Category: Zine Reviews

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.

Newspaper Blackout Poetry
Wolfram-J VK
https://www.instagram.com/queercontent/

Newspaper Blackout Poetry is an A5 black and white zine about what blackout poetry is and how it works.

If you’re not familiar, blackout poetry is the process of using pieces of text that already exist and blacking out everything except chosen key words, turning that piece of text into something new.

Newspaper Blackout Poetry opens with a bit of history about blackout poetry and how it’s actually an older process than you probably think. From there, we dive into various examples.

Blackout poetry is probably the poetic space I feel most comfortable in, so I was fairly sure I was going to enjoy this zine anyway. However, this zine went above expectations.

The first few examples are of ‘traditional’ blackout poetry with lines of text blacked out. The blackout didn’t quite completely obscure the text beneath. While that may have been an annoyance in others’ eyes, it made it all the more interesting for me. I liked comparing how I would have done it to how it was done for the zine.

The last two examples are very interesting. They take blackout poetry and turn it into visual as well as literary art. They add on lines, dashes, and small sketches to create something that’s pleasing to look at as a whole as well as at the smaller details.

The second half of the zine is made up of a ‘now it’s your turn’ section with pieces of text ripe for turning into blackout poetry. I always feel a little weird about zines that encourage you to write and otherwise change them, but that doesn’t make me love the idea any less.

My one nitpick is a lack of contact details, but you do at least have Wolfram’s name on the back to go on.

All up, I think this is a fun zine and it would be a great start for anyone wanting to dive in.

Precious Pearl
Veek
https://www.instagram.com/veek1313/

Precious Pearl is a ½ fold full-colour comic about the creation of a pearl. A precious pearl.

I laughed out loud. Oh, how I laughed. This says things about my level of maturity – none of them good.

This zine is going to be a tough one to review because I really don’t want to give anything away. There’s a twist to it that has me chuckling even as I type this.

Precious Pearl is a comic set in the ocean (as you probably imagined), and has a very sweet start full of nice colours and pretty fish. However, because this isn’t the first one of Veek’s comics that I have read, I started getting the feeling that it was a little too sweet.

I was right. Ha!

The art of this comic is a fun combination of hand drawing/colouring and cut out pictures of fish/aquatic life. I thought the cut outs were a fun addition to this comic that sort of set it apart from Veek’s other comics and put it more in line with the ‘children’s book’ that the back cover claimed it to be. The few words involved also played into this aesthetic.

All of it combined together to create an even funnier twist than it would have been with words alone. (Just to be clear, this one probably isn’t for kids.)

I apologise if this review is a bit frustrating because of my attempts not to give anything away. I will say that if you have a sense of humour that’s more on the immature side like mine, then grab a copy.

PS. I had Wanderer read this, and even he had a chuckle.

Drawn Poorly Zine: Identity
Collab
https://drawnpoorly.wordpress.com
https://www.instagram.com/drawnpoorlyzine/

Drawn Poorly Zine: Identity is an A5 collaboration zine of photography, art, and writing around identity in relation to chronic illness.

I have the impression that it’s is a bit cliché these days to call something powerful, but ‘powerful is the first and best word that came to mind when reading this zine. Over a dozen people have contributed to this zine, and I find myself going back over each page again and again.

Drawn Poorly opens on the inside front cover with an introduction to the zine and the people who made it happen – with contributions of work as well as financial contributions to bring the zine to life. Page one – a collection of speech bubbles on a black background, each with a quote response to the prompt ‘What Was Lost’ – sets a sombre and intense tone.

There are so many things about this zine that I think are striking. I love the variety of contributions. I love that pieces come with clear social media handles. I love that Drawn Poorly included quotes from people who have chronic illnesses but also from those who love someone who has a chronic illness.

Identity is such a complex issue, and the pieces really demonstrated that complexity without being coldly literal about it. I truly got a sense of real people behind the pieces – people who not only where dealing with their chronic illness but also what it meant (and didn’t mean) for who they are.

Kitty James’ piece ‘Identity’ resonated with me the most with how it can be such a long, lonely road to diagnoses and how labels can be very important to identity and not feeling alone.

“How could my illness define me when my illness could not be defined?”

I’m eager to read what comes next for Drawn Poorly. Pick up a copy, and let’s encourage them to make many more.

This Asian American Life
Katie Quan
www.facebook.com/thisasianamlife

This Asian American Life is a ½ fold full colour comic about Katie’s life and being an Asian American.

I know I usually don’t open with the aesthetic side of things, but hello smooth paper and great use of colour.

This Asian American life opens with a prologue about the zine and a bit, one-panel comic full of Katie’s comic self sitting in the middle of a lot of speech bubbles. Each speech bubble was filled with something Katie has no doubt heard more than once. Things that made me very sad knowing that people could say things like “Too rich to have a ‘real’ POC experience”. It did snap me awake to the fact that this zine wasn’t going to be all fuzzy lala. As Katie writes:

“…hopes to provide one perspective as a way of inviting dialogue about race/ethnicity, gender, and a coming of age experience.”

That being said, all lives are multi-faceted. This comic has funny moments as well as sad and politically charged moments. Katie’s comics cover things like being a new(ish) driver, tired days, toxic relationships, and feeling ‘between race’.

As I mentioned at the beginning, this zine has very nice paper that really serves the art. I like Katie’s use of colour – keeping things mostly to a certain range like reds, greens, or blues. There are smaller details in different colours, but I think this is the first time in a long time I’ve noticed something like that.

I don’t want to call Katie’s art style minimalist because I didn’t take nearly enough art classes to know if that’s an accurate description. The comics are, for the most part, one-page comics with some of them only made up of one or two panels. The details included are the necessary ones and no more, really. (It’s amazing how much can be expressed with eyes and eyebrows alone.) It’s sweet and inviting and doesn’t leave me feeling overwhelmed that I may miss something.

Overall, I highly enjoyed this zine. I feel like it was the beginning, though, and I want more! Haha. I look forward to checking out more of Katie’s work.