⭐️ Happy birthday to Koichi and happy zine release day!
Thanks everyone for your support of Less Than Legal!
We hope you enjoy this dive into the vigilante’s lives and adventures, and all of the hard work that our contributors put into the project.
Without further ado, we’re incredibly excited to share our contributor’s amazing work to everyone! Please share and spread the love for our favorite vigilantes.
Just like Cait Sith, we’re so exited to announce that we’ve met our stretch goal (in under 24 hours)! Every order will now receive a sheet of @yinza’s brilliant stickers at no extra charge. Thank you so much for the orders! ✨
Preorders for Return To The Planet’s print run are now open! Open from May 1st to June 15th. To help our Planet, all additional proceeds will be donated to Rainforest Foundation US! ✨
Start your timers! The preorders for the physical print of Return to the Planet open in ONE WEEK (on May 1st, 11 AM EDT)! ✨ We may also have a merch stretch goal in store for you…
Feeling nostalgic for the iconic Highwind scene? Our last digital merch spotlight is for @maesquirrel’s beautiful phone background, based on their zine piece!
Are you a fan of our zine cover? Make it your desktop background! Made by our brilliant art mod, @tofuthebold, this background is a beautiful tribute to the OG’s “500 Years Later” ending.
Want to make your mark on history and participate in the Jenova Project? Pick up your colouring pencils! Our digital merch package includes a printable colouring page of @vaatil’s brilliant zine piece.
All of our zine graphics, including this merch spotlist, use a custom font! Made by our brilliant art mod, @tofuthebold, this font is a perfect recreation of the one used in FFVII OG.
Lost in the Shinra Manor? Thankfully, @voidsumbrella’s phone background is here to help you find your way out (and not into the basement. Unless you want to be there, of course).
Have you been hanging out with Jenova lately? If you suddenly find yourself sprouting an extra tentacle or two, this fantastic quiz by kathrynthehuman (on twitter) might help you discover just how infected you are.
Colouring pages are a great way to relieve stress! Our digital merch bundle includes a printable colouring page of @keypyon’s dynamic zine piece. Colouring pencils not included (sorry).
Do you like moogles? Postcards? Both? You’re in luck! This amazing augmented reality postcard by @kleptoyade has the cutest animations–you can even feed the moogle kupo nuts! Donate here to access, kupo (^=˃ᆺ˂) https://tiltify.com/@ff7ogzine/ff7ogzine/
What a challenging time. Things have felt pretty bleak and I debated about whether to send this spring newsletter a lot, but friends convinced me we’re all in need of good news. If nothing else, I want to say two things: 1) We’ll still be shipping orders (with plenty of hand-washing and sanitizing) several times a week. 2) While we always appreciate and need your financial support, we’d also like to offer the resources we have to any of you who are having a hard time.
In short: We’re offering free zines (and tapes and books) to anyone who’s currently struggling financially, mentally, or physically right now. No need to tell us details, just email and say “I’d like a package,” and we’ll send one your way. Let it be a surprise or make a list of what you’d like and we’ll send you what we can. Feel free to spread the word to your friends and community through our FacebookorTwitter posts. It’s not much, admittedly, but hopefully it’s something.
We’re currently lending some small financial assistance to Portland writer Martha Grover as she recovers from a brain surgery by selling a fundraiser pack of her Somnambulist zine.
And if you’re in the Portland area, we’re helping do porch deliveries of food, baby supplies, and various resources. Please reach out if you’d like one or you know someone in need.
