Comments on: The Golden Age of Zines

The Golden Age of Zines

e40 — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 08:45:37 -0800

Beer Frame and Dish washer and Murder Can Be Fun. My top 3 Zines of all time (here's a list of more). There was a used record/comics store near where I worked. They had lots of Zines and I would frequent them just to see if new issues were in. Weeks of waiting were sometimes rewarded with a new issue. Almost always worth the wait. Anyone have a favorite? Any good Zines around anymore? [more inside]

By: e40

e40 — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 08:45:57 -0800

Beer Frame was my first. I was turned onto it by a very perceptive friend. He could notice little things that most people would never see. Once I started reading it, I was really hooked. Next came Dishwasher. What a gem. Hand written in tiny, legible block letters. Each issue was 20-30 pages. It was essentially a diary of this guy that wanted to wash dishes in all 50 states, but it was so much more than that. It was an insightful reflection into our culture, good and bad, and the struggle of of working class people. He was even invited onto Letterman, but he sent a friend instead, and wrote about it in a later issue. He retired in August 2001 after 100 jobs in 33 states.

By: adamgreenfield

adamgreenfield — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 08:49:47 -0800

Zines became blogs, dude. It's kind of like thinking the dinosaurs went extinct when you're sitting in the middle of an aviary.

By: jasonspaceman

jasonspaceman — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 09:03:46 -0800

'On Subbing' has to be one of the best zines out there.

By: mcwetboy

mcwetboy — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 09:07:19 -0800

Here's another post about zines from two years ago.

By: Captaintripps

Captaintripps — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 09:08:41 -0800

I really like Cake or Death. It's three college girls from Pennsylvania who do the most interesting things, including write commentary on one another's articles in pen before they start the production process. They've interviewed Greg Graffin, a little boy who played Oliver in a community play, several punk and hardcore bands and inspired a friend and I to start our own zine in tribute to them last year. Very funny reviews and articles abound inside C/D and I'm quite surprised that they have a rather large distribution.

By: agregoli

agregoli — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 09:36:13 -0800

Zines became blogs, dude. Which is a shame, since zines are way cooler than blogs. Zines are still alive and well in Chicago!

By: Captaintripps

Captaintripps — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 09:40:03 -0800

agregoll: I completely agree. zines are still very alive, as far as I can tell. You've got The Parcell Press. The Philadelphia Zine Fest was this past summer. The folks over at bOING bOING link to quite a few zines from time to time. I still see zines in New York stores. I'm still very happy they're in print, too, not just on line.

By: tr33hggr

tr33hggr — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 09:40:35 -0800

MaximumRockNRoll? It was good at one time, mid to late 80s I published a zine for awhile (The Core - Rockford, IL). It was amazing to me how much major labels would give a little nobody like me to plug their artists. Concert tickets, record promo parties (yes, party with Jesus Jones!), backstage, lots of swag . . .

By: e40

e40 — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 09:43:34 -0800

adamgreenfield: "Zines were replaced by blogs" would be more accurate. I know of no blog like Dishwasher. It would be impossible, because there are parts of the Zine experience that cannot be replicated on line. A lot of magazines and newspapers were replaced by websites, but some magazines (Wired and The New Yorker) still interest me--I'd never want to read those on the web.

By: jonmc

jonmc — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 09:49:04 -0800

As much as I love Beer Frame, I can't take that zine list seriously because it omits ANSWER ME!

By: adamgreenfield

adamgreenfield — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 10:02:45 -0800

I mean, generally, that the kind of people who would have done zines in 1985, had they been sentient at the time, now blog. I'd also agree that there are ways in which Web sites do not and cannot replicate the joy of zines, but on the flipside (no pun intended) you do get interactivity, zero distribution cost and vastly improved feedback channels. My first zine, CENSORED!, was me and a xerox machine and a pair of scissors and some Elmer's Glue at the age of 15, and it got me girls and stuff, so how could I possibly slight the medium? (My second zine, Rise Above, got me a job at SPIN, which at the time I thought was pretty fuckin' cool.)

By: OmieWise

OmieWise — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 10:03:21 -0800

CometBus was always worth a read. Insightful and well-written, I thought that by the time I stopped reading it (mid-90s) it had become a bit to sure of itself.

By: Sticherbeast

Sticherbeast — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 10:06:27 -0800

Duplex Planet all the way.

