Man, I Miss Zines

Last night I was going through my box of zines and thinking about how much I missed that phenomenon. I know, a lot of people have said that blogging is the more accessible and more mainstream version of zining, but on many levels, it just isn't the same.

I miss looking through Zine World, MaximumRockAndRoll and Factsheet 5, looking for oddities and quality, substantive journalistic work.

I miss entering into that strange bond of trust with ziners that if you stuffed a buck or 5 into an envelope, that it would get there in one piece and you would be given a little piece of their mind in turn.

I miss the smell of xeroxed covers, each one showing a black and white image of an individual world, one that was unique to its writer and the dualities within.

Happy Not Stupid, Murder Can Be Fun, Temp Slave, McJob, Guinea Pig Zero and so many more either gone or very minimalized now. I wonder how many of their authors went on to create new works... how many Pagan Kennedy's emerged from those folded pages to become larger figures in the publishing or writing world, and were the mirror for the bloggers who are finding wider spread acceptance and book deals nowadays?

I think I guess being able to hold a copy of a unified work rather than an ever-changing array of opinions and articles. That and the fact that those who zined loved it so much that they did it at a loss and with a lot of effort, and I think my own failures in this department makes me admire those who were out there every day pushing their own little piece of the publishing pie. I mean, I would have loved to have brought out even one issue of History Is a Nightmare: A Neomodern Review, but alas, it wasn't to be.

I do have a lot of hope that blogging with continue the spirit of zining in an electronic body, but I still wish more people were still into zining. As a sidenote, I have to say that Gimme Your Stuff sort of reminds me of a few issues of Beer Frame, and I appreciate the good memories that site brings back for me and I thank them all for that.

And ironically enough, this is my 100th post here at Culture Kills, making this feel like I've come around full circle.

Tags: zines, temp slave, happy not stupid, factsheet 5, gimme your stuff, mcjob, murder can be fun, zine world, guinea pig zero, zining, blogs, blogging, beer frame, history is a nightmare, pagan kennedy