LA Public Library: Interview With Zine Maker - Brian Baynes

Los Angeles CA

29 November, 2021

10:29 AM

Description

Press release from the Los Angeles Public Library: Angi Brzycki November 29, 2021 Brian Baynes is the creator of Bubbles Fanzine, a comics fanzine out of Richmond Virginia. He's been co-organizing Richmond Zine Fest since 2012. When I was in high school I used to mail a lot of cash to order records through the mail. I remember getting free zines along with the records and immediately being attracted to them. A few years later I was really into the fact you could just make a zine yourself. You didn't have to wait around to be published or for anyone to care, you could just print out anything you were passionate about and go from there. I still get that feeling making Bubbles. I started helping organize Richmond Zine Fest in 2012 and got into the community and made a bunch of friends through zines. My main zine is called Bubbles. It's an old-school fanzine about comics. There are interviews, articles, and reviews all about comics. Mostly contemporary, but I also cover whatever I feel like. That's the beauty of the zine! I have a punk zine too that I've done less often these days called Cool Hiss. Yaknow I feel like this question is going to be so regional. One of my favorite zines, and inspiring zines, is called Cretins of Distortion. It was a punk zine out of Columbus Ohio. I also love Cometbus. And for the interview inspiration, I'm a huge V. Vale fan, of the Re-Search mags. To me, that's as good as it gets when it comes to interviews. Contemporary, I'm obsessed with this DC punk/art zine called Demystification and this publishing company there called Shining Life Press. I'm all about it. Zines are meant to be borrowed. I think a lot of people in the zine world aren't collectors. It's super common to read a zine and pass it on to a friend who you think might enjoy it. So yeah a library lending it out is rad. What do I think or what do I want to be the future of zines? Haha. I want more zines with addresses in them. I think every zine needs to have a mailing address on them. To me, mailing letters and connecting through the mail is part of the culture. I get a pretty impressive amount of letters in the mail from Bubbles readers and I try to respond to everyone. Also, don't let any printing method stop you from making a zine, it doesn't have to be risograph or screen printed. Xerox is my favorite, for me, it's all about content. I've always said the difference between a zine and a magazine is that a magazine is made to make money and a zine is made to share ideas. That's it. We need zines full of ideas, all kinds of ideas. Doesn't have to be serious or life-changing, but I think everyone should make a zine. Imagine if your local garbage man made a zine, it'd be awesome. Bubbles #4 Baynes, Brian View in Catalog This press release was produced by the Los Angeles Public Library. The views expressed here are the author's own.