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The Alice Underground

Adventure #1, Winter 2000. I used to write reviews for Zine World, under the name “Ben Joseph”. I used the pseudonym because ZW has a strict policy of not reviewing its volunteers’ work. What’s ironic is that I’m too embarrassed to send my stuff in now, anyway, after flaking on the editor mid 2001. One of the zines in my last batch — for which I never sent in reviews — was this one. Here’s what “Ben” thought: “Hey, this is pretty good. Leslie’s seventeen and, even in this first issue, eons more perceptive of a writer than I was at her age. How emasculating! Much of the fare is what you would expect from a suburban girl in high school — praise for Sylvia Plath, a list detailing the contents of her purse, a list of ‘pretty things’, the story of her first car dying. But I even enjoyed the filler. Quality prose, so-so poetry.” What “Ben” couldn’t have known is how tickled I was, finding a quote from my best friend here, too. “‘. . . because we are all looking for the complete definition of love.’ — Beau Sia”. Tickled and so very jealous. [$1 / digest / 84 pp. / photocopied]

Les
1102 East Fairview
Rochester Hills, MI     48306
indiegogrrrl(at)home.com

Almost Normal Comics

#1. The logo for this comic reminds me of a Madball, which I do believe is intentional. I’m unsure how to describe Elliot’s comics, I’m all conflicted. The artwork is intricate and done with a fairly skilled hand, with even pointillism type shading. Yet, it’s all scanned into a computer with too low of resolution, which doesn’t photocopy well. The stories are somewhat like those from EC comics, but often much angrier toward women. This I really cannot take. WE is practiced at drawing torture scenes with pendulous breasts and pussy lips squeezed together in resistance, with bondage and straightrazors. Not this issue, but others from him I passed along immediately to some dudes I know who are into skate videos and Gwar, and they loved Almost Normal Comics. This issue wasn’t so bad. There is a strip about an aligatorman; there’s a horrific looking “gallery of ghouls”; and there are clippings from fake newspapers around the globe about old ladies being impaled, Siberian cannibalism, and the like. [$1 / digest / 24 pp. / photocopied] Website: members.tripod.com/almostnormalcomics

Almost Normal Comics
c/o WE Elliot
POBox 12822
Ft. Huachuca, AZ     85670
flesh_on_bone(at)yahoo.com

Amusing Yourself to Death

#14, December 1998/January 1999. Reading this reviewzine now, four years later, I am quite putoff by my writing. The reviews I wrote for Ruel that are on this site are so much better. In this, I sound too contemptuous toward zines to even list the contents. Ruel Gaviola, the dude who edited Amusing Yourself to Death, had been at it for two years with this issue, and it shows. By that, I mean he often did laundrylist type reviews, and he only reviewed those zines that he particularly wanted to read. The rest went to us staffers. In this issue, reviews from Davida Gypsy Breier (see review: Leeking Ink) and Thrill Racer (see review: The Easy Way) stand out, containing just the right amounts of the personal and critical. And Jeff Kay (of The West Virgina Surf Report) just kills. I’m not running an address, as AYTD is, of course, no longer being published. There were rumors that Ruel was wanting to get it moving again, on a smaller scale, but rumors is all, apparently. I will tell you that I still send my zine to Ruel’s POBox, with each new issue, and it has yet to bounce back. [$3 / digest / 68 pp. / photocopied, colored cover]

ruel_gaviola(at)yahoo.com

Bitter Pie

#1. Let’s see. . . . It was three years ago that I met this girl. I was working at Staples (the officesupply store, who uses the honor system for their selfserve copiers, FYI), and she complained about the poor quality of our machines. I remember feeling embarrassed to be seen working at a chain store by another zine person, but I also remember her sipping on a Starbucks coffee that she’d purchased across the street. And she went to Kinko’s after leaving our store. Thirty minutes later, I went up the block to meet her there, to get the comic she’d promised me for sweethearting her on the bill at Staples. “[A]ll proceeds [from Bitter Pie] benefit one woman trying to avoid a corporate career.” Although this is the first issue, it looks to be a continuation of a loosely autobiographical account. The main character has recently graduated from school, traveled Europe, and moved out on her own after being evicted from her last place in the Mission. Now she finds herself working as a janitor and just scrapping by on pocket change and masturbation. Set in the ugliest of San Franciscos. [$2 / digest / 12 pp. / photocopied] Website: www.notyourbitch.homestead.com PS I just checked this, and the current issue is number twelve.

Tena Scalph
POBox 411194
San Francisco, CA     94141
bitterpie(at)hotmail.com

Book of Letters, Rev. Richard J. Mackin’s

#16. (1) Rich Mackin writes wiseass letters to Corporations. (2) Sometimes their people write back — also funny, but frustrating. It is high praise for a zine when someone with nothing to do with selfpublishing asks me about it. I remember when Lis mentioned this one. I rolled my eyes dramatically before admitting, yeah, I like it, too. The letter to Coca-Cola about them purchasing Odwalla; the excellent note to Miller Beer; and the silly business about Dove soap — these were my favorite bits. Also, there’s a book out, Dear Mr. Mackin, the best of the first fourteen issues. Contains photo(s) of the author. [$2 + stamps / digest / 40 pp. / photocopied] Website: www.richmackin.org

Rich Mackin
POBox 890
Allston, MA     02134
richmackin(at)earthlink.net

Cat Butt

#5, Summer 2001. A problem I face sometimes, using the alter egos, is explaining to a publisher how I came by their zine, as was the case with Cat Butt. I don’t know if I conveyed to Shoshannah or not that I traded with her twice as “Barbara Kay” of Tomatoes for Jalapeño zine, out of Florence, SC. She didn’t seem to care, anyway, when I started up the trade again with my own zine, probably because I blathered so about how Catt Butt is one of my favorites, etc. This is the only tie I have now to the world of heavy metal, which dominated my junior highschool years. I rely on Shoshannah to keep me wellinformed, which she does with record reviews, show reviews, and occasional coverage of metal bands in her (SF bay) area. In this one, Flach is just getting past toughtimes, and taking martial arts classes. Cannibal Corpse plays. “Gettin’ introspective on yo ass!” [$2 / digest / 32 pp. / photocopied] Website: www.lanset.com/catbutt

