ALL ABOUT MAKING LOVE (All About Fucking #10) Hell, and just as the series was reaching its peak; a couple of lines at the very end of All About Making Love not only identify it as All About Fucking #10 but also as “The Last Hurrah! The Big To-Do! The Final Fucking Farewell!” (sob!) Well, at least they go out in style, filling 88 pages full of sex-related strangeness. A “Genital Rodeo” starts it out in fumetti style, there are a number of “Little-Known Sexual Practices” illustrated by editor Josh Simmons (“The Ghost,” “Flibbing,” “The Donkey Punch,” “The Ninja,” and “The Houdini”), and on a related note Patrick Godfrey explains “For the Last Time . . .” the difference between a “Cleveland Steamer,” a “Hot Karl,” and a “Filthy Sanchez” (thanks Josh & Pat!); Mike Diana presents a disastrous example of “Mirror Love”; Nick Jeffrey documents an example of squirrel sex (“Ha ha ha . . . you fuckin’ whore!”); there’s some old-timey Tijuana Bible action; Hans Rickheit contributes some of his usual fineness; James Callahan explains “All About Fucking . . . YOURSELF! Fuckface!” (“Eat a bag of dicks.”); Corky & Sweet Tits appear in the spoogy “Manna Tyme”; meister Simmons himself draws up a truly twisted page of carcass sex; and there’s a whole bunch more packed into these pink-wrapped pages. C’mon, sweetheart, after all, it’s All About Making Love. And it just might be the last time . . . * * * * Contact: happyjoshsimmons@yahoo.com

	AMERICANJISM Book Three The final installment of Joe Denny’s 252-page Americanjism comix saga continues the strange, strange story of Pastor Don’s dysfunctional family and their ever-increasing spiral of decline. As always sin is the order of the day, whether it comes in the form of a messiah complex, incest, a dose of Americrack, or some good old-fashioned dirty fucking, Americanjism’s got it in spades. Hamburgers and surrealism, nuclear missiles and a talking penis, dirty diapers, dismemberment and more all combine in a conclusion so fucking strange I can’t tell if there’s a message here or just a load of random weirdness. The story really does defy description, so it’s probably best you pick it up and figure it out for yourself. Available as a set of red, white & blue books in an acetate cover, it’s a better bargain to pick all three up at once rather than collecting them individually. * * * $15.00 for Books 1-3, $10.00 individually from Pipe Dream Comics c/o Joe Denny – www.americanjism.com – P.O. Box 432, Sag Harbor, NY  11963

	ATOMISER #1 Hot on the heels of the final Sick Puppy comes the first issue of its successor Atomiser, and Stratu and crew do not disappoint; this is no highbrow softcore attempt at going mainstream, just the taking of a slightly different direction in the underground scheme of things. Each of the planned thirteen issues of Atomiser is to have a singular theme addressed by the artists and writers contained therein, and the theme for this first issue is “Ancient.” History and legend are captured here in a number of ways, from a raunchy comix format (such as the Hustler humor of Doug Iannucci’s “Stan and Edna Nats Meet Archimedes,” Mike Diana’s story of ancient sea life attaining a bloody and cum-spattered revenge in “Return to Water,” and “Degrees of Separation” between Anton Emdin’s cave dwellers), to more prophetic strips like Boz’ “The Pox,” Martin Humphrey’s crude but arousing fatalistic bedtime story “The Ancient Ones,” and Glenno’s timely comparison “Nothing’s Changed.” Josh Simmons and David Aronson also contribute some arresting imagery, while on a bit more serious and contemplative note are Gregory Mackay’s illustrated piece on Marfan’s syndrome and the J Man’s story of low-income miracle working (“The Man of God”). Forget not “Toner Burn,” the column that will introduce you to the latest independent publications by Atomiser’s contributors and others (you’re gonna need The Alchemical Wedding, Pure Evil, Bizarrism, Human Dog Pound, Timeless: On the Prowl, Liquid Lobster Sex, Betty Paginated, Thank God It’s Ugly, All About Fuckin’, and Underground Spandex: Marvel, for starters), and the letters section eulogizing Sick Puppy. Couldn’t find a price on this limited edition (of 200), so check in with publisher Stratu at sstratu@mailcity.com for further info, cost, and availability. * * * * Rabid Publishing - www.atomiserzine.com - P.O. Box 93, Paddington, NSW 2021, Australia

