Xerography Debt

Sneak Peak at the cover for XD 30

noreply@blogger.com (Leeking Inc.) — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 16:27:00 +0000

review by Anne: Another Whit Taylor two-fer!

noreply@blogger.com (Anne) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 22:06:00 +0000

Grab Bag (2011) 5 x 6, 20 pages, B&W
$2 US, $? Can/Mex, $? world, contact to trade
Whit Taylor
WhitLTaylor@gmail.com
http://whimsicalnobodycomics.blogspot.com

Watermelon…and other things that make me uncomfortable as a black person (2011)
8 x 10, 44 pages, B&W with full color cover
$4 US, $ Can/Mex, $? world, contact to trade
(same info as above)

I was at this year’s Small Press Expo in Bethesda recently and discovered that Whit Taylor was tabling in the same group of tables that I was! How awesome and unexpected! She’s got new work (all of which I think is available through her website) and it’s worth reading. GRAB BAG is this fun mix of random pieces – a trip to the Jerry Springer show, Bad Inventions (they’re really funny), some riffing on Britney Spears (yeah, you know you love it), and some interesting business ideas. WATERMELON has that same sense of fun to it, even as Whit herself says in the introduction that “this comic is my attempt to deal with these issues” – the things that make her uncomfortable. I don’t want to give too much away, but it’s a really well-done personal comic about some very important issues. You get Whit’s perspective, and she’s clear that she’s just speaking for herself, but it’s very well done and tackles some heavy stuff in a way that’s both heartbreaking in places (be sure to read her story about Africa) and at the same time very funny in places. Highly recommended.

review from Anne: BROOKLYN #72 and BROOKLYN! #73 Special Issue: Abandonment 3

noreply@blogger.com (Anne) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 21:47:00 +0000

24 pages, 5.5 x 8.5 $10 for a 4 issue subscription
(PAYMENT IN CASH!)
Fred Argoff
Penthouse L
1170 Ocean Parkway
Brooklyn NY 11230

More Brooklyn reviews! Say it with me, people: “The name of this zine is BROOKLYN and that's also what the zine is about, Fred's beloved borough of Brooklyn." History, photography, you name it and it’s in here…provided it’s got something to do with Fred’s favorite borough. #72 is mostly to do with baseball and baseball history in Brooklyn, though there are some non-baseball components, including Highland View Avenue and Bath Beach, as well as the always-appreciated Brooklyn Lexicon & Pronounciation Guide #57. #58 is in BROOKLYN #73, which is all about abandonment – buildings, bridges, subway stations, and even ideas and streets. It’s a really interesting issue and very evocative; it’s sort of the hidden Brooklyn, off the beaten path. Lots of photographs; even those of you who are not familiar with Brooklyn are most likely going to enjoy what you read! Get yourself some BROOKLYN already!

Xerography Debt #29 - Available from Microcosm August 15, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Leeking Inc.) — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 22:26:00 +0000

Cover Art by Bojan (Rigor Mortis)

To order a copy of this issue, please send $3 +s/h (order online, or send cash, stamps, money order, or check) to Microcosm Publishing

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction
Basic Stuff You Should Know
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, It Is Being Published by Davida Gypsy Breier
Defining Ourselves To Death by Dread Sockett
It Means It's Wank by Jeff Somers
Gloomy Sundays by Gianni Simone

THE REVIEWERS
Anne Thalheimer
D. Blake Wert
Davida Gypsy Breier
Eric Lyden
Fred Argoff
Gavin J. Grant
Joe Biel
Julie Dorn
Kris Mininger
Liz Mason
Maynard Welstand
Stuart Stratu

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, It Is Being Published

noreply@blogger.com (Leeking Inc.) — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 10:30:00 +0000

This column appears in the forthcoming issue of Xerography Debt (#29). Order now!

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,
It Is Being Published

by Davida Gypsy Breier

What is a zine? No, seriously. I’m not trying to sound like an MTV reporter in 1996 trying to hype a “youth fad,” I’m genuinely questioning how the combined loss of generational history and the massive rise in independent publishing over the last five years has blurred lines and broken down walls. When I got into zines it was a culture of barter, freedom of expression, and rebellion against established media. We published zines because we wanted to communicate and because what we had to say and how we wanted to say it was of no interest to commercial publishers. That was fine, they had their world and we had ours. Zines that got big enough to carry ISSNs or barcodes of any kind were scorned. And anything with an ISBN might as well have carried the mark of the beast. We were in a culture war of sorts, defying the commodification of art and ideas. Many of the people I knew and traded with at that time were in their teens and twenties. We were figuring ourselves out and zines were how we did it.

In many cases zines actually lead (or even helped) us into careers as librarians or in publishing. I fall into the latter camp. I started out working for a non-profit that supported itself through publishing. From there I went to work for a distributor that specialized in small presses. In some cases, the small book publishers I worked with were like zine publishers – only they were older and had the capital to fund their projects. They had something to say, wanted to connect with readers, and commercial publishers weren’t interested. It has often been said that zines are defined by a lack of financial gain. Well, if that is the case, most book publishers I know are actually zine publishers.

I watched the struggles these small publishers were experiencing and they mirrored some of what we faced in zineland. Up until 1998 we had Factsheet 5 to help readers and publishers find each other. Small book publishers had no such vehicle. Other zine review zines sprang up, but none of us ever had the distribution into the retail market that F5 had. Speaking of distribution, it is very hard for small presses to get distributed and when they do it can be expensive. Again, this is a similar barrier in zines. How many of us remember zines that just disappeared – how many of you realize that some disappeared because their distributor (anyone remember Desert Moon? Fine Print?) went under owing them money, which meant that print and postage bills went unpaid and the publication was compromised or ultimately folded. How many of us had to scale back after Tower went under?

I was working with these small presses as POD (print-on-demand) technologies started really developing. At that time stores didn’t want to touch anything they thought was POD because they felt the supply was limited and the quality was poor – sound familiar zine people?

Let’s flash forward a few years. In 1995, 113,589 ISBN’s were registered with Bowker; in 2010 there were 316,480. What happened? Fucking independent publishers happened! We all talk about the death of print (both zines and books), but look at those numbers. More books are being published than ever before. We act like blogs are killing zines. What if books are killing zines? What if the people, faced with all the barriers we faced in 1995, wanted to publish and couldn’t. Chances are some of them would be making zines. Instead, in 2011 the barriers between the worlds of book publishing and zine publishing are disintegrating. If I wanted to create a book today there are companies that will help me do everything from registering an ISBN (I don’t have to buy an expensive block of 10 or 100 now), do the layout in an automated template, and set my file up with a POD printer. Imagine something like that existing in 1995! Is what you have created a zine? A chapbook? A book? What the hell is it? And does that matter?

