In the Spring of 1994--after the Zapatista rebels shocked the world with their New Year's Eve uprising in the Mexican state of Chiapas--the nation of Mexico was catalyzed into action. In Mexico City, students, farmers, and rebel sympathizers marched through the streets, chanting "First world, ha, ha, ha!" Farmers in the northern states were taking over local government offices and banks. It seemed that people all over Mexico now had the strength to say Enough! to the Mexican oligarchy, the World Bank and the First World as a whole. In First World, Ha Ha Ha!, Elaine Katzenberger compiles a broad range of writings that bring deep insight to the upheavals in Mexico and their implications for the United States.

The book begins with oral accounts from the months leading up to the Zapatista rebellion, then hones in on the uprising itself, and concludes with reflections on the rebellion's impact. The perspectives are diverse: First World combines interviews with key players like Subcommandante Marcos, poems by Mayan writers, an economic overview by Noam Chomsky, an essay on the postmodern performance art of the rebels by Guiermo Gomez Peña, and essays by American Indians on the implications of the uprising for indigenous people throughout the Americas.

This is not a one-sided book. You get hints of cracks within the alliance of differing Mayan groups, and some not-so-romantic views into the rebel movement. But this book is an excellent course reader for the current imbroglio in Mexico. Of all the new literature on the Zapatistas, First World seems to be the most comprehensive and informative. If you believe what some people are saying-- "As Mexico goes, so goes the world"-- then take the time to get informed. The "New World Order" can be made or broken in Mexico. --E.T.

(review date: 5/17/97)

I know an ex-Wall Street broker who made a killing on the 1987 stock market crash. By predicting the tumble, he cashed in and moved to New Mexico. Now he's buying up trailer parks because he believes the world economy is going to crash and trailers will be the only viable form of housing for the future. Homesteading, building your own place, and solar trailers are a major part of living in New Mexico--not only for poor Spanish and Indians, but bohemians, hippies and those living other alternative lifestyles as well. Brian Kelling's book is a good intro to what resources are required to set yourself up. The premise is that you want to quit paying rent and get something going in your life so you can be self-sufficient. It isn't for everybody, but if you want to make the leap, this book explains a lot--such as setting up a septic system, basic solar power, potable water, heat, etc. Kelling provides a tool list, diagrams and the basic concepts needed to start independent living. Since the text focuses on his living situation as a case study, the book is a little thin. I wish that he had gone out and talked to other homesteaders to present alternative living choices. In New Mexico I've seen at least 30 different options deviating from Kelling's experience. Nonetheless, this is a good primer to orient the potential homesteader towards the broader concepts of living off the grid. --E.T.

(review date: 5/17/97)

Surely the weirdest and most artistically legitimate of Marvel's many movie tie-incomics, this eight-years-after rendition of the 1968 Stanley Kubrick/Arthur C. Clarke epic brings the film's cosmic grandeur down to a BIFF! POW! level that, whilecompletely failing to tap into 2001's semireligious, Valium-capsuled drift, still possesses its own macho "sense of wonder".

Kirby (seminal American comic artist etc. etc.), created this baby on his own (with the usual assembly-line stable of inkers, letterers and colorists found in Marvelprodukt, that is), which is immediately evident in the "What th--?" brand of dialogue and narrative exposition he pioneered back in the 40s with Captain America and shit (e.g., Frank Poole, attacked by the HAL-controlled space pod, cries, "DAVE! DAVE! I-I'M CAUGHT! HELP ME! I'M BEING CRUSHED!-- CAN'T STAND IT-- DAVE--!"). But the real pleasure of unearthing this obscure gem (which was a present for my third-grade-self when he was wheezing in an appropriately embryo-like hospital oxygen tent) is the Kirby version of "THE DIMENSION TRIP! AND THE BIRTH OF A 'NEW ONE!'", featuring abstract two-page spreads of smoking alien vistas and shimmering space goo--all in glorious cheapo 4-color newsprinting on the huge Marvel Treasury 10"x13.25" pages.

Kirby later turned 2001 into a short-lived monthly comic book where the black monolith makes a guest appearence in each issue and turns someone into a space fetus (though he eventually realized that was getting old and brought in more exciting characters--like "Machine Man" and "Devil Dinosaur and Moon Boy"). The fortunate seeker may turn up an issue or two in the comics shop 3-for-$1 box. --K.S.

(review date: 5/16/97)

last update 7/30/97


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