#1. Like the immortal golden-age zinefolk, Joe the Stache combines a blunt, obsessive persona with a charming, sloppy execution. When I read his tutorial on growing a handlebar moustache, I got a feeling that I haven't gotten from a zine in a long time: I suddenly took an interest in something I didn't give a shit about before. His enthusiasm infected me. I realized why some women dig the things: craftsmanship. Cool. Our host then swerves into an eerily well-informed rant about Nazis, inspiring more '90s flashbacks in your reporter. When I realized the last half would be filled with band interviews and record reviews, I zoned out. Long live zines. Reviewed by Emerson Dameron. [$?, trades and moustache-related contributions welcome, 38 pp., digest] 1467 Cochiti St., Santa Fe, NM 87505,myspace.com/bigwhoopzine.

I had a hard time with this one. Reading Bipedal, By pedal was almost like watching the author attempt to tie down greased hogs, while giving a tutorial on how it ought to be done. While small, a lot of words were used to say that Critical Mass is a controversial and regularly occurring international phenomena, consisting of semi-spontaneous convention building; with reoccurring bicycle themes; and no fixed agenda, meaning, or point (making it a sort of [non]event). I wasn't able to read it in entirety, and (like the Portland Critical Mass) I gave it multiple tries. Eventually I decided to flip to the back pages assuming I'd find a summation of propositions, concluding statements etc. . . . What I found was critical analysis (did you just read 'analysis' as 'mass' in your head?) on what CM is. It was in the back that I found the authors overtly fixing meanings, as well as using and confronting more-stable definitions and biases, redeeming the zine for me. Not that I am all" Hooah!" for structural linguistics, I'm just not a big fan of greased hog-wrestling.
 
While I would rather be handed a copy of the film Return of the Scorcher by a passing cyclist, this zine wasn't all that bad. Bipedal, By Pedal contains history, anecdotes, interpretation, and analysis of Critical Mass that I think is worth $2 (and I hear it's on sale for $1.50 at Microcosom!). Reviewed by JJ. (40 pages, 1/4 size, offset, 2 oz)

By Matt Furie. Andy, Brett, Landwolf, and Pepe are the four friends in "Boy's Club" — they play video games, drink, take drugs, eat pizza, and wear cool t-shirts. It sounds like it might be monotonous, but instead it's really quite fun. Casual conversations and hang out sessions always seem to turn interestingly gross (like when Andy gets bird flu from not washing a shirt he bought on the street, or when Pepe pops a cheese bubble on his pizza and baby spiders spill out!). Reallycreative endings and great art make this zine a must have. Reviewed by Kelly Froh. ($? / half-legal / 40 pp.) lardnardo@hotmail.com

#21. How awkward to read a zine detailing the failed relationship of two well-known names in the Northwest zine community. Part of me felt like I was sneaking a look at a tabloid (which makes news-stories out of people's private lives) and I also felt like — oh shit — this is a journal comic minus the punchlines. Wrekk does not seek to slander her former partner, instead this zine is a more personal investigation of her side of the relationship. She writes honestly about the concessions she made in the name of commitment and the guilt and depression that comes along with feeling trapped, and not wanting to be the one to leave. This is a good zine for anyone that has been/is currently in a relationship that is stagnating, and slowly but surely ruining you. The ending will bring you hope that there is life after a bad relationship. Reviewed by Kelly Froh. ($? / digest/ 40 pp.) Alex Wrekk, 809 N. Shaver St., Portland, OR 97227. brainscanzine@riseup.net

(2007.)Wow. This is the "sample version"of a much larger (60 page) project ...but all by itself it's a pretty amazingartifact. This kind of obsessiveattention to detail can't be bought:this cat loves doing music theory for the guitar and hasclearly spent thousands of hoursat it. There's a particularfocus on choosing chords when only themelody line is known. The notations,unfamiliar to me, were designed to beeasier to learn than "trad" (standard staffnotation) and for all I know it works.The same publisher also produces thelong-running zine Dwelling Portably.12 digest pages; $1. Reviewed by Indy.Light Living Library,POB 109-cea,Philomath OR 97370.

