you with further investigation. It’s a classic typewritten cut-and-paste zine, with accessible, friendly writing and a very positive “anyone can do it” vibe. :p>

98 pages, digest size. $4 each. No trades. :p>

Niku Arbabi:p>

912 Iredell St:address>:Street>.:p>

Durham:City>, NC:State> 27705:PostalCode>:place>:p>

msfilms@hotmail.com:p>

www.msfilms.org:p>

 :p>

STATIONAERY #4:p>

This is a pretty good litzine. Some short fiction, some super-short fiction, a little poetry and some art work. I think some of the art suffers in the black and white photocopy process, but the photos look pretty good. My favorite story was “Visitation Rights,” by Ilya Zaychik, which is perversely funny and downright weird. Another piece I liked, but I’m not sure why, is “Brauner’s Muse” by Nathan Leslie. It makes me think of that Daffy Duck cartoon where the unseen animator tortures him by continually changing his bodily form. It’s worth a read.:p>

28 pages, somewhere between digest and full size. No price listed.:p>

stationaery@yahoo.com:p>

www.stationaery.com:p>

 :p>

Stephanie Holmes:p>

271 Eastwood Drive:address>:Street>:p>

Plymouth:City>, IN:State> 46563:PostalCode>:place>:p>

ourgirlsunday@yahoo.com:p>

 :p>

It’s been a long and somewhat sad three-month span for me. My car blew up; I parted ways with a love, quit a job, and drove across the country (while listening to Cat Power) twice to get it all out of my head. Then, I got another job, left that job, and now I’m temping and going to school. To top it off, I’m a temp who also has an employee. How weird is that? Anyway, I’ve learned that going back to school is a big sacrifice. If you do not have money or free-flowing scholarships, you have to really work hard, grind yourself to the ground and then keep on staggering. It’s scary too. I keep telling myself if I don’t do well, I only have myself to blame. I think I will and I think it will all be worth it eventually, but right now it all makes my head spin. For all of you who have been doing this longer than I have, I commend you. :p>

 :p>

EMMA GOLDMAN #2 (September 2004) digest, 40 pages, $1.50 postage paid or $1 and two stamps. Subscribers can get a free Emma Goldman button with zine orders. EMMA GOLDMAN C/O Rebekah 428 N. 13th St. #51:Street> Philadelphia:City>, PA:State> 19123:PostalCode>:address>.:p>

 :p>

EMMA GOLDMAN is full of Philadelphia:place>:City> stories, grad school snippets and other musings about pets, Johnny Depp and racial equality. It sounds like a full plate, but the author, Rebekah, makes it work and gives you food for thought. Recommended.:p>

 :p>

MEMPHEN ANNUAL #1, legal size, 30 pages, no price listed in this issue, trades accepted. MSFA, P.O. Box 820514:Street>, Memphis:City>, Tenn.:State> 38182:PostalCode>:address>.:p>

The UNOFFICIAL MEMPHEN ANNUAL #1, features past MEMPHEN covers by Ken Fletcher, Dan Steffan and Tom Foster that date back to the early 1990s. The back story by editor Greg Bridges admits that he dedicated this issue to Tom Foster, a regular contributor, who never got much credit for his work. Bridges also notes that Foster has recently had some hard times including a divorce and some luck doing art for movies made in Memphis including 40 Shades of Blue featuring the actor Rip Torn. The drawing is intense, vivid and doesn’t require much commentary fluff. Interesting for those interested in sci-fi and Asian art.:p>

 :p>

BROOKLYN:place> #49, digest, 20 pages, $10 for a quarterly subscription. Fred Argoff, Penthouse L, 1170 Ocean Parkway:Street>, Brooklyn:City>, NY:State> 11230:PostalCode>:address>.:p>

Fred Argoff’s BROOKLYN:place> is always a lot of fun. So, it was no surprise to read that his friends are equally cool and devoted to Argoff’s beloved BROOKLYN:place>. Lisa B. Falour tells the tale of 10 Ocean Parkway:address>:Street>, the history, bits about her husbands and lovers and wraps it all in a request for more information about the 1930’s Brooklyn:place> treasure she called home for more than a decade.:p>

 :p>

MODERN ARIZONA #8 (Summer 2005) digest, $1 post paid, trades accepted. MODERN ARIZONA:place>:State> P.O. Box 494:Street>, Brewster:City>, NY:State> 10509:PostalCode>:address> or e-mail unseen@bestweb.net.:p>

Be warned: MODERN ARIZONA:place>:State> has nothing to do with the state, but the author Joe Unseen can sure spin a yarn. The best ones in this issue are about his sister’s unsuspecting date with porn star Ron Jeremy, a chitlin’ packed adventure on Martin Luther King day and another story about all of those ridiculous car magnets called “We support the guy in China:place>:country-region> selling those idiotic magnets.” There are a few offbeat essays one about water that kind of slow up the reading, but readers should forge through because there is more than one laugh-out-loud story inside this issue.:p>

 :p>

FERTILE GROUND #11, digest, $2 per issue, quarterly subscription $8, trades accepted.:p>

Contact Stacey Greenburg, 2084 Court Ave., Memphis:City> Tenn.:State> 38104:PostalCode>:place> or e-mail stacey@fertilegroundzine.com for paypal information. :p>

FERTILE GROUND is a social platform for modern parenting. FERTILE GROUND doesn’t give much advice or pass judgments or debate “spanking vs. not spanking” instead it offers support through stories about the shiniest moments of parenting and tells tales of the less desirable times to keep it real. In addition to editor Stacy Greenburg’s own stories of motherhood, there are two exceptional essays. One is by SLUG and LETTUCE columnist China Martens, who talks about the irritable yet pleasant journey of raising a teenage daughter. The other is a bittersweet essay about being barren by Wendy Summer-Winter. This is a great read for active aunts and uncles, parents-to-be and parents already in the trenches.:p>

 :p>

WATCH THE CLOSING DOORS #31, digest, 20 pages, $10 for a quarterly subscription. Fred Argoff, Penthouse L, 1170 Ocean Parkway:Street>, Brooklyn:City>, NY:State> 11230:PostalCode>:address>. WATCH THE CLOSING DOORS is another love note to New York:place>:State> from Fred Argoff. A publisher should get a hold of these well-researched gems and make a volume. This issue talks about the disappearance and the grand lives of the elevated el lines, features vintage photographs and shows streets that haven’t seen sunlight since the late 1800s because the track lines hover over them. Argoff’s stories, maps, trivia and geography lessons always take you to the city even if you have your feet planted on a sleepy burg a long way from New York:place>:State>. Frommer’s guides have nothing on Argoff. Recommended for history buffs and those who heart New York:place>:State>.:p>

