Zine reviews from Reglar Wiglar print edition. Reviews by Chris Auman unless otherwise noted.
RW #15 2001
FOR THE CLERISY #41
Issue #41 of this seasonally published zine has its creator once again offering readers reviews and summaries of the books and movies he’s watched in recent months. This issue features synopses of three Raul Walsh films from the 40s; Gore Vidal’s novel 1876, recommended UK crime novesl and reflections on the scars Brant’s body has acquired over the years, plus the usual letters from readers dialogue that has been continuing feature of the zine.
GET WELL SOON
This one-of from Julie Halpren, co-creator of the Cul-de-Sac zine. It chronicles Julie’s stint in a Chicago mental institution during her senior year of high school. The story is told in a poignant and straightforward manner and it’s rather sad to read but worthwhile nevertheless.
MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL #213
Thee punk rock bible for some, a source of irritating, punker-than-thou, self-righteous soap boxing for others, this loooong running Bay Area mega-zine has been consistently covering underground bands and artists that most publications (yes, even independent ones) wouldn’t dare touch. The look of MRR has improved recently; it’s cleaner and has less ink rub-offage than before. Even if you lost touch with the punk rock scene a decade ago, the letters section alone makes this worth the cover price which is ridiculously low to start with. Issue #213 features, in addition to the many pages of columns: leftist political news; a history of Finnish hardcore; Canadian record label, Ugly Pop; interviews with photographer, Joshua Peach, Midnight Evils, and the Zodiac Killers. Zine, book, record reviews and ads comprise the bulk of the rest of this fat mother.
POLKA SCENE ZINE #17
Another issue of PSZ has arrived, this time with an article on gangsta’ polka (What? You thought Al Capone listened to rap music? Get outa here!), Polka Fiction by Lil’ Robbie, a provacative photo spread of a Polkaholics/Polkacide show in SF, CA, a Polkascope and more polka-related propaganda for polkaholics of all ages.
PROPER GANDER #23
Anti-Comics & Stories
This is a tabloid-sized newsprint publication of anti-comics and stories straight outa’ Texas. This issue (which is probably long gone off the streets by the time you read this) features comics by the likes of Patrick Welsch, Hans Rickheit, and Stepan Chapman, as well as record and zine reviews and an absurdist short story by Jeff Chan titled, “Night of the Living Dead X.” It’s free where you can find it or if you can’t find it shoot a dollar off to Texas.
PUNK PLANET #41
Thee punk rock bible for some, a source of irritating, intellectual, politically righteous whining for others, this zine just keeps getting bigger and quite possibly better. I still skip most of the columns and most to all the record reviews but there are usually several articles of interest in every issue making the $3.50 purchase price a pittance to pay for a magazine of such girth, and I have no sympathy for sniveling little snits who would bitch otherwise. The lure of this particular issue, for those who care at all about the history of punk rock, is a reprint of two chapters from the book Dance of Days by Mark Anderson and Mark Jenkins, chronicling the rise and…well the rise, of the DC punk scene as we know it today.
A READERS GUIDE TO THE UNDERGROUND PRESS #14
It looks like the rumors are true, Factsheet Five will rise again but let’s not forget who stepped in to fill those giant shoes in the interim, ARGttUP that’s who. Not only does this clean-looking, well-organized (in format anyway, maybe not at their office) zine provide honest, straightforward reviews on the efforts of the underground press, they also print news from around the country reporting on violations of our First Amendment rights especially as pertaining to people who publish zines (the powerless as it were). So, even though FS5 is back, don’t forget who had your back, you freaks!
SHORT, FAST & LOUD #6
SF&L is a Bay Area newsprint zine dedicaed to hardcore music. Its layout is in the MRR style with columns, interviews, features, and record reviews of all things hardcore. It’s edited by Chris Dodge who runs the Slap a Ham label. This issue which is no doubt dated by now features interviews with Hellnation, Exclaim, Abstain, and more. Pretty packed with good shit, if you’re into HC, this is a sweet deal.
ZEEN #16
The format of this ever-changing zine keeps ever changing but the attitude remains the same. This issue, aesthetically at least, is the best one yet. It is the size of a 7″ record that fits snugly into a 7″ record sleeve AND it comes with a 7″ record (a split between Wormwood and Crepuscule on clear vinyl). Also included is an interview with Crepuscule, a brief interview with God Speed You Black Emperor, record reviews, and the usual well-directed venom against the musical establishment and mediocrity in general.
RW #16 2002
CUL-DE-SAC
The Recreation Issue
The Cul-de-Sac ladies are back with another fun issue of their zine. This time the reader is treated to such tales as “Car Accidents the Were My Fault,” “Starbucks Tastes Like Ass” and “Andy the Dick Licking Dog.” Stories as delightful as their titles.
GET OFF MY LAWN #15
This is a personal/travel zine by Jon Daniels. This issue covers a trip to Prescott, Arizona Jon took to visit a little brother. Also included are some movie reviews of stuff they rented duting his visit and a “Log Log” which is pretty crude as you can imagine if you just take a moment to think about what a log log might be a log of …think about it. You know what I’m talking’ about now. Yeah, pretty gross.
SURVIVOR NEWSLETTER #6
A cut and paste zine with a decidedly Libertarian bent. There’s a lot crammed into every corner of its twenty pages which makes some of the tiny type hard to read. Mostly reprints of political and assorted one panel cartoons, but also jokes, reprints of letters to the editor of an unidentified newspaper and assorted bits and pieces. Truly a mishmash of a zine if there ever was one.
COMETBUS #47
I must confess that I am very late in jumping on the Cometbus bandwagon, if such a thing exists. Reason: I was a little intimidated by the handwritten style of the thing. It’s very legible but not conducive to train or bus ride reading—to reading in general—or so I thought, but once I took the plunge I read the ninety pages pretty much straight through. For those who are in the dark as I once was, Cometbus is a collection of personal writings by Aaron Cometbus. Reflections on his youth, Berkeley, and the ghosts of punk rock past or in this particular case his girlfriend at the time, Lanky. Aaron is a great writer and I hope someday there is an anthology of his personal writings (if such a thing doesn’t already exist).
RW #17 2002
AZMACOURT #7
This is a zine that is no longer about asthma. Auto-biographical snippets and comics as pertaining to, and related by, its author, Mark Parker. Mark reveals things that will no doubt get him in dutch with friends, coworkers and crushes but he seems unaffected by such concerns. Hand printed and drawn without the aid of computers as the intro proudly proclaims. Like many zines of it’s digest size, it’s too short!
CABOOSE #1
A mini from Liz Saidel of Cul-de-sac notoriety. Liz gets impatient between issues of that bigger zine project, so caboose is a little side action to satisfy the self-publishing urge. “Breath Right Strips Rock My World,” “I Was the Barfer,” and “I Had to Go on These Camping Trips with My Family That Totally Blew” are a few of titles and the topics tackled in this short, to the point, and quite humorous zine.
COMETBUS #48
This is an interview issue, a format that Aaron returns to from time to time. The theme: Back to Landers, a hippie movement of the late 60s and early 70s in which the flower children, partly in fear of the coming revolution and the resulting apocalypse, and partly to grow weed, fled to the hills of Northern California with their young families in tow. Part I is interviews with the adult children of these Back to Land families. Part II is the parent’s point-of-view, which I found to be the most revealing and consequently the most interesting. Part III is interviews with young people who are currently experiencing the urge to get back to the land. I had no idea, now I have an idea.
MY FAT IRISH ASS #-3
The Official Magazine of Absolutely Nothing This zine is sub-sub-titled “Tom Paigne, The Biggest Piece of Shit I Know.” This issue serves to act as a sort of intervention in the destructive behavior of Tom Paigne who apparrently is one gigantic loser. Some of Tom’s traits are detailed here and they sound none to appealing. If he is being portrayed accurately, he’s got some issues and the author seems to genuinely want to get his friend on the wagon and off the fast track to imminent ruin. While the subject matter is handled in a funny way, it’s also kinda sad and I’m rooting for Tom to get his shit together.
PROPER GANDER #31
Anti-Comics & Stories
Bimonthly newsprint tabloid that you may have seen lying around the free-for-all pile at your local zine/ comic store. Usually contains a good mix of zine and music reviews, short fiction, and lots and lots of cool and bizarre comics, most of which make you go “hmmm.”
THE URBAN HERMITT #12
The Hermitt returns with more tales of greyhound buses, toxic, mind-altering car fumes, crusty queer love and Eugene, Oregon, all delivered with that hip-hoppin’ flava’ and handwritten style you’ve come to expect from Sarah O.
