Category: Zine Reviews

Brood XIX
Jessica Gilbert
One page folded
https://www.catobear.com
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO6UzZarI8Zi_LEIlWTLcvQ

Brood XIX is a full colour, one-page-folded mini-zine about the 2024 cicada co-emergence that will be a once-in-a-lifetime event.

I am both a touch envious of parts of the US experiencing a once-in-a-lifetime event while also glad I don’t have to deal with all that noise.

Brood XIX opens with ‘things you might confuse with the 2024 cicada event’, which gave me a giggle, and explanations of those things. I think one could be forgiven for confusing ‘circadian rhythm’ for cicada event.

We then jump into what the 2024 cicada event is: the co-emergence of the thirteen-year cicada brood and the seventeen-year cicada brood this year. Something that hasn’t happened since 1803. Jessica writes a brief intro to that before transitioning to cicada facts – including how many animal species out there who will be having an all-you-can-eat buffet during this event.

The zine wraps up with a “Cicada To-Do List” before cicada’s scientific name and Jessica’s socials (noted with drawn cicada heads haha) on the back.

I had no idea this event was happening until I saw this zine, so it just goes to show that you never know who you might reach or teach with your zines. Jessica’s handwriting is easy to read, the drawings are cute, and the zine is a great introduction to what the event is all about. Definitely a keeper for me.

Water Under the Bridge
Jennifer A. Payne
https://linktr.ee/jenpayne
132 Pages

“She thought about him often over the years. Looked him up online occasionally to see where he was and if he was all right. It wasn’t until last fall that she found his email address, and several months more before she got up the courage to write.”

So begins the epistolary novel WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE by Connecticut writer Jen Payne, a sort-of love story told through a series of emails, about two people who reconnect after 15 years apart and work to reconcile their pasts…and futures.
 Influenced by the work of Brené Brown and a proponent of the bravery of storytelling, Payne says “WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE is about having the courage to speak our truths; it’s about trust and vulnerability, and about the true blessings found when we open our hearts – come what may.”

I usually only review books, but a book by a zinemaker? Yeah, I will make an exception for that. Water Under the Bridge accompanied me while I waited for day surgery, and it was quite the lovely companion indeed.

Water Under the Bridge opens as written above with our main character contemplating and sending off an email… What follows is a story about the past, nostalgia, and things coming full circle primarily through email exchanges.

This is a fairly short and easy read, but that suited the style of the story. Everything was well-balanced, from the brief interjections of our main character’s personal thoughts (separated out by grey pages – to mentions of water that alluded to the title and themes without being to heavy-handed about it. The story itself says enough but not too much, with both characters having distinct voices. Her trepidation. His enthusiasm. You can easily be drawn into their exchanges and emotions, filling in whatever pieces you care to fill in without it needing to be laid out on the pages.

‘Water Under the Bridge’ is really the perfect title for this. The story is about the shine of old memories and nostalgia, the temptation to wade back into those waters, and the reminders of of why the bridges were built over them in the first place. It’s bittersweet, had me smiling, had me sighing, and even had me thinking about all the times that I have almost been swept away into doing something similar. Memories and hopes that maybe things could be different this time…

All up, I quite enjoyed Water Under the Bridge. It is like a beautiful painting: there for you to enjoy and take from it what you will without demanding anything from you but a bit of time to enjoy it.

Things I Learned from a Pastry Chef
Rachel Schwartz Fagan
8 pages
https://www.instagram.com/word.tonic.press/
https://linktr.ee/rachel.schwartz.fagan

Things I Learned from a Pastry Chef is a quarter-sized, black and white illustrated zine of tips that Rachel learned from a pastry chef.

I loved baking and eating baked goods of all sorts, so does that make this zine even more of a comfort read?

Things I Learned from a Pastry Chef opens non-traditionally by holding it in landscape orientation and opening from bottom to top. On the inside front cover, we get all the details for Rachel, including when and where the zine was printed. (I like these details because someday I shall make a big map with all kinds of info on zines read, sent, and received.)

From there we jump right in with the tips, starting with a lemon zest tip that seems so simple but I know would have a big impact on the flavour of whatever baked good called for it. We also get tips on everything from handling eggs, to dealing with garlic, to even a handy top on getting even slices when slicing bread.

Each page has its own handdrawn border and accompanying illustration/s, which makes a cosy zine about a cosy subject make me smile all the more. And crave some banana bread, but that’s an aside.

