Category: Zine Reviews

Strange Romance #1: A Shit’s Fucked Anthology
Edited by Iggy Nicklbottum
Graphic Design by Josh Corea
http://shitsuxpress.com
https://www.instagram.com/shitsux/

Strange Romance #1 is a full colour zine that is a bit smaller than A5 size full of stories, poetry, and art all along the theme of strange romance.

Strange Romance opens with a poem called ‘Love and Demons’ about a strange love under the full moon, setting a tone that plays into the title completely. What follows are stories, poems, and art – some equally as strange as ‘Love and Demons’ and some moreso. From odd creatures to love beyond the grave, Strange Romance hits the spot for creations out of the norm.

Tourist is my favourite of the collection – a short story about loving each other despite mistakes made. I predicted some of the elements but was pleasantly surprised to find it ended a bit differently than I expected.

I love the look of this zine so much. The cover art is fantastic (and horrifying), and it’s made to look like a well-worn trade paperback. I keep touching the ‘cracks’ and ‘rips’ in the art. This is carried inside with yellowed and stained (looking) paper. This is broken up in the middle with a couple of art pieces printed on glossy white paper, but I just smiled at that because I’ve read more than a few old books with crisp glossy paper pages in the middle to feature photos.

My cover photo pic doesn’t do it justice.

My editor side picked up a couple things here in there, but the combined package of the looks and the content kept me reading right along.

I’m happy to see that this is #1, implying that there will be more in the Strange Romance series. I think if you like the odd, the strange, and/or the slightly weird in writing as well as art then you will enjoy this zine.

That Girl 16
Kelli
Cover by Roland Martin
https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/thepillowproblem
$5 US PPD / $8 Intl PPD

That Girl 16 is a black and white half-fold memoir zine (zine-oir?) about boys, breakups, and growing up as a slightly drunk, punk teenager in and around Hollywood.

That Girl gets into the writing straight away and opens with a gorgeous first sentence that immediately made me smile:

I believed I found my soulmate in kindergarten…

How lovely is that? I easily settled into the first section – a short tale of young crushes and teachers who spoil everything. Kelli’s amusing descriptions of their kindergarten acquaintances quickly made it clear that they have a fun writing voice when they decide to be cheeky. Later descriptions of people, albums, and places are (in my thoughts) the real strength of the writing.

Kelli goes on to write about significant relationships with both people and music. The main relationship that takes her through a significant part of high school is with Tom – someone she met largely due to a love/hate relationship with Pisces men. From hanging out with their group of friends to the challenges of dating a homeless person while trying to manage life as a highschooler.

Aesthetically, That Girl is primarily text with various stamps and small pictures to go along with the worry. Each section starts off with the first sentence in a different font, which I thought was a nice touch. A different take on the drop cap and a nice way to visually separate the different sections.

Kelli mentions various names of celebrities, band names, and places I’m not familiar with, but it didn’t take away from the reading much. I did feel a bit lost at times simply because Hollywood is so far away, and I’m not likely to go there. But a memoir is more about the feelings than the places, and she did really well setting up feelings in the first section.

It was also a little jarring when the relationship with Tom ends in one section, but he’s referred to in later sections. This happens a couple more times as well. That said, I haven’t read a memoir in a while and am very used to linear timelines.

The last section switches to third person (‘she’ instead of ‘I’). It reads well, but I must admit that I don’t understand the choice.

Kelli’s high school experiences are nearly as far away from mine as they could be, so I didn’t find a lot in this zine to identify with in experiences, but I could certainly identify with the feelings of connecting to people and music. Besides, part of what makes people fascinating is their differences, and that’s a large part of why I like reading memoirs.

That Girl started very sweetly and ended up being an interesting look into a world I know next to nothing about. A few people have commented that I don’t review a lot of punk zines on SGZ, and I’m glad to have had the opportunity to do so with this zine. Memoirs can be a little tricky in the recommending, but I think there’s a lot to appeal to a lot of different people – from punks to those who have fallen hard in love when they were young.

