Feeling inadequate?

Here's a flyer-y thing I made for the calendar from a picture of Kylie sitting on a cannon on Cardiff Bay. Pass it on!

Babes with Brains Calendar for Women's Aid

Have just updated the website with a pre-order link and a preview of our Babes with Brains Calendar for Women's aid. We have Women's Aid's official blessing and thank you, so we're good to go!

Our models have been chosen (the seven published cover girls and the next five) and we're trying to arrange another few photoshoots to get some new pictures for the occasion.

I'm going to re-post the info I posted to the website here, because it's important, and I'm just going to tell you the same thing, so:

Villains, Minions, Virgins of the Undead! The Antagonist is thrilled silly to present our 2011 Babes With Brains Calendar!

It's twelve months of full-colour, spiral-bound glory featuring twelve (and just maybe a top secret lucky #13) beautiful women chosen for their considerable intelligence and kindness of disposition!

All proceeds will be donated to Women's Aid to help them in their quest to end domestic violence.


Babes with Brains

Babes with Brains: a tongue-in-cheek title for an overdue concept. For those of you just joining us, the models featured on the covers and throughout the issues of The Antagonist are the Babes, women of all ages and walks of life chosen for their intelligence over their dress size, lovingly photographed in places and situations that are personal as they are playful. This project is attempting to show, one issue at a time, that all women are beautiful and that there is nothing sexier than a woman who can crush you with her mind (as if anyone needed convincing).

We've had the honour of photographing some incredible women over the past year and half, and now we're bringing them all together in a series of new pictures for a cause: to raise money for Women's Aid.

Domestic Violence is a serious problem that affects women, children, and men all over the world. One in four women in the UK alone will experience domestic violence in their lifetime. Women's Aid is a charity that strives to put an end to the violence, raising awareness and protecting the affected, saving countless lives in the process.

It's an important cause, and that's why we're donating all of the proceeds of the calendar to help them in their mission.

Some of the models you know, and some of them will be new to you. We have stunning previously unpublished photos of Kitty Moran, Elizabeth T, Jen Sheehan, Lisa Ray, Emily V, and Ophelia from Issues 1 - 6, as well as some new faces including the lovely Liz Wride, Kylie R of Issue 7, and a special guest appearance from our personal rock star, Englane Read (see above).

The calendars are full-colour, spiral bound, designed from scratch by the Editor and include noteable dates (Pagan, Christian, and Antagonistic!) all year round. They are available by pre-order only, and you must place your order by midnight GMT on the 5th of December. They will be shipped to you anywhere in the world from the Headquarters, hot off the presses, in time for Christmas (or Yule). You can get them on the website or from our Squid Shop.

For more on Women's Aid, click here.

We'd like to remember those affected by domestic violence in the calendar. If you have anyone you'd like mentioned, please contact us.

Submit to issue 7!

Issue 6 has been out for a week now and I've been getting some good feedback -- more than usual, anyway, and it's the kind I like. One nice man said when he read it he felt like he was on another planet (???), and I've got three new (excellent) writers. Yay!

It's already time to get started on Issue 7. I know because I dreamt in InDesign last night. You didn't know you could do that, did you? It was fairly technical, and I was laying out the music section. Some people have dreams about flying. I dream about fonts.

Anyway, a lot of the content for Issue 7 is already in and ready to go. To all of y'all out there who sent in your stuff -- thank you! We've got some great interviews with EnglanE, Craig Jeffrey, and The Exposed, a new short story by gonzo fictionalist Robin Ganderton, and far too many amazing pictures of Kylie to choose from. That's a pretty good start!

I still need any features, rants, reviews, fiction, poetry, pictures, obscenities, and anything else you want to send in. I need everything before the end of the month because I want to get this issue out EARLY! So if you've got something you'd like to see in it, send it over! As always, it's primaryantagonist@gmail.com.

Issue 6 is OUT NOW!

It's out done. Issue 6 is finally here. I drank a bunch of vitamin water yesterday and stayed up and laid out like, 20 pages after work. I suspect it's pretty good, but I wouldn't trust my judgement because I feel like my brain has melted a little bit. See for yourself -- download yours, free as always, here.

The password is "ophelia".

More later.

