Des Constructions de Panneux Publicitaries Dessines pour une Ville Francaise by Nigel Peake

I'm pretty excited about this new zine from Nigel Peake. The title translates to "Billboard constructions for a French town," and while there is no accompanying text or introduction, it seems to be a collection of line drawings of imagined signage in an imagined French town.

The concept and execution are fantastic. The drawings are copied onto pastel colored papers, with a solid black cover and stitched spine.

I especially love the more fanciful signs. I'd love to see a giant hat on the side of the road somewhere, in France or otherwise.

You can purchase a copy here.

Hamburger Eyes Issue 011: Hamburger Ears

This issue of the photo zine Hamburger Eyes is comprised entirely of photographs of musicians. Hence the title of the issue, Hamburger Ears. Get it?

The issue is comprised of photos from various decades, from photographers of varying degrees of notoriety. I love how this often-seen Charles Peterson photo of Kurt Cobain is paired with an image of a marching band member*--infamous right alongside unknown. Everyone gets the same treatment.

Another great thing about this magazine is the layout, the way it's just filled with photographs printed right up to the edges. The one downside is that there's no index at the end detailing what's in each photo. So even though I feel like I should know who these two gentlemen are, I have no clue.

I love the top one--the cowboy boots, her hair whipping around. And that girl in the striped shirt? I wouldn't want to mess with her. (Although that guy seems to be enjoying the punch.)

Here's one by Jim Jocoy, which fits in right along with all the rest of the photos of L.A. punk scenesters found in his book, We're Desperate. (I'm not sure if this one is in the book. It very well may be.) And that is some pretty incredible hair on the left.

What an amazing baby picture. I wish someone had stuck me in front of some Black Sabbath graffiti when I was just a wee lass.

I'm really liking this guy's Devo tie. And the fact that he is surrounded by empty chairs.

*Actually, I don't really know who she is (due to the lack of captions). So maybe she's totally not unknown after all. Or not even in a marching band (and just dresses up like she is). But you get my point: religious cults and street performers share the pages with James Brown. 

The Major Arteries by Raymond Pettibon

For Christmas last year Dave gave me this new zine by Raymond Pettibon, made for the Los Angeles store Ooga Booga. It feels very handmade, with a color xeroxed cover and black and white photocopied interior pages, stapled down the spine. You get the feeling these were put together the old school way, on an all night trip to Kinko's. No slick production here--you can even see lines going through some of the pages, like the copier had seen better days. Such is its charm.

Pettibon started out drawing flyers and album covers for the early 70s L.A. punk scene, particularly for Black Flag, which included his brother Greg Ginn on guitar. He designed their iconic bars logo, as well as most of their album covers (the above scissors appeared on the Everything Went Black album). He has since garnered international acclaim as a fine artist, with works exhibited in major museums such as the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney, and so on.

I will always associate him first with the punk flyers (his early zines are incredible) but his work, while evolving and developing, has always retained the same style and essence.

Greasy Spoon

Dave has a stack of cookbook zines that he ordered some time in the 90s, and we've lately been really into this one (don't mind the cooking stains). Not only does it contain a variety of good recipes (from the likes of Adrian Tomine, Julie Doucet, the late Lance Hahn, and other probably cool people), but the cut and paste layout is great too, with images from vintage cookbooks, comics, and more. I can't seem to find much information about the zine online, but it was put together by someone named Megan who at the time lived in Providence (according to the first page). I'd love to know if there were any more issues.

The zine contains recipes for entrees, spreads, sides, desserts, and cocktails (and it even has one for pet treats).

Julie Doucet and Adrian Tomine contribute the grossest-sounding meals of the book.

(See above comment.)

And then there are these fun little asides.

Again, don't mind the food stains--I need to remember to keep this thing away from the ingredients, since I probably won't be able to replace it!

Bill Daniel's Mostly True

This book is a kind of companion piece to Bill Daniel's documentary Who Is Bozo Texino?, in the form of a rail zine (purporting to be published in April 1908). Shot on Super-8 and 16mm film over a 16-year period in which Daniel rode the freights, the film chronicles the search for the source of a drawing seen on railcars for more than 80 years.

While some of the book is a direct transcript from the movie, there are also many great extras, including interviews, newspaper articles, photos, maps, and illustrations from such artists as Barry McGee and Margaret Kilgallen.

I love these rail map end papers.

An article about one of the men behind the mystery, the original Bozo Texino.

A little bit about Herby, perhaps one of my favorite hobo tags.

The book includes a variety of ads, some of them real, but there are also some great fake ones promoting products like "The Hobo's Wife."

All in all, it's a beautiful looking package with some fascinating hobo lore and ephemera.