XEROX DEBT #6
A brief introduction by Editor & Publisher, Davida, some do’s and don’ts for zine publishers concerning privacy & safety, some “Basic Stuff You Should Know,” some announcements and then nuthin’ but zine review after zine review, some short and concise, others longer and concise. Throw in a list of places to get zines at the end and what you have is an informative, useful little zine guide.
RW #18 2003
AZMACOURT #8
Comics and other autobiographical writings by Mark Parker comprise the bulk of this half-sized zine. Observations and reflections on a variety of subjects from Xanax to veganism. What do these things have in common? They all seem to have a somewhat scatological bent to them. Find out for yourself. Price: “$5 buys a nice assortment” of A.C. and other titles.
CABOOSE #2
The Suckass CDs I’ve Traded Issue As the subtitle so accurately suggests, this issue of the mini caboose is devoted to the CDs that author, Liz, has sold or traded when she’s purged her collection of the crappy CDs taking refuge there. It’s not just a list, there’s also an explanation. Let those without crappy CDs in their collection cast the first stone.
A READERS GUIDE TO THE UNDERGROUND PRESS #17
You probably won’t find this in any zine shops. This is basically a mail order only publication for fellow zinesters. It’s a review zine that gives it to you straight. For example, they had they had this to say about Reglar Wiglar #16: “too much puffery about the indie music biz” and further expounded on the overall worth: “Disinterested and flat, the fizz is out of this formula.” Let me tell you somethin’ there never was anything like a fizz in the Wiglar formula. But don’t let one wrong opinion steer you away from this quality zine.
MY FAT IRISH ASS #-4
Crude drawings and even cruder humor (no wait, that’s not possible) make MFIA a guilty pleasure of a read. “Tales of the Scorched Scrotum Society,” (in which the author prefaces with the acknowledgment that this is “one of the stupidest, most childish things that I’ve ever done”), “Famine Cervix” (the artist takes liberties with the adorable Family Circus comic, adding his own caption with sometimes humorous results). Not for those who profess to posses good taste.
ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE #907
I just got back from the grocery store. The lady behind me in line, two kids in tow, had fifteen bags of Cheetos, a ten pack of Kit Kats, a bag of Pop Rocks (I thought those were out-lawed in ’81!), a couple of Blow Pops and produce (about five pounds each of: yellow onions, tomatoes, and bana-nas) on the conveyer belt. The woman behind her was also buying onions-more onions than I could find practical use for in two years. Peculiar. What was I buying? A couple of pizzas, a twelve-pack of beer (Rolling Rock) and, an impulse buy; the new Rolling Stone Magazine (the one with Keith Richards on the cover). Now, to the subject at hand, namely, records. Rolling Stone #907 features a nice, long, in-depth interview with the always inspirational Keef, puffery on Ryan Adams, “The Sex Pistols’ Revenge” (they played a punkfest put together by Blockbuster and Levi’s), Beck, and all the CDs, books, DVDs, and movies I gotta go out and “experience” NOW (!). But the main attraction was their list of the “Top 100 CDs of,” I guess what they mean is, “All Time.” Like, did you know that Weezer’s new one, Maladroit (#91) is better than both Jimi Hendrix’s Electric Ladyland (#98) and Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life (#96)? I haven’t heard Weezer yet, so I didn’t know ’til just now. If you dig metal, be sure you pick up Toxicity (#72) by System of a Down before you waste your money on Metallica’s Master of Puppets (#88). But if you’ve already got both of those, you should be aware that Linkin Park’s Hybrid Theory (#58) is a little better than Sab’s Paranoid (#59), which is better than AC/DC’s Back in Black (#60). But hooray for Reglar Wiglar buddies The White Strokes whose very first album is number #57! Yippee. If the Strokes were a metal band, that would make Is This Mayonnaise the third best heavy metal album of all time, with only Metallica (#42, one ahead of Rumors, and twelve up on Dave Matthews’ Crash), Appetite for Destruction (#7), and Tool’s Aenema (#27). As far as rap goes, only Eminem makes the chart (#24 & 37). Best punk albums? Well, is Nirvana punk? If they are, or ever were, Nevermind is #2 and In Utero is #22 and Unplugged in New York at #55. Nevertheless, we’ve got the Sex Pistols at #74, Green Day at #38, and the Clash at #14. But there’s more! Didju know that Mariah Carry’s album Daydream (#69) sold ten million copies? No wonder it’s better than Marvin Gaye’s most popular album, What’s Going On? (#74), which has still only sold 500,000, even though it’s been out for twenty-four more years! But how does one rationalize Highway 61 Revisited (#48, one million) over Music by Madonna (#52) which sold twice as many copies in .0285714 the number of years? Wait a minute! I just realized, this whole list is a fucking SHAM! Weezer’s album called Weezer is #21. Weezer had TWO albums called Weezer! And Rolling Stone counted votes for both of them as for one! That must be why Apocalyptic Converter by Weedbrain isn’t listed at #83. (Andre Salmon)
THE URBAN HERMITT #14
The Hermitt returns to Hawaii, or at least the theme of issue #14 returns to Hawaii with more from Sarah and her futile escape from Amerika, Land of Strip Malls. Hippies, big trucks and sugar cane on the hip hop tip.
RW #19 2003
1544 WEST GRACE #19
It’s been awhile since I’ve seen a copy of1544. This is a zine about an apartment building, as its tag line proclaims and that apartment is located at 1544 West Grace, as you may have guessed. (You’re so smart!) The zine’s creator, Larry Roth, is a tenant in the aforementioned 1544 W. Grace building and is responsible for this seemingly mundane but surprisingly interesting zine. This is the War and Peace issue and as such, it documents the proliferation of American flags throughout the neighborhood and includes essay dedicated to New Yorkers (“We All Live in New York City”) and of course, those familiar with this zine won’t be disappointed by the usual fare off-the-wall tidbits like the page of photocopied of advertisements found on plastic grocery store bags, as well as an itemized list by color of the 343 bags Larry managed to accumulate (248 were white but only one green bag!)
ADVENTURES IN ANNELAND #6
If you’ve never been to Anneland before (and I hadn’t), this zine is a little taste. In broad terms, AA deals with things that Anne either likes or finds annoying. Things that annoy Anne are weightism, people who smoke and guys who expect women to be passive. Also featured are things that rock, things that rool, and things that are hot (Ewan McGregor and Librarians for example). There’s also four or five comics drawn by Dan (last name withheld?) that are so crude and absurd that they almost reach guilty pleasure status. Unfortunately, the pleasure part is not quiet there, unless you happen to dig badly drawn pictures of poop and penises (some people do).
CABOOSE #3
The Modular Karaoke Issue
This is the karaoke issue of Caboose and as such, concerns itself with the phenomenon (for some) of the karaoke experience (I’ll stop short of calling it a lifestyle). This issue is basically a discussion or group interview of, and between, five karaoke enthusiasts who in the course of their conversation about their karaoke passion, touch upon such karaoke topics as karaoke etiquette (never do “American Pie” or “Paradise by the Dashboard Lights”), karaoke style, regional variations of karaoke and their own personal karaoke standards. This is a good read whether your a karaoke veteran or if you’re thinking about delving into that world for the first time. It’s funny too. So is using the word karaoke a lot in one review. I think so.
DUNK & PISS #11
This issue of Dunk & Piss deals with Alex’s unintentional bomb scare. You see Alex dropped off a bunch of slightly damaged zines at a Wegman’s Supermarket in Rochester, NY where he lives. The zines were wrapped in brown paper which had the words “open me” written on the outside, you follow? Well, in these security sensitive, paranoid times, that very pub lic invitation to open a mysterious brown package caused the evacuation of the entire store, an event that made the six o’clock news. Then his troubles really began, but if you want to know more you’re going to ask Alex. Send him a buck for the full scoop.
MK ULTRA SEP/OCT ’02
MK Ultra, with a cover price of $4, plumbs the depths of Goth fashion with an approach like that of a men’s magazine. There is a cover girl (Tairrie B of My Ruin), large breasted centerfold and a video offering: Goth Girls Gone Wild! The professionally produced 55 page magazine boasts an impressive array of interviews: Garbage, KMFDM, Nashville Pussy, Motorhead, Cradle of Filth, Daniel Ash and more. The typical sections of news and reviews are included as well as a sex advice column from “Lady Monster, Certified Sex Therapist.” Packed with information and visuals, this is a good read. (Tom “Tearaway” Schulte)
POLKA SCENE ‘ZINE #24
This issue of PSZ is a collection of “The Detective Kowolski Files” by Li’l Robbie a.k.a. Robert E. Alletto. Written in the vein of Dashiell Hammett Li’l Robbie’s hardboiled detective is a Chicago cop of the Polish persuasion and the cases Detective K. solves primarily concern (yep, you guessed it) polka. With titles like “The Kishka Conspiracy,” “The Silence of the Tuba,” and “Danuta’s Got a Gun,” if you like polka and detective stories, this is the issue of Polka Scene Zine you’re gonna wanna get. This came out in 2002 so there’s probably been twenty-four more issues since then!
