At the Gothic Times, we do our best to report the happenings of NJCU and Jersey City. This city, although not as impressive as its neighbor, is beautiful in its quaint way. Along with its beauty, comes its people who are inspired by that beauty. Some people desire to create or to capture that beauty. The problem is, it is hard to find this creativity, there is no outlet for it! Despite this, some people notice, admire this work, and want other people to see it. The indie zine that is working to spread these works is known only as the Jersey Rebels!
Who is the Jersey Rebel? They are no more than a small independent magazine publisher who is all about artists and the community. They are rooted in artistic expression, and they wish to cultivate and connect the creative community in Jersey City. But how do they operate and how do they collaborate with those artistic few?
“Right after Cranky Angel Thrift opened on Newark Ave, we realized there were more JC creatives in the area than we anticipated.” Says Jersey Rebel “We wanted somewhere to showcase the creative community and support further collaborations across downtown.”
The work shown ranges from poems to photographs to even artwork, all kinds of treats for you to dive into! But how does one get these devilishly delectable prints? Well, the only way to get them is if you are quick. Since they are a small publisher, they leave their printing within newsstands throughout the Newport Area.
“We only release 50 copies a month” says Jersey Rebel, when asked about this. “We want to keep The Rebel free, so we’re not looking at expanding anytime soon.”
But how did they start out? And what is it like being an independent magazine publisher?
“Being an independent magazine publisher means doing everything yourself. We collect, run social media, format the magazines, print, and assemble them on our own.” “90% of our constituents came from flyers, and as editions started to get distributed, we’ve seen that physical stuff gets people’s attention more than anything we do digitally”.
How can you get these issues, you may be asking. They can only be found by walking the streets of Jersey City (specifically the Newport area). Sometimes, they will mysteriously pop up in ordinary newspaper boxes. No one knows how they get there, for no living soul has seen anyone put them in there.
Since their inception, their work has been eye-catching. Within their first issue, they were promoting local businesses, along with a heartful poems. They were even able to showcase an art piece, and it is very humorous. Since then, they have been doing increasingly with their issues. They have showcased more art, poems, businesses, and some tasteful photography.
If you want to submit your work, or just be ready to grab their latest prints, be sure to follow their Instagram @thenjrebel. You do not need to create anything masterful, or exquisite, this magazine shows anything that Jersey City has to offer, and no piece of art is too small for them. And while you may have missed a few already, do not let that discourage you from picking newer ones. There is always something fascinating for you to read.