48 Pages and Counting

Just a quick note to assure you all that although Issue 6 is taking its time, it is still coming, and the reason why it's so late is that the week it was due out, we got a fantastic interview with Mojo Nixon (!!!!) and a pile of other excellent submissions at the Headquarters. Instead of saving these things for Issue 7, I've decided to extend Issue 6 and just chuck everything in there unabridged.

And you know what? It's going to be GREAT.

I should know. I get to look at it everyday. Ha!

To add further oddness to life here at the Headquarters, the Facebook mob have demanded that Your Editor by numbered among the Babes With Brains (aw, shucks) and we're starting to take pictures. Although I've been on the cover more than anybody else (I've still got a ways to go to compete with Oprah's appearances on the cover of O), I still find it incredibly awkward to be photographed in any serious capacity. So they're probably going to be ridiculous. At least the ones I'll admit to. Jen's taken a few. Here's another one:



In other news, we here at the Headquarters are planning something very special for our ten year anniversary next year. We've been going for nine years next month, and next year for number 10, we're going to put together a super long magazine (or book) full of all of our favourite stuff of the past decade. That's right -- most the interviews, the features, the rants, the fake adverts, and the covers since high school, and maybe some new stuff, too.

Does that sparkle with you?

We've been getting some fantastic submissions this month and we now have even more readers in weirder places, but still we want more! More, Minions! Send anything and everything to primaryantagonist@gmail.com.

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

Okay, so it's been awhile, but things are crazy. And by things, I mean me. I'm nuts. But if you're reading this, that's probably why. I can only guess.

So June went by stupidly fast because I went on an excursion to Minnesota. You want proof?



There it is.

I didn't expect to enjoy being back as much as I did, but it was amazing. It's always weird little things that you miss. Like your siblings.

While I was there, I went down to Infinity and got a new tattoo. I went with M and she got another one, too, and yes, I did say "another". M has loads of tattoos and she looks great, and the guys at Infinity always do an awesome job. Plus, they've got a candy machine full of chewy Spree. What more could you ask for?

Anyway, it was good being back, and it got me thinking about how little I've actually changed since high school. I have a couple of degrees now, and the Punk is pretty awesome, but everything about me is still pretty much the same. Same politics, same accent, same magazine, better record collection. People say you change as you get older, but they're wrong. If you change too much, you're not doing it right.

I always thought it would be awesome be publish The Antagonist forever, but I didn't think it would actually happen. I know ten years isn't all that long, but it's not bad, and the magazine's longevity has been the greatest surprise ever. I put it down to being stubborn, foolhardy, and irritated enough with the world that I have to constantly make fun of it.

Sure, things have changed over the years -- it's more about the music now, for one thing -- but I think it's better than ever. Issue 6 is going to be a weird one. It's our Post-Apocalyptic Silent Movie issue. Why? Well it beats the hell out of "Fall Fashion Dos and Don'ts".

For this one we've got an interview with Dandelion Snow, Niki Lee's first column all the way from West Hollywood, a review of Emily's Army at the Troubadour, Violent Matt's investigation of Coulrophobia, the fear of clowns, and loads of exciting pictures of Sammie. Here's one:



I'm having a lot of fun with this one, changing all the fonts and colours for the occasion (way more exciting to me than you can imagine), and going out of my way to find content just that little bit weirder.

Why not?

Now I say this a lot, but I am always looking for new writers, models, bands, artists, etc, etc, so if you or anyone you know would like to get involved in any capacity from any part of the world, let me know. It's been clinically proven that I am actually the nicest Editor in the history of Creation, so get in touch, and I might even bake for you: primaryantagonist@gmail.com

London Zine Symposium 2010

We're back from the London Zine Symposium and we're spending the day recovering at the Headquarters with Violent Matt. We took the 6:00 yesterday morning after a full night of stapling and 2 hours of sleep and just about made it to the Rag Factory in time to set up at 11. Look at all the stuff!



Lots of lovely people turned up in support -- Punk John, Violent Matt, Jayne H, Kitty Moran, and a slightly confused young man who half-remembers friending us on MySpace. Hi, random dude!



We sold loads of magazines -- we're out of Issue 5 now, but we still have a few copies of 1 - 4 and plenty of t-shirts and badges. I was even interviewed for a documentary about the symposium, and Violent Matt filmed loads of the day -- will post the video when he's finished editing it.



All in all it was a good adventure, but we were happy to get home, 24 hours after waking up. I slept so hard I could have been on another planet. Anyway, we're home now, reading the zines we swapped for and watching bizarre TV. Thank God tomorrow's a Bank Holiday!