Shoshannah Flach
POBox 470263
San Francisco, CA     94147
metalmeow(at)hotmail.com

Christian *New Age Quarterly (ISSN 0899-7292)

v12#2, April-June 2000. Something else I got from Zine World. Both for them and for Amusing Yourself to Death, I regularly had to review these publications from people who plainly had no knowledge of our zine; we were another address on their comp list. I won’t be allowing this. My motivation for making this site is to get free zines. Magazines and random newsletters received will only be mentioned when there is fun to be poked. [$3.50 / halflegal / 24 pp. / photocopied, colored paper] Website: members.aol.com/CNAQ/ChristianNewAgeQuarterly.html

Catherine Groves, Editor
POBox 276
Clifton, NJ     07011

Cryptozoa

#1. Cryptozoa is Androo Robinson’s take on the syndicated comicstrip. He calls them “odd little picture fictions”. Andy’s art I dug already . . . I had him do some cover artwork for me once, as have a lot of zine publishers. With this new vehicle, I’m seeing mature writing, as well, despite the silly. Now go to the website and view the manymany samples. [$? / mini / 16 pp. / photocopied]

#4. More . . . Jack Handey meets Richard Brautigan. [$? / mini / 16 pp. / photocopied] Website: www.leekinginc.com/cryptozoa

Androo Robinson
2000 NE 42 Ave. #303
Portland, OR     97213
pedxing(at)geeklife.com

The Easy Way

#8, April 2002. My favorite part about this girl’s writing is that she will flatout talk shit on people, with cruel accuracy. Well, not “cruel”, but funny, for sure! Thrill Racer complains about some guy friends, tells all on her musical efforts, and visits The Price Is Right. Comments on vegan restaurants in her area. When you order, expect a lot of extra stuff to come with the zine: stickers, PETA junk, a letter asking you to switch your longdistance phone company and please mention Thrill Racer to the operator, so she can get ten bucks off her bill. Contains photo(s) of the author. [$2 / digest / 14 pp. / photocopied, colored paper] Website: www.thrillracer.com

Thrill Racer
POBox 506565
San Diego, CA     92150
thrill01(at)inetworld.net

Electric Third Rail

#2. December 1998. So Joe Gallo came back for two issues, only to disappear again? Has anyone seen a new(er) issue of this? It’s been longer since Electric Third Rail number two came out than it had since Gulp Life ended and he reappeared in San Francisco. This is another box that I send my zine to with regularity, never to have it returned, never to hear from whomever’s receiving it. [$1 + stamp / mini / 48 pp. / photocopied]

j_frink(at)yahoo.com

Fish With Legs

#6. This guy is even worse than me! A lot of this issue is about the ugly collision of tradeshow and meatmarket that is the zine convention. Specifically, Eric writes about Beantown Zinetown 2002. Some of the details were altogether too revealing and, therefore, kind of embarrassing — and, therefore, hilarious. Lyden puts off stapling his zine till 3 AM the night before, decides not to wear his Brak T-shirt, and navigates Boston’s public transit with a bursting box of zines. Fish With Legs loves its audience, yet sometimes Eric prattles on and catches none (apparently) of his typos. It becomes hard to reciprocate. Witness the “Self Interview Part 2: Me on Writing”. [$1 + stamp, or trade / standard / 25 pp. / photocopied, cornerstapled]

Eric Lyden
224 Moraine St.
Brockton, MA     02301
ericfishlegs(at)aol.com

Food Geek

#5. The gal who edits this also does The Assassin and the Whiner — probably the best xeroxed comic ever. I wish I had a copy of it handy. Nine months ago, I was crushing on this 18yearold girl, so I sent her (the young’n, not Carrie) a carepackage of secondhand zines, the veryvery best of which was Asswhine. It’s a common stunt of mine, but this time it worked out. Just last week I was at the girl’s (parents’) house and saw that she still had the copy. Anyway, why I wish I had the comic now is because Food Geek is padded with contributions, and because Carrie’s longest piece is a travelogue, not a comic. Food Geek is a zine about food. There are recipes — predominately vegetarian — and letters, and said contributions, which read a lot like the letters. And there are comics — the cutest being Anne Thalheimer’s “indecision, not indigestion”, an ode to borscht — just none from McNinch. It’s a good deal of writing for a buck. Carrie’s food diary of her trip to China was pretty good. I like how a story with problematic shifts between present and past tense ends with the author crossing the International Date Line. Take that, professor! Also in this issue: cooking in prison. [$1 / mini / 40 pp. / photocopied]

Carrie McNinch
POBox 49403
Los Angeles, CA     90049
foodgeekmmm(at)hotmail.com

The Free Press Death Ship

#1, mid 2002. All right — this you’ll like. Two years ago, I met the fellow who makes this reviewzine, who writes under the name “Violet Jones”. I met him at the home of Zine World editor Jerianne, when a group of us ZW staffers converged to collate and staple a few hundred copies of the newest issue. There was free pizza and beer, and I should also mention that it wasn’t exactly me who went, but “Ben Joseph”. Whereas “Violet” was forthcoming with his real name — and gender — I never broke character. (Good thing, too. “Ben” ended up getting soused, breaking a stapler, and heading for the door with the job halfdone.) The Free Press Death Ship is an unwieldy vessel. The layout is filled with woodcut type clipart, most of it pirate themed. The reviews — of about 250 zines — are short, often just a sentence, but effective. And don’t forget: it was all done without computers. . . . Yes, “Violet” is one of those. “Violet”, who doesn’t exactly write with a woman’s voice — just one oddly phrased — is crazy for the free press. Now: what’s your problem? [free / legal / 46 pp. / printed, sidestapled (w/ tape)]