 :p>

LUCKY #12 #11, digest, 57 pages, $2 postpaid, trades welcome. David Coonce 828 N. Maplewood, Chicago:City>, IL:State> 60622:PostalCode>:place>.:p>

Fans of LUCKY #12 should note that this issue is a farewell issue of sorts. Don’t be alarmed. The zine is for keeps, it’s more of a farewell to heartache, longing and crushes for author David Coonce. Coonce cashed it all in for the love of his life, and he’s not looking back. The only ache he has now is for his beloved Bloomington:City>, IN:State>:place> and there are even plans to requite that void. The farewell to heartache hasn’t hurt Coonce or changed his audience. His observations of the world will still catch you off guard and make you say, “wow, that guy is a good writer” as one of my friends said to me recently as I shared a passage over the phone. For those of you who are addicted to heartache and stories of broken lives, I’m sure Coonce will continue to offer insight on such topics, but with any luck those types of stories will be taken from his memory banks. Recommended for all whom like the feeling of reading someone’s diary or those who prefer to learn from experience of others or maybe yourself if you fall somewhere inside Coonce’s wide web of past and present.:p>

 :p>

Miriam DesHarnais:p>

PO Box 4803:Street>, Baltimore:City> MD:State> 21211:PostalCode>:address>:p>

mdesharn@yahoo.com:p>

 :p>

Maybe it’s just burn-out, or poor choice of reading material, but it occurs to me that there may be a bigger problem with insularity and repetition in the zine world than I previously realized. Most of the stuff I was gonna write about just turns out to be really similar, zine to zine - young, educated people who would describe themselves as socially conscious but have chosen to focus their writing on the weather, what shows they attended and whether or not they ordered a soy latte to go with their tofu scramble that day. Seriously. I read several zines that suggested that the outside world simply does not exist. :p>

Having seen Good Night and Good Luck last night I feel like quoting Edward R. Murrow, who was speaking about TV, but reminded me that independent media also (and especially) has an obligation to fight shallow engagement: :p>

 :p>

“We have currently a built-in allergy to unpleasant or disturbing information. Our mass media reflect this. But unless we get up off our fat surpluses and recognize that television in the main is being used to distract, delude, amuse and insulate us, then television and those who finance it, those who look at it and those who work at it, may see a totally different picture too late. :p>

 :p>

I do not advocate that we turn television into a 27-inch wailing wall, where longhairs constantly moan about the state of our culture and our defense. But I would just like to see it reflect occasionally the hard, unyielding realities of the world in which we live....To those who say people wouldn’t look; they wouldn’t be interested; they’re too complacent, indifferent and insulated, I can only reply: There is, in one reporter’s opinion, considerable evidence against that contention. But even if they are right, what have they got to lose? Because if they are right, and this instrument is good for nothing but to entertain, amuse and insulate, then the tube is flickering now and we will soon see that the whole struggle is lost....This instrument can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise it is merely wires and lights in a box. There is a great and perhaps decisive battle to be fought against ignorance, intolerance and indifference.” :p>

 :p>

I know it might seem overly dramatic to invoke Murrow over a simple dud batch of zines. But the predictable, apolitical nature of what I read disappoints me. Now that there’s a zine library near me the sting should be out of having spent thirty bucks last month on confusing comics and single spaced minutae. I try to remind myself that I used to like minutae. That I even still do, when the details are presented for a purpose.:p>

But hearing that speech did make me consider how much we censor ourselves, assume it is not our place to say, or completely miss the issues, even within a medium that celebrates its do-it-yourself, beholden-to-none stance. The assumption that we are beaten already - by our leaders and the force of our culture at large - a fear of preaching to the choir, the fact that it’s easier to navel-gaze, all of this shuts us up, when now would really be the time to speak up loudly, consistently, and to whomever we can. :p>

It doesn’t all have to be protest writing. Letting someone else into your head can be radical. But good “personal writing” needs both a care for the writing and a passionate, honest involvement with the personal, even when it’s messy and raw. :p>

So basically, I’m in a reader’s funk and couldn’t find anything I liked enough to review. But to be at least a little useful I thought I’d give a booklist of books by zine or mini-comics authors (or about zines) that I either liked or am psyched to read: :p>

 :p>

Never Mind The Goldbergs:p>

Yom Kippur A Go-Go:p>

both by Matthue Roth:p>

DIY: The Rise of Lo-fi Culture:p>

by Amy Spencer:p>

Mamaphonic: Balancing Motherhood and Other Creative Acts:p>

Ed. by Bee Lavender and Maia Rossini:p>

 Doris:place>: An Anthology 1991 - 2001 :p>

by Cindy Gretchen Ovenrack Crabb:p>

Personal Charm:p>

by Missy Kulik:p>

The Future Generation:p>

forthcoming by China Martens:p>

 Lulu Eightball:p>

Emily Flake:p>

Cinderella’s Big Score: Women of the Punk and Indie Underground:p>

by Maria Raha:p>

For Here or To Go: Life in the Service Industry:p>

Ed. by Leah Ryan:p>

Things Are Meaning Less:p>

by Al Burian:p>

Good advice for Young Trendy People of All Ages:p>

Ed. by Jennifer Blowdryer:p>

Access All Areas: A User’s Guide to the Art of Urban Exploration :p>

by Ninjalicious:p>

Atlas of the Human Heart:p>

by Ariel Gore:p>

Hard Love:p>

by Ellen Wittlinger:p>

Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things:p>

Carolyn Mackler:p>

Fat Kid Rules the World:p>

K.L. Going:p>

Speak:p>

Laurie Halse Anderson (Also an excellent movie.):p>

 :p>

The last four are teen fiction and actually the final two aren’t really about zines. But they are about finding a voice and they rock. :p>