THE WHIZZBANGER GUIDE TO ZINE DISTRIBUTORS #6
This invaluable resource is an encyclopedia of zine distributors categorized by country. Similarly organized is a related section on “Libraries, Archives, Info-Shops, etc.” Zine stores and other, miscellaneous resources are similarly grouped. A growing section lists reviewers that Shannon finds to be dependable. A Bulletin Board section acts as a listing of free classifieds. While Shannon does not review zines per se, there is a two page spread on Shannon’s zine picks for 2001. Shannon is a poet, and the editor’s poetry comes toward the back of this annual publication. (Tom “Tearaway” Schulte)
RW #20 2004
1544 WEST GRACE #20
Larry Roth and 1544 W. Grace are back with another issue of the zine about nothing (that’s not an insult, in fact, it was the theme of one of the most successful sitcoms of all-time). For the uninitiated, this zine is about a two flat building (located at the address in the zine’s title), its tenants, and the surrounding neighborhood. This issue is comprised mostly of Larry’s answering of a backlog of reader mail. There’s also a log of misdirected mail received at 1544, an update on the new and recent tenants of 1544, and some other small pieces that may be of interest, or possibly no interest, to you. I find this zine interesting in its potential noninterestingness.
APPLICANT
“One night while rooting through the recycling bin for magazines, I found all the confidential Ph.D. applicant files for the biology department at an Ivy League University from the years 1965-1975. Stapled to many of the yellowed documents were photographs of the prospective students…only later did I realize I had to publish them.” So starts Jesse Reklaw‘s one-off zine, Applicant. Publish them he did. This zine is nothing but the photos and a few choice quotes taken from what fellow professors and employers had to say about these prospective students. The result is a very interesting, if all too brief time capsule of a decade long gone. www.slowwave.com
THE BIG TAKEOVER #53
For twenty years Jack Rabid has been publishing this mammoth music magazine. Forget Rolling Stone and Spin, if you want coverage of real music and not flavors of the month, cookie cutter boy bands, or girly-girl singers, then you gotta lug home one of these 300+ pagers. This issue alone features interviews with Belle & Sebastian, Death Cab for Cutie, John Doe (X) , Circle Jerk’s Keith Morris, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Shins, Blondie, and over twenty more! Price: $4.95. www.bigtakeover.com
CABOOSE #4
The Ridiculous Issue Another delightful issue of Liz’s Caboose mini-zine. This is the “Ridiculous Issue” and it’s about time. Included in this issue is a treatise on Liz’s experience working at a Renaissance Fair (“Ye Renaissance Faire”), a list of people Liz idolized in high school (Rollins, Ian MacKaye, etc.), and a “College Radio DJ Mad Lib” which you can find a reprint of on page ten of this very zine. Aren’t you lucky?
CASH FLAGG #2
This is basically a movie review zine written by, confessed Dungeons & Dragon/horror film geek, Brian Marshall. These are low-brow reviews of low-brow movies I haven’t seen, but I think I would probably agree with the Hollywood-as-crap theme that runs through the reviews. I did, however, rent Cabin Fever based on Brian’s positive review and all I gotta say is, meh, not so good. Brian also brings up an interesting point of shitty minds thinking alike with Fred “Limp Bizkit” Durst’s cover of The Who’s “Behind Blue Eyes” at the end of the rather mediocre Gothika. Certainly that version of the song is offensive, but equally so, as Brian points out, are Uncle Cracker’s cover of “American Woman” and Kid’s Rock’s “Feel Like Making Love.” These are truly two of the worst songs ever recorded. Not enough people are talking about how much Kid Rock sucks. Why are people afraid to talk about this?
CHORD EASY, 2nd Edition
Chord Easy is a small, photocopied, saddle-stitched digest. The publication comes in a full and short version. I have only seen the short version. Densely packed with type, even this short work can be an intimidating read. However, it is well worth the effort for its straightforward explanation of the music theory essential for anyone striving to get a working knowledge of chord fundamentals. While the aim seems to be for guitar, of all the articles and book passages I have taken in, this is the first time I was able to grasp the 4-3-5 and 3-4-5 rules for major chords versus minor ones. (Tom “Tearaway” Schulte)
DAY OF RECKONING
I’m not really sure what’s going on with this collage of literary snippets and stream of conscious scribbling but if the zine isn’t odd enough, it also comes with an equally bizarre CD-R with an assortment of found sounds, at least one of which is from a squirrel. This zine was mostly done on a real life typewriter which adds to the chaos of the layout. Add to that a general lack of cohesion and you have a zine that’s sort of hard to follow. But it’s an interesting mess for sure.
THE EAST VILLAGE INKY #20
Prolific writer, activist, and mother, Ayun Halliday and her entire mommy posse of children captivate the world once again! Website highlight: full color photo gallery of characters in zine. Strange thing about activism is it often is fueled by a love for one’s children and all children. The smile on a child’s face reminds people, more than anything else, that all people deserve freedom from corporate exploitation, freedom to experience kindness, and the freedom to know love. (T.v.L.i.m.i.t.BNB)
FOR THE CLERISY #54
The zine for people who love to read is back with the fifty-fourth issue. Features the usual barrage of book reviews and answers to reader queries, also features photos of famous glasses wearers (or is that wearers of glasses?). If you’ve never read a book, or don’t know what a book is, or can’t even spell book, this is not the zine for you, but then again, you probably wouldn’t be reading this review if you were one of those people.
HORIZONTAL ACTION #12
If you like sleazy, ugly zines about sex and rock ‘n’ roll, then you’re probably gonna love Horizontal Action ’cause H.A. is thee flagwaver for the local and national garage rock scene. I would also be willing to bet a chained wallet that the people who put out this zine are unwashed heathens which would certainly lend a certain legitimacy to it. There are plenty of band interviews, and badly produced photos of naked “ladies” in each issue. The record reviews are pretty crude, occasionally funny, and on a very rare occasion, clever. This issue even features a haiku record review. Now where have I seen haiku record reviews before? Hmmm…
LEEKING INC. #20
Zine Highlights: Good content as always. This was the third zine I ever got a subscription to. I know this may sound nerdy, but I love the construction of this zine. Smooth dips and curves cut into the tan cover which allow the lavender page beneath it to peek out from beneath before meticulously enumerated white pages emerge. Reminds me of the craftsmanship that Quakers and Amish put into furniture. Simple, yet done well Smooooth. Web site highlight: Web site is brand new and colorful but what I like most is, it has an exhaustive index (by title and by author’s name) of all the zines reviewed within the last several years by a certain review zine (guess which one?). Nice! I just find it cool looking through the zine community history. I hope some of the ad-supported, larger budget, ISBN (maga)zines that review zines do an index like this to help archive, support, and most of all, promote the underground community someday! Do ya’ hear me glossy folks?! Yeah you! (happy laughter). www.leekinginc.com (T.v.L.i.m.i.t.BNB)
MY FAT IRISH ASS #-5
It’s taken about a year and a half for the author of MFIA to slap together another issue of his crude and entertaining zine. This issue contains zine reviews including props to the zine you are holding in your hands right now (if you are reading this on-line disregard that last sentence ’cause it wouldn’t make sense). And if you ever find yourself facing a shortage of Family Circus or Dennis the Menace cartoons altered to contain drug and sex references, then MFIA can help you out with that too.
PICK YOUR POISON #4
Shitty job issues are always enjoyable. Everybody’s had ’em (some of us still do) and I always like readin’ about ’em. Pick Your Poison is no exception. Whether it’s a gig at a gas station or just a temporary stint as a temp, we’ve all suffered the same work day drudgery (except for rich people) and we all smoke a lot of shitty, seedy weed like Nate too, right? Right?
POLKA SCENE ‘ZINE #27
This issue of the PSZ features a short piece on polka band The Naturals as well as the usual “Polka Dope” column and a four page spread of photos from various Polkaholics shows around the polka town of Chicago, Illinois. Polka, baby!
