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Sunday, January 30, 2011
Lazer Artzine #14
60 pages, digest size, www.lazerartzine.com
This one also arrived along with Kuti (review below) thanks to my comix pal Kapreles. He writes, 'this is a Belgian zine (from the French-speaking part) and the weird thing is, it's supported by the French/Belgian Community... weird for a zine'. Well, not so surprising to me - Europe and Scandinavia seem to be far more progressive and broadminded in art than most other countries.
Anyway, Lazer Artzine is an anthology chock full of drawings grotesque, abstract, primitive, bizarre. It's all very appealing!
Another thing that caught my eye, one of the contributors, Andre Lemos (Portugal) has a blog, www.opuntia-syndrome.blogspot.com - Opuntia! It's only the second time I've come across that word. I'll bet that Dale Speirs (Opuntia zine) will be interested to know this. (Actually, no, I won't bet that...)
Friday, January 28, 2011
Zine Showcase #6 by Sophie
Zine Showcase #6
OWT Creative
Website // Blog
Reality // £5 + shipping
OWT Creative is a Manchester based design collective consisting of five contributing members, which produces monthly zines with alternating themes. Reality (Issue #3) features all five original artists plus twelve guest contributors expressing their interpretation of the word 'reality'. This zine shows just how collaborations should be done; there is a healthy mix of written word, illustration and photography, pushing the boundaries of understanding and meanings of the word 'reality'.
Faye Moorhouse
Website // Shop
Three Very Gruesome Love Stories // $5 + shipping
These gruesomely charming illustrated zines by Faye Moorhouse are based on the true life events of three murders; printed on unbleached sugar paper, coloured and bound by hand and packaged in a printed manilla envelope - they are simply marvellous. I adore everything from the illustration style to the presentation, simplistic and effective on all accounts. Gruesome, intriguing and really rather endearing; these will be a treasured edition to my zine collection.
Rhonda Stewart
Shop
When Acupuncurists Go Mad // $4 + shipping
Banjo Chronicles // $4 + shipping
I'm Over There (drawings, etc.) // $4 + shipping
I'm Over There #2 // $4 + shipping
I initially contacted Rhonda Stewart to request a copy of Banjo Chronicles, instead I ended up receiving four zines! Rhonda Stewart's style is broad and I particularly enjoyed the gorgeous illustrations in both I'm Over There #2 and I'm Over There (drawings, etc.). My father, an avid banjo player and frequenter of bluegrass festivals, found Banjo Chronicles to be an extremely good source of amusement when I shared it with him.
Holly Leonadson
Blog // Shop
Don't Treat On Me // $4
A delightful little 16 page zine about what should not be stepped on; adorable minimalist illustrations with simple text accompanied by a lovely sense of humour.
Alex Wrekk
Website // Shop
Stolen Sharpie Revolution #2 // $6 + shipping
A 144 page DIY zine guide printed with vegetable based inks on 100% recycled paper and bound with animal free glue.
Stolen Sharpie Revolution #2 is an exhaustive DIY resource, invaluable to anyone interested in zine culture; featuring detailed how-to guides, the traditions of zine making, resource lists, zine events, promotional advice and information about distros and zine libraries. I cannot recommend Stolen Sharpie Revolution #2 enough, whether you are simply interested in the culture or would like to start making zines yourself, you will find everything you ever needed to know inside this wonderful zine reference book. For those already accustomed to zine culture there is still plenty of helpful advice.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Kuti #18
24 pages, tabloid newsprint, info(at)kutikuti.com +++ www.kutikuti.com
Mega thanks to my comix pal Kapreles in Belgium for sending me this comics newspaper from Finland!
There's some really wild stuff in here, mostly colour work, but some b&w stuff too, and the strips are all translated into English (in blocks of text at the bottom of each page), although a couple are in English to begin with (like 'Never Relaxed' by Clive Booger) and those are translated into Finnish at the bottom. Ha!
Too many highlights in here to mention, so much great stuff in here. And an illustrated article on Cowboy Henk!