By: GreatWesternDragon

GreatWesternDragon — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 10:15:04 -0800

I don't get down there near often enough, but Powell's City of Books in Portland, OR had some of the best zines I'd ever seen. That would come as little surprise to anyone, Powell's is one of the best bookstores in the country, selling new and used together right on the shelf. But they've got a helluva magazine section and they incorporated a pretty impressive collection of zines into their mainstream stuff. In some ways, Portland's kind of a head town anyway. The area just seems to lend itself to a zine scene. Oh yeah, speaking of which, if you're at all interested in zines, especially doing your own, there's a pretty decent book called Zine Scene by Block and Carlip. (ISBN 0965975436). It'll get ya started.

By: jonmc

jonmc — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 10:22:33 -0800

Duplex Planet, good call. Don't forget Motorbooty, Scram, and Grindstone.

By: ifoughttheapemen

ifoughttheapemen — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 10:38:30 -0800

cometbus, king cat comics, found

By: paultron

paultron — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 11:15:27 -0800

Zines became blogs, dude. - Blogs most definitely came from the same family tree as zines, but zines never died off, my friend. You just have to keep looking harder. On Subbing is wonderful, and a great look at zine-kids growing up and finding new topics/material, but still using the same methods of publishing. Probably one of my all-time favourites was Andy Submissionhold's"I'm Johnny And I Don't Give A Fuck". Issue number five was a beautifully written account of 7 years in one of Vancouver's more well-known punk-houses, ending with the birth of he and Jen's son, Samwise Danger. Another great one is the How 2 Zine edited by Kyle Bravo. Everything from scrappy winged costumes for bike-rides, to in-house greywater systems, to how to fix your toilet. [3 images down in link.] Also: Zine Librarian Zine shows how many people managed to bring a passion for zines and self-publishing into the public view, by legitimately spearheading and maintaining zine-sections at their public library. It's pretty amazing to see people turning sub-culture hobbies into meaningful livelihoods. [bottom of the link] Plus, East Village Inky, like On Subbing, is an incredibly charming example of zine-kids growing up, finding themselves filling 'grown-up' roles, but still holding on to the same creative outlets that they had when they were young: drawing, writing, self-publishing. Ayun Halliday draws comics and writes stories about her life, and her two children. So. Very. Heartwarming. Zines are alive and well. Look Toronto, Portland, Montreal, Chicago, and lots of other cities still have yearly (or more frequently) zine-fairs and zine-symposiums. And they're still just as exciting now, as they were in 1990, 1980, or 1970.

By: paultron

paultron — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 11:16:57 -0800

Cometbus, and Kingcat are also two of my favourites. Found is phenominal in print, and almost as phenomenal online.

By: lisa g

lisa g — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 11:24:30 -0800

When you're in Portland the main branch of Powell's is definitely a must-visit, and they do have a fair amount of zines. But if you're on a zine mission you need to go half a block away to a store called Reading Frenzy, which has oodles of current and older zines, as well as indie magazines that Powell's doesn't stock. They're also affiliated with the Independent Publishing Resource Center, which has a zine archive and lots of ziney resources.

By: mcsweetie

mcsweetie — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 11:35:21 -0800

I'm starting a zine called, "Minus World."

By: strangeleftydoublethink

strangeleftydoublethink — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 11:44:24 -0800

Diswasher and Cometbus were two of my favorites. I met Aaron when I lived in Minneapolis. I still have a couple old issues of each. If anyone collects, drop me a line and I'll send them to you.

By: ensign_ricky

ensign_ricky — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 11:52:57 -0800

agregoli: When I think of Chicago zines, I think of Quimbys. Great place to visit, just off of the blue line, Damon station. Another source for zines would be Atomic Books in Baltimore. 2600 Magazine probably still qualifies as a zine. Ben is Dead, while being controversial for various reasons, was fun to read, especially for a child of the 80s. The editors and friends compiled three issues of their memories of the 70s and 80s. They later released this as a book called "Retro Hell". Out of print, but available through Powells and Amazon. One current zine that is still very underground and fun to read is Infiltration. Urban exploration, mostly Canadian, lots of pictures and a dry sense of humor.

