zine, [zeen] noun. 1. abbr. of fanzine; 2. any amateurly-published periodical. Oxford Reference

..

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Jolie Noggle



Ms Jolie Noggle
Various publications

It's hard to be involved in zine culture without  sooner or later crossing paths with Jolie Noggle, (AKA Ms. Noggle, Jolie Ruin, etc.) To say she's a prolific zine maker would be an understatement. She's put out 100 or so zines over the years, some collaborations, many on her own. She's an eclectic writer / artist, and while her zines range many topics they could mostly be summed up as perzines of the cut and paste variety. She leans toward Riot Grrrl, but her writing is accessible to anyone.

Not so long ago I received a large package from her containing many zines to be donated to the new zine library here in Cleveland Heights. They sat in a pile on my desk for several months while I tried to read through them all, but I was only able to get through a handful before they, along with another pile of random zines, were carted off to the library.

I cannot give them adequate reviews from memory, but I enjoyed them and found the range of subject matter and stylistic approach refreshing. One memorable collaboration contained stories of personal experiences with death from a young age. Another was a coloring book of popular comedians. Who makes a zine coloring book of comedians? What subject does that fall under? That's the kind of outside the box thinking she brings to the party.

You can find all of her current offerings at her Etsy store.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheEscapistArtist

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Papercut Zine Library



The Story

DISASTER!When 55 degree torrential downpours followed a subzero weekend, pipes burst and flooded Papercut Zine Library, soaking and damaging boxes containing several hundred to a thousand zines, many decades-old and irreplaceable. After consulting the New England Document Conservation Center (NEDCC), Papercut librarians quickly moved the soggy zines into the pizza freezer at the landlord’s restaurant across the street, but the zines can’t stay there, so we have to move fast. The NEDCC told us the only way to save the zines is to get them professionally vacuum freeze dried, which, between boxing and shipping and treatment at the facility in Pennsylvania, carries a ~$2,000 price tag.

HELP!
This would break our bank several times over, but we’d rather have a broken bank than broken hearts for our space and our patrons to lose these precious zines and comics. If there’s a way to get them back into usable condition, we want to keep the collection preserved and available for 

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

The Ken Chronicles #38 [February 2016]

The Ken Chronicles #38 [February 2016]





28 pages, 8.5" x 5.5", $3.00, fair trade or letter of comment, Ken Bausert, 2140 Erma Dr, East Meadow NY 11554, USA + PassScribe [at] aol.com + thekenbausertchronicles.blogspot.com

One of the greatest things about zines - or at least those few that actually have them - is the letter column.

Exhibit A: Fred Woodworth's The Match! and the bags of letters printed in each issue.

Exhibit B: Ken Bausert's The Ken Chronicles. This issue has four pages of letters, and one of them is from Don Fields [who produces his own zine, Twilight World], who writes a great letter. The main subject of his letter is about him noticing another letter-writer [and zine maker], Rodney L. complaining about the lack of letters he receives for each issue. Don goes on to explain why he isn't too worried about letters, and mentions a couple of other things, which led me to write Don a letter. Now I hope he writes me a letter.

After Ken's letter column is a 'Travelogue' of where Ken and his wife Ro went during August, September and October [not the least of which was a visit to Wo Hop for some Chow Fun!].

Next up, everybody's favourite [or second favourite, if it's not the letter column...] section - 'What I've Been ______ Lately'. This time Ken and Ro saw an off-off-Broadway production of semi-semi-famous zine person Ayun Halliday [The East Village Inky]. He also saw Joe Walsh at the Civic Center, and read The Electric Acid Kool-Aid Test. It was strange to read Ken's experience of it, remembering my own reading of it many years ago, and how it opened a new universe for me. A universe I had previously been unaware of!

Finally, Ken reprints an Associated Press release about the death of Holly Woodlawn, the transgender actress made famous by Andy Warhol and Paul Morrissey in their 1970 films 'Trash' and 'Women in Revolt'. Ken's note at the end, where he mentions that he read Holly's biography a few years ago, and found it "very interesting" yet "kind of boring" appears to defy the laws of Aesthetic Physics. 

Reprinted from


Friday, February 5, 2016

The Zine Explorer's Notebook #6 [Winter/Spring 2015]

22 pages, 11" x 8.5", $2.00/Trade/Stamps/Letter >>> Doug Harrison, PO Box 5291, Richmond VA 23220, USA "Letters, reviews, editorials, real mailing addresses, typographical refinements, art & illustrations, esoteric notions" it says in a box next to the title on the cover. We're in the Zine Zone of No Computers here - a world also populated by Fred Woodworth's The Match!; Anthony Walent's Communicating Vessels; and Jason Rodgers's Media Junky. The format, size, and level of 'slickness' of these zines may differ, but one thing they all share is a passionate opposition to modern technology, especially the internet. These guys may actually even use the internet sometimes, but it sure doesn't take centre stage in their life. To put it another way, don't hold your breath for them to switch to a blog format; or a downloadable PDF. The Zine Explorer's Notebook has come a long way since I last reviewed it [tZEN #3] - doubling in size, for one thing. The letter column is also a treat, and one letter in here especially - the one from a prisoner who admits to beating an 'alleged' pedophile and leaving him for dead, and being proud of it. In his response, Doug objects to this guy's self-righteous braggadocio. Another fascinating letter is from Al Fry, who seems to be some kind of militant gardener, with his vigorous writings on weeds, Monsanto, and fluoridated water ["rat poison"]. I really appreciated the zine reviews too. Every zine really should contain reviews of other zines. You've probably heard that before, but for those who make a zine and don't include zine reviews in their zine, they need to hear it a few more times, at least until they wake the fuck up and start putting zine reviews in their own zine. Wake up! Grab a brush and put on a little make-up!

Search This Blog