	BETTY PAGINATED #30   This would be an awesome issue of BP except for one thing: it’s the last. After a decade and a half editor Dann Lennard is hanging up the title, at least for the time being. That doesn’t mean Dann’s candying out with a last gasp however; at 82 pages this issue is as fat and full (and as full of tits) as any of the previous outings. “The Comics Issue,” BP #30 contains an entire section devoted to the medium, including anecdotes and reminiscences along with cover art and panels aplenty. Select characters, artists and storylines are represented (“Archie Meets the Punisher? What the fuck?!” What the fuck, indeed!), comic artists Jerry Smith, Ben Templesmith and Martin Eden are interviewed, and getting into the spirit of the thing a number of artists contribute full-page pin-ups, including Marcel Ruijters and Stu Helm. There’s the usual glorious lot of trash, wrestling and reviews, along with numerous side articles, such as the four-pager on Bettie Page, natch, and the six-page interview with Ric Flair. Due to the size and friendliness of Betty Paginated and its editor, BP became something of a staple in the world of independent publishing; it will be truly missed. (Although Dann’s still contributing reviews to Zine World, so he’ll be neither gone nor forgotten.) * * * * $10.00 from Dann Lennard – www.bettypaginated.blogspot.com – P.O. Box A1412, Sydney South, NSW, 1235, Australia

	BP #31   This issue of BP starts off on a rather down note, with stories of lung collapse and domestic animal deaths leading into a strange detour towards perving on kiddie show hostesses. But shit straightens out and flies right from then on, with “Punter’s Cunts” being a fine change of pace from the spoiled-sports-idol-adulation we’re fed non-stop here in the States as it bashes various members of the Aussie Test cricket team, lining up photos of certain players over the legend, “All of these men are cunts.” Highlights in this issue include a great piece on Mark “Chopper” Read (what? no interview?!), a pair of articles on Mickey Rourke, including a wall-worthy Angel Heart-era photo portrait of the man (say what you will, that and Barfly are two of the greatest movies ever), and for those keen on Ozploitation a rave review of the documentary Not Quite Hollywood that names a host of worthy films and actors to look up, this being aptly followed by an inspiring interview with Mad Max stuntman Grant Page, veteran of numerous other Aussie flicks (and accidents). There’s a bunch of stuff about comic books that moves between touting rare gems and bashing certain plagiarists, an interesting piece on hardcore (literally) wrassler Chris Colt, publisher Dann Lennard engages in a “Great Rasslin’ Babes Butt Debate” with Stately Wayne Manor, and a surprising set of wildly favorable reviews for Lady GaGa. And “Fuck Australia Day.” Oh yeah, you also get “Pot Pourri: Random Shit ‘N’ Stuff.” Another damn fine issue, as always. What the fuck else did you expect? * * * * P.O. Box A1412, Sydney South, NSW, 1235, Australia danhelen@idx.com.au / www.bettypaginated.blogspot.com

	BP #32   Unstoppable force of nature Dann Lennard steps into the ring yet again with this latest issue of the long -running BP (Betty Paginated). And as with all previous issues, #32 is packed to the tits with wrestling, comics, music, celebrity, and, of course, tits. Highlights this round include multi-talented covergirl Amanda Fucking Palmer, and although there's no interview (eh, she's got a blog somewhere) there are some glorious topless unshaved photos; “Scratch Yet Fuckin' Cock! The World's Least Likeliest Punk Attends a Murder Junkies Gig”; guest writer Stately Wayne Manor contributes the fine essay “Bless You, Scream Queens, Wherever You Are” (bonus: full frontal shot of Linnea Quigley); there's an ode to “Devil Woman” Tura Satana; “Bob Guccione: From Penthouse to the Outhouse”; and the amusing two-part “Great Feuds of Our Time”: Tila Tequila vs. the Juggalos and Jessi Slaughter vs. the 4Chan Trolls. It ain't all gold, as I still fail to understand Dann's fondness for Lady Gaga (I still think that's a man, baby!), and while well-informed some of the numerous comics articles didn't really do it for me (although the interview with gay porn superhero comic artist Patrick Fillion was a unique one). But throughout, Lennard's extensive experience in journalism shines through, allowing for clear, concise articles that leave plenty of room for pictures. Of nekkid wimmen. All told, the majority of these 50+ pages make BP more than interesting enough to drag it away from the top of the toilet tank and into the living room where it will easily supplant whatever crap you've got playing on television. * * * * $10.00 or trade from Dann Lennard - P.O. Box A1412, Sydney South, NSW, 1235, Australia danhelen@idx.com.au / www.bettypaginated.blogspot.com

	BLACK PETALS #58  The “Mars-News, Views and Commentary” single-sheet (double-sided on colored paper), this Winter, 2012 issue takes a different look at seasonal lore by discussing the Greek legend of the Callicantzaro, vampiric entities whose curse is said to fall to those born between December 25 and January 6. Krampus is also mentioned, and there are some brief book recommendations as well (Christmas Traditions and Customs, Encyclopedia of Vampire Mythology). Chris also has an art gallery at http://chris.michaelherring.net; check it out! * *  Chris Friend – mars_art_13@yahoo.com

