On Subbing: the first four years

On Subbing: the first four years
by Dave Roche

18cm x 13cm, 128 pages

Cost: offered as part of Microcosm Publishing sliding scale pricing $4-$6

Another of Microcosm's excellent zine compilations. On Subbing collects together four years worth of zines by Dave Roche that chronicle his experiences in special education classrooms. 

At 25 Dave felt he needed a change - like many people he'd fallen into a rut of a permanent temporary job which he hated. "I wanted a job where I felt like I was doing something worthwhile", he explains in the introduction. A surprisingly easy job interview later and he was hired as a substitute Education Assistant. 

The range of behaviours of students in special education classes vary from kids from troubled backgrounds, those with autism, and certain children unable to feel or move their body from the neck down. Ages range from pre-kindergarten, to post high-school life skills transition classes with young adults up to twenty-one years old. The varying degrees of educational needs, and age ranges, puts a huge demand on the abilities of the EA, and the nature of subbing means you might not have any clue where you'll be helping out until the phone rings that morning.

Dave had no prior experience before his first day of subbing, so we get an inside view of Dave's progression in the class room over the years, his ability to cope with difficult situations with humility and patience, or at the very least an outer veneer of patience. 

Dave's writing is full of charm, and his honesty is disarming, both for the reader and clearly for even the most difficult of kids. He's funny, willing to play the fool, full of heart and empathy, and completely unafraid to put himself on the ambiguous line morally to act in a way he believes is right. 

This is the 3rd edition of this compilation, and quite rightly, it's truly a great zine. 

You can order a copy direct from Microcosm: microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/books/1010

Review by Nathan Penlington 

Don't Be Retarded #1

Don't Be Retarded #1: Autistic Pride in a Neurophobic World 

Edited by Joe Biel / Microcosm Publishing

11cm x 18cm, 64 pages

$5 USD

"Autism advocacy has focused on the rights and struggles of parents over the past 30 years, resulting in an invisible population of disordered adults who have little voice and less support for what they are going though."

Don't Be Retarded is a new zine started by Joe Biel, the founder and manager of Microcosm Publishing, as a way to help counteract that trend and to foster "a social movement for the neurodiverse". It's an important aim. Those with invisible disabilities suffer the double ignominy of the burden of explanation followed by the resultant disability stigma. 

Joe explains the inspiration for the zine's title: 

"I began polling my Autistic mentees and peers. Just like me, everyone has suffered under the word 'retarded'. But taking the word away without taking away the stigma, bias, and attitude does nothing to take away the hurt and only insults our intelligence further". 

The contributors to Don't Be Retarded have largely been diagnosed as Autistic in adulthood, and although every individual has unique experiences, there are common themes of alienation, despair, and seeking acceptance, that run throughout the pieces.  

'Things I no longer have' by Eliot Daughtry is an insightful look at the sound equipment crucial to surviving 50 years prior to a diagnosis, and how the function of behaviours can be manifold; Partly Robot relates their experiences of working the perfect job for the detail orientated; Aaron Poliwoda's comic Autism-Man V's the evil Neurotypical discusses the difficulties surrounding a lack of Autism awareness; Tammy Porter contributes a moving reflection on a life lived undiagnosed; Ricki Bransen examines the lenses our lives are viewed through; Temple Grandin looks at how to reduce stigma by getting good at something; and Joe Biel's pieces offer a thought provoking look at attitude, perception, and discrimination.

Don't Be Retarded is an essential read both for anyone who has struggled, or is struggling, as a disordered adult, and for those open to understanding.

Buy a copy direct from Microcosm: microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/zines/9412


Review by Nathan Penlington

Railroad Semantics #1

Railroad Semantics #1: Eugene, Portland, Pocatello, and Back! 
By Aaron Dactyl / Microcosm Publishing

14cm x 18cm, 64 pages

Cost: offered as part of Microcosm Publishing sliding scale pricing $5.95-$9.95

Semantics is a branch of linguistics concerned with changes in meaning. Railroad Semantics - apart from being just a great sounding and looking zine name - is concerned ultimately with American railroads, and their place and meaning, both within a subculture and the wider cultural expanse. 

