Month: January 2024

Cult Crash Course
Nate/Can of Thoughts
One Page Folded Mini
https://linktr.ee/can.of.thoughts

Cult Crash Course is a one pages folded, black and white mini-zine about a few cults Nate has encountered.

I almost feel like I should have waited for a full moon to post this review. Cults have that sort of ominous air in my view. As it turned out, we launched right in on spread one, and Nate’s sense of humour had me relaxing and feeling curious rather than anxious in no time.

Full disclosure, I was a bit wary of this zine at first because of some things in my past and not being sure what I was getting into. However, I quite liked this zine and wished it was a bigger edition. Nate makes a brief introduction to each cult, lists some main points as well as some images for each one, and the handwriting, cut and paste combo absolutely reminded me of someone’s personal research project notebook. I want to know more cults Nate finds!

Cult Crash Course is a short read (hence the short and sweet review) but one that I can absolutely see as being a first step into prodding someone’s curiosity about the subject. Absolutely pick one up if you’re at all curious.

Junk Drawer
Ever Caffeinated Press
12 pages
https://linktr.ee/evercaffeinatedpress

Junk Drawer is a US half-fold sized, black and white zine perzine collection of bits and bobs from ECP’s works in progress, thoughts, ‘What I’m Currently…’, and more.

“…it’s a way for me to reflect, and to scrap together projects that I’ve started, doodles I’ve made, and dedicate a place to put stickers and other weird shit I find on a daily basis.”

Talk about something I could identify with straight away. Doesn’t everyone have a least a dozen WIPs sitting around somewhere in various stages of done or not done (depending on how you look at it)? Junk Drawer is a zine that takes those pieces and puts them into one zine with a bit of perzine mixed in for fun.

First we open up to an introduction to the zines (where the earlier quote came from), and I am totally on board with this idea. (In fact, I’d like to make a zine in the same vein.) I think it’s so fun to not only have a place for all the little thought bubbles, dream bunnies, and notes written on sticky notes but also to be able to see all those things from another person. (I think that makes me nosey, but I’ll leave that up to you to decide.)

After the introduction, we get to a written piece that makes me feel so seen in amazing ways. “All I know is I have a hard time 1.) starting projects and 2.) finishing projects.” Ah, yes. I know those states of being all too well. After that, we are treated to written pieces, collage, “My Zinemaking Process”, and even a Currently section with watching, listening to, and reading sections. (If you’ve read my Missives From Murray Bridge, you know I love a good ‘Currently’ section.)

I really enjoyed this zine from concept to aesthetics. Junk Drawer reminds me a lot of ‘Lost Projects’ zine collab full of various unfinished projects. Maybe it’s getting a peek into those unfinished ideas, maybe it’s knowing that other people also have plenty of unfinished ideas. Perhaps both. Either way, this zine hits the spot on a number of levels, and I hope to see a long series of them.

PS. Fun fact: When I was grabbing links for this review, I saw on Instagram that there is a Junk Drawer Two! Insert excited noises from me here.