Review: Aurealis 40

 

 

Sent to you by Jack via Google Reader:

 

 

Review: Aurealis 40

via HorrorScope by Mark Smith-Briggs on 6/28/08

Aurealis is a highly regarded, long-running magazine publication of Australian fantasy, horror and science fiction. It is edited by Stuart Mayne and produced by Chimaera Publications with the assistance of the Australia Council for the Arts. Issue #40 includes fiction from Paul Haines, Lee Battersby, Pamela Freeman, Stephen Dedman, Nathan Burrage, Adam Browne and Karen Simpson Nikakis.

Aurealis backs up its long-awaited return from hiatus earlier this year with another excellent effort that shows why this has long been regarded as a major coup in Australian writer's caps. Issue #40 delivers an all-star line up of speculative fiction from seven of the country's brightest stars with an assortment of tales that unsettle, delight and evoke; but never fail to entertain.

Not every story is going to win an award, and as with any non-themed publication that mixes genres, certain stories will appeal to some more than others. But if examine what each story is trying to achieve, then you'll have no doubt all of them earn their stripes.

The issue kicks off with a dark twist on the Peter Pan story with Lee Battersby's Never Grow Old. Within just a few short pages Battersby manages to draw us into an unsettling realities behind a girl's decision to stay young and the consequences that come with such a decision. Battersby doesn't give us all of the answers, allowing the mood to linger long after the final sentence.

Likewise Stephen Dedman's Adaptation blurs the lines between reality and fiction with an astonishing character piece about a joy ride that goes horribly wrong. With realistic characters and a beautiful flowing narrative, he transports the reader into the world with ease and keeps you there until the final, shocking revelation.

Paul Haines' psychedelic horror The Festival of Colours is another brilliant merging of reality and myth. This disturbingly surreal Indian version of the Wicker Man transports the reader into a world where sex, violence and murder are just part of a bigger trans-dimensional existence. As always you are left in awe at the author's understanding of other cultures and his ability to relate them to a western viewpoint while pushing the boundaries of horror fiction.

Other fiction highlights include Nathan Burrage's cross cultural ghost story Spirals in the Sky, and Pamela Freeman's original twist on the dragon genre Sacrifice.

Of the issue only Karen Simpson Nikakis' The Gift and Adam Browne's The Final Writings of Baron Sir Heinrich Proteus von Zuse, Botanist failed to impress, but it was more of a dislike to the genre's in which they were written than due to any fault in the story. Browne presents an odd-ball historical recounting of a Baron's scientific discover through a collection of rediscovered diary entries and recounts, while Nikakis presents a dense, traditional fantasy tale with a complex narrative style.

Aurealis #40 also includes non-fiction articles on extreme science and science fiction and fantasy book reviews. It is available as part of a subscription or as a single issue for $12.50.

 

 

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Nihal Martli

 

 

Sent to you by Jack via Google Reader:

 

 

Nihal Martli

via www.caferoyal.org by admin on 6/25/08

New zine from Nihal Martli. Some really nice drawings in here, remind me a little of Jockum Nordstrom's.
16 pp. 14 x 20 cm. £4
Black and white xerox.
80gsm natural white paper.
Hand numbered edition of 150
2007

ISBN 978-2-916761-01-5

 

 

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Nihal Martli

 

 

Sent to you by Jack via Google Reader:

 

 

Nihal Martli

via www.caferoyal.org by admin on 6/25/08

16 pp. 14 x 20 cm
Black and white xerox.
80gsm natural white paper.
Hand numbered edition of 150
2007

ISBN 978-2-916761-01-5

 

 

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Jaime Hernandez, The Education of Hopey Glass: The PrettyFakes Review

 

 

Jaime Hernandez, The Education of Hopey Glass: The PrettyFakes Review

via PrettyFakes by Professor Fury on 6/26/08

Jaime Hernandez. The Education of Hopey Glass. Fantagraphics, 2008.

I have to admit that when I read (many of) these stories in serial format, they felt the slightest bit minor. Not that they weren't good stories, engaging and beautifully cartooned. But while I was glad to see what Hopey and Ray were up to, I wasn't sure there was much to the stories beyond Jaime Hernandez's loving depiction of his characters' everyday lives.

But now brought together in this volume – the final Jaime collection from Love and Rockets volume II, with volume III set to begin as a series of annuals this year – it's clear that Hernandez was up to something more complicated all along. True, Education is a lower-key affair than last year's Ghost of Hoppers, a collection which built to a tour-de-force of visual storytelling that deserves to be counted among Hernandez's best work. This volume features nothing quite so immediately stunning and goes much lighter on the magical realism than Ghost—no giants or hellhounds or devil-children here. But Hernandez's subtler storytelling skills come to the fore in two stories only tenuously related in terms of plot but closely connected in terms of theme, as Hopey Glass and Ray Dominguez each individually face (or refuse to face) the adulthood they've resolutely posptponed for a couple of extra decades now.