NEW ZINES
Antonia- A rare, almost-sublime zine about place, memory, and lost history. About the ways things change and stay the same. About how the place you’re from shapes who you become. About growing up in a small Midwestern town without a zip code, a place not on most maps. ($5)
Behind the Zines #9: A Zine About Zines- The latest issue of newest best zine about zines around. Within: the evolution of DIY comics culture, zine-fest history, imagined zines, One Punk’s Guide to collaborative zines, a history of that one Crimethinc poster, The Most Unwanted Zine, confessions of a sex-zine zinester. Contributions from our own Gina Sarti, as well as John Porcellino and so many others. ($3)
Brainscan #34: A Dabbler’s Week of DIY Witchery- In the wake of the controversy surrounding a recent viral article about spending a week “becoming a witch,” Alex considers what her guide to a witchcraft practice would look like. The results are a day-by-day guide to trying out her particular variety of secular witchcraft (that she lovingly refers to as “DIY witchery”). ($4)
Caboose #12: Jury Duty- A personal story of serving as a juror on a medical malpractice suit. As usual, Liz Mason’s playful, endlessly curious take on the world makes this a ride worth taking. A peek into the court system through the eyes of this long-running zine-star. ($4)
Clock Tower Nine #15- One of our favorite Seattle zines is back with tales from the record store counter, long walks in various locales, dangerous doppelgängers, and 8-track tapes. As Clock Tower Nine ringleader Danny Noonan describes it in the introduction: “This fanzine is like a bunch of people sitting around a fire in late fall, all taking turns telling a story.” ($3)
Cometbus #59: Post-Mortem- How does Cometbus, after 38 years as a zine, just get better and better? It’s a mystery, but it does. Issue 59 is a deep dive into both death and longevity in the underground. In short: what does sustainability look like in counterculture? This question takes Aaron on a journey from the Epitaph Records and Thrasher magazine offices to hanging out at a punk-owned vegan donut shop and a tamale stand at the farmer’s market with Allison Wolfe (of Bratmobile). ($5)
Doris #23- A back-issue fave from one of the best zines ever. Long personal stories that look both outward and inward in surprising ways. ($2)
Doris #26- Shy-punk-girl comics, social ecology, the cynical hour, a grandpa who built malls, hammer and nail history, and more. ($2)
Eulalia #3- Two issues of the art zine Eulalia in one. Grief and romance, hand-in-hand. Gorgeously designed! Letterpress-printed covers. Each issue is bound with a special do-si-do binding, so each half can be read separately. ($10)
Fluke Fanzine #17- Since 1991, Fluke has been creating great variety zines covering all realms of punk and underground culture. Graphic novelist Nate Powell, skateboard magazine historians, Maximum Rocknroll, R.E.M., ‘90s women-led punk, the Soophie Nun Squad family tree, more. ($3)
Forever & Everything #5- Comics on parenting, depression, coffee, therapy, alcohol, Willie Nelson, Charlie Brown, and living in New Orleans. ($5)
Good Days Gone Cold Days- A photography zine/art zine made while living and working in “a house without heat, without doorknobs, and without much insulation or electricity to speak of” for a late fall in western Pennsylvania. Comes with homemade bookmark, building permit, and banjo tab. ($12)
Keep Loving, Keep Fighting #8- A reprint of this 2008 issue of Keep Loving, Keep Fighting. Forty pages of feeling at home in New Orleans, communication between friends, death, visiting Montreal, and moving away. ($5)
Learning Good Consent- An essential compilation zine about consent. From personal stories to worksheets, approaches, definitions, resources, and beyond, Learning Good Consent is here to help us all feel more comfortable and be more respectful. ($4)
Little Leagues #1- The companion comics scrapbook to Simon Moreton’s epic Minor Leagues series. Prose, comics and photos about being in Japan, making chutney, experiencing autumn. ($3)
Little Leagues #2- Comics about being in the snow. Drawings and photos of spring. A fold-out cover with facts about lesser-spotted dogfish. ($3)
Our Lady of Near Death Experiences- Jodi Darby writes about becoming a cross-country truck driver as a 23-year-old woman in the mid 1990s. A mini-memoir told in vignettes, Our Lady is a twisted love song to the road in all its complexities. A gorgeous reprint of this zine classic from 1998. (And we have the last few copies before it goes out of print!) ($10)
The Paruretic #1: The Story of a Guy Who’s Pee Shy- The first issue of one of our favorite new zine series. The Paruretic tells what the intricacies and complexities of life with parusesis, the social phobia of being pee shy. Illuminating, accessible, and worth reading every issue. ($2)
