Hobson's Choice Review of Dorothea #2

 

 

Hobson's Choice Review of Dorothea #2

via pxs distro by Mike on 3/22/08

My oh my. I haven't been this hooked into a zine for a long time. Each story in this issue is bite-size but, like candy, you end up eating the whole package at once. What really grabbed my attention is how clearly the voice comes through; the style is beautiful. While most of the stories are on the dirty side with a large focus on sex and murder, there are a few pieces that transcend it. 'The Creep' is an unrealized character study, and it's backed up by stories about a painter named Ludwig. Now for the bad: Mike's grammar is pretty atrocious. Do not let this fool you into thinking that he cannot write, however; there is something very powerful in the way he conveys his stories. I put issue 2 down and felt the rush of inspiration again. If there is truly anything that can be considered 'American Writing' today, it's coming from the mind of Mike Baker.
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dream whip no. 11

dream whip no. 11

via paper/xerox/staples by adi on 1/16/08

dream whip no. 11 is one of the best zines I’ve read so far. It details the writer’s cross country trip from Texas to California then back across to New York with wonderful bite-sized stories, most of which are devoted to New York. Each snippet of the journey is filled with musings and little-known facts, well-painted descriptions and injected possibilities. In one piece he describes the evolution of subway car graffiti and how the writers still maneuver around the transit authority’s attempts to “clean” up their cars. Another contemplates an elevator and afterlife. The operator shuttles passengers up and below “like some MTA Charon.” With wit and, what I see as, self-honesty and understanding, dream whip beautifully delivers concise ADHD-suited morsels worth every penny of the 3 dollars it costs.

--adi