Zine Review: Scam #5 1/2

Zine Review: Scam #5½

via Trading Stories with the Leaves by Trading Stories on 11/29/07

Arnold Zwicky wrote an interesting post for Language Log recently, about the blurred edges of technical and everyday words. He pointed out how "the common-language use of epicenter for the central point of an event" is slightly different from its original jargon meaning: "Technically, it's the location on the earth's surface over the place where the earthquake event happened, undergound."

When Erick Lyle named Scam #5½ "The Epicenter of Crime: The Hunt's Donuts Story", borrowing the phrase from a news broadcast, I suspect he was using epicenter in the common-language sense. But the technical meaning is perhaps even more fitting, because Hunt's Donuts — beneath the "OPEN 25 HOURS" neon sign — was the point where the underground centre was reflected on the surface. It was the place where the petty criminal underworld of San Francisco's Mission district met the world of the upstanding citizenry.

You can read part of the Hunt's Donuts story in a March 2000 article in the SF Weekly. By that time it was called Magic Donuts, and the city was trying to force the new owners to shut the place down, using their tactic of suing "Mom and Pop" store owners for social problems beyond their control. But if you want the full story, the real story of Hunt's Donuts on 20th and Mission, you need to read Scam #5½.

In Lyle's story, the Magic Donuts dispute is just the latest episode in a long history:

... the story of Hunt's is both less and more than news. Its a rumor, an illicit history, the pull of the gravity of the epicenter of crime. At 20th and Mission, battles to control the identity of the Mission have been acted out again and again, between ever changing sets of police and thieves over the years. In the story that follows we have the Irish cop who shut down the mission's Latino bars as his father shut down the city's gay bars. We have the young kid who couldn't beat the Hunt's sponsored team on the baseball diamond who grew up to try to shut down the shop as police captain. We have the Latino teenagers who hung out in front of Hunt's framed for a cop's murder in the famed trial of Los Siete de la Raza.

Hunt's Donuts was a microcosm of the Mission community, capturing both its successes and its failures, its hopes and its tragedies. Established by a pillar of the business community but condemned by the police, it was simultaneously a place where families would buy donuts after mass on Sunday and a place where drunks and junkies would trade goods of dubious provenance. In Scam #5½, Lyle brings the place alive on the page.

We see Hunt's through the eyes of its owners, its customers, the growing Latino population, the police — both sympathetic and otherwise, the drunks, the punks, and the yuppies moving in and gentrifying the Mission. Ultimately, Lyle is sad about Hunt's closing after 52 years as a Mission institution, and it is easy to see why: love it or loathe it, Hunt's Donuts was in the thick of things. Scam #5½ is a comprehensive social history and a pleasure to read.

Erick Lyle, Scam #5½, ¼ size, 32 pages.
Available from Paper Trail, Needles + Pens, McPheeters and Microcosm

Hobson's Choice

Hobson's Choice #2
28 Pages Digest
$1.50 US, $2 other,

Mostly fiction vignettes about sex and drugs and violence. Not bad; not great; good mix of writers. Good for on the bus, standing line, in the head, etc.

Daniel Dominowski

908 Woodhill Tr

Augusta GA 30909

www.hobsonschoicezine.com
ddscouser@yahoo.com

My Fat Irish Ass

My Fat Irish Ass #(Minus)8:
44 Pages, Full Size
$2 or $20 for all 9 issues

Tomfoolery and blasphemy in big, easy to read print. Refreshingly childish with something to offend everyone. You can't help but love and admire a man who takes the time to run a meticulous reverse-Nigerian email scam. The altered Blondie and Family Circus cartoon are hysterical, and his scathing comments on the Washington Political scene are spot-on and FUNNY.

MFIA, PO Box 65391, Washington DC 20035

Zine Review: No Better Voice #30

Zine Review: No Better Voice #30

via Trading Stories with the Leaves by Trading Stories on 11/14/07

In No Better Voice #30 Jami has opted to stand back and showcase her friends' work. She has pulled together a disparate collection of contributions; some are fictional, some are factual, and there is no apparent overarching theme.

The strongest piece is from Christina LaRose. It is the story of a young girl progressing through a ballet school, and it is a love-hate story. It is the story of an abusive relationship, of a culture that inflicts physical and mental pain but promises happiness: "a world of pain—a world of pain ensconsed in a smile".