 :p>

Matt Fagan :p>

1573 N Milwaukee Ave:address>:Street>, PMB #464 Chicago:City>, IL:State> 60622:PostalCode>:place>:p>

hadmatter@hotmail.com:p>

www.geocities.com/depotdevoid/:p>

meniscus/inside.html:p>

 :p>

Matt Fagan here, coming at you from what may be the final issue of Xerography Debt. Oh, I’m sure that the ride isn’t over yet, as the internet will keep the dream alive and who knows, maybe this spiffy paper format will return one day after the dust settles. But if it doesn’t, I wanted to take a moment to say that I’ve had the time of my life working for Davida and company. Through these pages I’ve been able to share my own work (a perzine called Meniscus, a series of comic digests called Love, and countless mini-comics) with a lot of folks I’ve never even met. I’ve had the opportunity to meet Davida not once, not twice, but thrice. And when my own projects got me down or offered no creative solace, I could always count of Xerography Debt to keep me connected to a world I love. But most of all, as a reviewer, I’ve been given the chance to read and enjoy a hundred or more zines that I probably wouldn’t have picked up on my own – and I like to think I’ve helped those creators find a larger audience, and had a small hand in encouraging them to keep writing. :p>

Now, one last time… on with the reviews!:p>

 :p>

FOUR STAR DAYDREAM #7:p>

¼ size, 240pp., trade or $1 U.S., $2 World :p>

by Fawne D.:p>

104 Diane Dr:address>:Street>.:p>

Thomaston:City>, GA:State> 30286:PostalCode>:place>:p>

sparkofpower@hotmail.com:p>

FOUR STAR DAYDREAM #7 is a tiny, breathless personal account of a shooting that occurred at Heritage High in Georgia:place>:country-region> in 1999. The shooting, in which six students were wounded, happened only a month after the Columbine incident, when everybody in the country was nervously wired and waiting for another shoe to drop.:p>

To Fawne’s great fortune, she was not in the thick of the action when a boy brought a gun to her high school. I was out of college by the time Columbine occurred, so I don’t know from personal experience what it was like to be an American high school student after that tragedy. But I remember what it was like to be in high school, and I remember how contagious all emotions could be in that environment. Almost every student in the country was scared. While the student at Fawne’s school was shooting some of his classmates, she was confined to a classroom with dozens of other students, and none of them had been informed what was happening. But wouldn’t they all have known? Exactly thirty days after the Columbine attack, when students are running in every direction and teachers are yelling “Stay in your rooms! Close your doors!” with panic in their voices – what would you think was going on?:p>

Written years after the shooting – Fawne is grown and married and has a little girl now – FOUR STAR DAYDREAM brings the reader right back to high school (much the same effect that it must have had on the author). The most notable aspect of the writing is that she keeps slipping between the present and past tense – often within the same sentence. Under most circumstances, this would have the annoying smack of Bad Writing, but in the context of this story it only emphasizes the honesty of Fawne’s purpose. The shooting at Heritage High is part of Fawne’s past, but when she remembers it, she is there. Just as a certain quality in large crowds, or attending her brother’s high school graduation, might prompt her to imagine someone pulling out a gun for reasons inexplicable to all but himself: the shooting has become a lynchpin that can snap her back in time at any moment. The zine seems, in some ways, to be an attempt to construct a sort of bubble around that memory, and create the sense of historical perspective that Fawne must believe she should have by now, so many years down the line. Once you’ve seen that kind of horror, it will never entirely leave you. You just have to find a way to coexist.:p>

Besides being a quick, compelling read, FOUR STAR DAYDREAM is a valuable piece of cultural ephemera. It would be difficult to remain unmoved by this first-hand account from someone who felt the fear that surged through our school system in 1999.:p>

 :p>

TRYING ON HATS #1:p>

¼ size, 32pp., $1.25(!):p>

by Jennifer D. Farley:p>

P.O. Box:Street> 471159:address>:p>

Fort Worth:City>, TX:State> 76147:PostalCode>:place>:p>

Buffy2473@charter.net:p>

TRYING ON HATS totally pissed me off. Author Jennifer Farley thinks that she’s really awesome and clever, and is clearly in love with the sound of her own voice. And in many ways she really is very funny and observant. The reason I hate her is because we have a lot in common (if this were a movie, we would be the two people who fight and bicker and trade withering witticisms until the final reel, where we get drunk and have angry, incredible sex and fall in love).:p>

This is a little perzine that collages together many aspects of Jennifer’s life – brief personal stories, poems, photographs, list fun, excerpts from letters to friends – you know, the usual suspects. A prime example of why Jennifer and I must one day destroy each other in a duel to the death is a piece entitled “Queen of Java”, the bulk of which is composed of a list of coffee shop customers who piss her off. Here are a few examples::p>

“People who begin their order by stating, ‘I want…’ or ‘Gimme a…’ They’re called manners, you should try them some time. It’ll keep you from drinking a lot of snot.”:p>

“People who tell me what they want the second they hit the counter, regardless of what I’m doing. I’ve been talking to other customers, making espresso, taking an order on the phone, carrying heavy boxes… all sorts of shit. And these assholes trot up, slap their hands on the counter and say ‘I’ll have a tall latte.’ Well, fuck you.”:p>

“People who hand a pile of garbage to me when they order and say, ‘Throw that away for me.’ Needless to say, I do not wash my hands before making these people’s drinks.”:p>

These, and all other examples on her list, are problems I have faced almost every day of my life for a decade. Yet her list filled me with rage! Partly it’s because reading this list made me realize how pointless and petty these little bothers are, and made me feel like kind of a dick for getting so angry about them. Partly it’s because I always despise learning about how similar I am to another person. And also, this jerk Jennifer is out there entertaining other people with a story that could be mine! What the hell is up with that!?:p>

Overall, TRYING ON HATS is a fast and entertaining zine, and I definitely recommend it for fans of the bitter and cynical. It’s probably even more entertaining if you’re a healthy, vegetarian individual, because Jennifer is very anti-meat and also one of those incredibly self-righteous nonsmokers. So at least we differ on something. I’m smoking a cigarette as I write this. Her whole damn zine reeks of cigarette smoke now. And as soon as I’m done, I’m going to eat a sausage. You don’t like it? Blow me. And after you’re done blowing me, order a copy of this zine. You’ll enjoy it.:p>

 :p>

ERIK & LAURA-MARIE #25:p>

digest-size, 16pp., free (but send a buck or something):p>

by Laura-Marie Taylor:p>

inyotutor@yahoo.com:p>

http://lauramarietaylor.friendpages.com:p>

Like the other issues I’ve seen, ERIK & LAURA-MARIE #25 (subtitle- “rich inner life”) is filled with Laura-Marie’s musings, poems, thoughts and dreams. This particular zine seems more than usually preoccupied with work and money, with entries like “Poverty at Home, and “Why I Quit Teaching”, and “Our Job” (the last of these is about the time Laura-Marie spent working in a grading factory, where they spend all day scoring standardized tests.):p>

