I know with each issue of Verbicide I receive, that I’m going to get the same high quality and different focus that these kids have been doing for as long as I’ve been aware of the zine. Verbicide, for those uninitiated, is one of the only good writing-heavy zines to ever be released. Short stories mix alongside interviews with musicians to make for a good balance, to which the editors solidify even more with the inclusion of reviews and a small amount of poetry. Specifically strong in this issue are the interviews done with Ian MacKaye and Tim Kerr (of an old skating clique called the Big Boys), but to be fair, everything in this issue is equally strong. The interviews include smart questions that allow for a dialogue to be created with the artist, instead of the questions being stacked in one direction, and the three main interviews all have a different focus (indie-rock of The Evens, graffiti of Reo, and skating for the aforementioned Big Boys piece). To exclude the short stories would be folly, as the best piece of writing during the zine fits into the smallest amount of space. This piece, the short story “Two At The Factory†details a couple lying in the title abode and discussing their future together, ending the dialogue with “Have you thought of any names?†Utterly perfect, and Verbicide is most likely one of about three zines that I would even consider paying full price for amongst all the “glossy†publications out on the market.
Rating: 7.1/10
Verbicide #13 / $3.95 / 1:00 / 68M / http://www.scissorpress.com / [email protected] / Reviewed 12 April 2005