I was drawn in by the first-person perspective (perhaps it is autobiographical?) and despite having no experience of ballet lessons I could nonetheless feel the horrible conformist pressure being put on the protagonist. Her body is the wrong shape, and she must be bound to eliminate unsightly curves:

When I get home, I pull the First Aid kit out of the medicine cabinet and roll ace bandages over my breasts, my waist, my hips. I am a shrinking creature, a mummy. I jokingly wrap a bandage over my face. Dad walks by and laughts.

"You've bandaged yourself out of existence!" he says.

I smile yes, yes, yes beneath the medicinal smell of the cloth covering my eyes.

While No Better Voice #30 is worth reading just for this story, there is plenty more to read. I also enjoyed Jenny Bloomer's "Shark attack!", a story about how wearing a dress turns her into prey at the bar, a target for sexual predators. It is evocatively illustrated by LB.

For something a little different, Shaun Allen has contributed a fascinating short history of the Revolutionary Union Movement in the US auto industry in the late 1960s and the 1970s. The movement was made up of several small union locals that challenged not only employers but also the tame-cat United Autoworkers, which had a poor record on including black workers in its leadership positions. Inspirational stuff, though the movement was short-lived. It's nice to see some history in a zine like this.

Jami Thompson (ed), No Better Voice #30, 1/4 size, 32 pages.
Split with Marked for Life #2. Available from Eye Candy, Stranger Danger and Paper Trail.

Zine Review: Marked for Life #2

Zine Review: Marked for Life #2

via Trading Stories with the Leaves by Trading Stories on 11/6/07

It's easy to see why Sage Adderley describes the tale of her young family's move to a new city as a "love story". She and her husband, Garrett, seem genuinely to have fallen head-over-heels for Philadelphia during a brief visit — less than a day — during a family holiday.

Their excitement is palpable from the outset:

We parked and got out of the car to let the girls stretch and we began being tourist. We walked away from center city and towards the more residential area. We saw multiple community gardens, sides of buildings covered with mosaic tiling and city parks filled with children. My husband and I fell in love. We looked at each other knowing that we could call Philadelphia home.

There begins an exciting adventure as the Adderleys tumble towards their new goal, crashing through obstacles like finding work and accommodation, transporting belongings, and settling their young daughters in a new town.

Sage's descriptions in Marked for Life #2 would make anyone want to live in Philadelphia. She sees a place of history and culture, with free concerts and community gardens, churches and bicycles and craft markets. Her daughters, Emily and Bella, have made new friends and enjoy visiting the Philadelphia Zoo, which Sage regards as "[t]he best zoo I have been to."

Love stories can be tedious if all we hear are the lovely things the besotted says about the object of their affection. A good love story recognises that there are two parties to a relationship, and gives us an insight into both. The real joy in reading Marked for Life #2 is in learning about Sage's ideas and hopes for her family. Her love for Philadelphia is not for its streets and buildings, but for its multicultural community and the opportunity it provides her children to learn and play and grow.

These issues were raised by Mike Kraus in A New Tomorrow #23, through his introspective consideration of the role of place in his life. Sage doesn't slow down much to reflect in the cautious way Mike does — she is too busy with home-schooling and concerts and family visits and proselytising Philadelphia — but the two zines sit very comfortably together, and I recommend reading both alongside each other.

My own plans to move to another city with my partner are still some months away, our train fares are paid, and we have signed on to start new jobs when we arrive; yet I still feel apprehensive about leaping into the unknown. It is very reassuring to read about a spur-of-the-moment intercity move that has been so successful, and that has made Sage and her family so happy. I will be keeping Marked for Life #2 near to hand to remind me that these ventures should be more exciting than scary.

Sage Adderley, Marked for Life #2, 1/4 size, 32 pages.
Split with No Better Voice #30. Available from Sage's own Eye Candy, as well as Stranger Danger and Paper Trail.