	BLACKGUARD #1 The sick creative minds behind Sick Puppy return with a brand new anthology of international underground artwork, Blackguard. Professionally printed with full-color covers (Anton Emdin on front, Mike Diana on back), the first issue is the “Religious Crazies” issue. Ross Radiation brings us “Charlie Christ,” Max Black presents “The Guru’s Origin: Shoko Asahara & Aum Shinrikyo,” Neale Blanden tells the miracle story “He’s Grouse!” while Doug Iannucci goes the other direction with “Devil” (as well as contributing other humorous comix strips such as “Freddy Freehand” [“Oh, shit!”]), special mystery artist “Hugo” tells the terrible tale of “The Cannibal Cult!” as Mannheim Jerkoff and Cristina Fabris team up for the sexual sacrifice of “Submission,” Chris Mikul’s “The Adventures of the Little Pebble” is the cartoon fable of religious delusion and sexual exploitation, and SCAR goes to Hell with “Imp Terror Belle.” Gerard Ashworth, Julie Doye, David Puckeridge, Khe Sanh and Glenn Smith all make appearances as well. The quality of the artwork is generally very good, but it is variable. Some of the strips are clean and quite funny, while others are sketchy and hard to follow. But the majority of the material here is entertaining, and Blackguard definitely fills a much-needed gap in the underground art world. Issue number two is already underway… * * * $7.00 (+ postage?) from P.O. Box 93, Paddington NSW 2021, Australia blackguard23.livejournal.com                                      sstratu@gmail.com

	BLACKGUARD #2 The theme of this perfect-bound 52-page color/B&W international underground comix anthology is “Father,” and something like 20 different artists provide their take on the pater familias. Dexter Cockburn’s “Pop Joins the Adventure Club” is a good old-fashioned cartoon-style strip about camping, full of sex, violence and misunderstanding; D. Rat’s “Chimp Dad” is an icon unto himself (“I am lord GOD all-fuckin’ MIGHTY!”); “Our Father Who Art in Heaven” is an excellent and highly detailed double-pager by Glenn Smith that uses fictional (Papa Smurf, Getafix) and criminal (Jim Jones, Josef Fritzl) examples of father figures to deconstruct the role of fatherhood; Anton Emdin’s “Deadbeat Dad” strips are so sharp they look almost animated; in the same vein SCAR takes a different approach to their work, trading the intricately etched monsters for which they’re most well known for the smooth social commentary of “Mr. Bumthania Loses Face”; you know exactly what to expect from Mike Diana’s “Daddy’s Girl”; Ryan Vella’s “Father’s Footsteps” is a super-detailed jungle nightmare; “Homecoming,” written by Henry L. Racicot and illustrated by Doug Iannucci, is one of the creepiest things I’ve seen in a while; and don’t neglect the back cover advertisement for “Sea-Junkies” (“Own a BOWLFULL OF CRAPPINESS – Instant STRESS!”). But perhaps one of the best features is a seven-page “Comix & Zine Reviews” section: independent publications from all over (but mostly from Down Under) are given thorough reviews, and most of them look to be well worth sending away for. This is a limited printing of 250 copies, and although I’m not sure how much this sick puppy costs it is definitely worth getting in touch with editor Stratu (see email address below) to see how you can get your sticky fingers on one of these fine books. Fucking great, this is. * * * * P.O. Box 93, Paddington NSW 2021, Australia blackguard23.livejournal.com                                      sstratu@gmail.com

	BLACKGUARD #4: FEAR This is the kind of thing I live for: a well-produced comix book with over 20 international contributors. This being “The FEAR Issue,” the xerographic ghost of Barbara Steele shows up in Pteri Dacht-Ullman’s “Phobophobia”; SCAR provides a glimpse into a martyr’s hell worthy of the Greek epics in “Virgin on the Ridiculous”; “Afraid of Nuthin’” by Julie is all too apt (“End nothing now!”); Dexter Cockburn’s weenie-packed “Afraid?” and “Ching-Chong Charlie Chop-Chop” had me laughing out loud at their inappropriate antics; loved the “Mr. Potato Man Massacre” by Glenn Smith; Mel Stringer’s “Fear Not” drawing was schoolbook scary-good; Ryan Vella’s “Scaredy Cats” is well-drawn, gross and funny (“She looks like a superhero.” “Or a prostitute.”); Adam Pasion’s “The Toys of Caliban” is sharp and spooky; and for a change of pace there’s Damian McDonad’s hardcore pulp Fear fiction “Waiting for the Meat.” And to frost it all are pages of zine reviews. Yes! (But, what, no postal contacts for all of ‘em? Oh wait, Stratu even addresses that issue as well.) Styles range from professional illustrations to classic underground comix to the grossly childish, and every one is enjoyable to witness. I just hope this late review isn’t so late that you’ve missed your chance to score one of the limited edition of 200 copies… Either way, contact Stratu and gauge your chances for this Blackguard or the next. * * * * Contact Stuart Stratu – sstratu@gmail.com – P.O. Box 35, Marrickville, NSW 2204, Australia – http://blackguard23.livejournal.com