(issue 5; August 2005.)The point of each story,beyond simply grossing outthe reader with lots of entrails,seems to bethat anybody with an opinionabout anything is an asshole.Hippies, liberals, libertarians,socialists ... all fodder forJose Angeles's scorn.Boring as hell.40 sub-digest pages; $3.50.Reviewed by Indy.No contact info beyondjoseangeles(at)muchomail.comandCRUDEDUDE.net.

Dirt and Cheese

Issue 3. Carrot Quinn wears a giant back pack. She eats cold cans of beans, huddles freezing in a boxcar, and accepts rides from strangers. She is in love with this life. And so today i bring you Dirt and Cheese, a zine filled with "freight trains, solitude, unrequited love, the far north, the hunt for long lost fathers..." and more.
 
A good adventure does not always equal a good story. While many people are inclined to write about their adventures, I have found on more than one occasion myself drowning in the brambles of self indulgent prose, losing track of the actual plot and feeling like i'm in the midst of a mid-nineties emo song middle school acid trip. Here is where Dirt and Cheese rises to the top of the heap. A cordial tour guide, Carrot leaves no stone unturned, never forgetting that you, the reader, are along for the voyage. In this issue, she brings us to Alaska to meet her long lost father in an awkward living room with the football on mute. We are also brought along on train rides and fantastical hitch-hiking trips, where we are simultaneously shown the charm of the highway strip, and the sting of being left behind.
 
A hulking hundred pages of straight text, Dirt and Cheese is laid out in a simple, easy to read way, and features a charming wood stove on the cover. Even if you hate adventure, you will fall victim to the simple charms of Dirt and Cheese. Reviewed by Sharpei Newman. ($5.00, it is digest size, and about a hundred pages, bound with a rubber band — dirt and cheese laughs at staples, it is so thick.) Carrot Quinn, edamame@riseup.net, myspace.com/dirtandcheese

#14. Cometbus is a genre now, like punk. There are countless Cometbus emulators, paradoxically rugged and tender, wayfaring kids who handwrite their lyrical musings ("lyrical" like punk lyrics are "lyrical") in impeccable block caps as they travel the world, close to the ground, meeting nutty outcasts and take-no-shit laborers, experiencing experiences. There are Cometbus wannabes and there are Cometbus torch-bearers, and they can be judged on the strength of their stories, as the writing never deviates much from the Cometbus template. While it does include a lot of lines such as "[t]he wind has stopped taking its meds again," Dream Whip has the conviction of a long-haul lifestyle, a zine that will run out of material when its creator dies, a zine that's logged 14 issues with no problem, a zine that no longer depends on its influences. Is has the sweep of a first novel, dozens of anecdotes in which I lost myself, and a disarming wit that Cometbus lacks. It's one of my favorite Cometbus replicas I've read, even if it can't escape that comparison. Check the cute World Trade Center séance drawing, and stick around for the index. Reviewed by Emerson Dameron. [$?, 344 pp., paperback book] Bill Brown, PO Box 53832, Lubbock, TX 79453. Available via www.microcosmpublishing.com.

#8. "I like to think of this as the archetypal Dublin literary thinker's zine" — so writes the author, and he had to, because no one else on earth would categorize this zine as such. This zine is just one long, uninteresting, unoriginal rant against all that annoys the author. At this point you could probably guess, but I'll list these annoyances anyway: bad drivers, tourists, breeders, retail workers, ugly people, people who watch TV, the homeless, etc. . . . The concert review is the only thing worth reading because it's about someone other than this author, who if I overheard him talking in a pub, I'd move to the other side of the room. I at first thought this immature, boring ramble was the work of an intolerant teenager, and then I went tohis myspace site and saw that he's in his late thirties! Wah wah waaaaah! Reviewed by Kelly Froh. (free / digest / 12 pp.) Alan Pearce, 20 Bullfin Rd., Dublin 8, Ireland. gerryorchard@iol.ie myspace.com/fedupmag

