Together, these zines tell the romantic story of a single guy exploding into self-awareness of his sexuality who then meets another guy, who his touring in a band, and they both fall madly in love. As much as I adore songs about how much a singer loves her boyfriend, I adore a zine about how much a writer loves his boyfriend. And, this zinester is adorable. Whenever he describes his boyfriend, he always follows it with, "This guy's so awesome!" This type of sincere boy-lovin' is rare in both the zine world (where many queer zines tend to celebrate cruising and promiscuity) and the gay subculture (which basically defines itself by cruising and promiscuity).
Re-reading Black Carrot was a healthy reminder of how important zines have been to me in my formulation of an alternative to not only the mainstream dominant culture, but to the mainstream gay subculture. Thanks, Dave!
To find get your hands on copies of Black Carrot, visit Microcosm or try emailing Dave.