Cats Not Kids #1
Purple Donna
https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/purpledonna

Cats Not Kids 1 is an A6 black and white perzine about life with a dysfunctional uterus, the heartbreak of leaving furry family members behind in the UK when moving to Australia, and preferring to have cats rather than kids.

Cats Not Kids starts off with a brief introduction about finally making a zine after thinking about doing it for a long time as well as an introduction to Donna – a fellow expat who fell for an Aussie and made the leap to land in Melbourne. (You bet I love how much we had in common right off the start.)

The things Donna and I had in common continued with Donna talking about dealing with period problems from youth and the frustration of uninterested doctors forcing her to take things into her own hands. It’s always frustrating to read about people coming up against block after block with medical professionals, but there is some comfort in knowing you’re not alone.

Things take a very sad note when Donna writes about needing to leave her beautiful cats behind in the UK – not by choice but because of bad timing. A sudden change in legislation meant all the preparations to take them along were lost time. As someone who lives with a lovely cat and two rambunctious dogs, I really felt for Donna’s position of really having no options.

This zine was a quick read and one I enjoyed a lot. I was worried that this might include some negativity towards people who want or have kids (given the title), but it doesn’t. I’m looking forward to reading the next ones.

Small Potatoes #4
Keira
https://www.instagram.com/k.huolohan/
https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/ZinesByKeira

Small Potatoes 4 is an A6 black and white perzine on cream paper about anxiety, work, and a lot more.

I’m in a chatty mood, zine friends, and there are a lot of things I enjoyed about the latest instalment of Small Potatoes.

Small Potatoes 4 opens with an introduction about little things we do even if we can’t remember the reason why we do them, Keira’s pride in finishing the zine, and the struggle to finish it while spoons were scarce (their energy was low). I identified so much with it being easier to write things happening in your life down and “just hand[ing] people the zine and hop[ing] they understand.”

This intro – and the updates on things they wrote about in previous issues – really epitomise while I like reading a while series. I adore reading about how people grow and change over the course of a zine series. This intro reads like Keira is becoming more comfortable with sharing their thoughts on paper. They also invite readers to respond and share about a zine they are making (one I’m contributing to!).

Keira writes about anxiety and medications, shares drawings and poetry, gives a driving update (congratulations on passing your driving test!), and more. They actually opened up the zine to suggestions for what to write about in this issue, and they wrote about why and how they give – my suggestion! I’d actually forgotten that I’d made the suggestion, so it was a great surprise. As someone who has experienced their generosity, it was interesting to read about their background and thoughts on giving.

In ‘Retail Work is Real Work’ Keira writes about how people abuse retail workers and make judgements about what ‘real’ work is. (Hint: These people don’t consider retail work ‘real’ work.) I’m always sad to hear about people treating other people badly, but I was impressed how Keira got angry but also fought with facts. The main fact being that there aren’t enough jobs to go around in Australia full shop.

I have a lot of love for this and the series. The variety of subjects, art, and poetry make for unexpected surprises in each issue. It’s easy to read with a clear font and contact details. There’s a lot to enjoy. Check it out.

PS. I love the subtitle.

10 weeds you can eat!
Urban Edibles
http://www.urbanedibles.org (not working)

10 weeds you can eat! is a ¼-ish size black and white zine introduction to weeds you can eat.

10 weeds opens with an introduction to who Urban Edibles are and about the zine itself:

“Urban Edibles is a cooperative network of wild food foragers in Portland, Oregon. By creating awareness about what is available in our own neighborhoods, we hope to re-establish the connection between people, environment and food.”

There are so many things I really like about this: more time outdoors, getting more in touch with nature, finding more natural, abundant sources of food that are otherwise wasted – and plenty more. This zine is a guide in every sense of the word with each plant – ‘weed’ – given a page to itself that contains its common name, scientific name, a sketch, description, instructions for how to harvest it and its food uses.

