My Comic Book Valentine

By: Eric Michael Anderson

It’s all the public library’s fault, you see. My parents would routinely take me to the public library as a child so I could check out books to read. When I was in the third grade in Ames, Iowa, my main reading interest was Hardy Boys mysteries. But one day, in the Ames Public Library, I came upon a large wall-mounted rack (I believe it was in the Children’s section) covered in comic books. Prior to that day, I had never paid much mind to comic books, but that day I found one that intrigued me: Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham. At the time, Marvel Comics had a line aimed at younger kids called Star Comics, and Spider-Ham was that line’s flagship title. I checked out the comic, thoroughly enjoyed it, and began using my allowance to buy issues of Spider-Ham that I would find on the spinner racks in the grocery store or drug store. And through the funny-animal versions of the Marvel Universe depicted in Spider-Ham, I became interested in the mainstream Marvel Universe as well.
The next comic to catch my fancy that I checked out from the library was The West Coast Avengers. It was the “West Coast” in the title that got me. I was from the West Coast, land of oceans and mountains, serving an involuntary penance in flat, landlocked central Iowa, so a superhero team from the West Coast. . . well, they must be super-cool! The West Coast Avengers quickly became my favorite comic, and from there I spun off to other Avengers-related titles (by the way, my dad always insisted that I check out two “real books” as well as my comic books).

On Being Awkward…or how I became a “punk”

For as long as I can remember I haven’t fit in anywhere. I still don’t, really, and I probably never will. Part of this is due to the fact that I’m a girl interested in things guys tend to be interested in, rather than things most girls are into. Part of it’s that I’m quiet, and though I’m no longer a mute for all intents and purposes, like I was as a teenager, I’m still pretty awkward around people over the age of 12 (unfortunately most people seem to interpret these characteristics as aloofness/bitchiness). Part of it’s also just fate – my parents. My dad, a once illegal Mexican immigrant who came to this country at 16 with only a sixth grade education, somehow married my mom, a middle-class WASP suburbanite who graduated from Northwestern University. Such a union was bound to create interesting, if not mixed-up, children. Though I can’t speak for my siblings, I know I’m more mixed up than I am interesting. I’m not Mexican enough for the Mexicans or white enough for the whites. The fact that I speak Spanish fluently matters just as little as the fact that I can speak English – it’s strange, really. Throw in my “radical” beliefs like clean living, vegetarianism, atheism, etc., add an early marriage and you get the social pariah that is me.

Memories of “I Refuse”

By: Brian Peterson

1994 was a landmark year in my life.
I graduated from high school and started college, was playing in bands, met some great friends, and in some ways I was coming into my own.
But despite what was propelling me forward, most of the time I felt like I could hardly breathe.
I felt awkward, unsure of myself, and felt like I didn’t belong. I was confused about everything: humanity, God, family, the opposite sex, death, life. Every step led to disorientation. My emotions were a mess because I didn’t know what the hell I felt half the time.
Truth be told I felt this way for quite some time, but everything was intensifying. I was headed toward a crossroads with blinders on.
Hardcore was one of the things that guided me through this tough time. I could identify with the anger, the passion, the rage. I was pissed about a million things right in front of my eyes and a million things I couldn’t even articulate, much less understand.

Contradictory Evolutions

By: Alex J. Ferguson

Have you ever really, truly, honestly, embarrassingly thought about how many contradictions exist in your inner mind? Have you ever considered that many of your once-crystallized, core positions from another time in life have now evolved into something so contradictory that those old beliefs can hardly be understood, let alone properly rationalized? Well, some positions, at least.

Myself, for instance, in full disclosure: I’ve often felt completely set in a life position for one reason or another at one point or another at one time or another. Then life evolved. And circumstances changed. And before long, my once-held position of strength became first less-than-strong, then weak, then non-existent before slowly-but-surely evolving toward a new line of thinking, and eventually a new position. Yet that old position still lingered somewhere in the recesses of my subconscious, reminding me of a time gone by, and a contradiction not yet fully resolved.

Yes, it’s happened to you as well, and you know it all-too-well. You remember it quite well, in fact, I’d venture to guess, that time you eventually, finally, evolved that once-hardened position on such-and-such topic that somehow grew and strengthened into a wholly differing opinion. But don’t fret, don’t feel suddenly guilty–it’s not your fault, it’s only natural, and even the best of us fall victim to this evolution more often than we realize.

Reviews: Encounters at the End of the World

Encounters at the End of the World - (2007) Directed by Werner Herzog

I sat down to watch this film on a cold January night with a slice of vegan chocolate cake and Brian by my side, ready to be educated about Antarctica. I knew Herzog’s film would be visually stunning thanks to cinematographer Peter Zeitlinger, a man with whom he has worked on many projects. I also knew it would be different – no voices droning over boring facts and drab images like all those documentaries I watched in school, nothing cutesy, no pushing of agendas – just a film documenting a place and some people as they are, because that is Herzog’s way. What I didn’t expect was for it to be funny. At times Herzog’s questions were whimsical, at times ridiculous, and at times serious. However, regardless of form – each and every question made me think. When he takes you on a journey he somehow manages to make each and every stop fascinating and when it’s all over he leaves you wanting more. His film awakened a hunger for knowledge in me and a bit of sadness at the loss of uncharted territories regardless of how fascinating they might be.

