Discovered in a Christmas pud - December 31: zine day!
Okay. Hope I can pull this off.
I have participated in DIALJ Christmasses twice before, and both times I have posted reviews of zines, specifically of multi-media zines with Pros stories in them. I did this because I thought that there was likely to be more discussion of Pros-specific zines and so I'd fill in some gaps.
But in fact there has not been that much zine discussion of any nature since then after all. Not that I can find, anyway. This is sad, because there are some cracking zines out there, and some of them are pretty easy to get hold of, whether you borrow or buy them. Some, alas, are trickier. And it's nice to know something about them so that you know whether you want particular ones, or how much of an effort you might be willing to go to for particular zines.
So for my day today, I am going to post a couple of multi-media zine reviews, just for old times sake (a whole two years is a tradition, right? right?), but I am finally going to get around to some recs and discussion, too. This idea came to me quite late, so I am not entirely prepared for it. I do have quite a lot of zines to choose from, and I'm not sure what's best: long detailed pieces about a few zines, or a heap of brief mentions of lots. So I am going to ask you lot.
When I say "I have quite a lot of zines", I actually mean somewhere between one and two hundred. (Pros fandom, what have you done to me?) I have a bookcase pretty much full of the things. So here's the plan: if there's a zine you have always wanted to know about, and you think there's a chance I may have it, mention it in the comments here, and I'll see what I can post about it by the end of the day.
Some help: if it's by Gryphon or Allamagoosa, who are the two zine producers I know are definitely still in business, I almost certainly have it. If it's a letterzine, I almost certainly don't: I have a whole one issue of DIAL, and half a dozen Cold Fish and Stale Chips, and that's about it. I've got a few with heaps of letters of comments in them about previous issues - Chalk and Cheeses and Homosapiens, for example. I have a few No Holds Barred, lots of the 'theme zines' either as the original zines or in the reprinted anthologies, and most of the Motet zines. Courtesy of a friend passing stuff on, I have a lot of the prettier zines, the novels which catch the eye: Harlequin Airs, All The Queen's Men, some of the Pam Rose zine novels, and so on, but they are almost all online as well. I have a fair few Nut Hatch zines - novels and collections - but they produced so many zines that I can't imagine that's remotely comprehensive.
I do have some zines I am less keen on - no, let's be honest, I don't much like - but if you ask me about one of them, I will try to be constructive about why I don't like it. And some that I don't like will be other people's favourites, and vice versa. So knowing my tastes might help. Here goes.
Off the top of my head, I used the Hatstand's lists of rape fics and BDSM fics as stuff to read first; I have no problem with death fic; I like the lads being casually promiscuous (and not just with women); and I have no problem whatsoever with either of them reneging on marriage vows (there are definitely two zines where this happens). I have come to enjoy some AUs but I arrived here initially looking for more CI5 and just-post-CI5 stories. I don't see CI5 as a supportive environment for gay relationships, I don't generally like supernatural stories (so why I bought Brit Shrieks is a very fair question), and I have no interest in stories which involve Bodie and Doyle looking after children. Or Bodie looking after a Doyle who is like a child. Oh, it also occurs to me that I tend not to like mixed slash/gen anthologies, of which I have a few.
And while I wait to see if anyone has anything they particularly want to hear about (I'll check back in regularly; and if answers only start arriving too late for responses today, I'll carry on over in my journal or somewhere), I shall post those multi-media zine reviews - oh, and one long multi-fandom crossover novel with Pros in it - and start working out a list of favourite zines.
I have participated in DIALJ Christmasses twice before, and both times I have posted reviews of zines, specifically of multi-media zines with Pros stories in them. I did this because I thought that there was likely to be more discussion of Pros-specific zines and so I'd fill in some gaps.
But in fact there has not been that much zine discussion of any nature since then after all. Not that I can find, anyway. This is sad, because there are some cracking zines out there, and some of them are pretty easy to get hold of, whether you borrow or buy them. Some, alas, are trickier. And it's nice to know something about them so that you know whether you want particular ones, or how much of an effort you might be willing to go to for particular zines.
So for my day today, I am going to post a couple of multi-media zine reviews, just for old times sake (a whole two years is a tradition, right? right?), but I am finally going to get around to some recs and discussion, too. This idea came to me quite late, so I am not entirely prepared for it. I do have quite a lot of zines to choose from, and I'm not sure what's best: long detailed pieces about a few zines, or a heap of brief mentions of lots. So I am going to ask you lot.
When I say "I have quite a lot of zines", I actually mean somewhere between one and two hundred. (Pros fandom, what have you done to me?) I have a bookcase pretty much full of the things. So here's the plan: if there's a zine you have always wanted to know about, and you think there's a chance I may have it, mention it in the comments here, and I'll see what I can post about it by the end of the day.
Some help: if it's by Gryphon or Allamagoosa, who are the two zine producers I know are definitely still in business, I almost certainly have it. If it's a letterzine, I almost certainly don't: I have a whole one issue of DIAL, and half a dozen Cold Fish and Stale Chips, and that's about it. I've got a few with heaps of letters of comments in them about previous issues - Chalk and Cheeses and Homosapiens, for example. I have a few No Holds Barred, lots of the 'theme zines' either as the original zines or in the reprinted anthologies, and most of the Motet zines. Courtesy of a friend passing stuff on, I have a lot of the prettier zines, the novels which catch the eye: Harlequin Airs, All The Queen's Men, some of the Pam Rose zine novels, and so on, but they are almost all online as well. I have a fair few Nut Hatch zines - novels and collections - but they produced so many zines that I can't imagine that's remotely comprehensive.
I do have some zines I am less keen on - no, let's be honest, I don't much like - but if you ask me about one of them, I will try to be constructive about why I don't like it. And some that I don't like will be other people's favourites, and vice versa. So knowing my tastes might help. Here goes.
Off the top of my head, I used the Hatstand's lists of rape fics and BDSM fics as stuff to read first; I have no problem with death fic; I like the lads being casually promiscuous (and not just with women); and I have no problem whatsoever with either of them reneging on marriage vows (there are definitely two zines where this happens). I have come to enjoy some AUs but I arrived here initially looking for more CI5 and just-post-CI5 stories. I don't see CI5 as a supportive environment for gay relationships, I don't generally like supernatural stories (so why I bought Brit Shrieks is a very fair question), and I have no interest in stories which involve Bodie and Doyle looking after children. Or Bodie looking after a Doyle who is like a child. Oh, it also occurs to me that I tend not to like mixed slash/gen anthologies, of which I have a few.
And while I wait to see if anyone has anything they particularly want to hear about (I'll check back in regularly; and if answers only start arriving too late for responses today, I'll carry on over in my journal or somewhere), I shall post those multi-media zine reviews - oh, and one long multi-fandom crossover novel with Pros in it - and start working out a list of favourite zines.