Hardcore Fanzine: Good and Plenty, 1989-1992 – Christopher Sleboda and Kathleen Sleboda

Focused on seven issues of Good and Plenty fanzine produced in the late 1980s/early 1990s, Hardcore Fanzine looks at the series through the lens of graphic design and typography, as a project that reflected and embodied technology of the period. Contributions from graphic designers, graphic design educators, and hardcore enthusiasts trace the history of zines and photoduplication; the idea of the body in punk and hardcore; how zine-making created community and alternative social space in a pre-Internet era; key typefaces used in straight edge iconography; and the importance of zines to successive generations of designers.

Good and Plenty was published as a labor of love and fandom by Zion, Illinois’s Gabe Rodriguez. Originally produced as a collaboration with friend Mike Good, Rodriguez took over editing and production of the zine, assisted by a team of friends and helpers. With their assistance and a network of fans from around the country and the world, Good and Plenty featured original photography documenting shows by Gorilla Biscuits, Judge, Bold, and other hardcore bands of the period; band interviews; reviews of shows and record releases; and essays by Rodriguez and friends (including Alyssa “Blowin’ Chunx” Murray and Kim Nolan) on a range of topics beyond music—from vegetarianism, women’s rights, gender relations, and straight edge, to racism, pop culture, and the Iraq War.

A text by Walter Schreifels—American musician, member of Gorilla Biscuits, Youth of Today, Quicksand, and many other bands—places G&P in historical context, outlining the context for individual issues and highlighting specific moments in the cultural and sonic landscape.

Hardcore Fanzine includes the full reproduction of all seven issues of Good and Plenty plus reproductions of a selection of the zine’s original paste-ups and photography.

With text by Walter Schreifels
Preface by Gabe Rodriguez

Contributions from Kristian Henson, Briar Levit, Ian Lynam, Gabriel Melcher, Anthony Pappalardo, Nate Pyper, Ali Qadeer, and Gabe Rodriguez

Designed by Partition
Softcover, 144 pages, 2-color offset printing, 6.5 × 9.5 inches