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The Up & Up: "As You Were" Vol. 4

Upside KC is my small business downtown that sells zines, books, and vintage clothesThank you Aaron for asking me to put a word out there about a zine that sticks out to me. Most of the zines I carry promote mental health or music in one way or another. To me, they are synonymous. 

The zine I chose for this entry is "As You Were - A Punk Comix Anthology, Vol. 4."  It was released in late 2015 and was curated by Sprocket’s Avi Ehrlich and Mitch Clem. Volume four focuses on the theme of “Living Situations,” which we all know can be one hell of a predicament.  There are different artists in each section and they create stories and place their characters in situations we can all relate to, or at least most of us. 

Although I am straight edge, I can always find time to read about a real wild acid trip. Throughout this issue you will find characters wearing Bad Brains shirts, Dead Kennedys shirts, and other random hints of punkdom. My favorite story in this comic is by Rob Cureton titled "Infomercial." It’s about a Rico Suave-lookin guy promoting a nursing home named "The Greg Graffin Home For Aging Punks;" (what’s up, Bad Religion). He talks about the residents skateboarding, but really the walker is on a wide skateboard with a nurse pushing him. They have a pogo room where your old ass will be harnessed to bungee chords and dropped down on a trampoline to bounce up and down. There is also a circle pit room where Rob Cureton draws a bunch of old ladies and dudes with canes and walkers moving slowly in a circle. They have a sound proof listening room where you can "relive your youth" by cranking that dial up to penetrate their failing eardrums. The comic ends by saying that this is the place to come when you’re struck with age because “punk is not dead, it’s just reallyreally old.” Punk and hardcore are not only genres, but lifestyles. I could totally see myself ending up in The Greg Graffin Home for Aging Punks.

Over & Out. 
XX

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