More than most perzines, ERIK & LAURA-MARIE tends to feel richer if you read two or three issues. Each discreet entry in this series is a sort of snapshot of time, with many disparate elements adding up to a very specific mood.:p>

 :p>

KUNG FU GRIP! #1:p>

digest-size, 52pp., $4 (includes shipping):p>

by Paco Taylor :p>

250 N. Arcadia:place> #1320:p>

Tucson:City>, AZ:State>, 85711:PostalCode>:place>:p>

kfg@metropolmedia.com:p>

What a wonderful notion: a perzine that utilizes the overarching theme of “kung fu-mania” in America:place>:country-region> to tell its story. Paco Taylor starts with the 1974 Carl Douglas hit Kung Fu Fighting and proceeds through comic books, toys, cartoons, Blaxploitation, television and movies to wax nostalgic about growing up in a country enamored by Eastern culture (or at least the parts of it popularized by Bruce Lee).:p>

Some stories, like “Man, You Come Right Out of a Comic Book!”, offer information about the times. It’s a brief life story of Count Dante, the self-described “deadliest man alive” whose fighting system was exhaustively advertised in the newsprint pages of comic books. And it’s quite an interesting tale, shedding light on the dark and wheedling aspects of a man that most of us only knew as a menacing face peering out of the inky shadow in our latest issue of Amazing Spider-Man. :p>

Other stories, most notably “The Way We Were”, provide far more personal memories. It’s an account of growing up in Chicago:place>:City> with friends who wanted nothing more than to re-enact the exploits of TV heroes like Ultraman, Fat Albert and Christy Love – before grown-up concerns like gang warfare served to splinter them apart.:p>

Aside from stories that expand our understanding of the theme and the author, the zine is also very attractive. Illustrated with photographs, vintage advertisements, and a big collection of street art, KUNG FU GRIP is a nice read and an aesthetic pleasure. I’m not sure how long a zine can keep up a winning format like this, but it’s strong out of the gate and I look forward to another installment.:p>

 :p>

SUGAR NEEDLE #37:p>

legal size folded lengthwise, 16pp., $1 plus a stamp or good trades:p>

by Corrina Fastwolf and Phlox:p>

c/o Corrina Fastwolf:p>

PO Box:Street> 300152:address>:p>

Minneapolis:City>, MN:State> 55403:PostalCode>:place>:p>

phlox@mindspring.com:p>

What can be said about SUGAR NEEDLE that hasn’t been said already? But, on the off chance that you’re new to the game, SUGAR NEEDLE is a zine about candy! Weird, cool candy! This issue reviews, among other things, St. Catherine Wheels (candy named after a torture!), Screaming Yellow Zonkers (which I’m pretty sure have the coolest box of all the sweetened popcorn snacks on the market), gummi octopi and (as always) a variety of mysterious foreign candies that sound a lot better than they actually are. Attractive and bizarre candy packaging is photocopied and hand-colored alongside reviews and descriptions by your confectionery tour-guides. Reading:place>:City> SUGAR NEEDLE can have the same effect as reading the now-defunct Beer Frame once had: everywhere you go, candy packages will leap from the shelves and demand to be noticed. Perhaps you’ll begin collecting them and think you ought to send them in, but more than likely you’ll end up eating them all anyway, and tell yourself that Phlox and Corrina have already tried them before. They’ve probably tried everything by now, right?:p>

 :p>

LIVING PROOF #4:p>

¼ size, 80pp., $3:p>

by Andrew:PlaceName> Mall:PlaceName>:place>:p>

PO Box:Street> 14211:address>:p>

Chicago:City>, IL:State> 60614:PostalCode>:place>:p>

livingproof@atm4.net:p>

My favorite thing about LIVING PROOF is that you can open it up at random and start reading anywhere. There are even occasional large-face bold phases to draw your eye and pull you into the ongoing narrative. Filled with stories about music, friends, crushes and neighbors, these tales inform and flow into one another with the indistinct nature of thought. Music is the recurring theme here though, whether it’s about making mix tapes, learning to play an instrument because musicians are hot (and everybody knows it), or opinions about downloading songs, music is the defining element in Andrew’s life and hardly a story can be told without music playing a role. This zine is slick, attractive and well-constructed (just like a hot musician) with a few nice photographs throughout. As a straightforward perzine – devoid of gimmicks or fancy themes – LIVING PROOF is one of the best.:p>

 :p>

SANITARY AND SHIP:p>

digest-size, 24pp., (no price listed):p>

by Aaron Cynic, Emerson Dameron, Andrew:PlaceName> Mall:PlaceName>:place>, Brandon Wetherbee, et al.:p>

from Diatribe Media:p>

www.diatribemedia.com:p>

SANITARY AND SHIP is a compilation zine from right here in Chicago:place>:City>, put together by some folks who regularly perform at an open mike hosted at Mojoe’s Café (an event that Aaron has invited me to attend 100,000 times, but they craftily schedule it so that I’m at work.) There’s quite a variety here (as can be expected from any comp zine), from poems to humor to serious essays. Aaron Cynic delivers a piece about Orwellian dystopia rearing its ugly head in modern America:country-region>, while Andrew:PlaceName> Mall:PlaceName>:place> (Living Proof) writes a tongue-in-cheek obituary for his Hyundai Sonata, which died in traffic on I-88 West. Rachel Slager’s “Potty Dance” is probably my favorite: a piece about her mother (who suffers from recurrent bladder problems) is both savagely funny and heartbreakingly filled with pathos. How do bladder problems lead to a cast on each arm and two black eyes? It must be read to be believed.:p>

 :p>

GEN X SLAP HAPPY LIFE:p>

digest-size, 28pp., $2:p>

by Yul Tolbert:p>

PO Box:Street> 02222:address>:p>

Detroit:City>, MI:State> 48202-9998:PostalCode>:place>:p>

yul_tolbert@yahoo.com:p>

www.timeliketoons.tripod.com/genx:p>

This is a “24-hour comic”. If you are unfamiliar with the concept, it’s what happens when a creator sets out to finish a complete comic in a 24-hour period – and there are an infinite number of forms that the final product might take. However, most such endeavors that I have seen are probably more valuable to the creator than they are to a reader: it forces you to stretch yourself, push yourself in different ways and work outside of your comfort zone. But most folks, however talented, don’t make their best or most interesting comics on this deadline.:p>

