Random Notes 2

Random Notes 2: Pages of Blank Metal & Noise
by Matthew Rooney

36 pages, 11.5cm x 15cm. B&W print, cardboard cover. 


$4 (Canadian dollars)

Random Notes 2 is a follow up to the zine produced by Matthew Rooney in 2017 (read the review here). It's a hand bound collection of comics, illustrations, and collages, loving put together with a punk aesthetic. I say lovingly, because not only does gaffer tape look great as a spine, it also protects your fingers from those b@*t@rd staples. 

Taken together random notes form a satire on the state of American politics:

"No One Cares About Politics Unless There Is A Meme"

With side forays into sex, and the idiocy of human violence.

If you're into interesting little zines that fully embrace alternative diy culture Random Notes 2 is for you. You can see more images over on mjrzines.tumblr.com

To buy a copy email: mjjrooney {at} gmail {dot} com

Please say Syndicated Zine Reviews sent you.



Review by Nathan Penlington

The Gaysi Zine - Issue 5

The Gaysi Zine - Issue 5

156 pages. 28 x 22cm. Full colour. 

INR 400 + INR 50 (Delivery charge within India -  see below for international rates)

The theme for the latest issue of The Gaysi Zine is desire in its tangle of emotion, instinct, passion and confusion, in its myriad of voices, perspectives and realities. As the editors outline in their introduction, storytelling is the key to insight, and 

"the zine in many ways is an attempt at providing a common platform for all these different realities, not just to give them a way to the world and hence become something shared, but also to come together to paint a bigger picture of where we are as a queer conscience".

The zine achieves that and more. The content is clearly lovingly curated, beautifully designed, with a truly international range of contributors. It is by turns provocative, evocative, and erotic.

The contents range from documentary comic strips, short stories, poetry, guides to help you achieve multiple orgasms and improve your scissoring technique, to personal memoir. 

To quote the editors once again: 

"Desire is our weapon against an automated existence". 

Don't deny your desire to get your hands on The Gaysi Zine. Order a copy now. 


Check out Gaysi zine online here: gaysifamily.com/tag/gaysizine

To order visit: instamojo.com/GaysiFamily/the-gaysi-zine-issue-5-156-pages-mrp-400-del


**For International Delivery: please write to gaysifamily@gmail.com with the subject lines ‘Booking The Gaysi Zine – mention the number of copies’, and the Gaysi family will take it forward from there.**


Review by Nathan Penlington. My reviews of previous issues are here. 

If you're into it! - Episode 1

If you're into it! - Episode 1: Hit the dance floor!

By Celeste Inez Mathilda

64 pages, 8.5x5.5 inches. 

$4 / trades / PWYC

In the interest of transparency I must state up front - I LOVE CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE. 

(For those of you who might not remember Choose Your Own Adventure books are those in which you are instructed to choose between two or more options at the bottom of a page, then you turn to the indicated page number to continue reading).

The original series is very close to my heart - my last project was a live interactive documentary about the books that inspired a generation*. I have a collection of hundreds and hundreds of books and zines that have used the 'Turn to page...' structure familiar to every Choose Your Own Adventure reader - everything from popular culture to parody.

This is all by way of saying - you can imagine my response when Celeste emailed to ask if I'd be interested in reviewing this zine!

Consent is an hugely important topic, particularly in a climate where actions of those not given consent often go unpunished, and are often not punishable. Despite the potential heaviness of the themes the writing in If You're Into It! has wit and a lightness of touch, and uses some of the tropes of Choose Your Own Adventure to good effect - particularly if you choose to follow a situation that ends badly.     

If you're into it! uses a gender free central character, you - much in the same way Edward Packard conceived of his original books. Taking it further, Celeste expands that fluidity to every other character you meet too. Setting up the story as an 'erotic, or not' adventure gives the narrative drive and anticipation, but using the decision making of the reader to explore different facets of consent I think really works - coupling desire with awareness of others. (It stands directly in opposition to the reprehensible Behind Closed Doors for example, another choose your own style 'erotic' adventure but in which you can live out your fantasy of being raped by clowns. No, I. Kid. You. Not.)

There are more zines planned in this series that overlap with the story started in this issue. I'm interested to see what other avenues of consent are pursued - many of which have the potential to be more subtle, serious, or complex. 

If you're into it! is really well executed, handled with humour and understanding - go support!

Buy a copy via Etsy: etsy.com/listing/476189444/if-youre-into-it-episode-1-hit-the-dance

Or contact ofcourseyoucandistro [at] gmail [dot] com



*One of the lasting outcomes of that project was becoming friends with Edward Packard - the originator of Choose Your Own Adventure - who at 86 is still writing and creating. His latest book It's a Miracle It Wasn't Worse, published this month, is a memoir throughout which he considers the consequences of choice and the ramifications of not actively choosing but coasting. 


Review by Nathan Penlington

Non Monogamy 101 - a primer for questioning compulsory monogamy

Non Monogamy 101
40 pages, 1/2 digest
$5 + postage

Adelaide Barton puts out a series of zines with individual titles, as opposed to consecutive issues of the same title. From what I can tell, they are all of similar style and quality, both of which are nice. Hand written and hand drawn.

Non Monogamy is just what it says: an introduction to the topic for those who may not have given it much thought, and perspectives to think about for those who have already formed opinions on the matter.

It starts off by listing numerous forms of non monogamy, both in our times and historically, along with a list of famous people who have practiced one form or another, (you could add Margaret Sanger to the list.) All points are exemplified with quotes of numerous people living various non monogamous lives. Barton does this as she works though subtopics like communication and jealousy, then she ties it all up with a further reading list and an extensive glossary.

The tone is friendly, affirming, and non-accusatory. There's a thin fuzzy line between bringing awareness and legitimacy to a thing, and actively advocating for it, and she stays for the most part in the realm of acceptance of everyone, monogamous or not, as much as anyone objectively could.

Extra points for the Dan Savage quotes.

Order
https://www.etsy.com/listing/270683805/non-monogamy-101-a-primer-for?ref=shop_home_active_1

Contact
ladygardens00 at gmail
that's
ladygardens(zero zero) at gmail

review by Jack Cheiky
This zine is being donated to the Cleveland Zine Library after review.

A High Degree

A High Degree - Elizabeth Maycox. 

A5, 34 pages, full colour inserts. Edition of 50. 

£4.50



A compelling literary confessional of loss and longing. With coloured photographs printed on handmade cotton paper ingeniously inserted to overlap and wraparound page edges. The start of each section is punctuated by sentences printed on contrasting paper, forming haiku-like prologues. 

The text follows the narrator's travels and remembrances via Aberdeen and India, a journey to forget and to find, backwards and forwards through romantic encounters and sexual liaisons. 

"The way you smile when we're making love makes me sick. This is supposed to be an excorcism, not that donkey ride at Blackpool beach when you were seven years old wearing your sailor suit and screaming at jelly fish the size of your head". 

It's serious and witty, tender and provocative. The cumulative effect is a poetic, sometimes unnerving, zine of subtle strength.   

Buy a copy of A High Degree here: http://tenderly.bigcartel.com

For more about Elizabeth's work visit: http://elizabethmaycox.co.uk

Review by Nathan Penlington