Issue 5 is OUT NOW!

Attention Minions!

Issue 5 of The Antagonist is out now! Once again, it is absolutely FREE to download, so tell your friends, warn your enemies, and get your copy here. The password is "emilyv".

This month we have 44 advert-free pages of rubbish including:

*interviews with No Use For a Name's Tony Sly and the very talented piano guy Brian Wahlstrom
*reviews of Hole, Gogol Bordello, Tony Sly, and Jace Everett
*a four-page feature challenging popular negative perceptions of tattoos
*Punk John's Spring Break blog featuring David Cameron, Courtney Love, and a big ass billboard with a stag on it,
*lots of gorgeous pictures of the very lovely and suspiciously clever Emily V
*literature by Rhys Owain Williams, Gillian Brightmore, and the first part of a new short story cheerily titled Snickerdoodles: Or How I Stopped Baking and Started Hurting People
*documentary PROOF that Elvis really is everywhere,
*and a letter to Jordan Catalano

...in addition to all the regular features and columns you know and love or feel indifference to.

That's a lot of free stuff!

So download it, take it, love, it, pass it around, and write me a damn article!!!

Record Store Day and Visual Diabetes

Let's just stop pretending there's anything good about tumblr. As far as these things go, it sucks. It's not easy to use in the slightest, it's just like mega twitter, and I haven't quite worked out the appeal of twitter, either. So screw you, tumblr, i'm posting all of my ramblings on blogspot.



Have had an amazing weekend. Went to Spillers for Record Store Day and had a nice chat with Nick here. For those of you not familiar with it, Spillers is the oldest record shop in the world and is currently under threat by the rising rent prices resulting from the new St Davids 2 shopping mall that's opened up across the way. We here at the Headquarters are big fans of Spillers, and they even stock your favourite magazine. What's not to like? Support independence! Visit Spillers in Cardiff or online here.



Oh, and we met this lovely little rat. Isn't he cute?

We ditched Bullet For My Valentine's record signing for a £10 of jelly beans before heading to the Castle Arcade for Part I of Kylie's epic 2-Day photoshoot of awesomeness. I could say that we actually shrunk Kylie and stuck her in a dollhouse (because we have been watching Harvey Birdman ALL weekend), but that would take away from the awesomeness that this place actually exists. And you can buy cheese in it.



Today we walked down to the Bay and took a boat out to Penarth where we wandered around aimlessly for an hour, passing a surprising number of derlict apartment buildings on our quest for soda pop. Eventually we ended up back at the Bay and grabbed some ice cream before getting on the carousel. I wanted to ride backwards with my camera, but settled for side sadle and we ended up with my favourite picture from the weekend. We call this one "Visual Diabetes."



Mmm mmm good.

In other news, The Antagonist will be appearing at the London Zine Symposium at the Rag Factory on Saturday, 29th May, so come out and see us! We'll have plenty of back issues on sale and we might even bring a few more t-shirts. Good stuff!

Issue 5 is coming!

Right! So Issue 5 is slightly behind schedule, but that's only because we're having a hard time packing so much awesome into forty advert-free pages. There's a lot to catch up on, so I'm just going to go for it.



We've got a review of Joey Cape, Tony Sly, and Jon Snodgrass' gig at the Croft in Bristol (which I'll spoil for you right now by telling you it was totally bitchin')...



an interview with No Use For a Name's Tony Sly who has just released the terribly exciting solo album 12 Song Program on Fat Wreck...



an interview with the amazingly talented "piano guy" Brian Wahlstrom who's Claremont has the Headquarters feeling all jittery...



the very first column by Antagonist favourite Niki Lee, all the way from Cali-frickin'-fornia...



a literature section that will knock your socks off with abundant sex, violence, and writer's block from Gillian Brightmore, Rhys Owain Williams, and Yours Truly, AND tons of pictures of Emily V., who I'm sure you'll agree, is really, really incredibly hot.

How does all that sound? I am overwhelmed by all of the excitement!

In other news, the t-shirts have sold out except for one lonely size L in a bag in my closet (any takers?) and all of the special edition copies of Issues 2 and 3 are gone. Issues 4 and 5 to follow! We have a printer now and he's so good, we're completely overwhelming him with our enthusiasm. The Headquarters has a new staff member, Vince, the Long Arm Stapler, and he's been very busy. Joy abounds!

