zine review:
Misfit # 5
When on the brink of poverty, one should always be clever. In fact, when you are poor you have a God-given right to publish witty(ish) and self-deprecating reflections on your sometimes-pitiful existence. Or so Hannah Eye would have us believe.
With trusty husband in tow, Hannah opens up the door to her “ancient apartment” in St. Paul, Minnesota and tells us what life is like for her. There are “House Rules,” a list compiled by said husband describing the couple’s housekeeping maxims (“No fewer than two weeks may pass between cat litter box changings.”), and an illustrated list of all the stuff they got for $51.38 at the Veteran’s Thrift Store. (“Two Ralph Lauren shirts for my affected nephew.”)
Hannah often slips into inside-joke territory, but the variety of articles in Misfit–mini comics, lists, trading cards, and book reviews– breaks it down into manageable portions. Overall it’s amusing stuff and highly readable, few items are longer than two pages and there is a fairly equal ratio of illustrations to text.
One beef, however: in her editor’s letter, Hannah reminds her readers that “this is actually a culturally subversive zine.” I tried, but I don’t see it. And I don’t see what makes her such a “misfit” either. She writes about having nothing to eat in her house but ketchup and mayonnaise. Take a number, man. (Sara Forsyth)
Perzine, Hannah Eye, [email protected]