#2, late 2002. Another really good issue. In this installment, “Yul Roc” bemoans Broken Pencil magazine for receiving grants from the (Canadian) government — ugh — and alleges that the Zine Guide database is being sold to PR firms by its editor. What gets to me most, though, is how “Violet” insists on using the word “fanzine” to mean all zines, and not just fanzines (i.e., zines involving some variety of fandom — e.g., science fiction, punk, Alyssa Milano). He says he does it because zines are so reliant upon their fans or something, but it strikes me as an unnecessary affection, prescriptive language. The word “zine” (both with and without an apostrophe) appears in dictionaries, as per common usage. Similarly, I enjoy it greatly when “Violet” relaxes is his writing and slips, using the term “zine” himself. [free / legal / 44 pp. / printed, sidestapled (w/ tape)]

Violet Jones
POBox 55336
Hayward, CA     94545

From the Curve

#6, Autumn 1999. This is great and all, but I really wish this guy would draw girls with bigger butts. We should all be drawing girls with bigger butts. Buy this old thing for “Drunks on Main St.” [$2 / halflegal / 20 pp. / photocopied, colored cover]

Robert Ullman
1710 Park Ave.
Richmond, VA     23220
fromcurve(at)yahoo.com

Gecko

#21, June 2002. Very nice! I’ve lifted heavily from this reviewzine here — the unapologetic reviewing of the outofdate, the compoundwordsmithing. Gecko reviews tapes, 7inch records, CD’s, mailart, zines, newsletters, comics, books, and a wide swath of miscellanea, most of it European. Sometimes, it’s written in German, sometimes without reason; a good number of German or Swiss projects are reviewed in English, anyway. And what a catchy blend of English it is! F’rinstance, here’s how Weibel concludes a (dismissive, I think) review of Plot Thickens: “Maybe I lost my imagination and intellectual knowledge through overconsumption of gene-manipulated soya products or large quantities of liquid drugs.” Much of the music featured is experimental and described perfectly, inexplicably. [free / digest / 16 pp. / photocopied] Website: chinchilla.widerstand.org

Pille Weibel
POBox 5037
6002 Luzern
Swizzerlanth
geckonews(at)gmx.net

Infiltration

#19. Houses of the Holy. The always popular zine about going places you’re not supposed to. It had been quite some time since I’d seen this, and I like that Ninj has now roped a lass into accompanying him on all his trespasses. In this one they stalk around Toronto churches. There is one close call involving a motion detector alarm, a showdown in a rec room, and a great scene where Ninj stumbles into a belltower right before showtime.

     “You know, I don’t really know what I’m doing,” I confided to the English guy as I grabbed my rope and got ready.
     “You don’t know how to play tenor?”
     “I don’t really know how to play any of them.”
     “You just do rounds?”
     “No, I mean, I don’t know how to ring a bell at all,” I explained.
     “Oh!” he exclaimed. “Well. You’re not a ringer? Sit down then. It’s a good thing you told me that or we could have had a disaster.”

[$2 / digest / 32 pp. / photocopied] Website: www.infiltration.org

Infiltration
c/o Ninjalicious
POBox 13
Station E
Toronto, ON M6H 4E1
Canada
ninj(at)infiltration.org

Invisible Robot Fish

#4, December 1999. head cold. Billy McKay does great things with comics. I first saw his Tile in 1999 when I reviewed it for Ruel (see review: AYTD). The goofy space story and firstrate art hooked me, and I started trading with McKay to keep up on the story. But it’s been years since a new issue of Tile, as far as I know, because this guy is bent on trying on different genres and formats. A lot of what he does has a mailart feel that I love. The style is distinctive, in that the title of this series is a spoton description of Billy’s art. Most characters are amphibious or electronic or both. It looks like he draws quickly, then inks carefully; a cutesy and grotesque quality permeates. Invisible Robot Fish started as a side project, something that McKay could put out quickly and frequently, like any good side project, and it even has a clock on the back of how long it took to make each issue — sketching, scanning into a computer, adding borders, and the rest. This issue is a tribute to children’s books, with eleven illustrated poems, my favorite of which was “my best friends head is on fire”. And I quote: “truley amazing, / his head is blazing, / cattle he’s raising / to cook on his head!” Honest time: 19 hrs, 41 min. [2 stamps / mini / 16 pp. / photocopied]

#5, January/February 2000. the crusaders. This is my favorite of the four. Here Billy publishes a spaceship tale that he did when he was twelve years of age, on index cards. Pure hilarity. [2 stamps / mini / 16 pp. / photocopied]

#6, March/April 2000. double life. Another variation on a scifi standard, the bounty hunter tale. I won’t ruin the surprise, but watch out. My old roommate read this when it first came in the mail and laughed so much that it became uncomfortable; I had to keep asking if he was OK. [2 stamps / mini / 16 pp. / photocopied]

#7, May/June 2000. jared reflects on his past life if he was an 80 year old man and someone entirely different than he is now. Supposedly, Billy let his friend make this issue. A mess! [2 stamps / mini / 8 pp. / photocopied]

Billy McKay
POBox 542
N. Olmstead, OH 44070
billymckay(at)adelphia.net

The J Man Times

#17. I’m a fan of J. Rassoul. How can you not appreciate someone who refers to the zine community as the “Oddball Penpal Club”? And six years after first discovering his zine, I remain uncertain about how much of it, if any, is put on. The tenets of The J Man are similar to those of many zine folk: Americans are fat, wasteful, and willfully ignorant to the evil their country spreads all over this planet. Opinions diverge when it comes to religion, however, when The J Man preaches on that globalization is phasing out Christ, replacing Him with worship of celebrity; that this is the larger problem. Issue number seventeen is mostly about supermodel Karen Mulder’s freakout last year, in which she claimed in a TV interview that she’d been molested by her father as a child, that the Elite modeling agency had sold her into sexual slavery, and that Prince Albert of Monaco regularly used hypnosis to rape her. Also included: a little on numerology, and “The Post-*9/11* Amerikan Worker Bee”. [free / digest / 20 pp. / photocopied] Website: hometown.aol.com/thejman99

J. Rassoul
Email for ordering info: TheJMan99@aol.com

Kiss Machine

#2. Elephants and the Media. This is the zine that broke “Ben Joseph” (see review: The Alice Underground). I’m not sure why it and not, say, go (see review: bonus). It’s interesting and all, with pro layout, but it’s so ziney. That did it. . . . This time around, I read (1) Ryan Bigge’s interview — possibly bogus — with video artist “Distorted Genius” (“Distorted” made a movie where he poked a tiny elephant doodad with his finger, burned it with a match, and put it underneath an overturned glass; here he speaks on motivation.); and (2) the “20 Haikus You Can Kiss To”.

even her.
she’s got
sexy bits.

