Zine Review: Proof I Exist 22: International Zine Month

Proof I Exist 22: International Zine Month
Billy McCall
iknowbilly@gmail.com

International Zine Month is July, which means it’s coming up fast!

Proof I Exist 22 is about International Zine Month 2015 and the love of all things zine. If you’re not familiar, IZM has an ‘activity a day’ list created by Alex Wrekk (http://www.stolensharpierevolution.org/international-zine-month/) to go along with it, and Billy made a zine to document his progress.

You all know I’m always going to read a zine about zines, and adding in the perzine side of things is like hitting the zine jackpot for me. Talk about enjoyable and inspiring. As Billy himself says, this is a zine nerd’s zine, and I am all over that.

As much as I like that Billy made an IZM zine, I like that he didn’t make a zine of the prompts alone. He includes things like the zines he writes, the story of his first zine, and other things mixed in with the prompts. It makes the zine-y goodness that much better – plus I really enjoyed reading Billy’s story about his very first zine.

Aesthetically this zine is a bit different with the half-fold running vertically instead of horizontally. I found it interesting how one small choice could make it seem to different.

A fun sneaky little surprise in this zine is the mini-zine you find tucked inside. Have I mentioned that Billy called this a zine nerd’s zine? Because he’s not only embraced that but takes it to all kinds of fun levels.

As you may have guessed at this point, I love this zine and would love to see many more people celebrate International Zine Month in the same way.