To my surprise, I found Ray's story the more compelling of the two; I suppose that might be a gendered reaction, though it may also have to do with a certain wariness at the one-shade-too-obvious conceit of Hopey's new glasses giving her a new perspective on life. ("Everybody's old! . . . We all got cracks in our faces!"). Despite my qualms, Hernandez carries it off by playing it for gentle laughs instead of solemn nods, though he adeptly switches to a more serious register when Hopey is nearly overwhelmed by the stresses of her new job as a teacher's assistant. It's the perfect job to suggest Hopey's in-between situation: She's stranded between childhood and adulthood, and while she at first basks in the adulation of her charges (basking comes naturally to Hopey), she also finds herself being treated like a child when she misbehaves.

(I would love to hear Hernandez describe how he came up with the character design for the know-it-all woman in the last panel, who pops up a couple of other times—it's hilarious and almost gag-strippish while managing not to look out of place among the other "realist" characters.) As one story near the end of the Hopey section makes clear, Hopey is evolving beyond her fire-cracking, hell-raising origins, but not so much that she becomes unrecognizable – to her longtime friend/sometime lover Maggie's relief.

Ray Dominguez, on the other hand: It's a testament to Hernandez's storytelling skill that Ray is still such a sympathetic and even attractive character at the same time that he's so utterly passive and disengaged from the world around him. In the opening chapters of this collection, Ray seems downright cool. Frequently half in shadow, with his rumpled suit (the jacket and pants don't match) and his cigarettes and his voice-over narration, Ray could almost pass for a classic L.A.-noir gumshoe. Or at least The Everyman Who Gets Caught Up in Events Beyond His Control Because He's in the Wrong Place at the Wrong Time.

There's even a genuine underworld murder and a femme fatale – Vivian "Frogmouth" Solis, blessed with a perfect body and cursed with a "foghorn" of a voice. (Viv originated in the last volume as a sort of bodacious monkeywrench. Here, though, she here reveals traces of a much more complex inner life – yet one that we only ever see through someone else's perspective.) Yet Ray is nearly always but a spectator to brutal beatings, skinny dipping, and everything else that goes on around him. Sure, he's happy to have sex if someone wants to jump his bones. But even when he dreams of solving mysteries he merely lurks on the periphery, never central to the action. If Hopey is evolving, Ray is stagnating – something Hernandez humorously suggests by having Ray grow a scraggly mustache that resembles nothing so much as moss on an unrolling stone.

It's not clear if there's hope for Ray. He's still pining for Maggie, but even the staunchest Ray fan would have trouble pulling for that reunion after this story. By the end of the collection, he has at least realized his plight and makes noises about becoming an adult, about taking a position of greater responsibility at his job. (Nothing about the art he was once so passionate about, though.) But Hernandez undercuts the slim optimism of Ray's ruminations by juxtaposing them with images of Ray sitting slumped in a chair, watching two women swim naked and not even considering participating (even to the extent of surreptitiously filming them like the neighbor kid is). Then later he sleeps through most of the bi-curious wrestling match/near-hookup happening behind him. Whatever your position on bi-curious wrestling match/hookups in general, they are not things that one generally sleeps through.

Still, so deft is Jaime Hernandez's cartooning that all of his characters—whether morose and internally wounded as Ray or physically scarred and wobbly as Ray's old pal Doyle, who with each appearance seems one step closer to finally collapsing in a heap of stringy hair and blood-soaked western-style shirts—are nevertheless beautiful. You can't give up on them because they're nearly real, and like real people, they still have the capacity to surprise you—or at least to inspire the hope that they might.

How to Read Love and Rockets.
Salon.com interview with Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez on L&R v2.
Mark Sobel's issue-by-issue retrospective for L&R vol 1.

Do you know what we welcome? Sunny days. Old friends. The opportunity for bloody vengeance, vengeance after all these years. And review copies. Contact us at prettyfakes at gmail dot com for info.

 

 

 

 

Review: Dark Animus Issue #10/11

 

 

Review: Dark Animus Issue #10/11

via HorrorScope by BT on 6/24/08

Dark Animus Issue #10/11

I've read a number of these anthologies/periodicals and there has always been a story that lowers the overall level of the publication. This is simply not the case here.

Corpus by Richard Harland
Should we embrace technology simply because it's highly advanced from ours and because those offering it seem to be a totally peaceful and higher evolved species?
Corpus announces the warnings of such folly, loud and clear.
The underlying moral of making the most of what you have, live in the moment and be careful what you wish for is nicely done in this easy to read depiction of a society too ready to accept change at any cost for the promise of a better future.

No Hands by MP Johnson
What if...all the puppets in the world, from unadorned sock puppets to intricate ventriloquist's dummies, came to life, and decided that the human race didn't respect them enough? What if...they decided that the only way to get that respect was through terror? What if...this tale was told through the eyes of a contract gardener whose hidden hero came to see the light of day in a wonderful exposé of violence through the application of lawn mower blades and weed whacker cord. Then I guess you'd have the amusing read that is "No Hands" and be thankful for it.

Just A Game by George Ivanoff
When today's computer gamers and an Internet savvy public, cross over to immersing themselves into virtual gaming, will the world be a safer place? When twisted individuals want to begin their antisocial behaviour in the comfort of their living room before becoming bored and wanting to try it out in the real world, will society be able to cope? Only if good minded program writers have their way.