Within the book publishing world there is a lot of identity crisis going on right now. Digitization and the easy access to the industry have broken down so many walls that used to exist. I mean, even the term book is being challenged by the larger notion of content. Here’s a question to exemplify how things are changing: What is your favorite recording artist or song? Did you hear the music or picture a band or person? Or did you picture a CD, LP, or MP3 file? If you pictured the recording artist you are interested in the content. If you pictured the CD you are interested in the format or media. The term book or zine defines how you will read, not what you will read. It is the media, not the content. What matters more to you?

These days I wear several hats in the land of publishing (and a few in zineland) and some of my focus is digital content. I have read on an e-reader and on a laptop, and I can see the potential value of this media, but as you can see by this zine in your hands I have not given up traditionally printed zines or books. One thing I see ebooks doing is something we all were doing in 1995 – independently produced ebooks are challenging the establishment. They are providing readers with alternatives. They are often cheaply produced or free and filled with typos and poorly rendered design. But are they zines? No, of course not. But they sound a hell of a lot like a zine, don’t they?

So this brings me back to my original question? What is a zine? Is a definition created to try and explain the “fad” to the uninitiated in 1995 still accurate? I don’t think so. I think that zines, like publishing, have undergone a few changes and that we should keep our community open instead of trying to hold onto established labels because we are fearful of change. Does that mean I think a blog is a zine? No, I don’t. But maybe you do. Does that mean I think a paper zine created by cutting and pasting directly from a blog is a zine? Well, yes, technically, but I also think it is hella lazy.

If we are going to have the label talk, let’s step back in time a moment and discuss how we got here. Current nomenclature stems from the term “fanzine.” When I was a wee geek I actually subscribed to a few SF fanzines, but didn’t really think about their relationship to zines until I was firmly entrenched in zine culture. “Fan magazines” are another thing entirely. An example would be Sports Illustrated – this is created as a for-profit venture and caters to the interest of fans. So back to fanzines – these were everything from DIY to semi-professional publications that originated in science fiction circles. In many cases they were modeled after existing professional publications. These were generally genre specific to a largely homogenized audience. Existing publications provided a blueprint. Not a lot of boundaries being pushed here.

People like to write about their obsessions, so early SF fanzine culture lent itself to other fan-based genres, such as horror, music, and sports (note that these were traditionally “male fan” genres – we’ll get back to that in a minute). Music will become an important one as independent music gains a foothold, but commercial music magazines and radio stations refuse to cover and play these underground bands. Sub-cultures form around these marginalized arts.

For early fanzines, there was an attempt at aesthetic – again emulating professional magazines. Remember, we are talking about the ’30s-’50s here, so these were being printed on mimeographs and ditto machines. These took time to set up and were labor intensive. So what happens to bring modern zines to the fore? Two things: 1) technology – photocopies become cheap and accessible and 2) the cultural revolution of the ’60s leaves people realizing that mainstream media is not addressing their interests or culture. That thread of individuality flourishes in the ‘70s and people start documenting their own lives and cultures. This is passed onto the next generation and participation in zine culture peaks in the mid-‘90s. So to get back to the idea of fanzines covering “male dominated” genres – the rise of the women’s movement allowed for societal changes to begin in the ‘70s and one interpretation of those changes led to the rise in Riot Grrrl zines in the ‘90s. Unlike with fanzines, zines as we know them today were very inclusive of people and sub-cultures that had little power in mainstream society. If you were LGBTQ, dealing with mental health issues, or just the class weirdo, zines were a relatively safe place to call home.

Zines were filled with raw emotions and gritty personalities. Again, a huge difference from fanzines. People were learning to talk and write and it felt anonymous because often the only interaction writers had occurred months after they finished a zine and dropped it in the mail. People talked about obsessions, traveling, bands they liked, abuse, politics, and their personal experiences. Aesthetics were often not a high priority and legibility seldom taken into consideration (margins, what are margins?). Cut & paste was done because it was all we had in the old days. And it can be done in a way that is legible. Sloppy is just sloppy.

When I got into zines there were a few basic criteria used to define what a zine was (and none of them really worked). 1) it was created without intent of monetary gain and was bartered for other zines; 2) fewer than 500 (or 5000 – depends on who you ask) copies were printed; 3) zines allowed voices who had no other outlet to be heard; 4) no ISSN or ISBN (ironically, this means that zinedom’s sacred cow, Factsheet 5, was, in fact, not a zine). So did zines that started out small and grew get grandfathered in? For some people, yes. For others, ridiculous indy creed was more important. And truthfully, a lot of us were just in it for mail and could care less about debating Bust’s standing as a zine.

The boom period in the ‘90s saw a lot of zines born and die. Much like the early ‘00s saw a ton of blogs born and die. Many of the same reasons that drove people to create zines drove them to create blogs, only blogs were faster, easier, cheaper, and allowed for immediate gratification. Now, headed into the 10’s, some of us see where a blog can in fact be useful and compliment a paper zine without cannibalizing it. Technology has, in many respects, helped push forward the agenda of book and zine publishers and to not use tools that are within our reach to help us complete our ultimate missions seems self-defeating. How many people reading this learned about the Revenge of Print project online?

So how do the early definitions of “zine” and “fanzine” hold up in 2011? Well, email has pretty much killed my neurotic compulsion to stop by the PO Box regularly. Instead, I neurotically check my email. The Internet now allows for a din of individual voices to be heard and finding likeminded souls is not the same weird crap shoot of putting your zine in an envelope and sending it off to a PO Box wondering if you are about to meet someone who will become a part of your life. (A brief tangent – remember how it used to be weird when people said they met online? Now try explaining to people that you met your best friend through the mail and you have never actually met in person. )

I think the original ideas behind the labels “fanzine” and “zine” are dated. I think fanzines could learn from zines by opening up to more diverse, personal, and critical content. Similarly, I think that zines could learn from fanzines and start making publications that are easier to read and dare I say it – actually interesting to look at. Do we hold to the old definitions and try and work within those boxes? Do we create new terms to explain what is going on now? I don’t have any answers. Here is a good example why – someone uses a library computer to create a publication. She cannot afford a computer, internet access, or copies, so she creates a PDF and emails that to people or posts it to a site like Scribd. She is giving it away and soliciting people to send her their zines (via email or mail). Her motivation and content are very much in line with old-school zine ethos, but her method of delivery is new-school. Has she created a zine?

