The The Zine Volume 4 Issue 10

There’s Anakin Skywalker, not even ten years old, piloting a pod racer around a tight curve. Another pod is closing in on him, the other pilot (who is not human, nor a close approximation) snarls or maybe burps, when suddenly his pod bursts into flame. A small clique of Tuskan Raiders (or Sand People to the uninitiated) is perched above the bend, the one holding a still smoking rifle raises it over his head and bellows an all to familiar sound.

This sequence takes all of five or maybe seven seconds. It does not advance the plot and it does not advance character, and yet here it is. A part of film history, so to speak. It’s been ten years of Star Wars, Episode I: The Phantom Menace, and yet this one instance, the Raider with his gun and his immediately recognizable yawp of victory and success, how many Star Wars fans remember it happening?

While it’s hard to call this sequence “fan service,” given that the limited Tuskan Raider dialect has no word for “lewd” or “racy,” it’s not hard to draw a connection between the two.

Some readers of anime and manga, certain fans of the genre, have an appetite for titillation. The human form, as idealized by the artist’s hand, should never be censored even at the expense of narrative. Yes, Story should be God in the hearts and minds of aspiring writers, but every now and then, eye candy plays the scantily-clad emissary of His word. And comics, while being a medium to convey the tenets of Story, are first and foremost a visual medium. (They won’t be releasing a Watchmen audiobook anytime soon, or at the very least, they shouldn’t.)

There are aspects of this issue which are explicit. Young artists have bravely tackled human sexuality, homosexuality, lust and other prurient tracks often thought of as
“mature.” But this issue isn’t trying to titillate for the sake of titillation (unlike “professional” fan services). These writers aren’t composing (ahem) “dirty pictures” for the sake of being dirty. This issue is, by this writer’s estimation, a reflection of an entire culture’s current trend towards provocation. If there is a controversy at the heart of fan service, it’s this: Why be titillating for the sake of titillation? Should anyone hear such a
question posed in earnest, respond simply, “Why not?”

What you, dear reader, will find within this issue is nothing more or less than a testament to the human condition. And to the artists who bravely submitted their most personal works for this issue, you have my sincerest gratitude.

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The The Zine Volume 4 Issue 8

This is the Demonic Issue of The The Zine. Wonderful happy topics like love or puppies can be fun, but there is something about the scary dark and dirty topics that gets my mind spinning.

Building on the success of Shine we are publishing more work beyond The The Zine. Given our theme for this issue it seems appropriate to be releasing Kurai The Demon Kid.

Our icon contest is over, but we are still trying to pick a winner. There were so many great entries. Hopefully you will be seeing the winner on the cover of our next issue.

The next big event is our end of year party on May 27 coinciding with the publication of our last issue. Were planning on having food, a cosplay contest, and maybe show some animation. No matter what we do I’m sure it will be fun for everyone who attends. As usual all are welcome and it doesn’t matter if you have been to comic club before or if you have not.

It’s spring so our poets are all occupied with unrequited love. On page 1 we have Michael Folayan’s first poem and illustration in The The Zine? “You and Me.”

On Page 2 Max.Jay’s poem “Now What?” is complemented by a nice illustration by Pa-san. Max.Jay also created the alluring and disturbingly ambiguous image on page 9.

Konoha is dreaming away with her first poem in The The Zine? (p4) and she doesn’t stop there. She has a Inuyasha piece for the fan art section (p6), continues here team up with Kage in Bonded (p22) and finishes the issue with an episode of Dragon’s Dream joined again by Ryuun doing backgrounds (p34).

Flare closes the poetry section with his poem Love (p5).

Star did the cover and submitted some fan art (p7). Both are inspired by characters from the Subeta website. She wasn’t able to finish a comic for this issue because she lost track of time and she’s experiencing some writer’s block. If you have some suggestions for her comic she would enjoy hearing them. Hopefully she will be back in the next issue with an update for Shadows of Doubt!

Lliloshortie has a crusading image on page 8. It looks like he’s getting ready to tear things up.

Sanji has a heavily rendered drawing in graphite on page 10. From what I hear it’s preceding a story yet to be finished. The image depicts a normal high school romance, except the girl, Kairi, makes a contract with a vampire and her jealous friend. The friend has a secret of his own. I’m curious to learn more about Kairi and her bloody path to true happiness.

Matabo has his first comic in The The Zine starting on page 11. I’m not surprised that he named one of his characters after himself and made him a god.

I am very excited to tell you about Tangerine’s work in this issue it’s 5 great pages, splendid layout, pacing, and a touch of humor, with a nice cliffhanger ending (p13). Just read it and you’ll see why I am eagerly anticipating the next episode of Fated.

A.I. doesn’t think I write enough about her so the rest of this is about her. It looks like A.I. is starting a new series called Mortal (p18). Cute demons manipulating cute young gods! What is the world coming too? It’s dark and dramatic. What’s darker than being forced to get married on your 100th birthday?

Mortal is good, but what I really want to know is what happened to the princess in Sin? Please A.I. don’t abandon Sin! It was so funny and cool and I want to know if Wrath gets the girl in the end or if everyone ends up with Ninja flees!

Maybe you can help me out. If you see A.I. around start dropping subliminal hints like this. “Hey, you have got to try one of these cookies. They are SINful.” or “AI you are looking SINsational today.” or “Could you help me with my math homework I’m trying to figure out the difference between SIN and coSIN.” “The stars SINtillate so beautifully.” “Oh just leave the dirty dishes in the SIN-k.” I have a feeling if we’re consistent we will be seeing another quality episode of Sin in no time!

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