Necromancing the Bones by Paul Haines
A very amusing and ribald tale poking serious fun at D&D gamers and the stories they create.
It seems the adventurers in this world live interconnected lives, with "the good" guys very much in league with the perceived "bad" guys, in an eternal cycle of swindling the common folk out of their money.
Filled with acts of bestiality, brotherly love, and profanity, it is a very funny romp through the product of some very twisted gamers' imaginations.

Vara by Charles Spiteri
Is the AHWA 2006 short story contest winner. It is a beautifully told story with an extreme sting in the tail. The prose is filled with flowing descriptions that evoke wonderful emotions. Jean takes his boyfriend back to his home town to witness the Good Friday festival where there is a procession involving statues, the Vara, from the local church. But the age darkened wood effigies of Christ and his tormentors aren't what they appear to be.

Mr Swift and the Dead by George Higham
Mr Swift's last client, the witch, died before he could deliver her last requested shipment therefore he's short the coin to move from the plague infested city. When he finds himself boarded up within her house though, things quickly become dire. Now he knows what she was using all those dead baby's for that he'd supplied her with--and it wasn't for the Sunday stew.

Cold Desires by Brian M. Sammons
A tale that makes the reader hold the book at arm's length in the beginning. A tale most "normal" people would find repulsive, slowly reels you in. With wonderful use of the language, I found I had unwittingly become engrossed in the description of an act I found repugnant in the extreme. And then I was hit with the twist which made it all perfectly acceptable, kind of, in a seriously twisted and utterly brilliant way.

A Million Shades of Nightmare by Cat Sparks
Written and illustrated by Cat Sparks, this is a very well told, strangely sedate tale of one girl's fears. Cat seems to reach intimately into the heart of the girl and presents us with a fear with which we can easily connect. In a peaceful, dare I say idyllic, setting, Cat then hits us with a pinch of darkness that is never truly revealed, leaving me wondering if I'll ever be bathing in the seaside pools of my youth again.

The Corner and Back by Andrew Wood
Our hero, who has to run the gauntlet to find provisions to keep himself and his beloved alive, does something I could see myself doing in a similar situation, if I was so unfortunate to find myself as a survivor in a post-apocalyptic world.
This piece has been so well written, I found it easy to drop into the first person point of view and even easier to admit to myself that I would be capable of doing exactly what he does. Could you admit to doing what Andrew's protagonist does?

Scarecrows and Devils by Kevin Anderson
A look from the other side, without actually telling us what side we're on to begin with.
A well paced story similar to a roller coaster with plenty of ups and downs. When purchasing your ticket, the vendor obviously forgot to warn you about the surprises you're in for, and when you come upon them, you're totally unprepared. And have a greater enjoyment because of it.

Der Wulf by Tim Curran
Dark, visceral and extremely powerful, it becomes a simple task for the reader to identify with a group of German soldiers and the horrors they endure during war. Then when it turns supernatural, it is only a small step to find yourself barracking for the historical bad guys to find an escape.

Dig This by Paul Kane
A thinking man's zombie story. A story of three teenage boys and a simple implanted thought that they are compelled to follow through to its fateful conclusion. An easy read that lulls the participant into turning the pages till the final scenes, where it really doesn't matter who's idea it was to begin with.

The Shape by Tim Curran
Tim shows his versatility with his second included story in this collection, by moving to a post-apocalyptic setting where something decidedly malignant has been born by man's self destructive tendencies. The old saying of "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" takes on a whole new meaning when the man made denizens of hell have been unleashed to walk the earth.

 

 

 

 

"i'll love you forever if i ever love at all"

 

 

"i'll love you forever if i ever love at all"

via the juniper bends as if it were listening by juniperbug on 6/23/08

During the summer, I try to get caught up on my zine reading. I don't think it's humanly possible to ever get caught up though, but I do what I can.
Recently I finished reading two zines that were somewhat similar in content. They were, for the most part, travel zines, and they both included trips to Europe. They have both been around for quite a while I guess. I'm glad that I finally got around to reading them, because they were both totally worth reading. They were:
-America? #14 by Travis F.
-Dream Whip #14 by Bill B.

Here are a few quotes from Dream Whip:
"In Austin, it was impossible to go on a simple errand without falling in love. Every time I mailed a letter, or went to buy a loaf of bread, I'd wind up with a broken heart." (pg. 32-33)
"The Berlin train pulls confidently out of Rotterdam's central station and speeds forward with a kind of assurance I can only dream of having. Me and my hesitant forward motion. Always shuffling and second-guessing." (pg. 165)
"For the first time in a couple months, my passport matches the country I'm coming into. 'Citizenship?' the border cop asks. 'American,' I say. 'Unfortunately,' I want to add, but I don't. I don't mention that I feel more like a dual citizen: American by birth, but Unamerican by inclination." (pg. 244-245)
"While I eat my ice cream, I think about happiness. How it's always temporary and unpredictable, and how most of the time, you don't even recognize it till later, when you're far away from it. Sadness sticks around. It's like your most reliable friend. You can be yourself around sadness. It'll drive across the country with you and it won't complain if the food is bad or if the motel has roaches. But happiness is a different story. It's always ditching you. Leaving you stuck with the bill. There's no one you'd rather spend your time with, and happiness knows it." (pg. 251-252)

Oh, and just like I promised, I added more links.

