Fun Chickens

As we excitedly approach our indie comic filled weekend at APE, I started to think back to last year's APE. I won't take you down some nostalgic path full of embarrasing tidbits and irrelevance.

But one totally awesome thing I picked up and cherish to this very day is a very unique set of books from the lovely Esther Pearl Watson, of Fun Chicken and Bust Magazine fame. I recognized her very distinctive style from the back page of Bust Magazine, so I stopped to check it out.

To my delight there were three dense books based on the found diary of Tammy Pierce. What is so delightful about Tammy Pierce's candid diary entries are how totally universal it all is, despite the questionable fashion and vocabulary of this young girl in the late Eighties. She deals with the insecurities of being a teen, the intensity of the first crushes you have, the insanity of parents, and the bitchiness of other teen girls.

After purchasing these books, I had a chance to talk to Esther. I was delighted to discover she is as awesome and laid-back as I hoped she would be. And I am not ashamed to say I did a happy dance at work, amid a maze of cubicles, when I saw her listed on the attendees of this year's APE. So this year I get to venture back to the Fun Chicken booth and check out some of her husband's work and hopefully grab a copy of their joint venture Whatcha Mean It's a Zine.