October 2003
CRASH #1, July 2003, 28p, half-size, $2,
The letter from the editor descibes CRASH as "a new source for
all your political and entertainment needs." It goes on to announce an
ongoing theme of sex and candy(of the eye, ear & brain varieties). Maybe
not so gratifiying as sex, but far more filling and nutritious than candy,
CRASH delivers on all counts. The text is a little small to make
it a very comfortable read, but that is my only real criticism. Inside is
some great writing in some really funny essays. Stand-outs include an essay
on posing for Playboy and taking a drug test to check for the effects of hemp-manufactured
food products. Interviews with the band Kitty Kill and a sex shop co-founder,
balance out the reaction/response articles to the 9/11 attacks on the US quite
nicely. A nifty blend of a little fiction, a little feminism, and a lot of
collective smarts makes CRASH a super well-rounded zine.
P.O. Box 20455
Newark, NJ 07101
crashzine@hotmail.com
www.crashzineonline.net
Available at: Lost
Product Distro, Rocket
Strip Distro, Tastes
Like Newsprint Distro, Moon
Potatoes Disro, Sticky (Australia), Quimby's,
and Atomic Books
--ajc
Found, 6 loose double-sided pages + an envelope,
8" x 4 1/2"
I'm kind of puzzled by this zine, but it's because I haven't seen a zine like
this before. I'm not sure if it's fiction or non-fiction. The only thing I
know is that it features poems by one-half of a couple, and the other half
of the couple finds the poems in strange places. This zine is interactive
in the sense that after almost every poem, there is a question, and you can
post your answer on the website address given. So it's interactive kind of
like a chain letter or writer's group, not like "Write me! Tell me what
you think!" like in most zines. I think people who like interactive art
and things like mail art and nervousness.org would like this zine. I'm not
much of an interactive person, other than posting on a few messageboards and
livejournal, and I'm very bad with responding to letters, so I just appreciate
and am intrigued by the general idea for this zine.
ag976@columbia.edu
--Sarah Maitland
Geistenbourg Welcomes You #1, 8 pages, half-sized
A short comic about two high school kids who live in a small town or city
that has no music scene. The kids decide to create a zine, basically making
up interviews with nonexistent bands and writing reviews for their nonexistent
demos. And magically, the bands come to life. I think Anthony put out this
comic a year ago, but he hasn't put out a second issue yet. It's an interesting
story, but it ends off with "To be continued and stuff", which makes
me eager to see a second issue. Anthony's comic-writing style is amusing and
clever and his drawing style is cute. He draws silly hipster haircuts very
well.
anthonysorge@hotmail.com
--Sarah Maitland
Mamaphiles: A Mama Zine Collaboration, 132
pages, half-sized, $5
This is a thick compilation zine featuring many mamazine writers that I believe
all post at mamaphonic.com where this idea grew. While I don't know if there
will be future collaborations and issues (the idea of doing a book is mentioned
though), this first issue is mostly about physically giving birth. Some of
the stories are a bit graphic and may make some people squeamish. With me,
it ran 50-50 - I thought some of the stories were heartwarming, the others
pretty much confirmed the idea that I shouldn't have kids, either because
of the graphic descriptions or because of the pre-and-post birth emotions.
But overall, I do believe that this is a valuable and inspiring zine.
Lauren Eichelberger
9th Time Press
P.O. Box 4803
Baltimore, MD 21226
masageleaf@toad.net
--Sarah Maitland
Media Whore #1, 24 p, half-size
Media Whore #1 is the first issue of a feminist zine published when
creator Randie grew frustrated with current feminist publications. She "wanted
something hip, but informative" something feminist, but "not about
general pop culture or the news." To be honest, most of the articles
are not only about general pop culture, but are about how women can find a
niche in it, whether it be through the metal scene or superhero comics. Personally,
I would have preferred articles that focused on alternatives to macho culture
(such as the worthwhile things women themselves create) rather than how women
can learn to survive in its margins. While stories on Eminem's misogyny and
the potential of Oprah's magazine also seemed superficial, Media Whore's
highlights include an article about Lisa Miva-Jervis of Bitch (one
of the finest feminist publications available), and a piece on the decline
of feminist bookstores. In general, Media Whore has a positive message
but is perhaps not provocative enough for some tastes. This is a pleasant
enough first issue, and if the zine had a more specific mission, it would
certainly improve.