[$3.50 / halflegal / 52 pp. / printed, colored cover, handmade] Website: www.kissmachine.org PS I checked, and this issue is sold out. Oops!

Emily Pohl-Weary
18 Virtue St.
Toronto, ON M6R 1C2
Canada
info(at)kissmachine.org

Laundry Basket

Tales of Washday Woe. Contributor filled oneshot by A.j. Michel. The subtitle is misleading, as this is a laidback read, or else it’s hard to stay bitter about bleeding colors or having your wet jeans stolen. Nobody plays social scientist, which is nice. Some guy gets a date at the launderette. “‘Why did you put so much detergent in there, you stupid bitch!’” [$1 / mini / 32 pp. / photocopied, colored cover]

Same contact info as Low Hug.

Leeking Ink

#25. Between the travel stories, work diary, and journal entries proper, this drags a lot. Davida’s zines (she does a reviewzine, Xerography Debt, among others) are sometimes too cliquey, even for me. Vegan recipes like “Roasted Red Pepper-Walnut Pesto”. I feel so inferior. [$2 / digest / 32 pp. / photocopied, handmade cardstock cover] Website: www.leekinginc.com

Davida Gypsy Breier
POBox 963
Havre de Grace, MD     21078
davida(at)leekinginc.com

Low Hug

#7, February 2002. So enamored was she with a review she got in Zine World, A.j. adopted it as a motto. To quote Gordon Zola, Low Hug is “unpretentious and honest, though not necessarily exciting”, since 1998. What I’m drawn to is why this is exactly. This is a personalzine by someone more reticent than her peers. In this issue, there’s much about 9/11, so it isn’t as noticeable. Well . . . The very best part of this is when A.j. buys a book of word puzzles she enjoyed as a kid, then goes through most of it on the night of the terrorist attacks. I was sad to read about the TV show Undeclared, as well. I was still too bitter about Freaks & Geeks (from the same creator) to watch, and now it has been canceled, too. Also includes thoughts on Memento and The Simpsons first season on DVD. [$2 / digest / 40 pp. / digest, colored cover] Website: lowhug.blogspot.com

A.j. Michel
Station A
POBox 2574
Champaign, IL     61825
lowhug(at)yahoo.com

Luhey’s Farewell

A “Swan Song” ’Zine of the best doggy doodles from 1994-98! How I miss this man! In case you got into zines later than ’98 (the only way you couldn’t know whom I’m talking about), let me explain. Luhey was a comic by one TR Miller, a singlepanel strip that he inundated the zine world with for almost four years. I cannot quantify the amount of money he must have spent on postage; it’s like thinking about the Big Bang for too long. My theory on the guy’s story — being undeniably peculiar — is that Miller heard about zines in the early ’90s, like so many of us, and believed them to be a lot more contributor oriented than they are. So he started mass mailing people he found in Factsheet 5, even oneperson zines with no call for submissions. Then, maybe, he got a taste of how delightfully pissy zine publishers tend to be when faced with such fluff. (I’ve heard Luhey compared to the strip Love Is . . ., which I’ve never seen.) So he went this angle toward notoriety. Until he got bored of it. Contains photo(s) of the author. [$3 / mini / 24 pp. / photocopied, colored paper, cardstock cover]

“Box closed, no forwarding address.”

Morgan Denies Everything

I’m not reviewing my own stuff, but I will that of my friends. This one’s a close call. The two people in it and I made a zine together two years ago, Rainy Day Fuck Fest. And the format of this illustrated, handwritten affair is identical to Beau’s Literary Supplement to Azmacourt #7, last year. The front cover has the title in all caps, then — underneath — an assault rifle. This is a oneshot all about something that got too something, if you catch my drift, and I think you do. Mostly it’s Beau writing and drawing. The two pages by Morgan are seemingly identical selfportraits of her knitting, tiny and in the righthand corner; the only difference is — in the second — her collared shirt has buttons, and she’s not quite smiling anymore. “I made the balloon a symbol I couldn’t control.” [$3 / mini / 16 pp. / photocopied] Website: www.beausia.com

Beau Sia
POBox 242
Babylon, NY     11702
beau(at)beausia.com

Mr. Peebody’s Soiled Trousers and Other Delights

#15. Moving to California again for a girl (and a ziney one at that); stargazing from the CNN building; selfpublishing a diary. Dare to dream, zine people! Smart writing here, with no graphics ’cept the ads (all for other zines). Jason is content with Times New Roman as his font, even, or simply too lazy to switch it. Whatever. This month — that is, this issue — Jay returns to the topics of burritos, nuances of his digestion, and the frequent intersection of the two. He writes about the albatross that is his car and, sometimes, his dreams (i.e., the sleeping kind). And sometimes, he and the girlfriend do it. “The last day of August. It’s disturbing how fast my life is going by. I’m mad at myself for not having done anything with it.” Whatever. Contains photo(s) of the author. [$2 / digest / 32 pp. / photocopied] Website: www.expage.com/mrpeebody

