The following are terribly dated pages of ‘zines I did in roughly 1995, ’96, and ’97. I made a handful of each of these, most under the masthead of The Apple, that peculiarly rebellious fruit of thought and feminism. While I cringe at this work now, it’s because of the sincerity, not the content. I agree with everything I said here; it’s just how bluntly I said it that brings a rise to my cheeks.
This one dovetails with my recent post about how the comic book Animal Man compelled me to become a vegetarian. Go, vegan Spider-Man!! Kick that meat eater’s rear!! “Carnivorous animals have curved fangs and a short digestive tract! We don’t even have CLAWS!” This cartoon was found nestled between pages printed off Peta’s very early website—on a dot-matrix printer, natch!
This one is obviously about how Republicans suxxit. As a Christian, I took, and take, great umbrage at the co-opting of my beliefs by those who would harm others. As President Carter said during the funeral of Coretta Scott King, “[i]t is a temptation to forget we worship the Prince of Peace.”
“Gross, Better, Best” was a commentary on feminism, using the photos of Mr. & Ms. MSU, circa late 70’s/early 80’s.
The Boy says, each time, “Well, aren’t you just the cutest lil’ thing? I was just sittin’ at the bar over there checking you out when I thought, ‘now ain’t that just a fine piece of woman,’ and I decided to”
“Gross” says: “(tee-hee)”
“Better” says: “Look, you’re very nice and all, but I have a boyfriend.”
“Best” says: “Fuck off, you ignorant piece of white male imperialist trash. Why don’t you go try and colonize some under-developed country or recite racial slurs and shoot at sentient beings while you drink some NatLight with your pseudo-Neandertal Deliverance-clone pals? I ought to kick you in the balls.”
I wanted to date “Best” a whole lot. “Gross, Better, Best” is contraposed against an essay on the Power Rangers that was spurned by a particularly depressing episode in the Starkville Wal-Mart.
This is a dry run at a the front and back covers of ‘zine called “Teen Beauty Problems” that I don’t think ever saw the light of day. The spokesperson I created for the malt liquor Silver Thunder (I cannot believe I used to drink that) was “Mr. Thundy.”
I have so much of this stuff stacked up in my closet now that I’ve rescued it from storage. If you want to see more of the old stuff, tell me, and I’ll scan it.
Fascinating. You are very brave. I can’t overstate how much respect I have for you and Sally for being unafraid to explore and embrace your ten-or-15-year-ago selves. There’s not much record of my existence from those days, and when I do stumble across traces of it, my first impulse is usually to destroy it. I don’t know what that says about me, but I like your ‘96 stuff a lot.
Not to be swipin your style, mang, but I just scanned some pics of you and polly and me from some Katrina salvaged storage at my folks house.
I remember the Power Ranger story.
Love the sentimental stuff. More, man, more.
I am drooling over these. More, more! Faster pussycat, kill! Kill!
These are great! I don’t see too much reason to be embarassed—I love ‘em all to pieces. I am delighted by them all.
Gross-Better-Best is fan-fucking-tastic.
i wish we had been friends back then. lets get drunk soon and dig through this stuff! i have a jug of three thieves zin that’s begging to be quaffed.
HEY! i star’d in an apple strip! its my only biographical comic! that was one of the things i was most proud of!
i remember being on the toy isle once and a girl wanted a aquaman toy like i had in hand. her mom said ‘NO you can’t have that. its a boy toy. i’ll buy you a doll instead. lets go over to THIS section’.
My mom, much to my four year old shock, told off the mom and said it was about what the KID wanted to play with, not what the mom wanted to play with.
MORE MORE MORE
i remember when you did all of these. i was impressed with them then, and i am still impressed with them now. on “gross, better, best” you showed me how it was going to turn out before it was finished. i was so happy that you did it, said things so blunt and straight.
you are an amazing artist and i think that you should be proud of all your work. keep on posting, big brother, you inspire more people than you realize.