NEW HEARTS, NEW BONES #21

NEW HEARTS, NEW BONES #21

review from Anne: NEW HEARTS, NEW BONES  (#21 / Spring 2016)

22 pages, 4 x 5, $0 US, $0 CAN/MEX / $0 world, FREE, yes to trades

Stephanie Renner / Cheering and Waving Press

1553 Monmouth St. Apt D 

Lancaster OH 43130

cheeringandwavingpress@gmail.com

A clear and accurate author-written description for this zine: "current state of affairs in USA through a social justice lens." It's a cut & paste style zine that touches on wealth and politics with a generally clean and clear layout and includes links for folks to read more (it's tough to get very in-depth with gigantic issues in a short zine, so including other resources makes a great deal of sense). There's references to spoken word pieces and the issue also reproduces some of Chelsea Manning's writings. Overall, it's worth checking out.

King-Cat Comics #76

King-Cat Comics #76

KING-CAT COMICS #76

32 pages, digest pages (5.5 x 8.5 inches) , $5 ppd in USA
John Porcellino
PO Box 142
South Beloit, IL 61080
trades? better write and ask first

www.spitandahalf.com

"Here's the new King-Cat! (IT'S A WEIRD ONE)" ends the introduction to #76, and he's not wrong.  The previous issue of King-Cat is all about Maisie, the author's late cat (it's really good and worth your time to track down), and this one is sort of back to the regular not-themed content; some drawings and some retellings, some travel and some snow; lots and lots of letter pages. As always, the layout is clean and crisp, and the line drawings are lovely. If for some reason you've missed King-Cat until now, it's well worth your time to start reading (and you can get subscriptions! more info is available through the address above.) There's also a King-Cat Top 40 in this issue, which is delightful. All in all, I'm always excited when these issues appear in my mailbox; it's worth your time to check it out. (And 76 issues is nothing to sneeze at either!) 

ASK A CAT

ASK A CAT

review from Anne: ASK A CAT  (2015)

24 pages, 5.5 x 8.5 $2 US (? CAN/MEX / ? world), no trades
Charles Brubaker

247 Redbud Cir.

Martin, TN 38237

The description for this book is pretty accurate and straightforward: "A collection of "Ask A Cat" comic strips. A cartoon cat answers letters sent in by readers." The questions range from the existential ("meow meow meow meow?") to the specific ("What should I make for dinner?") to the hilarious ("What should we do with a drunken sailor?"). You can get it on the fun by emailing cbrubaker@gmail.com with your Ask A Cat questions as well. It's a quick read but it's fun-- possibly not for all ages (there's a few no-pants jokes) but that's up to you. I'm not sure how long it's been going on or if this is the most recent edition (most of the strips are dated 2014 and the collection's dated 2015) but cats are rad and it's a quick, fun read.

aw yeah BROOKLYN! (#90 and 92)

aw yeah BROOKLYN! (#90 and 92)

review from Anne: BROOKLYN: (#90 and 92)

24 pages, 5.5 x 8.5 $10 for a 4 issue subscription
(PAYMENT IN CASH! Fred adds: US currency please!)
Fred Argoff
Penthouse L
1170 Ocean Parkway
Brooklyn NY 11230

You know it, you love it: “The name of this zine is BROOKLYN and that's also what the zine is about, Fred's beloved borough of Brooklyn."Issues generally tend to be more photography based, which is cool since Fred has a great eye for capturing slice-of-life images. There's a whole lot of fascinating Brooklyn history ("no such thing as too much history!") packed into every single issue,  so if you like history, architecture, Brooklyn, urban spaces, etc. you'll absolutely want to check out this series -- aaaand I'm pleased to report that the lexicon, one of my favorite things about this series (i.e. You haven't subscribed yet? Wat the hell? You crazy, or wat?), appears again in #92.  

Did you know Jell-O was invented in Brooklyn? Me either! Three states have three Brooklyns each (#90 will hip you to them; one of them is in fact NEW YORK), and two states have two.  Brooklyn MANIA!!!

If you're new to all this, you should know that BROOKLYN is a long-standing awesome series that's a fun read even if you're never been to Brooklyn and maybe never will. It's all about Brooklyn (no surprise there), but it's always a combination of history, photography, and other Brooklyn related things, including Brooklyn-related zazzle.com stamps. Fred obviously spends a lot of time sweating the details, and the overall effect is very cool. I've been reading for a while now and I really enjoy it; I'd very much recommend a subscription to get the full effect & a full dose of BROOKLYN. (Please note: Fred wants you to pay in US cash!) Overall, it's a fun read (whether you're from Brooklyn or not), and there are subscriber perks (like the special issues). The layout is crisp and easy to follow, and it's delightful to read about Brooklyn from someone who obviously loves the place. Always, always a fun read worth your time. So, whaddya waitin' for? Read some Brooklyn already!