Aaron Cometbus

Picked this up in a used bookstore because the cover and the black/white, cover with artful, visual layout of the pages compelled me to read it.

This indie and exploratory--it's punk social anthropology.

This particular issue stands alone, but is probably richer if you experience the series.

Back to the Land is a series of interviews with young adult 'kids' or parents who were disillusioned with capitalism, declining cities, and rising crime in the '70s-80s' and left the city for the rural/mountains (going 'back to the land,' as it were) as homesteaders.
For many, despite their idealism about living off the land, rural living didn't work out as intended and the families ended up returning.

The interviews are interesting (author/publisher is from Berkeley, so that's vibe). Keep in mind this was published in 2000. So the 'kids' interviewed are middle age now with kids of their own. A follow-up look at their lives would be pretty cool (and maybe there is one).

I just found/read this, but I think if I'd happened upon it closer to it's publishing date I would have eagerly scooped them all. This particular series/subject matter probably isn't for me, at least at this stage of my life. But it's somebody's, maybe yours, and if you're drawn to it it's absolutely worth the time.

I did/do find plenty of other of Cometbus issues/subject matter super-interesting though and am curious how his work has changed and evolved as he's aged. So...I fully intend to rabbit hole.

If you've gotten this far and are intrigued to see what other Cometbus stuff is out there, check out his website: https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/artist/aaron-cometbus… (meer)

Aaron Cometbus (née Cohen) started his eponymous zine as a teenager in the early 1980s, reviewing punk shows and records in the Bay Area. The zine evolved along with his sensibilities and his formidable talents as a writer, such that we now have several decades worth of stories of life and love and pain and perseverance among people who willfully (or wantonly) occupy the outskirts of conventional society. The man is an inspiration, not only for his longevity, but for the expansive empathy of his big punk heart. In A Bestiary of Booksellers, Cometbus relates his experience among the eccentric sorts who make a living in the second-hand book trade in New York City. If you like books and/or people, it will make you feel good.… (meer)

This addition to the Cometbus zines concerns itself with a friendship that lasts on paper, a young man who reads a lot, writes letters to lesser known authors, but doesn’t want to actually meet or get to know (just like they don’t really want to get to know him, apparently) and theorizing on why communism appeals to the author.

There are a varied group of people introduced, his friends in Berkley and New York City are interesting, but uncensored as they are, I found myself rolling my eyes and gritting my teeth to get through this apparently languidly edited self-reflection.

I think you’ll enjoy this more than I did if you’re interested in punk culture, the underground, reminiscences from the fringes (and he was on tour with Green Day in China) and something short and different. I can definitely see why people find his style appealing and the content is interesting, I just couldn’t get into the author himself, and that’s a big part of reading enjoyment for me.

I finished this just past midnight and am afraid the best I can say is that I didn't hate it. I don't think I'll seek out any more by him.… (meer)