The real title is in Khmer,so I can't even read it,never mind type it.¶A girl defeats someviolent enemies violentlyand goes on to have an encounterwith a cat in a dreamscapein this long-distance comix collaborationby Celso (images) and Sinoun (words). It's pretty good stuff, too: theunusual tone and style really doevoke a certain otherworldliness.A great deal of (rough) crafthas gone into creating somefold-out pages; also you geta plastic envelope for the wholething and a sticker. Reviewed by Indy.No price listed, but one learns atSinoun's way-too-trickyanatomicair.compage that they were asking $4.Celso,3423 N. Commercial Ave,Portland OR 97227andSinoun, PO Box 1602,Decatur GA 30031

#3. It was originally hard for me to get into this comic, because at first glance, it's all over the place. But I eased into it, and ended up really enjoying it. I don't believe a comic has to have structuredpanels, but I still balked a bit at how free-flowing this comic is. Imagine sketchbook pages. Cute drawings accompany short stories and lists of"unanswered" questions (i.e. "Did the mouse in the pantry understand my attempts to communicate?"). This zine would benefit overall with the use of better pens; a few pages look like they were done with a crayon or some kind of bulky marker and it is not doing a service to the drawings or the words. A lot of neat details are lost. Still, a nice little comic worth reading. Reviewed by Kelly Froh. ($? / digest / 36 pp.) Erin Tobey, PO Box 7023, Richmond, VA 23221. hellomermaid.com

#1. Not quite a comic — more just captioned drawings. The title describes the content pretty well — it's about (and by, presumably) gay men who'd rather stay in with a book than hit the club. Yet, there isn't a lot of "homo" to Homobody. "Homobodies cuddle in bed for a long time, even if their pillows are only balled-up sweaters." Who doesn't? I'm all for making soup playing with the cat, instead of socializing, no argument there. But in the next issue, let's address more of those gay male stereotypes. Make that the focus. I'm well familiar with sleeping till noon. Reviewed by Marc. [$?, digest, 12 pp., copied] Move! Dance! Create! Publishing, c/o Rio Safari, 2934 SE Adler #5, Portland, OR 97214, rmsafari@gmail.com

Issue # 2½. Human Waste is a half sized zine that is stocked with articles that parody various aspects of DIY Culture. It is the kind of zine that would give itself a high five to a bad review because they really felt like they "gotcha" or put a bee in your bonnet. Take that, radical politics! Boo ya! One step closer to voting republican. Cool!
 
Something surprising to me is that Human Waste's DIY Issue is so big! This person obviously took a really long time writing and laying out a zine all about hating on our community. It seems like a lot of effort, but to what end?
 
Within the DIY Scene, there is a rich bounty from which to poke fun. We are living in a land of dred mullets, DIY Dentistry, roadkill vegans, and intensely straight dumpster divers whose homo-erotic attraction to Joe Biel and all things Microcosm is immense and ripe for satire. I find it disappointing that within this world of potential hilarity, the best Human Waste can come up with are jokes about Punk Planet readers driving SUVs.
 
Do you know who, 9 times out of ten, feels comfortable making fun of other people's issues and then throwing up their hands going "Heyyyy, it was a joke! Lighten up!" ?. People who have the privilege to. To joke about Women's Self Defense. And being poor. And about being against a war whose casualties are mainly people of color. Human Waste takes on all these issues, and does a poor job of finding the humor in each.
 
I will bet you a thousand dollars that the person behind Human Waste is a straight, white, man with a lot of privilege.
 
A glimpse into the mind of the writer:
"the rain was pissing more than a pregnant lady on free beer night"
and
"I saw a punk and his girlfriend"
(who's the girlfriend? An accessory? Could she not have been a punk too? )
 
side note from Marc: Re: the writer's use of the word "your" when the appropriate spelling would be "you're". Is that a joke too? Just to stick it to the reader?
 