As Aaron explains in the introduction the zine is:

"a compliment to the off the grid lifestyle train hopping represents". 

Railroad Semantics is mostly comprised of first hand accounts documenting Aaron's journeys across the vast landscapes of America riding cars of huge freight trains - complete with near misses, and close calls - accompanied by his black and white photographs of landscapes, graffiti, and fellow riders. Interspersed are newspaper clippings of related interest - train disasters, train fanatics, and a fascinating piece about a town called Bill. And of more cryptic origin, handwritten letters from a fellow rail traveller. 

The content overlaps and shifts the ground, almost like sifting the mythology of the great American railroad through a fine grid. Earlier this year I reviewed Adam Void's zine about riding the American railroad, this zine has obvious parallels, and if you like that zine, you'll love this one too.

The production and design quality of Railroad Semantics is fantastic too, right down to a soft matt finish to the cover. 

Even if the closest you'll get to jumping the rails is being crushed while standing on a late running daily commute, Railroad Semantics will help pull focus on the cultural landscape of the train. I can't wait to read other issues. 

Buy Railroad Semantics #1 here: microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/books/3620

The first four issues are even available as a box set (there is something I find deeply satisfying about that): microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/books/6478


Review by Nathan Penlington

Basic Paper Airplane #12

Basic Paper Airplane #12: The Interview Issue

Joshua James Amberson 

14cm x 21.5 cm, 36 b&w pages , risographed cover. 

$3 USD (plus $1 p&p w/in US, $3 international)

The theme for issue #12 of Basic Paper Airplane is simple - a collection of interviews - but what makes it unique is that they are all interviews Joshua made with a diverse array of artists, musicians, and writers, while working on a series of articles for The Portland Mercury. The original articles only included a few quotes, so this zine sets our to rectify that by collecting together longer interview transcripts for the first time.

Each section opens with a paragraph or two that sets up the interview, roots the process of interviewing in real time, real place, and a real mindset. What emerges is Joshua's sensitivity for the creations of the interviewee, and a genuine love of being excited by things other people find joy or inspiration in. As testament to Joshua's approach the interviews are full of pertinent observation and considered thought about the practice of creation - whether that discipline is music, writing, or film. 

The zine follows a simple layout, with a photo of each interviewee heading every section. The cover though, designed and printed by C Stone and Anthony Michael, is a thing of risographed beauty. 

The best way to look at Basic Paper Airplane #12 is as a primer on the work of creators you haven't yet discovered. It will have you scrabbling to track down albums & books, that you know from the interviews alone, will be rewarding. Its no easy feat in a cultural climate that constantly sells to us through every channel, to the point it's easiest to disengage, to succeed in creating active engagement. Basic Paper Airplane #12 does exactly this - through honesty, personality, and passion. I can't recommend it enough. 

Buy a copy from http://www.antiquatedfuture.com/zines/basic-paper-airplane-12-the-interview-issue/

Or say hello - PO Box 42081, Portland, OR 97242, USA. 


Review by Nathan Penlington

Bombinate #1

Bombinate #1: bees

20 pages, A5. 

£3 (free shipping in UK, int postage varies)

I'll be honest, I had to look up the meaning of 'bombinate':

verb (used without object), bom·bi·nat·ed, bom·bi·nat·ing.1. to make a humming or buzzing noise.

Which is obviously fitting for a zine whose theme for issue #1 is bees, but also fitting for a zine literally buzzing with ideas. 

The bee crisis is already a very real problem - in recent years the UK alone has lost three species of bumblebee, and in parts of China apple farmers have been forced to pollinate by hand. Objectively, at this point in time, you could only say things are going to get worse the world over. 