PORTLAND FREESKOOL
This is a little two page zine. One page zines have the potential to be so awesome because it shows that someone, somewhere stopped making excuses and just said, “Ay, we’re gonna’ do this thing!” Freeskool is open to everyone who wants to organize or attend a free class. If making necklaces is your skill, you could put a free description in this zine of where your free-of-charge class would be in the Portland area and teach people. “Freeskool is about encouraging positive social change by creating networks based on mutual aid and understanding.” The idea of a zine promoting such a revolution in free education is spreading all over the world and hopefully it will grow as an alternative to the traditional “insurmountable loan + college + four years of no experience=now what?” Long live Freeskool! Web site highlight: a monthly list of their free classes in the Portland, Oregon area as published in their zine. (T.v.L.i.m.i.t.BNB)
SECOND HAND ROSE #1
As the subtitle of this Australian zine suggests, SHR is a “zine for op shop aficionados and general junk collectors” and as such, it pertains to those of you who refuse to pay a lot for that muffler (that’s funny if you remember that old muffler commercial, but never mind). Other features include a short history of the Pelaco garment company and the answer to “Why Do Men’s Shirts Button on the Right and Women’s on the Left?” Good question and now I know the answer.
SLUG & LETTUCE #78
Da… Friggin?… BEST!!! Chris, publisher of S&L, is a pioneer in the zine community. Not just by keeping it real, but by the fact that she and the S&L contributors have produced such an incredible zine for so long! I love the way she often mentions current oppressive politics even if she is writing a heart-to-heart editorial about dragons and taking a mental time-out as she did in this issue. I think S&L is so excellent though because of three things: 1) It is a punk community of people who truly love the underground zine scene bringing together S&L with awesome activist articles, music, and zine reviews from all over the world.This issue has reviews of zines from many U.S. states, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Netherlands, Serbia, and more! 2) Chris’s emotionally deep editorials, live action band photographs and… 3) This thing is still only the price of postage! Does it get any better? Not!! Get this zine! (T.v.L.i.m.i.t.BNB)
SUCK A LEMON, KISS A TURD
A small book of humorous poetry. Kind of reminds me of Soggy Sprinkles a bit. Below is just one example of the type of poetry you’ll find in Suck a Lemon: Fable Writer Aesop? Fable writer? Sorry, I don’t handle short stories, Let alone ones written by an old Greek with a moral attitude. No money in it. See me when you have a novel.
YOU IDIOT #1 & #2
Pot smoking seems to be a common theme in You Idiot. Some of the observations on the Drug War are right on and should be obvious, I think, to anyone with at least one undamaged brain cell. The “Dollar Store Reviews” are entertaining enough. A slightly cynical zine from a twenty-something zinester, a natural fit. Other topics covered, “Crazy Preachers Who Burn Journey Albums,” “The Sorry Saga of Nick Carter,” and the “Rock Solid Science of Cat Astrology.”
ZINE GUIDE #6
Zine highlight: Lots of reviews. I like their “Top 250 Zines” list. It is determined by compiling reader and writer responses to Zine Guide’s “what are your three favorite zines?” survey. (No, the zines I work on did not make the list, [happy laughter] but I still like it). I love to see so many people involved in independent publishing. It blows my mind that as much as I love zines I haven’t even heard of all the people who are on the top thirty. So many zines, so much to look forward to! (T.v.L.i.m.i.t.BNB)
RW #21 2005
CABOOSE #5
This is the important issue of Caboose. Featured stories in this issue: Liz’s recently obtained state of buffness, working out, weight training, the eating of meat and the acquiring of a kickass arm tattoo. There is also a tale of Liz’s involvement with the daytime reality show, Fresh Start in which Liz was asked to participate as a “zine expert”, actually more of a “pamphlet expert” as the show’s producers didn’t seem to really know what a zine is. I think Thomas Payne and Ben Franklin made pamphlets, in the 21st Century we make zines, but anyway, it was an interesting behind-the-scenes glimpse of a so-called reality show. Also, don’t miss the recurring feature, “Ridiculous Names for Cats Part II.”
CRIMEWAVE #3
Small punk zine that follows the general layout of the bigger zines, Razorcake, ye olde Flipside, Maximumrocknroll and the like. The contents of this zine could be bulked up a bit, it’s a tad light, but a good effort nonetheless.
CRIPLED BY DEPRESSION #2
I’m sure there are dozens of “skinny-ass, honk-nerd, man-childs trawling for dates on Craig’s List any given week. This one dude though, has done so and published his ads along with the subsequent convos with interested and uninterested parties alike. It’s probably about as interesting as 50 pages of bored people’s e-mail can be—Reception Desk
FOR THE CLERISY #55-#59
While I’m totally ‘down’ with their ‘mission’ The Believer looks and feels more like a literary zine published by The Gap every time I see it. For the Clerisy, though, is more in line with my aesthetic: cut, pasted, photo-copied and stapled. Compared to it’s Dave Egger’s-aligned spiritual cousin, it offers omnivorous readers-for-pleasure a more compact, less grad-school alternative. Each month Brant K. spins out a roughly-themed 20 pages of encapsulated commentary on books, movies, zines, and eyeglass fetishism—Reception Desk
THE FURY #11
The Fury is a small digest-sized music zine straight outa Countryside, IL. Classic cut & paste layout, features band interviews, CD and live show reviews and a few short column-like articles.
ROCTOBER #39
Packed with reviews, comics and interviews with both the completely obscure and the relatively unknown musicians and bands, Roctober #39 has everything you’ve come to love and expect from this Chicago staple. This issue includes articles/interviews on/with 60s Chicago garage band Durty Words; country rock enigma, Unkown Hinson and remembrances of New York Dolls and Gentlemen John Battles recently departed musicians/actors.
From Reglar Wiglar print edition:
Reviews by Chris Auman unless otherwise noted.
RW #9 1997
THE AMSTERDAM CHRONICLE
A chronicle of life in Amsterdam by expatriate Americans who caution would-be travelers to their adopted country, not to listen to the “free diet of illusion being fed to you by the Dutch public relations hyperbole wurlitzer. Listen to them instead. Those crazy expatriates!
LOST ARMADILLOS IN HEAT
Goddamn! Nobody’s got more state pride than Texans not even the malcontents in the Lone Star State, or so it would seem. This zine covers everything Austin and Texas. ZZ Top Ate My Enchiladas! Viva La LAIH!
THE GOBLIN GOBLIN GAZETTE
If a Goblin makes the news, you’ll hear about it in the Goblin Goblin Gazette. From updates on who the band is currently feuding with, to details of their current recording contracts, you’ll find it here in the Goblin Goblin Gazette.
IDIOT WIND
There’s plenty of top ten lists, personals, funny made-up letters to the editor and other assorted silliness as well as fiction, poetry, and commentary in this lil’ zine.
JOIN KPAO
Danish punk rock newsprint zine with interviews, music, comic and zine reviews, columns and fiction.
T.R.’S ZINE
Internationally acclaimed “underground” artist, T.R. Miller’s zine of poetry and pooch tunes.
MUD
Features an interview with Will Oldham that both myself and Jason, the zine creator and interviewer, were surprised Will sat through without hanging up. An example of the intriguing and insightful questions is “Do you have a pet name for your penis?” to which the Kentucky gentlemen replied, “Um… I don’t think I do, no.” Whatta sport!
NEWS OF THE WORLD
A zine on everything Queen. I thought I was a Queen fan, but these people… jeeesh. Seriously, you have to be a really, really big Queen fan to enjoy this, but if you truly are, you truly will. Stay sweet.
RIGHT REICHERS MAGAZINE
This zine monitors right wing absurdities as found in various newspapers with the help of such cartoon characters as Militia Mark, Evan Jellick and Biker Mike.
THE ROBBIE STAR
This is to The New Rob Robbies what News of World is to Queen and The Goblin Goblin Gazette is to the Goblins; the happenings of a happening band.
TAPEWORM
A zine of various people’s lists of best live shows, albums, bands, etc. There’s some music commentary, one in particular by a guy who hates The Clash. He compares listening to The Clash to getting “pelted on all sides by horse shit” and compares Joe Strummer to Bono calling them both “cocky little guys who could really use an ass whuppin'”. Tough talkin’ macho music commentary to piss you off. It pissed me off. Just for the record, I got 500 bucks says Joe Strummer, in 1977 or 1997, could kick this guy’s punk ass sideways ’til tea time.
THROWRUG
Totally zine. This zine is sooo zine. A zine you’ll read cover to cover, no foolin’. Zine and record reviews and funny commentary. Great cover on issue #18.
RW #10, 1998
BOTTLE FED #3
The Anti-Literary Journal of Sour Grapes
Have another drink, Ann. The letter I received along with Bottle Fed was not written by a sober person. It was an invitation to trade zines and had vague, blurred threats and aggressive declarations about the Green Bay Packers. Fair enough. Bottle Fed contains fiction (the “Hangover Monkey” by Mike ‘Bondoman’ Terhune is the creation story of the hangover), an essay by Keffo of Temp Slave fame about the drinking habits of zine publishers as well as miscellaneous alcohol-inspired mayhem which I will neither condone nor condemn publicity.
OLIVE PIT
Literary & Visual Arts #1
A small zine of fiction, poetry, drawings, photos and a couple or two zine and book reviews. Basically a zine of literary and visual arts as the subtitle accurately suggests.
