“Ornery cuss”: something irredeemably flawed yet undeniably endearing.

K. Ratticus may consider herself an ornery cuss; or she could be referring to the dualistic quality of the world she inhabits in this zine of 11 heartworn and subtly intertwining vignettes – none short on menace – or pathos. We’re talking befuddled meetups and ambiguous tension between potential crushes; the complex matter of purchasing ganja from an underage pusher, pushing a baby stroller; hitting the breaking point after five years of marriage and telling a partner you want a divorce, only for the heated aftermath to be interrupted by a TV news report of a friend’s death, just to name a few.

The opening chapter, “Teenage Drug Mule,” is my favorite, as much for the why-didn’t-I-catch-that? twist as for the sympathy I felt for the inhabitants of her bugtussle-nowhere Iowa farm town. Marginalized, disenfranchised, and captive to the shrugging cruelties of capitalism, they manipulate and abuse each other, pretending to normalcy, all the while an opioid and amphetamine epidemic rages, picking off the vulnerable and healthy alike.

K. has a real talent for pinning down her characters’ traits, particularly the toxic ones. Some of these people aren’t even cusses; they’re plain ornery, and even that’s being charitable. But then, there are well-earned moments of levity, like an unexpected brush with the psychobilly rockstar for whose show she’s in town. When she recognizes him in an elevator, he turns it on, beaming and glad-handing before a quick exit, leaving them wanting, living up to his aura.

The specter of uncertainty builds to a head as the COVID pandemic takes hold, cameoing in several of the latter tales, which take place leading up to, during, and just after the first lockdowns.

Ornery Cuss is 72 pages of unabashed perzine rawness; of dysfunctional people caught in dysfunctional systems; of genuinely absurd moments; and of cutting ties with the past and grinding on.

K. Ratticus is the author of the zines Ornery Cuss, Weirdo du Jour, and Cathode Ray Mission, available from Behind the Zines Distro – www.behind-the-zines.com – and in person from Tangent.

August Personage of Tangent Distro 4/15/24

August Personage writes Straightaway Tangent Zine and runs Tangent Distro at Clothes Minded in Pittsburgh, PA

You can find them on Instagram @tangent_distro_pgh