February 22, 2010

Tip Our Hats: Guys Who Had A Zine in High School

Guys who had a zine in high school are a special brand of nerd that we adore. It's so cute to picture a younger, rougher version of them assembling their zine on their bedroom floor, their fingers gooey with glue.

Once the thing was pieced together, they'd scam photocopies from either school, their job, or Kinko's. If they were the more daring variety, they might've even swiped some office supplies too. Pretty slick, zinesters.

Most of the zines had quickly drawn sketches and badly photocopied graphics, but whatever. The really good ones would stand out because they were constructed with not much more than talent, staples, and love.

They'd feel a jolt of pride when their zine was favorably reviewed in Maximumrocknroll, Punk Planet, or HeartAttack; they'd run their finger over the page in disbelief. Their parents' address was listed as the contact info. If they were serious about their zine, they'd have a dedicated P.O. box listed. Impressive!

Guys who had a zine in high school rule. They probably all have blogs now, which is fine. But, we gotta give those gluestick samurais from yesteryear props. We love you!

5 comments:

Marissa said...

That picture is from my old job! Man, I miss getting paid to read zines. I tip my hat 2x to guys who still write zines. There's something super cute about being stubborn enough to keep doing it, especially if he scoffs at keeping a blog.

Phil said...

Fans of this "tip our hat" should read anything and everything by Al Burian. I suggest starting with "Burn Collector". Good stuff.

Anna said...

I have all of his stuff, even his book which collected his comics. Actually, not to get all nerdy, but I have a cell of one of his comics blown up and framed on my bedroom wall. I met him in college and he sent me a few postcards back in the day. He's just the BEST!

Anonymous said...

nancy ann cianci? too funny.

as an aside, i appreciate the addition of the byline in the layout change. i found myself scrolling down to plug a narrating voice into the articles before reading. shmitten kitten just gets better and better all the time. thanks, cool dudes.

Anna said...

Thanks for the positive feedback! I had to play around with it for a bit, but I'm happy with the changes. And, I'm happy you're happy! xoxo

Post a Comment