Personally, I would love to read more international zines, but postage is often a barrier. Is a PDF of a zine created and printed in New Zealand, but emailed to the rest of the world any less of a zine? These are the questions I am asking myself as a zine writer, zine editor, zine reviewer, book publisher, and book distributor as I continue to move forward as a creator and merchant of words and content.

As I see it, what matters is intent. The how and the why are more important to me than the what. I view myself as an independent publisher, who enjoys zines as a culture and medium. I edit and manage Xerography Debt for the community and co-edit Rigor Mortis to fulfill my creative needs. My monetary goal is sustainability, which pretty much means attempting to break even based on content. I don’t sell ad space, nor do I sell my mailing list (again, F5 is held aloft, but there were a lot of rumors about Seth Friedman bartering and selling the F5 mailing list. Our culture wasn’t what held value, but what we could be sold.). I define XD and RM as zines to those who understand the term and to those who don’t they are “small press publications.” Many reviews have defined RM as a fanzine (which makes my co-editor apoplectic). None of these labels change the content.

So these are my truths. Your truths may vary or settle during shipping. And the truths of today may not be the truths of yesterday or tomorrow. If you must have a label and can’t find one that suits you, make one up. The important thing is that we each examine the what, how, and why and make sure they are in line with our intent.

In the words of The Dude, “Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man,” so I say to you, dear readers, what is your truth? What is your opinion on the state of zines? Why do you or did you publish? Do you publish looking forward or backward? Is it about revolution or nostalgia? Or both? Please send me your thoughts – roughly 250-500 words – with a deadline of October 15, 2011. This will become a new series called, “The Voices of Zinedom.” In this instance, I embrace modern technology as a time-saver and would prefer to receive responses by email (Davida@leekinginc.com).

Just keep reading – no matter what, no matter how.

Borderlands #2: It's a Family Affair (2008)

noreply@blogger.com (motes) — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 20:33:00 +0000

Borderlands #2: It's a Family Affair (2008)
edited by Nia King
$2 USD, no trades, 1/2 size, 36 pgs, FTP.

Described as "a collection of stories about growing up in multiracial
families from mixed folks + transracial adoptees," Borderlands is one
zine I'm always excited to see in my mailbox; everyone's writing is
crisp, smart, and true in a way which feels really immediate. It's a
well-built anthology (clean layout, easy to read) with a range of
perspectives and is an ongoing project. This issue also
includes "Recommended Race Blogs" which I thought was a particularly
good choice, both to include and in the range of different blogs,
people, perspectives, and experiences. Just get this zine already.
It's worth your time.

available through STRANGER DANGER DISTRO:
http://strangerdangerdistro.wordpress.com/catalog/

CALL for ENTRIES Meta Comics Issue! Deadline: 6/30/2011

noreply@blogger.com (Leeking Inc.) — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 19:16:00 +0000

ABSOLUTE DEADLINE: JUNE 30, 2011!!

CALL for ENTRIES

Syndicate Product:

THE META-COMICS ISSUE

The META-COMICS ISSUE will include comics and essays ABOUT comics and sequential art. You certainly DO NOT have to be an artist to contribute – essays are very much welcome and encouraged!

Some potential ideas:

The creative process of drawing comics: Where do your ideas come from? Why do you draw comics?
Comics-related disasters: From the cat knocking over the ink bottle to basement floods that resulted in floating longboxes.
__ broke my heart: As a comics reader, the most soul-crushing, genre-destroying, why-the-hell-am-I-still-reading this storylines you’ve endured in mainstream comics. Why did you stop reading some titles?
Creative space: Where do you draw? What rituals do you perform? (E.g., Lynda Barry always begins a drawing session by writing out the alphabet a few times with a brush and ink.)
Reading comics: Are there comics that left you so emotionally wrecked that you’re scared to read them again? Flipside: are there books you have to re-read every year?
Collecting comics: Are you a Wednesday regular? Did your mom throw out your collection when you went to college? Have you ever sold off parts of your collection for rent, food, or more comics?
Comics and relationships: Friendships and romances found or lost over comics.
Memories of stores past and present: Good and bad stories from the comic shop. Did/do you work in a comic shop?
Inspirations: Artists, teachers, storytellers?
Tangentially related ideas: Terrible, little-seen comic book movie/TV adaptations. Tales from actual comic book conventions.
Previously self-published comics (either print or web) are welcome if they relate to the topic.

SPECIFICATIONS

Comic artists: Final art size should reduce to around 4.5 x 7.5 inches. Four pages maximum (but if it’s really good, this can be negotiated). B&W only. Send art as 300dpi TIF files if grayscale scans, 600dpi TIF if bitmap scans. Also, once entries are in, I may be looking for small illustrations to accompany some of the essays.

Writers: Between 400-1200 words is acceptable. If you need to go longer, please do. If the writing is good enough, people will want to read it to the end. I'll let you know if a piece is simply too huge, rambling, unwieldy, or needs editing. Send essays as OpenOffice, MS Word, or plain text files, or paste the text into an e-mail.

Contributors will receive a copy of the final project.

Due date and where to submit: Deadline is JUNE 30, 2011. Submit your entries to syndprod@gmail.com. If you want to mail them, send them to: A.j. Michel, PO Box 877, Lansdowne, PA 19050.

HANDMADE & BOUND NASHVILLE FESTIVAL ANNOUNCED

noreply@blogger.com (Leeking Inc.) — Tue, 17 May 2011 16:22:00 +0000

We received the following from Zine World:

Handmade & Bound Nashville is a festival celebrating independent publications and printed matter, featuring artists’ books, zines, and mini-comics. This is an event for publishers and artists (as well as zine distros) to come together to sell and/or trade their handmade and affordable publications and creations.

Handmade & Bound Nashville will be held on Saturday, October 1, at Watkins College of Art, Design, and Film (2298 Rosa L. Parks Blvd.) in Nashville, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission will be free. Additional activities may be scheduled for Friday, September 30. We plan for the festival to include workshops, a documentary screening, and a zine reading. Details TBA.

