Double Duce by Aaron Cometbus (Last Gasp, 2003)

GENRE: Fanzine

HONORS: none

REVIEW: In Double Duce , Aaron Cometbus documents the experience living in a deserted Berkeley warehouse with his friends Sluggo, Little G, and Willey. The book documents the gutter punk culture in the '90's that often consisted of going to shows, running from the cops, and experimenting with hard drugs. Throughout the book, there are many interesting and eccentric characters that come to live in the house, but the story exudes a sense of community and tolerance. The underlining philosophy is not anarchy, but a group of young people who have created their own system to live off the grid and discover their own identities.

OPINION: Cometbus' books are an underground staple. His fanzines documents not only the subculture, but the history that floats in the Bay Area music scene. The publisher, Last Gasp, has kept true to the presentation of the fanzine, with the text appearing to be handwritten and the covers hand drawn. Aaron Cometbus is a great writer from the Bay Area that may be as significant to young people, as Joan Didion and Lawrence Ferlinghetti are to the old.

IDEAS: A notable book for a Zine workshop or display of local history (if in the Bay Area).