The same can be said for GEN X SLAP HAPPY LIFE, but writer/artist Yul Tolbert toys with the concept more than most, and does produce something more interesting than I expected. See, Mr. Tolbert’s usual outlet is an autobiographical zine called Gen X Suicide Life. His theory is that there are two parallel universes, a good universe and an evil universe. Tolbert’s perzine title reflects his belief that we currently reside in the evil parallel universe. He conceived the second title, Gen X Slap Happy Life, a long time ago for a project he has yet to complete: juxtaposing autobiographical entries from the real world with false journal entries from the good parallel universe, to show the differences between them.:p>

For now, he decided to take the title for his 24-hour comic, and this comic explores the idea of what his life would be like if it were perfect. On the advice of his therapist, who told him that drawing with the non-dominant hand can help unlock an artist’s creativity, Tolbert also decided to draw the comic with his left hand. The result is not pretty, of course, but it is interesting. And to add to the sense of unity (the parallel unity of the two dimensions), he has simultaneously written the comic in English and Esperanto. At the end, he also provides some background information on himself, the reasons he made the choices he made, and the process of creating GEN X SLAP HAPPY LIFE. I’m not sure how well the comic would go down with the casual reader, but for comic enthusiasts and other artists it’s a really curious and informative piece of work.:p>

 :p>

Christine Douville:p>

6595 St. Hubert, P.O. Box 59019:p>

Montreal, QC, H2S 3P5:p>

Canada:p>

lapetitefee@sympatico.ca:p>

 :p>

POUÈT-CAFËE litzine’s new issue (no.12) is almost ready! Send me a cool trade (your zine, or anything useful to a zinester) and I’ll send you a copy! :p>

 :p>

FOUR STAR DAYDREAM #8, SEPT. 2005:p>

Mini, 24 pages; $1 US, $2 elsewhere, or trade:p>

Fawne D., 104 Diane Dr., Thomaston, GA 30286:p>

www.momentofstars.com:p>

fawneheart@charter.net:p>

This short zine is written by Daniel and Fawne, each sharing their vision of marriage: their past, and the bad models of marriage their parents have given them; their own wedding day; their fears and hopes for their future together and as a family. I liked the format and layout- great little zine, cute and fun to read!:p>

 :p>

APRON STRINGS #1, SUMMER 2005:p>

Digest, 28 pages; $2 US, $3 Can/Mex, or trade:p>

Robin Dutton-Cookston, 3946 Cesar Chavez, San Francisco, CA 94131,:p>

robin_cookston@yahoo.com:p>

What a cool title! What a nice logo! I’ve been curious to read AS ever since I read about it on Mamaphonic.com. The theme for this debut issue is “Urban Parenting”, and includes essays from nine contributors. My favorite was “Which is better, the city or the farm? It depends!”, by Jeff Cookston (the title is quite self-explanatory!), since I’ve been thinking about that a lot recently. In “Where Everyone Knows your Name”, Karrie McAllister writes about moving to a farming community. “Advice for the New Mother”, by AS editor Robin Dutton-Cookston, is a list of all the annoying and contradictory advice Robin has received as a new mom. Stacey Greenberg’s “Blue Streak”, about mothers recovering their sex drive, was among my favorites, too- excellent writing style. A good parenting zine- I’ll follow its evolution with interest. My only complaint is that there’s not a single recipe in there- after all, isn’t the zine is called APRON STRINGS?!?:p>

 :p>

THOUGHTWORM #12:p>

Mini, 64 pages; $2:p>

Sean Stewart, 3600 Buena Vista Ave., Baltimore, MD 21211:p>

www.thoughtworm.com:p>

sean@thoughtworm.com:p>

Beware: do not read this if you’re feeling down. Issue #12 is quite different from the previous issue. I mean, the quality is still there, but there’s no variety this time. This is a postbreakup issue, and is filled with Sean’s thoughts as he runs or rides his bike during his last months in Texas, before he moved to Baltimore. Lots of scenery descriptions. Beautiful writing style; no need for photos. I felt really blue after reading this zine... #12 concludes with a page of zine micro-reviews, but that did very little to cheer me up. I look forward to reading the next issue- I hope lots of good magic awaits Sean in Baltimore, and that THOUGHTWORM will be back to its more varied (and less gloomy) self. P.S. The cover is beautiful. It’s a green bird on kraft cardstock.:p>

 :p>

THE EAST VILLAGE INKY #28:p>

Mini, 40 pages; $2, or $8 for a sub (4 issues):p>

Ayun Halliday, P.O. Box 22754, Brooklyn, NY 11202:p>

www.ayunhalliday.com:p>

ayun@ayunhalliday.com:p>

Another entirely handwritten, superbly illustrated perzine from Ayun Halliday, an enthusiastic, super creative and fun-loving mother of two. This issue mostly covers Ayun’s fascination for Coney Island, a Mermaid Parade, the performance of a freak at a sideshow, and the birth of a friend’s first child (complete with hilarious drawings of the poor mom during labour). Also includes comics, pictures and shrimp recipies. Quite a pleasant read, as usual.:p>

 :p>

THE CIA MAKES SCIENCE-FICTION UNEXCITING #3:p>

Mini, 32 pages; $1,50:p>

Microcosm Publishing, P.O. Box 14332, Portland, OR 97293:p>

www.microcosmpublishing.com:p>

(503) 249-3826 :p>

This zine looks “at the way the PATRIOT act and post 9/11 ‘security’ changed our civil liberties and infringed upon basic American rights.” I’m probably not the best person to review this zine since I’m not too familiar with American politics. All I can say is that when I was a kid, my dad used to crush a Tylenol in raspberry jam when I was sick. This zine lacks that little spoonful of sugar that helps the medicine go down...:p>