Zine Review: Skin Deep #2

Zine Review: Skin Deep #2

via Trading Stories with the Leaves by Trading Stories on 11/6/07

The importance of zines to fascist organising is explained in White Noise:

Over the years an underground network of nazi skinhead magazines[,] "skinzines", had been constructed. ... With the politicisation that being in contact with other skinheads brought, it was common to find that an address over a period of time went through three stages: a skinzine address; contact for a skinhead crew; then finally a contact point for a fascist organisation.

With that in mind, Deep Skin #2 is a must-read for anti-racist campaigners. It is a beautiful skinzine written by a violent racist... poet. Make no mistake, this is a serious bonehead: "Its for the dude who doesn't want to be a total gay if he is just trying to write some poems. So you can fuck off."

The zine is characterised by childish handwriting, naive sketches, bad spelling and a preoccupation with homosexuality. A sample:

Regret I had one time

knife
I am sorry I forgot you at home
knife
I am sorry you didnt get to party
knife/since dad that homo left you are
my best friend
knife
the block of concrete meant nothing
to me
knife

Like all good satire, Skin Deep #2 is effective because it is so accurate. Poems about "knife" and boots and being "too fucking tough / to have friends / or love" skewer the ultra-masculinity of the racist scene. And when the nazi twins are in the headlines, complaints about "weak" kids books are spot on: "my son doesn't need some fuzzy tiger teaching him how to be a fag".

I hope some real boneheads accidentally read this zine and see what utter morons they are.

Anonymous, Skin Deep #2, 1/4 size, 36 pages.
Available from Microcosm.

Super Shorts #1, White Elephant Productions

Super Shorts #1, White Elephant Productions

via Small Press Newsroom by -AF on 10/25/07

Super Shorts #1, White Elephant Productions. Jeff Brister writer, Alex De-Gruchy writer and Darrel Miller artist and writer. Full size comic, color cover, black and white interior pages with grey tones. 12 pages. Printed by Ka-Blam.

Well this is a very short comic, with three short stories. First we have Captain Mighty in BULLET PROOF by Darrel Miller. This story was drawn simply, but well. Sort of a parody of Shazam it seems. A surprise ending. Slow Day by Jeff Brister and Darrel Miller. The story has a bit of an edge, "It's just fun. Even when people want to kill others." This super character has no problem with an alien. Too bad this didn't have more going on...it was just starting to build up to something. Recruitment Drive by Alex De-Gruchy and Darrel Miller. This story has more going on and the art has more detail showing that Darrel can do more if given the right story perhaps...I liked the premise of auditioning for a super-villain to join the team with unexpected results. The ending was good. Overall I'd say that if they all worked together on a story that was more like 24 pages, and let Darrel take his time and work on the art a bit more as to backgrounds and such....they could have something here. I see on their blog that they plan to have issues out on a regular basis. That is good to hear as they will surely improve by staying at it. I'm eager to see more by these guys and hope they take more time and develop more of a story. I liked the art in each story, especially the last one. Maybe if they keep some of these characters going, they can find their voice and really get something going here. I liked the fact that each story was a comedy and hope they stay this course. Oh and the cover is very simple but effective. Like the silver age Fantastic Four font on the cover, nice touch. (3 out of five "super" stars) The book has no price but does have some contact info in the inside back cover: www.supershorts.blogspot.com or email Darrel Miller: dm52082@hotmail.com or Jeff Brister: brister.jeff@gmail.com or Alex De-Gruchy: rockand jack@yahoo.co.uk

NEW STARS anthology available now

NEW STARS anthology available now

via Cartoonist Conspiracy by Colin Tedford on 10/24/07

The Trees & Hills Comics Group's latest anthology NEW STARS is now available for online purchase at Trees & Hills Comix Distro! The anthology debuted at SPX in October 2007, and since that month also marked the 50th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik, we took that as our theme. We're not some kind of fascists, though, so every piece didn't have to be about Sputnik itself - most of them do relate to space in some way, though. This all-ages anthology by the Trees & Hills Comic Group features an eye-popping full-color cover by Gregory Giordano and comics by Daniel Barlow, Marek Bennett, Miles Cota, Colleen Frakes, Cat Garza, Chris Grotke, Jade Harmon, Tim Hulsizer, Matt Levin, Keith Moriarty, Kathie Mullen, Raymond Prado, Matthew Reidsma, Colin Tedford, and Anne Thalheimer. 5.5" x 8.5", 52 pgs. $3.00

