I have to admit that I don’t know much about Jonathan Crowe (editor, articles) and his contributors for issue 2 – Jennifer Seely (art) and Tamara Vardomskaya (articles, poetry), but I do know an interesting, well-laid-out and thoughtful ‘zine when I see one and Ecdysis No. 2 is all of that and more.
There are some deep thoughts presented here and some excellent artwork, balanced by a light touch with the layout and a style of presentation that make this ‘zine a breeze to read through.
Of particular note is Tamara’s take on the stories collected in The Science Fiction Hall Of Fame from the perspective of a graduate student who was born well after the anthology was published, let alone the stories themselves. It’s an eye opener and a well-balanced take. (Tamara herself would appreciate your taking a look at her poetry as well.)
Jonathan gets into an interesting discussion via the LOCs on the place of fanzines in a blog-dominated world and Jennifer’s art – purportedly the excuse for publishing this ‘zine, are fine examples of the fannish tradition.
No 2. seems, for the most part, centered on dinosaurs, complete with a discussion of the Bone Wars, an interesting period in paleontological history.
Ecdysis No. 2 is a fine example of fanzines being published for publishing’s sake and makes for some excellent reading.
(Ecdysis No. 2 can be downloaded from eFanzines.com in both PDF and iBooks format.)