I feel sad that people in the Pacific Northwest feel like life is so progressive that it's now okay to be ironic about feminism, oil, and radical politics. In fact, taking a step outside of our oxygen-rich landscape, one will find that our small community is somewhat insignificant in the face of war and conservatism, so much so that we should be nourishing and supporting each other, not infighting with stupid zines that aren't even clever enough to justify their means.
 
p.s. in regards to an article on the zine symposium and Portland romanticism:
 
People need to recognize when they're bringing their own issues into something. If you walk into the zine symposium and are freaked out by a room full of happy, productive zinesters, and feel like there's a hierarchy there, then it's up to you to change it. The hierarchy you feel isn't inherent, it is only perpetuated by your attitude and baggage. I am truly baffled by people who feel insecure, exclude themselves, and then complain about being excluded as if anything we would have done (as symposium attendees or organizers) could have changed that. Reviewed by Sharpei Newman. [$2 / digest / 40 pp. / photocopied] Brent Moore, PO Box 7182, Bend, OR 97708.

#3, January 2008. This one, yes, I am reviewing out of guilt. James gave a nice write-up Zinethug in these pages. He offers a couple notes on the layout that I've taken into consideration, and comments:

"I've been sending my own zines to ZT for I'm sure the last 2 or 3 issues, but they haven't reviewed any. I'm a little disappointed, but I've accepted it."

I wish I had the good fortune to love every zine as much as I love Invincible Summer — an artful journal teaming with love of animals, humorous inner dialogue, depictions of wonky interpersonal experiences, and awkward family life. . . . While I love me a good perzine, I fall into the seemingly large category of reviewers who do not often appreciate the use of comix for narrative. However, Nicole's illustrations are superb and definitely aid in providing that interactive quality which draws readers into the author's world. Besides, don't get me wrong, it's not all comic. If you're familiar with Invincible Summer, you know that each page is crafted uniquely, sometimes just well written/arranged text, sometimes with an illustration, and sometimes a comic, yet there is never a redundant format! For me, reading the first Invincible Summer anthology invoked feelings similair to sitting on the roof with a good friend, excitedly passing notes in class, and wide eyed coffee jittered conversations. I liked, loved it, want some more of it. . . . Did I mention the occasional vegan recipes which showed up in the pages?
 
This is first I.S. anthology (second run), which contains issues #1 - 8, and includes extra content (mostly wonderful drawings). Reviewed by JJ. [192 pages, 1/2 legal, paperback] Available via Microcosm #76053. 222 S. Rogers St., Bloomington, IN 47404, microcosmpublishing.com

The fifth issue of Johnny America is divided into three booklets, not really out of necessity. I might have preferred a thick zine instead — eighty pages, maybe even perfect bound. That would look impressive. The dedication to writing and clean layout are what draws me to Johnny America; the content stand on its own. To have this installment divided like it is does not complement. I am inclined to use the word "overwrought". But as a reviewer, there was an advantage. I sent one volume to Owen, one to Kelly, and kept this for myself. Neither of them were aware they were seeing only 1/3 of the product. So bear this in mind.
 
What I held onto (the Green Volume) showcases the effort of four gentleman. Editor Jonathan Holley begins the volume with the story "Georgie", a post-apocalyptic tale of heroism which takes time revealing itself. Of Johnny America's regular contributors (with the possible exception of Emily Lawton), I find Holley to be the most skilled, and "Georgie" confirms this opinion. He displays his gifts of colloquialism and leave-the-reader-wanting-more-ism here. Well done.
 
Mark Brown rates lottery tickets upon the criteria of "Fun", "Graphic design", and "Overall value". OK. G. D. Ward furthers the timeworn genre of "ironic, postmodern take on the superhero", with the longish missive "Hello". It's a imaginative yawner — cute but identical to work being handed into collegiate creative writing classes nationwide. I've come to expect more from Johnny America, which is why I really can't explain the final submission's presence. "Sipping Soda in a Combat Zone", by Timmy Waldron, in a word, blows. Lampooning the foibles of modern Amerika, it seems so easy. A Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., speech altered via CGI into a television ad for "Peppie Cola". A corporate sweepstakes that awards civilians a tour of Iraq, in sporty off road vehicles. I might not have finished this one.
 