Homeland Insecurity

Homeland Insecurity
DVD
$10

Three films by Bill Brown. The first 15:00 minutes, Hub City, is a brilliant, moody, mesmerizing, stark, and often stunning piece of audio-visual poetry about Brown's hometown, Lubbock Texas. He perfectly taps into that strange timelessness certain rural areas exude, and further goes on to capture the surreal effect one gets when mixing that with more modern things like doppler radar and UFO sightings, and then mixing in the longing, quiet solitude of the landscape. Absolutely outstanding. The middle film is a music video. The third film, The Other Side, 43:00 minutes, was shot on a 2000 mile journey along the U.S.-Mexico border. Filmed on both sides of the border, this avoids the pitfall of making an overt political statement and focuses instead on the often overlooked circumstance that between the U.S. and Mexico there is a third culture that has always been there. There are whole landscapes of people who cross the street from one country to the other to buy milk and eggs. While it doesn't give answers to current issues, it sure makes you think.

order from Microcosm

Zine Review: Mend My Dress #5

Zine Review: Mend My Dress #5

via Trading Stories with the Leaves by Trading Stories on 10/15/07

Subtitled "Girl love, girl revolution, stories of friendship", Mend My Dress #5 is a joyous memoir of childhood friends and crushes:

monkey bars. she smelled like watermelon shampoo and dirt. she had soft brown eyes and she could run way faster than me. she never showed off. i fell in love with her as hard as a second grade girl can.

There are stories about wanting to be sisters, fits of schoolyard jealousy, playing in the garden and just "loving our days together". There are stories about man pants and short hair, and thrift store adventures, and first kisses. It is impossible not to be swept up by the excitement in Neely's voice as she describes her friends and the good times they shared.

Occasional references to dark events (the subject of earlier issues) make Mend My Dress #5 all the more interesting: these are the girls that helped Neely get through an incredibly difficult period of her life.

I'm reluctant to use the phrase "coming of age", but it's hard to avoid, since the zine covers friends from pre-school through to high school. Each represents a new level of maturity, but without preachy introspection. It doesn't matter whether Neely's writing about holding hands in pre-school or going to punk shows in high school, you can remember those feelings.

It is a rollicking read that will make you think about your own childhood friends — you'll remember the stupid things you did together, and wonder what they're up to now.

Neely Bat Chestnut, Mend My Dress #5, 1/2 size, 20 pages.
Available from Eye Candy.

Time Warp Comix #1 and #2-Weird Muse Productions

Time Warp Comix #1 and #2-Weird Muse Productions

via Small Press Newsroom by -AF on 10/9/07

Time Warp Comix #1 and #2 from Weird Muse Productions. These are the start of a mini comic series by editor and artist Dan W. Taylor. This first issue is on orange paper stock, 8 pages with covers. $1 ppd per issue. Dan has started up this series as a mini comix project dedicated to the memory of Clay Geerdes and Comicx World / Comix Wave. Some of the contributors worked for Clay back in the days of Comix Wave and some just want to tip their hat to Clay by contributing to this series. First strip "I Remember Clay" by Jim Valentino. A great short story about Clay and how he inspired creators to "Just Draw!". Next story is: "Just a Couple of Geezers" by Vjtko. Very good art and story and the back cover is by the late, Michael Roden. Which is nice to see. Michael passed away in August of this year and the small press community will miss him. #2 has work by David Miller, Jim Siergey and Michael Roden. Another great issue. Oh, and you don't have an authentic copy of Time Warp Comix unless it is signed by Dan W. Taylor! (5 out of 5) Wish these were more than just 8 pages.
$1 ppd per issue (I know of at least 4 issues out by now) Dan W. Taylor/1833 Guntle Rd./New Lebanon, OH 45345 or get them at: http://weirdmuse.ecrater.com