I've never seen comics like this! Never even knew there was comics scene in Finland, so this sure is a real pleasure for me.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Psionic Plastic Joy #16
12 pages, tabloid size newsprint, $2.00 (US) or $3.00 (World) from Jason Rodgers, PO Box 8512, Albany NY 12208, USA
Editor/publisher Jason Rodgers has taken a stand against technology. He has no truck with such time-wasters as mobile phones, email or the internet, yet somehow he finds readers and contributors for his zine. How does he do this? Such a question might be sincerely asked in this day and age. How can anybody live without such technological necessities, eh? It doesn't seem possible. How does he communicate, fer Pete's sake? Well, few may remember, but the postal service is capable of transporting items other than books from Amazon, you know!
In this issue: Jason finds out that Wired magazine (no less) is now on his side, publishing a cover story, 'The Web is Dead'! Then he writes about his recent investigation by the US Postal Service, who withheld some mail art mail, along with an item by a noise sadist, and instructed him to report to their regional office.
The rest of the zine is filled with a mesmerising array of cut & pasted collage, drawings, strips, and articles about reports of death camps being built in the western US, and the abundance of books that continue to be published warning against the perils of technology, yet always end with a shrug and an "Oh well, what are ya gonna do?"
PPJ16 winds up with a terrific interview with Reality Impaired Recordings' Stan Boman. The first compilation CD they released included "hardcore punk tracks next to power electronics tracks, metal tracks next to noise, absurd folk next to sound collage." The interview ranges from music (black metal fans are musically broader-minded than punk rock fans) to favourite zines and cut 'n' paste aesthetics vs. desktop publishing software.
PPJ has very quickly become one of my 'most-looked-forward-to' zines.
Art Visionary Box Set
I received my copy of the Art Visionary Box Set in the mail a little while ago. It's a gorgeous collection of limited edition prints, art booklets and original art put together by Damian Michaels, who also contributes some amazing work to the set. Other contributors include Alex Grey, Ben Tolman, Wolfgang Grasse, and Tom Mckee.
My own contribution is a signed, limited edition version of my long out of print art zine, Thought Cloud Shrines. I'll be doing more work for Art Visionary magazine soon! www.artvisionary.com
new zines in the distro! and music!
the ovens. CDR
Featured band of the season! The Ovens! Two peice feminist band from Chicago! Check it out by clicking here!listen to This Disaster Was Brought To You By Heterosexuality
Keep Track: Pocket Calender
This is my little calender and pocket organizer! Cute drawings! Fits in your pocket! There are two pages for each month, with four blank pages with little drawings for taking notes and making lists.
The calender part has blank spots for you to fill in the dates, so that you can start at any time, but if you want me to fill it in, I will.
When the Crash Meets Something Solid Issue #002: Hewers of Water
stories, essays, and poetry about drug addiction; sex work - which she did at first by choice, and then how it got twisted; abuse, and survival
powerful and good
The Worst: A Compilation Zine on Grief and Loss: Issue 2
A new issue of this beautiful zine, thick and full of stories and articles about grief and dealing with death.
I read it a month ago, and I can't remember for sure, but it seemed like this one had more stories from people who were a little older and had more time/distance from the deaths they were writing about, where as the first issue seemed more immediate. Both are so useful! Both have a wide variety of stories.
Truckface #14
Excellent zine! about her second year of teaching high-school. very funny, extremely tragic, inspiring, depressing, politics, comics, everything you could ask for. I love this zine!
It also has stories about life outside of school - starting a feminist band (the Ovens), bad roommates, and more!
Every new teacher and everyone thinking of becoming a teacher should read this, plus everyone else should too!
Truckface #13
Thick little zine about LB's first (hellish) year of teaching highschool. In which she gets named "The Nose" by her students. Deals with a class of 8 bad apples - and how to teach, how to stay sane. Almost decided to not continue teaching. Deals with the religious right protesting at the school (for having a Gay-Straight Alliance), this zine is great and has a million funny/sad stories.
I wish all my friends who were going into their first year of teaching could read this zine! and everyone else too!
Truckface #12
"How do you become an authority figure when you yourself are anti-authoritarian? Questions that should have been asked prior to enrolling in teaching school."
student teaching in Chicago - dealing with bitter, assimilationist teachers; desperation and violence among students (24 students murdered this school year... and school authorities decided that tucking in shirts is the solution); dancing in class with the students, students talking about racism and discrimination, immigration, bravery.
