zine, [zeen] noun. 1. abbr. of fanzine; 2. any amateurly-published periodical. Oxford Reference

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Friday, October 31, 2008

Fw: Cold Sweat Day Dreams


 
 

via Comics Village Reviews by Glenn Carter on 10/1/08

At one point, very evocative and honest. At others, weak. Still, it's worthwhile for that one high.

 
 
at 1:53 PM 1 Comments

Webcomics: Brad McGinty's Paper Pusher



 
 

Sent to you by Jack via Google Reader:

 
 

via file under other by shannon.smith@cgi.com (Shannon Smith) on 10/1/08

Brad McGinty has been posting a new run of webcomics over at his Paper Pusher blog.  I never put a lot of effort into reviewing webcomics because you dear reader can click on the links and judge fore yourself.  I'm obvioulsy already a big fan of Brad's but I'm excited to see these strips because they show Brad working in an unrestrained off the top of his head style.  I think Brad is one of the absolute best and funniest at this kind of comic.  Right up there with my pal Patrick Dean and the esteemed Ruben Bolling.  I hope Brad can keep knocking these things out.  So far, he seems to be posting about one each week.  Check it out.
Your best pal ever,
Shannon Smith

 
 

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at 1:08 PM 0 Comments

Fw: SUGAR NEEDLE


 
 


A zine all about candy! ... #24, $1 plus a stamp, 11 x 4, xeroxed and hand-colored, 14 pgs.

 
 
at 12:17 PM 0 Comments

Comic Craze

Comic Craze Show Opens At Cambridge Galleries
Cambridge Now! - Cambridge,Ontario,Canada

Comic Craze

You are invited to the opening reception of Comic Craze at the Cambridge Galleries, Queens Square.

Comic Craze explores the rich and vibrant intersection of contemporary art and narrative expressions found in Canadian independent comic books, mini-comics, 'zines and graphic novels. Visitors to the exhibition will discover the best of French and English publications from across Canada. Capturing the different graphic and narrative styles that have made comic culture one of the most absorbing and experimental forms of expression today, the exhibition features over four hundred books from more than one hundred artists, including Marc Bell, Rupert Bottenberg, Shary Boyle, Chester Brown, Geneviève Castrée, David Collier, Rebecca Dart, Jeff Lemire, Billy Mavreas, Marc Ngui, Joe Ollman, Michel Rabagliati, Seth, Rick Trembles, and Maurice Vellekoop and many others. The artists and writers featured in the exhibition are creating some of the most significant and engrossing narratives in comic literature today.
 
For this exhibition, the gallery has been transformed into a reading space. Visitors walk into a transformed environment, one that's designed for hands-on investigation and experience – a black and white woodland forest filled with luminous snails and hundreds of comic books, 'zines and anthologies available for on-site reading. The space sets the stage for a unique experience in appreciating the visual, literary, and tactile pleasures of reading comics.

Featuring over 400 books from more than 100 artists:
Marc Bell, Rupert Bottenberg, Shary Boyle,
Chester Brown, Geneviève Castrée, David Collier,
Rebecca Dart, Jeff Lemire, Billy Mavreas, Marc Ngui,
Joe Ollman, Michel Rabagliati, Seth, Rick Trembles,
Maurice Vellekoop and many others.
 
Cambridge Galleries, QUEEN'S SQUARE
1 North Square, Cambridge, ON
 
Image: Courtesy, Walter Phillips Gallery.
 
Art + Narrative in Canadian Comic Books, 'Zines, Anthologies and Graphic Novels
Curated by Sylvie Gilbert, Organized by the Walter Phillips Gallery, The Banff Centre
 
November 1, 2008 to January 4, 2009
 
Opening Reception: Saturday, November 1 at 2:30 pm
Curator's Tour with Sylvie Gilbert, Walter Phillips Gallery
at 3:00 pm
  
Comic Craze is curated by Sylvie Gilbert, Senior Curator Walter Phillips Gallery and The Banff International Curatorial Institute. This touring exhibition has been organized by the Walter Phillips Gallery, The Banff Centre, Alberta.
 