What I wrote before, about an eighty-page and perfect bound issue, I world like to amend. Make that sixty, fifty pages. Johnny America is a bang-up zine. I just wish Jonathan would stop including all these other jerks. Reviewed by Marc. [digest / 28 pp. / bound with string]
 
(Blue Volume.)Easily my favorite of thisissue's Thug Grab-bag.Solid production values,first of all:a nice stiff cover(with uncredited artin the style ofJim Woodring)inobtrusively bound withstring; a page layoutscheme that's creative buteasy on the eye (thisis particularly rare);the works. But of course,it's really all about thecontent, right?¶Right. So: the firsthalf is Eli S. Evans'sdead-on-target academic "Theory"parody "Toward a Sociologyof the Sport Spectator:A Rare and Patented Argument";the much shorter piecesbringing up the rear includea review of (the DVD)AmericanBar, a handful of(literate and entertaining) short-shorts,and the laugh-out-loud Q&A column"Tom Conoboy Knows All The Answers #1".There's more at thewebsitein case you want to try before you buy.Reviewed by Indy. 24 digest pages.
 
(Red volume.) It literally took me 7 tries before I got through this literary zine. The first paragraph screams annoyance. I thought, "Oh God, I'll never get through it, I'll never make it." In fact, I set it aside and only reviewed it after being politely prodded by Marc. The first and longest piece in this issue is by a Japanese writer, Toshiki Kojo. It's named "A Funny Story of a Sad Story" and it's 22 pages long. It's about a book that contains a sad story, but not really, because it makes people laugh, but not because it's funny, but because it's sad. Or something like that. The first page goes back and forth trying to explain this book's problem. The book goes on a journey to find "the happiest story in the world" in the hopes of balancing the sadness it contains, and making the girl who checked it out from the library happy. On this journey, the book meets and talks with other books and ends up in a different library, and then in the home of a famed "book lover", learning more about itself along the way. Half-way through I thought, "This would be a good children's story", and I pretty much feel the same way after finishing it. The author, Kojo, has a kind-of tedious writing style that was really hard to appreciate, but this story had its moments. The last story in the book, a one-pager entitled, "Flour Moth/Luna Moth" was really well-written and I enjoyed it very much, perhaps because of my memories of a sad box of Maggot Bran that I innocently poured myself a bowl of. I didn't eat Raisin Bran again for years. I believe overall that Johnny America should stick to short, smart stories and essays. This volume was just too daunting for the common reader. Reviewed by Kelly Froh. (digest / 24 pp.)
 
Available in three volumes for $8 from: Johnny America,P.O. BOX 44-2001,Lawrence KS 66044

(Vol 1; 2006.)I myself am a teacher(of adults, the other end from K'garten,but still ... a teacher). So I'm morethan a little bit predisposedto care about the stuff inMara Siciliano's zine aboutlife on the front lines ofElementary Ed.¶OK. So. It disappoints me to report:I mostly didn't care much aboutthe stuff going on in this zine.Most of it's in "comics" format ...but MS is a barely a beginner cartoonist.Which is cool—it's a zine!—butfor hecksake don't (ifyou actually, you know, want an audience)fight the reader with sloppy handlettering.¶But then there's the story that chilled my blood.One has—more or less—grown used torandom harrassment by cluelessbureaucrats who have longsinceforgotten that our "land of thefree" was once the envy of the world—allin the name of "Homeland Security".And I thought I'd becomepretty cynical about it all("schools are just minimum security prisons",as I remarked in a previous Thug)—untilI read KU's "Lock Down".The horror here is that nobody seems to behorrified ...¶Watching MS work out her beginner-comixchops (mostly about faces, but also includingthe odd where-do-you-put-the-camerahuman-anatomy page-layout stuff)was pretty fun; sure as heckworthwhile.My own taste leans to the looserstyle displayed in "I Thought I MightHave Nits" (I suppose what I'm gettingat here is "don't try too hard").¶No contact info beyond e-mail(somebody doesn't know ... tradingis the whole point): handwrittenbut looks like "smumoni2000(at)yahoo.com".If that fails, maybe the "u" oughta be "o".40 digest pages; $2. Reviewed by Indy.