 

 

 

 

Hoopla hits the shops

 

 

Hoopla hits the shops

via Radical Cross Stitch by kakariki on 6/18/08

For those of you who still haven't got the hang of buying things through the interwebby, I've started putting hoopla in some shops and libraries.

As of yesterday hoopla #1 & #2 are on the shelves at Sticky in the Flinders Subway in Melbourne.

There's a few copies on their way to the Freedom Shop in Wellington and Black Star Books in Dunedin and the Huon Valley Environment Centre in Tasmania.

There's also copies winging their way to the Papercut Zine Library and the Loophole Zine Library.

And there's copies heading to the Marching Stars Zine Distro.

Plus, of course, all the contributors should be receiving their copies in the post soon!

If you know any other zine distro/info shop/library or whatever that might be interested in having some copies, get in touch. Or if you just want a copy yourself, check the Radical Rags etsy store. And I'm interested in trading if you've got your own zine, or make patches, or badges or crafty stuff of any kind.

Share This

 

 

 

 

About my Disappearance

Zine Review - About my Disappearance

via Indy Media Reviews on 6/26/08

About My Disappearance is a perzine dedicated to Crohn's disease by Dave. It is an unflinching, brutal, honest look at a difficult part of one man's life, and we are...

Trickster - a Native Anthology of Tales in Graphic novel Form

 

 

Trickster - a Native Anthology of Tales in Graphic novel Form

via Comic Bulletin Small Press on 6/26/08

Thursday, June 2

 

 

CR Review: Cryptic Wit #2

 

 

CR Review: Cryptic Wit #2

via (title unknown) by Tom Spurgeon on 6/26/08

Creator: Gerald Jablonski Publishing Information: Self-Published, comic book, 32 pages, 2008, $5 Ordering Numbers: PO Box 385 North Greece NY 14515 This is the most out there, best comic book I've read so far this year. Gerald Jablonski provides what increasingly seems to be endless variations on three set-ups: a father-son trip to a school and discussion of same, a barnyard fable, and a silent confrontation between two boys. Where this new issue seems to differ from the last is that it's in full-color on slick paper (!) and he's start to make the tail ends of the word balloons wrap around the panels and each other like something my brothers and I used to fight over to use in our chocolate milk. The comics themselves are quite funny, the trip and fable set-ups stuffed with amusing verbal play and oddball jokes to the point of crushing the evocative artwork. It's a comic book version of that scene right before the scene in Crumb that made you feel bad for expressing admiration for Charles Crumb's cartoons, when the older Crumb brother's energy and devotion to making marks and words on the page made you crack a smile that five seconds later dashed. I don't Cryptic Wit #2 indicates anything close to a similarly tragic outcome, and the comics themselves feel like they may never end at all. I hope these come out once every few years for the rest of my life. If not, I'll always treasure the few I have. Not only is there nothing in comics quite like it, nothing in comics comes close. In a day when a comic seems refreshing because it doesn't pop fully formed from the womb with "please make a movie from me" stamped on its forehead, it's awesome to read someone following their muse to the point of near-incomprehensibility to the average reader. Poopy boom boom still makes me go tra-la.

 

 

Razorcake #30

 

 

Razorcake #30

via NeuFutur Magazine by admin on 6/6/08

Razorcake #30 / $3 / 1:15 / 116M / http://www.razorcake.com / Razorcake has their thirtieth issue out this month, and boy do they come out with a strong step forward this issue. Of course, there are the average gang of idiots (Rev. Norb and Nardwuar) writing in this issue, but there are so many [...]

 

 

Ragged #1

 

 

Ragged #1

via NeuFutur Magazine by admin on 6/10/08

Ragged #1 / Free / :15 / 32M / http://www.raggedmag.com /  This is a combination magazine that was created for American Rag (which seems to be a Macy's-only clothing brand). I've never heard of the clothing line, but then again, I'm never in a Macy's. Filter Mini seems to be what individuals can compare [...]

 

 

Quixotic Potential #3

 

 

 

Quixotic Potential #3

via NeuFutur Magazine by admin on 6/9/08

Quixotic Potential #3 / $1 / 24 Pages / Half-Sized / Trade / cowspop7up@hotmail.com As Vera says on the first page of this zine, "this zine is run by, yes, you know it, SUBMISSIONS." This cannot be more true, as every piece in this issue is one this is not written by Vera. Even though [...]

 

 

 

 

Proud Disgrace Fanzine #2

 

 

Proud Disgrace Fanzine #2

via NeuFutur Magazine by admin on 6/5/08

Proud Disgrace Fanzine #2 / $2.50 / :25 / Blueboy Productions, 4 Fox Run #1, Marshfield, MA 02050 /  Waste of space. No, the writing isn't atrocious, but the spacing of this issue is. With fonts that Helen Keller would find annoying large, there is a lot of trees that were needlessly sent to the [...]

 

 

 

NOT VERY NICE Vol. 4

NOT VERY NICE Vol. 4

via punks is hippies - the blog! by Slobodan Burgher on 6/10/08

NOT VERY NICE zine Vol 4 (Spring/Summer 2008). Interviews with BEIP, SPIKE PILE DRIVER, and NOISE.