Cambridge Galleries exhibitions are free and open to the public.
 
Gallery Hours (Queen's Square): Mon-Thurs 9:30 am-8:30 pm, Fri & Sat 9:30 am-5:30 pm; Sun 1 - 5 pm
 
For further information:
519.621.0460 or www.cambridgegalleries.ca

 

at 10:45 AM 0 Comments

Fw: Trunk Stories


 
 

via (title unknown) by admin on 10/2/08

The cover on this fiction anthology zine is odd - there is what is presumably a large tick diving into a trunk, whihch really makes sense when one considers the odd fare that one can find in this issue. Trunk Stories begins with a re-telling of the Medea myth by Kirsten Kaschock (Any Oher Name). [...]

 
 
at 10:41 AM 0 Comments

Fw: SLEEPWALK


 
 


What do you know, a literary magazine that doesn't suck. ... Volume 2, #1, 8 ½ x 11, free, newsprint

 
 
at 9:59 AM 0 Comments

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Handmade & Bound



 
 

Sent to you by Jack via Google Reader:

 
 

via Handmade & Bound by admin on 8/1/08

Handmade & bound is an affordable book-art and zine fair.

The first fair will take place on Saturday 8 November 2008 at St Aloysius Social Club, corner of Eversholt Street and Phoenix Road, London NW1 (nearest tube Euston). 12-6pm. Free entry.

It will feature work by a wide variety of artists, designers, writers and musicians.

From 8pm-12am, there will be DJs and bands. More details to be confirmed. Donations welcome.

The bar will be open all day and in the afternoon we will have handmade & bound cakes too!


 
 

Things you can do from here:

 
 
at 12:32 PM 0 Comments

Vaistron



 
 

Sent to you by Jack via Google Reader:

 
 

via Comics Village Reviews by Conor Carton on 9/30/08

An adult comic for actual adults, amazing.

 
 

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at 12:16 PM 0 Comments

Zine Review - One Hundred Degrees



 
 

Sent to you by Jack via Google Reader:

 
 

via Indy Media Reviews on 9/30/08

Emma Lane's entry into the comic zine world is kind of like a stick-figure blog. Her experiences are fresh, sometimes witty, and utterly personal. I like the concept of her...

 
 

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at 12:14 PM 0 Comments

Reviews of Mostly True, ETC, Dwelling Portably, Hell's Half-Acre Herald and...

via Xerography Debt by noreply@blogger.com (Xerography Debt) on 10/28/08
Once upon a time, there was a magical, mystical land known as Brooklyn. People traipsed around saying such strange, wonderful things as, "Geddoudahere!" "Fuhgeddaboudit!" and even, "You got a problem with that?" Some of the people from this fanciful country got involved with zines. Producing them, and even reviewing them. So enough with the fairytale introduction already, and let's see what's here to review...

Well, I kept telling myself that I was going to save the best for last, but all my resolve just melted away. So let's begin with Mostly True. There's very little question that Davida only sent this one to me because she knew I was going to love it! Right there on the cover of Vol. 19, No. 7 it says, "The West's Most Popular Hobo Graffiti Magazine," and for anyone who's even vaguely interested in railroads, this one is the jackpot! Railroading adventures, hobos, loads of photos, even old ads. Featured in this issue, the search for Bozo Texino, and the Colossus of Roads. It's really more of a magazine than a zine, but why be a nitpicker? Don't waste another minute, and get your $6.95 in the mail right away, to Bill Daniel at Microcosm Publishing, 222 S. Rogers St., Bloomington IN 47404.

And yet more creativity, this time in ETC (that stands for, Everybody That Creates). The premise is simple: people create things--that is, things like artwork and short stories, and this zine presents them. Issue #2 has a story about bees (watch out! Somebody is going to get stung) and some comics. I, personally, liked the "Real Life for Real" panels, maybe because I relate to stick figures as about the only type of drawings I can manage. It's fun to check in and see what other people are creating, so I say, go for it. $2 from Chris Almond, P.O. Box 678421, Orlando FL 32867-8421.