Hate Song #2- Fred Grisolm

Hate Song #2- Fred Grisolm

via Small Press Newsroom by -AF on 10/9/07

Hate Song #2 is a collection of some of the web comic Hate Song by Fred Grisolm. This is a 6 1/2" x 6 1/2" book with color covers and black and white with gray tones interior of strips. Very nicely printed I should add. Cover price $3. The strip is about Berry and Lewis two guys that move into a house as they are nephews of a Mr. Laudermelk. The brothers are very strange and one is actually shooting at school kids with rifle (something that I don't think should be in a comic to give kids more ideas along these lines.), the other is collecting his fecal matter in the freezer and documenting it in a notebook for research. Strange stuff to be sure. Even though this is wacky weirdness the art is so good that you follow along and can't resist wanting to read more about these characters. I'm sure Fred is just pushing the envelope here to get attention, something I'm sure will happen when more people read his comics. There are 3 bonus pages with descriptions of some of the characters, in the back. (4 out of 5) He didn't put in any credits, how to order or any other info than a few web addresses hidden in the back of the book. Oh, there is a very strange one page strip (mature audiences for all of this stuff by the way.) and it does credit the artist Jamie Dee Galey. "Fred and Jamie". I happened to have some of these nice creators from Canada sitting next to me in San Diego this year. Their books were very popular. I'll be reviewing more of their work here soon. You can purchase this book and more like it at: www.hatesong.com/items just scroll down the page a bit to see them. Also read more at: http://hate-song.livejournal.com/ and http://boxcarcomics.com/ click HERE for a online interview with Fred Grisolm that I just found on the net. Enjoy!

KA-WHUMP #3 IS HERE!!

KA-WHUMP #3 IS HERE!!

via Small Press Newsroom by -AF on 10/3/07

Press Release:

KA-WHUMP #3 IS HERE!!

Posted by: "Floydman" blackmirth@hotmail.com

Tue Oct 2, 2007 11:02 pm (PST)

If you are looking for a magazine full of
small press news and reviews, articles, columns, comics, letters,
ads, and a whole bunch of other stuff we can't think of right now,
then get on the ball and get your copy of Ka-Whump! #3 hot off the
presses and featuring a look at the women of small press, including
interviews with Willie Hewes (Amaranth), Shawnti Therrien (Am I
Immortal), Charlene Chua (Slam Bang cover artist) and Marianne R.
Petit (When I was Three), plus Mr. Emergency creator Wade Busby gives
us a guide to surviving comic cons from BOTH sides of the table,
Allen Freeman and Dan Nauenburg wrap up this year's San Diego Comic
Con International in words and pictures, Comics by Nauenburg, Pavlet,
Wright, McEnany and Montero, over 65 reviews of small press comics
and zines and much MUCH more wrapped up in a stunning front cover by
Sonia Leong (Romeo and Juliet: The Manga) and a dark yet hauntingly
beautiful back cover by Shawnti Therrien!

It's a 48 page steal at only $3.50 plus $1.00 a pop!
Order by snail mail with check or money order to:

Robert L. Sumner
311 N. Widow Creek Rd.
Otis, OR. 97368

or PayPal $4.50 postage included to floydman@ka-whump.com

Backseat Drivers #1 #2 #3 #4

Backseat Drivers- #1-4 Cosmic Moustache Comics

via Small Press Newsroom by -AF on 9/29/07

Clint Basinger is the artist, writer and publisher of Cosmic Moustache Comics. His first series is Backseat Drivers. #1-4 tells the complete story so you really need to get them all. You'll be introduced to some very strange characters with some very strange powers. The art is wonderful and reminds me of comics of the 60's like ZAP Comics mixed with more modern works like Mark Martin's Gnatrat. But really you just have to see it for yourself. The story is hard to follow at first but just stay with it and some of it will come clear eventually. There are lots of funny bits here and there and it totally doesn't take itself seriously and that is where the fun lies. You never know what is going to happen next! Totally unexpected adventure yarn. Get these books now, before everyone discovers Clint's work and buys them all up! He has some new comics in the works such as "The Cosmic Norseman versus The Unbelieveable Laundry Detergent Man, Electric Ninja Punks and Lobster Tales. (5 out of 5) Highly original work here.
Get the COSMIC-PACKAGE: All 4 comics, A T-Shirt and a Sketch shipped for $20.00
Or get a T-Shirt shipped for $12.00, or get a Cosmic Moustache for only $5 with the purchase of 2 or more comics get a Moustache for $3. Or just the comics for $3 each. Anyway write to Clint at: Clint Basinger/10404 Campground Road/Lewisport, KY 42351 or email him: clintbasinger@hotmail.com or check out this link: www.comicspace.com/cosmicmoustachecomics

