Different people have different tastes in comedy. So, when this zine opened with a reference to Family Guy, I realized I’m probably not the target audience for the sophomoric jokes to follow.
I wasn’t offended by the cancer and Holocaust jokes I found inside as much as I was disappointed that people still think stuff like that is funny. I guess if you’ve lived a particularly sheltered life it’s easy to laugh at other people’s suffering.
Elsewhere there’s a sarcastic story of a trip to a roller derby, masturbation jokes, a tirade about how people raise their children (obviously the author would make a much fitter parent), a crass letter written to Gold Bond, and a couple of reviews tacked on at the end. In the age of the Internet, none of this humour is particularly shocking or boundary pushing; it’s just a slight evolution of the fart jokes that boys laugh at when they’re 10. If the author actually is 12 or 14-years-old, I apologize and would suggest he check out some comedic films made by people with names other than Farrelly and Apatow. But if he’s any older than 15 there’s not really much of an excuse for the tired juvenile jokes he relies on. (Harley R. Pageot)
Humour Zine, #8, James, urinalgum.com, $2