Category: Zine Reviews

My First Job
Warglitter
https://linktr.ee/warglitter

My First Job is a black and white illustrated one-page mini about Warglitter’s first job.

In this fun mini, Warglitter writes about how a dream to become a film director landed her as close as she could get at the time: her first job at the concession stand at the movie theatre.

Illustrations add that little something, making a zine that reminds me of the style and tone of Daria. I couldn’t put into words exactly why, but it made me smile nonetheless. What else makes me smile is how Warglitter dated herself on the last page by mentioning what she saved up her money to buy… No spoilers here, zine friends, but I giggled.

My one niggle is no contact details, but that’s what you have me for. 😉

I think a ‘my first job’ is a great idea for a mini and shares an experience many people will identify with. (And/or nostalgia for those who had friends who worked at theatres. Hehe.)

Inktober 2018
Latibule
https://linktr.ee/latibule_art

Inktober 2018 is an A5, full-colour zine filled with 31 pieces of art done for the 31 days of Inktober.

Inktober is a yearly event during which people commit to creating 31 drawings – one per day for the month of October. This gorgeous zine is Latibule’s collection of art for the challenge.

This wordless zine – save for the ‘thank you’ on the last page – is full of wonderful pictures. Each to its own page, the illustrations feature people, places, and creations from Latibule’s mind. From a mouse sleeping in a skull to crow (or raven) on a windowsill, you don’t know what you will get from page to page.

The illustrations themselves don’t seem to have an interconnecting theme (as you’d expect when you’re taking prompts from others like Latibule did), but I love how the colours do. People, places, and creatures alike are all cast in pale blues and greys with the occasional black or third colour in various places. The colours are soft like pastels but colder, giving everything a distinct feel as well as a look.

I do have one wish for this zine, but it’s a little bit of a cloudy one. I would have liked to have seen the prompts written somewhere – especially as I know that Latibule didn’t use the ‘official’ Inktober prompts. I adore the art, but I’m incredibly curious what words inspired each piece. However, the wish is a cloudy one because I’m not clear as to whether I’d be wishing for it if I didn’t know that Latibule had opened this zine up to prompts.

Clear as mud, yes?

To be absolutely clear, I adore Latibule’s art style and am so happy to have a collection of her work. I’ve already flipped through this zine many times and really can’t pick a favourite illustration. (That being said, I really hope Latibule does end up creating her own tarot cards!)

Check out Latibule’s Instagram page. If you love the work you see there, then you’ll want to pick up this zine.

Proof I Exist 28
Billy McCall
https://bunnyears.bandcamp.com/

Proof I Exist 28 is a quarter-sized perzine printed with blue ink on cream paper about life, family, and the ways we grow apart.

I feel almost flippant trying to sum up this zine – even though that’s what I do for every zine. This zine is one that is so full of emotion that you just know that it was hard for the author to write it no matter whether they say it or not. Does it somehow take away from the experience of the author for me to call it ‘heartbreaking’? Does it somehow lessen the zine itself? I don’t know.

This zine has me thinking on a number of levels.

Proof I exist takes us in a mostly linear fashion through Billy’s life – one of frequent moving, exposure to drugs, and few connections with the few being very deep ones. It soon emerges that this zine isn’t so much about Billy as it is about his closest relationships – his parents and more so his brother.

Billy writes in brief, numbered snippets, a style we learn at the end is inspired by ‘Bluets’ by Maggie Nelson. I’d never heard of Bluets nor seen this sort of writing, but it’s an art form by its own right. Sharing thoughts and ‘scenes’ in this numbered fashion feels almost life flipping through a scrapbook – each having its own little story and still fitting into the whole as well.

Two things emerge a lot in this zine: drugs and Billy’s brother. Drugs play a large role, both in how Billy’s decision not to use them influenced his life and how he perceived himself as well as how they influenced his brother’s life. And the latter is my rather bland way of putting it that doesn’t give too much of the actual content away.

This zine represents not only the stories Billy is sharing from his life but also an important step of acknowledging and starting to release some of the feelings he has wrapped up in his brother and their lives. He admits to waiting to write this even longer because he was waiting to see how the story would end. Alas…

“but this isn’t a movie, and the final scenes of resolution aren’t coming through all clean and smooth like they’re supposed to.”

This zine makes my heart said and makes me wish I could take Billy out for a long, leisurely cup of coffee where he could talk (or not talk) to his heart’s content. This zine, to me, is an example of one of the important facets of zines in giving us a way to process should we show choose to use it.

There is mention of drug and alcohol abuse, but if those things won’t cause problems for you, I highly recommend you pick up this zine.

The American Indian Ready to Wear Catalog 2018
Joey Clift
Illustrations: Janet Myer
https://redcatpress.com/

The American Indian Ready to Wear Catalog 2018 is a black and white (with a full-colour cover) half-fold comedy satire zine in the form of a fashion catalogue. Inside, Joey takes a look at all the ridiculous ways Native Americans are represented in the media.