When Lanugage Runs Dry #3:A Zine for People with Chronic Pain and Their Allies
another issue of this great zine. Issue #3 has a beautifully written peice about brain injury; an article about parenting with chronic pain; a comic/theory about Fibromyalgia and invisible illness; a conversation/interview between a step-mother and daughtor about what it was like to have a step-mother who was experiencing chronic pain; and an article about the workbook Living Beyond Your Pain: Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to Ease Chronic Pain
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Octopussy Review in NPR #6
Kung Fu Grip! Special #1: Octopussy
When I wrote up a really cool zine called KUNG FU GRIP! back in issue #4, St. Paco, the creator of it, was going on zine hiatus and he did. When I recently heard from him I got the impression that he was going to publish again. Then before I know it I get this awesome OCTOPUSSY zine. It has the same look and style as KFG! And some similarities: amazing graffiti art, perzine style, the front cover parody of a Marvel comic. It's got that 70s vibe with old school ad pages for the Josie and the Pussycats Hostess Fruit Pie ad and an actual Sea Monkeys ad. A profile of 18th century wood block artist Katsushika Hokusai reprints some of his art including the color centerfold of an octopus performing cunnilingus on a Japanese maiden. That in fact is the motif of this zine: sexy women and octopi. The octopus woman on the cover, woman with octopus on the back cover, the girl in the "stripper haiku" pages with the octopus tattoo. What an insanely original and creative idea. This zine seems to have been made with such care and skill, it was meant to be a high quality work of art.
–– Randy, Narcolepsy Press Review #6
Monday, January 24, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Sixth Minky's Guide to Strange Places
Sixth Minky's Guide to Strange Placesdigest, full color, 24 pages, $1
The latest installment in the Sixth Minky's Guide series details 18 interesting places that Maaike would like to visit someday. The selected locations span the globe from North America to China and from Africa to Australia, and all of them are natural wonders. A few that I found particularly interesting were Socotra Island in Yemen with it's bizarre looking trees, the terraced pools of Pamukkale, Turkey, and Fly Geyser in Nevada which is a small, geothermal geyser that is unfortunately located on private property and virtually inaccessible to the public. Another interesting one is Dismal Canyon in Alabama which features a light show courtesy of flying insects known colloquially as dismalites. Each entry involves a colored photo and a short description. References are included on the last page so that you can learn more about your favorites. This is a nice little zine, and it's a great value at only one dollar.
Maaike Davidson
PO Box 8891
Moscow, ID 83843
USA
sixth.minky@yahoo.com
Losers Weepers #1
Losers Weepers #1by J.T. Yost7" x 7 1/4", 44 pages, $5.00
Green Recycled Cover with B&W interior
Three fictional stories based on real items that the author found. The first one involves a journal with three revealing entries, the second one involves a vulgar poem written on an envelope, and the final story involves a strange note written on a napkin. I particularly enjoy Yost's artwork, but the stories that he weaves around these found items are also engaging and believable. Another impressive effort by Yost.
jtyost@gmail.com
www.birdcagebottombooks.com
www.theholyyost.blogspot.com
www.jtyost.com
It's Dream Time, Snoop Doggy Dogg
It's Dream Time, Snoop Doggy Dogg by J.T. Yost7" x 8 1/2", 20 pages, $4.00
Colored Recycled Cover with B&W interior
More dreams featuring celebrities told in comic form. These stories are bizarre and unusual and often nonsensical (as dreams tend to be, of course). Snoop Dogg makes an appearance, as well as Roseanne Barr, Dick Cheney, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Henry Rollins. My favorites were the ones with Dick Cheney and Henry Rollins. I love the depiction of the inside of Mr. Cheney's house, and I have to wonder how accurate it might be. And Henry Rollins as a hot dog vendor is just pure genius. This is a strange but enjoyable comic book.
