Dedicated volunteer, Patricia B, watches the Zine Fest Houston table

We’ll be posting photos and things later. For now, read the rave reviews by Jason Poland (Robbie and Bobby), ArmzRace, and Buttersword.

Yay Zine Fest Houston!

Below is an interview with Jason Poland, one of the many exhibitors at the 2011 Zine Fest Houston.

What is your favorite part of ZineFest?

It’s a party! If comic festivals were like Ninja Turtles, ZineFest would be Michaelangelo. 

What are your favorite zines/minicomics?

My favorite self published books are all comics: Austin Bedell’s Skweegie Island, Zach Taylor’s Bear Quest, and Chris Sweet’s mini books are all very polished examples of independently printed books.

What will be at your table at this years ZineFest?

At my table you’ll find the Robbie and Bobby mini books, and some really cool hand screened t-shirts. I’ll have a special ZineFest discount on the shirts! I’m also sharing half my table with Film Monitor! It’s good to have a buddy at these things.

What other creative ventures do you have besides creating zines?

I post Robbie and Bobby comics five days a week online, and I’ve recently gotten into silk screening. I plan to print more shirts and some posters soon!

What new projects are you working on this year?

I’m working on a collaborative comic book  with Chris Sweet, and I’m drawing a three page comic for the next issue of NANO Fiction.  They’re bigger than anything I’ve worked on before! Very exciting and challenging stuff.

In case you haven’t heard, a California based preacher has predicted the rapture will occur at 6pm on Saturday, May 21 (just like in 1988). If he means California time, then it is 8pm our time. Either way, though, the rapture will, if this prediction is correct, occur during Zine Fest Houston. Is it just a coincidence or is Zine Fest Houston the reason for the end of the world? Either way, this is where the cool kids will be spending the end of the world, because Zine Fest is happening come hellfire or highwater, rain or rapture.

And if you do get raptured, being on the roof of Khon’s will put you closer to your destination. Just think how cool you will look when your body is taken up and all that is left behind is your shoes, pants and a Zine Fest Houston t-shirt.

However in the case of rain, hellfire or other severe weather, the festivities may be moved down below. No, not that far down below. We will move to a vacant space in the shopping center or on the sidewalk under the awning. But keep your fingers crossed (or pray) that it won’t rain, because being on the roof would be so much more fun, especially if the rapture does occur and we can watch people flying into the sky.

It’s the end of the world as we know it and I feel zine.

From the Houston Press.

“Zine Fest Houston has been growing, but their mission remains as punk rock as ever – ‘that attendees discover new zines and are inspired to create their own art and media projects.’”

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/artattack/2011/05/print_is_not_dead_zine_fest_ho.php

Jeremy Hart, a long-time pillar of the Houston alternative music and zine scenes, talks about Zine Fest Houston and local zine history on his blog, Space City Rock.

From the article: ” … this is one of the few little corners of the creative world that has yet to be completely mainstreamed (hopefully it never will be), and I was blown away when I last attended one of the earlier Zinefests, back in 2008.”

Check out the interview about Zine Fest Houston on the Free Press website.

4:oo pm: Zine Fest Houston 2011 begins!

4:30 pm: Zine reading by Kirk Loftin (of CatBat)

5:00 pm: The Grass Skirts

5:45 pm: Organ Failure

7:00 pm: Panel Discussion (with  Film Monitor, Robbie & Bobby, Space City Nerd, and Weak Highlights)

7:30 pm: Muzak John

8:00pm: Infant Mortality Rate

8:40 pm: Carlos Pozo

9:20 pm: Rotten Piece

10:00pm: Zine Fest Houston 2011 ends

Below is an interview with Gingham Ghost, one of the many exhibitors at the 2011 Zine Fest Houston.

What is your favorite part of ZineFest?

It’s great to sell minicomics but the best part is meeting new zinesters and trading.

What are your favorite zines/minicomics?

We’re big fans of self-published autobiographical comics likes… King Cat (John Porcellino), Big Plans (Aron Nels Steinke), Phase 7 (Alec Longstreth), Milkyboots (Virgina Paine), Clutch (Greg Means), Brainfag (Nate Beaty) and Just So You Know (Joey Alison Sayers).

What will be at your table at this years ZineFest?

We will be bringing a slew of our minicomics, highlights include…

“Okay? Okay!” - an autobiographical double comic telling the same love story from two different perspectives in two contrasting art styles.

“AOA #1″ - a huge collection of colorful hand-painted diary comics by Melinda Tracy Boyce, a twenty-something exploring Portland and hanging out with her boyfriend.

“Batcave Beach Chapter 1″ – a fictional story about an outcast who sneaks into a private school’s party, befriends an eccentric duo obsessed with death and begins a haunting and quirky adventure to discover the meaning of life… before it’s too late.

What new projects are you working on this year?

We will continue our diary comics and our monthly Digital Zine distributed by email (sign up for it for free at www.ginghamghost.com) as well as work on the exciting second chapter of Batcave Beach.

What other creative ventures do you have besides creating zines?

Besides zines and comics we create music as The Jellyfish Bandits.  Aaron Whitaker also is a painter and screenwriter.

Waste and Void is one of the many exhibitors participating in the 2011 Zine Fest Houston.  Below is an interview with the distribution group.

Why do you create zines?
To put it succinctly: We are anarchists; we desire the destruction of this society in favor of one that allows for true freedom.  Of course these are loaded terms and these things won’t occur without some sort of provocation.  So we create and distribute zines to address both of these issues: we seek to define our desires and incite others to join us in our struggles.

What will be on your table at this year’s zine fest?
Well, some of the themes our distro likes to explore are illegalism, insurrectionary and anti-civilization theory, crime, and anthropology.  So, we’ll have everything from anthropology essays and herbal medicine primers to manuals on creating secret hiding places and lockpicking guides.  We’ll also have universal handcuff keys and possibly lockpick sets for sale.

How did you become interested in zines?
When one of us was 16, they were locked up for several different felony charges, and as their time went on, the Anarchist Black Cross Federation began sending them zines every week. These zines helped them do their time and get out unaffected by the state. Zines can reach youth, prisoners, and subversives in a way that books cannot.

What other creative ventures do you have besides making zines?
Aside from zines and literature, we’re also working on creating stickers and pins to give out.  We also like graffiti (the legal kind, of course ). Though really, we aren’t too into creation; destruction is more our thing.

What is something you’re looking forward to about the 2011 zine fest Houston?
Honestly, we’re most looking forward to meeting individuals who hold some sort of interest in learning more about anarchy, criminality, and life beyond this wretched civilization.  We’re absolutely thrilled to make new friends and discuss/debate what can definitely be contentious issues.

It’s finally time to announce this year’s performers at Zine Fest Houston! We’ve selected an assortment of local musicians committed to unique sounds and DIY. Look for the finalized performance schedule next week.

Rotten Piece - solo experimental/industrial/noise

Infant Mortality Rate – solo experimental/industrial

Organ Failure – outsider comedy band

Carlos Pozo – ambient/experimental sound on laptop and electronics

The Grass Skirts – tropical pop band

Muzak John - solo experimental/comedy/electronica