 :p>

MISHAP #19:p>

Digest, 48 pages; $2-3 or trade, free to
prisoners:p>

Ryan, P.O. Box 5841, Eugene, OR 97405:p>

mishapzine@yahoo.com:p>

Now here’s another zine with political contents, but with plenty of raspberry jam and other goodies to help the medicine go down: perzine entries (on comic books, one’s place in the scene, Ryan’s first death-metal show), zine talk, book and zine recommendations, plus a Lovecraft reprint (The Cats of Ulthar). In Ryan’s words, this is a “punk zine with traitorous politics, absurdity & personal confusion.” An enjoyable reading.:p>

chumpire #180:p>

Mini, 8 pages; 1 stamp or trade:p>

Greg Knowles, P.O. Box 27, Annville, PA 17003-0027:p>

chumpire@hotmail.com:p>

A very short and badly stapled zine with some music and movie reviews, and perzine entries about producing a yearbook, and getting older. More pages would be good. Loved the cute cartoon on the cover!:p>

 :p>

THE TIMELIKE REPORT SHEET VERSION 2.0, #12, JULY 2005:p>

3 sheets printed on both sides, plus 3 flyers; free/trades welcome:p>

Yul Tolbert, P.O. Box 02222, Detroit, MI 48202-9998:p>

http://timeliketoons.tripod.com:p>

yul_tolbert@yahoo.com:p>

Well, it’s the first time I’ve ever had to review nothing but ads. Let’s see... flyers... subscription forms... the paper they are photocopied on is, hum, white, and the sheets are... rectangular. Yul, did you really want me to review your flyers? Strange idea... Anyway, order these flyers if you want some info on Timeliketoon’s projects, or visit the website, where you’ll find the same info and more!:p>

 :p>

BRAIN CELL #622:p>

Ryosuke Cohen:p>

www.h5.dion.ne.jp/~cohen,:p>

braincell@k6.dion.ne.jp:p>

Mail art, with contributors from 15 countries. I dreamt about one of the images- the before & after hearts- the night after I opened the envelope. It says “Make love and stop thinking about your heart”. I’ve been meditating on that concept ever since. This was truly my favorite contribution in BRAIN CELL #622.:p>

 :p>

LINO CARDS:p>

Oh yes, I thought I might let you know that J. Boyd sent me some lino postcards he made. Each is printed on a different kind of cardboard, and one of them seems to be recycled cardboard- I always appreciate an artist’s concern for the environment. For more info, contact J. Boyd at P.O. Box 578, Detroit, OR 97342.:p>

 :p>

Davida Gypsy Breier:p>

PO Box 11064:Street>, Baltimore:City>, MD:State> 21212:PostalCode>:address>:p>

www.leekinginc.com:p>

davida@leekinginc.com:p>

 :p>

One of the best side-effects of being knocked up is that I am reading more. It isn’t that I suddenly have leisure time; I just don’t have ½ of my normal physical energy. I barely got morning sickness, but in the beginning I was so fatigued I felt borderline narcoleptic. For such a little guy he wears me out, but at least I can read and indulge my newfound fascination for Vincent D’Onofiro by watching L&O: Criminal Intent.:p>

 :p>

Opuntia 59 (November 2005):p>

I love reading about little-known, well-researched topics. My hats off to Dale for presenting a fascinating look at postal cards (not to be mistaken for postcards) and their rich legal history. Did you know people went to jail for libelous accusations sent via post? Or that they were early method creditors used to “publically” embarrass debtors to pay up? :p>

$3, trade, letter of comment/ 16 pages/digest:p>

Dale Speirs:p>

Box 6830:Street>, Calgary:City> AL:State> T2P 2E7:PostalCode> CANADA:country-region>:address>:p>

 :p>

Also, to give you an idea how prolific Dale is, here are very brief reviews of other issues in my stack::p>

 :p>

Opuntia 58.5 (October 2005):p>

Perzine issue from Rip Torn’s reported doppelganger. Interesting commentary on the flora and fauna of Calgary:place>:City> and the rains and flooding this year. :p>

 :p>

Opuntia 58.1 (August 2005):p>

Reviews of zines, books, mail art commentary. Reader letters:p>

 :p>

Opuntia 58.3 (September 2005):p>

APAzine issue for the FAPA (Fantasy Amateur Press Association); Also brief reviews of scientific papers.:p>

 :p>

Opuntia 58 (July 2005):p>

A report on Westercon, a science fiction convention held in Calgary:place>:City> in early July. Reports on the panels, attendees, and congrats to Dale for winning the Best Fanzine award after 13 nominations. :p>

 :p>

Opuntia 57.3 (July 2005):p>

APAzine issue for the FAPA (Fantasy Amateur Press Association); Also brief reviews of scientific papers.:p>

 :p>

Opuntia 56.3 (April 2005):p>

APAzine issue for the FAPA (Fantasy Amateur Press Association):p>

 :p>

Opuntia 56.1 (February 2005):p>

Reader letters, zine reviews, book reviews, rant on “pass and add” mail art, mail art listings:p>

 :p>

Barrelhouse #1:p>

Confessions of a Juvenile Liquor Pig:p>

This comic was written by R. Lee and drawn by Dug Belan and they make a good team. The taste for alcohol takes root early in our narrator, using it to help him sleep as wee lad. He also enjoys nights in front of the tv with his father, taking nips of his cheap swill. He became the neighborhood bartender before he was out of elementary school, mixing fancy cocktail drinks for his father and neighbors, clutching his Bartender’s Bible and sampling the goods. And that was just the beginning…:p>

$2/24 pages/digest:p>

R. Lee:p>

PO Box 1421:Street>, Oshkosh:City>, WI:State> 54903:PostalCode>:address>:p>

 :p>

The inner swine (Vol. 11, issue 1):p>

This is the writing issue where we “learn” that THE INNER SWINE is written by slave monkeys. Um, yeah, that is about as revelatory as Richard Chamberlain coming out. Sure Jeff writes himself in circles and if you point that out he’ll throw monkey feces at you, but that’s pretty much what you sign up for when you crack open a new issue. This issue is all about writing and also about how Jeff hates writers. He mocks the tortured artistic soul myth and remarks how easy it is to be a writer, which actually has some truth to it. :p>

$2/60 pages/digest/trades:p>

Jeff Somers:p>

P.O. Box 3024:Street>, Hoboken:City> NJ:State> 07030:PostalCode>:address>:p>

mreditor@innerswine.com:p>

www.innerswine.com:p>

 :p>

Syndicate Product (Issue 11):p>

Once upon a time there was a zine called LOW HUG and it was tired of being misunderstood or requiring explanation, so SYNDICATE PRODUCT was born. In this latest installment, A.j. and her contributors look at “treasures tossed out before their time.” How many times have you gotten rid of something you later regretted parting with? Her contributors all respond to this idea and include Ken Bausert, Mark Campos, Delaine Derry-Green, Lauren Eichelberger, Clutch McB, Jason Pankoke, Dan Taylor, Sean Stewart, and in the interest of full-disclosure, me. Also included is an article on mixed tapes and an ode to Dollar General stores. Always a great read.:p>