More Not Very Nice here.

Profane Existence #49

 

 

Profane Existence #49

via NeuFutur Magazine by admin on 6/3/08

Profane Existence #49 / $5 / 104M / http://www.profaneexistence.com /  It has been quite a few years since I was lucky enough to come across a copy of Profane Existence (the last issue I got to review was #38). In the meantime, the issue has moved from a newspaper to a more traditional magazine style [...]

 

 

 

 

Profane Existence #48

 

 

Profane Existence #48

via NeuFutur Magazine by admin on 6/2/08

Profane Existence #48 / $5 / 104M / http://www.profaneexistence.com / Profane Existence brings forth another strong batch of interviews (this time, making sure a wide selection of global bands such as Migra Violenta and The Dagda are covered), but it is actually in their informational articles that the zine truly makes its worth known. Specifically, [...]

 

 

Librarian666 chimes in with June reviews

 

 

Librarian666 chimes in with June reviews

via Xerography Debt by noreply@blogger.com (librarian666) on 6/1/08

Oh brave new world. Here is my first online post. In most other areas of technology, I am all for that thar Internet. Somehow, I feel rather attached to the paper world of zines and have some trepidation over what a world without them will be. My fears aside, I hope that you find this online format pleasing and that these reviews help guide you in your entertainment pursuits.

Read responsibly.

-- Librarian666

The Juniper #9: the meager words of a gentleman farmer.
Winter 2007/2008
Free or stamp by mail
Dan Murphy
P.O. Box 3154
Moscow, ID 83843
Juniperjournal@hotmail.com

If Thomas Jefferson ever had a vision of what he hoped the future of America would have been, it would have been summed up in Dan Murphy – Dan is a self-described dabbler and worker of the Earth. He is curious, willing to experiment and to examine how closely his actions match his values. The founding fathers would have been pleased with him, and sad that the rest of us are WalMart shopping, master consumers. Dan's passion for "local economies, seasonal consumption, decentralized government, personal responsibility, community involvement, debunked materialism, DIY" are Jeffersonian ideals in a nutshell.

This zine is a breath of fresh air, and a good read for the non-committal gardener, biker and tinkerer. It's inspiring because it is a gentle reminder of what "ordinary" folks are doing to connect to the Earth and her inhabitants by simply digging in the dirt and letting nature take its course.

Watch the Closing Doors, #40, ca 24 pp.
Subscribe: $10 for 4 quarterly issues
Payment in cash only to:
Fred Argoff
Penthouse L
1170 Ocean Pkwy
Brooklyn, NY 11230-4060

As an enthusiastic traveler, this zine appeals as a travelogue and as an amusing expose on mass transit all over the world. I enjoy it now as much as the first time I had the honor of reviewing it.

Train hairies will love it as there are pics of subway cars from all over the globe. Take a gander at the Singapore ones and you'll see how far behind the US is in terms of mass transit.

Writing and layout are clear and easy reading. Text examines the quirks of systems and their users with humor and interest.

Optunia 64.1 B, Jan. 2008 (Book Reviews), 16 pp.
$3 if cash (for US readers), or trade or trade for letter of comment
Dale Speirs
Box 6830
Calgary
Alberta, Canada T2P 2E7

Always an interesting and revelatory read, Dale's interest is focused on the esoteric details of history that are intensely personal and have profound impacts on society at large.

An example, in this issue (which is focused on book reviews, other issues vary in content) Dale has chosen the book, Postal Age: the Emergence of Modern Communications in Nineteenth Century America. Sounds like a snoozer, right? Look deeper. In it is an explanation of how high postal rates after the Revolution affected letter-writers and communication in general. Rates were so high that folks sent newspapers to distant relatives and friends as a way of keeping in touch. The postal rates had a profound impact on how people communicated with each other. It is mind-blowing to think about and how dependent we are on cheap communications nowadays. Although it makes one wonder on the depth of thought we give to what we say to each other since it doesn't cost us much.

Dale has a marvelous eye and ability to discover the crucial detail and how it affects us all.

Maximum Rock n Roll #295, Dec 2007, over 100 pages?
$4 per issue, 6 issues for $24, 12 issues for $38. Californians and outside US, see website.
Maximumrocknroll.com
415-923-9814

This zine takes me back to my youth! Substantial, newsprint format, look and feel of a City Paper, but 8.5 X 11 size. Contains music reviews, letters to editor, personal and interesting essays, zine reviews, ads and all sorts of info on bands in US and around the world. Put together by a huge number of contributors, this mag hangs together well, is well organized, but still has a free-for-all spirit. So worth the money if you want to re-connect to the music scene or are looking for more info in general about rock-n-roll.

Eaves of Ass, #6: the music issue, ca. 38 pp.
$3 or trade
Craven Rock
1627 16th St
Oakland, CA 94607
Eavesofass@yahoo.com

Kick-ass collection of essays and anecdotes on friendship, the state of our society, and personal connections to all kinds of rock and roll. Makes me think about how deep the connection is between music (which is today's version of poetry) and memories of youth and things past.