Jason Koivu
POBox 931333
Los Angeles, CA     90093
jaykoivu(at)yahoo.com

My Fat Irish Ass

#-4 (that’s negative four). I was hanging out with the 18yearold again (see review: Food Geek) when this arrived in the mail. She said it looked like something this guy she knew would make. I don’t know the guy she was talking about very well, although I did work with him for a few weeks, at a natural food store. Once, I heard him on the telephone, talking to the bass player from his punk band. “Hey, man, I wrote a song. . . . Oh, you wrote a song, too? . . . Well, are the lyrics to your song in the form of a limerick? . . . Didn’t think so.” So I would have to agree with the 18yearold. Altered Family Circus and Dennis the Menace strips (the only part I read), record reviews, interview with Cheerleaders of the Apocalypse. [“Price: Don’t Ask!” / standard / 36 pp. / photocopied, sidestapled]

MFIA
POBox 65391
Washington, DC 20035

No-Pest Strips

#13, July 2000. I’ve never cared for the work of Yul Tolbert. He intrigues me sometimes with his harebrained schemes to get his name out there, but I don’t like the style of cartooning. And his words are ridiculous, to be frank. This product — which he may have since abandoned — is half reviewzine/half comic anthology. Of course one of the artists anthologized is Tolbert. The other, Daniel Nauenburg, is worth checking out — sophomoric scifi humor. In the introduction to “Zine Solar System” #4 — the review section — Tolbert says he started reviewing zines to “publicize [his] own creative efforts”. He says this after calling all zines “mediocre crap and scrap”, and right before going on to rave about a dozen titles by his friends. [$2 / digest / 24 pp. / photocopied]

Yul Tolbert
POBox 02222
Detroit, MI     48202
yul_tolbert(at)hotmail.com

Poopsheet Jr.

#3, September 2002. This is a zine review zine that Rick started when his zine review website was put on hold. But in the time between my receiving this issue and writing this review, the Poopsheet site returned. One can always learn of the new through Rick. The reviews are a bit positive for my tastes, but I’m a man. I can take it. [stamp / mini / 16 pp. / photocopied] Website: poopsheet.blogspot.com

Rick Bradford
POBox 2235
Fredericksburg, TX     78624
rickbradford(at)msn.com

The Pornographic Flabbergasted Emus by Wred Fright

One. Dr. Fred’s serial novel about being in a garage band in college. These are the first two chapters. Written in the style typical of bright men acting dumb. Four main characters (all guys, although there are hints of future ladyfriends) take turns narrating (all of them in first person — except “Funnybear”, who refers to himself in third person). It’s a device that performs well; each voice is distinct enough, and the discrepancies and omissions in their narration aid the plot. I wouldn’t have used a different font for each guy, for reasons entirely aesthetic. In this installment, Theodorable moves into the Emu house, to find that the room he’s renting hasn’t quite been vacated by the previous tenant: a food thieving Wiccan gal, hooked on cable TV, who refuses to vamoose. Funny and plenty fictional. [$2 / digest / 32 pp. / photocopied, colored cover]

Wred Fright
1413 Neshannock Blvd.
New Castle, PA     16105
wredfright(at)yahoo.com

Reddog Review

#4. I get a sense, reading Asha’s prose, that it’s difficult for her to extract. It’s casual and descriptive, and the pace is such that it feels like she would rather be snapping photographs of landscapes — maybe scribbling a few lines on the backs only after they’ve developed. With this issue, Asha moves from Oregon to Nevada. There is also considerable attention given to the biography of her uncle, John Chance, a San Francisco poet from the days of Beat, whose literary achievement was undermined by alcoholism and schizophrenia, and who passed in 1992. “Uncle John” also has a letter and poems in this issue. And, finally, as she is now in the Silver State, Asha includes a recipe for silver polish. Fabulous. [$2 / digest / 20 pp. / photocopied, cardstock cover] Website: www.ashabot.com

Asha Anderson
POBox 1436
Gardnerville, NV     89410
reddog(at)ashabot.com

Reglar Wiglar

#16. Chris Auman, editor, likes music and he likes comics, and the reviews are a solid lot — even those of the music. This zine is on newsprint, yet always concealed in an eyegrabbing colored cover. The tone goes between obnoxious and outstandingly stupid, which I’ll take. The interview with Peter Bagge held my attention the longest. Then the twelve pages of comics — Jesse Reklaw and Hans Rickheit, ooh. [$2 / standard / 48 pp. / newsprint, colored cover]

#17. Great comedy writing in this issue’s “idiotorial”, about how, in this time of crisis, we Americans should be more careful with our language. No more thinking outside the box, and:

Our cars, our hairstyles, our stereos — these things don’t need to be off the hook. None of it needs to be off the hook. Not anymore. Let’s get it all back on the hook. Let’s get it back in the box and onto the hook where it belongs. Let’s get organized.

Fake band interview with “The White Strokes”, more comics. Contains photo(s) of the author. [$2 / standard / 48 pp. / newsprint, colored cover] Website: www.reglarwiglar.com

Reglar Wiglar
1658 N. Milwaukee #545
Chicago, IL     60647
wiglar(at)mac.com

The Secret Life of Snakes

#1, Spring 2001. Of the personalzine-by-rudderless-dude-with-wife-and-kid subgenre. Fair writing that veers into cornballism. “It was times like this, on my bike, ignoring lights, weaving in and out of traffic, getting motorists pissed, that I felt punk rock again.” [$2 / digest / 20 pp. / copied, cardstock cover]

Cullen Carter
1403 N. 52nd St.
Milwaukee, WI     53208
ccarter(at)ticon.net

SemiBold

#2. Kathy Moseley is a wonderful and intimate writer, and likely to make even the most voyeuristic reader ask, “Are you sure to want to tell me this? . . .Really. . . you’re positive? OK, then, by all means continue!” This is especially the case with this back issue (which I don’t know if I only recently got as an interim trade, or have been lugging to and fro across this country for the past five years; but which I see in the most recent issue [#8] is still available for order). Much of it is a “Diary of a Doomed Relationship” — i.e., one with a married man. (To be fair, he was separated and only told Kathy as much on their third date.) I adored the article on quasi-Beat artist Jay DeFeo and her most famous piece, The Rose — about how, after five years of working on it, she had to knock out a wall just to remove the painting from her apartment. [$2 / digest / 16 pp. / photocopied, colored cover]