$3/64 pages/4.25x7:p>

A.j. Michel:p>

PO Box 877:Street>, Lansdowne:City>, PA:State> 19050:PostalCode>:address>:p>

syndprod@gmail.com:p>

lowhug.blogspot.com:p>

 :p>

Mamphiles #2:p>

Cutting the Cord:p>

Whenever you are outside of a cultural circle, you tend to only see the superficial aspects of that group. Not that I ever dismissed Mamazines by any means, but I many cases I didn’t necessarily understand where the writers were coming from. Suddenly I get it (hmmm, wonder why?). The topics and writers run the gamut, but the theme is Cutting the Cord, and each writer has interpreted that idea very differently. For some it is about how they view themselves as mothers, and for others it is letting a child go, be it a teenager or because of adoption. :p>

$4/72 pages/digest:p>

PO Box 4803:Street>, Baltimore:City>, MD:State> 21211:PostalCode>:address>:p>

www.mamaphiles.com:p>

 :p>

Mixed Reviews:p>

A collection of Aaron Cometbus’s previously published essays. You likely know enough about COMETBUS already to decide if you want to pick this one up.:p>

$3/68 pages/4.25x6.25 (perfect bound):p>

I picked this one up at Atomic Books (1100 W. 36th Street:Street>, Baltimore:City>, MD:State> 21211:PostalCode>:address>; info@atomicbooks.com):p>

 :p>

Lulu eightball:p>

Cartoons by Emily Flake:p>

While this technically isn’t a zine, I wanted to include it to show support of the recently formed Atomic Book Company. This is the first book published by the press and collects the wickedly funny cartoons from Emily Flake, whose strip runs in alt-weekly newspapers across the country. Recommended.:p>

$9.95/100 pages/6.5x6.5 (perfect bound):p>

Atomic Books:p>

1100 W. 36th Street:Street>, Baltimore:City>, MD:State> 21211:PostalCode>:address>:p>

info@atomicbooks.com:p>

www.atomicbooks.com:p>

 :p>

Not my small Diary, #12, Volumes 1&2:p>

In my opinion, NMSD is among the best produced and edited zines out there. The design is usually mind-boggling time-consuming, as well as cleanly designed and well organized. For example, this issue is hole-punched and bound with silver twist-ties, “twelve” is stamped/sprayed in silver, and a cardstock illustration is attached to the front covers. How many zines do you know that offer all that and near 200 pages of comics and stories??? Oh, and her contributor list is a who’s who of zinesters and comix artists from ever level of underground press. Way cool!:p>

$5 (for both volumes)/96 pages each volume/digest:p>

Delaine Derry Green :p>

1204 Cresthill Rd.:Street>, Birmingham:City>, AL:State> 35213:PostalCode>:address>:p>

DELANGEL3@hotmail.com:p>

www.mysmallwebpage.com:p>

 :p>

Etidorhpa #10:p>

Raptured:p>

I’m so impressed by Fran’s writing style and topics. She takes her political observations and motivations in a different direction than most activists. Instead of simply dismissing and/or confronting people, she decides to take a journey into the “parallel literary universe” of her right-leaning fellow bus passengers. She not only learns more about the whole “Left Behind” genre of fiction, but in doing so is able to open dialogues with people that she would likely have never spoken with previously. She is also inspired to create her own work of rapture fiction. These beliefs and literary phenomenon are completely outside my experience, so Fran not only built a bridge between herself and her fellow bus riders, but she also built one for people like me.:p>

$2, 2 stamps, or trade/72 pages/5.5x5.5:p>

Franetta McMillan:p>

PMB 170, 40 East Main St.:Street>, Newark:City>, DE:State> 19711:PostalCode>:address>:p>

 :p>

Miranda #14:p>

There’s a handful of zines I feel compelled to read as soon as I receive them and this is one of them. Right now, MIRANDA gives me hope that LEEKING INK will continue post-birth. In this issue she discusses first hearing her biological clock ticking. She also writes about a domestic incident involving her youngest son that has me thinking that locking up my treasured books would be a fine idea. I always think about what Kate has written after reading the issue and in this instance I am still undecided which character in literature I would most like to marry or have a fling with. There’s more, but you should get a copy for yourself.:p>

$2/ 28 pgs/digest/trades:p>

Kate Haas:p>

3510 SE Alder Street:Street>, Portland:City>, OR:State> 97214:PostalCode>:address>:p>

bruceandkate@juno.com:p>

www.mirandazine.com:p>

 :p>

Bread and Salt #2 (Spring 2005):p>

Short, but educational food history zine by someone working on a PhD pertaining to food history. Articles on gross foods, Gastronomica, Food in Shakespeare, and most interesting was the article on the history of wedding cakes. We tend to accept the commonplace and never think about where these customs came from. Did you know there used to be bride and groom cakes? And that wedding cakes used to be closer to fruitcakes?:p>

$1.50 + postage/16 pages/digest/no trades:p>

Tim Miller:p>

Tim46553@ku.edu:p>

www.retrobugs.com/forknspoon:p>

 :p>

Turtleneck Boy Really Lets Himself Go…#5:p>

After a long absence, Turtleneck Boy returns in this mini-comic. You never know what he’ll be up to in the hands of Suzanne’s varied contributors. :p>

$1/20/mini:p>

Suzanne Baumann:p>

PO Box 12096:Street>, Hamtramck:City>, MI:State> 48212:PostalCode>:address>:p>

Suzanne@fridge-mag.net:p>

www.fridge-mag.net:p>

 :p>

For the Clerisy #62:p>

Brant is somehow able to squeeze more onto 12 pages than many other zines manage in 60+. FTC is akin to sitting down at a table and learning what everyone is reading, listening to, and watching. The theme of this issue centers around prisons. Lively reader letters section. :p>

$2, trade or letter of comment/12 pages/full-sized:p>

For the Clerisy #64:p>

This issue returns to the basics and is almost all text – reviews, commentary and reader discussion. Always a favorite.:p>