In addition to the festival, Watkins is sponsoring a juried book arts and zine exhibition, on the theme Encoded Structures: Interpreting the Story, which will be held in the Watkins gallery during the month of October. Submissions for the gallery exhibition will be accepted through August 1, and prizes will be awarded. The exhibition is open to book works in the form of artists’ books, zines, and comics, and will focus on works that use form, content, and context within every aspect of the object’s structure to convey a message and theme to the reader.

Table registration is now open. Tables are $7 for a half-table, $15 for a full table. Register for a table or find the rules and guidelines for submitting to the gallery exhibition at handmadeboundnashville.com. You can also find Handmade Bound Nashville on Facebook. We will be seeking volunteers to teach workshops and lead discussions, and folks to help out during the festival. We hope to see you there!

Donations to the Salford Zine Library Requested

noreply@blogger.com (Leeking Inc.) — Mon, 16 May 2011 14:20:00 +0000

I received this email from Craig Barr:

I recently came across your website and thought you and your friends may be interested in donating to Salford Zine Library, an archive of self-published work. Below is our information and hopefully you'd like to submit.

Salford Zine Library will be at Salford Art Gallery from 15 October 2011 to 29 January 2012 showing the archive along side some original artwork, film showings and workshops.

Salford Zine Library is a non-profit venture which aims to create a library of self published work from around the world for all to access. The Library is based at Islington Mill, Salford (www.islingtonmill.com), home to over 50 artist studios. The library also tours the UK visiting schools, universities, public art galleries and book fares.

We are looking for new contributions all the time and If you would like your self-published work be to be featured in this upcoming exhibition then please post your contributions to

Salford Zine Library
48 Landos Court
Gunson St
Manchester
M40 7WT
U.K

salfordzinelibrary@googlemail.com

Maynard Reviews some zines (May 2011)

noreply@blogger.com (librarian666) — Sun, 15 May 2011 21:41:00 +0000

Anarchist Bicycle Rally
Joe Biel
PO Box 14323
Portland, OR 97293
www.cantankeroustitles.com
$4 US

One wouldn't normally associate biking with conspiracy theory, but this scary and amusing zine presents the over-the-top reaction that Critical Mass (a biking movement started in the early 90s to bring awareness and respect to cycling on city streets) evoked from Portland Oregon police.

Police reports, obtained by the Freedom of Information act, do not show the cops in the best of light. To add to the mockery, some nouns and verbs have been expurgated in Mad Libs style for the amusement of the reader.

This is edutainment at a whole new level.

Les Carnets de Rastapopoulos issue 7
Robert Gauvinov
2-7 Larch Street, Ste 2
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada KIR 6W4
Free upon request to all in the world
lescarnetsder@hotmail.com
Yes to trades

A master of the perzine! Les Carnets is a non-computerized production done the old-fashioned way with typewriter and scissors. It is a marvelous collage of images and text that is casually encyclopedic in tone. Gauvinov has a gift for making history and biography irresistible fun. He does an essay on William Topaz McGonagall that is full of facts, slapstick, pathos and a sense of who this oft-quoted, strangely unsuccessful creature was.

If Gauvinov were writing history books for the school system, most kids would decide to be historians, his prose is that accessible and engaging.

Dudes, this shit is free!

Abort! #21 Bedtime Stories
July 2009
If you are out there, author of Abort, PLEASE contact Xerography debt with your contact information.

This short fiction and B&W ink artwork zine is a collection of stories, written in an engaging and most excellent manner, mostly set in New York City, where scenes of normalcy take sudden macabre twists. It's good, gruesome fun and the quality of writing is top notch. One step beyond the Twilight Zone.

No Hope #5
Jason Dean
Summer 2010
5 St. Dials Rd
Old Cwmbran
Gwent
NP44 3AN
UK
deanjason143@aol.com
Price info not given

This zine comic has it all, great artwork and equally great stories for the demented and morbidly obsessed. Themes of death, violence and suicide predominate, all done in fanciful, strangely friendly ways.

One story, “The Loneliness of Arthur Body: half a tale of half a man” is about a man who wakes up to discover that his left half has vanished. A voyage of self-discovery ensues. The artwork is so funny and dark at the same time.

“Let's have a Picnic” is a tale done in the style of a children's book from the 1950s about a picnic that goes horribly, bodies-ripped-apart wrong.

Yeah life is empty; yeah we are essentially alone; yeah we really don't know anyone – not even ourselves; but just have a cup of tea, and it will all make sense in the morning.

Rigor Mortis, Vol 4
April 2011
ISSN 2159-4066
72 p.
$3.50
Send all review copies, free shit and cash to
Davida Gypsy Breier
PO Box 11064
Baltimore, MD 21212
zombie@leekinginc.com
www.leekinginc.com
livingdeadzine.blogspot.com

Perzine focused on the horror genre in film, especially zombies. A thoughtful, playful zine that takes its subject seriously enough to feel substantial and well-thought-out, yet off-the-cuff enough so it is effortless to read.

In this issue, our ghouls in residence tackle the tough subjects in horror – race, nudity, sexuality, and other topics. I'll just touch on 2 articles to give you the flavor.

“Race, Revisionism and Vodoo Zombies” - Race in horror is something I've thought about, but not in this depth and detail. A thesis is made, arguments are supported with detail and film titles. This really is film crit, not just fans spouting off, but it's fun and will make you think and add stuff to your Netflix queue. If you are new to horror, be careful, there be spoilers here as the authors have seen it all and are expert in the horror niche.

“Queer Horror” – Horror as a vehicle to dramatize gay exclusion from hetero family and relationships. Gayness in horror is explored with warmth, humor, irony and gore. Dracula and the Bride of Frankenstein are deconstructed and viewed as vehicles to express the homosexual's alienation from “normal” society. Yep folks, it's fun lit crit. It DOES exist.

Cover for Xerography Debt #29 (coming this summer)

noreply@blogger.com (Leeking Inc.) — Wed, 11 May 2011 22:42:00 +0000

Charity Book for Japan

noreply@blogger.com (Leeking Inc.) — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 20:12:00 +0000

I'm posting this on behalf of Adam Pasion, Sundogs Comics http://sundogscomix.blogspot.com/, via Stuart Stratu. Please check out the website: http://aftershockcomic.blogspot.com/ and if you have questions email Adam at biguglyrobot@gmail.com

*********************

Fellow cartoonists,
As most of you know, I am a cartoonist living and writing about life in Japan. Living in Japan and watching this disaster unfold first hand, I have never felt more helpless in my entire life. Everyday seems to be getting worse, and at times it seems nearly hopeless. My area has not been affected by this disaster, and yet I feel compelled to do anything I can to help. But what can I do? The news and relief agencies give priority to those with experience in search and rescue, medical professionals and logistical experts. What skills do I have to offer? What is the role of an artist in the face of such disaster? I have donated some money, but compared to the overwhelming need it seems like nothing. I have been racking my brain to come up with something more sustainable that will be able to generate support into the foreseeable future, when the spotlight is off Japan. What can we do that will extend beyond when the next disaster strikes somewhere else in the world, when the attention fades and the media coverage dies off? Then an idea struck me.

