ZINE QUICKIES #2 - WE CAN COLLECT THE KEYS - A LOST FUTURES ZINE | THE EARLHAM REVIEW #8

 

TITLE - WE CAN COLLECT THE KEYS | A LOST FUTURES ZINE 

A5/24 PAGES/FULL COLOUR/PERFECT BOUND

PRICE - £10.00 + SHIPPING FROM EXIT PRESS

"We Can Collect The Keys" is the launch title in Exit Press' new series of single story "mini editions". It follows their ongoing zine "Lost Futures" (read my review of issue 3 here ). Written by Clive Judd and illustrated by Patrick Wray, it is a modern tale told in stream of consciousness, set during the pandemic, as Judd prepares to move to Birmingham with his partner. He packs cardboard boxes, takes walks, drinks beer, gets married and contemplates the "ghosts" we leave behind when we move to new places. Invoking Philip K. Dick's concept of parallel universes, and with time becoming increasingly fluid during lockdown, Judd experiences a familiar street seem to change its appearance. The story is mind-expanding yet very resonant and human - this is a world of shuttered pubs, payday loans and the pandemic. Patrick Wray's artwork is at turns both melancholy and joyful, and is the perfect accompaniment to the text. A bulletin from a lost future, maybe, but one with a hopeful ending. 

TITLE - THE EARLHAM REVIEW No. 8

A4/20 PAGES/BLACK & WHITE 

PRICE - £5.00 + SHIPPING FROM THE EARLHAM REVIEW (ALL ISSUES STILL AVAILABLE, SO TAKE PITY ON THEM AND BUY THEM ALL)

 

From a parallel universe (and the bonkers mind of Tim Cook) where the profane lovechild of Viz comic and The St. Cleve Chronicle (spot the reference) was left unattended with a pair of scissors comes "The Earlham Review", a newspaper of spurious stories, rude television schedules ("Take Me Cliff Richard") and possibly actionable small ads. The funny yet slightly provocative front cover features a self-colour Ukrainian flag, offering a hint of the anarchic comedy within. "Behind The Facts" informs us that Terry Wogan liked the sound of stretch covers but couldn't really be bothered, and "Reception FM 89.1"'s playlist replicates the usual timeline of all wedding receptions with uncanny insight, from the creepy uncle to that dance where everyone sits on the floor pretending to row a boat. There are little touches of genius - I mean, tiny...you'll be poring over it with a magnifying glass for weeks, bemoaning your failing eyesight - on every page: "As they drove out of Helsinki Rosalyn experienced two twinges"; "New Crimes that come into effect as of Thursday - Walking adjacent to a can of Fanta on a wall, during rain (excluding Guernsey)"; "you could easily be French in three months". It evokes Britishness, small town parochialism, and the hilarious banality of local papers, all wrapped up in a dodgy pamphlet full of cut out bits of newspaper. I don't know what it says about me but I absolutely loved it. I also noticed two Doctor Who references, which definitely says a lot about me...