If you want a guide to edible weeds, then this is a great place to start. Just when I was thinking this is a pretty comprehensive zine, I found that they’ve included a guide to leaf shapes and a page for notes as well. If you’d like further reading, they have a list of works referenced, too.

One thing I really appreciated – and always do when it comes to zines with food/health topics – is the note on the first page:

If in doubt, don’t!

I think notes like those remind people to think for themselves, double check, and make sure they are taking responsibility for their bodies and lives.

I was sad to see that the Urban Edibles site wasn’t working when I checked it. I’d love to see more zines like this – especially around the world so readers can get more local suggestions.

Pet Hates
Confetti
http://www.confetti.ooo
https://www.instagram.com/confettiooo/

Pet Hates is an A6 black and white comic zine about pet hates. Or rather, pets’ hates.

I’ve identified with a lot of zines over the years, but this is the first time I’ve identified with a zine on behalf of my dogs and cat. Haha. Definitely a first for me!

Pet Hates contains twelve comics – one per page with each one featuring a different pet with a different reason to be annoyed. From a camera shy bunny to a snake with dreams of shoes, each comic will make you feel sympathetic while chuckling at the same time.

Confetti’s art style is very cute (as the cover gives you a taste of) and that is also matched well by the font choice. The comics are detailed just enough to set the scene but not distract from the actual pets or their thoughts.

Pet Hates had me hooked straight away with the camera shy bunny. My lovely dogs really don’t like cameras of any sort. I love how Confetti features a different kind of pet each comic. Your ‘traditional’ pets hates would have been (and would still be) welcome, but the variety of pets kept me curious about what I would find in the next comic.

This is such a gorgeous little zine. I hope it’s the first of a series, and I hope you check it out.

let your fingers do the walking
Johnnie B. Baker
https://www.instagram.com/johnniebbaker/
http://budgetpress.net

let your fingers do the walking is a black and white 1/2 fold perzine about drugs, eating disorders, and disastrous results from trying to fit in.

This zine is one that pulls no punches. There are no pauses for dramatic effect or time for coddling. Johnnie pulls you into the story on page one and doesn’t let up until the story is done. There is no gentle lead up to the horrific (in nature, not gruesome description or otherwise) events that happened because of Johnnie’s eating disorder.

Johnnie writes about being a fat kid and how that led to drugs and drinking in an effort to fit in. From drugs and alcohol, he moved on to more severe behaviours that ended up leading to more than one health incident that could have easily ended Johnnie’s life.

I wrote my notes for this zine as the wind was howling and the rain was pelting down outside, and I couldn’t help compare it to fast, hard-hitting storm. I felt shocked and concerned, but I couldn’t stop reading. While there are a few pictures in amongst the text, the words were what kept me turning from page to page.

Without a doubt this would be confronting and perhaps even triggering for some people, but I found myself feeling grateful that Johnnie wrote this zine. That he shared the stark, awful reality of what can happen if you abuse your body with eating disorder behaviour. That it is a male story of something that is more often thought of as a female problem could help other male and male-identifying people to share their stories and get hope.

This may be a faster read than zines I’ve been reading lately, but it has certainly stuck in my mind quite vividly. If you are curious, feel confident that you can handle the content, and/or, like me, could use that all-too-real reminder that it’s not worth it, then this is a zine to read.

Dirty Lesbian
Nina Echozina
https://echopublishing.wordpress.com

Dirty Lesbian is an A6 black and white 24-hour zine about reclaiming lesbian-feminism. Nina also writes this, which I think is fabulous:

“It is a call for a more radical feminism, for a lesbian and trans revolution, for getting rid of cishetpatriarchy instead of cutely smiling in the hopes of getting some crumbs.”

Wowza.

Dirty Lesbian opens with a comic about a homophobic comment made to Nina in what she thought was a positive feminist space – and her anger about it. From there, we jump into a cut and paste style zine that has a lot to offer.

