Sad day! This is the final installment of my favorite pinball zine. After five years, creators Jon Chad and Alec Longstreth have hung up their pocket change. Making only seven issues was always the plan from the get-go, but that doesn’t make the blow any easier to stomach. Drop Targetzine is curated by two highly talented comics with a pinball problem. In each issue Alec tackles a Harry Potter pinball machine, one based on each of the seven books—hence the plan for the septuplet issues. So as the sun sets on the Deathly Hallows (the title of the final Harry Potter book) pinball, DTZ serves up some dear departing gifts in the last chapter. Also included in this issue are two Dream Machines (Mega Man II by Jon, and Troll 2 by RC’s own Liz Prince!), a review of the documentary Special When Lit, an article on re-themed pinball tables, speculation and advice on where pinball is/should be headed (diversify, please!), Portland pinhall reviews, a thorough rundown on how to play Wizard of Oz, and so much more. Each cover of DTZ has followed the path of a pinball as it travels within a machine: from the shooter lane, to bonus X roll-overs, to pop bumpers, to flippers, and finally to high score initials, which are safely stored in the dot matrix display until someone better comes along. Having discovered this zine around the time of the second issue, I feel like I’ve gone on this journey with them. The final pages detail a beautifully drawn comic. Called “From Zeros to Heros,” the comic is about how pinball has shaped Jon and Alec’s lives over the years—things like buying their first games, fixing them, and selling them; Alec getting to draw a pinball-themed T-shirt for Weezer; Jon drawing posters for PAPA (Professional Amateur Pinball Association); and all the friends they’ve made through it all. I honestly choked up a little bit at this line from Alec: “If you love something, help it stay positive, and help it grow. You can be a part of it.”If you are even remotely interested in pinball and zines, this is the one to get. All seven of them. Thanks for the years of passionate pinball printing guys. You will be missed! –Kayla Greet (Drop Target Zine, droptargetzine.blogspot.com)