Includes great quotes from lyrics that support the text. Makes you want to read more of Eaves of Ass, call a friend and listen to CCR again.

 

 

 

 

Latin American Punk Rock and Protest

The collective publishes a regular zine (the circulation is a thousand copies) which they sell in the weekly El Chopo rock market. Each issue has 16 or 20 pages and the layout is in the classic punk tradition of irregular columns of text laid over a chaotic background."

Pills n thrills

For about the same price as a gallon of gas and a Latte, you can pick up artist Lorin Brown's new little zine, Pills n thrills. 24 pages in an edition of 142 (half of the edition in white, other half in yellow). This way you save the Ozone (sorta).

Only 7 dollars! + 1.25 dollar shipping and handling

buy it now.

http://theworldsbestever.com/2008/06/25/in-the-zine-little-fun-books/

Liquid Of Life Death Metal 'Zine - issue #666

 

 

Liquid Of Life Death Metal 'Zine - issue #666

via DEATH METAL ETERNAL by noreply@blogger.com (LordZombeast) on 6/24/08

Final issue out January 5th 2000, 78 pages of total Death, interviews with Carnal Feelings (Fra), Fate (Fra), Intervalle Bizarre (Czech), Mental Horror (Bra), Anoxia (Fra), Cyanosis (Usa), Cryptopsy (Can), Nile (Usa), Profanity (Ger), Dichotic (Can), Deranged (Swe), Withered Earth (Usa), Kaamos (Swe), Centurian (Hol) and Christophe Szpajdel, marked the close of a chapter, 5 years of intense Death Metal publication!
You'll never read something like that may it be from the past or in the future, this is my own way: Extreme.
There was a 7th issue in the work but I decided not to release it due to the horrendous delays and lack of time & money , there were also some interviews finished but I just have to reinstall publisher to make them all available again, just a question of time now.
As for reviews you all know where to read 'em now, visit myspace page for that.
Now enjoy this full 'zinography!
Apocalyp-666

 

 

 

 

new zine! Polaroid-Celluloid #2

 

 

new zine! Polaroid-Celluloid #2

via Zine Writers Guild by vidaliasparkle on 6/24/08

[x-posted]

- 80 pages
- 1/4 legal size
- print gocco cover
- $3 plus shipping ($1 U.S. or $3 international)

stories: diary of the Carrboro Book Fair, diary and travelogue of the Philly Zine Fest, interviews with distro owners Taylor of Parcell Press and Sage of Sweet Candy.

   

   

you can get it in my etsy shop: www.niku.etsy.com

or paypal msfilms @ hotmail . com (please include shipping)

xoxo Niku

 

 

EBD zine

 

 

EBD zine

via Eaten By Ducks by noreply@blogger.com (zeke) on 5/25/08

I started a strip for Sean's EBD zine today, here's the first page in a sickly coloured version. The title of the strip's gonna go on the front of the desk.

 

 

 

 

Public Restrooms

 

 

Public Restrooms

via Xerography Debt by noreply@blogger.com (motes) on 5/25/08

You don't know how I love a good public restroom. I tend to take photos of the really good ones, from the bar in NYC where the clear doors fog up once the lock is clicked to the Loo of the Year in central London. I've invaded men's rooms in Alabama (you wouldn't believe what they had in the vending machine!) and commandeered others when the line for the ladies is just too long (London again, I think). I relished the fact that one of my dissertation directors wrote about restrooms in his first book (not as naughty as it sounds) and remember fondly the Lego-lined bathroom in a museum I frequented often as a child. I love www. thebathroomdiaries.com and I think you should too.

Anyway, so when issue 002 of Xploited Zine showed up in my mailbox and it was all about public restrooms in San Francisco, I pretty much tackled it all in one reading. Lots of photos. Lots of very funny stories, including lost cellphones, terrible lines, bathroom reviews (yes, really), and inclusion of Safe2pee.org (an important resource to include, particularly when writing about public restrooms). The writing is vivid, the photos compelling, and the design and layout is beautifully crisp. Though the print is small, it's obviously edited and someone clearly put a fair amount of time into making this zine look good. Nicely done, folks.

Kathleen [at] xploitedproductions.com
www.XploitedProductions.com
myspace.com/xploitedzine

$3, order through the website above (via PayPal).

 

 

 

 

Mimi’s Doughnuts Zine #15

 

 

Mimi's Doughnuts Zine #15

via Marek's Blog on www.MarekBennett.com by Marek on 6/20/08

Summer Solstice, 2008

This issue includes:

"Do Comics, Not TV!" — Mimi's Doughnuts Spring 2008 Season –"Art of Faces" Gallery Sample — "How to Create Comics" — Cat Languages — Word Wizard — …and plenty more!

32 pages, 7″ x 8.5″
$4.00

Subscription Information!