Dwelling Portably has been around a long time. And the way things are going lately, it appears more and more relevant with each passing day. The premise is that you don't necessarily have to live within the grid. The issue at hand has tips for dealing with dirt floors, various (and very creative) uses for free water barrels, the merits of vitamin D, solar cooking, and plenty more. Also has a summary of past issues--many of which are still available--and a listing of unusual sources, many of which are zines. $1 per issue (6 back issues for $5 or 12 for $10) from P.O. Box 190-L, Philomath OR 97370-0190.

Remember the old sci-fi movie "Day of the Triffids?" Well, don't look now, but... Hell's Half-Acre Herald presents the Texas Triffid Ranch. Did you guess that the subject is carnivorous plants? Congratulations! Featured in the first issue, feeding P. Americana (the good old American cockroach) to your pitcher plant, and the coming of the dragonfruit. There's also a listing of resources. I didn't know that there was an International Carnivorous Plant Society, but there is. Do they sell Venus' flytrap T-shirts, I wonder? In any case, no price listed, so "the usual" will have to do, from Paul Riddell, 5930 E. Royal Lane (#140), Dallas TX 75230.

Next up, we have Exit 63. At least, I think that's the title. The cover of #8 also has Blues in big letters, so I can't say for sure which one is the title. That, by the way, is a demerit, if we have to guess what the zine is called. Anyway, this is the Lust for Lists issue. Our friendly local editor lists the things he did every day, from June 1 through August 17. For example, the list for July 4, representative of the zine: 1--worked most of the day. 2--tried to call Liz. 3--skated a lot. 4--listened to some baseball on the radio. Liz is definitely important to the zine, as she shows up in most of the lists. I hope we're dealing with genuine youth here, or something is terribly wrong. No price listed (pun unavoidable) but if you like reading lists of things, you might want to give this a try, from Matthew Bodette, 6466 Rt. 125, Vergennes VT 05491.

...And they all lived happily ever after. There! We got back to the fairytale theme just in time for my closing.

at 11:44 AM 0 Comments

Zine Review: Susie is a Robot #3



 
 

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via Trading Stories with the Leaves by Trading Stories on 10/15/08


Zine - Susie is a Robot #3

You'll need to set aside some time to read Susie is a Robot #3. I tried to read it in fits and starts, pulling it out of my jacket pocket whenever I had a few minutes to kill, but it didn't work; it just meant confusion and backtracking. When I started again and read it properly, the pieces fell into place.

It's the structure that requires concentration: the zine runs for over 100 pages, spans—what, 20 years?, and jumps backwards and forwards without obvious signposting. This is jarring but makes perfect sense. It mimics LB's thoughts and memories, as she grapples with the fallout from an assault by her partner, and tries to learn from how she and her brothers dealt with their abusive childhood.

LB's writing is hardboiled, more Dashiell Hammett than Raymond Chandler:

i sat in a train car alone. lights passed, stations waved. a man entered and i heard the familiar sound of a beer can opening. hopefully a tall boy.

the tunnel was empty. i lugged an oversized winter coat, hung over my shoulder, remembering the days i pretended to be a hobo. a runaway child with a blanket tied to a stick and a can of soup as its only contents. my legs made it to my tree in the front yard and i hid until no one came looking for me.

the tree is gone now. my house is gone.

And this is definitely a noir story, with the faint light of friendship and hope set against the thick darkness of violence and despair. LB explores "[t]he overlooked gray" between victim and attacker, and wants to know "[h]ow I reviled my childhood abusers … but I can push my lover when I am drunk".

Like the best noir tales, Susie is a Robot #3 describes the struggle of a decent protaganist to keep their head above water, against the drag of by the murky currents:

sometimes there are days like this that we get through. we always do. i know we're going to make it. i swear.

You want them to make it—you know maybe they won't, maybe they can't. But you want them to escape.

LB, Susie is a Robot #3, 1/4 size, 104 pages. Available from Paper Trail and Stranger Danger.

