Portland's Black Panthers


Last January Robin and I donated to this organization called IPRC (Independent Publishing Resource Center) who offers a Zine of the Month Club.  For the past year we have been receiving these zines monthly and just putting them on the shelf, but yesterday we got one called Portland's Black Panthers.  It is a comic book put out by writer Sarah Mirk to benefit the Dill Pickle Club which aims to educate people about Portland's history.  Sarah writes these zines and asks different artists to participate in each new issue.  The one we got in the mail is Issue #4 of 10 and features artist Khris Soden.  The quality of this little book is astonishing when you consider how most zines are made.  The book is 34 pages (17 front and back) it is informative, well written, and the illustrations are solid.  Sarah and Khris tackle the subject of Portland's black Panthers, re-telling the story from the early 1960's until 2010 in a clear and thoughtful manner.  It is bound with a single staple, but it was clearly made with care... a thing that seems to be lost on most makers of zines.  Sarah Mirk accomplishes a lot more in this little book than one would expect out of a zine.  Great work Sarah and Khris your book looks fantastic and I look forward to reading more.  For more information about the Dill Pickle Club and IPRC click on the links above and donate.  You don't have to live in Portland to appreciate what IPRC is doing.  And you can get a zine a month for a year.  If you are lucky, you will get ones like the one we received in the mail yesterday.