This is a fine example of the guilt zine, a cross between an apology and a defiant insistence that ultimately it’s the creator who benefits when the corporate subsumes the independent. Long time ziner and self publisher Jim Munroe, you see, is going corporate. His second novel (he self published his first) is going to be published by HarperCollins next year. As a result, this remorse laden zine includes a memo to HarperCollins owner Rupert Murdoch and the complete details of Jim’s decision to accept the HarperCollins offer. A short essay on hypocrisy gives way to a set of examples of people who have maintained their principles within the corporate world (you could just as easily produce a similar list discussing people who haven’t). Thankfully, this zine isn’t all Jim, as the great How Was Your Trip: Interviews with Mainstream Survivors section artfully demonstrates. It’s a back and forth between Jim and Ninjalicious of the zine Infiltration, recently featured on City TV and the CBC to name a few. The infiltration bit shows that a zine that documents the relationship between the corporate and the independent is certainly a worthy endeavor. A zine that documents the relationship between Jim Munroe and the corporate world is less compelling. A promising inaugural effort that can’t help coming off as a bit of a whine. (HN)
zine, #1, Jim Munroe, $1, 10 Trellanock Ave., Toronto, ON, M1C 5B5,