      

 
 

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at 11:36 AM 0 Comments

Zine Review: Susie is a Robot #3



 
 

Sent to you by Jack via Google Reader:

 
 

via Trading Stories with the Leaves by Trading Stories on 10/15/08


Zine - Susie is a Robot #3

You'll need to set aside some time to read Susie is a Robot #3. I tried to read it in fits and starts, pulling it out of my jacket pocket whenever I had a few minutes to kill, but it didn't work; it just meant confusion and backtracking. When I started again and read it properly, the pieces fell into place.

It's the structure that requires concentration: the zine runs for over 100 pages, spans—what, 20 years?, and jumps backwards and forwards without obvious signposting. This is jarring but makes perfect sense. It mimics LB's thoughts and memories, as she grapples with the fallout from an assault by her partner, and tries to learn from how she and her brothers dealt with their abusive childhood.

LB's writing is hardboiled, more Dashiell Hammett than Raymond Chandler:

i sat in a train car alone. lights passed, stations waved. a man entered and i heard the familiar sound of a beer can opening. hopefully a tall boy.

the tunnel was empty. i lugged an oversized winter coat, hung over my shoulder, remembering the days i pretended to be a hobo. a runaway child with a blanket tied to a stick and a can of soup as its only contents. my legs made it to my tree in the front yard and i hid until no one came looking for me.

the tree is gone now. my house is gone.

And this is definitely a noir story, with the faint light of friendship and hope set against the thick darkness of violence and despair. LB explores "[t]he overlooked gray" between victim and attacker, and wants to know "[h]ow I reviled my childhood abusers … but I can push my lover when I am drunk".

Like the best noir tales, Susie is a Robot #3 describes the struggle of a decent protaganist to keep their head above water, against the drag of by the murky currents:

sometimes there are days like this that we get through. we always do. i know we're going to make it. i swear.

You want them to make it—you know maybe they won't, maybe they can't. But you want them to escape.

LB, Susie is a Robot #3, 1/4 size, 104 pages. Available from Paper Trail and Stranger Danger.

      

 
 

Things you can do from here:

 
 
at 11:36 AM 0 Comments

(title unknown)



 
 

Sent to you by Jack via Google Reader:

 
 

via SIZE MATTERS: The Mini-Comics Blog by Shawn Hoke on 10/25/08

Izzy Challenge by J.B. Winter and 50 Others Izzy Challenge is the brainchild of J.B. Winter, who has enlisted comic artists from 50 states to fill in backgrounds and captions for 50 panels of his character Izzy's trek across the United States. J.B. drew his character Izzy the mouse in 51 panels over 14 pages. The first panel features Izzy leaving his house with two suitcases and a backpack. The other 50 panels featured J.B.'s drawing of Izzy, but the artists from each of the states provide backgrounds and captions. I like that J.B. makes each page look like an actual photo album – complete with the little picture stays. At the bottom of each page, an icon of the state has a corresponding text box with that state's artist name, email, and website, if available. Almost all of the panels reflect some state or local theme. For example, Indiana's panel refers to the "brain drain" that all the politicians occasionally wring their hands over. In Arkansas, Izzy rides on the back of the White River Monster from Jacksonport, Arkansas. In Rhode Island, Izzy hangs out on the Rhode Island School of Design green. While this is a great idea, it must have been a logistical nightmare to coordinate. Izzy Challenge is $1 and available online at J.B.'s website.

 
 

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at 10:59 AM 0 Comments

(title unknown)



 
 

Sent to you by Jack via Google Reader:

 
 

via SIZE MATTERS: The Mini-Comics Blog by Shawn Hoke on 10/29/08

Extricate #8 by David Birchall Extricate is a 64-page mini-comic with a visual seizure inducing two color cover. Inside, David has three stories – "The Song of the Birds," "The Greeks are Coming," and "The Return of Harry the Cat."

"The Song of the Birds" is a loosely structured tale haunted by an iconic bird figure. David uses thick brushstrokes and meandering words, stylized similar to Sixties psychedelic rock posters to create a chaotic setting for his bird figure. He uses startling pages of single images – a knife cutting up a heart, cubed pieces of a heart in a skillet, close up shots of a mouth chewing. "The Greeks Are Coming" is a bit of a departure art wise. David switches to thinner lines and sketchy, swirling bits of background to give a much more airy texture to the story. The story though matches the darkness of the first piece. Surgery, blood, sharp utensils, and a patient with a mysterious abnormality, "His mother said that he had been consuming a lot of words lately," populate these pages. A surgeon removes a strange Greek book from the patient's incision. "Harry the Cat" is a straightforward tale featuring page after page of a cat drinking and smoking at a bar, drawn from the waist up. Harry tells a gentleman's tale of drinking and meeting a strange Irishman.

