Welcome to the 6th group of inductees into the Musea Zine Hall Of Fame.
With so many zines, how does one choose? Our 2 part criteria is this:
1. The zine must be published for at least 3 years (or the zine contributor must have been writing for zines for over 3 years)
2. The zine must be of the highest quality.
And it doesn't hurt if the zinester is prolific, supports other zines, and sells at a reasonable price too
note: This group of 7 inductees brings our 5 year total to 49 -1 short of 50 . For a complete list of all members send $3 and address to Musea.
We salute this group of zinesters and their vast talents and solid achievements.
The new inductees are:
#43: FRED WOODWORTH (Tuscon, Az). Zines: THE MATCH , An Anti-authoritarian Anarchist Journal; THE REVIEW, Mystery, Adventure, Obsolete Popular Culture, Criticism, Literature, Opinion; plus special publications such as: PULLING THE STRINGS, How Businesses and Institutions Attempt to Control the Small Press, etc.
Though Fred may not consider himself a zinester - he was printing The Match in 1969, long before zines and the desktop publishing explosion even began - he has all the best qualities of the best zinesters; his ideas are innovative and progressive ,he speaks his mind openly, and he allows for others to speak freely in some of the longest letter sections of any zines.
The first thing you notice about his work is the high quality printing. He is a traditional professional printer .That means color covers, clear detailed illustrations, readable type, and solid bookbinding.
The Match at almost 100 issues "exists solely to criticize authoritarian society and religion in order to argue for the many humane advantages of freedom and rationality" (from #95) . Hot topics include: government abuses, the loss of traditional libraries and the destruction of old books, the problems with computers and other new information storage techniques, free speech issues, privacy issues, police brutality, etc.
The Review at over 30 issues covers the great mystery and adventure series books of the past. The well known Hardy Boys series of mysteries is barely a tip in an iceberg of numerous series of books for both boys and girls (and adults). The Review talks about all aspects of these books. Plus another large letter section. Pulling the Strings, a Match Booklet, is probably his latest work. Here is a quote: It is not Ô 'cantankerous', 'cranky', 'stupid', 'stubborn', 'quaint', 'silly', or 'unrealistic' to insist that the reason for publishing things remains to exert YOUR impact on the world. If you give up some aspects of what is yours, you'll find that one day ALL aspects have vanished and you're totally under the thumb of various authoritarians. // And then there's no point in publishing at all.
Here's another quote from The Review #33. "Now no one values real learning, and books are being burned at a rate that would have turned the Nazis green with envy, while football players, political hacks, and cynical promoters of planned-obsolescence software, not the heroes of literature, are role model for all the little authoritarian robots."
#44: DALE SPEIRS: (Calgary, Canada). Zines: OPUNTIA. Different issue numbers are different types of zines: "Whole-numbered OPUNTIAs are sercon, x.1 issues are reviewzines, x.2 issues are indexes, and x.5 issues are perzines" He also is active in mail art, all things sci-fi, and not only reviews zines and mail art, but prints a number of letters from readers, and even lists who he's heard from since the last issue! As you can see Dale's zine is diverse and eclectic. Beyond his support of zines and mail art is his gifted writing. "I like my job as Parks Dept. Weekend Trouble Call Foreman partly because I only work three days a week, giving me four days off to enjoy life while everyone else is stuck in the rat race."
And later in the same issue45.5 this excerpt: "The trail culminated at a cliff just below the waterfall. Imagine, if you will, a giant piece of white lace draped across a rock wall 100 metres wide and 300 metres tall. The noise of the waterfall filled the canyon. I looked for a place to sit and watch, but the only suitable boulder had its view blocked by a lodgepole pine. // The good viewpoints required me to sit with my legs dangling over 300 metres of empty air, and as the rock slabs sloped downward, I declined to chance my life for the scenery. I therefore stood balanced on the boulders and watched the waterfall until my leg muscles began to protest."
