Reviews from Gianni Simone : Picaresque and Sundogs

 

 

Reviews from Gianni Simone : Picaresque and Sundogs

via Xerography Debt by noreply@blogger.com (Xerography Debt) on 6/11/08

A few years ago, while doing some business with the mighty Tokyo-based Wasabi Distro ( http://www.wasabi-distro.com/) I discovered Picaresque, a zine from Australia. I got issues #7 and #9 and I was hooked after reading one page. The idea behind the project is very simple: Brendan Rocks writes his memories, from his childhood to the present. The memories, though, are numbered, and distributed randomly, each one usually being only a few lines long. For example, one issue may start with memory #75, then continue with #102, #13, #28, with the lower numbers representing the older stories. It's a clever enough device, actually quite engaging, but what makes the zine really good is Brendan's writing, his understated sense of humor, and the matter-of-fact approach with which he tells both funny and sad stories.
I recently mailed him at brendanrocks@hotmail.com to check on the zine's status, and Brendan was kind enough to send me his latest issue, #10, that unfortunately seems to be the last one of the series. However he still seems to have plenty of back issues. You'll better get some of them before he runs out of stock

Picaresque, 20-40 pages, $2.00
Brendan Rocks, 17 Mayes St, Stawell, VIC 3380, Australia

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I have the pleasure to introduce you my friend and fellow expat Adam Pasion's new zine Sundogs. It's a diary in comic format, with Adam drawing daily strips and commenting on his life in Nagoya. So far he's managed to complete four months worth of strips (i.e. two issues) without burning out. The zine is very well done (much better than James Kochalka's, which doesn't really mean anything) and differently from other similar stuff where the author entertains us with utterly boring, uninteresting, navel-gazing-type stories, Adam actually writes interesting, funny, even thought-provoking stuff. If you want to check it out yourself you can contact Adam via e-mail at biguglyrobot@gmail.com I guarantee you won't be disappointed. In the meantime, you may want to have a look at his interesting web site http://www.biguglyrobot.net/
Sundogs, 20 pages, $2.00