Contact David Birchall at blackandwhitecatpress@org. You can check out his website for Extricate and others minis - there are sample pages of his latest project, Exhaust. You can still probably grab a copy for 4 pounds.

 
 

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at 10:08 AM 0 Comments

Fw: Bubblegum Slut # 32


 
 

via Zine Writers Guild by Alison B on 10/23/08



Photobucket

Issue 32 of the UK's finest, and only fake-fur covered (!) rock'n'roll zine Bubblegum Slut is out now!

Full contents and ordering info
__________________________________



INSIDE BUBBLEGUM SLUT, issue 32:

NEW YORK DOLLS - Sami Yaffa and Steve Conte on no longer being the Dolls new boys, some Hanoi Rocks home truths - plus some amazing and exclusive Dolls artwork by Swordfish Designs.

ROCKSTARS & REALITY TV SPECIAL - A 8 page special feature on the lure of the reality limelight for rockers, including interviews with SEBASTIAN BACH and ROBIN BLACK

NASHVILLE PUSSY
LYDIA LUNCH
THE LEVELLERS
RATT
COMBICHRIST
THE WILDHEARTS
KILLING JOKE'S YOUTH
ALAN PARKER –Sid Vicious & Vince Neil biographer
WEDNESDAY 13 – goes ghost-hunting at Oxford Castle
GLAM'S NEW WAVE
SHERI MOON ZOMBIE'S TOTAL SKULL
TOXIC VISION CLOTHING
TRACI MICHAELZ TRIBUTE - remembering the Peppermint Creeps drummer
BABYLON BOMBS & HELL 'N' DIESEL AT R.R.O.S.E - Stockholm home truths at Swedish Rock's London showcase event
DISSIDENT GENRO
NEW YORK ALCOHOLIC ANXIETY ATTACK
CHOP SUICIDE
BUBBLEGUM SCREW
Plus columns, gig & and CD reviews totalling 88 pages!
PLUS:
FREE 18 TRACK CD! Featuring tracks from The Loyalties, Cato St Conspiracy, Starrats, Trashtown Thrillers, The Councilmen, The Jet Boys, Dead Starlets, Dissident Genro, Mum Locked In Castle, Pistol Kixx, Dragstrip Junkies, Pandamonia, The Undertakers, Violent Angel, Ever Rest, Engine Of Excess & Zen Motel

HOW TO ORDER:


Copies can be ordered via PayPal from our MySpace for £2.40 including UK postage, or £3.00 R.O.W. Find PayPal buttons in the 'About Me' section at; www.myspace.com/bubblegumslutzine

Alternatively cheques and postal orders can be made payable to 'A. Bateman' at 27 Stores Lane, Tiptree, Essex, CO5 0LH (UK orders only)

And of course we're always happy to trade with other zines!

Finally, we're offering a free back issue and logo bottle opener keyring if you take out a subscription before the end of October. For full details and subscription rates see the latest blogs at www.myspace.com/bubblegumslutzine


 
 
at 10:01 AM 0 Comments

Fw: Distort 14 & 16 (Oz, 2000s, download or read via Issuu)

 

via punks is hippies - the blog! by Slobodan Burgher on 9/30/08




FIRST PUBLISHED HERE!

More Distort Zine from Australia. See issue 15 by scrolling down blog. Distort Issue 14 features Black Flag, State, Subversion, and Cold Sweat. Distort Issue 16 features Draft Dodger, Clock Cleaner, Fucked Up, Poison Idea. Great writing cool layout. All you need!

Download Distort 14
Download Distort 16

Or read the fuckers live at Issuu, click on samples below.

FIRST PUBLISHED HERE!






