ROHO #1
Perzine, Sgt. Hulka, 6 pgs
A little confused and very amused is the best way I can describe the experience of this pocket-sized zine.
ROHO #1 by Sgt. Hulka is a nostalgic take on the yellow cartoon family you knew and loved growing up (or maybe still watch!) and the witty characters they interact with in Springfield — the good old Simpson family, a tried and true fanzine spin-off staple.
This zine centres on The Simpsons’ stereotypical hillbilly, Cletus, and retrieves a dream the author had back in 2002 as they frolicked around town with “the Homer J. Simpson” himself.
From this bizarre dream emerged the phrase (philosophy?) “GTF,” which is not to be confused with “DTF”. The acronym appears overlaid on a map tracing the dreamer’s trek with Homer and Cletus.
“‘What’s GTF, Cletus?’ I asked. He said, ‘Good Time Dwarfin’ and I woke up laughing! I laughed so hard I couldn’t breathe, so hard that I woke up my wife — she worried I was crying! I couldn’t stop laughing!” writes Hulka. Oh, Cletus.
With a jumble of comics, an impressively well-executed original portrait of Cletus, and a QR code to add an interactive touch, Hulka consistently kept me on my toes (that’s a pun alluding to the two photos of feet included on the back cover.) I can’t help but laugh at the fact that this dream that they had nearly two decades ago is still lingering in their brain just enough to get a quirky zine out of it.