There is plenty going on in this zine. Nina writes about the damage that homophobic – especially lesbian homophobic – comments can do and the fallout. She includes reminders of straight privilege, feminist history, examines words like ‘queer’ and ‘femme’, and there’s even a recommendation section with music, zines, films, and comics.

To top it off, Nina even includes some mini-posters for your enjoyment.

It’s clear from the beginning of this zine that Nina is angry about what happened, but it’s also clear that she still wants to educate people. I think that’s very admirable. When I’m angry, I want to eat cookies and play computer games. I adore that Nina has used her anger to make a zine that is so full of information and looks great, too.

I’m angry and sad that what happened happened, but I struggle to imagine a better response.

I think this is a great zine, whether you want to check in with your own behaviours, whether you are a lesbian wanting support and a louder voice, whether you’re interested in learning more… Nina’s mixture of passion and artistic skill make this zine one to check out.

Zine Crush: Volume 2
Editor
https://twitter.com/zinecrush (No longer updating)

Zine Crush: Volume 2 is a black and white ½ fold zine collection of affection in the zine world in comics and written pieces.

Zine Crush gets right into things from the get go, opening with a story of zine crushes and moving from penpals to friends. From there, we have comics, written pieces, and even a couple of photos. This zine describes itself as ‘like a missed connexion board’, but contributors took the prompt in a number of different directions. Along with the anonymous and direct confessions of like, there is a section of anonymous notes for the Richmond Zine Fest 2012, a piece from the editor about being Zine Crush, and even a funny comic about a cat.

When I opened this zine, I expected a more straightforward, ‘traditional’ sorts of tales of like – and I would have thought I’d prefer that as well. However, I ended up enjoying the different interpretations.

I really enjoyed ‘Creepsters United’ by Jonas which goes into the strange feelings of ‘knowing’ a zinemaker so utterly through their zine and yet feeling like you don’t know them at all when you meet them in person.

The thing that I appreciated most about this zine is that it was a mixture of ‘like’. It’s not all romantic or sexual. The crushes are of any nature – from be my friend plz to more intellectual crushes. I like to think that I can have zine crushes (which I definitely do), and they won’t all be assumed to be the romantic/sexual kind.

I really adore the concept for this zine and am sad that it seems to have ended on volume 4. Still, I shall continue my search and try to get volumes 1 and 4. If you see this zine series, pick it up and have a look.

Self-Care for Zinesters
Maranda Elizabeth
https://marandaelizabeth.com

Self-Care for Zinesters is a black and white A6 size zines about self-care for zinesters at zine events, on the road, and at home.

I feel a little weird reviewing this zine because I remember reading the related blog post (https://marandaelizabeth.com/2013/01/03/self-care-for-zinesters/) before I went to my very first zine fest, and it feels like reviewing something that’s famous. Alas, here we go.

Self-Care for Zinesters opens with an intro by Maranda in which they talk about their labels (mental health, etc). I had just started thinking, “This is especially important in a zine like this so you know where they are coming from” and Maranda actually writes:

“I’m prefacing all this with a bunch of labels I’ve applied to myself so you have an idea of where I’m coming from, and what my experiences might be like.”

If that’s not a good start, I don’t know what is. Haha.

Maranda goes on to discuss ‘zinester life’ and how many zinemakers feel overwhelmed and overstimulated at zine events (me, too!). From there, they go into self-care tips for zinesters on the road, at zine events, and zinesters at home. With tips like finding out what the coffee situation is and writing things down, I kept finding myself nodding along and thinking, “Yes! That’s so important!”

I feel like the blog post came into my life at just the right time, and now this zine has done the same. The zine had more than I thought it would be, and many of the things – especially self-care at home – struck a chord with me.

Writing for friendship was an especially sweet section in which Maranda writes about intimidation – a feeling many of us have felt even in the zine world with people who seem more ___ than you/your zines. Maranda recommended making friends with those who intimidate you. I actually ended up taking that advice and have been delighted with the friendships that have emerged.

All up, this is a great zine, and I highly recommend it.

PS. I hope no one is intimidated by me! You can always say hello.