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The NewPages Zine RackReviews by Sean StewartSpecial Feature: Sean Stewart reports on the 2003 Portland Zine Symposium. Number Sixteen (Posted Nov 14, 2003)Issue 3 “The zine about your favorite meal.” Vincent Voelz returns after a three-year hiatus to bring us more celebrations of the first meal of the day. Sometimes a zine can’t get away with such a long break, but, in this case, it works. Since breakfast is such a timeless theme, it was still entertaining to read the tales of breakfast travel adventure that enthusiastic readers had sent in after issues one and two came out. A donut theme looms large in this issue, as John Fargo relates his discovery of the magic of Krispy Kreme, Vince travels east from the donut-starved Midwest in search of the donut mecca, and Rich Mackin pens a letter to Dunkin Donuts, in which he relates a vaguely donut-related tale involving a former presidential candidate. Reviews of breakfast purveyors far and wide round out the issue. Pick up a copy of this and read it with your favorite cruller and a cup of coffee. [5.5” x 8.5”, $3 or trade to Breakfast, c/o Vincent Voelz, 575 12th Ave., #3, San Francisco, CA 94118, vvoelz@itsa.ucsf.edu, laplace.compbio.ucsf.edu/~voelzv/breakfast/]
Number 166 Some people consistently publish their zines for years and, depending on what corner of the zine community you’re hiding out in, you might never hear about them. For years I’ve been hearing about Duplex Planet, and I’d picked issues up and flipped through them in various seedy record stores here and there, but never actually sat down and read one. Well, I sure have been missing out. David Greenberger has polished his zine to a shine that I think few people would fail to see if they took the time to look. Each issue consists of clips of conversations and interviews that David has conducted in nursing homes, adult centers, and mealsites in various locations (for this issue it was Chattanooga, TN, Greenwich, NY, and Boston). Contents range from extended anecdotes told by one person to transcriptions of entire conversations. Sometimes David asks a question, and then prints the responses he gets. Occasionally, a well-reproduced photograph of one or two of the people who are quoted is included. Duplex Planet delivers much in the way of feeling, and offers laughs and a lot of food for thought. Well worth checking out. [5.5” x 8.5”, ISSN# 0882-2549, $12/6 issues, $25/15 issues (U.S.), $12/5 issues, $25/12 issues (Canada), $12/4 issues, $25/10 issues (Overseas), back issues $2.50 each/10 or more $2 each, send orders to: Duplex Planet, PO Box 1230, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866, duplanet@global2000.net, www.duplexplanet.com]
“Breaking my automobile addiction.” It always gives me a warm feeling to read the words of another convert to bicycle commuting. Dan was living in what he describes as the “suburban monstrosity” of Phoenix, AZ. After his aging truck died, he borrowed his dad’s old road bike in order to get around. Within a week, he fell in love with cycling and began riding to his new job. Interspersed with his personal tales of cycling are some rants about cars and American car culture. It’s amazing how differently one can see things after making the switch to bike commuting. Drivers appear even more aggressive and outright stupid from the perspective of someone on a bike. When I’m on my bike, I know I’ll get to the same place that a person in a car is going to, but in my own time. But I remember the impatience that comes with being behind the wheel of a car, and when I drive now, I can feel it lurking right below the surface. Herein lies the evil of the automobile, I think to myself, already yearning for the safety and enjoyment of two wheels again. But enough about that, Life in the Bike Lane is a personal primer for the driver with the potential to be swayed from the dark side. Read it and feel the joy that Dan feels as he cruises the streets of his new home in Tempe. You’ll soon see the light. [4.25” x 5.5”, $2 to Dan W., 1709 S. Jen Tilly Lane #91, Tempe, AZ 85281, lifeinthebikelane@yahoo.com]
#5 “We’re going to a bad party.” I love discovering new comix. Especially when they’re as good as this one. This is an ongoing story featuring a girl named Amelia who is obsessed with death. She meets up with a guy named Francis and they establish a tentative friendship. In this issue, Amelia convinces Francis to go to a party that neither of them really wants to go to. It so reminded me of any number of parties I went to while I was in my mid to late twenties, ones where I could walk in the door and know immediately that I shouldn’t have come. Maybe if I was with someone else, we could halfheartedly entertain ourselves by mocking our fellow partygoers, but that never lasted long. The story here is kind of short, but it piqued my interest enough that I’ll be checking out future issues (I believe she’s up to #7 now) and might even pick up the back issues. [5.5” x 8.5”, $1.60 or trade to Lunar-Circuitry, PO Box 45714, Kansas City, MO 64171 or order online, AR@lunar-circuitry.net, www.lunar-circuitry.net/cruel_world, also available at Recycled Sounds, 3941 Main St., Kansas City, MO 64111]
52.5 September 2003 This is another long-running zine that I’d never actually seen a copy of. I always thought it sounded interesting, though, because of its unique numbering system. From the fine print of the zine: “Whole-numbered OPUNTIAs are sercon, x.1 issues are reviewzines, x.2 issues are indexes, and x.5 issues are perzines.” Pretty cool. So, this one obviously, being an x.5, is a perzine. It starts off with letters to the editor mostly regarding the last issue, which included editor Dale’s account of his mother’s death. Dale responds to bits and pieces of the letters. Next up are descriptions of a hike that Dale took and his battle with an invading mouse in his house. This issue concludes with a report on Con-version, Calgary’s annual science fiction convention. Well written and mature, this zine is definitely worth a look. [5.5” x 8.5”, ISSN# 1183-2703, $3 cash, trade, or letter of comment for sample copy, no American checks or stamps as payment, Dale Speirs, Box 6830, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2P 2E7]