 

 

Hobson's Choice #1

Hobson's Choice #1
20 Pages, Digest/Chapbook
$1 US, $2 Can/Mex, $3 elsewhere

Outstanding. One of the best I've read in ages. Mostly prose with a bit of (very rough) original art. Odd and intriguing, it's hard to tell what parts are fiction and what parts are not. Seemingly random paragraphs delineated by changing fonts, flow one after another, with a couple longer vignettes mixed in. There's a definite cohesion from beginning to end. This could be written by a mentally ill person trying to write serious literature, or a clever person purposefully blurring the lines, or a technically good writer who either has a very short attention span or who spliced together a bunch of odds and ends and leftovers. Unless you happen to know the writer, there's just no way to be sure. But in any case, the writing is just plain good. Moves along at a good pace and is a quick read. More please.

Daniel Dominowski

908 Woodhill Tr

Augusta GA 30909

www.myspace.com/hobsonszine

Zine Review: Bright Lights #2

 

 

Zine Review: Bright Lights #2

via Trading Stories with the Leaves by Trading Stories on 9/23/07

Bright Lights #2 is young without being naive. Sure, Katie writes about her PE class and her relationship with her mother, but it's not all angsty whining. These subjects are largely platforms for her thoughts on social class and the homeless.

So, for instance, Katie's complaint about PE is that "swinging around a racket in a stuffy tennis bubble makes me feel like a snob"; her arguments with her mother are political, about the causes of homelessness.

The second half of the zine is almost meditative, with some peaceful thoughts about rain and clouds:

One of my favourite things to do is just walk around aimlessly in the rain wearing a thick hooded sweater. I love to feel the rain collect on the bridge of my nose while I watch people hussle around like ants.

Me too!

Katie Joa, Bright Lights #2, 1/4 size, 20 pages.

 

 

Zine Review: 8LETTERS #1

 

 

Zine Review: 8LETTERS #1

via Trading Stories with the Leaves by Trading Stories on 9/23/07

I don't have a tattoo. I have thought about it, but since I'm not passionately committed to the idea, I'm sure I'll regret it later -- I picture Derek Vinyerd covering up the large swastika on his chest.

But not all tattoos can be covered up, and I've often wondered how their owners deal with their regrets. 8LETTERS is "a little book of knuckle tattoos", and it collects interviews Johnny NoPants conducted with strangers he met on his travels. He asks people what they have tattooed on their knuckles, why those eight letters are significant, and what the consequences of the tattoos have been.

There are flashes of humour, like Shawn showing his "FUCK NYPD" to the police, or this exchange with Kimya:

8- Do you ever wish you had different knucklers?

K- the only other ones that I though[t] would be fun, but I wouldn't rather have, would be Capri sun or juicebox.

8- I'm glad you got LAFF LOUD.

For many of the interviewees, the tattoos are an expression of defiance against the system. These people are making a statement that they don't want to fit in. As Kimya says, "I wouldn't work at a place that wouldn't let me have them".

Usually I enjoy this kind of screw-the-Man attitude, but in 8LETTERS #1 it's mostly just depressing. Zane tattooed himself while sitting in his high school class; two months later, he's already unhappy that "because of the exclamation marks, people cant really read it", and he's dropped out of school. Lil J had his done in prison, to remind him of his former life. Josh, too:

He told me how he went to prison, and got "25to Life" tattoed on his knuckles, but after getting released he wanted to remove them to "get a decent job." He couldn't afford to get them laser removed, so he tore them off himself with a razor blade and packed them in salt. This left him with scars in the shape of 25to Life.

None of this has brought me any closer to wanting a tattoo, but it was definitely an interesting read. I'd love to see a follow-up with some of the interview subjects, to see what they're doing and whether they still like their tattoos in another five to ten years. Unfortunately, their transient lifestyles -- as Lil J's knuckles put it, "HOBOCORE" -- mean that's highly unlikely. I'll just have to cross my fingers that things turn out okay for them.

Johnny NoPants, 8LETTERS #1, 1/4 size, 32 pages.
Available from Microcosm.

