zine review:
The End of a Perfect Day #11: The Trans-Canadian Nightmare
The Trans-Canadian Nightmare is a story of two guys who decide to go on a trip across Canada by hopping trains and hitching rides. As the title implies, however, things don’t go smoothly and what was supposed to be a fun adventure turns out to be something far from expected. For the Captain and his good friend Hunter, the clean and friendly perception of Canada is marred by bureaucratic border agents; obnoxious truck drivers; and racist, women-hating gays. Between the instances of depraved humanity listed above, the better things Canada has to offer shines through in the little things such as a woman offering the two a lift to the library or the exciting sights and sounds of Montreal.
The adventure retold in this zine is an interesting one despite the simplicity of travelling across Canada. The greatest obstacles and challenges that the Captain and Hunter experience are the horrible examples of humanity that they didn’t expect to find in a country they’ve heard so many good things about. Though the two are forced to endure and confront the presence of the worst humanity has to offer, their patience is thankfully rewarded with a happy ending. (Terry Harjanto)
Zine, Damien, aka The Captain, 54 Cumberland Street, Apt 3R, Brooklyn, NY 11205, USA, [email protected], $3/trade for Canadian-$2/trade for US addresses