Acquired from a collection of over 100+ individual shoujo doujinshi works, this is an introductory issue of the imprint ZEKKU by the circle AWSC. Known as Nagutsuke or “Zekutsuke” (なぐつけ), the imprint itself is called Zekku and more or less translates to an onomatopoeic "Smack!" sound in some ways. This work, published on April 28th of 1981, did not appear at Comiket, but seems to have been a fanclub publication considering. The printing is quite nice as is the paper considering, so some funding was quite evident.

Many works present feature early depictions of stylizations that borrow from Mobile Suit Gundam, primarily the main story, which features a Char Aznable-esque character. The artist was clearly inspired by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko to some extent. This work is a test print by the circle, which was lead by a Tadokoro and Toshihiro Torishima. The group was located out of Machida City, Morino, Tokyo.

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Additionals:

A translation of the final page in this announcement book:

"Original Submissions Wanted

Details:

Story works — Any genre. Page count is free (preferably within 16 pages, but that’s not a hard limit).

Illustrations / Comics — Cuts (size is free, anything is okay as long as it’s readable).

Story & Illustration Size: 18×27 cm

Paper Size: 22×33 cm
Please follow these guidelines."

The group pertained of or was supported financially, such as with printing and outreach, initially by the following FCs, which had ties to BL/Yaoi works considering.

"AWSC"

"Masumi Okada" (Okada Sei / 岡田 聖)

"7 Persons" (https://order.mandarake.co.jp/order/detailPage/item?itemCode=1239265234&ref=list&keyword=7%20persons&lang=en) 「７パースンズ」

"Marco Polo FC" 「マルコ・ポーロFC」

“Battling Hero Club” 「闘（たたか）うヒーロー倶楽部」

“Julie & Pro Wrestling Fan Club” 「ジュリー・野口とパロる会」

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Questions? Comments? Inquiries?

You can reach me @retroanimechris on X/Twitter/Bluesky and adoggoart@gmail.com or chrisdelabigne@gmail.com

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Scanning services are available! Simply send your inquiry to any of the contacts above and I will get back to you in 24 hours at best. Discord is available by request.

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If you would like to help me acquire similar texts or others, please consider donating!

https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/Madanglerpress

Contents:

Cover - Shida Tomoko (志田 智子)

Inside Cover - Shimura Masahiro (島村 正弘)

Short Story #1:

A Visit — One Set - Jingami Tsutomu (神含 努)

Member's journal & club news edited by Toda Hideyuki (担当 秀春孝)

Member recruitment edited by Shimura Masao (島村 正弘)

Manga Classroom - edited by Haruhi Ineko (春日 稲高)

Cuts by Shimura Masahiro (島村 正弘), Haruhi Ineko (春日 稲高) and Isozaki Momoko (倉川 百合子)

Short Story #2:

The Sands of Time by Shida Tomoko (志田 智子)

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From the main editor:

The Spring sunshine is warm and pleasant today, how are you all doing? Our circle was officially founded on December 1, 1980, and although we were extremely inexperienced, we managed to publish newsletters and keep things going thanks to everyone’s support.

On January 18, we finally held our long-awaited first staff meeting. Honestly, we were all terribly nervous as none of us had done anything like this before, so we didn’t really know how it would go. Still, since we're now entering our third year, we decided we should get ourselves together eventually!

At the meeting, the staff had a lively discussion, and from that, we decided to start a member's journal (though it's still pretty rough, haha) called “Zekku”. We hope this becomes something fun for everyone, a place where the circle can grow.

This issue primarily consists of written submissions from members, but the member recruitment section is still quite empty. We hope to fill it up soon—please send in your thoughts, ideas, or even just short notes. We’d be extremely happy to receive anything from you. Since this is our first issue, it may be lacking in polish, but we truly hope you’ll enjoy it.

Originally written on March 1981 by Shimura Masao

Base +14