When I first opened Crash Course, I wasn’t expecting anything revealing. Maybe just a fun, lighthearted story with bright popping colors. What I essentially got was still something lighthearted but something more as the narrative hooked me instantly. The author, Melaina, was very personal and relatable for the gamer generation and the typical “San Franciscan” when it comes to driving. I could see the first page as a good long-form joke, but what I loved the most is that the story got more relatable as a lesson for drivers.

Was this morality disguised as fun? Yes, and I love it. The black and white 16-page zine provided the pros and cons of driving (short length destinations compared to nauseating traffic), statistics (one person dies in a car accident every 13 minutes), and the degrees of aggressive driving (the definition includes not turning signals, extreme tailgating, the finger, and flashing high beams). This was like school but trained by the students!

To top off the story, the author provides an epilogue of excuses. I was not expecting anything revelatory, but I got exactly that with an added sense of morbid caution. They are frightening to think of because everyone has those same exact thoughts. It can happen to anyone who has a car or just an innocent pedestrian.

The author’s narrative never slows down, stops or bore. It is always interesting and very informative while still keeping the energetic fun. Thank you, Melaina. I will be a more cautious driver cause you scared the shit out of me.

-Chris Huqueriza

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blog.melainacomics.com

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Its not every day that you go to Hell. In fact, its not every day that you get to have a chat with the Roman poet Virgil. Al Burian, on the other hand, does.

In the quirky and philosophical Al Burian Goes To Hell, our favorite depressed protagonist visits his very own personal hell, in a chapter by chapter comic structured around the levels of hell in Dante’s Inferno. Drawn in simple black and white, what this comic lacks in extravagant and complex art it makes up for in its simple approach. The humor in this comic is gold at times. Amidst the philosophical and mental musings of our hero, Al Burian, there is the much beloved Mallrats-esque one-liner. Its not every day you read a comic with the phrase “F**k you Virgil! I read your book and it sucks.” The flow of the comic is easy, and before you know it, you’ll be at the end wishing for another adventure. Al Burian is a very self-aware fellow, and amidst the sometimes cliché rants about the unstable and retarded aspects of western culture, he still manages to get down to brass-tacks and ask if he himself isn’t just a complaining misanthrope in the end.

What I love about the comic is that regardless of the “F YOU” attitude towards large corporations, and pretentious demographics, there isn’t a sense of self-righteousness, only a sense of sincere and genuine questioning of morals and motives. If you love comics, and want to experience a talented and funny writer, then ABGTH is right on the stand waiting to be picked up.

-Nikolaus Bartunek

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microcosmpublishing.com

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In Nine Gallons #2, Susie Cagle provides an inside look at her life dealing with social issues. What type of issues? Well, food politics, urban blight, and the new trendy eco pseudo-revolution in San Francisco are her main dishes of educational awareness. Her zine focuses on these but shows how she deals with volunteer burnout, misguided agendas, and activist in-fighting. She cares, but runs into numerous difficulties on the activist philosophy for caring about Mother Earth.

It’s roughly 32 black and white pages and provides funny and interesting moments, but they mostly come from miscommunication or difference of opinions within the various characters the author interacts. Throughout the span of a couple of days, Susie interacts with her roommate, other multiple eco-activists, her superiors, and messengers about her main plights of activism.

The question that essentially pops up in the zine is what the readers get from reading about Susie? It’s an enjoyable tale, but a lot of conversations muck up what the essentials are. Was there a message through her actions or did she gain anything after? I didn’t get it and the zine ends on a whimper after her conversation ends with her roommate finally volunteering for something “selfish” according to Susie. Her conversations were thought-provoking and were definitely argued against by the various characters which make it an interesting read, but the end left me unsatisfied. Here’s hoping her next tales still provide the fun attitude, but with a clearer purpose.

-Chris Huqueriza

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microcosmpublishing.com

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I was trying to think of a clever intro to this review, but it’s just not happening. Instead, I’m just going to say that BRAINFAG IS AWESOME. Do yourself a favor and buy this now. You’ll be stoked, I promise.

