Category: Zine Reviews

Inspo: What I Find Inspiring
Latibule Art
https://www.instagram.com/latibule_art/

Inspo is an A7 full colour mini zine about finding inspiration.

Inspiration can be a flighty creature, so I welcome anything that helps me with finding it. This zine is definitely a good source for doing so. There are written ideas to help guide you as well as an assortment of bits and bobs to help you feel creative.

I really love the sense of texture in this zine with yarn, mini origami, pictures and all sorts put into the copy so the slightest shadows are picked up. There are so many different colours as well that I love flipping through it again and again. It’s so much fun to look at.

This little zine is about inspiration but is inspiring in and of itself. Grab a copy and let the inspiration flow.

Sensitive Adult
Darcy Rock
FB & IG: @sensitiveadultdaily
www.sensitiveadultdaily.com

Sensitive Adult is a free, A6, black and white zine series about emotional sensitivity and being a sensitive adult.

There is a strange sort of comraderie to be found in mutual unease with the world. I’ve always considered myself to be a bit too sensitive for the world, so this series was immediately appealing.

Through this series, Darcy touches on different subjects in a sort of ‘thoughts of the moment’ style rather than necessarily something that follows one to the next or needs to be read in any particular order. Medication, unemployment, unhealthy coping skills – Darcy covers many subjects with a writing style that is contemplative while also not getting lost within the subject at hand.

I identified a lot with what Darcy wrote on everything, marking bits here and there that resonated with me in every single issue.

What started off as (and still, in many ways, is) as a smiling, nodding along ‘that’s so me’ series of zine reads became very serious for me with the last one I read “On Death: How I imagine the end of my life”. I once again had to tip my hat to the realisations that perzines can bring in how it changed my perspective on what I thought was a good way to live my life.

If you see these zines, pick them up. It’s always a good thing to take in different perspectives, and you might just find out a thing or two that you didn’t know before.

Exhaustion Is
Keira
https://www.instagram.com/k.huolohan/
https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/ZinesByKeira

Exhaustion Is is an A7 black (or rather, grey) and white mini-zine about exhaustion.

Oh, wow do I have all the empathy for this zine and for Keira.

In a collection of images and metaphors, Keira takes us through their interpretations of exhaustion. I love the images Keira shares like driving your body like a vehicle as well as the moments (only moments?) of distraction that come with the brain fog of exhaustion.

I felt so sad but understood all too well the ‘everyone’s tired – get over it’ attitudes faced by those who try to speak up about what they are dealing with.

This is another great zine that will help people to not feel so alone in what they are dealing with. If you’re always exhausted, then I think you will enjoy this zine.

Side Note: If you are exhausted all the time, don’t let anyone dismiss you saying ‘everyone feels like that’. Constant exhaustion is not normal, and there are multiple possibilities from vitamin deficiencies to sleep disturbances. It’s worth talking to a doctor who will take your concerns seriously.

Some Wizards Volume I
Bodie
http://www.slowquest.com
https://www.instagram.com/bodieh/

Some Wizards is a mini-zine slightly smaller than A7 zine about, well, some wizards. Haha.

I’m always happy to check out Bodie’s work. Some Wizards is yet another great addition to a collection of fantasy comic zines that I absolutely adore looking through again and again.

Some wizards takes you through an assortment of fun wizard characters – each one complete with name, sketch, description, and even a single question and answer at the end. (Most if not all of which are very funny. Bodie has a subtle but great sense of humour.)

I also want to point out that Bodie has male and female (and non-gendered) wizard, so kudos to enjoying but not being limited to old men with long beards.

From the bubbles in the jars of potions to the curled toes of Wizard Onionbeard’s boots, Bodie’s detailed artwork shines again. No one should be surprised to find me with this zine as well as others held close to my face as I take in the little touches.

I feel like Bodie is constructing his own fantasy universe with every zine he makes, and I don’t want to miss out on any of them.

Definitely check it out. In fact, check out everything Bodie makes.

Pineapples
Zoe
https://www.instagram.com/estherandhowl/

Pineapples is actually an untitled zine that I’m giving a title for the sake of making it easier to talk about. It’s an A7 black and white mini-zine on yellow paper about pineapples.

I think this is the first time I’ve ever felt grumpy about a zine. Haha. Only because I really don’t like pineapples.

All that aside, it does have some interesting pineapple facts. Nothing that makes me like them in any sort of way, but still interesting.

What makes this zine for me is the last page with what I think is a laugh out loud revelation about Zoe. I don’t want to spoil it though.

Interested in pineapples? Check out this zine.

The Little Things
Lily C
www.lilliancuda.bigcartel.com
www.instagram.com/lilliancuda

The Little Things is an A6 black print (mostly) on blue paper zine about mental health and self-care techniques.

If you’ve been reading here for a while, you know I love a good self-care zine, and Lily really takes it to a new level in The Little Things.

