Planet Verge #5 / 20 Pages / Full Sized / $2.50 / 15 Albert Terrace, Bloomfield,NJ 07003 / http://www.planetverge.com / planet_vergemagazine@yahoo.com /Â
This is another issue form Joelle and all the rest of the Planet Vergers, and I have to say that this issue is so much easier for me to read than the prior issue. The same level of layout is here, but this time, it didn’t read quite as much as an advertisement for their PR company as the previous issue. Sure, there are little sections with both 9 Circles and Fixer, but it is to no where as much of a degree as it has been in the past. The focus of this issue is last year’s Warped Tour, and stories both about the show and the table that PV had at the two New Jersey dates. Some of these accounts pretty much read the same, and one is definitely written by an sexist irritant. However, what really gets me with this issue is the great coverage of the NJ scene. Dealing with already-stars like The All-American Rejects and Senses Fail as well as stars of the future like Flightlight Brown and Boys Night Out, Planet Verge gives a more poppy spin to a scene that is already covered well by a number of other zines. While there seems to be to heavy of a concentration of interviews in the center section of the magazine, there are some golden pieces both before and after them, including the very brief yet informative article about skateboarding by Lori, and the early page of eyecandy and remembrance about Ink and fallen comrades. Planet Verge might still seem a little sanitary due to its layout, but the minor gaffes and personality shown by the writers really solidifies the zine as something that is a benefit to both the NJ and national consciousness.
