Calton Hill

By Craig Atkinson
Publisher: Café Royal Books
Copyright: 2010, Craig Atkinson & Café Royal Books
Description:24 pages, 5½ x 8; inches, black & white, side staple binding

This photography zine is all about high contrast black and white images. There is no text outside of the copyright notice.

The book is well made. Many of the stark images are spread across the fold. (Anyone who has ever made their own zine knows how difficult it is to get a double spread to line up.) I assume that Mr. Atkinson works with film as the images of Europe that fill this zine share a strong yet bleak aesthetic, and loads of dust on their negatives.

I do like the photography, and as a picture book, I feel Calton Hill is a success. However, a little more information about the images and artist would make it more enjoyable.

Dear, Rock 'n' Roll...

By Luna Blue
Publisher: Luna Blue Art Collective
Copyright: no info
Description: 48 pages, 4¼ x 5½ inches, black & white, side staple binding

I got this awesome comic zine at last year's LA Zine Fest. It's really well drawn and written. While the printing is good the side staple binding seems to be a the limit as far as the number of pages it can hold. At the limit -- but not over -- so all is well. The story is literally a love letter to early rock and roll heroes. The letters from special guest stars contained in the story are the real star of this excellent little zine.

Catalog for "Pics by Derf the 1980's"

Photos by Derf Smurthwaite, Text by Mark Waters, Edited by Chris Johanson
Publisher: Circle-A Skate Shop
Description:32 pages, 8½ x 5½ inches, black & white, side staple binding

This zine is a catalog for an art exhibition of Derf Smuthwaite's photography. The one page of text explains that Derf took the photos for fun and with no great documentary ambitions. The book is nicely printed and since I suspect that not all the images were perfectly exposed in the first place, the occasional image quality problem is forgivable. The photos are artfully done and the images well curated. Some of them are double page spreads. I paid only $4 for my copy and it is well worth it for the peek into 1980s San Jose skate culture.

Today is a Blog Post Waiting to be Written

By Robart Blair
Publisher: txtbooks.us
Description:12 pages, 7¼ x 5 inches, Red ink on off-white paper, side staple binding

This short zine has one saying per page set in large red type. Its subtitle is Mantras for Our Generation, though it doesn't name a specific generation. The mantras are more funny than thought provoking but they are well done and they make this a really fun read. Once you're done with it, you could always pass this zine off to a friend who needs a quick laugh.