Speaking of joy, I am thrilled silly to report that Jace Everett is playing The Chattery in Swansea (random much?) next month and we're all going. Like, all of us. If you want to go, contact The Chattery directly and book yourself some tickets!

Don't forget, The Antagonist is participating in the 24-Hour Poetry marathon on April 23rd at the Elysium Gallery in Swansea. Sponsor us, come down and support our writers, and read something, bitches! It's going to be a great night!

Donate to Kitty and Save a Cat!

You knew she was hot, but soon she'll be literally aflame! Big-hearted Babe #1 Kitty Moran is participating in a firewalk for Cats Protection and you can sponsor her through justgiving.com. Donate to Kitty and save a cat!



In other news, the new T-Shirts are here and they're fabulous! There are still a few left, so if you want one, you can order one through the website. They're £10, which is more than we were hoping, but still pretty good given the fact that each one has an awesome SQUID in a TOP HAT on it! Big thanks for Neil Austin for the amazing artwork!

T-Shirts, Ahoy!

Okay! Quick entry just to let y'all know that the HM Revenue & Customs fairy has visited the Headquarters and lo, we're getting t-shirts. They should be ready in about a week and if you want one, they're going to be £7ish. Will be able to give you a more exact price when we hear back from the nice screen printer people. They're going to be black (and possibly other colours) and they're going to have our new logo on them. They're going to be awesome.

If you want one, let us know. Email your size and details of what you're currently wearing to primaryantagonist@gmail.com.

Best Day Ever

February 17th was the greatest and best day for The Antagonist in recent memory.

First of all, Issue 4 is out now and it's a free download (get yours here). It's shorter, yes, but that's because all of my writers went on vacation and because it's hard to put together a magazine with minor content gaps when you've been working as much as I have (I'm doing office work for a charity now, but that's beside the point). Nevertheless, Issue 4 turned out awesome thanks in large part to a few great pieces (you know who you are), a trip to Bristol, a hot girl in red fishnets, and a fantastic interview with Niki Lee.

This leads me to Part 2 of why this day was so magical. Niki loved her article, and we love Niki, so Niki is going to write for us. For real. She's going to be writing a column all the way from West Hollywood and we could not be happier.



Disregarding what I just said, Part 3 actually makes us even happier still. Neil Austin sent us our new mascot at random (see above). He's perfection. We adore him, and we are hell-bent on getting some t-shirts ordered as soon as humanly possible. Who wants one?

Part 4 is that we're looking into collaborating with Grievous Jones for some form of future project. We don't have to tell you how cool Grievous Jones is, and we're also holding high hopes for a regular column from Grievous himself. Very exciting.

Part 5 (these just keep going) is that The Antagonist has applied to exhibit at the London Zine Symposium this May. Won't hear back until next month, but the fact that such a thing exists is a big Win and we'd love to be a part of it.

Part 6 is that the printing company got in touch with us with some excellent rates for our limited edition issues, and

Part 7 is that two new Babes with Brains (Theresa and Kylie) have been scheduled for photoshoots in the near future.

All things considered, best day ever.

Marvellous.

Also, I'm giving away free downloads of Issues 1 - 3 for the rest of the weekend on the website. If you missed one, this is your chance. Go now!

Not Dead. Librarian.

The Antagonist is taking a brief (1 month) hiatus because Your Editor is being paid to pretend to be a librarian of sorts in an obscure attic in Cardiff. Suspect I am also a Watcher, but time will tell. Issue 4 will be out shortly with Dillinger Four, Joey Cape, Alex de Campi's Valentine, and lots more! Oh, and it's going to be free again, because we want you to send it to all of your friends and enemies and lovers and minions and mistresses all over the world so they, too, can glory in the wonder that is The Antagonist.

In the mean time, each and every one of you should check out Alex de Campi's new online graphic novel Valentine, a gorgeously illustrated supernatural story set during the Napoleonic Wars. You buy it in issues online, and as odd as the e-reader format might initially seem, it really suits the medium and the story takes on a fantastic cinematic quality. I loved it. You can get the first issue for 99 cents (like 60p)through amazon here and visit Alex de Campi's website for multi-media wonderment here.

Check back, join the facebook fan page (The Antagonist and The Antagonist is the Greatest Cult Zine in the WORLD!!!), or add yourself to the mailing list by emailing primaryantagonist@gmail.com.

Now write me something!