Punk Planet #17 (Chicago)

Wow, what a difference a year makes in the life of a zine. Between issue #12 and Punk Planet #17, the zine finalized its eventual move to Chicago and increased its page count by over 30% to a whopping 136pp, with cool spot color on the cover. According to the editor's note, this was the first issue to receive widespread distribution through Mordam, putting it on the same footing as better-known punkzines that had been publishing longer.

The quality inside remains the same, tho', as the zine continues to grow and expand and offer up some of the best music coverage in the U.S. underground. PP #17 kicks off with the columnists that we've all come to know and love, from Leah Ryan and Darren Cahr to Bob Conrad and David Hake, among others, each seemingly provided a little more editorial space for their ramblings. This issue has a great interview with hardcore punk icon and zine publisher Dan O'Mahoney, as well as interviews with the bands Snapcase, Pain, the Rye Coalition (another fave of mine), and the Descendents.

Punk Planet had never been afraid to move beyond the superficial "who is more punk" to tackle more thought-provoking subjects, such as this issue's discussion of punk economy and the distribution of cultural goods. Heady stuff, indeed, and still timely today. The D.I.Y. Files column concerns itself with producing fanzines on the cheap (and scamming Kinko's, which the Reverend wasn't beyond doing back in the day thanks to the copy center's willing employees), and you'll also find a truckload of record and zine reviews.

With greater distribution and increased page count, the graphic designer(s) at Punk Planet went nuts with issue #17, throwing in more B&W photos and some cool pages consisting of pull-quotes from the accompanying article presented in stark large-font black text. At this point, PP was clearing leading the punkzine revolution in a positive direction.

(Click on the cover thumbnail to see larger picture)

VITAL STATISTICS:
• Issue #17
• March/April 1997
• B&W w/spot color, 136-pages w/covers, newsprint
• Style: punkzine

ARTICLES/INTERVIEWS
Rye Coalition interview
Descendents interview
Snapcase interview
"Punk Economy" article
--> also reader mail, music & zine reviews, etc