Arguably one of Japan's greatest gifts to the rest of the world are comic books. How fitting then if cartoonists from around the world can show support for Japan by making a comic book. I want to make a book where various artists make anywhere from a page to a few pages explaining their interactions with Japan, their feelings, their experiences and memories, anything on their heart, and share it with the world. Then a portion of the proceeds, as much as possible, will be donated to continuing relief efforts in Japan. It will take years and years to rebuild things up there and any support we can continue to generate will make all the difference. My planning is still in the infant stages - I literally rushed out of bed when the idea came to me, and am now sending this off to any and all cartoonists I know. If I can rally up enough people to join in, I will start looking for somebody who may be interested in publishing it as well.

Please consider this seriously. The more people we can get on board the better the chance of it materializing into something. Also, my network is quite small, so please consider forwarding this to as many other cartoonists you know. I really hope we can make this happen, at present it seems like the best we can possibly do to help out. Please respond to this mail if this sounds like something you can commit to.

sincerely,
- Adam Pasion
biguglyrobot@gmail.com

THREE #1

noreply@blogger.com (motes) — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 21:00:00 +0000

THREE #1 (July 2010)
Rob Kirby
curbside2@earthlink.net
www.robkirbycomics.com (orders via paypal)
$6.25 US / ? Can/Mex / ? World / ? trades
Half-legal/ 32 pages / color!

So, before I get to the gushing about how much I dug this collection, let me give you the basics: THREE is a limited-run anthology (I don’t know how limited or how many issues) by queer comic artists edited by Robert Kirby. I haven’t seen #2 yet but I know I’m going to love it if this first issue (clever cover and all) is any indication of the series to come. The plan is for each issue to have three stories by three creators or teams of creators, and the first issue is a standout. Joey Alison Sayers contributes a funny full-color piece called “Number One” (yeah, it’s about what you think) and Robert Kirby’s beautifully done story “Freedom Flight” follows a character called Drew on part of a trip through New York City (it has this soft blue background that gives it a little bit of a dreamlike, contemplative quality). But I found myself returning to the first piece in the collection, Eric Orner’s “Weekends Abroad.” It’s an atmospheric story set in Tel Aviv; the narrative follows a man and a lovely little piece of graffiti (which I now kind of want to put all over the place), and it is superbly done. All three of the stories are well-done and they’re a nice kind of sampling of three different artists. Overall, this title’s a standout; don’t wait to get your hands on it. (I can’t wait for the next issue.)

two reviews!

noreply@blogger.com (motes) — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 20:58:00 +0000

NINJA SUSHI #2 (Nov 2010)
Yves Albrechts
Postbus 100
2000 Antwerpen 1
Belgium
kapreles@gmail.com
http://talkingarmpit.blogspot.com
? US / ? Can/Mex / ? World / ? trades
Half-size/ 20 pages / bright yellow cover

Lots of bold line work, mostly single images rather than sequential storytelling. The drawing style reminds me a little bit of Kaz (kinda surreal) but with heavier line work. Also, if you’re into mail art it might be worth checking out (the back cover reads “mail art matters –DIY zine – comic art—global communication”); if you’re into kind of weird, surreal art you will most likely enjoy this zine.

“Herbal Healing for Piercings and Tattoos: Organic Aftercare for Everyone”Stacy
4712 Elbow Drive SW
Calgary AB T2S 2K8
weedsmith@live.com
blog is at anastasiaweedsmith.wordpress.com
$3 US / $3 Can/Mex / ? World / ? trades (email and ask?)
Half-size/ 36 pages

From Stacy: “My zine is a thorough body art aftercare zine that includes vegan and non-vegan recipes on how to properly care for and heal your new piercings and tattoos.” It also “includes information such as how the skin heals, herbs to use, ingredients to avoid in aftercare, recipes on making your own aftercare products, and organic jewelry.”

It is very clear that the zine is intended for aftercare only and only for educational purposes. (She’s upfront that she is not a professional piercer or tattoo artist, or a physician or a naturopath, so she is not giving medical advice.) My favorite piece of this zine was an explanation of the LITHA method for healing (which stands for LEAVE IT THE HELL ALONE). Pretty simply to follow, she says: Don’t touch it! There’s good information in here about hygiene (common mistake with new body art? Not washing your hands before administering to your new tattoo or piercing) and recipes involving herbs. Overall, a number of good things to consider—especially for someone who has not yet gotten that new tattoo or piercing!

It’s a Whit Taylor two-fer!

noreply@blogger.com (motes) — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 22:33:00 +0000

Field Guide to Official State Haircuts #1 (2010) 9.5 x 7.25, 14 pages, color cover
$4 US, $5 Can/Mex, $5 world, yes to trades!
Whit Taylor
WhitLTaylor@gmail.com
http://whimsicalnobodycomics.blogspot.com

Attic #1 (2010) 5 x 7.5, 20 pages, B&W
$3 US, $4 Can/Mex, $4 world, yes to trades!
(same info as above)

FIELD GUIDE is billed as the definitive guide to “official” state haircuts (and can be used as a coloring book; the shapes of the states as well as the state flower are represented), and it’s pretty funny. Maryland! Your state haircut is the BUZZCUT! It’s okay; we up here in Massachusetts got some prim lookin’ thing called the “Ivy League” while Delaware got the “Devilock” (note: not once in the seven years I spent living in Delaware did I see that haircut.)There’s also a Bonus Section for the US Territories (poor Guam is all I’ve got to say about that.) I can’t wait to see what Issue #2 is going to be about. ATTIC is a collection of online slice-of-life comics from Summer 2010; humongous hickey coverage, Facebook, commercials, ebay, and what happens to old soda are just a few of the topics that appear. Fun read for sure.

review from Anne: BROOKLYN #71

noreply@blogger.com (motes) — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 22:10:00 +0000

BROOKLYN! #71
24 pages, 5.5 x 8.5 $10 for a 4 issue subscription
(PAYMENT IN CASH!)
Fred Argoff
Penthouse L
1170 Ocean Parkway
Brooklyn NY 11230

Another Brooklyn review! Say it with me, people: “The name of this zine is BROOKLYN and that's also what the zine is about, Fred's beloved borough of Brooklyn." History, photography, you name it and it’s in here provided it’s got something to do with Brooklyn (even if that Brooklyn is a section of Wellington in New Zealand). My favorite thing in this issue was the (ahem) Idiotarod, an annual race through the streets of Brooklyn in crazy costumes with shopping carts. Who doesn’t love that? Here’s what I learned this issue: what “cancellation shoes” are and that the first bike bath in the United States is in Brooklyn and runs along Ocean Parkway! (And now I wanna bike it!). Get yourself some BROOKLYN already!

