Click HERE if you want to get back to the comics page Click HERE if you want to get back home Click HERE if you want to go straight to the Secrets Lounge BOOM! Thank you for picking up the new issue of Fruiting Bodies ! This is the first "international" issue, as somehow I ended up working on it in Philadelphia, Montreal and London ! Do certain sections taste different to you ? In two of these places I was drinking "cafe au lait" and in the other I was just drinking plain old "caw-fee." I love both but when the milk is foamed and heated it's like getting zipped up in a perfect fitting coat and jumping into a pile of raked leaves...damp to the touch....cool bugs hanging out....maybe something sharp hiding somewhere...just perfect ! ZIP ME UP ALREADY ! AND I suppose that ties into the unintentional but undeniable theme of this issue : "APPRECIATION" ! Each comic sort of ended up as a little mini documentary on someone who knows what they're into and aren't afraid to hide it ! Which I LOVE ! I realized this as I was thinking of one of my favorite movies, "Tampopo," which has a similar focus on appreciation. Some people like to squish their bread...some people lke their food sexy...some people just wanna slurp the noodle. SLURP THE NOODLE ALREADY ! ALSO - the underlying connection among every dot in this zine is that I very often HATE or just plum feel bad about my drawings or specific lines or details or choices I make, and sometimes I fix them with whiteout or whatever but I am trying to realize the specific points when it's time to embrace and appreciate my mistakes. I am self taught and generally prefer anything that is messy and chaotic over and order and cleanliness (though no harsh feelings to any of ya'll who are into that...just don't come over to MY side of the room OK ??) so why should I try to impose that on myself ? The first zine I ever made, at age 17, had a pullout slip of paper that listed all the mistakes I made because I was a g-dang zen master back in those days ! So I am always trying to embrace that, and to iron out any self imposed pressure that could take any of the fun out of actualy drawing what's swirling around in my head. It's a wild ride !!! Thanks for coming along ::)) :) Use the arrows below to flip through the comic :) <-- Previous    Next --> HERE'S THE TOP TEN, IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER : 1. SNIFFING - wow well I will tell you that since starting hormone therapy my nose has been going WILD…Kew Gardens in London was slapping me with the best flower scents ever…the leaves in the forest by the covered bridge in Philly were intoxicating…the crispness in the air outside of CAB…what the hell ! The world smells so so good. 2. SILENCIO by LAETITIA SADIER - when I was 6 my dad got a mix in the mail from a penpal that kicked off with “The Free Design” by Stereolab, which is one of many early exposures I credit to keeping me a freak for life. Of course I still love that band, but I think I am maybe way MORE into this solo album by Laetitia ? It is so smart and catchy and political in all the best ways. I got my copy at a thrift store for 2 dollars ! Happy hunting ! 3.GARLIC IS AS GOOD AS TEN MOTHERS - talk about appreciation ! This is a loving ode to our favorite allium by Les Blank, who also did another one of my favorite niche appreciation docs named “Gap Toothed Women.” Supposedly when Les Blanc is at a screening of it he sneaks to the back and starts roasting heads of garlic in a toaster oven to enhance the experience, which is not only a great way to indulge one of our most overlooked senses (also see #1 “SNIFFING”) but also recreated so easily at home ! But even if you don’t entertain your olfactory organ, you’ll be CRAVING garlic when it’s done. Load up on garlic bread or put a whole clove in your cheek and you’ll be THANKING yourself in the wintertime. Though - pregnant folks beware ! Consuming tons of garlic and providing your milk to the baby is known to make the baby fussy and smell a lot like the stinking rose itself. Though, maybe you think that’s kinda cute ? As always, do what feels right ! 4. “SERPENTINE BEAD” - Ever since I read this phrase on a construction help website I can’t stop thinking about it ! It’s an especially evocative way of describing how to squeeze glue onto a surface, but it’s nice in this case because you’re doing something that will ideally never be seen by human eyes again in a beautiful, interesting way. Have you ever seen something removed from a wall and there is some left over dried up glue playing in a wiggly sort of way ? That’s what I’m TALKING ABOUT ! 5. KLEINMEISTER by RUTH GARBUS - OMG…would you even believe me if I told you this is already a classic ? Or that this is one of those albums where everything lines up perfectly? No lulls, no bad moments, ALL TOP NOTCH ! It’s true, really !!! And Ruth has this knack for singing about things that not many other folks sing about, or maybe we’d call it bravery ? Who else has the guts to sing “All My Uncles Are Watching Over Me ?” Also: shoutout to The Stump, who after we saw Ruth play the OSR tapes farewell back in fall 2016 texted me saying he couldn’t find the song about “popsicle sticks covered in algae” anywhere ! It’s right here !! Track 1 ! No more searching ! 6. THE MUSEUM OF EVERYDAY LIFE - maybe you know about Glover, VT from the Bread and Puppet Theatre, but in that same town a long time B&P member has a really fun and inspiring barn museum ! You just pull up, turn on the lights and look around ! I loved all the dusty stuff and all the greasy stuff, oh I just loved it all ! The Roussel tribute at the entrance, the violin made out of match sticks, the scissor exhibit in the back ! NOT TO BE MISSED ! And thanks to Erin and Leif for telling me about it in the first place ! 