last 02 thin ice
last 02 thin ice
Last Gasp 1995
“My fond hope is to up the obscurity quotient with each issue” (me, in L.G.C.& S.# 1). Ahh, idealism. Well, having won the election, I’ve wasted no time at all in breaking my campaign promises. The “obscurity quotient,” in terms of the relative well-known-ness of the artists used, has actually gone down this time around, rather than been “upped.”
O.K., O.K. I’ll do better next issue, I swear. Please, you unpublished, introverted art-nerds with no friends and no lives: Submit to met Now I Why, I just saw a review of the first issue which calleda lot of the pieccs “disgusting” and said that “if the names aren’t familiar to you, don’t worry… The ugly art and disgusting stories in this collection put me off rather than drawing me in and forcing me to read them.”
See! Someday, you too might be thought of as justifiably unread, your work as worthy of nothing but scorn and derision. What on earth are you waiting for? If no one but yourself and your increasingly small circle of friends thinks that your work has “merit”, chances are that I’ll look on it favorably.
Take a look at the muck in which this issue wallows:
Frank Kozik: Front Cover. Nick Rubinstein did the color seps using some computer program Pll never even begin to understand.. Max Andersson: “Kostco” This story was originally called “Konsum” in Max’s native Swedish,and Mats Stromberg translated it.. Brad “Razorbranch” Johnson: “Dream of the Beautiful Office Job”. Brad’s wife just had a child! And he did this!. Lynne von Schlichting: “It’s the Smart-Ass” Lynne lives in Ridgewood, New York, and she’s constantly calling, asking me when the damn thing is going to come out.. Chuck Sperry & Bucky Sinister: “The Reluctant Highway Leper” A former Catskills comedy team; Chuck has recently converted to fundamentalist Christianity. Danny Hellman: “Mister Pons vs Chemical Girl” The latest installment in Danny’s hard-drinking brainstem saga. Danny slaves away in the borough of Brooklyn, New York. Eric White: “Glen Shit” Eric does illustration work from his home in San Francisco. Steven Cerio: “Ninny Pollen” After arduous effort, Steve has concocted the ultimate amalgam of locusts, squash, elephants and dogs, just in time for the holiday season. John Howard: “Chump Change” Not the John Howard who does Horny Biker Sluts (8 issues available from Last Gasp. Buy it.), this John Howard “lives” in Berkeley, California. Peter Kuper: “TheHelmsman” Amazingly talented Mr Kuper took time out of his busy schedule to adapt this Kafka story for a cheap, vulgar, lowest common denominator publication like this. J.C. Gibson: “Observer Obelus ( 1&2 )” Don’t quote me on this, but J. lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and this issue represents his first publishing experience. Stephane BI an q uet : “The Cockroach Kid” Young Stephan e’s latest French fable was translated, as usual, by Erick Gilbert. David Fremont: “Myron’s Pets/ Snack Wagon” Dave used to be in a band with my ex-roommate, unless my memory fails me, and now he draws things from his shack out by the railroad tracks, in San Francisco. Mother Fakir & Robin Goodfellow: “Politico the Clown” I’m led to believe that these two young men live, breathe and sometimes work in San Francisco.
There will be a third issue. It will be good. Thank you. Noah Mass, “Editor”