PLASTIC #1
E. Persimmon’s thoughts on the legalization of drugs, the psychological damage of beauty rituals expected of women, things that taste good together but you don’t think they should (or you wouldn’t think they could), jokes, a crossword puzzle and “Reviews of Movies I Haven’t Seen” which I haven’t seen either.
ZEEN #14
Though the mailing address and the format may change from time to time, Doug keeps ZEEN moving with another fine issue of his zine, ZEEN. In issue 14, we get a comparison of music genres, Country and Death Metal. The biggest similarity between the two, according to the author Matt Cowbell, is the white trash creative element behind both musical styles. Also in this issue, interviews with Xerobot, Glen Galaxy of Soul Junk, John Skuldt of Coat-Tail Records, a beginners guide to Phillip K. Dick plus record and zine reviews and it’s only a friggin’ dollar and fifty cents!
ZINE GUIDE #1
I was thrilled to see this thing finally come to pass. It seemed like quite an ambitious project and it is. It’s like Factsheet 5 without the reviews, but with just as much useful information. It is what it ways it is; a zine guide. Also contains the top “150 Best Zines” according to their survey of zinesters and indy label people.
BALTIMORE CHOP
In the summer of 1996, comic creator Dave Kocher went on a little mini vacation to Baltimore, Maryland and chronicled the event in comic form, thus his comic, Baltimore Chop. Dave felt so guilty about the way he was unable to draw his then- girlfriend-now-wife and do her justice in comic book form, that he included an actual photograph of her with the comic. Not a reproduction, but an actual print of her doing the dishes. Wait a minute, she has her clothes on. Christ, you people are sick!
TEN PAGE NEWS #13, #15
Ten Page News is in fact, ten pages. Whether it’s news or not is subject to debate, but not here. Owen Thomas’ Ten Page News is ten pages of short stories, recipes, zine reviews, comics, poems, and an occasional rant on the correct usage of commas. It’s a ten page grab bag, is what it is.
INDY UNLEASHED #3
Indy Ana Jones, of Ten Page News fame, devotes this mini-zine to zine reviews and a discussion of zines. This issue’s focus: punk, zines, political zines, medley zines and “Joke Religion” zines such as Church of the SubGenius, Principia Discordia, etc.
UPTOWN ENABLER #1
The Uptown Enabler claims to be the only newspaper in Uptown for under 10¢ when in fact it’s free. Entertaining for seconds at a time, confusing and absurd for longer. I would highly doubt that there will ever be an Uptown Enabler #2. I think the Enabler creators need to lay off the hooch for a while, sober up and start hittin’ the Help Wanted section of their local paper with a little more gusto than they had when they slapped together this piece of crap.
ZINE WORLD #4, #5
There seems to be this consensus in Zinedom that if someone takes the time and effort to produce a zine then it should be judged on that act alone regardless of the relevance or quality of the product. Not so true anymore thanks to San Fran’s Zine World. With the glut of zines out there ZW has come just in time. Packed with, not necessarily negative reviews, not entirely positive reviews, but honest reviews from people who read a lot of zines. You would expect no less from an art, music or literary publication, why should zines be exempt? They shouldn’t, so take a little Zine World with your Factsheet 5. The two can and do co-exist peacefully. Amen. Incidentally, reading Zine World did not inspire me to trash the Uptown Enabler in the above review, the Uptown Enabler provided all the necessary inspiration for that all by themselves.
RW #11, 1998
101 CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE
Oh sure, even Angus McIllwrath, the editor and creator of this little newsletter, will admit that there are hundreds and hundreds of contradictions in the bible, but here are 101 of ’em anyway. The purpose being, to arm you against fundamentalists and other religious nutballs when they start spoutin’ off bible quotes at you. Personally, I think the devil wrote this zine.
BOTTLE FED #4
The Anti-Literary Journal of Sour Grapes
Another zine from, Ann another rant letter to me, this one much more coherent and written on a paper napkin of the fast food variety. More piss and vinegar from one of Zinedom’s foremost misanthropes. Nonfiction by Ann includes the essay “Why I Hate Being Fucking Queer” which is not a real excuse for drinkin’ as any therapist, psychologist, psychiatrist, clergyman or Ann Landers will be sure to tell you. There’s also some eating tips for alcoholics. It’s heavily based on eggs. Real heavily based. I told Muggsy about it. Even he can’t handle it and he’s an egg eatin’ freak.
GOBLIN GOBLIN GAZETTE
More news and excitement from the world’s most newsworthy and exciting band, the Goblins. Nothing (and when I say nothing, I mean nothing) will ever stop the Goblins in their quest for musical supremacy. It’s frightening. I’m frightened.
INDY UNLEASHED #4
Indy Ana Jones is back with another issue of his/her (?) review zine which kicks off with another rather humorous poem about zine criticism. The theme of this issue is academic zines (The Baffler, New Philistine, etc.).
KING FLOYD #4
Clever cover on this zine. It’s a parody of a Dungeon & Dragons module. Remember D&D? C’mon you geeks. I know you’re out there. The rest of the zine is a partial account of a 10,000 mile American road trip.
THE LION’S PAW 1998
On the one side, it’s a newsletter/catalog for Mike Hunt Publishing packed with books, comics, music and art prints, and on the other side it’s Kind Velveeda’s Cheeselog.
KING VELVEEDA’S CHEESE LOG
A newsletter/catalog for artist, Kind Velveeda that’s packed with art work, photos, tattoos and pleas for cash.
POON TATUM #4
A mishmash of comics, band interviews (VooDoo Glow Skulls, CIV) and other celebrity interviews (Christian Wrestling team, The Power Team, and Teller of Penn & Teller fame) Essays on Fabio, The Muppets selling out, vegetarianism, etc. All this for two bucks!
PTHB! #4
This is a travel zine of Rex and occasional travel companions from Alaska all across the United States. Dumpster diving and floor crashing. Rex takes it all on and still manages some thoughtful writing. It’s a little Punk Rock On the Road journal definitely worth the buck it’ll cost you to have it sent to your door. Have you ever sent a dollar all the way to Alaska? It’s fun.
THE ROBBIE STAR SPRING ’98
This is a one sheet publication of everything Robbie, and by that I mean everything pertaining to the Chicago Rock and Roll group, The New Robbie Robbies. You’ll learn all about their likes (beer, sports, laundry on Sundays) and dislikes (sunshine, warm weather). Look for their upcoming release on the new Owned & Operated label. These guys are gonna be the next teen sensation and their well past their teens!
SMALL PRESS CREATIVE EXPLOSION #8
This mini exists solely for the benefit of those involved with the world of the small press, mini comics in particular. It contains contact information, spotlights on small press artists and reviews of mini comics, but you have to be a subscriber to get a review, you gotta pay to play in the insular word of the Small Press Creative Explosion.
STRUGGLE VOL. 14 #1
This is the anti-war issue of Struggle and it has poems and essays about war, from Vietnam to Iraq. It’s an anti-establishment, revolutionary, literary journal that’s been around for quite some time (14 years!)
TEN PAGE NEWS #16, #18
Not necessarily the ten page news. Absolutely no filler. Just writing about zines and… other things related to zines… or not.
THROWRUG #20
A compact, nicely laid out 24-page jab at pop culture from the latest blockbuster movies to recent indie record releases that Karlos the Jackal does not entirely approve of, and neither do I, and actually neither should you.
UNCOMMON SENSE #4
A not at all attractive looking zine that contains your standard zine fare: “funny” horoscopes, faux news stories, comics, a pop quiz and three or so sheets of toilet paper—the idea being that you would read this zine while on the toilet. Ha! I get it.
THE UPTOWN ENABLER #2
I really stuck it to this/these guys pretty hard in their last review in the last issue of the Wiglar. I don’t remember exactly what I said. I could look it up but that would require me getting out of this chair and walking, probably three to four steps and that ain’t gonna happen. I’m gonna go a little easier on them in this review and just say the Enabler sucks without getting into any nasty name calling. Actually, I enjoyed the Uptown Society Confidential and the Uptown Jumble which, when the clues were unscrambled would fill in the blanks on this sentence:
“When the police told him he had to wear pants to sell hot dogs in Rogers Park, he had a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _!”
ZINE FEST ZINES
There was a zine fest here in Chicago this past June (1998) and you weren’t there. I know this ’cause I was there and I did not see you. You were probably at the Book Expo pretending you’ve actually read a book in the last five years. At any rate the Reglar Wiglar was represented at this event, hosted by Mike Hunt Productions and held at the Charybdis Multi-Arts Complex, and there I met some people and had a swell time and got some free zines that are gonna get plugged, so look out, fools.