#8. A New York scrapbook. Kathy’s best friend (who lives in NYC) writes about 9/11. Moseley offers pictures and memories from the months she lived in Manhattan (before the attacks). The lighter travelogue parts balance out the anguish in Patricia’s “Before and Aftermath”. A fine issue, but numerous scanned images are muddy. Contains photo(s) of the author. [$2 / halflegal / 40 pp. / photocopied, colored cover]

Kathy Moseley
1573 N. Milwaukee #403
Chicago, IL     60622
SemiBold(at)aol.com

Shot by a Ray Gun

#2, March 2002. “i drew all these drawings on peoples letters & scanned each one before mailing them out. i did this for a short while to experiment with my use of color.” Exactly what I meant above. [$1 / mini / 1 big foldout, plus covers / handmade cardstock cover, color copied, comb bound]

Same contact info as Invisible Robot Fish.

Sunburn

#17, Winter 2002. This is the final issue (“Forever and ever!”), after six years, and the theme is death. I never know how to review comic anthologies, being hit or miss as they are. Three artists here I would want to see more from, and they were Tommi Musturi (Finland), Wuk Palibrk (Serbia), and Jim Siergey (USA, whom I knew of already). Karl doesn’t explain why he’s retiring the project. The introductory editorial says how this went from regional thing into international compendium, so maybe that explains it. [$3 / standard / 32 pp. / cardstock cover] Website: www.escape.ca/~mosfog/sunburnt.htm

Karl Thomsen
POBox 2061
Winnipeg, MB     R3C 3R4
Canada
mosfog(at)escape.ca

Sweet Dreams for Talula

Like other comics I’ve seen from JB, this is rather melancholy. A girl with a nondescript terminal illness escapes through slumber. Rudimentary yet experienced artistic style, meticulously inked, and it was copied on a nice machine. The use of negative images in the dream sequences is impressive. [$2 / digest / 32 pp. / photocopied, printed cardstock cover]

JB Thomas
POBox 163463
Sacramento, CA     95816

The Ten Page News

#30, January/February 2002. Owen is an underemployed math professor who makes a lowkey, personalish thing with quite good zine reviews. (There’s also Indy Unleashed, which is entirely zinestuff, and which would be reviewed here if I hadn’t left the copies I had in my locker at work, then quit all of a sudden, for no concrete reason, later in the afternoon.) This time: thinking back about four girls named “Kim”, opening the mailbag, and doing unto others in “Ethical [Comic] Strip”. [$1 / digest / 10 pp. / photocopied] Website: members.aol.com/vlorbik

Owen Thomas
POBox 9651
Columbus, OH     43209
vlorbik(at)aol.com

TFR Industries Portfolio 2002

At the Underground Publishing Conference last year, in Bowling Green, Ohio, I got this. It was toward the end of the shindig, so I was out of cash. But I did have a tiny hotel soap, so I asked the guy working the first table I saw with comics, “What can I get for this? I don’t think it’s animal friendly.” He gave me this little portfolio. I don’t know if it was Shawn that I met. I’d heard of Ten Foot Rule, but didn’t really know his work by sight. I mean, I didn’t realize that I’d seen his work so much already. This is all freelance illustrations: covers for other zines, concert fliers, a portrait of Frank Zappa. Well spent bar of soap. [free / mini / 16 pp. / photocopied]

Shawn Granton
POBox 14185
Portland, OR     97293
shawntfr(at)hotmail.com

Thoughtworm

#7, February 2002. It’s sheltered of me, I know, but this is one of my favorite personal zines right now. Vegan navel gazing, getting all gooey about a town when it’s gone, writing what 95% of the population must consider to be way too much about housecats — it’s almost like reading my own zine, another personal favorite. This has a great piece about a hardware store. Sean and Malinda show off their wedding tattoos. This fellow has a strong DIY ethic and a pretty good handle on what he’s thinking, and why he’s thinking . . . Contains photo(s) of the author. [$2 / digest / 24 pp. / photocopied, handmade cardstock cover]

#8, June 2002. Sean and Malinda worked the Zine World table at the Underground Publishing Conference, and there I met them. Later, at the bowling alley (get it?), their lane was right next to mine, but I only stuck around for one game. You see, there was beer, a DJ playing Tribe Called Quest, and a chubby girl in a Boston Celtics T-shirt, all on the other side of the room. I like how Malinda is such a part of this zine. She often does the covers, as well as an excellent booklist on their site. (The couple also review together for Zine World.) But in addition to that, she is namechecked throughout. Likewise, the cats knock over a houseplant and make sure they’re included, too. This is the last issue Sean made in South Carolina, where he earned his Master’s, and it features him dealing with clutter, saying goodbye to Columbia, and looking for a library job, wherever that may be. Interview with a zine librarian and reviews, too. [$2 / digest / 24 pp. / photocopied, handmade cardstock cover] Website: www.thoughtworm.com

Sean Stewart
1703 Southwest Pkwy.
Wichita Falls, TX     76302
sean(at)thoughtworm.com

Time’s Up

#8, February 1999. Path of Most Resistance. Phenomenal writing, Pat. The drawing is cute but cruddy in places, which would place it on par with my own. And there’s something about how you draw eyebrows that gives the characters this look of displeasure. Nevertheless, what you do with narration — aah. This comic demands multiple readings. Number eight is a fulllength tale of a young adult running into a girl he spurned in elementary school. That’s it. [$1 / digest / 24 pp. / photocopied, colored cover]

#9, February 2000. Bearing the Wait. This is some improvement over the last issue. Patrick presents twentythree singlepage strips on subjects ranging from Stanley Kubrick to cellphones to the fine balance of girlfriend and porn collection. “Can You Identify the 5 Types of Comics-Convention Geeks?” Contains photo(s) of the author. [$2 / digest / 24 pp. / printed, colored cover]