Some of the work in Bombinate #1 tackles this issue, while other work takes bees as metaphor, image, narrative: a bumbling encounter between new lovers; feeding sugar water to the dying; two bees on the coffin of great-uncle Evan. 

Bombinate #1 contains mainly poetry, alongside a couple of short stories, with illustrations by Mot Collins.  The styles are diverse, and give different opportunities to view the same topic through different eyes and different angles. This diversity of content is increased in following issues, and the Bombinate submissions guidelines state they are looking for fiction, non-fiction, essays, plays, flash fiction, poetry, and recipes. 

For a reason I can't quite articulate a section of Fionn O’Shea's 'helo this doesn’t have a title' has set up home in my brain:

"there was a post I saw a while ago how you can see in google stats that in every single language that google supports, someone has searched 'where do the birds go when it rains'. The post was about how it's nice that everyone everywhere hopes that the birds are ok when it rains. I hope the bees are ok when it rains." 

To extend the image, in a world that is raining hard I'm happy there are places like Bombinate to retreat to. 

Buy a copy: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/616929686/bombinate-issue-1

And don't forget to submit your own work. More info here: https://www.bombinate.space

Review by Nathan Penlington

Misadventures & Musings from the Train Brain - Adam Void

Misadventures & Musings from the Train Brain

Adam Void, 2017

13cm x 18.5cm, 20 pages, cardboard cover, plus 8 small centre pages. 

$/£: trades encouraged

Post-industrial American folk culture has the mythology of the once great railway running straight through it. At once a symbol of power, exploitation and expansion, to those on the other side of the tracks the railway is also a symbol of subversion and freedom.

In Misadventures & Musings from the Train Brain Adam Void jumps the present day rails, and this is a catalogue of those journeys: the yearning for the vast expanse of landscape, the thrill and reality of riding open porches, the dust of experience. 

Adam's zines have a distinctive style, partly the result of the cut & paste of urgent typewriter. But the writing is compelling too, and brings to mind some of the early work of Cometbus - I guess the wanderlust of this issue also helps contribute to that. 

The centre pages reproduce contemporary railroad graffiti - long part of hobo tradition - a firm nod to the history of a largely unacknowledged counter culture. This is a really well put together zine documenting perfect misadventures. 


If you'd like a copy contact Adam at adam_void (at) yahoo (dot) com - trades are encouraged. 

Adam's been making zines since 2003. If you want to make yourself drool and/or make yourself feel envious check out his past publications page: adamvoid.com/index.php?/ongoing/publications - now THAT is a zine maker.



Review by Nathan Penlington

Every Human Being...#1

Every Human Being...#1

Alex Canwell

A7 zine fold from a4

£1 + p&p

The first in a series of zines that looks at things every person does. I don't really want to reveal what that thing is for issue #1 - but just be careful at what might fall out! 

The zine is formed from a collection of funny euphemisms and imaginative slang phrases illustrated with line drawings. I look forward to seeing how this series unfolds.


UPDATE: at the time of writing this zine is now sold out, so its best to contact Alex just in case this issue will be reprinted. 


Buy your copy here: http://sicksissy.bigcartel.com/product/every-human-being-mini-zine-issue-1-limited-edition-run-of-50

The Elliptical Indications of Professor Pimpant

The Elliptical Indications of Professor Pimpant

By Henri Frelon / Readers Digress! #14

A5, 12 pages, cardboard cover.

£/$: exchange encouraged, and/or stamps to cover postage

2016 marked the centenary of the dadaist movement. Originally formed as an avant-garde reaction to the first world war, dadaism could be said to have spawned work as diverse as Duchamp, Monty Python, and even a new generation of comic artists.

Readers Digress! also wears its Dada DNA proudly. The Elliptical Indications of Professor Pimpant is written somewhat in the tradition of Benjamin Peret, with a nod to Alfred Jarrry's Dr Faustroll.

It's a narrative which defies logic and order, and in which humour and absurdity rule. It adds to the diverse Readers Digress! canon another slippery and witty publication.  