	BRAIN CELL 850 A truly impressive decades-long mail art project, BRAIN CELL collects the art and insignia of collaborators from around the globe and assembles them on a handsome 11”x17” spreadsheet in a multi-colored stamp and print collage. The overall effect is impressive, providing a map of activity from over a dozen countries. On top of this, each ‘issue’ comes with a complete contact list of the contributors with a simple note from the producer on the reverse. “I sometimes devise logotypes and visual poetry, and when completed, I feel satisfied with it.” Can’t sum it up better than that. I’m not overly familiar with the protocol for mail art, but if you send yours there’s a good chance for inclusion (you can find Planarian Liberation Army mixed into this and past BRAIN CELLs). * * * * Ryosuke Cohen – www.ryosukecohen.com/board/top.html 3-76-1-A-613, Yagumokitacho, Moriguchi-City, Osaka 570, Japan

	LE CARREFOUR DES MORTS A handsome and curious little book of prints in various colors from “The Crossroads of Death.” Largely having the quality of enigmatic old world engravings, some having captions (in French), others standing alone, these aren’t quite tattoo designs and not quite calling cards… or are they? Almost a visual lottery, I’m not sure what the distribution status or price of this artifact is but it’s very definitely a limited edition. * * * Contact Benjamin Monti through Facebook for information

	CHARNEL HOUSE Vol. 2 No. 2 - By SCAR The unstoppable underground publishers SCAR return to the arena with another helping of sci-fi sex & death comix, Charnel House #2. First up is “Imp Terror Belle,” an afterlife apparition who materializes as a sadistic devilish succubus to pay back the ill deeds of a damned man; “Head Job” graphically warns of the dangers of going after a little interplanetary poontang (beware the Octosirens in heat!); “Walking the Dog” is a detailed series of panels depicting vivisection, surgical procedures, and antique medical instruments; and “Whacky Spakki the Space Siren” (“I’m ev’ry space-cowboy’s luscious dreamboat, and don’t you know it!”) stars in “Mandate Rape,” in which the dangerous extraterrestrial slattern goes after her favorite kind of man-meat. Each tale is a gory one, Steve Carter and Antoinette Rydyr leaving no precious bodily fluid unspilled as they craft their fables of lust. SCAR has an immense number of titles to their name, so if you haven’t already get in touch with them for a list of their many releases. * * * $5.00 from Steve Carter’s Comic Nasties – P.O. Box 312, Greenacre, NSW 2190, Australia

	CINEMA SEWER #19   Nearing the landmark twentieth issue, number 19 is as packed to the tits with rich creamy sleaze as any of its predecessors. Robin crafts a loving retrospective to pornographer Roger Watkins and interviews icon Vanessa Del Rio; D.J. Bryant provides incredibly detailed panels to Bougie’s piece on The Fake Detective, “Bogus Celebrity Nudes Revealed!” while Anton Bogaty provides spot drawings to Robin’s interview with “alt porn” director Eon McKal and Dag Pehoe illustrates XXX-Rated Murder: The Death of Natel King”; and I couldn’t agree more when Robin says, “Yay! It’s time for a filthy comic from Josh Simmons!”: “Celebrities Fucking” (Woo-Hoo!). Juicy! Great fucking cover, too. (By Karl Wills, www.comicbookfactory.net) * * * $5.00 + age statement from Robin Bougie – mindseye100@hotmail.com – #320-440 East 5th Ave., Vancouver BC, V5T-1N5, Canada

