PIcaresque & Alright

Zeen Review: PIcaresque & Alright

via Simon Gray's Web Candy on 3/8/08

PICARESQUE #S 1, 5, 7 & 8 & ALRIGHT #1 by Brendan Rocks

Brendan's PICARESQUE zeen series is one of the more enjoyable zeens I've experienced in recent years. He's completely unknown to me personally but I've pored through his zeenster memoirs with the pleasure I'd usually associate with letters written specifically to me. These aren't written to me & I don't pretend they should, it's refreshing to read something by a bona fide stranger but of course I associate parts of it with my own experiences as a reaction to the text. #1 Was among the first three installments that didn't feature the zeen series' novel numbers, while all present memoirs in the titular style, later editions featured a number for each entry that could theoretically, if read in numerical sequence, arrange the entries in a chronological sequence. I don't think anybody who's read these zeens have bothered trying, but it's a nice idea to accompany the text. We jump from high school years in rural Victoria, trips overseas, & the more contemporary goings on of a 20 something Melbournite & the numbers are there for you to rearrange, but the anecdotes are entertaining enough that you aren't so bored or confused enough to crave linearity. & These zeens are a satisfying read with substantial word counts too. It contrasts with the artier picture based zeen by the same guy ALRIGHT, this is a little more lightweight tome with observations about his suburb, with the text for the illustrations a hand drawn & blocky font. While the effort put into the format may be of equal laborious volume to PICARESQUE, ALRIGHT comes off as a typical & forgettable zeen. PICARESQUE then is a fairly atypical zeen, which is pretty sad, more zeens should be like this. They're filling like a meal with lots of carbs & fun. There's helpful advice to be found in them, a good laugh, occasional pictures & one even has a collection of notes home to his parents from his high school principal. The series had come to a halt last time I checked, with the story ending unfortunately, with him breaking up with his girlfriend & crying in the dark in his apartment. All these zeens are A5 portrait format on copy paper in Black & White. Write to mooneedamspress they are @ the hotmail.com web service.

PS: No pic again 'cause my photoshop's on the fritz. I'd rather have it back than adapt. I'm contemplating lo -fi, my my.