 

 

 

 

Zeen Review: Erinsborough Exploits #22

 

 

Zeen Review: Erinsborough Exploits #22

via Simon Gray's Web Candy on 6/7/08

ERINSBOROUGH EXPLOITS #22 by Eloise Peace

I guess by #22 Elle's got the production of 'EE' pretty much down pat. It's distinctly similar to the last issue I read, #19. We get a bunch of 'Neighbours' screen shots with Elle writing in her own dialogues with a cute response from a prank letter written as one of the characters sent to her PO Box (4201, Melbourne, Victoria, 3001). I don't have a huge basis of comparison for examples of 'Neighbours' fan participation, so I'd have to just say this is one that I enjoy, rather than my all time favourite, though it's tempting. It makes me want to enjoy 'Neighbours' like I did when I was in school, or my old housemate who watched it religiously. Like any new thing though, I don't really have the time to dedicate as much as this fandom requires. Instead, the time I make to read this zeen serves as my 'Neighbours' fix. Reading 'EE' is like my condensed version of a month or so of 'Neighbours', the same way 'SPRAK!' saves me having to sit through a bunch of B-Grade movies & I just learn what I need to know, these are like the 'Cliff's Notes' of their subject texts. 'EE' Fills me in on who's who in Erinsborough @ the mo & replacing their irrelevant chatter with zeen savvy banter more to my own cultural persuasions. A5 portrait format, sewn binding, B&W guts w/ handcrafty cover ($5 to the PO Box gets you a mini subscription).

 

 

 

 

Ragged #4

 

 

Ragged #4

via NeuFutur Magazine by admin on 5/29/08

Ragged is the mini-magazine that Filter puts out under the support of American Rag, a clothing line that only can be found at Macy's. Although, neither me nor the fiancé have ever found any American Rag clothing ever over at Macy's. This issue of the magazine skillfully blends established acts (Q-Tip, Thrice, Kate Nash) [...]

 

 

Chord Easy (5th Edition, Sample Version)

 

 

Chord Easy (5th Edition, Sample Version)

via NeuFutur Magazine by admin on 5/25/08

Chord Easy (5th Edition, Sample Version) / $1 / 1:20 / 20M / Light Living Library, POB 190-cea, Philomath, OR 97370   Chord Easy is a magazine that ostensibly seeks to show individuals all they need to know about musical chords. The version that I have in my hands is the sample version, clocking in [...]

 

 

(first dip of my toe)

 

 

(first dip of my toe)

via Xerography Debt by noreply@blogger.com (motes) on 5/25/08

Hi all.

Though I've been blogging for a while in a variety of places for some reason I've been delaying getting going with the XD online version. Given the long weekend and the post piling up on my desk (virtual or no) I figured it was about time to jump in. I'm starting in the order I've received the work up for review and Nia Oxette King's Borderlands #2 (it's the second issue of a zine that was titled MXD: True Stories by Mixed Race Writers when issue #1 was published) has been patiently waiting since March. Like MXD, Borderlands is keyed to issues particular to mixed race writers (the full title is "Borderlands: Tales from Disputed Territories between Races and Cultures"), though it of course looks at how being mixed race impacts and interplays with other categories of identification as well; the framework and compilation style remains the same as MXD.

I've reviewed Nia's work before (you can find other titles at StrangerDangerDistro.com and QZAP.org, or contact her directly) and it's always a powerful experience for me to read what she writes. I have a soft spot for autobio work, and I'm interested in people who use that writing to create a space to resist dominant culture. She addresses some of these things in her introduction, stating that "this zine is a product of our struggle to move beyond the margins, the disputed borderland territory between races and cultures we were born into, and for the right to be validated, to forge community and to find home where ever we see fit."

What I particularly enjoy about this zine is its sense of multitudes; there are pieces by a number of different authors, all with their own experiences, looking at experiences as varied as how you're treated in school to how people talk to you when they assume they know your full identity just from the way you wear your hair, how your nose looks, or the words which come out of your mouth. It addresses queer culture, includes as many different perspectives as there are contributors, and each piece feels as honest and as immediate as if you were simply sitting down to have a conversation with the contributor. Ultimately, Borderlands #2 is an important, engaging read that's well worth your time; I've come to expect such things from Nia and I'm very glad to see another issue.

Borderlands #2 (formerly titled MXD)
c/o Nia Oxette King
3441 Fillmore Street
Denver, CO 80205
oxette [at] riseup.net
myspace.com/mxdistro

$1 USD, no trades, FTP, 1/2 page size (digest?), 20 pages

Submissions are welcome at the email address above. "You are eligible to submit if you are a person of color who is mixed-race, bi-cultural, and/or transracially adopted. Please send your non-fiction personal stories and art about how your racial/cultural identity relates to your experiences (work, school, family, relationships, etc.) or other aspects of your identity (gender, sexual orientation, class, ability, immigration status, religion, etc.)." Due June 1st, 2008, no longer than 600 words, no poetry.

 

 

I Want Your Skull #5

I Want Your Skull #5

via Rob Schwager by noreply@blogger.com (RobSchwager) on 6/22/08

Ryan August over at I Want Your Skull asked me to take part in IWYS#5. I've been a fan of the zine since the beginning. We worked on a killer interview together and I designed a sweet 2 color pinstripe skull art print to be included with each copy.

I'll have some alternate skull print colorways available for sale soon on my website and on here. So stay tuned.

If you don't know about the I Want Your Skull zine, do yourself and your eyes a favor and go and snag a copy. It's probably the best visual zine out there. Tell Ryan I sent ya. Cheers!