	CINEMA SEWER #24   Cinema Sewer continues to set the standard for hard copy sleaze flick journalism. Still crafted almost entirely by hand (with the addition of fitting stills, cover and poster art) by Robin Bougie and a pack of rabidly talented associates, CS is crammed with articles and reviews about rare, underground, pornographic and just plain fucking weird pieces of film, for fun, documentary purposes, or both. Hooker cinema (Streetwalkin’, Hookers on Davie), milestones of depravity (Graphic Sexual Horror, “How Hal Freeman Filmed Some Girls Getting Fucked in the Ass, and Managed to Legalize Pornography While Doing It”), XXX biographies (“Ginger Snatch: A Childhood Spent Smitten with Miss Lynn,” the apparently ill-advised Shauna: Every Man’s Fantasy), Cocksucker Blues, punk rock (The Decline of Western Civilization, Suburbia [“Ho de do! Ho de do!”]), and much more are covered with literacy and discernment. And it’s all chock-full of dirty pictures and drawings produced by and for patrons of fine filth such as yourself. Well put together, too: professionally printed on quality paper with full color covers. Guaranteed to make you spend more time in the bathroom than you need to. (“MOM…!”) * * * * $4.00 (+ age statement) from Robin Bougie – www.cinemasewer.com / http://bougieman.livejournal.com #320-440 East 5th Ave., Vancouver, B.C., V5T-1N5, Canada

	CINEMA SEWER #25    Cinema Sewer #25: As the Bougie Man himself sez, “Hot Dog”! The latest issue of this comic-sized digest of video degeneracy starts out strong with a heavy (un)healthy interest in “Camp Atrocities: Nazi Exploitation and Death Camp Horrors” by David Hinds, which takes on the exhaustive task of summarizing 22 said video atrocities, with copious illustrations by publisher Robin Bougie and sleazy promotional graphics aplenty. There's the daredevil article (no, not the blind-ass Ben Affleck kind, the bitchin' Evel Knievel kind) “Breakneck Thrills: Incredible Daredevil Documentaries”, bits on Youngblood, The Legend of the Orgasm Bike (!), Tokyo Decadence, La Femme Objet, Bare Behind Bars (!Viva la Pornochanchada!), Monkey Hustle, Sunset Strip (by Mr. Robert Dayton), The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik Yak, and more, more, more! (Including “The Flintstones Made Me an Alcoholic!!” by Mike Sullivan.) As always, CS is written with the discerning eyes of those who have glazed over many, many a questionable film, all accompanied by buttloads of Bougie's super-tight naughty pictures (joined this time by guest artist Ben Newman) and incredibly neat handwriting (not only does he craft dozens of keen drawings for each issue, but he also hand-letters every page!). If you don't find something worth checking out here, well, then, I suggest you head down to the local Greyhound station and crawl around under the benches in search of Jack Chick tracts. Cheers! * * * * $4.00 (+ postage; see http://cinemasewer.ecrater.com/p/13880339/cinema-sewer-25-exploitation-movie-zine) from Robin Bougie – www.cinemasewer.com – mindseye100@hotmail.com

	The Cleft By Dick Wegmans               I didn’t know they even made books like this anymore. But thanks to Wagons of Sin Press, if you’re looking for seriously smutty pulp fetish action The Cleft is the place to be. And it’s all about exactly what the title implies: that plumber’s crack slice of heaven, the shadowy recess of the female ass crack. Author Dick Wegmans, a philosophy professor on the side, delves into this fragrant arena with true authoritarian obsession as he details the single-minded pursuit of this musky pot of gold through the eyes of first-person protagonist Richard Wiggons, who risks everything for his idea of El Dorado.             Spurned by society and its mores, Wiggons is infallibly unrepentant as he savors the hunt, the sight, and, most importantly, the “huff” of prime cleft. Following an out-of-control orgy of cleftmania at a Gap outlet that ends with panic, arson and flight from authorities, Wiggons hits the rails and meets up with Arcadia Slim, a seasoned huffer himself. No stranger to the shady side of life, Slim takes Wiggons on as an apprentice of sorts, and together the two dicey characters make a run for the bad land of Nuevo Laredo in search of the ideal score. But not without first relieving a certain Porno Pete of a certain laptop that Slim assures Wiggons is a golden ticket to an easy future.             And from there on things get weird. Think Bukowski writing a more adult episode of Family Guy, sponsored by Larry Flynt with a soundtrack supplied by The Jesus Lizard. Much criminal activity takes place, all of it on the wrong side of wrong (and that ain’t right), leading up to the legendary yet secretive “Noche de la Cientos Asscracks.” But that momentous ass-casion is itself but a stage for the wicked play-out of rip-offs, double-crosses and revenge that follows as heinous plans are laid and led astray for ass and men. It’s a veritable battle for the Huffster empire with the cleft mafia, and nothing about it is pretty.             Perversion, profanity, sex, violence, drugs (the term ‘crack cocaine’ takes on a whole new meaning here), gunplay, larceny, all fit in around the many “assventures” our anti-heroes partake in, all spun out in a wash of blunt yet vivid detail that showcases the author’s wild imagination throughout this uncivilized set of scenarios. Wegmans truly has a knack for sculpting colorful deformities on the printed page, and his work glows with a certain sweaty sheen ideal for reflecting the neon glow of bad places that hold the incandescent attraction of bug lights shaped like night club marquees. The writing style is hard-boiled, dirty, and most definitely down, like a vintage dimestore novel dragged through the glory hole of a peep show bathroom and into the ugly techno-glare of the 21st century. It’s a page-turner alright, even if it’s not exactly to your, ahem, taste.             Granted, The Cleft is more than a little relentless in its all-out crack-headed frenzy, but that mania is the entire point. With its redundant obsession regarding the “buttgully,” The Cleft is practically the American Psycho of asscrack. Just replace the designer clothing with a variety of south slides. And leave out the Habitrail. Or not…             Here’s hoping W.O.S. Press releases enough of these sick pocket-sized puppies to stock on their own rack anyplace that carries beer, nudie mags and pork rinds. (And it is perfectly sized to fit the ass-pocket of your jeans, so you can walk around downtown with the blue title sticking out, making the squares wonder what The Cleft is all about.)             “So sue me.             “I like cleft.” * * * * $7.00 postage-paid ($8.00 Canada/Mexico, $9.00 elsewhere outside U.S.) from Mulnix - eddiemulnix.blogspot.com / wospress@gmail.com  - P.O. Box 29753, Los Angeles, CA  90027