1544 W. GRACE
Larry Roth is a well-mannered, forty-something bachelor who lives at the above address which is an apartment building that he also manages. This newsletter is about this building and the people who live in it. It’s a very detailed account of life in and around 1544 W. Grace. Some examples of what you might find in his are a list of bumper stickers seen on cars in the neighborhood (not just slogans but the color and style of typeface of the sticker and the make and model of the car). Also several issues concern Larry such as the absence of 1975 quarters in the buildings coin-operated washers and dryers. Included is a breakdown of the quarters collected by the year they were minted and photocopies of all Larry’s keys.
AUSCAR MORBID #4, #5
This is a mini-comic self-produced and distributed by Tara. AM chronicles the adventures of characters such as Dax, Sinya, The Smoker and of course Auscar Morbid. Watch as they drink forties, fight for control of the remote control and bust Grandma out of that hell hole of a nursing home. Kinda reminds me of an American version of Simon Gane’s Arnie Comix. Much potential.
CUL-DE-SAC #3
The lovely and very personable ladies of Cul-de-Sac (they invited me to a bar-b-que, god bless ’em) produce this little zine of thoughts and commentary about things they find interesting, such is the nature of zines. Number 3 is the “Loser Issue” with true loser stories, a how-to on breaking up with boyfriends and the love of mmmmmm, cheese fries. In addition to Cul-de-Sac they also head to WHAM organization (Woman Happily Advocating Masturbation) and would love for you to send them your masturbation stories be you male or female.
DISTANCE MAKES THE HEART GROW FONDER #1
This is a tiny ‘lil poetry zine done in one day and is a supplement to another zine called Distracted by Stars. It consists of letters and poetry to/from/for and about Rebecca and her friends. It tells a little story and has a happy ending.
FUCKED UP FOR LIFE
This is essentially a zine concerned with extreme music: hardcore, punk and metal. Music that’ll make yer damn ears bleed. In this zine, you will find record and show reviews, an interviews with DYI, Lunatic Wrestling Federation and an assorted bunch of cut and paste madness.
THE IMP #2
A very clever idea. Dan Raeburn, The Imp‘s creator, adopts the format of the subject he is highlighting. This time it’s Jack Chick and his right-wing-religious-nutball comic tracts and thus The Imp is a mock-up of a Jack Chick tract, only it’s bigger and features the cover artwork of Dan Clowes. Incidentally, Clowes was the subject of The Imp #1. The Imp provides a complete listing of Chick Publications as well as a dictionary-concordance of terms found in said publications, as well as some biographical info and testimonials from people who have actually infiltrated the Jack Chick Compound and seen his War Room firsthand. It will be interesting to see how this zine progresses.
ROCTOBER
Multi-media mogul, Jake Austen, was “in the house” as they say, with an assortment of zines, records and videos, such as the long-running Roctober zine, currently on issue 21. The chaotic layout and attention paid to the forgotten and more obscure artists, performers and musicians of the latter half of this 20th Century of ours, is what make Roctober unique. There’s always something for everyone in this zine, so check it out.
SCAB CITY #5
Scab City is a skate zine written and produced by 12-year-old Jackson Hennessey, and it’s got photos and stories of, and about, good places to skate, cool skate shops, and some tips on skate tricks, like the “half pressure flips to axle stall or variations on that”. Did ya get that? No? Then you better send away for Scab City, baby.
SILLY DADDY
The autobiographical journey of single parent, Joe Chiapetta, continues. I’ll admit I’ve seen this comic around in shops for a couple of years and have never picked it up. Shame on me. It won’t happen again. It’s a heartfelt and poignant account of Joe’s life, be it memories of old friends or anecdotes of daily life raising his seven year old daughter, Maria. They’re vignettes if you will.
STOP SMILING
UFOs, conspiracy theories, and indie rock all brought together in one zine? It’s about damn time! This issue, which may or may not be the current one (I don’t know) has brief interviews with Rob Pollard of GBV, German band Haujobb plus articles on Roswell, New Mexico and Will Oldham but they totally missed the connection between the two. Doesn’t anybody get it?
UNDERESTIMATED #5
This has got to be one of the most underestimated zines going. Just kidding, that was just a clever little spin on the title. Actually, you’re right, it wasn’t very clever was it? This zine has been in existence for eight years but has had a very sporadic publishing schedule. It contains an interview with small press publisher Stuart Ross, a diary on Milwaukee bus riding and a “saucy (male) centerfold and other misc. tidbits and what-not.
RW #12, 1999
1544 WEST GRACE NEWSLETTER #4
A list of Chicago streets that sound alike, some photocopies of stuff that Larry found in the alley and a three column list of “&s”, you know, like Abbbot & Costello, Thelma & Louise, salt & pepper, etc. & etc.
THE ASSASSIN AND THE WHINE #9
I had read some good reviews of this mini-comic in various review-type publications and so I went ahead and sent away for a copy (don’t be afraid to do that, people) and was not disappointed, but you’ll have to find out for yourself why that is.
AUSCAR MORBID #6
“New Improved” Auscar Morbid comics from Tara, starring the usual cast of characters plus several contributing “cartoonists” offer up some funny, entertaining short strips. An account of last summer’s Warped Tour is also provided and the best part about all of this is: “You don’t hafta steal it, it’s free.”
ALTERNATOR: EIGHT STORIES
This is a comic light on the action, heavy on the monologue, which made me wary at first, but it is well worth the read. Eight Stories is thoughtful, poignant if you will, so won’t you buy it today?
BOG GOB #6-#8
The look has been refined a little over the past issues. It’s actually quite humorous. It’s slim, it’s newsprint, it’s got some stuff that’s funny and some stuff that ain’t so funny—I can relate.
BOTTLE FED #5
The Anti-Literary Journal of Sour Grapes
More Bottle Fed, the foremost zine of misanthropic writings by grouchy people. In this issue, a musical in one act, “I Toucha You Sista,” (you provide the music, chumpy), Part IV of “The Long Thing” (I’ll admit the title scared me off) and “The Snake in Daddy’s Pants” subtitled “A Weak-Ass Excuse for a Story” which I whole-heartedly agree with ’cause it ain’t nuthin’ but a fourth graders version of a dirty joke that has no punch line.
DRIVER’S SIDE AIRBAG #30-#31
DSA is a mishmash mash of material that includes comix, poetry, interviews, observations, stories, essays—you name it, Jack, it’s in there! Such luminaries as appear in these two issues are zine staples, Sparrow & Blair Wilson, Carrie McNinch of The Assassin and the Whiner fame (see above review) and the veggie Micky Z, plus a whole heck of a lot more.
FFF
A micro-sized version of FFF which includes thoughts on religion, babies, right-wing religious nutballs, Satan, The Great Pumpkin and a funny cut and paste fake TV Guide listing (TAXI (CC) Latka thinks Wally and the Beaver have a half-dressed man in their housekeeper’s bedroom closet).
FOR THE CLERISY/GOOD WORDS FOR READERS #32
“For people who read books for the sheer pleasure of it.” Hey, count me in, buddy. This issue contains a tribute/farewell to director, Akira Kurosawa, a story by zine creator and sole contributor Brant on an intensive ESL teaching class he taught in Poland, and some zine reviews.
INDY UNLEASHED #6
Owen Thomas, or ahem, excuse me, Indy Ana Jones, brings us another lil’ issue of this review zine Indy Unleashed, and in plenty of time for Christmas, only Christmas is long past, as are any hopes for this issue of the Reglar Wiglar to be out in 1998. But hell, we got one whole year left on this rock, let’s party and read review zines. There’s time enough for both pursuits!
MUTANT RENEGADE ZINE #9
“The Savior of the Dayton Underground,” claims MRZ and having never been to Dayton I can not disagree. This newsprint zine, although published sporadically it seems (not unlike the zine you are reading right now!) has been around a few years. It seems to be growing. In this issue are the results of a survey about high school, high school yearbook pictures of various Dayton musicians and scenesters and miscellaneous high school related stories. In short, it’s the high school issue.
POLKA SCENE ZINE #3-#4
This is the printed accompaniment to the growing local polka scene featuring such local polka acts as the Polkaholics (see their interview elsewhere in this zine!). Lot’s and lot’s of polka related tidbits for you kishka-crazed kids.
PTBH! #5
Rex is back from his travels for the time being and in lieu of his travel writing are several short pieces on life in Alaska; “Secret Drinking Spot,” “I Was Once an Annoying Coffee Shop Person,” a story about the unfair weight given to traffic violators as opposed to those who commit more serious crimes, zine reviews, and a guest column from punk pal, Twitch.
THE RED PENN
The Newsletter of the Socialist Party of Pennsylvania
Damn read! Heh, just kidding. This publication is pretty much summed up by its subtitle.
