Go Metric #19 / $2 / 1:00 / 88M / 801 Eagles Ridge Rd, Brewster, NY 10509 /[email protected] /Â The zine provided me with some real problems when I tried to crack it open for the first time; the massive amount of windows system font-generated text really put me off. However, after the first piece (the typical letter by the editor), the quality of material really begins to take off.…
Jaded in Chicago #16 / $2.00 / 40M / http://www.jadedinchicago.com / Jaded in Chicago, PO Box 330, Western Springs, IL 60558 / Jaded in Chicago has the feel of a major-print run publication, but the writing and price of a small, intimate ‘zine. There are a large number of advertisements for this issue, and I would put the ad/material ratio at about 1:1, but the fact is the material contained…
Go Metric #17 / 8.5 x 7 / 48 Pages / [email protected] / I don’t really know what to say about Go Metric! besides that it is another zine that injects humor at every turn. Seemingly one of about thirty zines that Rev. Norb (Razorcake) works with, #17 really shows the longer-winded, less-interesting side of the Reverend. This issue of Go Metric! starts relatively slowly, beginning with a somewhat-dated piece…
Jaded in Chicago #15 / $2 / 36 Pages / Full-Sized / PO Box 330, Western Springs, IL / http://www.jadedinchicago.com /Â Jaded in Chicago is one of the only zines that can be a scene-oriented zine and still be hugely successful. With layouts that would make Punk Planet jealous, Jaded in Chicago has something for everyone, whether it be a visual, literary, or simply fun type of content. Obviously, JIC…
In the Tradition of Random Thoughts No. 10 / :5 / 20S / $1 / David Michael McNamara, PO Box 441429, Somerville, MA 02144 /Â Originally an online project, this zine is a nice little description of a trip that the editor, David, has made around certain monuments and towns. Much more catching on the printed page, In the Tradition of Random Thoughts is a slight bit on the light…
Heartattack #39 / 80 Pages / Full Sized / PO Box 848, Goleta, CA 93116 / [email protected] / 805-964-6111 / Heartattack was one of the first zines that I got my hands on, after Jersey Beat and before Muddle . Slightly thicker than I remember, this issue is literally packed with columns. A very few interviews fill the rest of the pages that aren’t jammed with reviews. This time, we…
Glue #’s 2,3,4 Normally, I review each issue of a zine separately, but I don’t believe that each issue of Glue really has enough different styles of writing to merit a separate review per issue. This is not to say that I dislike Glue in any sense of a way, but the way that the zine is laid out is really not applicable to the reviewing system here at NeuFutur.…
Slug #230 / Free / 1:15 / 84M / http://www.slugmag.com / This issue marks the 19th anniversary for Slug Magazine. Congrats are in order. I’ve been receiving their zine for about a year now, and they have continually found ways to make enough money to keep publishing while still providing a great deal of information to anyone that wishes to read their magazine. As one has learned to expect, there…
Glendale Boulevard-Issue 5. Wow, five issues in, from the former writer for my old rag, Amish Drive By. As the years pass, the friendship that we once shared has become a chilly acquaintanceship, not enough to deter my review. Like many of the better zines out in the world today, Glendale Boulevard heavily uses pictures to break up the tedium of an all-text magazine. The half-size format condenses the magazine…
Get the Strap #3 A5/16 pages-$1/trade. The third issue in a zine that always maintains to crack me the fuck-up, Get the Strap #3 is in actuality a stronger issue then the 2nd one. From the cover picture being that of Kris Kross, to the end article detailing the entirety of the Rocky movies, Mike and Jay shit out another amazing issue. I must admit, I actually learned something of…
A5/16 pages-$1/trade. Another hard hitting installment from Mike and Jay. Various improvements have been made since the first issue, including a hell of a lot more use of a computer from the first. The cover art is simply great, and these guys are as arrogant as they ever have been, and they also don’t let musical articles stifle their creativity . Most interesting in the magazine is the inclusion of…
18 Pages, black and white. Anger is their friend, as “Get the Strap†is an outlet for the anger of 2 guys. Self-loathing is evidenced by the second page, and whether it is only a joke or not, I dont know. The retrospective article describes a situation much like the one I was in for Amish Drive By, in the fact that they were almost expelled for the magazine. I…
Glass Houses #1 – Fourth Sized / 12 Pages / $1 or Trade / [email protected] Address on Request This zine is incredibly short, but the art that is contained within, both in actual drawings and the the texts that aRRiel writes really leaves the person wanting more from ey. The non-textual art of the magazine is really expounded in another of aRRiel’s endeavours, that of the Dirty Girl Chronicles. If…
Get Off My Lawn! #18 36 pages/half-size. This is of the picture,text school of zine making, and as a result, maintains the clarity of text, since they don’t embed their text in a picture. This magazine is great, and after going to their site, I come to this review with a heavy heart. Yes, I would think I should report that this awesome magazine is coming to an end the…
The Ghost of Silver Cliff : The Malay Mysteries 2 / 96 Pages / $6.95 / Shoto Press, P.O. Box 331, Delhi, NY 13753 / This is probably the most professional bit of anything that I’ve ever had the pleasure to review, coming from an Obscurity Unlimited Chat session. The Ghost of Silver Cliff is pretty much an manga-style comic book, but perfect-bound and put into a smaller format. The…
Genetic Disorder #18 / $3 / :30 / 68M / http://www.geneticdisorder.net / Genetic Disorder was one of the few zines that I keep around after I review it. One of their earlier issues dealt with Satanism heavily, and brought to the table a great deal of primarly-source documents. For this issue, the size has changed (from a full to a half-sized zine) and the topic has changed (from Satanism to…
The Ghosts of Ready Reference / :15 / 32 Pages / Fourth-Sized / Love Bunni Press, 2622 Princeton Road, Cleveland Heights, Ohio 44118 /Â Finally, a topic that I am familiar with and can vouch as being reasonably accurate. In The Ghosts of Ready Reference, Volume Two, a cast of characters has their lives in the library fleshed out through their interactions with a librarians. The typical cast of miscreants…
Genetic Disorder #17 / $3 / Half-Sized / 80 Pages / PO Box 15237, San Diego, CA 92175 / http://www.geneticdisorder.net / Genetic Disorder is probably one of the best zines that I’ve ever read, even if I have only had the pleasure to read one issue. This time, the format is different, the newsprint less newsprint-y, and the issue only goes by faster than before. Starting off with both of…
Gather Children #4 / Half-Sized / 24 Pages / [email protected] /Â I had talked to this individual for a decent period of time before actually seeing their zine. After talking to them for such a long period, the context of this zine begins to make sense. Utterly disjointed and manic in its nature, Gather Children is not an easy read. Starting off fairly linear with a very Jello Biafra-esque faux…
This is a very cute little zine that places animal species in the roles that one would usually attribute to humankind. Pieces in this magazine include interviews with Monica Lewinsky’s cat, Umberto, a trans-species cat, and a cat that teaches other cats and mice how to successfully co-exist. Every piece in this magazine is immensely funny, and not for the simple fact that they are talking animals, but because Melinda,…