Zine Reviews: Volume 10 (Portland Zine Symposium part 3)

I can appreciate a great comic, but I’ve always been a lover of a great story, regardless of pictures. The below zines are a combo, and these are my favorite of the bunch we ran away with from the PZS. They all tie in nicely to the themes of dark stories and alternative realities.


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Like Like #2
creator: various artists, writers, and designers
contact: likelikezine@gmail.com and http://likelikezine.tumblr.com

Ugh, this was so good. The stories in this zine are phenomenal. There is even one story published in Chinese (I’ll hazard a guess and say it’s Mandarin?), and I appreciate that multicultural aspect. This issue centers around animal stories, from cockroach firsthand accounts of death at the hands of man, to a lost dog, who actually isn’t really lost at all. These were fantastic, absolutely brilliant. Several stories are from the point of view of the animal, and are written so believably, it truly felt as if that cat, and that cockatoo, took a pen to paper and wrote down their innermost thoughts. Inspiring literature, I hope all of the contributing writers have more work out there.


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Retrofit
creator: Zac Finger
contact: zacfinger.com

This is depressing, and funny, and much deeper than it first appears. It begins when the main character has just arrived in his own past, stalking his younger self in high school. He’s there to do something drastic, to try and change his future, but gets things a little wrong. This story starts out looking like it’s going to be lighthearted, but turns DARK really quickly. I appreciate the twist though; too many books and stories nowadays are pre-packaged and predictable, and this was neither. It was simply, engaging.


 

BONUS!

Earlier this year, Matt and I attended Emerald City Comicon on behalf of Project-Nerd. We got the below comic there. Recently Project-Nerd posted an interview pertaining to the 24-hour zine challenge. This comic is also one of those! It was conceived, created, and printed in 24 hours in Portland, OR in 2013. The stars align!

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The Last Mission of Boilerplate
creator: Paul Guinan
contact: boilerplaterobot.com

This is the essence of the kind of historical fiction that I love. Boilerplate is a robot that was created to be an aid robot in times of war and need. He goes out on a mission during World War I and mysteriously disappears! It brings to light questions like, did he intelligently leave the horrors of war behind? Was he captured? Where did he go? Beside all that, it is refreshing to see a robot that was created to help people, rather than be a force of destruction. There is a hardcover, color book that extends this alternative history in ridiculous detail. I still have yet to buy it, but I must. Check out his website for more info on that.


The Antagonists attend zine shows in the Pacific Northwest, and the greater New York City area. Please make sure to look for us and drop off your zine for review! Our next appearance will be at the Olympia Zine Fest, October 24th. Support independent art!

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