I try not to review the same zines again because if I did, then
this column would grow like the Kudzu weeds of Georgia and pretty
soon there’d be no room for any photos or anything else.
But having said that, I just can’t help continuing to be
excited and motivated by some zines that I’ve already written
about at least once. So fuck it, here’s a few of my faves
that have recently put out new issues. I really like Skatedork
a lot and issue 3 is no exception. Lot’s of people claim
that they skate for fun, but the Skatedork people live that
claim. I like a lot of big skate mags and their 200 plus pages
of amazing skating. Yet somehow, Skatedork’s little 1/16
inch thick shitty newspaper zine gets me more stoked and proud
to be a skater than most of those pricey glossy things. Plus
it’s only $2.00. This is the Punk Planet of skateboarding.
What other skate mag would quote both John Steinbeck and Adbusters
in a single issue? 221 Spring Ridge Dr., Berkeley Heights, NJ
07922. <www.skatedork.org>
¶ A lot slicker and commercial with way more pages than
Skatedork just about every issue of Concussion makes me want
to drop everything and go skate. And, that’s pretty much
what a zine should do, right? Concussion covers skate, snow,
surf and music and is based out of Surf City #1, Santa Cruz,
CA. I really dig this zine a lot, even though they dissed me
pretty hard in their last issue. Whatever, I’m pretty thick
skinned and I know what I like. For what it’s worth guys,
your mish mash of old school skull graphics, cluttered backgrounds,
poor typography, clichéd Photoshop tricks and scans with
way too many midtones don’t leave a lot of room for design
criticism, but I still really dig your mag. Check out Punk Planet
for some really good, innovative and punkish design done in
only black and white. I’ll bet they spend a lot less on
printing than you do as well, and their mag looks a lot better.
OK, no more dissing. We all love each other right? The real
enemy is those generic mags like Spin, right? ¶ Speaking
of Punk Planet, it’s pretty late at night, but I just bought
the new ish of PP and as usual, I’m sucked in to it and
stayed up super late reading it, even though I’m tired
and have to get up really early. I know, I always give these
guys and gals props, but they deserve it. Issue #33, and it
just keeps getting better and better. I have yet to find another
mag or zine that inspires me as much as PP. Props to Dan Sinker
and his crew. While most of the media seems to be adopting the
sound bite approach, PP continues to offer some of the most
passionate and quality writing around, all in a nicely designed
package. Tina Brown could learn a thing or two from the zine
world. If only the much hyped and highly budgeted debut issue
of Talk had held even an eighth as much of my interest as any
one of the above zines. Over the past few years I’ve been
writing about zines, every once in a while I mention and praise
a catalog that even though it’s selling products, it’s
an exceptional piece of self publishing. What they’re selling
has to be something that’s worthwhile as well. The new
catalog from Dischord records, pioneers of self-published music,
put together by Cynthia Connolly, meets and exceeds both standards.
At once a catalog, photo gallery, DC music mini history/discography
and design artifact you can get your own copy for $1.00. And
unlike our magazine, the whole thing is about as recycled as
you can get. 3819 Bleecher St. NW, Washington, DC 20007-1802.
-John Botch