From the back cover…

“The American Indian Ready to Wear Catalog has all the fashion tips you need to be the only type of American Indian that white society will allow you to be: a racist caricature.”

I think humour can be great way to address a lot of things in a non-threatening way. I knew that Joey was going to hit this right on the head from the front cover with one of the ‘headlines’ on the cover reading: Is It Possible to be “Native at Heart”? with the subtitle responding: “No! Stop asking.”

I grew up in Wisconsin, a place where Native American stereotypes are rife, and the picture of the ‘Land O Lakes Butter Maiden’ on the back cover put me right back there. Of course, when I was very young, I didn’t understand what a stereotype was or even that not all Native American tribes weren’t the same. Therein lies the danger of perpetuated stereotypes in media.

But I’m getting off track. The zine!

Joey pokes at the media stereotypes from the start. Page one features an illustration of ‘Iron Eyes Cody’ and, like any good fashion catalogue, placing numbers on the image so people can pick out what they like and find out more about it below. (The very process taking a poke at appropriating other cultures, don’t you think?) Small notes for the ‘items’ are funny, but some also include facts. One being that ‘Iron Eyes Cody’ who played a Native American for decades was actually Italian.

The catalogue continues with a number of examples from the ‘$346.1 Million Box Office’ Rewrite of History so John Smith is the Good Guy item (because talking Disney trees!) to the “Conveniently ‘Discover’ Your Native Heritage for Career Purposes’ as modelled by Twilight move star Taylor Lautner.

In the way you can enjoy dark humour, this zine… Oh, this zine! Joey really gets right to the heart of it in a way that makes me laugh (many, many times out loud) in a sad way because I know there are people out there who still won’t get it. Every page I read, I thought, “this is my favourite”, and then I’d turn to find that the next page had to be my favourite.

In the end, I couldn’t decide. The Land O Lakes Butter Maiden has ties to my childhood, and the special note that Joey actually called up the company and the company sent him a pamphlet about how much they respect the image of the maiden and a coupon book for butter…

While I endeavour to make zine reviews about the zines and only the zines, but I did find it interesting that the author, Joey Clift, is a registered member of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe and works in the entertainment industry. Thus Joey knows all too well the lack of actual native culture has in media.

The sarcasm is thick and on point in this zine, and I absolutely adore it. (I even raved about it to Wanderer, which is always a good sign.) I could list off all the examples I like, but I’d end up just retyping the entire zine without the pleasure of the illustrations – which are excellent and fit the feeling of this zine perfectly.

Pick up a copy of this brilliant zine for some dark laughs and a reminder to take a closer look at the world – and the popular media – around you.

Roam 01
Leah Delacrux
https://www.instagram.com/leahdelacrux/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAPdQbECntg

Roam 01 is an A5 full-colour photography zine featuring Instax photos taken in Autumn 2018.

Roam is a zine of few words, opening with ‘Autumn 2018’ before taking you on a journey through photos. Each picture has a page all its own, the image centred on it. We explore through the eyes of the photographer as they wander around an unnamed (in the zine) city.

This zine takes on the look of a gallery viewing with a lot of white space around each picture, making the pictures really pop. Moreso, the lack of words or other visual elements made it feel like a very ‘quiet’ zine for me. I could sit and take in each photo, my mind quieting (no small feat, that’s for sure) as I looked at the images.

I liked the outdoor photos the best with autumn leaves, trees, and blue skies always being a winner for me. Not to mention the beach photos. I was impressed with the quality, having heard other people say that the Instax camera is a ‘party piece’ that ‘isn’t meant for good photos’.

The indoor pictures weren’t as interesting for me, but that’s entirely personal preference. After all, when we roam, we don’t always stay outdoors, right? We roam in and out of places as well. So while I have my preferences, I think the mix of indoor and outdoor did fit in with the title.

If you like photography and like to see what photographers can achieve with cameras other than DSLR, then check out this zine.

Chronicled Chaos Issue 1
Molly
https://www.instagram.com/zappixart/
https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/ZappixArt

Chronicled Chaos is an A6 size black and white (save for one art page) perzine about Molly and their system (what’s a system? Read the zine hehe), Dissociative Identity Disorder, chronic illness, art, and more.

I’ve mentioned plenty of times here how much I love and appreciate perzines because they’re either helping me feel less alone, or they are giving me new perspectives that I wouldn’t have found otherwise. Sometimes both. So how could I not love a perzine that not only teaches me so much but also opens up with a glossary of terms after the introduction?

Chronicled Chaos opens up with an introduction from Molly, who they are, and what you can expect in this (and future) perzines in the series. (Love how they put it all down on the page right from the get go.) From there, Molly then gives a comprehensive list of terms and definitions around DiD (Dissociative Identity Disorder).