7. WINTER - I think I’m ready for it…and I’m putting it on this list as a sign of love and respect…but it does seem to be coming up fast doesn’t it ?? In the winter I try to drink miso soup all the time, and have fire cider in the morning, and bike and exercise a lot, and put cardamom in the coffee, and it seems like this winter is shaping up to be filled with allspice and sumac…two deep flavors to combat the dull and grey winter life in the city. So I think I’m ready ! And I guess what I love most about winter is that I end up staying in working on projects more than anything, and emerge in the warm days creatively fulfilled and ready for play and adventure ! This is maybe the most animal habit I have, and I like that this sort of hibernation gives me something in common with my friends The Skunk, The Bat and The Bee. 8. INNOCENCE UNPROTECTED - No spoilers !!! But this is one of the best movies I’ve watched all year, by Yugoslavian director Dušan Makavejev ! So weird and cool, I don’t want to tell you anything about it because it’s so mesmerizing to go in totally blank. I promise it’s worth it ! 9. “SHOOT THE PUMP” - Incredible early hip hop song by J Walter Negro and the Loose Jointz about opening up a fire hydrant and using a hollow can to direct the spray wherever you want. Shooting the pump !! Everything about the song is great but I think my favorite part is right at the beginning when someone says “Hey mom, can I borrow the monkey wrench ? No I’m not gonna shoot the pump!” There is a really informative interview with Loose Jointz member Pablo Calogero to this song on a blog called Tofu Hut, and it goes into how NYC graffiti culture and hip hop birthed the band and song only to have their momentum totally ruined by Big Biz :( 10. WALKING Just want to give some extra love to walking, especially as winter approaches and I tend to neglect it ! In London I basically walked everywhere because the subways were crowded and there is so much to see. Back when I was more of a curmudgeon I would put headphones on and walk around but now I am 100% for walking and being totally aware of your surroundings ! Also everyone else has headphones or airpods or whatever in the ears so no one can actually hear what you’re doing ! It rules ! You have total freedom ! Sing out loud, talk to strangers, pick up trash ! The world is your oyster ! I am writing this to you on November 10, 2019. This zine was printed at the NEW Space 1026 in Philadelphia, which I hope you come to visit sometime. Thanks for reading ! <3 Ana Woulfe SECRETS LOUNGE Somehow I managed to scrap this together over the course of a very ! busy ! summer and fall. I was : starting hormones, renovating an apartment, moving into that apartment, traveling all over the place, working two jobs, biking long distances on the regular, playing music shows ! LOL what the hell ! I'm totally incapable of that sort of manic energy these days (thank you estrogen :) ) and it is sort of wild to think about that life. I'm glad I moved on ! I think that is why this zine is sort of scattered in some ways. That being said, I have some really sweet memories of working on this at the time. Like sitting in this park in Montreal and drawing before going to see Wendy play at Casa Del Popolo : One of the jobs I was working at the time was with a freak construction crew, and I was spending a LOT of time with bricks. I remember Lale and I talking about how we both wanted to make brick comics and I was so excited to finish up the one in this zine ! I was doing alot of basic lime mortar masonry and repointing and becoming totally obsessed with the process, and started fantasizing about some sort of hybrid of brick and snail technology (i.e. self-generating the materials to build your house / shell). I don't have many pics from this time in my life but I do have this one Yianni snapped of me working under the front stairs of the building we were in. I spent like two weeks or so repointing it and had so much fun, especially when I brought my boombox in and started blasting Harry Partch. So many cool sounds bouncing around in my little pit :) I took this video of the cover while working on it : I finished up the comics while staying in London in my sisters apartment in Deptford. After she and her husband left to go on their honeymoon, I had a bunch of days to myself. I didn't know anyone and was really overwhelmed by the city, so I tended to just walk around for hours and hours during the day and then draw all night. I went to like 10 different museums while I was there ?? It was fun ! Around the corner from the apartment was a really cool building with this front door that I think about all the time : The neon sign / coffee comic was initally supposed to go in a totally different direction but I decided to keep it all positive, "happy vibes" etc etc. Here's a look at what could've happened if the brats had shown up : Also the dalmatian mug in that comic is a reference to a doodle I made that will maybe eventually get folded into a larger comic someday Shortly after I finished all the drawings, Nick Norman invited me to be a part of the events surrounding his show Old Scratch in Manhattan. I played a music show and did a comics reading : While prepping for the reading I realized that it was the 30th anniversary of my favorite Garfield story, where he wakes up in a house that is totally empty and abandoned, so I read that too since it was my absolute FAVE as a freaky little kid. Here's one of the strips : Finally, when I was done printing I made this little promo video where I find the zine in the pit under the stairs : ! TAKE ME BACK TO THE TOP !