(Maybe. The handwritingon the cover art leavessome room for doubt.No price or date.)Vignettes from thesex-life of a gay manwith severe enoughmental-health issuesto've landed himin the psych wardmore than once.Frank without beingsensational; thisreader found itvery touching.There's also aninterview withnovelist Daren Luddand an outside-looking-inpiece about gay New Yorkreprinted from a 50's"men's" magazine("rife with misconceptionand truth just like real life").Finally, a handful ofzine reviews—alwaysa good thing.80 sub-digest pages (sideways);no price listed. Reviewed by Indy.Mike,PO Box 1174,Tallahassee FL 32302

(Issue No. -(Minus)8; no date.)This guy evidently lovespaying dues to the post office.I quit making zines several yearsago and so've lost track of the rates ...but 5 sheets of paper probably addswell over 30 cents to the mailingcost of every copy. So what elsecould be the point of ten fullsize pages ofunfunny recaptioned newspaper funnies("Family Circus" & "Blondie" & "Dennisthe Menace" ... ohlook: Dagwood's a junkie!There's this enormous hypodermic needlecrudely added in to the panel!Haw haw haw!)—didn't this play itselfout several generations ago?¶"Inappropriate Remarks 101" ismore conspicuous consumption:a few lines worth of crude witspread out over two-to-a-pagecelebrity photos and huge type.Then there's a sort-of-amusing(but way too long)mostly-text thing aboutpretending to go along withthe "old Nigerian e-mail scam" ...but even here, he admits thatit's already been done better(at 419eater.com).¶Still. When all's said and done, there'sa zining-is-fun-&-fun-is-goodvibe at work here that anyway Ifound pretty contagious. The (9 pages of)original comixstuff are sort of inspiring in theircrudity (hey!—I could do that!)and "Pundits I Have Loathed" is actually prettywitty and insightful. If I were still making zines, I'd gladlytrade with MFIA!. If he went for it,it'd cost himseveral times my own production and postagecosts ... but maybe he can somehow afford it.44 fullsize pages; "Price: Food! For God'sSake, Food!". Reviewed by Indy.PO Box 65391,Washington DC 20035

(#22, 2006.)According to a fanletter, it's"all very punk rock". So there'sthe usual focus on records thatnobody outside of some exclusiveclique could ever care about ...but then, hey, what's this,Louis Armstrong. Neilzineopenly invites anybody tosend some stuff; he'llprobably publish it.Makes for a pretty fun mix.And the"very special part to meis that it's ALWAYS FREE".Bygod somebody still getsit after all these years.16 fullsize pages; free.Reviewed by Indy.P.O. Box 723,Santa Rosa CA 95402.

#4. The best story in this magazine is entitled, "I Hate Daniel Butler", which is a great piece about hating the most popular boy in school, and it ends in an actual physical altercation that is very surprising. It is a great depiction of high school awkwardness, jealously, hostility, and depression. The rest of themagazine exhibits a guy who can really draw, but has no other stories to tell, so he writes about balls,farts, penises, and boogers. Original, huh? His artwork is reminiscent of Drew Friedman and BasilWolverton — seriously, this book is fun to look at, it's too bad its content is so base. I wouldn'taccuse Johnny Ryan of such a thing, because he works these "things" into weird, unpredictable stories,which are definitely lacking in Dean's magazine. Dean declares in his introduction that all he hopes tooffer you is, "...the same kind of sick jokes and smutty humour as before..." So, mission accomplished. Reviewed by Kelly Froh. ($3 / standard / 47 pp.) Jason Dean, 5 St. Dials Rd., Old Cwmbran, Cwmbran Gwent, NP443AN, United Kingdom. Deanjason143@aol.com

