zine review: Griot 6/Pudd’nhead 5 split

The problem with helping your friends out with their zine is that you’re never surprised with the finished product.

Fortunately that wasn’t the case with Griot 6. Not just because Brain tries too hard to be a man of mystery (though we didn’t find out the zine was done until it was displayed on a table 500 miles away from home), but because it was a split with Pudd’nhead.

In Brian’s half he continues to improve upon his philosophical style that involves over-thinking everyday situations. It’s easy reading but insightful. One tale uses cicadas to show the cyclical nature of life, another about the great cultural tradition of having a nemesis (to be honest I wanted Young Steppenwolf and the King of All Farts to join forces and create a super nemesis or at least duel to the death). Both stories are prophetic without being a bore.

While I had proofread all of Brian’s original work a month or so ago, there were a few surprises for me in his half. One was a comic by Constance titled “Dog Dream.” I’m glad the last panel is on a separate page so the ending is not desensitized by accidental peeking. Another is an interview by Aaron Smith (from the Big Hands zine) with a true Griot.

Flip the issue over and you get Pudd’nhead 5 “Red Menace.” I was a little reserved to begin reading this half due to the title, lack of graphics (come on now, the yearbook flier deserves to be a full page!) and footnotes, but this is quality writing about the author’s beginning days as a punk. He compares it to “Catcher in the Rye” and “Stand by me,” but fuck that mainstream shit. This is more like punk rock John Fante.

Any small-town punk can relate to these stories. To sum things up: a few friends, who can loosely be defined as punks, fumble through adolescence the best they can in their stifling hometown only to break up once they get older. What makes this work better than your typical zine is that the author specializes in pointing out the subtle, humorous moments from our youth we might have overlooked ourselves.

Both halves compliment each other well with upbeat nostalgia. Soon, however, we’ll have to worry about what it’s like to be grown up punks. Will it be as enjoyable to read? I guess we’ll be in for a surprise.

To receive a copy visit microcosm.org, email ieatfood123 at hotmail dot com, mail Griot at P.O. Box 10563, Columbus, OH 43201, or Mike Pudd’nhead at P.O. Box 7458 Mpls, MN 54407.