I was totally in the mood today for a zine that would invite me to learn something, and Things I Learned from a Pastry Chef absolutely provided that. If I know anything about baking, it’s that small steps done in the right way can make a huge impact on what you end up creating. Not only did I appreciate the shared tips, I also appreciated the little things Rachel included like the drawings and the wavy border on each page to add visual interest.

Things I Learned from a Pastry Chef is a zine going in my forever collection and a fairly quick read I think you’ll enjoy.

Root Cause: Championing Beets, Turnips, Rutabagas, and Other Unfairly Maligned Vegetables
Andy Boynton
12 pages
https://www.reciwee.com
https://www.instagram.com/reciwee/

Root Cause is a full-colour, quarter-sized zine about unfairly maligned vegetables in the grocery store and recipes for how to enjoy them.

Andy had me at comparing the bin of ‘lesser known’ veggies to an Island of Misfit Toys. Poor beetroot.

Root Cause opens right on the inside cover with an introduction to the zine and about it. Andy lets the reader know that this zine isn’t mean to be totally comprehensive but rather an appetizer (ha! food pun for the win) to what can be done with these root veggies.

Each veggie featured has the name, a personal introduction from Andy, a drawing of the veggie, and a recipe to try out. Truly living up to the ‘appetizer’ description given in the introduction.

I must say (or rather, write) that I was surprised to see carrots in amongst this group of veggies. Two words: carrot cake. Even so, I appreciated the inclusion for the carrot muffin recipe that will enjoy trying out. (And eating.)

As someone who enjoys trying new things, cooking, and baking, this is definitely a zine for me. But I also appreciate its existence for the more serious side of things too. We are, by and large, visual creatures, and food wastage is a big problem in a lot of places. Not to mention the health side of things.

A zine that encourages people to try new things they might easily pass over otherwise is definitely a good thing. I liked that it didn’t lecture or berate, rather celebrating that which isn’t often celebrating. Definitely a keeper.

Joyful Girl: Where I Find Joy – Do It Yourself Care #4
Nina Zina of Echo Zines
Mini One-Page-Folded
https://echopublishing.wordpress.com
https://www.instagram.com/echozines/

Joyful Girl: Where I Find Joy – Do It Yourself Care #4 is a full-colour, one-page-folded A7 mini-zine

“Little reminders for myself that there can be joy even in hard times.”

And don’t we all need that?

Do It Yourself Care #4 opens with those handwritten words written on bright yellow slips of paper pasted onto pink solid and patterned paper. This colour scheme, which reminds me of lemonade and strawberries, continues through the zine as the reader gets to know Nina’s little joys in life.

Do It Yourself Care #4 had me smiling from the get go. Not only has it been a rough week and some so this topic suited me quite well, the first thing Nina listed is glow-in-the-dark stars. I may have not long ago finished putting the little sticky bits on a bunch of glow-in-the-dark stars to stick to my bedroom ceiling. Following that with cuddles and snuggles with friends, which I adore, and I felt so utterly cosy and happy reading this zine.

Nina covers all sorts of things. Indoors and outdoors, things she participates in and things she observes. Of course what Nina enjoys is personal, but I do like that there is a variety so people can be reminded of their own joys no matter what kind of person they are.

One thing I wanted to mention is that I like how Nina mentioned enjoying creating things “even if I have to push myself sometimes to get started”. While it may have been an afterthought or side thought, I think it’s important to remember that it can take a bit of a push to get ourselves to do things even if we enjoy them.

In Nina’s usual style, Do It Yourself Care #4 opens up into a full page of even more joys set on a colourful cut-and-paste style page. Including the joy of the silly little tea tags that come on the string of your tea bags.

I love the whole Do It Yourself Care series thus far, and this zine is a wonderful addition to the series. I totally recommend grabbing this as well as the rest of the series as well.

Check out my reviews of:

*Do-It-Yourself Care
*Do It Yourself Care #2: Self-Care During Heat Waves
*Do It Yourself Care 3 – Self-Care During Christmas

The Wrong Side of Google History
Caragh Brooks
8 pages
https://linktr.ee/caraghbrooks

The Wrong Side of Google is an A5, full-colour zine featuring odd and sometimes bizarre Google searches with accompanying art for each search.

After a long day, I was very much in the mood for an entertaining zine, and this zine certainly provided.

The Wrong Side of Google opens with a title page that includes Caragh’s links alongside illustrated social icons, which is a touch I always enjoy. From there, we go into the searches… Swearing spiders, odd uses for bodily fluids, and some random search queries fill the pages. Each page features three search bars with an illustration of the search above it.