Xerography Debt #28 - Get Your Copy Today!

noreply@blogger.com (Leeking Inc.) — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 23:54:00 +0000

The new issue of Xerography Debt #28 is now available!

http://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/zines/3325/

Order your copy today!

XD 28 Cover!

noreply@blogger.com (Leeking Inc.) — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 13:47:00 +0000

two reviews from Anne

noreply@blogger.com (motes) — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 20:13:00 +0000

Bipedal, By Pedal! #2: Confidential Mad Libs 5.5x7", 64 pages, in color, offset, $4 US $?Can/Mex, $?world
PO Box 14332
Portland, OR 97293
cantankeroustitles.com
http://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/zines/3306/

While working on a documentary called “Aftermass” about bike activism and its future in Portland, OR and beyond, Joe Biel received copies of documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act in which he discovered that the police in Portland had for many years engaged in illegal spying on Critical Mass in an effort to disassemble and discredit the organization. “What each person sees in these documents is really in the eye of the beholder. But I think it’s only in the police’s wet dreams that Critical Mass would ever start a riot that would endanger the lives of families and children” states Biel, and this book would be an interesting enough read without the twist in which the documents are transformed into Mad Libs, omitting certain words (they’re all printed on the inside back cover if you’re curious, and you will be) at key points in the various documents and citations. Highly recommended.

BROOKLYN! #70
24 pages, 5.5 x 8.5 $10 for a 4 issue subscription
(PAYMENT IN CASH!)
Fred Argoff
Penthouse L
1170 Ocean Parkway
Brooklyn NY 11230

Another Brooklyn review! “The name of this zine is BROOKLYN and that's also what the zine is about, Fred's beloved borough of Brooklyn." I actually was recently driving in Brooklyn for the first time in a long while and caught myself thinking about this zine while waiting at a red light. Anyway, #70 includes a quick piece on the English Kills Art Gallery (plus a photo of a ‘guerilla performer’), “Brooklyn Lexicon & Pronounciation Guide #55” (including an interesting entry on “rollercoaster”), a piece about New Lots and some photos of notable locales within the borough, and because it’s just that time of year there’s also a Brooklyn Wintertime Fable on one Joey the Snowman.

2011: THE REVENGE OF PRINT

noreply@blogger.com (Leeking Inc.) — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 16:48:00 +0000

Aren't you sick of hearing folks glibly forecasting the death of print?

We are. Folks have been declaring the end of print in some form or other for longer than there's been an Atomic Books (Baltimore) or Quimby's (Chicago) (that's about twenty years).

"Books are over." "Magazines are over." "Comix are over." "Zines are over." "Newspapers are over." Bah! We're over things being over. Let's make things happen!
So we're declaring next year to be: 2011: The Revenge Of Print! (Frankly, next year was going to be 2011 with our without our declaration anyway. But that "Revenge of Print" part, that's all us.)

Here's the idea - what if everyone who ever made a zine, a mini-comic, a journal, a chapbook, a magazine or any kind of self-made publication of any kind vowed that in 2011, they'd make another? And then they did it! How awesome for us readers would that be? And if that happened, perhaps it would also make for a nice response to all those publishing doomsayers.

"Print is alive if you want it."

So the challenge is this: in 2011 do a new issue (or a new title or project - just do something new!).
Yes, we're making a point. And we've decided to use the very tools credited (this time anyway) with the demise of print to do so - the internet!

Join the Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=115370015178929&v=info

And who is this "we" that's issued this challenge to self-publishers past, present, and future? "We" are, to date:
Atomic Books - http://www.atomicbooks.com/
Quimby's - http://www.quimbys.com/
Xerography Debt - www.leekinginc.com/xeroxdebt
Zine World http://www.undergroundpress.org/

And while we're updating our list all the time, so far, the following folks have pledged at least one more issue in 2011:

10 Things, Rhane Alexander, Already Too Much; Never Enough, Angry Violist, Annezine, Brainscan, Aaron Brassea, Caboose, Cinema Sewer, Creatrix, Crimewave, Danger!, Daybook, Heidi Eskgirl, Divine Exploitation Retrospect, Don't Tread On Me, do something!, Drop Out, Exploitation, Fish With Legs, Fluffah, Found Magazine, The Future Generation, Tyson Habein, Happyland, Have You Seen the Dog Lately?, Hoax Zine, Introvert, Kairan, La Trampa del Bulevar, Leeking Ink, Li'l Chrissy, Bt Livermore, Losers Weepers, Musea, Negative Capability, Not Your Nightmare, Paracinema, Psycho Blondes, Reptiles of the Mind, Rigor Mortis, Heather Rounds, Dave Savage, shortandqueer, Slither, Smile Hon You're In Baltimore, Sprak, Syndicate Product, Tail Spins, Teeny Tiny, Telegram Ma'am, Twilight Zone, Undestructable, Colin Upton, Worry Stone, Xerography Debt

We'll be using the Facebook group to provide addresses to publications where participants can send copies of their projects for review, and we'll also be listing addresses to real stores who will consign those very same titles so people can actually get copies the old fashioned way, by walking into a store.

Our list of participants has been growing rapidly. We're hoping you can help us spread the word!

