Canzine was a lot of fun last weekend with a ton of interesting presenters, a jam-packed crowd all day, and a great vibe in a beautiful venue. Unfortunately, I had to leave early to get back to Montreal, but I still managed to meet some old and new friends, exchange some goods and spend a blustery afternoon hanging on Queen West with all the cool kids. Congrats to Broken Pencil for putting on an amazing event!

One qualification I feel I need to make as a proud Montrealer: Canzine is billed as Canada’s LARGEST zine fair, but it’s actually about half the size of Expozine, and only lasts one day. I’d like to call them on their false advertising and ask them to change their tagline next year to Canada’s SECOND largest zine fair and festival of alternative culture. ahem..

Another silly observation: the hipster to punk ratio in Toronto (or at least at this event) is exponentially higher than in Montreal, even including the Mile End. ahem… x2

With this out of the way, I’d like to congratulate my good friend and tablemate Colin White for his brisk comix sales and Pistol Press for the two beautiful books they just launched. I’m jealous! Invisible Publishing also has a few new books out, including an anthology featuring a story by regular 2356 contributor Vincent Tinguely. As for new discoveries, I read Liz Worth‘s epic zine eleven:eleven on the train ride home and it nearly drove me insane. This lady writes some sickly beautiful prose… Finally, I have no idea what Steel Bananas is really about, but their marketing was top-notch: A couple of scantily-clad ladies giving out free bananas who, when asked, mention something about post post-modernism and the promotion of multiplicity and diverse perspectives… I think that about says it all.