(issue thirteen, 2006)There are sixty-three pieces here onthe theme-of-the-issue ("Lucky/Unlucky");almost all are in cartoon-memoir form (but asmall handful are [one-page] prose pieces [with spotillustrations]).¶Now. That's a lot of contributors...so it's reasonable to expect thatthe quality will be somewhat uneven. OK, I admit it:very uneven.¶A few of the artists haveno cartooning skillat all (beyond ... presumably ...a love of the medium);meanwhile, at the other end, we have suchlong-time favorites (of mine)as Carrie (Asswhine) McNinch,Androo Robinson,and Dan Zettwoch (ofUSSCatastrophe in St. Louis),along with plenty of othervery well-trained hands.¶And plenty is the word. If youcan get more flat-out comics joy for sixbucks anywhere ... go to it!(Heck ... you'reprobably better at this job than I am... wanna volunteer to take my place?)Delaine's been producing these modelhigh-end comics zinessince 1993 (along with--of course!--MySmall Diary itself).¶OK. Now. Just awee quibble to go along with the gush(to justify my self-image as a "critic").Can we all just kind of get past the whole"(lovingly) tie it together with shoelaces(or paperclips, or trashbag-twisties, oranything in world but the good lord's ownstaples"thing? I mean, is it because it's a pain inthe neck to read it (since it fallsapart in your hands), or because it'sa pain in the neck to shelve it, oris it maybe because it'sa pain in the neck to produce it--or what?--that makes you think it's such a marvelous bloody idea?¶PS. More gushing. I meant everything I just said, but.I suppose I'd better go ahead and admit thatthe production job is stunning. The(dan moynihan) cover art isprinted on playing-card stock(and then glued to the usual cardboardcoverstock) ... for all the worldlike actually playingcards; they artfully invoke the"luck" theme. Tiny parts of thevarious images (throughout thezine) are easily made out (& thisis harder than it sounds ... we'vegot a pro printjob, in a word).¶Now for some how-you-get-good technicalstuff: of courseDelaine included ordering info(it's missing pretty often; are yousure you don't want this job?)along with a back catalogue(pix and prices; brief descriptions ....you know: class).There's a photo of Delaine (looking delectable ... but hold it, guys,she's happily married).There's awebpageand an"e-group".Order already. 160 digest pages (in twovolumes); $6.Reviewed by Indy.Delaine Derry Green,1204 Cresthill Road,Birmingham AL 15213

(Issue One; 2006.)Every now and again,I'll look at aa short-story in a "little" magazine(or a major monthly) in the library;maybe now and then a "literary issue"of some academic periodicalwill fall into my hands. Kinda thing.And whatthe heck—I'll read pretty much anything—likeas not I'll even get a bit of a kick out of it. But has it gotany balls? Hellno. Enter SWILL.¶Our editor, Rob Pierce, hasaccomplished something pretty amazing here:all ten pieces have interestingstories to tell (with plenty of weird sex andfantastic mayhem: "stories with an edge").What's maybe even moresurprising: they all tell their storiesin straight-up well-edited american english("Fortunate Day", by Delphine Lecompte[probably my least-favorite piece here] has lots of run-onsand flouts capitalization conventions, but these are choices deliberately made, not mistakes).Weirdly, Pierce'sown "The Ugliest Whore" is maybe the mostcarelessly edited story ... there are two commasplices, for example ... a doctor who treatshimself has a fool for a patient, I suppose ...¶This is fiction by people who care about words,but without the stifling conventions ofthe "literary" genre.The best of the lot? Maybe, for me,Corey Mesler's Scrooge-meets-Dr.-Jeckelleadoff story "Ebenezer Redux".The graphics(6 full-page black-&-whites) didn't do a thingfor me (though the cover's kind of interesting).68 fullsize pages. No price listed.Reviewed by Indy.No contact info beyondswillmagazine.com.

