For the past nine years, "Factsheet Five" has been the ultimate zine of zines. Each issue is chock full of zine, music, book, movie, and artifact reviews -- just about everything from the outlands of fringe culture and publishing. Earlier this year (1991), editor Mike Gunderloy finally decided to call it quits after 44 issues and years of insane work hours. He sold the magazine to another do-it-yourself enthusiast Hudson Luce.
As this stack goes to the duplicator, the first issue under the new editor is in the production stages. No one knows yet what the future holds for "Factsheet Five" and the widespread and diverse network that is interlinked through its pages.
For anyone with even a passing interest in the publishing underground, "Factsheet Five" has always been the place to view the whole picture. We can only hope that it continues to provide this crucial service. Sample copies are available first-class mail for $3.95. "Factsheet Five" also operates a conference on The W.E.L.L. computer conferencing system (go f5).
Version 1.5 Update:
Hudson Luce put out one issue of Factsheet Five and called it quits. Rumor has it that yet another person is going to have a go at it. We wish them well. In the meantime, Mike Gunderloy's book "The World of Zines" (Penguin, 1992) is now available. It's a bit outdated already (it was over a year in production), but with its many excerpts from the zines it reviews, it provides a really informative overview of the late 1980s zine press.
(G. Branwyn)
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Factsheet Five
Defunct as of 7/92.
RIP - You Will Be Missed!