Randie Farmelant
37 Home Street
Malden, MA 02148
randie@mediawhorezine.com
www.mediawhorezine.com
Available through Tastes Like Newsprint, Echo Zine Distro, and Quidgee Productions
--Kate Amok
Mr. Ken CLean Air System, 48p, half size, $2
Compared to CRASH, the Mr. Ken Clean Air System is definitely
less polished. It is a true cut-and-paste zine full of stray bits of ramndomness
presented with a really choppy layout. But the comparison is not really fair.
What it lacks in polish, MKCAS makes up for in spunk. There is a
Lennon/Lenin Smackdown that pits the British and Russian revolutionaries against
one another (with special guest Teddy Roosevelt), a fanzine homage to Marlon
Brando, and an "Instant Propaganda Word Kit" that made me think
of magnetic poetry for social activists. I also took "The World's Smallest
Political Quiz" with some frightening results. The shocking revelation
of my authoritarian leanings notwithstanding, I found MKCAS to be
absurdist, silly and benignly clever. Bravo.
Shannon Williams
Hood College
401 Rosemont Ave.
Frederick, MD 21701 USA
kipp321@hotmail.com
--ajc
Riot Librarrrian #1, 34 pages, half-sized
Sara and Jen have written a resourceful zine about libraries and being librarians.
The zine is pretty feminist-oriented, so it's not really a zine to find books
in the same vein as say, for example, the Harry Potter series. They show how
to find feminist and women's studies books by using both the Library of Congress
and Dewey Decimal System classifications. Sara and Jen also write book reviews
of mostly fairly recent feminist books, and some websites. Jen also wrote
the interesting article about Melvil Dewey, who created, yes, the Dewey Decimal
System. While I thought this zine was pretty good, I think those interested
in feminism or women's studies students will find it more valuable and useful
resource than English or Library Science students. Being the latter, I expected
to find more stories about their experiences in library school. Instead, there
is just one.
riotlibrarrrian@hotmail.com
--Sarah Maitland
Slave to the Needles #1, 42 pages, full-size,
$2
After hearing the title the first few times around online, and never seeing
a review, I thought this zine would be about heroin addiction. Well, the clever
play on words makes it a zine about knitting. This first issue is friendly
to both wannabe and beginning knitters and experienced knitters. There are
two how-to articles with illustrations on how to cast off and begin knitting,
for beginners. For the experienced, there are directions on how to make thong
underwear, a cozy for birth control pills, mittens, a bachelor tea cozy, tassels
and flared legwarmers. This zine has a really great and long list of books
about knitting for both adults and children. There are also about a half-dozen
comics about knitting, and a few short profiles on knitters in Indie Rock.
Aimee Hagerty
1463 E. Republican St. Box 131
Seattle, WA 98112
--Sarah Maitland
Songs About Ghosts #2, 64p, quarter-size
Songs About Ghosts chronicles Jasmine's friendship with a talented
but troubled young piano player she met at summer camp when she was 13. While
sifting through old letters and journals eleven years later, she decides to
contact him again. The result is a melancholy tale which comprises one of
the best perzines I've read. Jasmine doesn't need to prove her own hipness
to us; she simply relates a story that is important to her and written well
enough to interest a stranger as well. Anyone who went to summer camp, who
started listening to the Beatles in middle school, or who reminisces over
childhood mementos will appreciate her perspective. The artwork, which in
any other context might seem silly and carefree (butterflies, photographs
of friends), comes across as mournful in this zine: the butterflies are in
Xeroxed black and white, and coins block peoples' faces from view. Overall,
Songs About Ghosts is as haunting as its title suggests.
Jasmine Dreame Wagner
252 Norman Ave. #203
Brooklyn, NY 11222
Songsaboutghosts@hotmail.com
www.songsaboutghosts.com
-- Kate Amok