And this quote from a zine review "Unfortunately the Papernet has been no more immune to junk information than the Internet. This zine is an example of what happens when people who don't know the difference between an open mind and an empty mind have access to copy shops." - 45.1
#45 : DAVIDA GYPSY BREIER: (Havre De Grace, MD). Zines: LEEKING A relatively legible per-zine, XEROGRAPHY DEBT, The Review Zine with Latent Per-zine Tendencies, THE GLOVEBOX CHRONICLES, Stories about cars by a bunch of people who don't seem to like them. Plus Davida has been active as a reviewer for Amusing Yourself to Death writer of essays such as Corporate Collectibles, How Much Is a Plastic Soul Worth? for Musea, plus her artwork has appeared in a number of zines. Also note her great covers of all her zines.
Davida is so prolific that in one mailing I got 2 of her latest zines. Yet the quality of her work never suffers. The Glovebox Chronicles, is an anthology of people's stories of and about their cars that often showcase some of the best zine writers around. Xeroography Debt combines zine reviews from Davida's staff of reviewers plus interviews of notable zinesters such as Jesse Reklaw , and the Makofsky Sisters.
But more than just being a supporter of other's work, Davida is a gifted writer. Here's an excerpt from her trip to Britain, Leeking Ink #22:
"I find myself dreaming of England and Scotland all the time. Sometimes they are variations of memory, sometimes, they are future trips, and sometimes I am just there in spirit enjoying myself. // Now that I have seen the UK in the manner that I did, the rest of the world seems much smaller and much more possible. I can't wait until I am able to travel abroad again. If you are even given a chance for adventure take it. Life is far too short not to. It is also far less interesting. Capture every moment of adventure and reckless abandon that you can. Life exists in those small moments. To be young, stupid, and not know any better allows for anything and everything to happen."
#46: ALDEN SCOTT CROW: (Clements, CA). Zines: GRAMMAR Q & A , WORD PLAY, KNOW NEWS, plus single issue zines: SAILING (a book for children), SHELTERS, DALTON & SAMANTHA: LETTERS (part 1 & 2) etc. plus essays such as ZINES & FOUR WALLS, plus he has been a reviewer for Zine World, the reporter-at-large for Musea, and a contributor to almost every zine that you pick up! Besides being such an important part of the US zine committee, Scott is also very supportive of foreign zines.
Here are 3 excerpts from his writings: "...in 1995, my eyes were opened to the wonders of zines. I was instantly drawn to the wacky world of DIY, underground self-publishing. After checking out a few zines, I decided to do one with a mixture of fiction, pop-culture tidbits, and rants. I was able to wrangle up a few buck from friends, and the first issue took shape...". Know News #2
"One day it was VERY windy. Tree branches were knocked to the ground. Dust swirled everywhere. Stephen HAD to play outside. // 'Be careful, honey,' his mother warned. 'It's very windy.' // After a few minutes of playing on his backyard slide, Stephen decided it was time to sail. He unzipped his jacket and spread out his arms. // WHOOSH! It was the strongest gust of wind he'd ever felt before. It picked him up off the ground a few inches! He dropped his arms and returned to the grass. // 'Wow! That was fun,' he said. // Stephen heard the leaves rustling in the trees. An even-stronger breeze wa coming. He spread out his jacket-sail in anticipation. // WHOOOOSSSSHHH! This wind was the strongest in the history of the world - and it was in Stephen's backyard. He was lifted up again. But this time he could not lower his arms. In a heartbeat he was several feet off the ground!". Sailing
"busy, busy // head spinning " . Quatro poem.
#47: BUNNIGRRRL: (San Juan Capistrano, CA) Zine: WISHBONE
Wishbone is published annually with about 10 issues total. And though not a prolific zinester, Bunnigrrrl is a first rate one and the issues are worth the wait. The old Factsheet Five used the term 'medley' zine and Wishbone is one of the best.. There is the Bunni-culture that includes bunny cartoons, facts, info, and photos. Mixed with this lightheartedness is some serious political rants covering topics like sprawl, rich versus poor, etc. Yet she presents these more like chatty letters from home than editorial preaching so you listen to what she says, plus her arguments are well researched and smart. Then there's her personal writings (excerpt below), cartoons by her, humor pieces, and letters from readers. It's consistently good stuff throughout.
