Okay, this double Dirt issue devotes half of its content to what Steph loosely defines as CyberPunk — “Cyberpunks have the potential for being the most potent, effective force ever to challenge existing authority.” Well, I don’t know about that. Anyway, the rest of the cyberpunk section — a collection of reviews, lists and brief musings on the cyberpunk world — is pretty uninspired. The other half of the zine, the Soft & Cuddly half, is a little more substantive, 10 Ways to Indulge Your Man, Mike’s ruminations on menstruation and the male psyche, and Steph’s horror at having to hear people having sex in the tent next to her while camping just seem like more familiar Dirt territory. The letters were interesting, apparently Dirt’s new $2 fee is causing a bit of a backlash from other zinesters, an interesting little addition to the already touchy subject of zine as commodity. Dirt is a solid zine, but this issue just isn’t filthy enough. Ask for their sex issue or for their April issue, both chock-full of great writing and comics. Maybe Steph should consider slowing down the pace of her publication, holding off until she has enough content to justify publishing another issue of what is typically an excellent zine.
zine / vol 2, #3, August 1996 / main creator: Steph Reed / $2 / PO Box 28045, 600 Ontario St., St. Catharines, ON, L2N 7P8