Author: Nyx

Tessellations
Dystatic – dystatic@gmail.com
Fishspit – fuzzybunnyflatbunny@gmail.com
Big Tight – mm12716@me.com

I’ve never reviewed a zine that has left me so conflicted as to whether I want to look at it or play with it…

Tessellations is a fun collection of photos, collages, and other art in black in on colour paper. I may as well get right into the aesthetics of it, because when you get your hands on this zine, you can’t possibly miss it.

It opens up! Well, of course it opens up, but it opens up in fun and interesting ways because it’s make of individually folded pieces of paper glued together.

I almost feel like this is as much a toy as it is a zine. With the colours and the way the papers are folded, I’ve flipped through it many, many times now. Sometimes to check out the art, other times to check out the folding, and still yet just to have fun with it. Each colour is like its own chapter, its own little world.

Not that I’ve found any story or linear thought process with it overall, but I honestly don’t need it or care. What one square or piece may lack is made up for by the enjoyment of the whole. I enjoy this zine for what it is.

I really like how you open up the last page, and each person who contributed to the whole has a square with their contact details on it. This definitely goes to the top of the list in regards to creative contact details. The only hiccup is that Dystatic does have a website, but part of it got lost in the ink of the print.

This is the kind of zine if you are like me in that you need reminding sometimes that zines are never and will never be just one thing. I want to keep it on my desk, but I feel like it will distract me all the time for want of playing with it. Haha.

Grab a copy, and let it inspire you.

Pieces #13 on being a romantic asexual
Nichole
https://www.etsy.com/shop/collectingwords
IG: @corridorgirl

Pieces #13 is a black and white quarter-sized perzine “on being a romantic asexual” that also serves as an introduction to asexuality and the asexuality spectrum.

I hardly know where to start with Pieces #13. It’s one of those zines that I absolutely devoured and that left me with so, so much to think about. I like perzines, and I like learning things. This zine happened to be an intense combination of both.

Aesthetically, Nichole’s zines have always been appealing to me (as mentioned in reviews of previous Pieces reviews). I do so love a thick quarter-sized zine, and I like how the cut and paste style is fun but not overly distracting from the writing.

Oh, the writing.

Nichole manages to be frustrated, informative, vulnerable, and many other things, all within one zine. While the pieces do cut from one to another – the intro being distinctly perzine, the laments being vulnerable, and the FAQ/comments responses being a mixture of many things. Nichole doesn’t need to say the obvious because feelings come through so clearly in the writing.

There is a section in the back where Nichole responds to questions and comments regarding asexuality. I felt so, so frustrated that people could say and ask those things. At the same time, I have to respect Nichole for addressing them anyway.

I found the spectrum of asexuality absolutely fascinating. Like many (I imagine), I was part of the problem in that I only ever saw it as the ‘you don’t’ side of ‘you do or you don’t’ when it comes to sex. I had no idea that there’s not only a spectrum but that there are other names as well. Thanks to this zine, I’ve not only learned things about asexual people but may have clarified a thing or two for myself as well.

I think this is a great resource not only for people who are still figuring out the facets of their asexuality but also for anyone who has even a little open mindedness in learning more about asexuality. It’s a zine I want everyone to know about because I know it’ll be valuable to those who are looking for zines on the subject (and more beyond them).

Strictly Ballroom: A Fan Zine
Larua Bibby
www.bloomurder.etsy.com
bloomurder@gmail.com

I feel a little weird reviewing a fan zine. It almost feels like someone professing to love doughnuts, and me saying things like, “I really like how you express your love for doughnuts… but where are the contact details for people who want to know more?” That being said…

Strictly Ballroom is a full-colour mini fanzine about the classic Australian romantic comedy by Baz Luhrmann.

Laura starts off the zine by lamenting about not seeing this movie sooner (it’s from 1992) and all the good times missed (oh, I do so love a twirly skirt as well). As much as I understand Laura’s pain, I have to say that I really love that this is a fanzine borne not of years and years of love but of discovering something and loving it so intensely from the get go that she made a zine about it. There’s just so much energy and excitement in Laura’s writing that I can’t help but feel like I need to get my hands on the movie and watch it again straight away!

Laura launches into five reasons why you should give the movie a go (or a rewatch if you’ve already seen it). I had to laugh when Laura got to talk about Fran’s character and got so excited that she wrote about the possibility of a zine dedicated just to Fran. It was almost like talking to someone who is so excited about something that they can hardly finish one sentence before starting the next.

Strictly Ballroom isn’t comprised only of the list, though, but I’ll leave the other contents for you to discover.

This zine has left me feeling pretty upbeat, energetic, and inspired. I love all the energy and delight Laura has put into this zine, and I think you should check it out.

Conversation to Falafels
Meeni Levi
http://astrangershandwriting.tumblr.com
www.facebook.com/meenilevi

Conversation to Falafels is a full-colour mini-zine about being small (and maybe a couple other things that are flying over my head?).

Meeni writes about hating feeling small but the point being that some days Meeni doesn’t hate being small. Read that one carefully, because I’m not sure I am going to explain myself adequately with this one. In writing, I really like being set up for one thing but then having that flipped on its head. Within the space of one page, Meeni sets up talking about sometimes hating being small but then flips it to the logical conclusion: sometimes not hating being small. Suddenly we launch into not the hating of it (as expected) but rather the times that Meeni doesn’t hate it. A small but important reversal.

The writing in this zines very poetic. (Perhaps not surprising as ‘poet and zinester’ is part of the bio Meeni includes.) It’s lyrical so much as expressing things that can make you think beyond the actual words on the page. I do feel like a couple bits went over my head. I don’t know if I’m just not picking up the imagery or not understanding for some other reason, but I have reread the entire mini-zine a few times and those spots still mystify me.

Conversations to Falafels is lovely to look at. I like the use of different colours, and Meeni’s handwriting is easy to read. But the big thing I really love and absolutely have to point out is how Meeni did the ‘about me’ and contact details.

They are inside the mini-zine!

When you unfold this zine, you find a collage page with a bit about Meeni as well as a couple links. I won’t take a picture of it because I feel like that would ruin the surprise, but I adore this so, so much. I always feel like I’ve found the secret toy surprise when I take a peek and find that that other side of a mini-zine has been printed as well. Hidden away for those who choose to look further. Fun fun.

While some of the writing did lose me, I enjoyed this mini-zine. If you like poetry and deciphering imagery, I think you’re going to like it.

PS. When I first picked up this zine, I missed the ‘to’ and thought the title was ‘Conversation Falafels’. I spent a few minutes wondering what they were and making up other phrases like ‘discussion avocados’ and ‘chat roti’. (This is what I do. I make assumptions, and it never ends well.)