Pencil Fight #1 - 2003

My angle on this new project from Bwana Spoons, creator of the truly great 'zine Ain't Nothin' Like Fuckin' Moonshine goes like this: I had mailed Mr. Spoons a Micronauts 4-page story a LONNNNNG time ago because he wanted to have my work in his side-project My Friend the Micronaut. Well, time goes on and on and MFTM never comes out and I'm, like, "What gives, Mr. Spoons? Why didn't you use the art that I created specifically for your little 'zine?" and in response I get something like "Chill, dude, I'm just taking a break from that project and doing other things, but I'm sure I'll use it for something, everything's groovy, etc.", to which I implode, because I had spent alot of time in creating the Micronauts story.

Well, then I heard that Bwana intended to use the 4-pager in his new fangled project Pencil Fight. I kept hearing about how it was almost done, it's being printed, it's almost ready to mail, bla bla bla and then I had to e-mail the guy after I KNEW it was already out and say, "Look, Dude... any chance I could get my hands on a copy of the publication you finally decided to put my art in?!" About a week later (last night), I checked my mail and, lo & behold, Bwana had so graciously sent me not ONE, but THREE copies of Pencil Fight and a simple little note thanking me for "being patient". Uh...

I have to give him credit, though... PF is almost 100 pages of cool stuff. This is, in a sense, a higher production value version of Moonshine, complete with cartoons, illustrations, articles, interviews, and all manner of strangeness neatly bound into a cool gold/green blockprint-looking cover. All of the printing inside is green and there's a real wide range of stuff to sift through. (And to be snooty East Coast-er, it's just GREAT seeing all of Bwana's West Coast hipster pals all adding their two cents to the mix.) Perhaps next time, Bwana might allow me to create a larger, more page-size-appropriate piece so that you can actually READ what's going on in my happy little Micronauts story...

$5 from Grass Hut Corp. - P.O. Box 6645, Portland, OR 97228 USA.

étapes 94 & 95

One Saturday afternoon over at my Dad's house, Dad gathered together a box-full of magazines and pother periodicals for me to truck on home, and amongst the Rolling Stones and GQs were 2 issues of a French graphic design magazine called étapes. (I'm just hoping that that e with the accent over it actually shows up in this review. From here on out, I'm leaving the accent out.) I can'r read any of the text, but both issue 95 & 94 have some GREAT pictures, designs and layouts throughout and I tend to find magazines like eye and Print to be very helpful for generating ideas of my own design-wise.

A few examples of some of the more bizarre images: There's an ad for United Colors of Benetton with the toroso of a black gentleman and instead of a proper hand at the end of his arm, there's an archaic, grotesque metal spoon arm attachment thing and the message is "Food for Life". Issue number 94 has a great article on old Chinese advertising art. And then there's a long article showcasing women's fashion magazines. Now all I have to do is plug in my Universal Translator and I'll actually be able to "read" these cool-LOOKING magazines. (etapes website)

Cowboy Brian & Slinky Mothafucka

Prince Kebby & his servant Bob Tuttle

Stephen St. Francis Decky USED to live in New Brunswick. All I could find out about this talented writer / cartoonist was from a website called Literal-Latte.com where they have an excerpt from one of Decky's stories called "Rule of Snowman". He recently sent me a check for a subscription to Action Geek AND two of his latest 'zine / comic book concoctions: Cowboy Brian & Slinky Mothafucka and Prince Kebby & his servant Bob Tuttle, two very excellent, seemingly innocent looking comics that lull you into thinking it's all child's play. No no no. Read deeper and in both you'll find utter hillarity, drinkin', drug use, partial nudity, swearing (not to mention "cussin'") and all kinds of other cool stuff that you'd expect from watching a REALLY good over-the-top cartoon on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. What's even more messed up is that both of these THICK comics have the look and almost the feel of each page having been hand colored with crayons! After asking many of my fellow designer buddies AND my Dad who's in the paper business, everyone is convinced that it's either REALLY GOOD color copying OR that Decky is insane and DID hand-color each & every page. (I don't know how much Decky sells these for, but you can write to him at: Torturefilm Productions, P.O. Box 1342, Northampton, MA 01061-1342)

1-Up #2

Not only does this 'zine have a way cool 3-D cover (yes, glasses are included, affixed onto the flap inside cover), but it also has VERY intelligently written articles, reviews, essays on videogames and videogame culture. I especially love the illustration of a kid dj-ing (sort of) with a Nintendo controller. Some pages are black text printed on graph paper. The centerspread is pink paper with black & red 2-color cartoon work. Even the minute little page numbers utilize a robot graphic from Atari's Berzerk game. Some of my favorite articles in this very stylishly designed 'zine are: "I Hate/Love E3" about how editor/publisher Raina got to go to the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles as a freelance writer reporting on videogames and stuff, but she goes on to make very acute pointed observations on how "gaming still needs to grow up". Then there's Raina's piece on "Video Game Piracy" and a report on an arcade that was going to be shut down called "Save the Arcade". There's ALOT of good reading in this low tech, high-style 'zine. Well worth the $6 cover price. (Raina Lee, P.O. Box 361135, Los Angeles, CA 90036, raina@1up-zine.com, 1up-zine.com website)

