More of MariNaomi's comics about the boys she's dated! In this issue: an artist who wants to take a jello bath, the substantially order guy, the random guy at a party, the cute neighbor you stalked, the boyfriend that works at denny's, the boyfriend that goes to jail, the boyfriend that passes away, and the boyfriend that wants to taxidermy your pets. Issue #6 reminds you just how time-consuming dating can be.

Evasion is a non-fiction hobo travelogue in which the author manages to evade the authorities for trespassing, squatting, and dumpster diving. Evasion is a metaphorical tale depicting the rejection of the 40-hour workweek and hopeless boredom of modern living. The journey documents the authors' reclamation of his life through rejection of the "American Dream." the spaces surrounding them a life worth living and a world worth fighting for. The author of Evasion is a hitchhiker, train hopper, and urban scavenger. The roots of the novel stem from ten photocopies of the original manuscript scammed from Kinko's. Rapidly, the zine was mass duplicated and proliferated by thousands of its' fans. Innumerable copies have been sold to date without a single advertisement. I found a few things demeaning to people who live in a world of poverty without a choice but I think this offers a whole new horizen to bored middle class teenagers and twenty somethings.

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The F-Word #3 is the Outlaws Issue. It features interviews with Howard Zinn, Loretta Ross, Kate Bornstein, and Cristy Road. There's a short essay by Mos Def about Assata Shakur, and a brief introduction to Jane, the underground abortion service. Mattilda writes about queer identity. The regular feature Sexual Edna focuses on female masturbation. Also music reviews of Lily Allen, Pony Up, The Pipettes, and The Chalets. The movie Bandit Queen gets reviewed and dissected for it's depiction of violence. And there's a Fart Party cartoon about solitude. Issue #3 is packed with awesome lady action!

Julia Wertz's zine Fart Party is now a book! Every review of this zine says basically the same thing. That the reviewer expected immature potty humor, but was surprised to find funny and intelligent comics inside. Chronicling the relationship between Julia and her boyfriend Oliver, the collected Fart Party is at times, soy milk out your nose funny and always spot on. Julia perfectly captures couples banter, without it ever seeming like an inside joke. Covered are topics such as: snacks, bikes, makin' comics, being grumpy, and moms swearing. Get it-get it-get it!

Figure 8 #5 is a size-positive take on a coloring and activity book. It includes a "Just Call Me Fat" word search, and a maze to get the diet books to the recycle bin. My favorite is the "fat heroes" crossword puzzle, where you have to know all about fat-positive role models both past and present. Krissy encourages you to photocopy the pages and pass them out to friends, to children, or use them in schools even. It's an effective way to feel confident and proud of your body, no matter what size you are.

Traveling chef Joshua Ploeg (Plague) of Behead the Prophet, No Lord Shall Live/Mukilteo Fairies/Ravenna's Secret Cafe presents 80 new and delicious, gourmet vegan recipes. Joshua is the epitome of the post-punk ethic manifest into his passion; travelling the country on busses and trains he presents gourmet dinner parties for you and your friends presented out of his backpack, circumventing the corporate route of disseminating his food, recipes, and love.

This collection in particular is primarily spicy recipes and beverages (fire and ice, eh?) - blazing tofu, curried pineapple cream cheese, chicken yassa, garlic linguine, pineapple gazpacho with dates, blackeyed pea salsa, curried banana sandwhiches, spicy basil turnip and tofu, iced tea with mango syrup, numerous alcoholic drink recipes, and much much more! A fun little foray into the world of punk rock's gourmet chef!

I felt better as soon as I opened this first issue of Firewood. Reading about "building your own house, growing your own food, making your own music, art culture, life" I was ready to join the revolution before I even got past the intro. Firewood isn't just about talk though. Sine offers serious real-life help in here. There is a large article on how to build your own cabin. With information on how to physically do it, even all by yourself, there is also help on salvaging materials, obtaining cheap materials and building houses of wood, straw-bale, cob, Tipis and Gers. Also, you can read about growing your own Anarchist Victory Garden and get a little lesson on Land Ownership in Scotland. In general, a really inspiring and helpful zine. Can't wait for number two! (Krissy)

MC #76015: The Urban Hermitt is a hip hop artist who hangs out with nightmarish hippies, punks, queers, and blurs the lines separating them. Watch the Hermitt move to Seattle at the age of 18 and react to the big city through a simultaneous process of self discovery. Watch him come out as queer in the midst of LSD-induced-heterosexist-rainbow-gathering love. He writes about the counterculture, with soul. It's a book about queer studies. It's a book about underground perspectives and culture. It's a funny book. It's just a book about a kid growing up. ISBN 0-9726967-0-9

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This is Ali Haimson's personal zine where she spills the beans about the goings on in her life. This issue is quite a bit heavier than previous ones. It's about deliving pizza and getting the notion to open a radical bookstore (and then doing it), a bad breakup and running into her ex at the worst moments, being a good dog mommy, not being able to talk to her family, a new crush on a girl at the bar next to her work, visiting her sister, smoking, and riding the bus. This is wholly entertaining and honest and left me with a smile on my face, though al ittle worried for Ali.

A zine written by husband and wife team Taco Dave and Kisha! It's their combined stories of buying a house in Chicago. It's a split zine, so you can read her account and then flip it over and read his too! Described inside is the house-hunting, realtor hiring, and paperwork signing in all it's tedious yet triumphant glory ! There's also tips for house-hunting, handling inspections, information about how loans work, and some good critiques of why it IS punk to own your own home.