By Heather Maeo and Lisa Rosalie. A dating expedition after a break-up. I made a similar zine myself not long ago, when I went on a slew of Match.com dates. What I like about this one is that the author is not afraid to write about her too-high expectations. She's really excited to meet someone she really clicked with online. She goes to meet him and he's huge, wearing a black trench coat a la the Matrix, and try as she might, she just can't get past this (who could?). She goes on a great date with a great guy, but is disappointed that she doesn't fall in love in 3 hours. Online dating should really promise to help you make connections, not find you a "mate" — I think this screws with too many people. You expect "love at first sight", and when it doesn't happen, you get confused and disappointed, distracting you from what you should be doing — getting to know this stranger in front of you. The author makes online connections, meets a few guys (some good, some huge, some arrogant) and seems to give it her all at every opportunity. There is the occasional daydream (in the form of a nice little piece of erotic fiction) that overcomes her, but for the most part, she gives each guy a good chance. You really do learn a lot about yourself when you craft a personality profile for an online site, and then try to live up to it when on an actual date. You wouldn't think there'd be so much surprise involved — with the 1500 word descriptions of likes, dislikes, opinions, traits, over a million conversational emails exchanged. When you meet face to face, you have to be ready to start from scratch. All those words just get you the date, nothing more. Neat little drawings and totally awful blockprints are scattered throughout, neither are necessary per se, but the colour cover works quite nicely. Reviewed by Kelly Froh. ($? / mini /24 pp.) maeo@bust.com and lisa.rosalie@gmail.com

By Mardou. I picked this comic up at Stumptown, where my search for narrative comics under $3 was nearly fruitless. I was happy to find this one, actually priced at $2, and it has a story, and characters, and plot twists! Oh my! Similar in style to that of Gabrielle Bell, this has nice, straight-forward drawings that do well to support the story. "Washing Machine" is about a misstep in judgment that threatens to sabotage something really good, and relationships blossoming in the strangest places. Reviewed by Kelly Froh. ($2 / half-legal / 16 pp.) www.mardouville.com

(February 2007.)This "Premier Issue" is all aboutMUNI, the public transportationsystem in San Francisco. The onlything in it that caught even a littlebit of my interest (though I didmanage to read the whole thing) was acollection ofphotos of a cute twenty-ish woman on or neara bus or bus-stop. Ten contributorshave joined editor Kathleen Neves ... butnone of 'em found anything to sayabout MUNI that made me care.Or even convinced me that theycare, when you get down to it. If they'd writtenabout stuff they did care about,maybe I'd've found it more interesting.Or maybe not: the centerspreadcollage (about body images) and the"Love and Sex Column" (in "Dear Abby"style) didn't do much for me either.No price or addy listed;here's itsMySpacepage. Reviewed by Indy.

#25.5, March 2008. This supplement contains about 150 zine reviews, and is meant to hold the reader over until the publication of #26, which let's hope appears some time this year. Zine World approached something like timeliness with its last couple issues, something like an annual schedule. I am of course overjoyed by the reviews herein — I received this supplement two days ago, and already I've sent off for zines mentioned. I am just antsy for more: the News section, the Letters section, columns, gossip. . . . [$1 / standard / 12 pp. / photocopied, cornerstapled]
 
#25, Summer 2007. "Free Speech is for Everyone". Zine World is indispensable. Whenever I teach a "Zines 101" workshop, I bring along later copies of Factsheet 5 and the most recent ZW. I go into my history with self publishing, and mention how, in the 1990s, zines flourished. I hold up a copy of F5 and say, "This was the place to be reviewed. Sold at newsstands worldwide, Factsheet 5 came out every few months and featured thousands of zines. The never gave bad reviews." Then, I say, everyone got on the Internet, and the number of zines fell off drastically. F5 ceased publishing, and Zine World became the place to publicize. "Their comments are more appraising and honest", I'll tell a class. "Hundreds of zines are mentioned, and it's only sold by mail. The sense of community is much stronger in these pages. Zine World is for people who can't help but publish zines." Reviewed by Marc. [$4 US / $5 Canada, standard, 48 pp., offset] Jerianne, PO Box 330156, Murfreesboro, TN 37133, www.undergroundpress.org