	CLOVERLEAF - By Jacob Lambert MAD Magazine writer Jacob Lambert’s “first in a series of self-contained stories,” Cloverleaf puts an interesting spin on the fatal absorption of the American Indian by the white man’s consumer culture. And, admirably, does so without being at all preachy or overly moralistic, instead allowing a pair of successive plot twists to wrap up the piece in a wise and darkly comic way. Lambert’s style is generally clean and tight, and readily identifiable as his own, and while the volume may seem a bit slim at $2.95 for 24 pages, the printing is stout and the covers are in full color. It’ll be interesting to see what happens in future issues (for more info go to www.JacobLambert.com). * * * $2.95 from Baboon Books – www.BaboonBooks.com

	THE CONSTANT RIDER #7 The latest hip pocket zine from Oregon’s “Public Transportation Front” does justice to said Front with an opening “Celebrity Sightings” article; the celebrities being TriMet bus drivers, unusual fellow commuters and the like (Hello Kitty). There’s a piece about annoying co-passengers on an airline and a review that, rightfully, rips into stuffy fellow bus-rider/author Irma Kurtz. This issue even boasts a few cartoon/illustrations by Crappy Comics’ Tim Root. All in all a rather friendly little thing. And although in a brief forward Kate mentions selling out, this doesn’t really seem to be the case at all – the zine is as forthright and charming as ever. * * * ? from Kate Lopresti – www.constantrider.com – P.O. Box 6753, Portland, OR, 97228-6753

	A DANGEROUS GAME #I & II This is quite the package – two issues of A Dangerous Game doubled up into one fat publication. Issue one is “The Music Issue,” and it boasts “000 Record Reviews” in order to fill pages with friendly and colorful interviews with the likes of Wolf Eyes, The Locust, Total Shutdown, The Curtains, Savage Republic (a little too short and self-conscious (on the part of the band)), Magic Band/Beefheart man John French, Andre Connors of Tumult Laboratories and Marco Eneidi, and a stack of four others are compiled into a piece called “Brutal-Prog Revisited.” There are some brief movie reviews too. The flipside, “The Metal Issue,” sports chats with “Bay Area Gore Metal Masters” Impaled, Exhumed, Entombed, Nile and Lamb of God. Also featured are interviews with Isis, Godflesh, Dan Swano, Sigh and Nandor Nevi. Plus, personal ad booby traps. I’m generally not a big fan of band interviews, regardless of whether I’ve heard the band or not, but there was a lot of fun shit in here that covers a truly broad range of musical ground (when was the last time you saw John French and Exhumed in the same pub?). There are a shitload of interesting references worth following up on as well; I’m already looking for Dead Boy and the Elephant Men (Dax Riggs) and Curse of the Golden Vampires (Justin Broadrick). ADG does have a pretty sparse and choppy layout, but the publisher admits as much and there’s nothing at all wrong with substance over style. If you’re into any of the aforementioned shit, meaning if you slide into the musical spectrum anywhere between art-fag and headbanger, check this one out. * * * $3.00 (+ postage?) from Will York – wwyork@gmail.com