Mai Tai

I met Mai Tai's principle publisher (John Trivisonno) while up in Montreal one rainy weekend, at Foufone Electrique for something called Zine Zanie!. At around Noon when this small 'zine show started, John and his collating friend (who's name escapes me at the moment) occupied one of the few tables taken up by independent zine publishers in this large empty nightclub. We got to talking about his zine Mai Tai and about the Montreal Tiki Appreciation Society and about all things lounge, tiki, retro, etc. This zine focuses in on Polynesian Pop Culture like no other. Though a scant 12 pages, it packs quite a punch with anecdotes about pilgrimages to far-flung lands just to see a cool old motel or to hear a band called the Mai Tai Orchestra. Issue #9 has a piece on ukeles and a band from Sweden that's as tiki lounge as all get out, plus they started a club in Sweden called The Tiki Room. Drink recipes, photos, travelogues... This 'zine is more than worth the $1 plus postage that John says is all it'll take for him to mail one directly to YOU... He's planning on a 50 page 10th issue special, featuring a Mai Tai Exotic Cocktail Guide. Be there or be... square, I guess... (Mai Tai, 6361 20th Avenue, Suite 301, Montreal, Quebec, CANADA, H1X 3P8, e-mail: maitai4u@lycos.com)

Snips #1 & 2

"Snips and snails and puppy dogs' tails" - That's the basic premise of this very cute comic book produced by artist/designer Jen Bennett. Lilly is a cute little girl who's doing a science project for school and she decides to make a little boy. Unfortunately, she doesn't know what a "snip" is, so her boy comes out all skeleton. His name is Tom, by the way. Black & white comic art with zip-a-tone-like texture to it. Each issue is essentially 8 pages and a cover, but still a very cute, stylish read. (snips, Jen Bennett, e-mail: peas@sweetestpea.com, Jen's website)

JUMP

review to come... hold on...

Trucker - Vol. 4, Number 1, Issue 11

How's this for a before & after? I found a copy of Trucker's lastest issue as I was walking around St. Laurent & St. Denis in Montreal and stuffed it immediately into my backpack. Later on, I started flipping through it and realized that it was now on GLOSSY stock, all full color and with a tad MORE professionalism and not one iota less of the sarcasm, silliness or guts that the last two issues that I saw of Trucker had... My favorite bits in this issue were: the comparison between Detroit & Seattle (Trucker asserts that Detroit is the new Seattle), the skateboarding expose (very tongue in cheek, like they never knew about skateboarding before type of article), and "Been Caught Stealing": a look at a retail concept based on theft, sort of... There are also quite a few music reviews and some advertising campaign reviews.
Trucker's new & impoved website
(As they say: "Available in finer boutiques, skateshops, record stores and gay bathhouses across Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Detroit, Winnipeg, Victoria and Edmonton!") Uh... yeah...

Trucker - Fall 2001

I believe that this freebie zine concoction was picked up while ducking in and out of skateboard & clothes shops on Rue St. Denis in Montreal in the rain. I didn't know what it was. It was free. I took it. And y'know... I didn't even read it until about a week after having left the city and returned home. This magazine is a laugh-riot. It points out alot of blatant utter stupidities in life and shoots back plenty of stupidity of its own. Cases in point: the Fall-2001 issue has lots of cool clothing ads, sandwiching in articles with titles like: "Random Crap-Team Trucker" (a who's who in creating this issue), ""List: 16 ways you know you're trapped in an R&B video" (very funny list), and "Reviews by people who don't know what they're talking about"... THAT last one had me rolling around laughing at just the sheer nerve to put down their own writers. There's also a feature article called "Smoking Saved My Life", comprised of little anecdotes from shmoes who say that smoking saved their life or some bullshit... This is a funny magazine. Their website makes less senses than the in-print version. (Trucker - (Montreal) 514-480-5691 (Toronto) 416-374-3820) Free in Toronto & Montreal

Yellow Rat Bastard - Spring 2001

I found this store quite by accident while Chantal & I were in New York City looking for Canal Jeans on Broadway, near Canal Street. The store itself is a cavernous dark yet long hollowed out cave of a store FILLED with way cool hipster street-wear for both men & women (yes, shoes, too!). It would take TOO MUCH space to tell you about EVERY type of clothing I found to be cool in there, BUT an easier way is for you to go to the Yellow Rat Bastard website, sign up, and get the free complimentary copy of their magazine by the same name. The magazine is like the store X 10! Articles on music, grafitti art, clothes, clubs, artists, gear, etc. All full-color, glossy pages and great photography... especially of the clothes & models wearing them...(Y.R.B., 478 Broadway, Ground Floor, New York, NY 10013) $2.95 U.S.

Ain't Nothin' Like Fuckin' Moonshine 13

Granted, this is a pretty old issue and I haven't really put in any real effort to find anything more up-to-date, BUT I did think that this particular issue is still VERY worthy of some copy in Geekspeak. First off, a full-color (brightly colored) cover featuring Booska! YES! Talk about weird... Then, factor in that Moonshine is an odd mix of hadwritten pages, cartoons, some computer-generated text cut'n'pasted together all to form a very eclectic and cool 'zine focusing on toys, music, comics, travel... anything they feel like covering... There's an expose on the Portland Soapbox Derby. There are photos of some skateboarding action. There's an article on the Common Lar Gibbon. (Why? I don't know. Who cares. It's their 'zine.) There's a bit on going to Tokyo, comics, weird ads, ALOT of Micronauts / Microman / G-Force / Battle of the Planets stuff... and more. You really get the feeling that 'zine creator Jimbo enjoys producing this 'zine... And I bet it'd be cool to check out his toy collection... (P.O. Box 6645, Portland, OR 97228) $3.