Maynard Reviews a bunch of Zines, October 2010

noreply@blogger.com (librarian666) — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 13:34:00 +0000

Rigor Mortis #3 (Sept 2010—the Anger Management Issue)
A Zombie Panic Attack Production
half-size, 64 pages, $3.50
trades?
Davida Gypsy Breier
PO Box 11064
Baltimore, MD 21212
zombie@leekingink.com
leekinginc.com/rigormortis & livingdeadzine.blogspot.com

An intellectually stimulating foray into the zombie genre. The writing here is high-quality; almost academic, but more accessible. The art kicks ass, and there is even a mini-comic style essay about Tony Dodd. "Normal" print articles cover a range of topics, all sharing the horror flick theme. Among them are: a tribute to Z. A. Recht; the evolution of monsters in film; film series called Feast; sexiest monsters in film; Zombietime for Hitler: an expose on how Nazis are featured in horror flicks. Also has reviews of books, comics and movies.

Inner Swine, Vol 16, issue ½ Summer 2010
Jeff Somers
P.O. 3024 Hoboken, NJ 07030
ISSN: 1527-7704
Subscribe: $5 per year, $6 International, $2 a copy
Free trades
mreditor@innerswine.com

Jeff Somers churns out another one and this is filled with gems for the middle-aged among us. At least the over 40 crowd. I am rather old and freakish because I said “Fuck Yeah” aloud several times as I read this issue. Rants include the closing of a used book store and the trauma of lost browsing this invokes; discarding personal correspondence after we realize that keeping the letters doesn't stop us from growing older and losing connections with that time in our lives; and the best rant about the GAP's advertising creepiness and how it totally misses the over 40 crowd. And it should since we buy all our stuff at Sears.

Lower East Side Librarian Reading Log 2009
Jenna Freedman
$2 cash through mail or paypal
LESLZINE@gmail.com
jenna.openflows.com/reviews
521 E 5th St #1D
New York, NY 10009
Unsolicited trades only for library worker zines.

Jenna Freedman is a zine-expert-librarian. Reviews are rich, funny, and provide just enough detail to give the reader a true sense of zine essence.

Loose Lips Sink Ships, Feb 2010
Sarah May
P.O. 7084
Reno, NV 89510-7084
teerexteeth@gmail.com
thebirdsknowbees.blogspot.com
$2 US/ $2 Can/Mex / $2 World
Yes to trades
Quarter page, 24 pages.

This little zine is a list of kissing vignettes describing the physicality of a kiss and summing up the relationship in a few lines of text. It's tantalizingly personal, not quite erotic, and the combination of all the vignettes paints a tiny epic of relationships that seem to go nowhere, but the journey is truly rich.

This zine stayed with me after I read it.

Regeneration, #7
$2 US/ $3 World; US cash, stamps, paypal.
Trades ok
Ashlee Swanson
Address to change October 2010 so try email address
asregeneration@yahoo.com
36 pages.

Perzine that shows Ashlee's entanglement with alcoholism in her early 20s. She really tells it as it is, and the stark reality of what drinking does to folks is disturbing. She bares it all, and the self-knowing self-destruction is a bit hard to take, but it is well written, and the reader really wants Ashlee to triumph over adversity.

Grunted Warning, #1 August 2010
Stratu
P.O. Box 93
Paddington
NSW 2021
Australia
$1 US, Can/Mex, World
Yes to Trades
12 pages.

News of the Weird in zine format. Wonderful assortment of gruesome, bizarre stories of the macabre and the just plain strange. Some sample headlines: Dead Chef in Freezer; Eight human heads found; and my personal fave – Naked Rage at Brekkie [Breakfast]

RSS feeds can't top this! Oh wait, there are no more RSS feeds. Replaced by Twitter. Yuck.

Node Pajomo, Summer 2010
Node Pajomo
P.O. Box 2632
Bellingham, WA 98227-2632
$1 US / $2 World
nodepajomo@gmail.com (“Email for listings and questions only... keepin' in Postal”)

Zine is a listing of interesting artistic projects. Readers can submit or trade artwork, writing, anything interesting and funky through the mail. It is a totally postal project and Node has folks from all around the globe listed in this zine. Very participatory with readers connecting with readers for artistic collaboration or trade. All this through the regular mail - sticking to paper only, no Internet. Interesting concept, well worth the buck just to see what is going on around the globe.

Omitted #1; Muses and Bruises
Miss Omitted
751 Bushwick Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11221
omittedzine@gmail.com
$2 US / $3 Can/Mex / $4 World
Trades OK
¼ sheet
66 pages.

Perzine of twentysomething woman, reveals her internal struggles in knowing herself and in relating to others in the little-explored realm of how difficult it is for really smart people to find peers, have relationships, and deal with people in general.

I think people tend to gloss over how hard the 20s are, and this journal shows how some of us struggle to define ourselves and determine how to connect with others, or decide if we wish to at all.

Lou Reeder (Corina Fastwolf)
You Can't put your Arms around a Memory (Matt Monochrome)
Matt and Corina
P.O. Box 66835
Portland, OR 97290
cfastwolf@hotmail.com
$3 US plus 2 stamps
Split zine. Lou Reeder covers the huge influence this rocker had on Corina. Matt's zine is mostly about the punk rock scene, as it is today, looking back on the 80s and early 90s. Includes some brutally honest live show reviews of artists like Welfare State, Michael Gira, Dirty Mittens, Meat Puppets....

My favorite part of the zine is the crossword puzzle based on lyrics and song titles from the first decade of Violent Femmes.

Watch the closing doors #52
Fred Argoff
Penthouse L
1170 Ocean Pkwy
Brooklyn, NY 11230
$10 for 4 quarterly issues, cash only
12 pages.

Mass transit from all over the world explored with essays, anecdotes and photos. Trains are so universal, and I enjoy looking at how the trains look mostly the same, but the stations are all so unique to the places they are built in. And we all look the same when we wait for a train, no matter what country we happen to be in.

Favorite pic: bride and groom kissing on an LA subway platform as a train blurs by in the background. How neat to get married on mass transit! That idea trumps the Star Trek theme wedding.

Xtratuf, the greenhorn issue #6, 2010
Moe Bowstern
P.O. Box 6834
Portland, OR 97228
www.moebowstern.com
$10 US / $12 Can/Mex / $13 (Lucky) World
Trades OK
Free to commercial fishing women – must prove with original salty tale. Free to prisoners, no pornographic requests.
7” X 8.5”
160 pages.

Beautiful zine that is really a paperback book of anthologies from over 20 commercial fishing women. Includes salty tales, poems (very few for poetry dislikers), art. Great armchair travel and adventure reading and for the generally curious among us. If you are fan of Linda Greenlaw's Hungry Ocean, this zine is perfection.