The Paruretic #2: The Story of a Guy Who’s Pee Shy (College)- In this issue, Mark recalls figuring out the debilitating effects of his bladder issues when he goes to college and, for the first time, navigates living in dorms, drinking at college-town bars, and hooking-up. ($3)
The Paruretic #4: The Story of a Guy Who’s Pee Shy (The Search for Help)- In this issue, Mark reaches out, looking for help, and is met with a less-than-sympathetic medical system. Within: clueless medical professionals, almost losing a job over a urinalysis, and finally finding someone who understands. ($3)
The Paruretic #5: The Story of a Guy Who’s Pee Shy (Dating)- The dating issue covers how Mark handled (or avoided handling) dating in high school and college. It’s a chronicle of, as Mark says, “how my shy bladder has driven every part of my love life.” ($3)
Somnambulist Zine Pack Fundraiser- For the past 17 years, Portland memoirist and illustrator Martha Grover has been publishing Somnambulist zine, an expansive and playful look at the world at large (and easily one of the best zines running today). This pack includes all nine in-print issues of Somnambulist (a $40 value for $25!). All proceeds go straight to Martha’s brain surgery recovery fund. Help a great writer, get nine amazing zines. ($25)
Somnambulist #33: How to Survive the Portland Winter- A fun how-to guide from Portland-born writer Martha Grover. Within: dealing with all the rain, taking care of your mental health, venturing out, staying in, eating soup (with recipes!), and the truth about umbrellas. Illustrated by Liz Yerby. ($5)
Somnambulist #34: The Starfish- A single, long-form essay about Martha’s journey through Cushing’s disease and Addison’s disease, and the lingering tumor she’s chosen to not demonize or see as something separate. The Starfish is a surprising and exciting meditation on what it means to be in a body. ($3)
Surely, They’ll Tear it Down- A short zine letter about gender, race, identity, and not-knowing from the author of Fixer Eraser and We, the Drowned. ($2)
Tattoo Punk Fanzine, Issue 3- A jam-packed new issue of Tattoo Punk, the fanzine about tattoos, punks, and tattooed punks. Edited by Ben Trogdon of everyone’s favorite artsy punk paper, Nuts! ($15)
Valentines Every Day- Weirdo anytime-valentines from zine-seller extraordinaire, Julie Wade. Funny, bizarre, off-kilter, occasionally unsettling. The perfect gift for that especially-odd someone. ($6)
What Happened- A dreamy comic from UK artist Simon Moreton. Set in a '90s boyhood of meadows, sci-fi VHS tapes, MTV, crushes, first kisses. ($5)
NEW BOOKS & MISCELLANY
The Collected Plays by Portland Preschoolers- In short: One of our favorite little books around! A modern classic, even. Five years of collected plays written by Portland, Oregon preschoolers. Hilarious, invariably bizarre, oddly brilliant, sometimes surprisingly profound. Perfect for putting out on the coffee table, reading aloud to friends, impromptu group performances. ($10)
Four-Year Depression- A book about figuring out how to love your family in the Trump era. From Billy McCall of Proof I Exist and Behind the Zines. ($10)
Zine Game- A long-time favorite in the zine community, now in a fancy, professionally-made version accessible to all game lovers. Playing like a cross between canasta and Magic: The Gathering, Zine Game is all about building your own zines. A really fun time with tons of possibilities. ($16)
NEW MUSIC & SPOKEN WORD
Alice Notley “Live in Seattle”- An LP of one of the most adored living poets. Alice Notley pushes boundaries, and it’s an absolute joy to hear her reading her work. (LP + digital download) ($16.95)
Annelyse Gelman & Jason Grier “About Repulsion”- A collaboration between poet Annelyse Gelman and sound artist Jason Grier. About Repulsion mixes songs, sampled poems, textural walls, beats, noise, to create this EP of one-of-a-kind soundscapes. (LP + digital download) ($16.95)
Eileen Myles “Aloha / Irish Trees”- The legendary poet Eileen Myles, on vinyl for the first time. Aloha/Irish Trees features nearly an hour of Myles live in the studio, reading past and present poems. Intimate, playful, raw. (LP + digital download) ($16.95)
Harmony Holiday “The Black Saint and the Sinnerman”- Harmony Holiday’s record of poems and sound collage. Adventurous and accessible, twisting cultural images into something surprising, political, socially aware. In conversation with Charles Mingus’ classic 1963 album The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady. (LP + digital download) ($16.95)
Rae Armantrout “Conflation”- Fifty-four surprising and gloriously unique poems from Rae Armantrout, a Pulitzer-winning poet of great gifts. (LP + digital download) ($16.95)
Susan Howe & Nathaniel Mackey "Stray: A Graphic Tone"- Made in collaboration with Shannon Ebner, Stray: A Graphic Tone juxtaposes historic and recent material from poets Susan Howe and Nathaniel Mackey. An adventurous LP of spoken word delights. (LP + digital download) ($16.95)
Stay well, take care of each other as much as possible. Xo,
