Case’s on-going obsession with idiot culture makes for great reading. The story of the 19th century Paris attraction Le Petomane, the greatest farter of all time is well written and researched. Next up is an interview with Dianne of the Raelian Church, one of the more bizarre cult/religions out there, and one of the best examples of a religion that actually takes a majority of its precepts directly out of the thin air of pop culture – they believe that God is an alien life form. Now those two articles would be enough for any respectable zine, but Stacey, god bless him (and take him up to the great saucer in the sky), follows up with the tale of how he is sent to France by A&E’s Investigative Reports to find some hippie leader homicidal maniac who was set free by a technicality. While the story of the murderous Ira is amusing, Stacey’s go-for-broke attempts to secure his money shot of Ira leaving a French police station give the paparazzi thing a whole new context. All that plus wrestler Abdulla the Butcher making a rare appearance in a suburban bar. Needless to say, Case was all over that one. A classic issue of a superlative zine. (HN)
zine, #13, Stacey Case, 689 Queen St. W., Box 193, Toronto, ON, M6J 1E6