FIRST PUBLISHED HERE!

 
 

at 10:01 AM 0 Comments

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Fw: Candy or Medicine Volume Five

via Zine Classifieds by admin on 10/27/08


Features sixteen pages of mini-comic action, including a 10-minute comic by Daniel J. Olson, a Craigslist "Missed Connection" by Ed Choy Moorman, a maze (yes, a maze!) by Steve Rack, three of Ogner Stump's "One Thousand Sorrows" by Andrew Goldfarb, a spider's tale courtesy of Rob Moses, New Zealander Sarah Orchard's presentation of a missed conversation a

Every order receive a copy of the Candy or Medicine Free Comic Book Day Special.

Order online at http://www.candyormedicine.com




at 6:39 PM 0 Comments

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Fw: Zine Review - Adventures in the Land of Greasecars and Fireflies


 
 

via Indy Media Reviews on 10/20/08

Sascha Scatter's zine/essay "Adventures in the Land of Greasecars and Fireflies is both a serious look at the gouging of the oil industry to the Amerikan public AND a very...

 
 
at 7:31 PM 0 Comments

Fw: Zine Review - Volcano


 
 

via Indy Media Reviews on 10/22/08

William Davidson returns, this time with an odd comic panel sequence, beginning with a female nude whose image is altered from panel to panel. It's an interesting transformative set of...

 
 
at 7:29 PM 0 Comments

BugPowder Weblog : October 24, 2008

via BugPowder Weblog on 10/24/08

  • Get set for....
    Handmade & Bound



    Artists' books, comics and zines.
    Saturday 8 November 2008
    St Aloysius Social Club,
    Phoenix Road, London NW1
    (nearest tube Euston).
    12-6pm. Free entry.

    The Evenings entertainment...
    8pm-12am:
    DJs and bands, including
    The Slim Reaper and Her Magic Powers.

    For further information: handmadeandbound@googlemail.com

    comicsandzines.wordpress.com


at 7:26 PM 0 Comments

BugPowder Weblog : October 26, 2008

via BugPowder Weblog on 10/26/08

  • Phill Elliott, who really should have become far more famous, is posting his Tales From Gimbley, starting with his earliest work and continuing one a day until up to the most recent. I'm not an impartial observer, because I love Phil's work a very great deal, but you should read these. And if you've read them before, you can read them again without have to fish around in the attic riffling through long boxes.


