Zine Machine

Review: Moral Code

2009-11-17T20:03:00.000-08:00

Greetings guys and welcome to the Zine Machine blog under new management. Jessica has done a brilliant job in her care of the Zine Machine over the past few years and we all realize what big shoes we have to try and fill.

We'll give it our best shot.

In the spirit of this occasion, I thought it might be appropriate to start off our run of zine reviews with one made by our patron saint herself: Jessica White.

Today we have "Choose Your Own Moral Code: A Coloring Book." If zines are a reflection of their maker, then Moral Code is definitely a representation of Jessica's passion for bookbinding and the art of letterpress. The cover looks gorgeous and and has a great texture to it that you'd have to feel yourself to understand. Inside the reader is shown a variety of combinations of forest critters and asked to color them in. Sounds just like your average coloring book, that is, until you reach the bottom and you're given the option to label your adorable new friends either good, or evil(there is no gray area). Jessica uses these creatures much like myths and legends of the past did to explore the same abstractions that have been plaguing mankind since the dawn of time. Order vs chaos or good vs evil. Even the name of her venture, Heroes & Criminals Press, is a reflection of this. (It and her have both been relocated from Iowa City to North Carolina, and are dearly missed). All and all Moral code is not your ex-punk father's zine of high contrast collages and courier text-ridden declarations. While a xerox was likely used for the interior for mass production purposes, Jessica's art style is dominated by clean, bold lines that are very appropriate for a "coloring book." It really toes the line between artists book and zine, which is very appropriate as the zine machine has served to vend both during its lifetime.

I myself see very little difference between the two at times.

And that is Moral Code. Unfortunately, this little joy is not available at the Zine Machine at the moment, but rather is from my own personal collection. If you ask nicely though, I might just let you touch it. Don't let this discourage you from stopping by the Zine Machine however as it is now FULLY stocked with an awesome collection of zines ready for the taking!

"Are we not drawn onward, we few, drawn onward to new era?"
-Tripp

new year, new management

2009-10-16T07:15:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, I've had a few queries from people wondering what's up with the zine machine. Yes, it's still up and running, but it's playing a slightly different role now. The University of Iowa has a sweet new class all about zines and comics, taught by the amazing Rachel Williams. The class will be using this machine, making stuff for it as well as taking in submissions. Questions about submissions should be directed to Rachel - rachel-williams@uiowa.edu.

I've moved to Asheville, NC, and this ends my role in the daily workings of the Zine Machine. Thanks everyone for participating these past three years! It was an exhausting, but exciting project and I'll miss it dearly.

Cheers,
Jessica

We Make Zines

2008-10-27T12:33:00.000-07:00

The Zine Machine is now on We Make Zines, an online networking community for zine makers. Do you make zines too? Sign up and be our friend.

Zine World #26

2008-10-24T12:02:00.000-07:00

Zine World #26 is out, go get your own copy here.

"Zine World #26 is 62 pages, full-size, and contains:
>>about 300 reviews of zines, mini-comics, books, and indie magazines.
>>our completely updated list of zine libraries & infoshops in the United States and worldwide. (These updates haven’t been posted to the website yet but will be soon.)
>>an article on newspaper censorship.
>>columns about writing by Evan Fleischer and on politics by Grant Schreiber.
>>word of mouth on zine distros & stores, zine review zines & websites, upcoming events, zine resources, and address changes, plus classified listings for zines, indie groups, stuff for sale, and calls for submissions.
>>art by Sue Clancy, Jim Sumii, Kris, Pat M. and a cover by P.5!"

Apparently we're mentioned in this issue - thanks Chantel G. for letting us know!

Welcome to the archives

2008-10-22T13:43:00.000-07:00

The Special Collections Department at the University of Iowa Libraries has taken a special interest in the Zine Machine and would like to create a permanent archive of zines that have been sold through the machine. Anyone sending us zines, please consider sending an extra copy for the archives. If you're a past contributor and would like a copy in this collection, please send us a copy with a note saying it's for the archives. You can send it to:

Zine Machine
PO Box 10022
Iowa City, IA 52240

A note from the library:

The University of Iowa Libraries are making a concerted effort to begin collecting zines. UI believes that zines have great value as cultural relics that give creative voice to people standing outside and beyond the societal mainstream, and provide wonderful examples of people’s artistic and literary abilities.

By collecting and preserving zines from all over the country, the Libraries hope to build a major collection of often-overlooked, often-ephemeral social documents that can be read and enjoyed by generations of researchers. Zines received by UI will be archived by Special Collections and University Archives and made accessible to all interested readers.

For more information, you can contact

Jeremy Brett

Special Collections Project Archivist
University Libraries
University of Iowa
100 Main Library
Iowa City, Iowa 52242-1420
jeremy-brett@uiowa.edu

2 zines currently in the machine:

Generic Zine Exchange

2008-10-14T18:43:00.000-07:00

My friend Amanda tells me that she and a fellow zinester in Buffalo, NY are organizing a zine exchange. It's open to anyone, with an open theme - it's even called the Generic Zine Exchange. The edition size is 25, and the deadline is November 15. Get more details at their website.

2008 Madison Zine Fest

2008-10-14T17:52:00.000-07:00

The 2008 Madison Zine Fest is coming up soon - this Saturday, to be exact! This year, it'll be held at the Majestic Theater in Madison, Wisconsin, this Saturday Oct. 18, from 12-6pm. Unfortunately, the Zine Machine won't be able to go this year, but we had a lot of fun at the last one, held in 2006, and will plan ahead for next year.