-LQ

Dish Washing My Worries Away

By: Brian Peterson

They say the older you get, the more you learn about yourself…
…I never thought I’d learn that I love washing dishes.
My parents couldn’t have paid me enough money to wash dishes when I was a kid. I thought it was disgusting—scraping nasty food particles off of dishes; lipstick off of glasses. Of course, I did it anyway because I “had” to, but I sure whined about it.
As I hit my late teens, however, it didn’t bother me as much. Maybe it’s because I got used to doing it due to my high school / college job working at an ice cream store. You’d have to wash these metal collars that were used to make medium sized shakes and malts. They protected your fingers from the shake/malt machine and kept the candy inside. When we’d get busy, we’d run out of them really quickly. For some reason I always volunteered to wash them. This is probably partially because I wanted a break from the annoying customers. But after a while I actually started to like the actual process of running those cylindrical smooth metal protectors underneath the often near-scalding hot water.
By my mid-twenties I started to graciously volunteer to do dishes at family get-togethers. I’d get shot down sometimes, but often the gesture was appreciated. I am not a fan of drying dishes, so I’d strike a bargain: “I’ll wash if you dry.” Most tended to go for it.

New beginnings

The fourth and final print issue of IMUR is now available. E-mail us if you’d like to get your hands on a copy. We’ve finally decided to stop deluding ourselves and admit we live in a digital age and print zines are superfluous (regardless of how much we might love them). We are, however, planning on continuing the blog, so stay tuned for stuff from the fourth issue, as well as new stuff…

The final countdown

Trying to get enough submissions to put a final paper issue together.

We’re looking for stuff on being a minority in hardcore/punk, stuff on comic books, stuff on hope/new beginnings – but if you have something that has nothing to do with any of these we’ll consider that, too.

Thanks,

Lisa/IMUR

Will you miss me when I’m gone?

I know I promised more posts and I know the survey idea was lame, but hey, it was worth a shot. I really would like the zine to have an online presence, but so far this doesn’t seem to be working, so it’s back to the drawing board.

Since I’m participating in my own version of the annual Thing-a-Day challenge I can promise you that I won’t be making any more lame postings to this blog for a while (at least until the end of February). I will however be working on finding some great articles, art, etc. for the next issue and on the layout, so that hopefully it’ll be ready by the first week of March. So, if you’re itching to write something for us or you’d like to send us some art – drop me a line at imur.fanzine, a gmail address.

Lisa/IMUR

Music Survey

Okay, it’s my turn for the music survey. This is making me want to revisit some classics.

1. Favorite Beatles song: Tough one…”While My Guitar Gently Weeps”
2. Favorite Rolling Stones song: “Paint it Black” or “Wild Horses”
3. Favorite Doors song: “The End”
4. Favorite Bob Dylan song: Hard to narrow it down. “My Back Pages” or “I Threw it All Away”
5. Favorite Led Zeppelin song: Not a huge Led Zep fan (music is amazing, but not really a fan of Plant’s vocals), but “Kashmir” is pretty memorable
6. Favorite TV Theme Song: The X-Files or Saved by the Bell
7. Favorite Prince Song: “Let’s Go Crazy” or “Little Red Corvette”
8. Favorite Madonna Song: “Crazy for You”
9. Favorite Michael Jackson song: “Smooth Criminal” or “Billie Jean”
10. Favorite Queen Song: “Under Pressure”

Promises, promises…

Since we have nothing else to post at the moment – here’s a music survey I stole from YA author, John Green again.  So, dear reader – what are your favorite songs?

1. Favorite Beatles song: They have so many good ones I can’t pick just one – my favorites are Something, Oh, Darling!, Across the Universe and Blackbird

2. Favorite Rolling Stones song: Paint it Black

3. Favorite Doors song: People Are Strange

4. Favorite Bob Dylan song:It Ain’t Me Babe

5. Favorite Led Zeppelin song: I only know 2 Zeppelin songs – Stairway to Heaven and Good Times Bad Times – I wouldn’t call either of them favorites though

6. Favorite TV Theme Song: The X-Files or the A-Team

Some Questions for our dear readers

Ok, so maybe it’s just the usual mid-winter depression talking here – but does anyone actually read IMUR the blog or does pretty much everyone who stumbles upon here find themselves here by accident? Do you buy the paper version? I know the paper zine itself has a handful of readers, so I’m just wondering if keeping up the blog makes any sense. I’m also wondering if any of you have purchased a copy of the zine from Quimby’s or Chicago Comix (if not we may be pulling them from these stores)– or if you all just get them from me and Brian or Andrew’s distro. Finally, would you rather the zine be an online thing or do you like the print version? Let me know your thoughts.