SATURDAY NIGHT SPECIAL
A nicely laid out literary zine. The tiny little stories are exactly how I like my stories, comics, fiction, nonfiction, interviews, art and photographic reproductions, a real treat for those of you interested in a little smorgasbord of culture zine style.
SPOONEYE!
This is quite impressive. Spooneye is a card game invented by, or at least developed by one Jesse Fuchs, from a game called Thirty-fours, which was a game played by pirates in the 16th Century and by “inmates, invalids, and the otherwise socially incapable.” This according to an excerpt from Pirates: An Unruly History. If I had friends or time, or friends with time on their hands, I would love to learn how to play this game. It looks like fun. But just reading the rules is entertaining enough as Jesse is funny and a good writer. In addition to the rules there are questions and answers, sample games and a declaration of Jesse’s love for cards and card games. There is also an appendix of Uriah Heep personnel from 1965 to 1976. “The game that combines the skill of a traditional card game with the excitement and drama of dining at Long John Silver’s.” Worth five bucks if you’re in for a challenge.
STRUGGLE #2-#3
“Struggle is an anti-establishment, revolutionary literary journal oriented to the working class struggle,” that’s according to the magazine’s Editorial Policy and that’s indeed what it is. This issue is devoted to fiction about women, mostly, but not entirely, written by women about women in struggle.
TAILSPINS #31
Tailspins has been around a couple years. I remember back when they were one of those newsprinty, foldy type things. They’ve come a long way and have been pretty darn consistent in their publishing schedule along the way. More power to ’em. #31 features an interview with Electric Frankenstein, a Kerosene 454 tour diary, a Cows interview and “Hundreds of Music and Print Reviews”.
TEMPLE OF STING#3
The mission of ToS is twofold says it’s editor, Janine. First, “to eradicate Sting and all that he stands for” and secondly, “to enhance and perpetuate the way of the Bees.” Sting being the British bass player and bees beeing, well, bees. Bees are cool, but there are other things in here, such as a very brief interview with Mac of Superchunk and another one with Julie Doiron (formerly of Eric’s Trip).
TEN PAGE NEWS #12, #19, #23
Don’t ask me why I have issues 12, 19 and 23 of the Ten Page News but I do. TPN is generally ten pages long, isn’t necessarily news, but is reviews of movies, zines, books and also contains letters and usually a small essay, article type thing about math or grammar and there you go.
THROWRUG #21-#22
Comics, including the always right-on Toby the Grunge Bo, MikeK’s Movie Journal and short little interviews, commentary and the like. Zine reviews and Music Review Jam, where music is reviewed the way it should be, by committee.
WEIRD NEWS #39
Not to be confused with “News of the Weird,” Weird News is a short, four page newsletter of fictionalized and satirized news stories such as “Spice Girls Confront World Financial Leaders” and “Malaysia Blames Economic Woes on Homosexuality,” somewhat entertaining although you just can’t touch The Onion when it comes to this kind of thing.
ZINE GUIDE #2
A big-ass listing of all things zine related, including… zines! Even fatter than the first issue. Another cool black and white cover and the survey results of the top 250 favorite zines. After coming in at 83 out of 150 in the last survey, The Reglar Wiglar failed to even place in the top 250 this time around. Nobody’s taken a header off the charts like that since Winger!
ZINE WORLD
The heir to the Factsheet Five legacy? Maybe, maybe. Full of letters, reviews, and zine news you can use. Don’t look for it in stores, instead order it direct from the address below, sending cash of course, you should know that by now.
RW#13, 1999
1000 INTERLOCKING PIECES #5
This zine is a collection of writing (about 15 or so small snippets) by Jason Adams. It’s kind of a journal-type, observational zine about Jason’s life—mostly about his job at Sam’s Club. A bit on the dry side even Jason will admit, but it’s all part of his exercise of doing more writing. “Don’t get it right, get it written,” I believe James Thurber said. At any rate, each issue is different and each odd numbered issue is an experiment.
1544 WEST GRACE, #15-#16
Another two issues of 1544 which contain all of the following and then some: “Why This Zine?” (an interesting summation of why Larry does this zine), pictures of suburbanesque architecture that have infiltrated our urban landscape, update on the tenants of 1544 W Grace, a 1998 almanac of everything that happened in Larry’s neighborhood (example: “Sept. 16th: Street cleaning on the north side of Grace Street”) and “Found Photographs.” This is like the Real World for people who hate Baby Gen Xers and their annoyingly contrived little living/life situations, or for those who like both guilty pleasures.
AUSCAR MORBID #7
The Politics of Beer
Auscar Morbid returns. This issue includes an answer to the criticism Tara received in Punk Planet and Slug & Lettuce zines for going to the Van’s Warped Tour and having fun. Also, the tale of the Beer Nazis and their diabolical scheme to steal the world’s beer supply.
BABYSUE REVIEW #29
Reviews, reviews and more reviews of records, CDs and anything else Don cares to critique, such as his car, talking on the telephone, the year 1999 and Abraham Lincoln, none of which he likes as much as he likes the CDs. There’s also a couple of “baby sue comix” to ease the pain, or life or to remind you of the pain of life.
BOTTLE-FED #6
The Anti-Literary Zine of Sour Grapes
Ann relates the tale of a drunken, solo trip to the Wisconsin Dells on the last day of summer—a trip she makes by bus, no less (as if the story wasn’t depressing enough). Also, Bondoman comes through with another gem, “The Boy Jesus Didn’t Love.” And part five of “The Long Thing: (Christ, is it friggin’ long), “Letter from a French Drunk Tank” and other sweet, light-hearted writing to brighten your day.
CONCAVE UP #9
An Illustrated Dream Anthology
This is, as the subtitle suggests, an anthology of dreams, illustrated. It’s different people’s dream which naturally, when told, sound strange and disjointed, but when put into the context of a comic… remain strange and disjointed. The cool thing is that each dream is treated to a different, though coped, style by Jesse Reklaw. The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers and The Far Side are but a few of the artists whose style Jesse adopt to create the dreamscapes found in Concave Up.
CUL-DE-SAC #4
Another enjoyable issue of Cul-de-sac from Liz and Julie who, because of their current and/or prospective careers are both involved in the wonderful world of pre-adolescents. This issue is filled with stories which may be humorous now, but were no doubt the subject of much soul searching and inner turmoil back in the day. “I’m a Bloody Mess; A Period Piece” should give you a hint as to the subject matter of that particular tale.
DISMENTAL TALES #1-#2
Comics is what it is: “Mack Cheezmo,” “A Liver Runs Through It,” and gags of which, “Don’t Pull Your Nose Hairs” and “Zen Crafters: Quality Karmas in About an Hour” are but a few.
DORK MAGAZINE #8
“The Magazine for losers, nerds, freaks, posers, Springer Youth and cool people like yourself,” is the intended audience of Dork. And Dork is… sophomoric? Yeah, you could say that. Juvenile? They probably wouldn’t deny it. Kind of like MAD Magazine for post-high school kids. This issue features an interview with The Decepticans, an essay titled “Tom Waits is God,” and “The Comprehensive Shotgun Rules” reprinted from the Internet.
FOR THE CLERISY/GOOD WORDS FOR READERS #33-#34
Zine reviews and short essays on a variety of subjects including sports, the differences in the way men and women talk and the films of the late Stanley Kubrick. Also, zine reviews and letters from readers.
FUNERAL #44
Ten e-mail questions with Jarboe (Swans, Skins, etc.), reprints of some of Jarboe’s lyrics comprise the bulk of this issue of Funeral zine by Funeral Girl.
IDIOT MAGAZINE VOL. Y
A kind of cut and paste zine of incongruous chaos that is Lumens in its endeavor to be the propaganda tool of the Idiot political movement (which I would argue is centuries old and has thrived under various names.
MARK GILLESPIE’S WEIRD STUFF FOR A BUCK
By god, it is weird stuff for a dollar! The kind of stuff you would find advertised in the back of a comic book, like army men, plastic spiders and assorted gag gifts. Sure, it’s useless crap but its useless crap you need!
MUTANT RENEGADE ZINE #10
“The Computer and Technology Issue.” This zine has been around for about four or five years. It’s pretty erratically published but it does appear to be growing in size and content. To really enjoy MRZ it wouldn’t hurt to be from Dayton, but it’s not a prerequisite. Features reviews, surveys, interviews and the like.
NAPARTHEID (KUKUXUMUSU)
This looks pretty cool but I have no idea what language it’s in or where it’s from or what it means or why it was sent here, but it’s comics and it looks pretty cool. From what I gather, it’s from the Basque section of Spain, which isn’t really recognized by the Spanish government and certainly not by the US Government ’cause I tried sending them a zine in trade but the address below didn’t fly with the Post Office, so I eventually just wrote Spain on the bottom of the envelope and I will probably never know its fate.
