Just added to the Stranger Danger catalog:
Alex #8 -- Oh how I wish I could make thoughtful, beautiful zines as quickly as Alex does! In this issue, she tackles one of the things that I think about most: the idea of “making your life” & how radical shifts in your daily activities can have a huge impact on your outlook. She also writes about the balance between being critical & being constructive, about the magic & weariness that comes with living in NYC, and her feelings of introspection that come from reading Carrie Brownstein’s memoir. There are other, smaller pieces woven throughout the zine, as well. If you’re not reading Alex zine, now’s the time to get on it.
Doris #32 -- There is a reason that everyone loves Doris, and it’s because Cindy consistently writes sharp, sincere zines centered around the ideas of growing & learning. And that is exactly what you will find in this issue. She writes stories about exploring the notion of community & friendship, along with ways of creating positive & meaningful conversations. There are interviews (with Marius Mason, an environmental & animal rights activist currently in prison, and Icky Dunn, an anarchist over 40), book reviews, and instructions on how to do a self-guided writing workshop meant to help develop critical consciousness. Doris is a zine that gently guides you as you work to be better & helps move you along that path. I’m always grateful for it.
Epicenter Zone: Twenty Five Year Reunion Zine -- From the intro: “Epicenter Zone was an all-volunteer collective that ran a not-for-profit record store, zine library, community space, and sometime venue.” Based in San Francisco, it was around from 1990 – 1999, and it’s a crucial part of west coast punk history. This zine was made in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the start of the space, and it compiles origin stories, interviews with volunteers, photos, & flyers. I have a special place in my heart for zines like this, because it’s so important that DIY & punk communities step up to document & archive the work that we do so that it’s not buried & forgotten. Get this to remember Epicenter Zone (or to learn about it), and then let’s keep thinking about how we can build & sustain radical community spaces together in our own cities.
Pussy Boi #1 -- Felix wrote to me that this is Pussy Boi is about “being queer, being trans, and working alongside people experiencing homelessness” but that is putting it in the simplest terms because this zine is pure gold. He writes about saving others / being saved from suicidal thoughts & pain, class privilege in the trans movement, ways to work through thoughts of comparison & competition with others, trans-masculine folks being welcomed (or not) into women’s sexual assault crisis centers, and the homogeneity of queer sex-positivity culture. Felix says that he is trying to do things that are vulnerable without being perfect, which really comes across in this zine. His writing is both considerate & critical, with single sentences that will crush you in the best way. Highly recommended.
Get ‘em over at Stranger Danger!