Thanks,
Lisa/IMUR

Re: New Years Res…

Ok, so some of you may think this is stupid, but I love filling out surveys when I’m bored – it’s something I’ve been doing since my family acquired the internet back in 1998 and I filled out my first AOL profile at the tender age of 16. So, I’m taking a page from one of my favorite YA author’s (John Green) blog and posting surveys whenever Brian or I get writer’s block/there are no submissions. Thus ensuring we keep our resolution. So if you come across any interesting surveys send them to me and I’ll fill ‘em out. Otherwise, happy reading!

-Lisa/IMUR

1. FIRST NAME? Maria

2. ARE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? No, though one of my grandma’s cousins researched our family genealogy a couple of years back and apparently one of my German ancestors had my name or I have hers I guess.

3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? It’s been a while – sometime before we moved I guess. Though, I feel like crying off and on these days cause it’s winter and it feels like it will never end, but then my eyelids would probably freeze shut – so I’ll stay true to my WASP ancestors and keep everything bottled in for now [i.e. until the Mexican side takes over and I explode].

4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Sometimes – when it’s legible – otherwise it’s crap

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? I don’t eat meat, so the question is moot

6. KIDS? I don’t have any at the moment, but I’d like to have a couple soon. I even have their names picked out, though I’m not sharing ’cause you’d only steal them

7. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Maybe – I might get a little annoyed with me though since I’m not exactly the most social person, so I’m not sure.

8. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? I have a personal blog and a notebook I keep track of meaningful quotes in, but I don’t really keep a journal. I tried it a couple of times, but I never really wanted to read them later – I always found them boring or sad. I’d rather share with other people on my blog or in IMUR and delude myself into thinking that people actually read them

9. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Sarcasm, moi? No way

10. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? As far as I know

11. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Once upon a time I would have said yes without hesitation – now I’m not so sure.

12. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Cereal is one of my favorite foods, however, I’m fickle when it comes to brands – right now my favorites are Whole Grain Cheerios and some generic cereal with cranberries and almonds in it that I get at Dominick’s.

13. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Not unless absolutely necessary. I usually don’t untie them to put them on either, which may be why most of my socks get worn down at the heel quickly – God, I’m lazy!

14. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?
Physically: No – I can’t even do a push up
Mentally/Emotionally: Kinda, I guess

15. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Strawberry

16. SHOE SIZE? 8

17. RED OR PINK? Red

18. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? My mediocrity and my laziness – I have a strong suspicion they go hand in hand

19. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? The me that could’ve been had I not been so lazy

20. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? I want everyone who reads this to also fill it out and post it on their blogs or to send it to me so I can post it on here.

21. WHAT COLOR OF PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING RIGHT NOW? I’m wearing blue jeans and black flip flops

22. Who is your favorite writer/book/movie? Writer: Graham Greene Book:Into the Wild Movie: The Pianist

23, WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? The whirring of the computer and the cars driving by

24. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Indigo

25. WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE SMELLS? I’m very fond of Adidas Moves, which Brian used to wear when we were dating and baked goods are always good, too – especially stuff with apples or chocolate in it.

26. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU SPOKE ON THE PHONE WITH? Brian

27. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Their face, especially their eyes.

28. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? No one sent this to me – I stole it off John Green’s blog and I don’t know him personally, but he seems like a nice guy and his books are awesome – so I’ll say yes for now…

29. FAVORITE DRINK? Lake Michigan water

30. FAVORITE SPORT? Like Mr. Green – For watching, soccer. However, for playing, badminton.

31. HAIR COLOR? Dark Brown

32. EYE COLOR? Brown – my brother once told me they look like brown M&M’s

33. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Glasses.

34. FAVORITE FOOD? Thai

35. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDING? I love scary movies and happy endings.

36. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? The Verdict

37. COLOR OF SHIRT YOU ARE WEARING? It’s winter in Illinois, so I’m wearing 2 shirts – one is black, the other is lilac

38. WINTER OR SUMMER? definitely summer

39. HUGS OR KISSES? Both

40. FAVORITE DESSERT? Pie

41. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? No idea

42. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? You?

43. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? I’m listening to Jinx by Meg Cabot and reading City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare.

44. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? It’s a Dell mouse pad.

45. FAVORITE SOUNDS? Leaves rustling in the wind, music made by this man, children laughing, howling winds, etc.

46. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? An episodes of Battlestar Galactica – Brian and I just bought the first half of the 4th season on DVD and we’re trying to catch up, so NO SPOILERS!

47. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles

48. THE FURTHEST YOU’VE BEEN FROM HOME? Italy

49. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? No

50. WHEN AND WHERE WERE YOU BORN? August 17, 1982 in a hospital

Infinite Sadness (a poem)

Infinite sadness

drips

drips

drips

in the late winter sun.

Longing for belonging

and

the warm weather to come.

Hoping it will bring the lightness of a feather.

and…

if only for a brief moment

the energy,

the joy to dance freely

in the soft breeze on lush green lawns.

But…

until then

this infinite sadness will

drip

drip

drip

under the late winter sun

weighing my soul down.

-Lisa Quintero

New Years Resolution

Sorry about the lack of posts on here as of late. Brian and I moved to a new place in December and our lives have been kind of insane! Things are finally settling down though and we’ve made a resolution to post here more often this year.

We wish you all health and happiness in 2009!

-Lisa/IMUR