Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Recent Arrivals

It's been a good week-plus for zines and such. Here are some of the highlights:

Comicopia #108 (August 2008): The 18th anniversary issue of this international comics APA. ($6 133M) Savage Enterprises Publishing, 10 rue de la Valline, NDIP, Quebec, Canada J7V 9S5.

Musea #165 (August/September/October 2008): Writing on shared culture, the "art Olympics," and YouTube videos. (8S) Tom Hendricks, 4000 Hawthorne #5, Dallas, TX 75219.

Opuntia 66A (September 2008): Geology, pronghorns, and a literature scan. ($3 16S) Dale Speirs, Box 6830, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2P 2E7.

Rap Sheet #138 (September 2008): The official newsletter of the Small Press Syndicate. ($3 52S) Dale Martin, P.O. Box 442612, Lawrence, KS 66044.

Worry Stone #1: The first issue of Jerianne's new zine about the concerns of adulthood. (28XS) P.O. Box 330156, Murfreesboro, TN 37133.

Zen Baby #19: Christopher Robin's freewheeling zine of correspondence, poetry, news, reviews, and collage art. ($2 56M) P.O. Box 1611, Santa Cruz, CA 95061-1611.

Zine World #26: Perhaps the zine review zine of today. I contribute an article on censorship in California and Russia, as well as assorted zine reviews. ($4 62M) P.O. Box 330156, Murfreesboro, TN 37133.

ZYX #48 (December 2008): Progressive poetry, reviews, and collage art, including poems by A. D. Winans. (10M) Arnold Skemer, 58-09 205th St., Bayside, NY 11364.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Vote for My ChangeThis Manifesto Proposal

I submitted an idea for a ChangeThis manifesto, and it's currently one of the proposals you can vote for. Vote for my proposal, if you think it's a good idea, and help me get selected... I'd love to do this ebook and think it's a useful topic: How to best leverage the many business book summary services out there.

While you're there, check out the other proposals, as well. It's an interesting project -- and an interesting process!

You Don't Get There from Here #8

Carrie McNinch, P.O. Box 49403, Los Angeles, CA 90049; Web; Email
($2 36XS)

Daily, three-panel diary comic strips. Sent as trade for a Bundle of Wonder. Excellent.

ZYX #48

Arnold Skemer, 58-09 205th St., Bayside, NY 11364
(Free 10M)

Innovative poetry, and reviews of same. One of the best poetry zines I get.

Poet's Espresso: September 2008

1426 Telegraph Ave. #4, Stockton, CA 95204; Web; Email
($1, 28S)

Poetry from multiple poets in at least two languages, as well as local events listings.

A View #135

Michael Goetz, 1340 Brandywine Dr., Rockford, IL 61108
($1 16XS)

Simply drawn single-panel gag strips with an emphasis on puns.

Saturday, September 06, 2008

Several Items from SSO Press

Yesterday, I received a wonderful envelope from the folks who share P.O. Box 2645 in Olympia, Wash. Among the items included were:

Well, I Don't See Why Not CD-R: "A compilation of unsigned/barely signed Northwest artists" released in July 2008. Musical groups include Twig Palace, Yes Please, the Hail Seizures, Ariel Birks, Blindfolder, and other bands. 17 songs available via Bicycle Records.

Basic Paper Airplane #2 (August 2008): Cut-and-paste perzine by Joshua Amberson, SSO Press, P.O. Box 2645, Olympia, WA 98507. (Trade 20S)

Jesus Christ Super Zine #1: Hand- and typewritten perzine by Ariel Birks, SSO Press, P.O. Box 2645, Olympia, WA 98507 (Trade 40S)

These are begging to be read and listened to, and full reviews will follow in the near future.

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Xerography Debt #24

Davida Gypsy Breier, P.O. Box 11064, Baltimore, MD 21212
($2 16M)

The first issue of a new approach to Xerography Debt, this issue largely contains a lettercol-driven discussion of the intersection between zine culture and the Web. Breier and her team are moving the review aspect of XD to a new blog and will devote the pages of the print -- and PDF -- version to other matters. Contributors to the discussion include yours truly, James Dawson, Jeff Somers, Christopher Robin, and others. Somers also contributes items on post office etiquette, how to mail a zine "properly," and the longevity of online zine reviews. Sinasi Gunes's piece "Zines and Contemporary Art in Turkey" is a brief survey of zine culture in that country, and there are a couple of pages of calls for submissions. I might be most intrigued by the calls for submissions. Even if zine culture is being supplanted in some ways by the Web, there's still a place for the papernet, and this is a healthy expression of the Eternal Network. Oddly, this is the first issue of XD I've ever read, and I feel like I've been missing out -- but joined the party at an interesting point in time. To the future!