	DEHONDENKOEKJESFABRIEK Embudagonn 108 / Truck Van Rental The latest crazed release from Dehondenkoekjesfabriek consists of a wild square art booklet and CD, both featuring the work of Dutch noise/artist Monobrain (performing as Truck Van Rental (I think)) and Japanese madman Koh Kasahara (performing as Embudagonn108), all packaged in a polished little presentation kit. Between the book’s full-color covers are stoned-looking collaborative jam drawings as well as what appear to be individual pieces, ranging from careless scribbles and scrawls to scary and intricate LSD monsters; sex and violence run together on nearly every page, funny dangerous animals screw and play (keep an eye out for “nazi frog”), defects of sex and birth appear regularly, and there are even a few lines of bad-tripped poetry/prose. Beautifully creepy and intense in points, the entire booklet screams out “DRUGS!!!” The “music” is a spooky experimental mishmash wherein the two sound acts trade off tracks, although each “band” sounds very similar as they produce electronic squeals, burbles, and throbbing headaches that crawl out of the electronic aetheric miasma to provide the perfect soundtrack for running down asylum hallways in the midst of a total freakout. (Fuck me, is that the sound of a retard having sex with a monkey on a vibrating bed?! And then bragging and farting about it to his inbred friends during an accordion-led back porch party?). To quote the mighty Rupture, “I’m havin’ a fuckin’ flashback!” * * * * Monobrain - P.O. Box 68, 7700AB, Dedemsvaart, Netherlands Embudagonn 108 – yellow_slug@k8.dion.ne.jp - 203 Takizawa Bld. 1-15-8 Kojima, Taito Tokyo, 111-0056, Japan

	THE BEST OF DIE FAT PIGGY DIE!! By John Utjsen   200+ pages of Johnno's early zine DFPD!!, collected into a perfect-bound paperback tome now in its third printing(!). Some of this material goes back as far as '89, back before the Internet, like some gigantic pod, replaced the drive more people used to have for creating and distributing their artistic endeavors by hand and hard mail. In the noble zine tradition there's a wad of original material here from the prolific and multi-talented Johnno, along with some art and writing from various contributors, pieces culled from other sources, rants, fiction, and the like. Tales of dog-fuckers and satanic con artists, comix, letters from GG Allin and Jello Biafra, trucking tales, and loads of other shit. Also in the zine tradition much of the material is pretty raw: some of the reproduction quality isn't the best, further obscured in some cases by being laid out over a background that makes it even more indistinct; there are way too many quotes (THREE sections on Oscar Wilde?!?); some of the lifestyle guidelines can seem a little preachy; and there's a buttload of spelling, grammatical and punctuation errors. But that's part of the joy of independent publishing: no editor or proofreader leaning over your shoulder. DIY, baby! * *  Johnno Zee, P.O. Box 1636, Springfield, MO, 65801 (See www.CountZee.com for pricing and shipping details.)

	DUST & DESSERT – No. 01: The Red Issue The love child of design collective White Walls Studio, Dust & Dessert is a very handsomely and professionally produced journal featuring the art, writing and photography of kindred souls around the world. This first, “The Red Issue,” concerns desire, battles, fetishes, urgency, erotica and meat in what the editors call a “pilgrimage to tenderness”… Yet somehow it’s not quite as visceral as its list of attributes might indicate. Digging in one finds poetry, literary excerpts, juxtapositions, and photographs that lean toward the fashion/gallery point of view. And the quality, well, varies. There’s a certain staged intimacy at work here, a driven effort toward romanticism that makes a demand of the viewer to pay heed to the desperate melodrama of bleeding hearts: Freud gets dug up a number of times, many of the photos come in ‘artistic’ focus, and the academic often outweighs the lyrical for a product that comes off somewhat more distant than might have been the intention. Perhaps a nice gift for the college girlfriend – particularly if you’re a girl – but probably not everyone’s cup of tea. * * White Walls Studio – whitewallsstudio@gmail.com – www.whitewallsstudio.com

	DUST & DESSERT – No. 04: The Green Issue “The Internal and External Landscape” is the theme of this volume, a broad spectrum indeed. Here it is explored through fashion photos and oddly-exposed landscapes punctuated with cribbings of poetry and quotations. There’s some PhotoShopping, some homoerotica, some artwork, some dude wandering around in the woods naked and toting a fox pelt, and STATEMENTS. More bleak than inspiring, but if you collect all eight of these they’re sure to nicely pad the gap on your bookshelf library set aside for Yearning; Artsy, Romantic. * * White Walls Studio – whitewallsstudio@gmail.com – www.whitewallsstudio.com

