First, you’ll notice the fine design and sharp cover. Then, as you step through into the editorial, you’ll be impressed by the honesty, the forthrightness – James wonders whether zines will become paper tigers; what happens when “what was once an oddity is now a commodity?” He presents scary examples of mainstream culture’s interest in zines — a reproduction of a “how to publish your own ‘zine’ magazine” (and make big bucks? ha ha), a crossword puzzle for which one of the answers is fanzine, and weird flower’s invitation to the Home Office Show (no doubt he never requested this invite). Perhaps you’re catching a waft from this flower — ah but there is more, much more. There’s a great interview with an ingenious prank person who unsettles the good citizens of Toronto, a comprehensive article on subliminal messages (shit, what some people dream up, and dream they see…), another piece about the Flat Earth Society, and well, you’ll just have to pick this flower.
zine / issue #6, 48 pages / publisher: Big Mouth Design / main creator: James McMartin / $4 / P.O. Box 366, Station B, Toronto, ON, M5T 2W2