HodgePodge 1 by Alexander Gregory: This is a case where the title describes the contents perfectly. HodgePodge 1 really is a jumble of different parts, though I don’t mean that in a deragatory sense. Quite the oppposite! I enjoyed turning pages and seeing unexpected sketches or doodles with no particular sequence or theme, sometimes with captions, sometimes not. Alexander seems most interested in figures and faces, and you can see him experimenting with different styles, which is cool. In between the visual art, there is a single short story about a couple completing a difficult and frustrating car repair. The story might be fiction, though it feels drawn from life. (The main character’s name is “Alex.” Coincidence?) I especially liked this inscription on the back cover: “HodgePodge is introspection / composting / messy.” That feels like a good description of zine-making itself, no?
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