at 7:26 PM 0 Comments

NOT MY SMALL DIARY #14 edited by Delanie Green

via file under other by shannon.smith@cgi.com (Shannon Smith) on 10/24/08
Anthology featuring too many people to name. Edited by Delanie Green.
Two digest size minicomic volumes equaling 138 pages.
Scrapbook style card stock covers by Andrew Goldfarb with black & white interiors.
The contributor list can be seen here.
If you are not familiar with Not My Small Diary then it is time to get familiar. NMSD is an anthology of diary/auto bio comics that started back in 1996. (When the editor was probably like ten years old. You remember the 90's right?) I have not read all 14 editions but I have read a few and for just six bucks it think is pound for pound dollar for dollar the best comics investment you can make. If you are a full on auto-bio hater then maybe NMSD won't be your favorite anthology of the year but if you like comics at all then I'm sure you will find something in this two volume set to satisfy your tastes enough to justify six bucks plus a dollar shipping. I don't know how she does it but Delanie Green has assembled some of my favorite people in comics for this edition. Ed Moorman, John Porcellino, Julia Wertz, Mark Campos, JP Coovert, Mary Jessica Hammes and Alec Longstreth are just a few of the names that would have made me want the book. I've met Delaine Green at a few shows and she is really nice but I don't' think that is the secret to assembling such a great cast of creators. I think that Green has produced such a consistently great book that talented people simply want to be in it.
The books look really great. If you check out Green's site it will become apparent that she has a real talent for design. I love the way the books are organized. The books have a concise index. Each page is clearly numbered and features the creators' names so that you do not have to flip to the back of the book. Bigger publishers could learn a lot about how to put together an anthology book from NMSD.
The title of the series should make it obvious that these are collections of diary and/or auto-bio comics. The theme of this edition is dating. One of the knocks I repeatedly hear about auto-bio minicomics is that they are all the same. Stereotypical emo whining. That is not at all the case with NMSD. I was actually surprise to see just how diverse these dating stories are. I feel safe in guessing that most of the contributors are "gen x" at the oldest and "gen y" at the youngest so I expected some commonalities and while it's true we all go through a lot of the same horrible things in the dating game it is really interesting to see how differently each creator processes and recalls these stories. There are several "gosh I can't believe that happened stories" and a lot of "I'm glad that never happened to me".
The entries in this edition are amazingly strong and I would love to talk about all of them but it would take forever and ever. What follows is a look at a few stories that I think reflect the diversity and quality of the anthology.
(From How George Herriman Got Me Laid by Richard Cowdry.)
First of all, that's a really great title for a story. Cowdry has a minimal but slick style and is a good storyteller. The dialog in this comic is engaging and well executed. I like my diary comics to read like a diary but I like longer auto-bio stuff to read like a story and to have characters. (Even though I know the characters are real people. ) This fits the 2nd description. It felt like a small part of a longer story and I'd like to see more. (Of course, it is a part of a longer story. That story being the creator's life. So, Cowdry... Don't go dying.)
(From Wichery by Nicole Georges.)
I really enjoyed Georges drawing in this comic. It is a light style but the characters have a lot of life in their expressions. Maybe it's just the cute hats but it seems to have a femininity about it that must come from a place that does not exist within my own being. There is nothing about this comic that represents the way I would do anything and that is part of why I find it so intriguing. The story is about two ex-girlfriends and focuses on the resentment they have toward each other. To see how these two girls react to each other after the breakup is probably a lot more interesting than the romance. Maybe a future NMSD could focus only on after-the-breakup stories.
(From Parting Shot by Alex Longstreth.)
I don't' want to get into comparing the NMSD creators to one another but Longstreth really stands out. His piece is smart and funny and honest and all that good stuff I love but it's also a really well crafted comic. Everything about it is solid. The drawing, the storytelling, the lettering, the cartooning etc. Longstreth has this whole comic book thing figured out and I hate myself for not getting all his books back when we were both at HeroesCon.
(From My Worst Date by Sarah Oleksky.)
Just look at that page above. Wow! Can Oleksky freaking draw or what? And she can write too! I call that cheating. It's a great little story about an unbelievably unbearable jerk. Unbelievably unbearable jerks are so awesome when they are in someone else's auto-bio comic and not in your own life. Thank you Sarah. I would like some more please.
(From Trout Park A True-Life Tale of Modern Romance by John Porcellino.)
I don't own many issues of King Kat but I like Porcellino's comics plenty. I think of him as one of the giants of minicomics so I won't waste your time telling you how good he is. If you follow minicomics, you are probably aware. All that being said, this story connected with me as much or more than anything else I've read by Porcellino. It's really sweet and honest and void of irony. It's almost greeting card sweet but at the same time heartfelt and personal.
(From The Only Way It's Ever Been Done by Geoff Vasile.)
I had mixed feelings about this one at first. Yeah, it looks great and the merging of multiple relationships into one narrative is very clever but... Vasile kind of comes off as a jerk in this thing. Which, I guess is the point but it caught me off guard. The lovable loser is pretty much the status quo in auto-bio comics but Vasile comes at this from an entirely different angle. He's the guy that in most comics the main character would be moaning about losing the girl to. It's like if Reggie got Betty and Veronica and Midge and treated them all like crap. The story jumps from girl to girl in each consecutive panel. That non-linear style gives it a separation from the traditional in-the-moment auto-bio thing and makes it feel more like fiction. When looked at as a whole it makes it feel even more honest though. It's like a stack of Polaroids from one's dating life are dropped on the floor and and viewed in a random order. If you pick out just one panel Vasile is an inexcusable jerk but in another you can see growth and regret. Moving things around like that lets you see the person not as a before or an after but as a whole. A clever idea well executed with an appealing drawing style. Well played.
So, what are you waiting for pals? Go buy this comic.
Your best pal ever,
Shannon Smith

at 7:21 PM 0 Comments

Zine Review - Orchestra of Machines (chapters 1-4)

via Indy Media Reviews on 10/18/08
Zeben's white-on-black with abstract art makes this one stand out amongst his work, with multiple covers and multiple interior types make this an interesting collector item. The bluntness and unedited...

