Documentary Evidence of Terrifying Minions

Have spent all of my time off work with honest-to-goodness SWINE FLU to catch up on the magazine and I'm proud to say that Issue 2 is looking great!

In this issue we've got coverage of Comic Con, Fish and Chips Worth Travelling For, and the unholy alliance between MTV and the Army! The music section has reviews of Sonic Boom 6 (as of Thursday!), Pig With the Face of a Boy, and Clear Air Turbulence, an interview with Razorblade Romance, and the long-awaited Songs About Smack playlist. There's also a back-to-school literature section with Amphetamine Logic Part II and the best in local poetry! Needless to say, we've also got lots more hot girls with big brains and enormous black boots. And this issue is absolutely free! So check back here for a link to your free issue, check the website, check the Facebook fan page, the Facebook group, the Twitter page, and check your email because this issue is going to be coming at you from every which way and you're not going to want to miss it!

In celebration of the near completion of the second issue in this, the biggest and most ambitious incarnation of The Antagonist to date, I'd like to invite you, your friends, and your minions to contribute. There's really nothing to be afraid of -- if we like your stuff, we'll print it, and if we don't, well, I'll dispose of it as I see fit.

Now I understand some of you didn't believe me when I said that I ripped rejected articles into tiny pieces to make papier mache boats and, I admit, that is a bit far-fetched (papier mache boats would eventually melt and sink), but I do have a special Minion who disposes of them for me.

You want proof?



Now, I know that's a scary prospect, but you really shouldn't let it put you off. Go ahead! Send any features, articles, reviews, interviews, photographs, comics, love letters, hate mail, pants, etc. to primaryantagonist@gmail.com.

Submissions, ahoy!

Issue 2 is coming along brilliantly. A strange thing happened this morning: I checked my email, and there were about 10 submissions in my inbox. Fab! I have a stack of articles to edit now, and will hopefully have Issue 2 ready for print by early next week. That would be fab! Now we just have to get the money to print the second one.

Now, the magazine should be self-sustaining, but isn't yet because it's difficult to coordinate distributors, track down subscribers, and get all the month's cash back in one place before the next issue needs to be printed. Not great! So this month we're going to print fewer issues right away, and try to sell more colour PDFs. Unless, of course, a miracle happens and the bank finally calls me back. Irritating.

Nevertheless, the magazine is looking great. I have an epic interview with The Death of Chapman Baxter as well as a Q & A with Liam Shaolin Wolf + pictures, a column from Chris Samia, an article and a poem by Gemma June Howell, and part 2 of Amphetamine Logic! Also expecting a piece on Black Eyes & Neckties from Graham Isaac and a recap of the London Comic-Con from Kitty Moran and Jen Sheehan! You can also count on regular features like Punk John's politics column, the Teen Movie Experiment, and Totally American Reviews. Excitement!

This month Gemma's covering a poetry and photography exhibition held by Ceri Thomas and Deepa Praveen that took place in Swansea on International Women's Day. Here's a preview of Deepa's gorgeous photos:

Beer in a wine glass.

The sunset from a moving bus. Awesome.

Will be using a couple of other brilliant photos for the b & w printed copies as the loss of colour in these two would be a tragedy, but will still post our set on the website as an extra feature. Good stuff!

Finally! The First Issue!

Climbing the walls in The Headquarters waiting for the Magazine to be delivered. Craziness!!! Woke up at 7 in a panic, afraid I'd missed them. Sleeping in a room that gets sunlight does weird things to a person.

Have phoned the printing company to pay them (sorted!), and asked to make sure they're dropping it off today like they said they would. They're going to check and then call me back. This worries me! I have copies to post to people today and I'm anxious to get some more distributors on board!

In other news, have connected the website to Paypal so people can order copies online. I haven't announced its existence properly yet, but we already have a few orders! Hurrah!

Am looking into opening a business account, but it's up in the air who it's going to be with. Lloyd's called back and the swearing is fine! Hooray! The banker I've been talking to isn't there today, and Abbey hasn't called me back yet, but I'm hoping to get it sorted tomorrow so we have a short at making it to Comic Con in two weeks.

Emailed Comic Con earlier about setting up a booth and having Kitty Moran there to autograph pictures of herself. Looking forward to hearing back.

It's been a whole two minutes and the printers haven't called back yet. I'm so wound up it's crazy. I've been working towards this moment for two months: I want to get going!

Have another photoshoot scheduled for the weekend. This should be fun. This one's going to be Elizabeth, Kitty's friend, in an undisclosed location, wearing god-knows-what. I'm excited!

As for Kitty, she's gotten so much positive feedback from her pictures that she's looking into becoming a professional alternative model. Fantastic! I can't see that not working out for her -- she's smart, driven, and looks amazing in bondage tape. What more do you need?

We went to the market on the river yesterday with Punk John. I'd heard rumours of the greatness of the curry breakfast, but never in my wildest dreams did I imagine it would work. The Punk was understandably pleased. I wound up with a strawberry crepe. I can't believe that there are crepes available on a weekly basis. I'm hooked.

We met by the "penis bean". As cool as I think all-weather artwork in cities is, I can't help but wonder who thought this was a good idea. I know I'm not the only person who thinks this looks rude:



Off to Swansea tomorrow to see everyone/drop off some magazines. Should also be interviewing Liam Shaolin Wolf from The Death of Chapman Baxter tomorrow. Awesome. They loved my album review (I loved their album!) and I'm glad that for once, something positive I wrote wasn't taken badly. Anyway, I'm excited, because they're really great guys, and the interview will fit nicely into the August issue. Here's a picture from their recent gig at Jubbly's:



Just heard back from the printers, and they're bringing the magazines over at 4 or 4:30. Fab! He said it turned out great, but there are a few things I can do to make it better for next time, but I'm going to try not to worry about that. I know a couple of the pictures didn't turn out all that great (due to lack of high-res), but I still expect it to be awesome.

Off to get envelopes now, then to meet Kitty for coffee. Quest!