by Doug Black

Busted! marks the first print edition of Fray.com’s long-running series of first-person true stories. Launched in the internet wilderness of 1996, it served the novel role of personal storytelling forum, eventually expanding to a series of live events and albums. With the new millennium came the inevitable over-saturation of blogs and online journals, pushing Fray into an indefinite hiatus, only to return last month as an attractive, bound journal demanding a spot on your bookshelf.

The inaugural issue features 20 bite-sized stories interspersed with original photos and illustration. The tales keep to the general theme of getting in trouble and run the gamut from a drunk driving arrest to a dispatch from the Jena Six protests. Told through casual recollections, the stories are more immediate and personal than what you’d expect from a quarterly journal.

You can read a few stories on their website, or order a subscription. Issue 1 goes for $15, and comes inside a printed cloth bag.