The zine starts off with an introduction to self-care and how a suggestion from a psychologist helped to create this visual self-care list. This isn’t a text-only list, however. Each self-care suggestion is given its own page, but more than that, they all come with a drawing as well to illustrate the list item.

Lily’s art style is very realistic and detailed. There are so many little things that made me smile as I looked through. The Sailor Moon drawing in ‘Drawing for Myself’ and the roses on the teacup in ‘Drinking Tea’… The suggestions are good in and of themselves, but the art adds a different dimension. I feel calmer and in a nicer space just paging through and looking at the pictures.

When I finished this zine, I realised how much I liked the details included in the introduction of how this zine came to be. Whether intended or not, this has inspired me to make a list of my own.

If you’re interested in self-care and/or an artist you may not be familiar with, I recommend checking out this zine.

Weird Dudes
Bianca B & Hollie F
Bianca: @flossytit77
Hollie: @latibule_art

Weird Dudes is a black and white A8 collab zine of weird dudes. Bianca wrote descriptions for Hollie’s weird dudes, and Hollie wrote descriptions for Bianca’s weird dudes.

This itty bitty zine is full of very cute and funny itty bitty drawings. Each drawing comes with its own often-amusing description of the weird dude pictured.

I really love this idea and wish I had some drawing talent so I could do something like this. This whole zine feels like a lot of fun, and it’s clear the artists weren’t taking themselves too seriously.

Grab a copy for a smile.

Joining the Dots: A Queer, Fat Positive Perzine About PCOS
Holly Casio & Friends
http://www.coolschmool.com

Joining the Dots is an A5 black and white zine that describes itself best in the subtitle: A queer, fat positive perzine about PCOS.

Someone suggested this zine to me after I put together Umbrella, and I am so, so happy to see another PCOS zine out in the zineverse. There’s so much confusion, and it’s a condition not talked about enough.

I love how Joining the Dots starts out with a ‘Holly Casio Fact File’ as if to say, “I am going to write about PCOS, but I am a person – not a diagnosis”.

Joining the Dots then jumps right in with what PCOS is and the frustration people with PCOS often encounter due to how uninformed many doctors STILL are about it. This zine quickly becomes a valuable resource offering not only personal stories and tips but also places online where to do more research and find PCOS friends.

At no point did I feel like any reader knowledge was assumed, which is a big plus in my book.

I identified so much with Holly’s story. Too many doctors are focused on THE FAT that they ignore everything else. Or, even better (that’s sarcasm), they take the ‘have babies or lose weight’ track that does little to address actual symptoms of PCOS.

But I’m going off on a tangent.

Holly invited friends to share their PCOS experiences, which I think is great because PCOS is so varied from woman to woman.

I think this is an absolutely brilliant zine that covers perspectives often not acknowledged in medicine when it comes to PCOS – queer, not wanting children, IT’S NOT ALL ABOUT THE FAT, DOC.

Even if you only have the beginning suspicion you might have PCOS, get a copy of this zine.

The Brokedown Pamphlet: war some of the time
Mark Renney & Christine Renney

The Brokedown Pamphlet is an A5 colour zine collection of writing, drawings, and other images.

Well, pickles, zine friends. I’m not sure how to get started with this zine. I’ve been paging back and forth, lingering on the images and words, but is it flying over my head?

The written pieces in this zine are like poetry to me in that they use interesting language and create strong images in my mind. I can think about them for ages… but ultimately, I’ll always wonder if I understood what the person who wrote the pieces really meant. One piece actually is a poem, but it is no more or less mysterious.

The images are a curious collection of drawings and photos. They leave me feeling like the writing – somewhat intense, but do I really understand what I’m looking at?

The artistry of this zine extends to its physical aspects as well with a nice cardstock cover and slightly textured paper for the interior. I’m coming to really appreciate lightly textured paper. Running my hands over it while I’m reading a zine helps calm and focus my otherwise somewhat scattered mind.

In the end, I’m not entirely sure what to make of this zine. It’s definitely a curious one, but the world is better for things that make us think.

Diary of a Lavender Plant
Rae White
@wings_humming
raewhite.net

Diary of a Lavender Plant is an A5 black and white zine about the journey of a lavender plant through poems.

If you’ve been reading these reviews for any length of time, you know that poetry makes me nervous… but I usually have a go anyway.

I’ve always believed that the crucial goal of any piece of writing or art is to make the person taking it in actually feel something. Frankly, I had no idea why the line breaks were where they were or what it meant. That being said, the language Rae used make me feel.

I paused and closed my eyes, thinking of sleeping in the sun at the mention of daytime naps. I laughed at the not overt but clear to me disdain for noisy, destructive children. I absolutely loved the use of the strongest memory inducer – smell. The smell of ripe tomatoes is so distinct, and I immediately remembered it when I read the words.

I’m not a gardener, not a poet, and I’m not even a fan of the scent of lavender. But I still think this zine is lovely.