OBLONG #7
Oblong is a zine zine featuring an E-Z guide to Zine Guides, reviews of zines, short pieces on the Spaulding Grey, smoking and letters.
POLKA SCENE ZINE #7-#8
The Polka Propaganda machine is in full gear with two brand new issues of the Polka Scene Zine. The zine features profiles on polka luminaries, polka advice on fashion, a “Polkascope” and plenty of pictures of the poster boys of the New Polka Revolution: The Polkaholics. This is just the zine you need to drag your polka ass out of the closet.
STRUGGLE #4
“Struggle is an anti-establishment, revolutionary literary journal oriented to the working class struggle,” this according to their editorial policy. Struggle is also struggling to keep this project afloat, so heed the call all you left-leaning literary minded wannabees, join the struggle.
TEMPLE OF STING #4
Not just anti Sting but an interview with a real life beekeeper, article about The Mysteries of Life and The Spinnanes, a list of past roommates (19!) and more!
TILLINGHAST’S MORIBUND FAIRY-TALES
Moribund. After looking that particular word up in the dictionary, as it was not a part of my vocabulary (it now is, much to the delight of my Goth friends), I’ve found that Tillinghast’s is just that; moribund fairy tales. Kinda cool, very creepy.
TOPROPE MAGAZINE Vol. 3, #1
Uncompromising Climbing Readability
I hate to join in with the critics whose lukewarm reviews of this zine appear on the second page of this issue, but “How to Toprope Half Dome,” “Climbing Pet Peeves,” and “Ice Climbing at Steamboat”? You gotta be a climber to really enjoy this and god love yah if yah are, you crazy bastards
TWO BIT CULTURE FOR THE CURIOUS & PLAYFUL READERS #5
Two guys from a city in the Midwest (Midwest City, OK to be exact) and the zine fruit of their labor, featuring many of the staples you’ve come to expect from a zine: record reviews, top 10 lists, clip art, and other bits and pieces both humorous and not so humorous, compiled, xeroxed and presented for your reading enjoyment or agitation.
ZEEN #15
Zeen prevails. A zine that has morphed and improved with every issue. A zine that features music reviews by people you can trust to filter out the crap and give you the straight gristly meat.
ZINE WORLD #10
But not for long, ZW is looking for a name change so be on the lookout! In the absence of Factsheet 5, Zine World is thee review zine, or at least the best one I’ve seen and I’ve by no means seen them all. ZW not only features straightforward zine reviews, it also has articles of interest to those involved in the underground press, updates on deadbeat zines and unethical retail outlets, distributors, etc. and classified ads. Zine World, or whatever it’s name ends up being, is on the rise.
RW #14, 2000
ALTERNATOR
Xeric Award winning artist, Carrie Golus—whose work has been showing up locally with increasing frequency—is back with another issue of Alternator. From her simple, multi-paneled work to her more detailed stuff, Carrie presents interesting narrative on mundane subject matter. The comic also features “guest artist” Patrick Welch.
BOTTLE-FED #7
The Anti-Literary Journal of Sour Grapes
Another batch of bitter brew from the self-proclaimed “beater of beatniks,” the “maimer of mimes,” my north of the border neighbor. Ann from Wisconsin. This issue features “Part VI of The Long Thing” and the debut of (gasp!) poetry. Is Ann getting soft in her old age? Well, she would kick my ass or even thinking that, so I never thought it. Do we understand each other?
CONCAVE UP #5
An Illustrated Dream Anthology
The subtitle hits it on the head as a good subtitle should; Concave Up is a comic book dream journal. It’s creator Jesse Reklaw takes the nocturnal submissions from readers and presents them in comic form. His style varies from dream to dream, one story even uses cereal box characteristics to tell the story such as Toucan Sam, Snap, Crackle & Pop, Tony the Tiger and a few more that I won’t name due to lack of space. The theme of this issue is religious dreams so get to sleep!
CUL-DE-SAC #5
My friends at Cul-de-Sac are back with another zine attack. This time the theme is Love and once again it is very entertaining ’cause these ladies know how to tell it like it is, yo! Brilliant articles of which “How Not to be My Boyfriend,” and “Mike Reno of Loverboy Scares Me” are just a few of the reasons to fall for this zine.
FOR THE CLERISY #36-#38
I can’t keep up with Brant. He’s a zine machine. Let me just deal on #36, which contains an entertaining list of superstitions of the people the Japanese island of Okinawa; e-mail excerpts from an acquaintance of Brant who was fortunate to live through a devastating earthquake last summer in Turkey; and profiles of four misfit artists and of course letter from readers.
INVERTEBRATES OF NORTH APHASIA
Reglar Wiglar contributor Stepan Chapman presents us with a fictitious (?) study of some of the lesser known and seldom observed micro- and not so micro-organisms that “swarm and breed” in his imagination.
MUTANT RENEGADE ZINE #11
MRZ with a glossy cover?! They fuckin’ sold out man! Nope, but that is the theme of this particular issue of MRZ. Reviews, interviews and… stuff, and it’s from Dayton Ohio which is cool, because, well, I don’t know, but it just is.
NAPARTHEID (KUKUXUMUSU)
Hey, it’s another issue of that cool looking zine I can’t read because I don’t understand the language. It looks like biting sociopolitical commentary and it’s probably quite humorous and it’s about 97% comics, I just need an interpreter is all.
POLKA SCENE ZINE #9-#11
This dern thing is dernwell bi-monthly already. I certainly can’t compete. Three more colorful zines of everything polka. Where will it all end?
THE PROCESS #1
Billing the publication as “The Only Magazine that Matters” on the cover of your premier issue is quite a brazen statement considering the fact that I honestly can’t see how this magazine could possibly matter to anyone besides the people that put it out, especially since I’ve never read a magazine that was quite so insulting to its readers (except for the one you’re reading right now). Nevertheless, inside you’re likely to see such statements as “Fuck you Maximum Rock’n’Roll and fuck you ‘Punk’ Planet” (That’s their quotation marks on punk). In one particular record review, they feel the need to remind their readers that “Punk Band X” have “been at it since you were in diapers.” Now if you’re going to make a statement like that, you better be at least 40 years old, and for a 58-page music zine that has a Managing Editor, a Content Editor and an Editor-in-Chief, you had goddman well better kick some ass. This issue also features an interview with Ian Mackaye that somehow (amazingly) managed to be boring, and in which the interviewer seriously thought that he was pushing buttons when the only button that got pushed was the freakin’ snooze alarm. I’m sorry, it’s just that the “We were punk first” attitude is just so pathetic that… that… I’m just going to end the sentence right there and forget about it. Oh yeah, and the layout sucks too.
PROPER GANDER #17-#18
This is a little freebie newsprint collection of comix put together by some folks down there in Texas but it’s available in select stores around the country. In addition to comics of the underground variety, PG also features fiction, articles and a handful of zine and record reviews
RATS IN THE HALLWAY #12
A newsprint punk rock zine wrapped in a glossy cover featuring a lot of bands whose promos seem to grace the review pages of the magazine you are reading right now. It’s got record reviews and zine reviews and band interviews and some column-type stuff and some comics and some ads for punk rock labels and so, it’s basically a punk rock zine!
A READERS GUIDE TO THE UNDERGROUND PRESS #11-#12
The Zine That Used to be Zine World
It’s true, ARGttP is the zine that used to be Zine World. Don’t worry though, it still has the same frank reviews and not even brutally frank, despite the boo-hoo-hoo complaints of little whiny zinesters who write in to bitch because some reviewer didn’t gush over their contribution to the world. This zine keeps getting bigger and and, yes, better. it also contains info on various deadbeat zines and stores/distros, as well as little bits of news pertinent to the world of the underground press.
SPANK #27
Every city/state/region needs a punk rock zine and Spank belongs to Des Moines, Iowa (that’s the Midwest for all you geography failing kids out there) and like many a P. Rock zine it does contain the interviews and the reviews and the like, so you know, it’s w’sup.
THROWRUG #23-#24
Always a pleasure to get a new Throwrug and these two issues were no exception. In these issues we get more movie, zine and music reviews served up in that special Throwrug style, there’s also some entertaining articles (including one on those loveable and annoying Furby’s) and comics.
THE URBAN HERMITT #7
This is the “Pure Fuck You” issue of the Urban Hermitt (sic) and it was produced without computers, that is to say, it was handwritten. UH is a personal zine that is comprised of short slices of the punk rock life as experienced by its creator, Sarah O’Donnell. So if opposition to the WTO and poetry and anarchy are things you hold dear, you might just want to check this out.
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