'Zine Scene
| News Media Commentary | |
|---|---|
| Title: | 'Zine Scene |
| Commentator: | Frank Dubrovnik |
| Date(s): | August 22, 1992 |
| Venue: | Toronto Star |
| Fandom: | Punk culture mostly |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
'Zine Scene was an article in the Toronto Star about fanzines. It discusses the proliferation of homemade or cheaply made zines in Toronto in the early 1990s. It focuses mainly on Punk music and culture zines, although it does mention others that cover a variety of topics.
Excerpts
They're called 'zines.'Zines (also known as fanzines) can be best described according to what they are not: They are not magazines, nor do they try to be. A look through almost any 'zine will tell you that the people producing it are definitely not writers; rather, they are fanatics of whatever it is they are writing about (hence the term fanzine)... and the 'zine usually reflects those narrow per- sonal interests.
The only thing uniting the growing number of 'zines in Toronto is their adherence to the rule that there are no rules.
"Right now there's a big boom because people are seeing how easy it is," says Roscoe, 29, who puts out his own FO.D. Maggotzine and contrib- utes to Vagina Dentata, an agit-prop/sex 'zine."This is why a lot of the zines started during the punk era, because punk was all about not having to know how to play anything. You just pick up the instrument and do it. And in the same way, you don't need to know how to write or draw to do a 'zine, you just do it."
It's not surprising, then, that many of the 'zines produced out of this do-it- yourself punk ethic are music-oriented.
"You don't have to pretend that you're representing everybody, or being fair to people," says Candy. "Basically, a fanzine is one person inflicting on the rest of the world what their obses- sions are."
A sure sign of success is that,after six years, Mitchell is cur- rently losing much less money than he used to on Skull Session. When he's finished paying for photocopies and postage, deduct- ing 40 per cent from the cover price for stores' normal consign- ment charge not to mention giving away many of the 300 cop- les he prints up he's only out about $100. Why does he do it?
"Well, some people collect stamps, some build model air- crafts, some people buy ciga- rettes. I put out a magazine," Mitchell says.
Toronto has turned into quite the 'zine scene. Here's a small sampling of some of the topics that have their own 'zines! Asian cinema (Asian Eye), Eurotrash (Subterranea), Mexican wres- tling films (Panicos); old mon-sters and pin-ups (Gary Monster Magazine, Monster Bitch Ses- sion); female exploitation-film di- rectors (Terminal Island); women garage rockers (Feline Frenzy); feminism (Femzine); the answer to feminist 'zines (Hoyden), ho- mosexual activism (In Your Face); sorta personal gay 'zines (Double Bill, Scab); rave (The Punter); and, of course, that -whole punk thang (Drastic Solu- tions, Snot Rag, Tunga Tunga).