BATS – Heinrichs, Melmeth, Lynch, Donohoe, Ward, et al. – Site

The Skinny – Five senior/post- high school girls put together a fashion/trends/culture magazine with each issue following a different theme.

The Look – Go to Borders. While avoiding all of the Twilight merch, go directly to the Culture and Society section of the magazine racks. Pick up a magazine that looks like it made by hipsters or scenekids. Pick one and go through the checkout. Congratulations. You just wasted your money. BATS is free or, at the very least, practically free. You get the relatively same quality of photos and layout design as you do with the any of those C&S mags. The covers practically match anything that shows up in a hipster’s hands. While everything is in black and white and feels printed on regular Reflex paper, you don’t feel cheap picking up an issue.

And BATS is not SuperSuper. And thanks to the angry mountain god for that one.

The Content – Each issue follows a particular theme, with whatever else managed to make the deadline. As a fashion/trends/culture flicker, it contains articles about surviving this fast-paced social-website, alchopops-fueled society for the average kid out there. These include what to expect at Schoolies week, advice about exposing yourself on the internet, and the prospect of being addicted to FaceBook. The writing is tight, I didn’t spot any glaring errors in language to prompt concern for the collapse of society. (Unlike the “East Lun-dun-ers” of SuperSuper).

The Verdict – It’s not something that I would have picked up if not for the zine fair. But I am glad I did. Good promising work. I can see intense future careers.

Off My Meds – Philip Dearest – Site – (Let’s just go with NSFW)

The Skinny – Phillip Dearest, the author of this zine, stopped his course of antipsychotic medication for an A – Z list of disorders. Then he began to see some shit. Some of it is recorded in this zine.

The Look – The cover (by Karl Kwasny – Site) is what initially drew me to this zine. It’s like an old woodcut. Inside is a compilation of strange illustrations and lurid artwork that takes me back to the Apocalypse Culture books. The style itself is somewhere between Adult Swim’s SuperJail! and Kate Beaton’s Hark A Vagrant. Simple artwork that is disturbing like a terrible car accident, but you cannot help just to continue turning the pages and looking further.

The Story – A man quits his meds. Draws the stuff he sees. That’s it.

The Verdict – The problem for me is this: I should have bought more than one of Philip’s zines. Now I have to contact him.