Dr. Plokta's Fanzine Reviews

Apparatchik #61 (Andy Hooper, fanmailAPH@aol.com & Victor Gonzalez, Gonzalez@tribnet.com; UK agent Martin Tudor)

A reasonably well word-processed zine, though Victor's address is written "403 1/2 Garfield St. S.", betraying either old and non-superfluous software or a deep inability to use Windows Character Map. The illos and logo appear to have been inserted by cut-and-paste, rather than something more modern and more trouble. Reproduction, on our copy, shows the tell-tale signs of the Critical Wave photocopier. While Andy and Victor are contactable, UK agent Martin Tudor has no email address, so you'd better send your subscription requests directly to Andy and hope that he can get in touch with Martin using smoke signals or something.
Superfluous technology rating: ** out of * * * * *

[September 1997: Martin Tudor now has email, as you will note from the link above.]


Waxen Wings & Banana Skins #2 (Claire Brialey & Mark Plummer)

Despite the subtitle (Stuck on the Hard Shoulder of the Information Super-Highway), this is a much more technological effort. Nice use of drop caps and right justification displays their nifty software at the expense of trivial details like legibility. The illoes have little jaggies to reveal that they've been scanned, and that Mark and Claire only have access to a 300 dpi printer. It looks as though the Plokta review copy was individually run off on the laser printer, the reproduction method of choice for geeks. And then Claire blows it all with an anti-Internet diatribe.
Superfluous technology rating: * * * *


The Bleary Eyes vol. 5 (John Berry & Ken Cheslin)

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. I suppose we should be thankful that they used an electric typewriter. Electro-stencilled from typed and cut-and-pasted originals, then run off faintly with creased stencils on bog roll, except for one page in the middle which appears to be photocopied from a duplicated original, doubtless because the stencil died before they'd quite finished the print run. Makes an Amstrad PCW seem like the height of style. As for email, you'll be lucky if they're on the phone.
Superfluous technology rating: 0


Reading Matters #10 (Tibs, gaga50@udcf.gla.ac.uk)

Now this is more like it. TeX source code distributed by email, to be run off on the recipient's laser printer in the comfort of their home. Provided you have, and can configure, TeX, of course, but who doesn't? Dr Plokta's fanzine of the month (though this is the Easter 1994 issue, making the award a tad late).
Superfluous technology rating: * * * * *


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