As I mentioned, I learned a lot in a relatively small amount of time about DiD and their experience of it. There’s not only an overview of the condition but also brief introductions (and history) for some of Molly’s alters or parts (new vocabulary!). They even include drawings of each of them – something I found fascinating as well as enjoyable to look at.

There’s a lot more to enjoy in this perzine as well, the variety reminding me of MissMuffCake’s Stay at Home Girlfriend series. Molly includes art, poems, a comic, and other things happening in their life. They also include content warning for any possible triggers.

One thing they included is called ‘#SeeMyInvisible’ which involves taking a selfie and drawing over the selfie to display where their chronic illness(es) are. It’s about seeing invisible illnesses and, moreover, reminding people that it’s not all about what their eyes can see. They used a gold marker to colour over their selfie, and I thought about how I hoped the hashtag would really take off and more people would do it.

The variety also plays into the look of the zine as well, with plenty of clear text mixed in with art, a few pages with unobtrusive backgrounds for the text, and so on. There’s definitely plenty to look at.

One aesthetic touch I especially enjoyed is how the gold speckles on the cover, the gold on the aforementioned ‘See My Invisible’ and some stickers on the inside are all put on after the printing. Meaning that each zine copy will have that little bit of unique touch to set it apart from the rest.

I really enjoyed this perzine from the casual reader standpoint to the interested learner standpoint. There’s a lot to take in and think about without it feeling incredibly dense. Check it out.

Hello, zine friends! November is certainly on its way already, isn’t it? Today we have a bit more organisation on the agenda because I love organising. That’s pretty much it. Haha. I love planners, I love organising… It makes me happy. Today’s prompt:

Make/Create a zine idea book

While I still carry a little notebook with me wherever I go just in case ideas strike me on the go, this is my ‘official’ ideas notebook when it comes to zines. It’s A5 size and also holds things I need to keep track of for current collab zines, a few written pieces that I need to type up to put in zines, a collection of quotes for another zine I want to make, so on and so forth.

I want to cover both the inside covers and the outside with stickers, but I have three lovelies so far. A little extra inspiration never hurt, right?

Let me know if you have an ideas book and be sure to check out what other participants are doing for ZineWriMo.

Check out the full list of daily prompts here.

Participants:

*Echo Publishing
*Riot Grrl
*Ulterior Zines
*Olga Writes Things
*Zines and Things
*Maybe Magick Zines

Hello, lovely zine friends! I hope this day finds you well and having a marvelous start to your week. Alas, mine has been a little tumultuous – hence the Happy Mail Monday video being delayed – but I still got to play with zinemaking a bit with today’s ZineWriMo prompt.

Make a Zine: Warm up with a zine full of colour

In all honesty, I didn’t have the spoons for making any sort of art, so I cheated a bit by selecting a gorgeous watercolour paper from my scrapbooking papers. The gentle, swirling pastels actually reminded me of a poem I wrote years ago and thus decided to put into the zine.

I don’t think I’ll ever have the courage to share the poem, but it was nice to put it down on paper, and it was especially nice to make a zine! Whenever it’s been a while since I’ve made a zine, it feels like so much longer.

A little something on the last page.

I might still tweak the back cover, but for now, I’m pretty darn happy with it. Let me know how you are going with your ZineWriMo creations. ^_^

Check out the full list of daily prompts here.

Participants:

*Echo Publishing
*Riot Grrl
*Ulterior Zines
*Olga Writes Things
*Zines and Things
*Maybe Magick Zines

Hello, wonderful zine friends. I have a very short and sweet review for you today. It would usually go in one of my Mega Mini-Zine reviews, but it’s a busy, busy time! So enjoy this itty bitty dose of a super cute zine.

MLEMS
Zappix Art
https://www.instagram.com/zappixart/

Mlems is a tiny A8 full-colour zine about mlems. Not sure what mlems are? Well, the cover gives a little clue…

Mlems is an itty bitty that is big on the cuteness factor. Each page is dedicated to a cute animal drawing. Each with their cute tongue sticking right out. It’s an adorable mini that’s fairly quick to look through. But, if you’re like me, you’ll come back to it for a smile more than once.

Mushrump
Bodie
www.slowquest.com
@bodieh

Mushrump is an A7 black and white mini-manual about the curious, peaceful creature: the mushrump.

This gorgeous mini introduces you to the everyday life, rituals, and lifecycle of the mushrump. It’s four pages long, but I don’t class it as a quick read. There is so much detail to take in, both in the descriptions and the illustrations. I could look at Bodie’s work all day.

I’ve reviewed the ‘choose your own adventure’ comic zines SlowQuest and SlowQuest II and absolutely adore the fantasy world that Bodie has created. That there are these little fantasy guides to go along with the SlowQuest adventures makes me all the more excited to see what Bodie does next.