Zine Encounters: Anarchy in the A.B.C's

I looooove the Zine Library, you guys. It gives us folks on the interwebs access to a whole bunch of uploaded zines, many of them artistic, informative, and downright entertaining.

Also, much of the material is very, shall we say, 'political' in nature. If you have an unrequited interest in anarchism, feminism, socialism, or radicalism, the Zine Library is a great place to get a pro-bono education.

I went ahead and downloaded the ABCs of Anarchy by Brian Heagney (and no, he did not chaotically rearrange the staid, traditional order of the alphabet. 'A' is still at the top, lording it over the average K's and P's).

Heagney's illustrations are certainly a thing to be seen. Especially note "'B' is for Black Bloc.'" It is a graphic full of solemn faces and dark crosshatching. A Black Bloc, by the way, is meant to be a mass gathering representative of solidarity. Because when you think anarchist, you should think unity.

Other Letters:

K is for Kabouter (Dutch word for Gnome. Name of famous Dutch anarchists)

R is for Rewilding (Going back to nature)

S is for Squat

T is for Train-Hopping

U is for Un-School (Learning that is unsanctioned by the local academic infrastructure)

And, as for the thorny letter X: it is for Xylography, a particularly radical form of making prints that makes use woodcutting.

And now I know my ABCs.

Zine Encounters: How to be a Lady, A Guide for the Incredulous

To browse through a textbook from the past, say ten to twenty years ago, is almost inevitably a hilarious/terrifying experience. One begisn to realize just how thoroughly our biased values seeped into what is supposed to be a straightforward educational text.

In her magnificent zine series, Mystery Date: One Gal's Guide to Good Stuff, Lynn Peril bravely tackles mammoth examples of retro conservatism, presented under the auspices of education and entertainment. Her zines cleverly and humorlessly dissect Sex-Ed advice records (like John and Joan McCardle's prim Your Sexuality: A Thing of Beauty), Homemaking text books (Young Living by Nanalee Clayton was written for the domestically inclined pre-teen), films about teen misbehavior (according to Boy with a Knife, knife-wielding is an 'equalizer' among teenage boys. I'll remember that next time I encounter a young rager with a sharp object), Miss America, and living single (rather than paired, tube-sock style).

Anyway, all this to say that Peril's zines are archived online and, fingers crossed, there will be more some day. Also, check out the rad pin-up girl covers!