The Girls are Mighty Fine, July 2010
Amy Martin
119 Haight St. #5
San Francisco, CA 94102
amymartincomics@gmail.com
$7 US
Maybe trade.
8” X 7”
40 pages.
www.amymartincomics.com

Mini comics featuring a modern Cathy with the f-word and a lot of attitude. Humorous and poignant moments from a single woman's life. Also has autobiographical stores about “Lil' Amy” as a child.

& bunch more reviews from Anne...

noreply@blogger.com (motes) — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 20:28:00 +0000

Fuzzy Lunch Box (S/P #2 April 2010)
Laura Nadel
309 Cedar St #34
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Half-size, 38 pages, $2 US; trades maybe
LauraNadel@aol.com

Laura describes this special issue of FLB as “A compilation of letters for Fuzzy Lunch Box written by our captive audience in prison. Some humorous, some informative, some heart wrenching.” As a description, it’s pretty much right on; the content is all letters from incarcerated folks written to Laura and it’s both sort of fascinating and a little unnerving (I mean, you’re reading letters after all, and even though the authors seem to be aware that their letters are being printed it still felt a little voyeuristic reading these letters.) That said, there’s some really interesting material in here, including a comic about the best and worst of prison, and though you don’t get to see the replies from Laura or her co-publisher & sister, Deborah, it’s a pretty fascinating read.

Fuzzy Lunch Box #15 – The Drink & Drown Issue (Summer 2009)
Laura Nadel
309 Cedar St #34
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Half-size, 42 pages, $2 US; trades maybe
LauraNadel@aol.com

The ‘regular’ version of FLB, this particular issue’s real standout is the dive bar reviews, which are hysterically funny. Laura writes that this issue’s about “anecdotal accounts of the twins hijinks while booze infused (at a punk show, almost getting asses kicked) and some dive bar reviews of dives in Santa Cruz CA.” The articles are catchy and funny, and the issue reads like kind of peeking into their lives; one of the dive bars they go to (Asti) is referred to as Nasti and by the end, you’re in on those kinds of in-jokes. Worth tracking down; I’d love to see some other issues of Fuzzy Lunch Box (that’s a hint, esteemed Editor…)

Lynchpin (#1, May 2010)
Willian Brian Mclean
105-56 Donald St.
Barrie ON L4N 1E3 Canada
6 5/8 x 10 ¼, 16 pages, $4 US/Can/Mex World ?, no trades
roostertree@gmail.com
http://roostertree.com

Description: “Lynchpin is an ongoing series of short comics stories (in the tradition of Eightball, Yummy Fur, and Optic Nerve). The feature story, ‘By the Numbers’ is a biographical tale relatng one half-hour in the life of Alanna Star & an attempted sexual assault. The supplement is a tongue-in-cheek autobio vingnette relating to OCD.” I know, heavy stuff and possibly triggering for people; at the same time, it’s important that people write and read about things like these issues. As a side note, the story does mention that the name of the main character was changed; the form the story takes is the narration of a letter, though you don’t know the background of the story or how it came to pass that it was sent to the author. I’d be interested to see later issues as well to see how the storytelling style develops; it’s a strong first issue.

A.M. vol 3 issue #3 (2009)
By Vezun
PO Box 15394
Las Vegas NV 89114
V32un@yahoo.com
www.vezun.com
8.5 x 11 (full size), 32 pages, $8, no trades

Vezun writes: “A collection of comics. Some one panel comics and short stories of different lengths. The genre of the stories different from one to the next as well.” The production values on this collection are pretty high; while it’s mostly black & white, there are four pages of full color (plus the covers). Stories range from some science fiction stories to one-panel illustrations (the titles of which are all listed on a title page) and the artwork is in many cases very detailed. The color work is eye-catching, especially a story called SEEDS, and it all ended up feeling kind of surreal by the end for me. But check out the website and see what you think…

(my first piece of mystery mail!)

noreply@blogger.com (motes) — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 21:24:00 +0000

?????
by James
$ ??? trades ???
M.P.I
255 S 3rd St. Apt 4
Brooklyn NY 11211
ghstsnguitars@hotmail.com

My most recent review packet included a cardboard envelope containing a DVD and a little quarter-size zine with a story and some comics about some MTA subway hustling. James, the author, writes about meeting up with another musician, hopping subways, and playing music while riding the trains (a ticketable offense, apparently, as the covers of the zine are reproductions of tickets the author’s gotten). It didn’t include any information, though, about the basics: title, cost, etc. Mystery mail!

Review from Anne: Homobody #6

noreply@blogger.com (motes) — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 19:52:00 +0000

Review from Anne: Homobody #6
By Rio Safari
half-size, 32 pages, $2 (everywhere?) trades yes
1631 NE Broadway #737
Portland, OR 97232
riosafari@riseup.net
www.movedancecreate.com

I was pretty much sold as soon as I read Rio’s description: “It’s my queer comic zine about dudes who like dudes that don’t hit the clubs (homos + homebody)!” The funky painted cover is both eyecatching in terms of how the visuals are arranged (I love the back cover!) and for the color use. Inside the covers there’s a lot going on, from an interview with the Queer Zine Archive Project and another one with Robert Triptow (both charmingly handwritten!) as well as comics by a number of different folks, including Rob Kirby—some of these are short one-page panels and others are longer stories. It’s all pretty adorable and guaranteed to give you a bit of a warm fuzzy feeling.

Review from Anne: Rigor Mortis #3 (Sept 2010—the Anger Management Issue)

noreply@blogger.com (motes) — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 19:51:00 +0000

Review from Anne: Rigor Mortis #3 (Sept 2010—the Anger Management Issue)
A Zombie Panic Attack Production
half-size, 64 pages, $3.50, full color cover (it’s appropriately creepy & grisly, as you’d expect)
trades?
Davida Gypsy Breier
PO Box 11064
Baltimore, MD 21212
zombie@leekingink.com
leekinginc.com/rigormortis & livingdeadzine.blogspot.com

Okay, so the cover completely creeped me out (which I guess is kind of a compliment to Bojan, who did all of the art in this issue), but once I got in and reading I actually really enjoyed this issue; I’ve never been a fan of gore/zombie films in any serious way, but I dig monster movies—so I totally got a kick out of the “Sexiest Monsters of Filmland” article (and I totally agree with the winner, by the way). RM is a phenominally well-put-together zine, with fantastic layout (nothing feels crowded and there are some absolutely-perfect-for-the-material fonts being used). But you should get your hands on it because both the writing and the art are very well done. (And if you’re into the gory stuff, RM is a total must-read.)