Dumpling Press is the friendly neighborhood publishing company that brings Jawbreaker to life. Claire and Paolo run this joint, and we’ve been actively releasing zines since 1999. And with Jawbreaker as our #1 priority right now, we hope to be delivering the goods for years to come.
While Jawbreaker is easily our masterpiece, it’s also the result of our long (sometimes bloody, joke lang!) history of creating top notch self-published goodness. This gallery will give you a brief rundown of our zine-making origins.
Halo-Halo
Halo-Halo #1: Let’s Go For a Ride
Release Date: February 1999
The love story begins here! We thought we could bring the outer limits of Pinoy pop culture closer to the everyday Juan. But with so little references to go by (like Giant Robot and similar Asian pop culture zines), the intention to document and parody weighed more heavily than the critical aspects of Pinoy pop. Regardless, it was fun brushing up on Turntablism 101, listening to Anton Garriz’s road trip stories of his U.S. tour with the Vomit Spots, and chatting with former MTV personality Bos Tamy.
LOTS of copies still available! Just ask – it’s FREE anyway (okay, so we over-printed). A word of warning tho: we put this out like 5 years ago, so don’t expect much!
Halo-Halo #2: Sex
Release Date: February 2000
This time around, we knew better than to spend tons of money on offset printing. So instead, we downsized our aspirations of being big and explored the wonders of risograph! In spite of the “MRR effect”, it wasn’t bad at all! Often dismissed as porn because of its somewhat graphic cover, this sex-themed ish dealt with the following themes: Asian fetish, virginity by choice, pre-colonial sex toys and tribal kink, as well as contemporary gender issues.
Unless extra copies are recalled, this zine is officially OUT OF PRINT.
Dysfunxion
Dysfunxion #1/Estrogen Overdose (split zine)
Release Date: April 1999
After years of toying with the idea, Paolo finally made the boyzine dream possible! Dysfunxion showcased his geekboy sensibilities by writing about his heroes – superheroes, real life heroes, etc. and got people to give their own Top 3 role models. Also includes a mock society page and a look back into the “grunge” phenomenon. In Estrogen Overdose, Anka rails against nuns, skin whiteners and lame books like Blake Nelson’s Girl. She can get really personal tho – I’m sure she’s grown out of it by now.
This zine is OUT OF PRINT, thank Dog!
Dysfunxion #2: Guns, Goons and Glitter
Release Date: October 1999
There’s an indication of maturity and substance in Paolo’s writing as he addresses geopolitical issues in “Holiday in Kosovo” and in an op-ed piece about detainee Anwar Ibrahim. On a more personal note, “Guilty of Being Burgis” reflects his position of privilege in class terms, and “20th Century Digital Boy” presents a kind of media autobiography. His kookier side comes through when he waxes nostalgic about Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider and features snapshots of KISS Easter eggs.
This zine is OUT OF PRINT.
Dysfunxion #2.5: Home Away From Home
Release Date: September 2000
As reviewed by Lauren Martin in Quantify #2:
“A very well-put-together zine, Paolo writes about the global spread of the Disney empire, travelling back to Hong Kong, & great critical postcolonial discourse from a Filipino punk rock perspective.”
This zine is OUT OF PRINT.
Femme FM #1
Release Date: November 2001
It just dawned on me one day: why not have a listening party where the girls get to pick the music? Both Danisha and Tiff were sold on the idea, so we hosted this little shindig and compiled our profiles and set lists in a lil’ ziney program. I started the evening with some “theory music” — everything sung about consumerism and glamour done flippantly, plus some straight-up in-your-face stuff about girlhood and identity. Danisha got everyone up and moving with her Northern Soul and Motown picks. Tiff dished out some pop punk tunes that reminded her of good times. I ended the party with an uppity covers set.
This zine is OUT OF PRINT.
Femme FM #2
Release Date: December 2001
The zine girls set the stereos ablaze! More fun profiles and set lists to peruse through! Then-expecting mother Wendi w.r.i.n.g. kicked off the evening with nostalgic indie rock fare. Vacationing from Colorado, Charisma (Brewster zine) gave her aural fixation in a mixtape she made. Athena (Framing Historical Theft) had to pare down her set list coz she came up with two hours worth of music! Finally, Loi Dissent wrapped up the party with some pleasantly earsplitting crusty tunes.
We’re down to our last few copies!
Martial Law Babies
Release Date: February 2002
“A messy hodge-podge of stories by small-press writers who happened to be born admist those long years when the Marcos dictatorship held the Philippine nation-state in its sway. As such, we’ve been shaped not only by the grand events that marked our times – such as the killing of Senator Benigno Aquino, or the bloodless revolt that happened at EDSA in February ’86 – but also the cultural forces at play in our everyday lives. From the Far East Network (FEN) rock n’ roll broadcasts to urban legends about fake tattoos laced with LSD… from Madonna’s sexual politics to Juan Flavier’s reproductive health programs, all these artifacts made us who we are today, even in the smallest ways. And now, years later, we’re picking our brains about them, with a critical retrospective”.
(From Paolo’s introduction)
This zine is currently OUT OF PRINT, but a reprinting is likely.
Chopsuey
Release Date: March 2003
A zine primer + cut-and-paste-ups by Zine Con ’02 workshoppers.The featured articles are attempts to document the Pinoy zine scene – whether it’s about format, or tied to a history of punk, or its subcultural and literary significance. Not quite comprehensive, but hey, we gotta start somewhere.
This zine is available at Central Comic Headquarters,
3rd Floor of FBR Arcade, Katipunan, QC.