jtyost@gmail.com
http://www.birdcagebottombooks.com/
http://www.theholyyost.blogspot.com/
Friday, January 21, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Basic Paper Airplane #3
BASIC PAPER AIRPLANE
POB 2645
Olympia, WA
98507
Essentially Basic Paper Airplane is a zine about zines from someone who has been making them for many years. It’s a perzine with historic leanings. The history comes in the form of an article entitled, “A Brief History of the US Postal System” wherein the author, Joshua, breaks down the history of mail delivery from the pony express to the current US Postal Service, in his own unique way. I loved the part about the pneumatic postal tube network established in Philadelphia in 1893. I’ve always felt like this is a seriously underused technology with all kinds of potential uses (pneumatic tube travel across the country? heck yea). The zine ends with an interesting story about traveling from Olympia to Boulder to attend the UTNE Reader’s independent writer award where a zine that he was involved with was nominated for zine of the year. It’s a great story full of colorful characters. Basic Paper Airplane is cut and Paste and great reading.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Up Until Now
Zine Showcase #5
Up Until Now #1 // £1.50 + shipping
Up Until Now #2 // £1.50 + shipping
Up Until Now #3 // £1.50 + shipping
Up Until Now #4 // £1.50 + shipping
Up Until Now #5 // £1.50 + shipping
Up Until Now #6 // Available Soon
If you'd like to buy them all you can do so for a discounted price;
you'll get the complete series including a few little extras.
Up Until Now #1 - #6 // £7.50
(UK-residents only)
Up Until Now #1 - #6 // £10
(Worldwide)
Whilst awaiting the arrival of several zines I'm taking a break from the usual reviews so that I might share with you my own latest editions. Is this cheating? I'm not entirely sure!
Up Until Now is a series of zines featuring my written work from January 2009 to December 2010; there are six* 24 page zines in total, hand stitched, printed in black and white and each one sold comes with an original drawing.
They are the most basic of zines, I have not added anything to them at all. I wanted a tangible, physical copy to read through and for others to share. They were originally written in small Moleskine cahier notebooks; I didn't want to alter them, they were never intended to be made into zines let alone read by so many people. Since they proved to be so popular I wanted to keep them as they were written, so here they are.
There is a little something more substantial on its way although I am going to keep that a secret for a little while longer..
* #6 will be available very soon!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
The Juniper #14
slightly less invisible
A new issue of The Juniper is done. Would you like one? If so, I can send you one for a stamp, two quarters, a trade, or some other kind of donation. Unless I'm already planning on sending you one, then you don't need to do anything except go about your daily life like nothing happened and lo and behold a crisp, clean copy of The Juniper #14 will eventually find it's way to your mailbox, at which point you can sit in your favorite chair and read all about my guerilla gardening misadventure, my building of a rocket stove, a couple recipes I highly recommend, as well as my usual ranting and raving. Oh, there are also a few letters to the editor included along with a couple other little tidbits of the typical fare.As per usual, you can contact me here:
Dan Murphy
PO Box 363
Edwardsville, IL 62025
USA
juniperjournal@hotmail.com
money can be sent by paypal to this address (especially if you happen to have a large sum of money you'd like to donate to the cause): messyelephant@hotmail.com
call to artists
welcome to bairfaystbooks ... this blog has been set up to showcase artist books as well as to host book-related postcards or photographs from around the world. if you have a bookshelf, access to a library/favourite bookstore, or are reading a great book ... send me a jpg and it will be posted. take a photo in the library ... take a photo of anything related to books and jpg me ... if you are a book artist and would like to pARTicipate in an upcoming exhibit of artist books in the Kootenay Region [and possibly elsewhere] ... send me a book ... send me a page to be inserted INTO an artist book - you can send me any black and white art by email for inclusion in an artist book [sorry no colour]. any items received by mail and/or incorporated into upcoming artist books will be included here and in the exhibit [2011] - more details on the exhibit to follow ... thanks for stopping by ... this blog will grow and you will be INspired!
If you would like to pARTicipate, send artist books, pages to be inserted into artist books, photographs, etc. to:
Unit 7 - 1735 Riverside Avenue
Trail, B.C. Canada V1R 3Z3
or email: gahlil2006@hotmail.com
When the artist is alive in any person,
whatever his kind of work may be, he
becomes an inventive, searching, daring,
self-expressive creature. He becomes
interesting to other people. He disturbs,
upsets, enlightens and opens ways for a
better understanding. Where those who are
not artists are trying to close the book, he
opens it and shows there are still more
pages possible.
- Robert Henri, The Art Spirit