BFF is a collection of the majority of Brainfag, the now defunct journal comic about the everyday life of its’ (seemingly) antisocial author. I don’t know how he did it, but Nate somehow made usually dull activities like doing housework and navigating romantic relationships funny and entertaining. On second thought, navigating relationships is always entertaining, but I think I made the point. Ex-girlfriends, rainstorms, and bowel problems were enthralling enough to keep me up all night finishing the book. He also happens to be an excellent illustrator whose stylistic evolution is documented within the pages.

I’m not sure how I missed out on Nate Beaty’s work for this long, being a self-proclaimed comic nerd and all, so I’m stoked to have been sent this (did I really just use the word “stoked” twice in the same review?). I’m stoked on Nate and Brainfag, and you’ll be stoked on him too. Stoked, stoked, stoked. Go out and read this ASAP so I can stop saying stoked.

P.S. Look out for the various ways Nate depicts himself throughout the comic. It’s fun to compare and contrast.

-Kelly Dalbeck

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brainfag.com
microcosmpublishing.com

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Darlene #4 was apparently five years in the making. Yeah, that much time passed since #3 and I don’t fully understand why because this was SO FREAKING AWESOME. Zines like this one are what first launched my teenage punk-ass into DIY print culture; people professing their love for music and being kind enough to share it with all the other nerds out there in the world.

This guy is clearly obsessed with Rock-N-Roll. Like, OCD status. He also has an enviously extensive knowledge of the genre. His nerdiness regarding the subject and friendly, non-pretentious voice made for a great intro essay about aging rockers, Napalm Death, and the appropriate uses of the prefix “post” and how it relates (or doesn’t) to new music. His writing is the highlight, but he followed it up with some fun interviews: Zeke and Javelina to give an example, and even a brief chat with Andrew WK (huh?).

This was too much fun to read, and as I said before, little gems like this remind me why I love zines so much. So, Mr. Spaghetti, please figure out how to manage your personal life in order to produce Darlene in a more timely manner. I’ll be waiting by the mailbox.

-Kelly Dalbeck

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Let’s say your parents are taking you on a road trip to Bend, Oregon. School is out and the weeks of summer are yours to enjoy until September and the dreaded beginning of 4th grade. While your parents are in the front seat pouring over Lonely Planet and AAA maps, you will be sequestered in the back with a copy of Laura Walker’s, Welcome to Bend.

You will marvel at the pretty drawings and cartoonish goings on of this Oregonian township. Before arriving, you will ask your parents to do laps of the famed roundabouts and request a viewing of Oregon’s many geological wonders. You will dish on Bend lore and current events: the pregnant man; the taco shop that fronted as a meth’ lab; and the psychotic llamas roaming town. They, in turn, will marvel at your knowledge of a place you’ve never even visited.

Too young for hormones but congenitally moody, you will roll your eyes in disgust and return to your reading because you are a scion of playground cool. By 5th grade, you will be smoking French cigarettes and reading Bukowski, but for now it’s Welcome to Bend.

-Matthew Monte

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Woah bro-seph, Trip-out City! The strength here is really in the design. Excellent choice of art for a zine. Not too shabby with the “Deep Dish Apple Pie” recipe on the fourth page, too. Screwy little comics, and monochrome art plaster the pages for an interesting Willy Wonka ride for the eyes. After about five minutes though, it becomes a little too abstract and I start reading Winston Churchill’s biography. But hey, whats this? A CD? This was a super pleasant surprise. A mixtape just for me! Thank you As I would Say. This is really a great little number. I’d recommend it to anyone. Especially someone who wants to get turned on to cooky and fun mixtapes. Hurrah!

-Nikolaus Bartunek

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If you can get past the title, the grammatical errors (Miss Potter has been wronged by schooling AND spell check) and nearly 100 astonishingly disorganized pages, Carissa Potter’s first writing effort should satisfy you.