Patrick J. Lee
8640 Sewanee Ct.
Sun Valley, CA     91352

TRS (The Review Sheet)

v2#4, May 1997. No need to order this one. I just wanted to acknowledge another model for this website. Not the reviews themselves, but instead how meticulously Peter would document a zine’s physical characteristics. I like noting things like spotcolor on a cover, or the absence of a spine. Regarding the words, the guy was so-so. He was often at a loss for what to say and not at all shy about it. Sometimes it was cultural; in his review of Dixie Phoenix (a zine about US history in the South), and of my zine about Saved by the Bell, he seems baffled to the point of mental collapse. Sometimes it was familial, like when he’d go on about an English comiczine without getting around to the actual issue. Still . . . [free / eurodigest / 4 pp. / photocopied]

Peter Ashton
MBE Box 123
The Guild
University of Birmingham     B15 2TU
United Kingdom

trying to remember who i am and why i am here.

I got this at that ziney event I attended last summer. The girl who made it gave it to me gratis, as I just happened to be sleeping in her dorm room. That is, I attended this ziney event with my neighbor, who also happened to make zines, believe it or not. And this neighbor was sharing a room rental for the twoday event with the girl who did this zine — and her boyfriend. I mean, the boyfriend stayed in the room, too, not necessarily that she did him. Don’t want to get her into trouble with the ’rents. My goodness . . . I feel like, writing these reviews, I’m making it seem like I run into zine people all the time. And now I’ve admitted to living across the street from such a person. I apologize. What’s funny is that I’m leaving out some of my meetings with zine folk — Ruel, Jay Koivu, etc. Anyway, this untitled thing is mostly poetry, typewritten with deliberate misspellings. Such as:

passing time
i am passing
wind
winnd
will i walways sing in this
house.
after
animals weep and
silver fish
always do.

Nth generation photocopies of buildings and groups of people, words of the wise like “the work is the most important thing” and “protect your time. it is your most valuable resource.” [$? / mini / 24 pp. / photocopied, bound w/ yarn, 32 of 50]

Heather Campbell
No address!

The Unpaved Road

#6, Autumn 2001. Oklahoma guy writes about his grandpa and other aspects of rural life, including tornadoes, rattlesnakes, white beans, and the Toughman competition. This was my youth. Says it’s the last issue. [$2 / digest / 48 pp. / photocopied, handmade cover]

Joshua Peck
Rt. 2 Box 77
Pryor Creek, OK     74361
unpavedroad(at)yahoo.com

What Path Are You On?

Andy Robinson does a Jack Chick style comic about a girl being tempted into zine addiction by Luhey, only to find that he is a hoorendous daemon in disguise. [free / mini / 4 pp. / photocopied]

See Cryptozoa and/or Leeking Ink.

The Whirligig

#4, Winter 2001. The front cover artwork for this literaryzine was done by Mike Tolento, credited inside as “the talented”. With this I agree; unfortunately, the artwork was scanned with a computer and now looks like shit. And please take that as literally as you can. I can kind of tell that it involves a litterbox and some creature thinking of a pile of poop, but I cannot figure it out, it’s so grainy. Frank, I offer advice: resize B&W artwork like that with a quality photocopier and keep it away from your ugly desktoppublishing software. Regarding the words, the only thing I liked was the nonfiction piece by Sarah O’Donnell. And Asha Anderson’s. “The Temp”, fiction from editor Frank, was fair, however ambiguous, so I made it halfway through. [$? / digest / 76 pp. / photocopied, cardstock cover]

Frank J. Marcopolos
4809 Avenue N. #117
Brooklyn, NY     11234
Whirligig21(at)aol.com

zinehead

November 2002. From Karl Thomsen, this lists: (1) zine review zines; (2) zine resources — the alt.zines newsgroup and Global Mail, for example; and (3) independent comic anthologies. Excerpts, kind words for all. [$1 / halflegal / 8 pp. / photocopied, not stapled]

Same contact info as Sunburn.

Zine World

“Ben Joseph” appeared in 1998, but it wasn’t until early the next year that I really figured out what I wanted to do with him. One of those things was to volunteer for Zine World. So, after exchanging emails (as “Ben”, of course) with him, I met editor Doug at Duboce Park to discuss what “he” could do. (That is, I’d met him in the flesh before, so the jig was up prettyquick.) Originally, I was going to work on publicity, sending out postcards and email announcements with each new issue, but Holland pulled the plug on this for financial reasons. And I wouldn’t pay for it all myself, really, having donated $50 to the zine just a couple months before. So I started soliciting and organizing the store/distro reports — the anonymous comments Zine World runs about persons and businesses who sell zines.

Two years later, March 2001, I was at the Anarchist Book Fair, helping my friend, Morgan, sell vegan cookies (shutup). On the busride to the park, it occurred to me, and I mentioned to Morgan, how it was possible that I might run into Jerianne — the girl to whom Doug handed off his reviewzine shortly before swearing off zines in late 2000, and the girl whose house I’d been at two months previous, as “Ben Joseph” (see review: FPDS). A Reader’s Guide to the Underground Press (the awful title Doug switched to mid 1999) had a table at said fair, I recall explaining, and Jerianne would likely be stuck there all day. Morgan said, if she remembered correctly, it was a big place; I should be OK.

Three things about the fair: (1) the BO was amazing, despite the size of the building, and stayed in my coat for a week; (2) none of the panels piqued any part of me; (3) my friend’s cookie spread and the Zine World table were directly across an aisle — say, fifteen feet apart — and faced one another. The next day I emailed Jerianne and introduced myself properly: I, Marc Parker, was the guy selling cookies. Then I emailed as “Ben” right after: how “he” hadn’t been able to attend the book fair; how was it? I emailed after hours of avoiding eye contact that day and not knowing exactly what was occurring, even after I’d bought zines from Jerianne and offered free cookies (no, thanks). Weeks later, I made another trip to Jerianne’s place in Berkeley — as myself — to help collate and staple. I don’t think there was pizza again. Maybe she offered, but I explained to her that I’m mostly vegan, and it was just me, her, and her boyfriend there anyway. We listened to Faith No More’s Angel Dust and gossiped. And then I disappeared.

