Writing & Layout: The Virtual Haus
The Virtual Haus’ inaugural issue was an exercise in learning to format for print, magazines, and keeping writing and art brisk and attention-grabbing. All zines in The Virtual Haus series are small pocket books, meant for easy reading wherever the reader is, ideal for handing out at shows, and visually delightful to the reader.
Issue 1 photography and writing are all by me, squeezed into 40 pages, as well as the contributions of guest illustrators and public domain woodcut art. Issue 1 involves an interview with DMT Tapes FL, an overview of the Vaporwave music scene, an introduction to making analog glitch art, and mapping out the Battle of Los Angeles. Between these features are small features such as “Reasons Titan Should Be A Planet” shown below.
The Virtual Haus, Protest Edition
The Virtual Haus’ was slated to have issue 2 released in February, but thanks to complications related to Coronavirus and moving to a new place, this was pushed back to summer. In the interim, the Black Lives Matter protests broke out, and I realized it felt rather selfish to be releasing a zine and asking people to pay me for something I made - it felt inappropriate.
Instead, I spent the month compiling a guide for protestors available online for free download, with a physical print edition also available for purchase where all profits would be donated to various bail funds every month.
Images within were made using glitch art by me, with the front cover art being pulled from a piece by Justin Coelho.
The Virtual Haus, issues 2 & 3
The Virtual Haus’ simultaneous release of two new issues were a delivery on a promise to our subscribers that we’d had for nearly a year - showcasing extensive interviews with four different notable creators in the horror and vaporwave scenes. Issue 2 was meant for Spring of 2020, while Issue 3 covers Fall & Halloween of 2020.
Issue 2 & 3 photography is nearly all by me, squeezed into two 40 page issues, as well as the contributions of guest writers Sara Goodman (contributing the poem Black Market Memory) and Roman Fruehan (contributing an article covering the films of Lucio Fulci) and an anonymous contributor (the article Are We Having Any Fun?) and public domain woodcut art. Remaining features, design, and interviews by me.
Issue 2 involves interviews with Datagirl and Vaperror, an overview of the live Vaporwave music scene, circa Electronicon 2, and the poem Black Market Memory.
Issue 3 features interviews with Jessica Harvey and Airdorf, an overview of the independent horror game scene, and a deep dive on the films of Lucio Fulci.
The Virtual Haus, issue 4
The Virtual Haus Issue 4 looks at climate change, reading storm radar, and chasing tornadoes online. Plus, a feature by Alex Patrón on the Holy Rollers cult of Oregon. I also grabbed BPMC's Paup Eye glitch camera, and took it out for a spin shooting the West's many landscapes. Plus, wrote out a playthrough of my 2021 GOTY, Cruelty Squad.
The Virtual Haus at this point has had some success in local retail at Videodrome and Criminal Records in Atlanta, and looks to expand to additional locations. I’ve also started offering it on itch.io for a reduced price.
