Wednesday, July 23, 2003

A Must-Read Video Game Zine


Editor Raina Lee and Art Director John Pham have been slaving over hot Powerbooks for the past several months to deliver the biggest and best looking edition of 1-Up yet. Those who aren't familiar with the publication are in for a big surprise. 1-Up #3 features over 100 pages of reviews, comics, essays and news about classic and contemporary gaming. The issue's contents include an interview with Pac Man expert Billy Mitchell, a profile of Mac lan maniacs c-trl and a 21-page Street Fighter II super-section. Each issue comes with one of a series of silk-screened "Imaginary Street Fighter II Character" trading cards.

The issue also contains two stories by Robotsteetgang editors Mike Benson ("Army Of None" on his experience playing America's Army with art by Kozyndan) and Gus Mastrapa ("Jill Played Atari" which is beautifully illustrated by Souther Salazar and "This Animal Life" -- a meditation on Animal Crossing).

1-Up #3 is available for $13 ppd. Contact orders@1up-zine.com to make a purchase via Pay Pal.

Lovers of old-school gaming and the new-school D.I.Y. ethic will also want to snag the first two issues of 1-Up since this will probably be their last silk-screened print run.

Those who live in the Los Angeles area are invited to attend the 1-Up #3 release party on Saturday, July 26 at 6PM. The festivities will be held at Meltdown Comics with live performances by The Minibosses and DJ Dolphinforce.

Take a gander at the limited edition silkscreen commemorating the party.