Caragh’s art style is fun and totally adds to the overall amusing and curious feel of this zine. The drawing of Arnold Schwarzenegger reminded me of a caricature and made me laugh out loud as my mind went to “Glass Joe” from the original Nintendo “Punch-Out!” game. (Yep, dating myself a bit there.)

I’m so curious as to how this zine – and these searches – came about. Is there a list somewhere of the strangest searches? I’m sure there is. But I don’t know if it would be more entertaining to know the behind the scenes of this zine or if the mystery makes it even better. I found myself chuckling with some searches and shaking my head at others. Of course there is Wario fanfiction, but did someone really search ‘sneaking hotdogs into peoples pockets’? So many questions, and I don’t know if I want any of them answered.

All up, I think The Wrong Side of Google History is a fun poke at the weird ways human brains work with fun art added in the mix. Pick a copy up.

The Snailey Mailer: Random fun stuff about the United States Postal Service
Matt Carpenter
12 pages
https://www.mattcarpenterart.com/word/

The Snailey Mailer is a black and white half-letter zine filled with fun facts about the United States Postal Service.

This zine is yet another great example of why I love zines. Do I want to read fun facts about the USPS? Yes, please. Would I have thought of looking up these facts myself? Unlikely. Zines and the people who make them are awesome.

The Snailey Mailer launches right into things with a brief introduction and the first fun fact (yes, I’m calling them all fun) about the USPS. The first one is about motorcycle use for mail collection and delivery – which immediately made me wonder if any US towns still use them. We still do in Australia! That said, Australia doesn’t pick up mail from mail boxes like the US does. (Yes, I’m going into my own postal mail fun facts.)

We then go into facts about pneumatic tube mail (I would so love to have this somehow be a part of my life) which made me feel nostalgic for the drive up banking from my childhood, mail statistics (double yes – love statistics), what those marks on your envelopes mean, and more.

I think the fact that made me say ‘whoa’ with the most emphasis is: The Postal Service processes 118,152 address changes daily. Daily?! Wowza. And I had no idea they are one of the largest employees of veterans.

At this point, I feel like I am risking laying out the entire zine for you here in the review, so I will take a breath and talk about the aesthetics. As I get older and my eyesight gets worse, I appreciate nice, clear typing all the more. All the facts – including references – are printed in clear type and along with pictures to go along with the text. Matt’s sense of humour sneaks in with little captions below some of the images.

All up, I am a mail nerd and a fun facts nerd, so The Snailey Mailer is the perfect zine for me to sit down and chill with. Learn some interesting things and perhaps grow a deeper appreciation for your local postal workers by checking out this zine.

Our Wounds: A Caring Zine About C Section Scars
APac
12 pages
https://www.etsy.com/shop/apacdrawings/
https://www.instagram.com/apacdrawings/

Our Wounds is a quarter-sized, black and white zine of art and quotes about birth-givers and caesarean scars.

“After the birth of my daughter, my cesarean scar became a source of anger…”

APac doesn’t shy away from the topic of C-section scars, and that shows both in her art and in the way she introduces this zine. Right on the inside cover, we read about how processing her anger about her scar led to a sketchbook of “birth-givers’ characters who had undergone cesareans” and combined with Reddit testimonies about these scars to create this zine. Each page features black and white art of a single character, each with their scar on display and in a different environment to the rest. Each portrait is accompanied by a quote with the writer’s name and date of the quote.

The scars we carry can hold depths of meaning for us that the people around us may never understand. A scar that comes from giving birth – a whole topic area with so much emotion and differing opinions surrounding it – has to be a whole level that I can’t fully comprehend as someone who does not have a C section scar. I appreciate this glimpse into a part of life I didn’t really know much about, and I doubly appreciate that APac included a variety of quotes that showed people expressing a range of emotions and experiences with their scars.

APac’s art style is a pleasure to look at with lines of various thickness creating shadows as well as delicate details. The characters are all quite distinct from each other in body shape, how scars are shaped and displayed, and even different ages as well. Each has there own accompanying surroundings, be them birds, bats, tentacles, or mushrooms. As if to say their scars are a part of them – but only one part of them.

I admire it when people are in touch with their feelings including the darker ones. Even moreso when they are able to take those negative feelings and turn them into powerful art. APac combines strong emotion, art, and quotes into a powerful zine that is definitely one to check out.

Nail Biting
Renee H
One page folded
https://www.instagram.com/utterzine/

Nail Biting is a colour, one page folded mini-zine about nail biting made as part of Alphabet Superset Challenge.

