Blue Cubicle Press #2

The two issues of The First Line (see previous entry) actually were not what I had traded for with David LaBounty. David is a very generous guy, so he sent me a whole lot of nice booklets (in a very professional-looking cardboard box). What I was really looking forward to, though, was his travel zine Bookstores and Baseball.

This is not your average zine. It's a full color beauty, printed on good quality paper, and with a nice cover. If picture quality was a tad better, it could be mistaken for a mainstream publication. Apparently this little jewel is not for sale. At least according to the review I read in Xerography Debt, this is trades only.

Now, if you hate baseball, don't worry because this is mostly a travel/perzine with a lot of space devoted to books and bookstores. If, on the contrary, you love baseball, get it as soon as possible because there's a lot for the sports lover too: nice pictures of the stadiums the LaBounties visited, fun facts provided by David's son Gabriel, etc. To tie it all, David's writing is solid, funny and informative, and the zine's intro (Batting Practice, as he calls it) features some of the best writing I've seen lately. Nuff said.

The first three innings of B and B are already out, and I sure hope this zine is going to extra innings.

Madagascar!!! (the real thing)

If you are a paper fetishist like me, you’ll better get Well, Here We All Are!
Stories from Madagascar, Land of Golden Cows before Sailor runs out of copies. You’ll get a heavy cardstock cover (mine was a nice brown that shines and twinkle under the light) and even the inside pages were copied on high quality paper. The whole combo is then kept together with a thick black rubber band that I find very appropriate, because I may be wrong but I imagine that this stuff would be easier to find in Madagascar than staples.

Then you open the zine and you are transported into this alien land where life is much different from so called civilized countries. Sailor spent one month on the island, visiting her friend who was working as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Alternating typewritten and handwritten texts with photos and quirky & cute drawings, she tells about life in Madagascar, its people, customs, food, language, etc. It’s the next best thing to actually boarding a plane and seeing it for yourself. Recommended.
$3.50 or selected trades (email first) /Digest/64 pgs
Sailor Holobaugh, 4 Valley View Ave, Takoma Park, MD 20912
sailor.holobaugh@gmail.com http://wemakezines.ning.com/profile/SailorHolobaugh

A Rad Lad

One of the best artists and illustrators I've had the pleasure to meet since I joined the zine network is a lad from UK named Steve Larder. His zine Rum Lad is a sort of perzine in which Steve talks about his life, his friends, and chronicles his trips around and outside UK. In Issue 4, for instance, Steve goes to Mulheim, Germany, to attend the local zine festival. His art is top notch and I especially love the way he draws urban landscapes and architecture. Rum-Muffel is a collaboration with Isy of Morgenmuffel fame (another great comic zine, by the way); a travelogue detailing their winter trip to a national park.

Steve Larder, Somerset House, Cherry Holt Lane, Sutterton, Boston, Lincs, PE20 2H4, UK. stevejipwit@hotmail.com
morgenmuffel@yahoo.co.uk