Zine: Drop Target #1

With the rise of the Web over the past eighteen years, the number zines about personal interests, hobbies, and plain old obsessions has decreased dramatically, and I miss those zines dearly. I’ll never part with my old copies of Exploitation Retrospect (trash cinema), Beer Frame (odd consumer products), Thrift Score! (thrifting), Murder Can Be Fun (weird deaths and disasters), and other amazing self-published creations about quirky subjects. I’ve even got a zine about vintage toasters tucked away somewhere.

However, it’s easier and more efficient to build a website or maintain a blog about a niche topic than publishing a physical zine. It’s cheaper, reaches more readers, puts out-of-print issues back in “print”, and can be updated quickly and easily. While I like having easy access to more “weird stuff” (the “stuff” I used to have to dig to find in the 80s and 90s), and don’t begrudge publishers going electronic-only, there’s nothing like holding in your hands and reading a well done zine on an eccentric topic.

Although I pretty much suck at playing it, I very much enjoyed reading the new pinball zine DROP TARGET from Jon Chad and Alec Longstreth. These two cartoonists are obsessed with pinball, so they decided to start up a zine about their passion. The first issue is a mix of articles, interviews and comics all about pinball. There’s a glossary of pinball parts and lingo, a “walkthough” of how to beat the Star Wars Episode One game, an interview with the publishers of Multiball (a pinball zine from the ‘90s), two “dream machines (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by Alec, and Lawrence of Arabia by Jon (shown below)), and finally a 17 page comic “From Zeros to Heroes. Part One: Obsession” by Alec. This is a professional, polished zine with clean layout, edited and proofread articles, organization, and high production values.

I think it’s the sign of an excellent zine when I read the entire issue through twice (and the comic three times), even though I’m not obsessed with pinball, and don’t have any urge to start playing. (Seriously, I cannot think of a single place near me where I could find a machine.) Jon and Alec have another six issues of DROP TARGET planned out, and hopefully they’ll come through, because I certainly want to read them.

DROP TARGET #1 features a limited edition screenprinted cover and is available for $5 plus shipping from the Drop Target Store. Be sure to also subscribe to the Drop Target Blog for lots of pinball news and pretty pictures!