by Alex Sandoval

Last year’s LA Zine Fest was held in the second floor of The Last Bookstore located in Downtown Los Angeles off of 5th and Spring street. the parking was bad and hard to come by but the isles and isles of zines and comics more than made up for the trek there. This year the LA Zine Fest went with a more welcoming and less chaotic area.

People of all ages came out to the Ukrainian Culture Center located off of Melrose and Heliotrope in Los Angeles, to sift through the many vendors and artists that displayed their works. The smart ones chose to arrive early to avoid long lines and crowds but in true LA fashion, everyone came out well after the event start time but with lines stretching around the corner and half a block down, the wait was considerably short. While inside, many vendors were a bit quiet, others were more than glad to describe their work to hopeful patrons. In a vast sea of tables full of art and zines and people wanting to discover something they haven’t seen or read before, it was easy to be left not knowing where to go next but the layout inside the large theater-like building was set up to flow smoothly.

The smart ones chose to arrive early to avoid long lines and crowds but in true LA fashion, everyone came out well after the events start time but with lines stretching around the corner and half a block down, the wait was considerably short.

“It took some time for me to get through everything at the end of the day” said Alejandro Rodriguez, a zine and comic enthusiast. “It was a great experience and I hope they do it again”

The type of subject matter varied drastically from vendor to vendor. Subjects ranged from Riot Girls and  everyday living, to radical political views and obscure comics. There was a zine for every culture. With the ever growing hunger for new content and fresh concepts, the LA Zine Fest could thrive in a place like Los Angeles.