I just read the zine called “The Boy and the Heater!!!!” It is by up-and-coming zinester “hanbuckogo!!” I got this for my birthday from the author, my co-worker’s son. It is the best zine I have read all year and I highly recommend it. I was on the edge of my seat: I laughed, I cried, it became a part of me – it will be the feel good zine of the Spring. It is a story as old as time: boy finds dog, boy loses dog, boy finds dog again: except this time, the dog is actually a heater. This brings up the question – who is the hero of this journey? Is it the boy? Is it the heater? Why is the boy nameless? Maybe because we are all the boy. I will leave these mysteries for other readers or literary critics to solve later. The boy loves the heater, but the father does not. The extensive use of exclamation points throughout the work only increases the drama. The father throws the heater out! Does the boy find the heater again? Are the problems between the boy and the father resolved? No spoiler alerts here. I will let, you, the reader, discover this journey for yourself.
Note: This zine came with a FREE button. I was impressed but I promise it did not sway this review.
This is an entry for the The 10th Annual Washington State Zine Contest.
