I love writing and creating cut-and-paste, typewritten zines! Here are the three I've made so far. Ordering information is at the bottom of the page.
Thermidor #1: Subvert Everything Within Reasonable Range
"Thermidor #1 opens with a quote from good old V.I. Lenin: 'only the armed people can be the real bulwark of popular liberty,' so youÍre expecting a heavy political mag, but actually, this reminds me more of my first zine, Foodbox. Like these people, I was also motivated to make a zine, originally, by my belief that my friends and I were much, much smarter than evryone around us. Round table reviews of macaroni and cheese inevitably followed, as they do in this publication, but not before the editors harrass a hapless coffee shop employee to the brink of tears. Hassling the service sector for entertainment is fun, but then, ñtraditional hipsterness as a whole has become hegemonic in and of itself,î as Kate Duffy points out later in this same issue. I wish someone had tipped me off to that back in the Foodbox days." --Al Burian, QUIMBY'S
"If anything, this zine gives a pretty good picture of college kids. The first half is silliness, recounting only slightly-more-mature-than-high-school pranks pulled on the local trendy coffeeshop and some farce. Kate's intelligent, researched essays in the second half (on Soviet film and hipster's love of kitsch) form an odd contrast. I wonder where this zine will go as it matures." -Jerianne, ZINE WORLD
Thermidor #2: We Regret to Inform You
Probably the most popular issue so far. Topics covered include "Eccentrics I Have Known", an interview with Troma Entertainment's Lloyd Kaufman, DIY zombie gore effects, creepy collages, an insane asylum patient file, frustration over suburban sprawl, Paper Napkin Theater, and a feature on Georgia's bizarre/stupid political history. Type-written, cut-and-paste, twenty-eight pages, full-sized. [$2, even though it says $1 on the inside]
"When I first picked up Thermidor, I was afraid that it was yet another garbage, over-elitist film zine or gore-fest. Those kids really piss me off. However, Thermidor is a great zine, owing much to a varied style of layout, with just as adventurous of a stylistic flair by Kate. Moving through politics, personal life, and movies with the grestest of ease, there honestly is no weak spot to be found during this issue. In a throwback to Moonlight Awakening, there is a piece in Thermidor that vividly paints with words the "Eccentrics I Have Known," which is followed up by King Eccentric, Lloyd Kaufman (Troma Movies). Lloyd and Kate discuss the masses supporting shock jocks like Howard Stern while snubbing Troma, even though a lot of the material that they pander is similar (Lloyd's answer "Howard Stern is about money.") To keep with the tone created by the Lloyd Kaufman interview, Kate follows up with a how-to about how to make zombie gore (which really seems like too much work to really want to do -- the ripping off an arm tip seems much more cost effective and fun.) Keeping with this off-the-wall tone would be a nice random collage and a file that they stole from an asylum. By far, and for some reason I really cannot put my finger on the best piece in Thermidor #2 is "Paper Napkin Theater," with its goofy art, goofy theme and goofy nature. Thermidor is a fun, solid read that is rare to find nowadays (at least since Macaroni and Fleas ended." --NEOFUTUR.COM
"This reads like a small town boredom zine. I admit I was a little wary at first--the handwritten Misfits lyrics and zombie baby skeleton on the first page kind of put me off. But this is rad and super funny. Kate makes zombie movies and gives DIY tips so you too can "rip off an arm while blood spurts out of the stump!" among other things. She interviews Lloyd Kaufman of Troma, explores abandoned mental asylums and strip joints, and bemoans the spread of suburban sprawl because it prevents her from exploring an abandoned missile base. Kate is someone who definitely knows how to create her own fun." -MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL
Thermidor #3: Cannibal Weekend
I created this issue when I was trapped indoors for two months with a broken ankle. It's filled with stories of travel to places like a voodoo village, the Mutant Fest in Washington State, South of the Border and Latvia. There's also an interview with a former cult member and a hilarious story about waitstaffing the U.S. Rangers' Ball by my pal David. Mostly typewritten, 56 pages, half-legal sized. [$2]
"I love reading zines from Philly (where I live), especially when I've never met the writer. This is a cut and paste, typed up, full of drawings DIY zine. It's mostly travel stories which actually are pretty interesting. Two though stand out more then others to me one of which is about some traditional African village down south which actually seemed really interesting and the other is about meeting crazy, creepy Russian punk type people in Latvia. It's really nice to see such an interesting and well done DIY zine without any pretension to be something arty. Personally my favorite part of the zine though is the found object section because like the author I have my own collection of super strange things that I've collected at the oil cans." -SLUG & LETTUCE
"Pretty good zine here, covers all kinds of stuff from Women's Roller Derbies, to an interview with a former cult member (really interesting), to travel stories, all done in a personal zine type approach. Well done, good layout too. Not generally my thing but certain of the better ones of that category." -MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL
Ordering Information
Please email thermidor@bearhome.net if you wish to orderly directly from me or from one of the many fine independent distros or stores which carry Thermidor.