VEGAN has been a name that I have consistently associated with freight graffiti for 20+ years. Big stretched block letter spray fill-ins that made it into the zines and graff mags in the early 2000's. But there is another side of Vegan that is deeply connected to moniker culture which is highlighted in this new zine, FREIGHT CAR DIARIES. There is a brief typewritten bit at the start of the zine that explains Vegan's journey through graffiti, exploration, and railroad culture that brought him to his current state of life. However, the real narrative is contained within the pages and pages of markal tags on freight trains.

Lets analyze this. There is a big tag that says "Vegan", with some loopies before and after kinda like an arrow pointing right. There is the month and year written as numbers just above and below the arrow. Three letters, "ALB" are below the name in smaller font size. And most importantly, there is a unique text piece written underneath (in the style of Colossus of Roads, moniker artist and philosopher extraordinaire). Page after page of quotes, observations, all mostly political focused in the direction of left-leaning radical anarchist-adjacent. Freight Car Diaries shows a modern day connection to the vast history of political graffiti during a time when style and a name usually takes priority.

Comes with all kinds of stuff...