 

 

 

 

Zine Review: The Jaws of Life

 

 

Zine Review: The Jaws of Life

via Trading Stories with the Leaves by Trading Stories on 9/13/07

This brilliant mini-zine is a bizarre biography.

A first attempt was written about encounters with the yeti, but this was aborted due to typewriter difficulties. Instead, we are treated to a handwritten explanation of Gorbott's extraterrestrial origins. He writes:

i was transported to earth in some sort of space ship. i think something must have gone wrong in the cockpit, because i was dropped off in arlington, texas.

The illustrations were produced by "allowing my subconscious to dictate the movements of the pen rather than my critical conscious." I think this means he wasn't looking at the page while he drew, and the results are a series of slightly disconcerting but still recognisable portraits. The subjects do not bear any relation to the text, but somehow that seems to make more sense.

The Jaws of Life is very well executed. Gorbott's casual style and sense of humour avoid the potential pitfalls of silliness and pretentiousness. Instead, the zine is imaginative and playfully absurd, and it leaves the reader wishing it was longer.

The Gorbott, The Jaws of Life, 1/8 size, 12 pages.
Available from the author.

 

 

 

 

Zine Review: From the Desk of Business Chimp

 

Zine Review: From the Desk of Business Chimp

via Trading Stories with the Leaves by Trading Stories on 9/13/07

Sean Bieri's From the Desk of Business Chimp is a mini-comic comprising seven single-panel sketches of chimpanzees wearing suits in workaday situations.

Sounds a bit silly, but Bieri really captures the daily grind of office work. I can relate to every single page (well, except the one about smoking), and I think a scanned image of "Business Chimp regrets sending that last email" might come in handy.

From the Desk of Business Chimp is brief but entertaining, and worth picking up. I'm going to keep my eyes peeled for the sequel: Overtime for Business Chimp.

Sean Bieri, From the Desk of Business Chimp, 1/4 size, 8 pages.
Available from Microcosm.

 

 

Zine Review: Chainbreaker #4

 

 

Zine Review: Chainbreaker #4

via Trading Stories with the Leaves by Trading Stories on 9/12/07

Chainbreaker #4 is really badly organised -- or at least, my copy is. I should say this up front, because it got in the way of my jumping straight in to read it through.

It looks like there was a fight with the photocopier with no clear winner. Instructions for brake adjustments begin unintroduced with steps 4 to 6 on an upside-down page 15, before finishing with steps 1 to 3 on page 35. Worse still, some stories seem to be missing bits -- Moose's "Bike Nation" article seems to jump back a couple of pages, with at least a couple of sentences missing in the middle.

These frustrations aside, when I'd grappled with those layout issues enough to get properly stuck in to Chainbreaker #4, I found it was a vibrant, passionate and informative discussion about bikes, the people who ride them, and the problems of gender, capitalism and urban planning that confront them. The writing is truly inspiring:

[O]ne of the main reasons I love the bicycle so much is that you don't need a car to use it. I like the rides that begin and end at my back gate. The rides that take me through old familiar neighbourhoods, winding crazy loops that criss-cross the city and eventually, bring me back home again.

These contributors love their bikes, and they love their cities. Being out in the open air as they commute or courier or play gives them a stronger connection to the streets they move through. For Sean, a ride across town "brought back a rush of memories". Now that he lives too close to work to ride there, he thinks back to a bicycle commute and says "it made me feel alive." Scott Spitz describes similar feelings: "This is how I celebrate freedom."

But it's not all rosy all the time. Freedom comes with risks, like Moose's "broken teeth that I got from being nailed by a minivan on my bike" or "the cyclist that got killed in the French quarter last night". But these horror stories are taken as inspiration: for a documentary (One Shoe in the Road, about "struck riders and their stories"), or a bike conference, or a more inclusive town planning system. And there is plenty advice on keeping safe, including tips for riding in traffic, and instructions for maintaining your brakes.

Zines and bicycles are both low-tech in a high-tech world, and Chainbreaker #4 is a celebration of both. It's about getting stuck in with scissors and glue and bolts and grease. It makes me glad I own a bike -- and guilty that I don't ride often enough.

Shelley, Chainbreaker #4, 1/2 size, 48 pages.
Available from UrbanVelo, Microcosm and Paper Trail.