at 7:20 PM 0 Comments

Zine Review - The Cia makes science fiction unexcitinig No 1



 
 

Sent to you by Jack via Google Reader:

 
 

via Indy Media Reviews on 10/24/08

A Detailed, in-depth zine which critically examines the political and sociological rammifications of the King shooting, this small (1/4) zine really gives you a lot of bang for you dollar...

 
 

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at 7:19 PM 0 Comments

Zine Review - The Quick and the Dead, August 2006



 
 

Sent to you by Jack via Google Reader:

 
 

via Indy Media Reviews on 10/26/08

Hannah Ridge's per/litzine, The Quick and the Dead is a fun little read. It's quarter-sized and begins by thanking the reader for being there. I always like to see this...

 
 

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at 7:19 PM 0 Comments

The lost era of short story zines

via Darryl Sloan by Darryl Sloan on 10/25/08

My first short story, "The Paradoxical Son," was published in a short story fanzine called RQC in 1995. Such zines were aplenty in those days, but fell by the wayside with the rise of the internet. I've made a video reminiscing about this bygone era. If you're a fan of novelist Philip Reeve (Mortal Engines, Larklight), you may find this particularly interesting …


at 6:21 PM 0 Comments

Hawthorn Town Hall Zine Fair

via The Comic Spot by John Retallick on 10/26/08
I scootered along to the Hawthorn Town Hall for the "YEAH Write Zine Fair" featuring zinesters and comickers with the view to pop in for an hour or so, see what was there, maybe grab a couple of things and pop home.

I stayed for four hours!

It was lovely to see some regular faces and chat good ol' comics and ziney talk. I ended up wearing a fez and selling comics at Jo & Bernard's table whilst they sketched and tottled around the hall.

It was good to see Bobby, Jason, Ive, Phil and Greg all there and mostly selling their wares too. It was also good to see people i'd never seen before and to have a blast from the past in the shape of Avrim Wolf. Avrim was a 12 year old or so when i worked with him in my student radio days a decade ago. He was keen as mustard with a mic in front of him and had the chutzpah to go on with it. He's now a film student and looking the fine young man. Good luck to him on his journeys.

As always when i attend things where there are comics for sale i can't leave empty handed.




Word Balloons 8! Philip Bentley's wonderful fanzine came in straight from the printers. Featuring an in depth interview with Jason Badower(aussie boy made good and now working in the states) and more recollections of Phil's time running Minotaur in the early days. Look out for them in stores or contact Philip direct.


Caleo and Tolley's third issue of The False Impressionists. For some reason i hadn't grabbed a copy of this in the past. Romps through the Australian bush with mythical and legendary figures. A modern dreaming. Go get it here.



Saladventures 1. A series of gag strips involving vegetable puns and very cute little dawings and touched up phots of fruit and vegies. First time i'd seen anything from Cally Jetson. She tells me she only been doing comics and zines for a year. She also had some jewellery for sale.


I also grabbed 'The Girl With No Nose' & 'The Really Smelly Boy' flip comic from Cally.





A romance made in stinky heaven! A very cute little flip comic where the stories of the two charaters meet in the middle. The book can be read from either end. Nice! and Cute! More found here.





The 2nd issue of the horror anthology KAGEMONO with all stories written by Jason Franks from Black Glass Press. Cover by Bobby N. Jason continues his strong line of comics with this latest offering.



A very handy map with resources to all your self publishing and zine making needs in the CBD. Put out by the City Library.




Two minis from Jo Waite. Featuring her character One Sock the love-sick devil. Semi-autobio? or just an artiste with a real sense of loves often winding journey? You decide! Get more of Jo's stuff by writing to PO Box 18, Carlton Sth, Vic, 3053.
That's it for now.

at 6:09 PM 0 Comments
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