Here's some details of this issue:

I Want Your Skull #5: 56 pages. Full color cover with artwork by Brian Ewing. Offset printed on gloss stock. Limited to 500 numbered copies. Interviews with Brian Ewing, Rob Schwager. and Matthew Amey.

Featuring artwork from 37 of today's best artists:
ALAN R CLOSE, JERAL TIDWELL, BRIAN MORRIS, DIGITALINK, OMAR SWAREZ, DANIEL ALBRIGO, MATT TAYLOR, TODD "LUCKY" LAMBRIGHT, SHAWN HEBRANK, MAGNUS BLOMSTER, PROJECT DETONATE, FRANCZ VARGA, JEFF FINLEY, KEVIN MCNUTT, SEAN KELLY, RM HANSON, ARKKIVE 440, AARON WOLF, STACY MARSHALL, ANGRYBLUE, JOHN WARREN, KONNIK, DREW MILLWARD, MARALD, PORKCHOP, JON MDC, RYAN AUGUST, ARTILLERY, MICHAEL HEINZ-FISCHER, MIGUEL CERVANTES, KAREN O'BRYAN, BARON VON SLEGEL, JASON TAMVAKIS, DAN BOLTON, DAVID CURBIS, PAZYRYK, and JANUSZ KOZAK.

This issue also includes (2) 7 x 7, screen-prints on quality French cardstock. A 2 color pin-stripe piece by Rob Schwager and a 1 color reveal print by The Half and Half. A full color postcard with artwork by Justin "Anville" Anderson is also included. The whole thing comes wrapped in a re-sealable poly bag and packaged in a screen-printed envelope designed and printed by the Half and Half.

Thief-The Adventures of John Argent -Mini Comic

Thief-The Adventures of John Argent -Mini Comic

via Small Press Newsroom by -AF on 6/5/08

Thief "The Adventures of John Argent" by Rainbow Bridge Productions.

This is a free 10 page mini comic story (he will also send you a free catalog of his other items) that everyone will really like. The art is great and the story left me wanting to know more about this Thief character and his world. Lucky for me I also have issues #8 and #9 of the full color cover, black and white books to read and review here soon. I give this a 5 stars out of 5!

Send just your mailing address to get this free mini or contact Rene Blansette for more of his comics by writing to: Rainbow Bridge Productions, p.o. box 812, Louisville, KY 40201-0812. Or visit his MySpace page at: http://www.myspace.com/johnargent

Rene is also a member of the Small Press Syndicate and would like you to check it out here: http://www.smallpresssyndicate.com/

Small Press Reviews (Geekocracy)

Small Press Reviews (Geekocracy)

via M.A.D. Rants by noreply@blogger.com (MAD) on 6/5/08

ZOIR is, to quote the copy on the cover "a zombie-detective-noir comic with possible super-hero-like action". The creators are Mason Johnson and Mariano LaClaustra. The credited website is: http://geekocracy.com Unfortunately, it says that a new version of wordpress killed their blog.

The artwork in ZOIR is fantastic, really, on a scale of one to ten, this is one of those 11 books in my humble opinion. The book takes place in a corrupt church, which is rendered beautifully in black and white. Our protagonist Jacky finds himself in a bad situation. He is chained to a church pew by his ankle. His face is distorted, and he has a golf club embedded into his stomach. He is imprisoned by the mysterious "Garbage Boys" who aren't fully explained, and a corrupt reverend.

The evil priest rambles to his congregation of zombies, asking them to repent for their sins. He flips back and forth between pleading with them and spouting obscenities and accusations and the zombies respond with a series of expected groans and moans.

When the priest gets close enough to Jacky he leaps into action, simultaneously beating the preacher man to death and demanding to know what he has done. In case you are wondering the obvious, "why didn't the zombies eat the priest?" the priest mutters his last words "If I die no one can control them." Jacky thinks the preacher means the garbage boys and wonders what he is going to do with all these zombies.

What a great setup!? Is Jacky part zombie himself? Will he be able to control the other zombies? Will they turn and attack him now that they are no longer under the priest's control?

I don't know. I don't think there is an issue two. I found an email on digging around on their dead blog so I should probably shoot these guys a line and see if anyone is answering.

Looks like I got another Geekocracy book here, this one was written by Mason Johnson with art from Greg Barley. It's called Flight of the Penguins, and has a ridiculously cute cover with a semi-Gothic city scene, a penguin perched a-la-batman upon a gargoyle, and a spotlight with a silhouette of a flying penguin a-la-bat signal.

The story is very amusing and absurd. Basically there is a heroic penguin who is dreaming of the great penguins of old. His daydreams are interrupted because thuggish king penguins with fez hats are trying to rob a pitiful and cute female penguin. The hero penguin tosses throwing stars and rocks at them then leaps down from on high and headbutts and flipper slaps the villains. The art is very solid in this book. Great stuff!

In the back we are treated to see Mason's original concept art. It is sketchy and somewhat childish and has the handwritten statement "This is why writers need artists", it looks like at the last second he second guessed that and added in the word most below. "This is why MOST writers need artists." There is also a quote from Mason "Greg, I want penguins dammit! Penguins just like these!"

Yeah, I really should at least try to talk to these guys.

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