Let me explain: Miss Potter is a frustrated pro-choice Christian-raised graduate student with a misconceived Impostor Complex. She lies to her therapist, plots the death of her sister, and fucks in front of the neighbors on whom she spies.  This is the stuff of fantastic writing, but Potter’s “collection of short stories” (it’s really an autobiography) is not.

I’ll Think Of You… is littered with malapropisms, misnomers and jarring non-sequiturs that are structurally confusing.  She experiments with footnotes -although I’m not entirely certain she understands their function- and makes bizarre references to ‘shoe elfs’ [SIC].  Most egregious is her juvenile effort (initially I thought she was a teenager) to recount self-discovery in a ‘writerly’ fashion when she should really just focus on writing what she thinks.

There are exceptions. “Band-Aid”, a more honest effort, has some truly touching moments. And despite instances of serious self-sabotage -“Not to be stereotypical, but he looked like a middle-eastern plane-bomber…[He] blanketed my nights in soft romanticizes [SIC] about falling for someone you knew nothing about”- there are others that couldn’t be more hilariously accurate.  She also shows more than a bit of gumption with the inclusion of her rejection letters, a decision that nearly saves her from the sanctimony that plagues the zine’s first 80 or so pages.

I’ll Think Of You… can be appreciated only as a case study:  We can learn from Carissa not through her literary ‘insights’, but by instead studying the actions that she admits to so readily.  Given the context, we can surely learn a thing or two from her confusion

-Lindsey Piscitell

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Manda’s first zine is, in her words, “a monument to that which I hate.” What she happens to hate so much are her breasts, the size of which have given her no end of problems since puberty turned on the growth switch. How big, you ask? She perfectly fills out a G cup (and has the pictures to prove it). For all you boys reading this with your jaws on the floor, this is not something women consider a blessing; imagine the stress on your back having to lug those puppies around 24 hours a day. If you can’t imagine, Manda spares no detail explaining how her cup size has negatively affected her life.

Unfortunately, the content of ManDuh Land came across less informative and more like a poorly organized rant. Also—and maybe this is what bothered me the most about it—she has an extremely negative image of herself that she feels would somehow miraculously be fixed if she were to have a breast reduction. I am admittedly very opinionated about the way American society pressures women, and it’s really heartbreaking to me that she believes a physical alteration will solve all of her problems (the back pain, of course, but there are clearly more mental wounds there that a knife isn’t going to take care of). Her message would have been much clearer if she employed more of an objective viewpoint. Self-publishing is an awesome tool, but in this case I feel like it was a bit of an over-share.

-Kelly Dalbeck

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Every once in awhile I’ll get something in the mail and upon glimpsing through its first few pages it becomes readily apparent this is someone who loves zines. Not only that, but after a good reading it’s clear that this is also someone who loves making zines, and that kind of enthusiasm is what really shines in this quarter-sized pocket of fun.

The first half is primarily composed of show reviews at local venues in Northern Washington Sate. Unlike a lot of zines covering their regional music scene we’re given a look at a wide array of different bands, with genres covering everything from Cambodian psych-pop to crappy black metal and folk-ska bands. The author has a casual, laidback writing style that feels like you’re shooting the breeze with one of your best buds, and by the time he’s done you kind of wish you were there in-person, if for nothing else than the epic drinking stories you’d have to share.

In the second half of the zine we follow along to Seattle’s hostel scene and check out the local vegan eateries. There’s also great piece about the fundamentals of the postal-driven “mailart” platform happening all around country, breaking down how it works and how to get involved. To top it off we’re given what I believe to be the first ever “Jail Review,” which is exactly what it sounds like—a rate-and-grade of one contributor’s forty-eight hour stint in Perry County lockup, complete with an overview of the evening’s dinner menu (it was hotdogs and mac n’ cheese, just in case you’re ever headed there yourself).

As if all of the above isn’t incentive enough to pick this up, the art and design from cover to cover flies off the page, filled with illuminating collages and a gritty eye for detail that would make any Xerox jockey salivate. When all is said and done I’m sure it took more than a few toner cartridges to put this little guy together, but sometimes the power of a pair of scissors and a gluestick is all you need.

-Sean Logic

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