One of the funniest tics self-proclaimed anarchist zine-makers have is the urge to write introductions to their zines – always trying to catch their breath after all the terrible obstacles they had to hurdle in order to bring this fabulous, direly needed mag into existence – and conclusions that say in a lot of words “well, thanks for reading me, hope you enjoyed yourself and hope you come again.” In between, they usually include reams of scribbly poetry, hand-written articles that start with “well, so and so who makes this zine asked me to write something, and so I sat around for a while trying to think something up…” sloppy collages, reiterations of the editor’s rebel status (with exclamation marks), memorable quotes, emblematic page-wasters and scraps of disembodied information. They’re often done on the cheapest possible photocopier (on the extra-blotchy, dark setting), have catchy names, and are about 15-20 pages too long. (Donato Mancini)
zine, #14, 50 pages, $1/$5 for 3, Anarchy Ashley, c/o Basement Freak Productions, 9020-99 Ave Suite #1, Fort St-John, BC, V1J 1T1