Doctor Mister Miracles’s Guide to Miracle-Making: A Manual (Abridged)
Zines are different from artist’s books largely because of the significance of reproduction and distribution in zine culture. The case can be made, as a result of need for ease in reproduction, that zines do not place as much stress on the relation of obvious form to function. Despite this argument, zines can still exhibit subtle relations of these two concepts.
A wonderful example is Doctor Mister Miracle’s Guide to Miracle-Making: A Manual (Abridged) by Josh Hockensmith. This zine demonstrates a subtle aspect of the relationship of recto/verso. It calls upon the influence of language in order to reverse the perception of the pages. The work is originally translated from Chinese, and the form reflects this influence as the text (while now presented in English) is read by paging through from right to left.
This changes the reader’s interaction with the pages as it reverses the concept of recto/verso. In the instance of languages read right to life, the right side of the page spread becomes the reverse (verso) of the left (now the recto).
This zine illustrates the versatility and adaptability of recto/verso.