Found five is more of the best of that which is lost and then found. There are lost love-letters, angry notes, and over-simplified escape plans scribbled onto napkins. Most of the found writing revolves this time around a central theme: crime. The editors state the theme is "prison," but it seems more broad. There are also notes about drunk driving, alternatives to drinking, and the major focus of the issue, the epic tale of Elmer L. Jacobson, told in a found collection of letters. The letters' section is also full of mail sent to Found by readers who are in prison. An equally sad and funny issue, and probably my favorite so far. My mom read it the other day and was cracking up across the room. What more endorsement do you need?

Not just another pro-choice zine; this is an introduction to the history of underground abortion and a call to learn our history and to take matters in our own hands. It includes some information on menstrual extraction and a list of resources to learn more. Reproductive choice is not a "right" to be granted or withdrawn. "To know our history is to begin to see how to take up struggle again." Exceptionally well written and researched. If you are looking for more information about these topics, this is it! Timely and relevant!

The sequel to the original Holiday Harvest Survival Guide! Features drinks, entrees, soups, desserts, and a jumbo section about celebrating Valentine's Day on the cheap! Write poems, make lip gloss, soaps and bubble baths, watch movies, bake cookies, and more, while avoiding commercialized holidays and doing it yourself.

A another gigantic cookbook for people without a lot to spend. Recipes for food, non-food, and even gift ideas! There's spring cleaning tips, cheap entertainment, making earrings and magnets, yard sales, dandelion wine, and raw foods. Tons and tons of money-saving notions that you can use every day!

From China Martens comes a compilation of The Future Generation zine, started in 1990! The zine is by radical moms, for radical mom's, and has writings on issues like sexism, violence, and resistance. There's even an interview with a mom punk band dressed up as KISS! But the thing that really shines through is China's love of being a mom. This book has so much raw energy and heart, it's kind of incredible. Wait, there's also a story about 5 generations swimming at the same beach, a whole lotta love for Baltimore, and a chapter called, "Welfare Mothers Make Better Lovers." Basically, there's not enough space to list all the cool things about this book!

The reader is met with 3 different versions of a cover, each with a different leading question on a teaser-cover: How do you perform?, When did you first decide you were straight?, and Why is this picture sexy?. Galatea's Naked challenges our views and feelings about sex and sexuality. Topics like questions about gender, orientation, one night stands, homophobia, "sex and the body", and laws and policies surrounding sex. This is a very strong and captivating body of work that reads very nicely as a whole putting the reader to the challenge of thinking about their bodies, their roles, and the world differently.

Galatea's Pants #20 is a short story about two American women working in China as teachers, and their uncomfortable dinner date with a group of local businessmen. The two women don't speak Chinese and their translator doesn't seem to be telling them every word that's said. It's a unique perspective to read and well-written! As good as anything you'd find in a literary journal, if not better.

Galatea's Pants #21 is about race and stereotyping. It covers immigration from Mexico into the US, and the myths and misinformation surrounding the issue. It's broken down point by point and an alternative view point is offered for accusations such as "immigrants should assimilate into American culture." "the Art of Defending Racism," covers the inherently racist things said in defense of someone's open-mindedness, such as, "you're too sensitive," and "I'm oppressed too." An interview with the chairwoman of a panel of displaced writers, including women from Palestine, a look at the concept of "indian country," and Laila Halaby on Arab folklore, round out the issue.

My guess is that Jeff may have been hungry while compiling this issue. Many of the stories reference food in some way: A Mongolian Barbecue, a Denny's booth, a lunch break in high school, and vegetables in peanut sauce, prepared by a lover. That's not to marginalize or pigeonhole his talent because it's still as sharp as ever. You'll read this, then re-read it, especially if you're a fan of short stories with subtle details. If you've never read a Ghost Pine, then you ought to start. Truly on of the zine classics!

This is Kirke's first issue of Giant Steps, and he uses it as a sounding board for his growing frustration at the commodification of punk, and his place in the process of gentrification. There's also a how-to on making a mop, or homemade marker, an interview with stencil artist Chris Stain, and a comic by Aaron Asshat who does the zine Big Hands. And you know what else? He's an incredibly nice person. Pretty cool, eh?

Rob Noxious (The Fall of America) teams up with Shyla Ann to talk about gender roles in extreme depth! They each present half of a zine talking from their own perspective so you get that "flip zine" split format. Tons of issues are discussed such as sex (homosexual and otherwise), pornography, alternatives to tampons/pads, subtle school lessons, polyamory, male intuition, homosexuality and homophobia, confronting sexism, rape in prison, and TONS more. this puppy is huge! 84 pages.

A zine of eerie ghost stories! Lots of skeptics telling their stories of conversion into believers in the supernatural. Deserted roads filled with strange sounds, ghostly girls hovering in the basement, an ethereal woman who can only be seen in the mirror...Baltimore has it's fair share of haunted tales to tell.

Scott writes a smart, engaging zine about bicycle advocacy, bike culture, public transit issues, and the darkside of car culture. He has a positive, upbeat, yet realistic attitude about showing people the value of riding bicycles and using alternative transit. This issue talks about how cities are built around car culture, information about oil shortages/car inferiority, and local public transit issues affecting us in Portland. Cover by Juliette Torrez.

Cristy Road has always brought us breathtaking artwork (some of my favorite) along with literary stories that remind us of the strength and ability of punk youth. This new issue is more of the same with some reflection of Cristy's various homes between Miami and Philadelphia, racism in her communities, the strength of her friends, coming to terms with assault, gender, sexuality, and identity, and much more. The words are powerful, the stories make you feel like anything can be accomplished, and the artwork adds another strong element. Once a true fanzine devoted to Green Day, this zine has now evolved into literary prose devoted to the strengths of our communities.

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