"Was planning on spending all day today finishing this issue up before IPEX (tomorrow!) humorously thinking to myself last night, ...barring any natural disasters. And the 7.0 earthquake came around 3 AM, with several good aftershocks of similar size following. After standing in the closet for a while, I went over to my computer to log onto the Net and see what was happening; I realize now how stupid and pointless that was. Transformers were blown up (from being shaken), phone lines were down, and every dumbass in the country was calling his or her grandma in Arkanasas to tell her that he or she was all right. Bunniman went for the old-school radio thing, and got all the vital info immediately, as I cursed Netscape between my teeth. It was yet another example of our age difference, which I'll get to in a minute. Then we checked the gas line outside and tried to go back to sleep, which we finally did, just before everyone we knew on the east coast called to make sure we weren't dead. (Wishbone #9)
#48 LYNN PERIL: (San Francisco CA). Zine: MYSTERY DATE, one gal's guide to good stuff. Lynn's zines, about 10 issues total, are feminine all the way from their pink cover photos - usually drawings of pin-up beauties in scanty lingerie -through her coverage of all issues pertaining to the traditional 'gal' and her culture. All features are written with a sense of campy humor, satire, fascination, and maybe , in my opinion, a trace of envy for those simpler times in the past. There are stories of girls menstruation primers throughout history, advice books for single girls, charm lessons on vinyl, marriage guides, books on Jayne Mansfield, sex ed. on vinyl, etc. It's a fun resource guide for pop girl culture and the illustrations reprinted are worth the cost of the zines by themselves.
"OK, I'll admit it, I never thought I'd get married. It's not that I necessarily had anything against marriage per se, it's just that getting married was not an entry on my lifetime list of things to do. After all, I spent my childhood drawing horses and writing stories about the neighbor's cat, not planning my trousseau. God knows I hated baby dolls, and while I do admit to playing Daktari (but not the part of Clarence the Cross-Eyed Lion), I never daydreamed about walking down the aisle in eight yards of cream-colored satin trimmed in lacy flounces. When an ex-boyfriend once attempted to bring up the subject of matrimony, I laughed uncontrollably. At weddings, I slunk away to 'make a phone call' at the moment the bouquet was tossed. When I found myself living alone after a nasty breakup, I decided that the bachelorette way of life was for me. I soon learned that a handful of pretzels and some nonfat frozen yogurt made a tasty dinner, and that being alone on New Year's Eve was actually quite all right in a self-contemplative sort of way. // So how, you ask, did I, Single Gal Number One, find myself partaking of the hymeneal rites, so to speak? Simply put, I found the right guy.Mystery Date #4
#49 JEN ANGEL: (Bowling Green, Ohio). Zines: ZINE YEARBOOK, CLAMOR, FUCKTOOTH, etc.
Jen Angel's work is a mix of all things punk and political. She describes her latest zine, Clamor as a new bimonthly magazine, bringing you the depth of the human experience without the corporate filters to which we are now accustomed. We bring you the thoughts, ideas, and opinions of the best writers in the world - every day people who aren't paid to write articles that sell magazines and products. Clamor is real stories by real people.
Her Zine Yearbook series spotlights the best of each years zine articles with a slant towards music and politics - all in a nicely produced package.
This excerpt from The Zine Yearbook, Volume Two:
Most of all, this zine is about inspiration. It is about reminding yourself every day that zines and books are powerful, and that we make them happen, not some paid employee of a corporate subsidiary, not our parents. It is about us. This book is here to encourage and support all of the zines which haven't and don't want to become big and glossy, and to affirm the Do It Yourself ethic. I became discouraged during this project because I allowed myself to become isolated and removed from the community which reads and supports zines and other projects. This project, along with so many other things, is just one tool designed to keep that communication open and the connection intact.
We congratulate all inductees, encourage you to read their books in full (contact us or Reader's Guide to the Underground Press for latest addresses), and get involved by letting us know your choices for next years zinesters.
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