Readers Digress! is the former incarnation of The Bubblegum Dada Corporation - a curiously offline enterprise based on the coast of England.

If you'd like a copy of The Heap you can now contact them at their newly acquired email address - bubblegumdadacorporation (at) gmail (dot) com - with offers to exchange creative endeavours, or an offer of stamps to cover postage.

Please say we sent you. 

Review by Nathan Penlington

The Heap

The Heap
by William Periwinkle / Readers Digress! #17

A5, 16 pages, cardboard cover

£/$: exchange encouraged, and/or stamps to cover postage. 

The Heap embodies the spirit of Albee and Ionesco - not only is it written in short play form, it wouldn't be out of place on the stage alongside much of their work.

At the centre of the inaction is a compost heap, which is is blocking the only road to the train station. What follows is a dialogue between self-entitled businessman Pickering and Binky, the builder of the heap. But what is that sound coming from inside the compost? Is it really music? 

This is yet another surprising work from Readers Digress!/Bubblegum Dada - which always manage to uphold their tradition of wearing influences proudly while creating something new. 

Readers Digress! is the former incarnation of The Bubblegum Dada Corporation - a curiously offline enterprise based on the coast of England.

If you'd like a copy of The Heap you can now contact them at their newly acquired email address - bubblegumdadacorporation (at) gmail (dot) com - with offers to exchange creative endeavours, or an offer of stamps to cover postage.

Please say we sent you. 

Review by Nathan Penlington

A pair of pissotières in Genesis

A pair of pissotières in Genesis

by Lord Bubblegum / Bubblegum Dada Publications #001

A5, 36 pages with cardboard cover

£/$: creative exchange/stamps to cover postage

Fans of Alfred Jarry's Ubu Roi, the work of Raymond Roussel, and the comic sketches of William Burroughs, are in for a treat. This is the creation myth retold in the style that made Jarry infamous - but arguably A pair of pissotières in Genesis pushes the scathing wit, scatological humour, and well targeted iconoclasm further than Ubi. 

Subtitled as "a scatological cartoon for the mind", much of the action takes place inside a hole dug by Ovasmus to relieve his bowels. Unfortunately, he becomes stuck in the hole. Luckily for us, his arse is able to speak, more than that, his arse is also endowed with god-like abilities. 

If you are easily offended by swearing, sexual references, and the deconstruction of religious absurdities, then you should probably avoid this.  

The Bubblegum Dada Corporation is a curiously offline enterprise based on the coast of England. But if you'd like a copy of A pair of pissotières in Genesis you can now contact them at their newly acquired email address - bubblegumdadacorporation (at) gmail (dot) com - with offers to exchange creative endeavours, or an offer of stamps to cover postage. Please say we sent you. 

Review by Nathan Penlington

The Cock Tavern Paintings - Part I

The Cock Tavern Paintings - Part I

Ben Westley Clarke / Ladette Space

A5, 24 photocopied pages on green paper. Hand stitched binding. Edition of 50.

£3.00

Another zine produced by the prolific Ladette Space - continuing their gallery in the home experiment. This was published to coincide with an exhibition of Ben Westley Clarke's observational paintings made in the Cock Tavern in Somerstown (You can see a few of those paintings here). The pub is a stone's throw from the haunting weight of the artistic and literary history stored in the British Library. You can feel that creative struggle, familiar to most writers and artists, in The Cock Tavern Paintings.

Faithful to his choice of location Clarke focusses his attention on the regulars: the perpetual loners; the elderly who have passed their years in the same seat night after night; the ever friendly, ever vigilant landlady. He captures well the threat of violence, and the slip (sip) into alcohol dependence.

All in all it is an interesting little zine - buy a copy, shove it in your pocket, and read it down your local over a pint. Then share it with someone sat on their own. That's what zines are for of course. 

Buy a copy here: ladettespace.bigcartel.com/product/ben-westley-clarke-the-cock-tavern-paintings-part-i

Review by Nathan Penlington