SF Zine Fest

2008-07-17T07:06:00.001-07:00

Just a note to our West Coast friends - San Francisco Zine Fest is this weekend, don't miss it! What an amazing line up they have this year, with special guests Cindy Crabb ("Doris") and Vanessa Davis ("Spaniel Rage"), along with workshops like bookbinding and screenprinting. Also, this year they're partnering with Mission Creek Music & Arts Festival, so take a break from zines and go listen to some music for a while too. Go to their website for all the details -San Francisco Zine Fest.

Good news, bad email

2008-07-09T07:43:00.000-07:00

The good news is, we're moving back into the library this afternnon! I'm not sure when it'll be opened up to the general public, but this is definitely exciting, considering how many campus buildings are closed indefinitely. As far as I know, the flood waters didn't reach the first floor of the library so the Zine Machine is high and dry. Hooray for dry, un-moldy zines!

(This is how the book were moved upstairs, before we were all locked out.)

It's also been brought to my attention that emails to info@zinemachine.org have been bouncing back. I was wondering why no one's been writing to us! Anyways, that email account has always sucked so we're switching to zinemachine@gmail.com. They're being forwarded to this gmail account already, but soon we will cancel the info@zinemachine.org account completely.

We've received a few new submissions for the Zine Machine this summer, and keep them coming in - we won't restock the machine until late summer/early fall, but they will definitely make their way into the machine. Here are 2 to look forward to, from Art for a Democratic Society:

Iowa City flood

2008-06-15T12:42:00.000-07:00

The Zine Machine is temporarily inaccessible due to the closing of the UI Main Library as a precaution against possible flooding. The building is protected by walls of sandbags, and now we'll just have to wait and see how high the water gets. The word is that it might flood in the basement, but is unlikely to reach the first floor (where the vending machine is). I'll keep you posted.

The parking lot behind the library (the English/Philosophy Bldg is on the right). The river usually ends on the *other* side of that row of trees on the upper left.

The swollen river behind the library, the Burlington Street bridge in the distance.

Summer of zines

2008-04-23T08:57:00.001-07:00

Here's a more complete list of zine events that'll keep you busy until the frost returns:

April 27 London Zine Symposium (London, UK)
May 17-18 Vilnius Zine Fest (Vilnius, Lithuania)
May 24 Houston Zine Fest (Houston, Texas USA)
May 31 Denver Zine Fest (Denver, Colorado USA)
June 1 Olympia Zine Potluck (Olympia, Washington USA)
July 12-13 Twin Cities Zine Fest (Minneapolis, MN USA)
July 18-20 Milwaukee zine fest (Milwaukee, WI USA)
August 23-24 Portland Zine Symposium (Portland, Oregon USA)
September Philly Zine Fest (Philidaelphia, PA USA)
October Canzine (Toronto, ON & Halifax, NS Canada)
November Expozine (Montreal, QC Canada)

Also, we have great news from John Porcellino that his new book Thoreau at Walden came out April 22nd, in hardcover (the paperback edition will be released May 2009). Get more info on this and his other releases at King-Cat Comics.

now, get back to stapling!

Back up again!

2008-04-20T13:59:00.000-07:00

The Zine Machine is up and running again, and has been updated with new zines (even though the website hasn't yet). Come by for a visit.

Some nearby Zine Fests coming up this summer:
Denver Zine Fest (May 31, 2008)

Twin Cities Zine Fest (July 12 & 13, 2008)
Milwaukee Zine Fest (July 18-20, 2008)

For our international zinesters, don't forget to check out The London Zine Symposium next week.

Machine Malfunction

2008-03-10T07:24:00.000-07:00

The Zine Machine has been malfunctioning lately, having some difficulty accepting money. There are new zines in it, from Bob Lipski, Scott Smith, and Possibility Space among others (the site hasn't been updated), but for now just admire them through the glass and hold on to your hard-earned money. We'll let you know when it's up and running again.

Zine Reading photos

2007-11-10T19:01:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone who came out to Zine Machine's first ever Zine Reading - it was a sweet night. We heard readings from Cody G., Natasha B-R., John G., Christina M., and me, Jessica W. To top it all off, John Porcellino told us about his long journey with King-Cat Comics. Here are some pictorial highlights:

Zine Reading

2007-11-10T18:56:00.002-08:00

You are cordially invited to our very first Zine Reading! It will take place on October 16th, at the White Rabbit (in Iowa City), from 7-9pm. We're still looking for readers, so email us if you're interested in reading your own zine (or you can even read someone else's). If you're too shy to read, just show up and hang out for a while. We'll even have snacks and drinks.

Portland Zine Symposium, June 2007

2007-11-10T18:56:00.001-08:00

Start making plans to go to this year's Portland Zine Symposium, where our very very own Cody Gieselman will be teaching a workshop on Comic Journaling!

Going to NYC - December 2006

2007-11-10T18:54:00.000-08:00

It's such an exhibitionist!
The Zine Machine will put itself on display this week at NYC's Center for Book Arts as a part of Gary Frost's class on preservation and conservation of prints and books. Print lives on!

Zine Workshop, November 2006

2007-11-10T18:04:00.000-08:00

The Zine Machine's Zine Workshop was a good time all around. We had about 9 people show up throughout the afternoon, and with everyone's contributions, we finished with a 16 page zine full of writing, drawings, and collaged images. It's one of the most unusual and eclectic zines I've ever seen, and it reflects a little bit of everyone involved.

Thanks to the Arts Iowa City Gallery for letting us use their space and thanks to all the participants for making it fun. Check back for another workshop down the road!

Madison Zine Fest, October 2006

2007-11-10T17:16:00.000-08:00

10/2006 - We had a great time at the Madison Zine Fest. Thanks to Michelle Downer for organizing everything. We made lots of trades and met lots of good people. Here are some photos: