February 2004
Are We On Mars Yet?, 11p, quarter size, free
This is an amusing mini-comic about cheap travel to Mars, with everyone’s
favorite cartoon characters, Daria and her pal, Jane, hosting the show. The
whole thing is actually quite informative and make a case for different options
in space travel.
Ray Tomczak
4050 N. High St. #33
Columbus, OH 43214
USA
--AR
Big Ray’s Bad Attitude! #8, 8p, full
size, free
If you’re a regular reader of this site, you’ve already heard
a lot about this great local political zine. This issue is full of the usual
political ranting, which in this case, isn’t a bad thing at all. Ray
intelligently covers American politics and economics with the same cynical
humor that makes this zine so much fun. This issue also includes two full
pages of chess moves. Jam-packed with humor and insight, this zine is recommended
for anyone into politics…or even chess.
Ray Birt
PO Box 32774
Kansas City, MO 64171
Smiling_Ibis@hotmail.com
--AR
I Was a Teenage Mormon, quarter size, 114 pages
I got on the boat with this zine a little late, because I think it has been
out for well over a year now. I Was a Teenage Mormon is about Caitlin's experiences
growing up as a member of the Church of Latter-Day Saints in Salt Lake City,
Utah, where the church pretty much originated. The zine covers Caitlin's childhood
in Utah, to her move to Oklahoma as a teenager, and her decision to defect
from LDS as a college student. It's a compelling story. What's good about
this zine and The Pleiades #7: Growing Up Catholic (by Miranda, it's
now out-of-print, but it was inspired by IWATM) is that they were
written several years after Caitlin and Miranda left their churches or religions
they grew up in, which makes the stories better, because they are written
in a reflective manner. Zines like these probably would not have worked as
well if they were written almost immediately after they left their churches
because there was a lot of anger involved. While this zine and The Pleiades
#7 are critical of organized religion, it promotes the idea of individual
spirituality that does not have to be tied into any particular religion or
school of thought, IWATM especially. So these zines do not oversimplify the
subject of religion by saying "Religion Sucks!", like a kid just
exposed to punk rock, and they do not contain one ounce of self-righteousness,
which is quite refreshing to see.
Caitlin
caitlin@enix.net
--Sarah Maitland
Lyra #8, 30p, quarter size, $2
It’s been a while since the last issue of Lyra, but it’s
good to know that Carrie is still around, drawing her honest and very true-to-life
comics. This issue is a little odd at first, going from story to story without
obvious transitions. Lyra goes on a date with a total jerk, the author has
a discussion with her creation, Lyra remembers an old boss and finally, we
see Lyra having homicidal thoughts concerning a bank teller. Carrie renders
it all in her simple style, and in the end, it’s one enjoyable little
comic.
PO Box 5696
Louisville, KY 40255
carrieneumayer@yahoo.com
--AR
Still Not Perfect, quarter size, 14p
The author of the personal zine, Flying With Broken Wings, writes
this emotionally affecting one-shot about sexual abuse with sensitivity and
honesty. Mingling her personal story with rape statistics and related song
lyrics, she goes for a simple layout that lends a rough quality to the rawness
of the subject matter. Highly recommended for rape and abuse survivors.
Ashlee
PO Box 576
St. Bonifacius, MN 55375
USA
flyingwbrokenwings@yahoo.com
--AR
Taking Back the Night, quarter size, 30 pages,
$1?
I guess to be safe, I should mention this first, since NH mentions it in the
introduction of the zine: this zine may not be good to read if you find the
subject of body violation in any form, to be upsetting. I should also add
that if you're not into alien abduction stories or if you find them to be
particularly frightening, that this isn't a zine you should be reading. I
only say this because I've seen other reviews where people have said they
thought this zine was scary. So yeah, this zine is about alien abductions,
not about how to form Take Back the Night rallies in your town. I think it
is a clever play on words. NH writes about her experiences being abducted
by aliens and trying to rationalize what was really happening to her. It's
quite an interesting and at times, scary story, although I know some people
will be skeptical. But it takes some guts to put out a zine like this. NH
also reprints two articles from websites about how to prevent alien abductions
and emergency anti-abduction procedures, although she states that she doesn't
necessarily agree with all the suggestions listed.
NH
antiabduction@hotmail.com
---Sarah Maitland
You Are Here #3, The Special Horror Issue,
22p, odd size (5.5X6.75), $2
Crazy and adorable autobiographical mini-comic. The drawings have a wonderfully
primitive quality, while being quite artful and well-crafted. Stories range
from childhood trips to waterparks and homemade haircut disasters, all told
with a deliciously dark and ironic sense of humor. Very cool!
Jen Michaelis
PMB 299
1411 W. Covell Blvd., Ste. 106
davis, CA 95616
USA
jenm@fastmail.fm
www.youareherecomic.com
Also available through Atomic
Books, Echo
Zine Distro, Lovegarden Sounds,
Powell’s Bookstores.
--AR