The Home for the Literarily Bent
Posts tagged Zines
Pornotopia Issue 2
01 year ago
Front Cover for Pornotopia Issue 2
Edited by M.A. Sirk
Published in 2010 by Pandora Press
Full disclosure: M.A. Sirk sent me this zine at no cost.
The second issue of “Pornotopia” continues the themes of the first issue while improving its execution. The introduction explains the origin of the name “Pornotopia.” In the next article Sirk talks about how he discovered his sexuality from his childhood through his adolescence. Like the first issue, there is an article devoted to amateur porn, a featured fetish/interest (female body hair), fiction, and a travelogue of a trip to a nude beach.
The best thing about “Pornotopia” is Sirk’s writing style. Too many fetish writers fancy themselves evangelicals who are converting the uniformed. Worse still are those fetish writers who are preaching at the choir. Refreshingly, Sirk does neither. Instead, Sirk describes his personal fetishes in a conversational matter-of-fact style. The reader feels simultaneously like Sirk’s old friend and a voyeur secretly observing Sirk’s most private moments. Sirk’s fearlessly reveals his most intimate thoughts without sounding as though he is boasting or trying to scandalize the reader.
To order a copy of Pornotopia, contact M.A. Sirk at pandora_press@hotmail.com.
Pornotopia Issue 1
01 year ago
by Todd
in Magazines and Zines
Front cover for Pornotopia Issue 1
Edited by M.A. Sirk
Published in 2010 by Pandora Press
Full disclosure: M.A. Sirk contacted me and offered to send me a copy of his zine at no cost. While I hope that the free zine won’t affect my objectivity, I would be re-miss to not mention it.
My expectations for a zine are always a bit different than they are for a commercially printed work, and I am able to overlook errors in a zine that would drive me bonkers if they appeared in a commercially printed work.
Hailing from Australia, “Pornotopia” describes itself as “a zine about sex and pornography.” The first thing I noticed about Pornotopia is its laminated cover. This is the first zine or magazine for that matter I have seen with a laminated cover and it is a nice touch. In fact, I am surprised that more sexually oriented magazines don’t have laminated covers, particular the magazines known colloquially as “stroke mags.”
By my count, the first issue contains nine articles or features that stylistically run the gamut from porn reviews to personal sex stories to fiction to even poetry. The second article is a remembrance/review of an old amateur porn series titled, “Horny Housewife.” While I personally have never much cared for amateur porn, reading Sirk extol the virtues this particular series (seemingly largely forgotten and unappreciated by the world at large) reminded me very much of my own efforts here at the library to celebrate and record items that might be otherwise forgotten or neglected.
Another article discussed the finer points of putting together a good photospread. While this is another topic that isn’t of much personal interest, Sirk’s enthusiastic explanations will inform my impressions the next time I see one.
One of Pornotopia’s best articles was the fiction with a lactation theme. Unfortunately, the end of the story was cut off (some of the missing text was attached to a blank spot at the back of the zine, but there is still a piece missing).
Other articles include Sirk’s first trip to a nude beach (I won’t describe my own other than to say that I am still creeped out by the site of old men in Velcro sneakers), a poem about vintage porn, and an excellent article about the wonder that is drinking piss.
All in all, this is a nice effort for an inaugural issue. Hopefully there will be future issues that improve on these themes and avoid the layout error that appeared in my favorite review.
To order a copy of Pornotopia, email pandora_press@hotmail.com.
The Porn Project #1
02 years ago
by Todd
in Magazines and Zines
The Porn Project #1 front cover
Self Published in 2007
While some people are put off by any hint of amateurishness in a zine, I typically find it endearing. There is something a little annoying about a zine that’s too slick or perfect. No one is likely to accuse The Porn Project’s inaugural issue of being too slick. For one thing, unlike most zines which are saddle-stitched (stapled in the middle) each issue of The Porn Project is lovingly hand assembled and bound with a rubber band.
Usually I appreciate that sort of personal attention to each issue of a zine, but that amateurishness makes the cover price of $5 seem a bit stiff. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think the fine ladies of The Porn Project are profiteering. Doubtless the writers and publishers of this would be fortunate if they broke even financially. Still $5 bucks is a hefty price tag for a publication of this type.
If that were the only thing wrong with The Porn Project, I would give it my hearty endorsement. Alas, despite its name, The Porn Project is devoid of anything approaching porn. Instead, you get bad poetry and some ho-hum “herotica.” It’s a shame really since girl porn tends to be much better than boy porn; I expected a much better offering from an all woman porn product.
That said, the first issue did show promise and the women of The Porn Project do deserve some praise for getting off their asses and making the sort of porn they like instead of griping about the sort that other people make (yes, I am fully aware of the irony here.)
If you want to get a copy in your own sweaty palms, you can contact The Porn Project via MySpace at www.myspace.com/thepornproject. (Maybe you’ll have better luck than I did.)