#17, Fall 2001/Winter 2002. I picked up this copy of Zine World: A Reader’s Guide to the Underground Press (they’ve changed the title back, thank “Violet”) in Ohio. On the drive there, I considered the possibility of running into Jerianne again. She left the Bleah Area shortly after I did in 2001, for Tennessee; ZW was likely to have a table at said event; etc. I stressed about it, but then I remembered that I hadn’t done anything altogether terrible. “Ben Joseph” left Zine World as the “Word of Mouth” editor (a section that includes events listings, in addition to the store/distro reports), and every one that I organized was a cut above what’s in the current issue. So a dozen zines weren’t reviewed. I feel bad only for ignoring the email Jerianne sent. But like I said, Sean and Malinda (see review: Thoughtworm) were at the table, anyway. Zine World is still my favorite. Doug’s big, fat ghost was all over that apartment in Berkeley. Most of my favorite reviewers — “Jones”, Koivu, Wred Fright — have signed off with this issue, which is OK. There are other volunteers who’ve been around since the beginning (one being Jerianne), and it’s not as radically involved as I make it seem, reviewing zines. There is still a fine “News” section, and what’s left of the “Word of Mouth”. [$4 / standard / 72 pp. / photocopied, sidestapled (w/ tape)]

Supplement, June 15, 2002. This is “the first ever Zine World review supplement”, which covers about 150 titles. Jerianne says that all three of the “primary editors” (?) are busy with their real lives, but she hopes to have issue number eighteen out by August. I don’t think she made that deadline, but I think it’s since appeared. I’m excited to see that artnoose (of ker-bloom!) has started reviewing. [$1 / standard / 10 pp. / photocopied, cornerstapled] Website: www.undergroundpress.org

Jerianne
POBox 330156
Murfreesboro, TN     37133
jerianne(at)undergroundpress.org

bonus

[The rest of Ben Joseph’s Zine World reviews, April 2001.]

Beer Frame #10: After a little pro-bowling propaganda (why isn’t it an Olympic event?), Paul serves up another collection of peculiar, yet vaguely endearing, examples of misguided consumerism. This issue focuses on the blue tape that binds triple packs of Cracker Jack, uninspired “new” breakfast cereals, can openers, whitening toothpaste and much more. Paul often calls upon the manufacturers to explain their marketing logic, which leads to some amusing P.R. semantics. Also included are music reviews that deal more with this listener’s response to the songs than the notes themselves. Paul Lukas, 671 DeGraw St #2, Brooklyn NY 11217 [$3 40S :20]

Cinemad #4: Nice film zine. My favorite pieces were the interviews with Daniel Clowes — they’re making a Ghost World movie — and Craig Baldwin, who reminisces about living (literally) in a porn theater. Also liked the piece on Jeff Krulik, who made Heavy Metal Parking Lot, and the spread where some guy illustrates the heights of the stars he’s met — by merely holding out a hand in comparison to his own undetermined height. Quality print job too. Mike Plante, PO Box 43909, Tucson AZ 85733 [$4, “more in Canada” 56M :20 www.cinemadmag.com]

The Federation Flash #49: Weird as hell. I read this cover-to-cover without figuring out what it was about. This group, Starbuilders, “believe[s] that everyone is a point of conscious Light living in a human body and that seeking unity is a most effective way to serve God [. . .]” Articles on the Super String Theory and Stages of Honesty. Scanned photos of five members (the only five, maybe). Lots and lots of pricey New Age books and cassettes for sale. Starbuilders/ULC, PO Box 220964, Hollywood FL 33022 [free? 16M :20]

go #5: Entertaining even at its most esoteric, this is a hard zine to categorize. The artwork and tone draw heavily from Asian pop culture, but I think it’s all affected. I loved the video game-inspired cocktails. Lots of food in this issue: an article on ramen, the Spanish “burrito” (a donkey) versus the Mexican “burrito” (a burrito). An interview with Mark Bodé, reviews of anything and everything — “you hipsters have been noticed wearing brown pants. . . .” Excellent. goblinko, PO Box 3635, Oakland CA 94609 [$3 64S :20]

rüirnt #1: God, if this isn’t a catchall of overdone, vaguely irritating zine fodder . . . it’s a split (the kind you have to flip over, and unnecessarily so, since it’s split with itself); female characters from Disney movies are coarsely drawn naked; the letters section has real-life correspondence lifted from decades-old issues of Tiger Beat; “The Dysfunctional Family Circus” is (poorly) ripped-off . . . depression, poetry, ugly comics that go nowhere, road trips, pro-drug propaganda reprints. You get the point. Dorian-Michael, PO Box 985, Decatur AL 35602 [$? 48M :20]

Scram #11: Music magazine, so I wasn’t expecting much. But three things stood out: short piece by Aime Joseph, who was personal assistant to Kim Fowley; interview with Johnny Ramone; essay by Chas Glynn about “Snack Relics”. What this means is junk food (and alcohol) products that have long since been discontinued, which one rediscovers on some dusty, out-of-the-way shelf, years later. Nostalgia ensues. Obligatory reviews, letters and ads. Kim Cooper, PO Box 461626, Hollywood CA 90046 [$4 US, $6 Canada 48M :20]

We are Gathered Here Today: By William P. Tandy, this is a tale of four or five twenty-something guys, who rent suits and crack jokes, as one of their friends gets married. All of them seem emotionally retarded, the narrator perhaps a bit more than the rest. They drink too much and act a little antisocial. The action’s sparse, as is the word count, and it doesn’t seem like it’s saying much. But it is. And it isn’t. I’d like to see more from this guy. Eight-Stone Press, PO Box 963, Havre de Grace MD 21078 [$? 16S :20]

Have a barcode and/or ISSN: Beer Frame, Cinemad, The Federation Flash, go, Scram.