Abe's Penny is a monthly micro-magazine from sisterly duo Anna and Tess Knoebel. They pair a writer with a photographer and mail out a story of words and pictures in the form of 4 weekly postcards. I love this idea. Each week a new piece of the story, a new clue. Plus we are guaranteed something interesting each time we trudge over to the PO Box. The issue we are currently receiving is 1.6 (August) and features photographs by Jim Henry and a poem by Elizabeth Hildreth, inspired by Jim's images. Also, issue 1.2 had photographs by PF pal Melanie Flood and September's will have work by Skye Parrott from Dossier Journal. Order your own from their website!

Cometbus #52 is out. And it's about St. Louis. I've been enjoying these single subject issues. Buy at a cool store or from Quimby's.

These Birds Walk's second installment of their Subscription Series is out this year. For background on this project, see our review of last year's series here. Each book (in a larger format this year) is by a different photographer. TBW allows that photographer full creative control of their contribution thereby ensuring these really wonderful and personal selections. This year's books are by Todd Hido, Marianne Mueller, Abner Nolan and Alec Soth. Hido's Ohio is the first book we received and in it he returns to his childhood home and first camera, editing together old images and ones taken during a recent return trip.

Likes and Dislikes has a second issue. We loved the first one--so check them both out!

The Fart Party's Julia Wertz edited a collection of illustrated missed connections from various local papers called I Saw You. There are so many great contributors, including PF favorites Janelle Hessig of Tales of Blarg! and Aaron Renier. Check the I Saw You blog or order from Amazon.

Way back when I began my homosexual career I marveled at the copies of Straight to Hell that could be found in the bathrooms of my new co-workers in homosexualism. Soon, I was snatching up all the fag zines of the early 90's I could find. Although I was fascinated by these various photocopied "queer-core" zines - I didn't relate to what they were talking about for the most part. "Punks" sometimes take themselves a little to seriously (my opinion at the time was that there were no such thing as punk anymore. Also, I was never into the term "queer" as a self identifier).

But then came Butt! It put everything that came before - beefcake digests, Straight to Hell, queer zines - into a new refined amalgamation. Butt taped into a zeitgeist of world-wide fag community that no one had even noticed existed. POST post-gay. Since Butt launched it seems that every little arty homo wants to put out a zine with hot naked "real" guys, usually digest sized. Here I've listed the ones I have - although I'm certain there are many, many more. Images and links after the jump!