When I cheekily commented on Renee’s Instagram post of this zine that I needed this zine in my life, I had no idea that I would soon be able to enjoy a copy in my hands. And not only that, learn so very much about a bad habit I have had for nearly as long as I can remember.

We open with Renee’s story of nail biting over the years that culminated in being determined to break the habit. We then learn about the parts of the nail as well as how damaging nail biting can be. We then go back to Renee and some of the reasons behind the nail biting habit and its links to self-harm, wrapping up with thoughts about how the self-destructive behaviour didn’t actually eliminate the feelings Renee was trying to escape.

My gosh, as someone who has bitten their nails off and on over the years, I am impressed by how much information has been packed into this little zine. I’ve never looked into the parts of the nail nor how much my habit could damage myself – in some ways permanently. I’d also never made the connection to self-destructive behaviour, an insight I find incredibly valuable and one that I will be pondering.

Aesthetically, this mini is lovely. Printed on cream paper with big, clear type. Green as an accent colour and using small design elements as well as typography to add visual interest. This mini is beautifully put together and in a way that suits an informative, personal zine about a very personal and deeper-than-some-think subject.

I really love how Renee handled including not only their contact details but the Alphabet Superset Challenge details and the letter this zine focuses on. It’s long been a nitpick of mine when there are no socials or even a hint of where to find other zines made by the person who made the zine I’ve just enjoyed. To have it all there, clear print, easy to read, and utilising the often-overlooked blank interior of a one page folded mini is definitely a little chef’s kiss element for me.

Nail Biting is a great example of a mini-zine on so many levels. Absolutely pick this one up.

Beer Tarot: Pulling Cards, Pouring Beer, & Discovering Self
32 pages
Courtney Iseman
https://linktr.ee/courtiseman
Bean to Barstool
https://linktr.ee/beantobarstool

Beer Tarot: Pulling Cards, Pouring Beer, & Discovering Self is a US half-fold sized, full colour zine about tarot, craft beer, brewing, how it all ties together, and more.

“…the vital takeaway about Tarot is that it’s really a fascinating and frankly quite handy way of looking at the world and our lives, of processing our past, being grounded in our present, and framing what we want for the future.”

Beautifully written!

First off, I would like to point out how much I love this idea. At first I thought, “Beer and tarot? That’s an unexpected combination.” But the more I think about it, the more fabulous it seems! Some beers and pull out the tarot cards at the pub? Yes, please.

We open with a table of contents and all the creation of this zine details your heart could desire on the inside cover and then an introduction to the author herself (which includes a glorious picture with Courtney and her adorable pug). From there, we launch into a history of tarot, and what a history it is.

Courtney’s writing style is knowledgeable and inviting. Teaching you without lecturing you, she invites you into a world that you may or may not have any experience with. She smoothly brings you from the beginning of tarot’s story all the way to modern day where tarot’s resurgence is, in many spaces, forming a tie with craft beer and pubs. Not only that, it’s clear through her words that she has a passion for both subjects as well as how they tie together. Nothing comes across as dry or purely factual, and I love it.

We then get to read an interview with Nacim Menu who is co-owner of a tarot-themed craft brewery l’Ermitage Nanobrasserie in Brussels, and I found one of my favourite quotes about tarot:

“As always with Tarot, you don’t look for it, it comes to you.”

We’re treated to a series of beer Tarot readings pulled from Tvre Brewing’s custom deck followed by an interview with Max Sherman, Tvre’s graphic designer who created the Tvre Brewing deck! Yes, I am excited enough to use an exclamation for that. (Special side note: The subtitle of this interview is ‘How Craft Beer’s Most Metal Brewery Fully Embraced Tarot’, and I absolutely adore how metal has been worked into the mix in this zine too.) Max even gives us a look into the process of creating the deck, which took over a year.

I don’t usually write out the contents of a zine to such an extent, but this zine is totally to my taste (pun fully intended) both in the individual pieces as well as the whole. The zine itself is text heavy, but the font and font size are all good, and the design elements add some lovely aesthetics and relaxation for the mind. (As in, I don’t think I’m sitting down to study a dense textbook even though I am getting a lot of information.) Even the progression of the pieces – history of tarot, interview, readings, interview, wrapping up with a relaxing type of interview about beer, food, and tarot – flows so nicely.

Beer Tarot: Pulling Cards, Pouring Beer, & Discovering Self is an all-around excellent zine that taught me a lot and had me hooked from page one until the end. It is informative, visually pleasing, and connects subjects I wouldn’t have otherwise connected. I absolutely recommend checking this one out.