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THE GUIDE TO SELF PUBLISHED PERIODICALS #47
by various
($4.50 from
Dimestore Productions)
Review by Rick Bradford
This is a family-friendly news-and-reviews zine with a strong slant towards readers of mainstream comics who like to make their own. This emphasis is spelled out with words and phrases like "collecting", "professional" and "market share".
The largest element of this zine is the reviews section (21 pages), which includes many cover scans (a plus) but the reviews themselves are quite brief. It's stated that their reviews "are written from the standpoint of 'Is this publication worth buying[?]'," but it seems the only way for that question to be answered by a three- or four-sentence review is if readers automatically trust the snap judgment of the reviewer. Another thing about the reviews is their primary reviewer seems to focus on things like whether or not there are staples, if the pages are printed landscape (he doesn't like it) and if there's no contact info in the book. Considering that those complaints are
included within the three-to-four sentence "reviews", well, perhaps you can see how I, as a reader, might find them less than helpful.
Other features found in this issue: a news section; business tips from artist Darrell Goza; "Publisher's Clubs Update" (for APAs, co-op groups, etc.); a full-page "Classic Small Press" drawing by Larry Blake; Q&As with Chris Giarrusso (
Spidey and the Mini Marvels), JE Smith (
Complex City), Cal Slayton (
Shades of Blue) and Andrew Hoffmann (
Roger Mingus); and "Teaching Comics" by Matt Levin (Walking Man Comics). Levin's article, detailing his experiences teaching 4th-to-6th graders about making their own comics, is certainly devoid of the marketing concerns and pro-comic-book-artist fantasies found in most of the rest of the issue. It's well-written, interesting and the only feature that really validates itself for this reader.
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