	DYING FOR THE TRUTH UNDERCOVER INSIDE THE MEXICAN DRUG WAR By The Fugitive Reporters of Blog Del Narco              People in America like to complain about conditions here. About official corruption, about police brutality, about the lack of free speech, about the pot dealers next door making too much noise. Mexico has a similar set of problems, but on a scale so much larger as to be practically otherworldly. Entire towns are held hostage by drug trafficking organizations (DTOs), the cartels, while public officials cower in their safe houses across the border; citizens are regularly killed in crossfire between various DTOs or between armed forces and cartels; censorship is enforced by torture and death; body parts are ritually piled up in public places…             Compiled by the anonymous (out of legitimate concern for their lives) reporters of Mexico’s Blog del Naco site, DYING FOR THE TRUTH is a truly frightening book. Not just for the abundantly graphic full-color true crime photographs arrayed throughout, but because it condenses an era of utter present-day terror into a deceptively compact yet alarmingly comprehensive volume. Even the inside covers, with their disaster area-style maps of death tolls, by province, throughout the exponentially escalating drug war are startling. And for Mexico this is not past tense or pulp fiction, it’s everyday.             In an attempt to provide an urgent and lasting chronicle of even a portion of the struggle for power and dominance between the various and ever-changing organizations which has been taking place for years, and to do so in a format that will both reach a wider (and hopefully more responsive) audience and make the situation known before the reporters themselves are ‘disappeared’ (from the Introduction: “We hope to be alive long enough to hold this book in our hands. It’s very hard to write that we may have been killed by the time you read this…But it’s our reality.”), DYING FOR THE TRUTH presents “A Year in the Life of the Mexican Drug War.” From March, 2010 to February, 2011, hundreds of pages report almost day-to-day atrocities throughout the country in a litany of horrors that is difficult to describe.             Along with the unspeakable violence cartel members inflict upon each other, stories of people from every walk of life being kidnapped, tortured and executed, individually and en masse, are presented. Men, women and children are murdered, people are burned alive, discovery of mass graves is not uncommon, video recordings of live decapitations are sent out as warnings, and instances of official corruption and collusion are regularly cited. At times it becomes absolutely surreal: “Meanwhile, in Tabasco, two men were found dead and dressed as clowns with notable signs of torture”; “Meanwhile, another narcomessage was found next to the decapitated body of a transsexual, who led a group of prostitutes”; human entrails are arranged to leave taunting threats; there are photographs of skinned human heads sitting on severed arms, severed genitals placed in hands… As the editors say at the very beginning, “Our country is fucked. It has been for a long time.”             It all seems like something that would make for a grisly cinematic epic if it wasn’t so overwhelmingly ongoing. In fact the lore of the DTOs has been making its way into popular culture in America, with films such as SAVAGES and shows like BREAKING BAD flirting with cartel activity while glossy magazines such as PLAYBOY present short articles on small fractions of the situation. You can even buy albums by assassinated narcocorridos (cartel ballads) singers Fabian Ortega Pinon (aka “El Halcon de la Sierra”) and Sergio “El Shaka” Vega on Amazon.             But officially the US has played a relatively minor role in the battle – except for 1994’s North American Free Trade Agreement, which has fueled the drugs for cash and guns exchange between the US and Mexico – sending (and in some cases losing) DEA agents into Mexico and providing some amount of training for Mexico’s armed forces (some of whom end up joining the cartels anyway). It seems we’ve really done very little to even try to remedy a situation growing out of control literally right next door – even when the major players, their associates, and the mutating organizations themselves are tracked and documented through reports both ‘official’ and anonymous, and sometimes even in the DTOs’ own narcomessages themselves. With a death toll approaching 100,000 in a battle for an industry that pumps billions of dollars’ worth of illegal drugs into the US, one might think the United States would be a little more proactive. But it appears our efforts are more necessary overseas; strange, that, seeing as how Mexico is one of the ten largest oil-producing nations in the world you might think the US government would consider it a better vested interest. That, and the fact that it’s actually affecting the lives of US citizens and their families on a daily basis. * * * * http://feralhouse.com/

	ENTANGLEMENT I’m not even sure if that’s the actual name of this publication, but it’s definitely worth more than a look, regardless. A finely-xerographed half-legal portfolio of ultra-dense acid-dripping artwork (with centerfold poster, yet), each page is filled with literal horror vacui that calls to mind a less-developed Henriette Valium or Nick Blinko in places. Skulls, fiendish gnomes, totems of modern culture, organs aplenty and monsters galore scamper across the fields of these pages at play that will have your eyes jumping. There’s even a fascinating article from New Scientist on spukhafte Fernwirkungen (“spooky action at a distance”) slipped in most appropriately. Check it out. * * * Contact Marios Kerpen for price/trade – marioskerpen@yahoo.com – 2116 SE Ash St., Portland, OR  97214

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