< zine:personal >
ELEPHANT MESS #11
by Dan Murphy
($1.00, trade or 2 stamps from Dan Murphy / PO Box 6352 / Boise, ID / 83707 USA.
E-mail)
Review by Jessica Bublitz
I have been mailing letters back and forth with Dan for a while but #11 is the first issue of his zine,
Elephant Mess, that I've had the chance to read. I think this is a good place to start because it is a "best of" issues 1 to 10. The pieces included are surprisingly complementary. For a range of four years I would expect a lot of change but it's smooth enough to have been written all at once. Every emotional clip blends from one to the next and it makes the reader feel like they're catching up. The introspective look at relationships, youth, and growing up feel like a cold winter afternoon with thoughts jumping through your head. My favorite part was the way he highlighted each issue by showing the cover, release date, and which story was included. Also the intro and outro are compiled quotes from past into/outros and that was a really fun way to include the best of all issues. Look forward to a variety of formats such as cut and paste, handwritten, typewritten, and word processed work, plus a simple block print on varied single color cardstock covers. Most importantly look forward to correspondence with this friendly Idahoan author.
THE FAMILY GEEK #2
by Dan Murphy
(Free for a stamp from Dan Murphy / address above)
Review by Rick Bradford
In addition to
Elephant Mess (and others) Dan also publishes
The Family Geek, which is essentially an update on his recent releases and projects in the works. Apart from that info, this issue's also got a bit of inspiration for direct action, a number of zine reviews, some artwork and lots of listings for reviewzines, distros and the like. The combination of the cut 'n paste layout with the actual content gives it a nice "from me to you" feel that I like.
[ Link to this review ]
