Month: August 2018

Cats Not Kids #2
Purple Donna
https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/purpledonna

Cats Not Kids #2 is an A6 black and white perzine about Premature Ovarian Failure (POF), veganism, not wanting children, cute pictures of cats, and more.

I love reading about a zinemaker getting such a positive response to their first zine that they made a second. I enjoyed Cats Not Kids #1 so much that I was eager to read the second.

Cats Not Kids opens with a short comic and written piece about having a phobia of phones – specifically of phone calls! Talk about one of the biggest ways I can identify with someone. I nodded along as I read, knowing all too well the sweating and fear that can come along with the ringing of a phone.

Donna goes on to write about Premature Ovarian Failure and the frustration around being constantly told ‘you’ll change your mind later’ when it comes to not wanting children. Add in the frustration of wanting to deal with POF without the focus on conceiving, and you have a big mess that all too many people have to deal with.

I felt (and feel) so much for Donna in this – stuck in a place where it’s implied that you must only want your ovaries and uterus to work correctly if you want children. Otherwise, even some medical professionals don’t understand why you would bother.

On that note, there is a stronger ‘don’t want kids’ tone to this zine than in the first, so if you’re sensitive to that, now you know.

Donna swings back and forth between cut and past style and text only. Bits and bobs like Donna’s favourite tweets and little comics add some fun elements and variety.

I think this second installment is a good zine and perfectly fine being read on its own or out of order from the first. I think a lot of people who want their uteruses and ovaries to work correctly without being pressured to have children at the same time will find a lot to identify with in Cats Not Kids.

Apples
Twitter: https://twitter.com/celuran
http://chickencollective.storenvy.com/

Wildlife of Victoria Volume 2 is an A5 black and white zine that is a continuation from Wildlife of Victoria Vol 1 – Semi-Domesticated Animals. In this volume, two chooks (chickens) go wandering around town, the importance of timing when walking a friend’s dog, a recipe, and tips on moving house when you have chooks.

Wildlife of Victoria Vol 2 launches right in with a tale about when chickens Harriet and Hermione went missing out of the back yard. With a combination of text, Twitter tweet screenshots, and even a screenshot of a text conversation between Apples and Apple’s mum, I quickly found myself getting pulled right into the events. (And a bit worried about Harriet and Hermione as well!)

I found myself glad that Apples carried over the use of tweets from volume one. While I’m ambivalent about the platform itself, the addition of the screenshots made me feel even more ‘in the moment’ with the story itself. Add in the pictures – even though they were a little hard to make out at times – and it turned into something more than an anecdote alone.

I found myself laughing out loud later in the zine at ‘the dog who would not be walked’. I love my dogs and my cat, but ‘what even are they’ is so true.

I wouldn’t have thought myself in much need of tips for moving house with chooks, but I actually read the section with a lot of interest. Apples’ sense of humour adds to it all, making the whole thing even more engaging.

I think both this zine and the first are a lot of fun. I smile and laugh as I read Apples’ adventures with various animals, Apples’ sense of humour is great, and I’m hoping there are more or will be more in the future.

Drongo Issue 1
Natalie Michelle Watson
https://www.nataliemichellewatson.com
https://www.instagram.com/nataliemichellewatson/

Drongo Issue 1 is a full-colour (with some black and white pages) zine a bit closer in size to US letter than to A4 with a variety of articles, comics, a quiz, and a couple of advice columns.

Nyx: How would you define the word ‘drongo’?
Wanderer: Someone who is a bit thick. An idiot.

(Just in case you were wondering about the title. Haha.)

I have been eager to check this series out since I first saw it, and – being the completionist I am – I knew I had to start at the beginning. After a while, you begin to wonder if the reality will meet the expectation and, for me, Drongo went above and beyond.

Drongo Issue 1 has all kinds of fun and funny things inside. It’s a bit ‘teen mag’ with anonymous confessions and advice, a bit educational with a piece on the history of the dunce cap, and even a bit perzine with a piece about trying to be someone you’re not called ‘The Lies We Feed Ourselves’.

But wait, there’s more!

This issue opens with funny, short ‘Letters to the Dippy-tor’. If the cover (with its ‘for mature audiences only’ warning) didn’t already set the tone for you, this will with the fun and often cheeky answers to sometimes strange questions. That being said, I was pleasantly surprised at the variety of tone as well as content in this zine. Along with the cheeky fun, we had the serious for the perzine piece and the curious for the history of the dunce cap (more interesting than I would have thought). All of this really lent itself to even more variety and me feeling like it simply must be longer than its 20 pages (including front and back covers).

The look of Drongo is very likely what first drew you in, and it definitely doesn’t let you go. I loved everything from the funny ‘Wackdonald’s’ sign to the fun page borders adding a little something more for you to enjoy. There are all sorts of little details that just add to the fun.

Believe it or not, I still haven’t covered everything you’ll find in this zine.

If you like silliness and a good helping of Aussie humour, then definitely check out Drongo.

PS. According to the quiz, I’m only moderately lazy, so I feel better about myself as a human being.