#2 In the hands of a different writer, this zine quite easily could’ve turned me off. Tales of junior high and early high school petty crime perpetrated by suburban punks does not sound like good fodder for zine writing. But editor Nate is an affable guy, and he manages to tell these stories in an amusing manner. He doesn’t brag; he just relates what happened in a matter-of-fact kind of way. There’s an ease of storytelling that carries the reader through this almost 50-page issue. A regular character in both issue #1 and this one is Nate’s friend Rick Denton, a gleefully self-destructive kid hell-bent on escaping from his fundamentalist Christian parents’ house. I think we all knew a kid with the sort of tendencies that Rick repeatedly displays. Maybe the one you knew wasn’t as extreme as Rick, but you can certainly identify the type. Mixed in here with the juvenile antics are some other articles about more recent events in Nate’s life. You get a lot of reading here for just a buck. I know it made my recent flight back to Texas from the east coast much more bearable. Check it out. [5.5” x 8.5”, $1 to Nate Gangelhoff, PO Box 8995, Minneapolis, MN 55408, pickyourpoison@beer.com, www.pickyourpoison.net]
#14 “Fire as a metaphor.” Now this is an interesting concept. The artist took the text of an academic paper discussing the “theme of exploitation of transiency and transients” within Gainesville, Florida, as played out by both the city and the University of Florida, and used it to create a comic. Beautifully illustrated in a gritty, realistic style, this issue of Scenery blew me away. Although the artwork alone is stunning, the subject matter also deeply affected me. Anyone who has lived in a college town and participated in the existing DIY music scene should be able to appreciate this. Many universities are monolithic entities capable of devouring towns piece by piece over time, and anything lying outside of their own interests has no value. Often, the town where the university is located either sees mutual value in the university’s actions, or it has no choice but to give in to the university’s wishes. Property is gobbled up, rental houses disappear, and suddenly there are no more house shows. I’ve seen it happen in a couple of different places, and it’s a sad process to observe. Reading this comic tells a specific story, it documents an amazing time in one Southern town, but the hard lessons can also be extrapolated and applied elsewhere. Very nicely done. [8.5” x 11”, $3 to Mike, PO Box 28226, Providence, RI 02908]
Issue 12 I received Sister Friend as a trade, and I was happy to discover it. Leslie and JJ are sisters (and friends, hence the title), and they share the writing duties in their zine. Mostly these are essays of a personal nature: JJ talks about the effects of being back in school, Leslie rants about bachelorette bimbos, and Leslie interviews JJ about why JJ gets mad at her. Leslie also tells her wedding story, which was sweet, and the wedding day sounded quite nice from start to finish (something I wouldn’t usually say, but this was far from a traditional wedding). There are a few other pieces mixed in, but overall it’s a fairly short read. Layout is minimal, with stickers being the main illustrative matter. I don’t know—there wasn’t anything earth shattering in here, but JJ and Leslie seemed like really nice people and I think it’s cool that they do a zine together. [5.5” x 8.5”, $1 or trade, Sister Friend, PO Box 4539, Fairview Hgts., Illinois 62208, sisterfriend3.tripod.com]
Winter 2003 This is a sharp looking publication! The striking cover features excellently reproduced photos overlaid with a stencil print. The varying concentrations of the spraypaint from the stencil produce a nice contrasting color effect. I was totally impressed even before I opened the zine up. Southeast Vibe represents an extensive collaboration of members, staff, and friends of the Southeast Youth Academy in Baltimore, Maryland. Known also as the “Teen Center,” the academy provides a variety of youth development activities and generally operates as a safe space to hang out for teens in the southeast Baltimore area. The contents of the zine range from poetry and short biographies to artwork and essays. Many of the contributions revolve around the main themes of the zine, which are the “agreements” that the members of the center must make and abide by in order to be allowed to continue attending and participating. Liberally illustrated with photographs of both members and staff, the publication stands as an impressive document of the effects that the center has had in many people’s lives since its inception in 1997. Highly recommended. [7” x 8.5”, $3.50, email Luci for ordering information, lucinderella57@hotmail.com]
#96 Recently, I’ve somehow unknowingly stumbled into the outer fringes of the sci-fi zine community. This particular zine, which the enclosed letter informs me has been published regularly since 1986 and erratically prior to that since 1971 (congrats!), arrived unannounced in my mailbox the other day. What I find curious is that, although the envelope has a recent postmark, the letter itself is dated June 30, 2001. Now, I could kind of see, without much of a stretch, mistyping 2003 as 2001, but June 30?? I mean, it’s November already! Another oddity is that the zine is based in Budd Lake, NJ, which is right down the road from where I grew up! Anyway, I find the sci-fi zine genre to be fascinating, mostly because, of all the genres, it probably holds the deepest and oldest roots. I do enjoy science fiction literature on occasion, although I wouldn’t call myself a fan. Still, I can appreciate the passion that sci-fi fans bring to the genre, and I think it’s great that such an active and vital sci-fi zine community is still around. This zine packs a lot into 2 separate volumes: diary excerpts (which add a perzine-ish dimension), zine and book reviews, an extensive letters/travelogue section from the editor’s friend (?), and a look back at sci-fi highlights during certain years. Overall, there’s a big emphasis on reading and celebrating the sci-fi genre, and Robert’s enthusiasm is infectious. Maybe I’ll pick up a sci-fi book to read next! [8.5” x 11” in 2 volumes, no price listed but the letter states that a letter of comment, zine, or artwork in trade will work (maybe email him?), Robert Michael Sabella, 24 Cedar Manor Court, Budd Lake, NJ 07828-1023, bsabella@optonline.net] |
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