MANSPLAT
This tabloid-style zine looks like it was custom made just for me—Barbarella movie awards, The Mad Max Anger Management Course, Wrestling, and a tribute to the one and only Ron Jeremy! Also included in this funny Seattle-based production are movie reviews by Joe Bob Briggs and 100 great moments in horror and sci-fi history.
I’m not sure if Mansplat’s "Men Only" slant is played for laughs or genuine sexism. Maybe drop them a line and ask them when ordering a copy. It’s $2/issue c/o Hairball Press, 2318 Second Ave., Suite 591, Seattle, WA 98121.
DON'T SAY UH-OH
I know it isn’t nice to play favorites and I don’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings here so I guess I'll just avoid mentioning that DSUO is one of my most favorite zines. My old faves used to be Stewie, Vamos, and Teenage Rampage. I had entertained the thought that they were gone, never to return, but, the future looks bright for their return! Hopefully their return will fair better than after Bill Waterson of Calvin & Hobbes whose comics took on a much deeper, introspective tone after his leave-of-absence.
But, while I was waiting for new issues of my old favorites, Maria Goodman’s DSUO crept right in and took its place in the top spot. Maybe it was the stories about good smells, favorite sneakers, and bugs or it could have been the ode to the tangerine—the day after I got the last issue, a dozen of the almighty citrus delights found their way into my fridge as testimony to her effective writing.
DSUO is a very fun read. Maria and her contributors keep each issue filled with personal and fun stories. I hesitate to use the word quirky or cute since neither word is as appropriate or complimentary as it should be. Maria’s zine gets top honors! The price is $1 + 2 stamps per issue or subscriptions are $10 for 12 issues. The address is P.O. Box 5871, Kansas City, MO 64171.
THE SCAREDY-CAT STALKER
Krista Garcia is obsessed with Henry Thomas. That might sound like the premise to an incredibly annoying and repetitive zine filled with Sassy-like seat-wetting articles swooning over the former child-star. But, instead, this is a very down-to-earth and entertaining look at non-threatening obsessions in general and Henry Thomas in particular.
Issue #2 features reviews of some of "the Hankster’s" finer made-for-cable and direct-to-video work such as Psycho 4, Curse of the Starving Class and Indictment: The McMoran Trial. There are a bevy of other celebs whose stalkability is debated along with articles on young adult literature, Macaulay Culkin’s pink hair, and a sissy quiz. The real centerpiece to the issue are two stories about the same incident told from Krista and her sister Melissa’s points-of-view.
Babies, Misfits, & Freaks are the focus of Issue #3. We learn that it may not be the best idea to stalk a freak because they might be endowed with precognition and would always be one step ahead of you. No chance meetings here! There are also a lot of entertaining stalking stories sent in by readers. And even an interview with the founder of the musical group named after drag racer Shelly Anderson. And, of course, there’s Henry aplenty!
MCJOB & DISHWASHER
Both of these inspired the rant on working at a movie theater that I’ve been putting off for so long. Hopefully my article is a third as fun as either of these blue-collar zines. Where Julee’s McJob is a collection of short stories about working lousy jobs, Pete’s Dishwasher is the journal of one man’s journeys across this great nation and washing dishes all the way.
Both of these are very fun and quite comforting, knowing that your job might be mind-numbing and tedious, but there are worse things out there.
VEX
Unfortunately, the guys at Vex specifically asked that we review their zine. They didn’t say, "if you like it, write about it." If they had, you wouldn’t be reading this review.
Vex isn’t really too bad. It looks kind of nice and it’s got an article on the films of O.J. Simpson that covers a lot of ground but, overall, it just kind of left me cold. Maybe it was the fan-boy article about Tarantino that put me off, or maybe it was the "fat guy" actors expose. I never considered Joe Spinell (Taxi Driver, The Godfather 1 & 2, Rocky) to be over-weight or that his weight had anything to do with his ability as an actor.
This is only their first issue, so maybe they'll improve with time. Until then, this is one of those zines where I just admire that they could get people to invest money in it and wish I had the same kind of backing.
Back to Issue 6