$2, trade or letter of comment/10 pages/full-sized:p>

Brant Kresovich:p>

PO Box:Street> 404:address>:p>

Getzville:City>, NY:State> 14068-0404:PostalCode>:place>:p>

Biggestfatporker@yahoo.com:p>

kresovich@hotmail.com:p>

 :p>

BORING TO THE PUNCHLINE:p>

This is Pokie’s story, or rather, it is Jack’s story, told by Pokie. And Pokie can tell one hell of a yarn. You know there is more story coming, but these 20 pages are those crucial days in a young relationship where anything can happen – good and bad. Love is difficult to find and this is the beginning of the quest to find the sneaky, elusive beast – and it helps if you bring along a new friend, a cab driver, senior citizens, and a talent scout. I want more. What happens next? Recommended. :p>

?$1/20 pages/digest:p>

Pokie Spout:p>

Pokiespout@gmail.com:p>

 :p>

BROOKLYN:place>! 50:p>

I think there should be some award given to those rare zinesters that make it to issue 50! I also think that this milestone should also come with a fez, but that’s just me. As usual, Fred is representin’ for Brooklyn:place> as only he can – by both celebrating and mocking its inhabitants, riding the rails, and sharing obscure history. :p>

$10 for 4 issues/24 pages/digest:p>

1170 Ocean Pkwy.:address>:Street>, Penthouse L:p>

Brooklyn:City>, NY:State> 11230:PostalCode>:place>:p>

wajasay@optonline.net:p>

 :p>

DIRTY SOUTH COOKBOOK/HOT DAMN AND HELL YEAH:p>

It is a flip cookbook by Ryan Splint (HOT DAMN AND HELL YEAH) and Vanessa (DIRTY SOUTH COOKBOOK). Certain stereotypes persist for good reason – pregnant women are indeed quite fascinated by food. I am easily influenced by passing thoughts, magazine articles and cookbooks and find myself not so much craving weird foods as simply food itself. And real food at that – none of that light, healthy stuff. And for those of you who think that vegans can’t pack on the pounds when they want to, I have a beach ball on my belly to prove otherwise! These are basic vegan cookbooks for people who like to eat real food. I have already dogearred the recipes for Shepard’s Pie and Coconut Curry Tofu on Green Jasmine Rice. Recommended.:p>

$5/128 pages/digest (perfect bound):p>

Microcosm:p>

5307 N. Minnesota Ave.:address>:Street> :p>

Portland:City>, OR:State> 97217-4551:PostalCode>:place>:p>

www.microcosmpublishing.com:p>

Franco@microcosmpublishing.com:p>

 :p>

If you want your zine considered for review, please send it to one of these fine folks::p>

 :p>

Please don’t send more than two copies of your zine in for review. You can get a sense of each reviewers tastes by reading their reviews in this issue and decide who might best appreciate your zine. Also, please indicate that the zine is being sent for review and enclose an info sheet (see next page).:p>

 :p>

Anne Thalheimer (Booty):p>

160 North Maple St:address>:Street>.:p>

Florence:City>, MA:State> 01062:PostalCode>:place>:p>

motes@simons-rock.edu:p>

I would prefer feminist-ey stuff. I like auto-bio and comix, but will read just about everything aside from weirdo porn zines:p>

 :p>

Dan Taylor (The Hungover Gourmet):p>

PO Box:Street> 5531:address>:p>

Lutherville MD 21094:p>

editor@hungovergourmet.com:p>

 :p>

Davida Gypsy Breier (Leeking Ink):p>

PO Box:Street> 11064:address>:p>

Baltimore:City>, MD:State> 21212:PostalCode>:place>:p>

Davida@leekinginc.com:p>

 :p>

Eric Lyden (Fish With Legs):p>

224 Moraine St:address>:Street>.:p>

Brockton:City>, MA:State> 02301:PostalCode>:place>:p>

ericfishlegs@aol.com:p>

Per zines, comic zines, anything that seems to have any sort of sense of humor. No poetry zines! I’m also not too into political zines, but I can appreciate them when they’re well done.:p>

 :p>

Fran McMillian (Etidorhpa):p>

ETIDORHPA:p>

40 East Main St.:address>:Street>, PMB 170:p>

Newark:City>, DE:State> 19711:PostalCode>:place>:p>

stxeno@earthlink.net:p>

Lit zines, perzines, artzines:p>

 :p>

Gavin Grant (Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet):p>

176 Prospect Ave.:address>:Street>:p>

Northampton:City>, MA:State> 01060:PostalCode>:place>:p>

info@lcrw.net:p>

Literary, perzine, political, cooking, etc!:p>

 :p>

Julie Dorn (Junie in Georgia:place>:country-region>):p>

3455 Blaisdell Ave. S #13:address>:Street>:p>

Minneapolis:City>, MN:State> 55408:PostalCode>:place>:p>

junieingeorgia@hotmail.com:p>

I’d rather not have anymore punk rock /handwritten/talking about food not bombs/sloppy ones with only 20 pages. Anything else, I’m game. Comics, perzines, poetry, fiction, whatever.:p>

 :p>

Kathy Mosely (SemiBold):p>

1573 N. Milwaukee Ave:address>:Street>:p>

PMB #403:p>

Chicago:City>, IL:State> 60622:PostalCode>:place>:p>

semibold@earthlink.net:p>

I’d prefer getting mostly perzines, but I’ll take a crack at pretty much anything.:p>

 :p>

Matt Fagan (Meniscus):p>

1573 N Milwaukee Ave:address>:Street>:p>

PMB #464:p>

Chicago:City>, IL:State> 60622:PostalCode>:place>:p>

hadmatter@hotmail.com:p>

 :p>

Miriam DesHarnais (Library Urinal and Object Lesson):p>

PO Box:Street> 4803:address>:p>

Baltimore:City> MD:State> 21211:PostalCode>:place>:p>

mdesharn@yahoo.com:p>

 :p>

Noemi Martinez (Hermana Resist):p>

PO Box:Street> 621:address>:p>

Edinburg:City>, TX:State> 78540:PostalCode>:place>:p>

noemi.mtz@gmail.com:p>

feminist, personal, poc written, recipe/DIY, fiction, academic; not music:p>

 :p>

Stephanie Holmes:p>

271 Eastwood Drive:address>:Street>:p>

Plymouth:City>, IN:State> 46563:PostalCode>:place>:p>

ourgirlsunday@yahoo.com:p>

I like cooking zines, perzines, travel zines, activist zines, parenting zines and comic zines:p>