zine review:
The East Village Inky #40
Ayun Halliday is one of those cool moms. She lives in Brooklyn with her playwright husband and two precocious kids. She’s BUST’s Mother Superior and knows a Pulitzer Prize winner. And she’s always doing zany things! Which she chronicles in a very successful and award-winning zine.
This, her 40th issue, includes stories about finding the perfect partner to join the annual pants-free subway ride, staging a Christmas play with her family (reviewed by the New York Times), and being the art teacher at her daughter’s camp. Which was pretty noble, actually, because she couldn’t afford to go otherwise.
There’s no question that Ayun can write. Her cheeky, self-deprecatory tone has been whittled to perfection. She’s caustic, but you know when she calls her kids “feral,” it’s a term of endearment. INKY is littered with her illustrations as well. They’re simple, hand drawn figures that bring to mind a hipper, crunchier version of the Pattersons from For Better or For Worse.
I’m not sure why Ayun favours the postcard-sized zine, however. Some of the humour is lost simply because it’s too crowded to read, as is the case with her “Christmas Play Timeline.” I wanted to know why Milo was locked in the bathroom, but I could actually feel my eyes straining inside of my head. On the other hand, the chaotic formatting is quite fitting, if you subscribe to that idea of art imitating life. (Sara Forsyth)
Perzine, Ayun Halliday, PO Box 22754, Brooklyn, NY 11202, USA [email protected], US$3