By: soviet sleepover

soviet sleepover — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 12:12:10 -0800

Not so much a zine as a photocopied comic, Kevin Huizenga draws about ordinary life in the suburbs of of St Louis--with a hint of the absurd or a physics lesson thrown in when you least expect.. He's recently been "discovered" by Drawn & Quarterly (publishers of Chris Ware & Julie Doucet), who've released the stunning, fantastic D&Q Showcase #1, in which Huizenga chronicles the adventures of [mythical ordinary guy] Glenn Ganges' as he wanders the surreal landscape of 28th street suburbia in search of a feathered ogre who can cure his wife's conception problems.. Buy it, if inclined, at Copacetic Comics Co., my favorite tiny lil' comics shop. As for straight-up zines, Al Hoff's Thrift Score (and subsequent book) & Diane Kossy's Book Happy: World of Weird Books are among my favorites out-of-print zines..

By: deafmute

deafmute — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 12:30:58 -0800

Here in Philly Wooden Shoe Books on South Street carries a bunch of zines and "alternative" magazines, although they tend to have a more radical bent than, I dunno, zines that zine for the sake of zining.

By: fizz-ed

fizz-ed — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 12:33:19 -0800

I'm a pretty big fan of Found Magazine (does that qualify?). Robin Bougie, a local zine publisher who is responsible for Cinema Sewer, put out a zine called The Ex-Revenge Project recently - a zine that collects emails from bitter men about their ex-girlfriends. Each email/story is accompanied by illustrations made from 'private' photos of said ex-girlfriends. The review on Atomic Books sums it up best: "Bougie manages to turn blatant misogyny on its side. In what could easily be a celebration of hate toward women here reads as a testament to the ugliness of men when hurt in love. But by the end, it's hard to hate these guys, they just become too pathetic." This zine is, hands down, the best zine I have read in the last year.

By: Vidiot

Vidiot — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 12:39:02 -0800

I *heart* Beer Frame, Found, Dishwasher, Duplex Planet. And no one has yet mentioned Preparation X, which I grew up with, or the wonderful Stay Free!, which is still alive and kickin' in Brooklyn.

By: GaelFC

GaelFC — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 12:42:26 -0800

I'm loving Snake Pit, the true story of Ben, who works at a variety of hourly jobs in Austin, plays in a million bands, and listens to all the music he can. He draws a three-panel comic telling what he did each day of his life. Think "Jim's Journal" only true. And you can get caught up on years of it via the new Snake Pit book.

By: mwhybark

mwhybark — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 12:44:09 -0800

May I modestly suggest my now-passed-on pal Steve Millen's Tussin Up, of which I host a complete scanned archive?

By: soyjoy

soyjoy — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 12:49:06 -0800

Hey, if this is where we post links to books about zines, let me add one to The Book of Zines, which I have no real opinion on, except it's my favorite because Chip Rowe used a cartoon of mine in it.

By: soyjoy

soyjoy — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 12:51:14 -0800

Sorry, it just occurred to me that the way I found that was through this page, which also has a lot of good info about zines alive and dead, even if you don't give a damn about that book.

By: paultron

paultron — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 13:17:55 -0800

Also: Don't forget the Zine Yearbook, which is essentially a compilation of selected sections of selected zines released every year. Published by Clamour Magazine. It's actually really cool, and there's a lot of worthwhile stuff in every issue.

By: KevinSkomsvold

KevinSkomsvold — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 13:30:31 -0800

Which is a shame, since zines are way cooler than blogs. Zines are still alive and well in Chicago! Well I wouldn't go that far. Each has it's place but the lines are blurred far more than ever. I've done readings for SPEC in Chicago and got along fine with all the zinesters in attendance. Maybe in the future there be a Zinester .vs. Blogger knife fight or good ol' fashioned throw down but for now, the two seem to co-exist quite fine.

By: subgenius

subgenius — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 13:50:21 -0800

I really enjoyed reading the Cometbus compilation. Does anyone know whether he's still publishing?

By: jcruelty

jcruelty — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 13:54:43 -0800

yes, i just picked up a new short story collection of his at dog eared books in SF... "chicago" or something like that. haven't read it yet.

By: Vidiot

Vidiot — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 17:20:28 -0800

I see Factsheet Five is re-launching soon...

By: sharkweek

sharkweek — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 20:00:21 -0800

Snakepit is my current favorite. And not just because I'll be appearing in the next issue. Clutch is awesome, too. The best place to find new zines is the Portland Zine Symposium.

By: zinegurl

zinegurl — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 20:29:16 -0800

READ Magazine is another good one that's been going strong.