Category: Zine Reviews

Thoughts of a Queer Marshmallow #3
Queer Marshmallow
Queer Marshmallow

Thoughts of a Queer Marshmallow is a quarter-sized full-colour perzine about processing thoughts on past relationships (both with self and with others) and changing from those childhood dysfunctional behaviours.

Aesthetically, Thoughts of a Queer Marshmallow is a pretty chunky, text-heavy zine. I like how QM used different washi tapes on the bottom of most pages as well as to separate sections. It made the ‘heaviness’ of the text a little lighter – especially because it’s printed in colour.

This zine isn’t a zine to be taken on or read lightly. There is a lot contained within about about abusive relationships – familial and romantic – nightmares, and self harm. I found myself remembering a lot about the abuse I dealt with in my childhood thanks to a number of things that I had in common with QM.

I did admire how QM’s self reflection included the ability to be honest about their own past toxic/bad behaviours and how that impacted others. It’s all too easy to sugarcoat one’s own role in things, but QM doesn’t. It’s all right in there with everything else.

There were a couple things that were confusing for me in this zine. One was a sudden change of tone at the end that felt aggressive and without warning. I was most of the way down the page before I realised that it was a letter to someone.

The other thing I make note of because I think it’s a good point for zinemakers: With acronyms, spell it out at least once before using it full time. Even if you think people know that CW is ‘content warning’ (I figured that out), you can never be sure who your reader is. I had never for the life of me heard QPP before and had to stop reading to look it up. (Queer Platonic Partner) And if your reader has to look it up, you can’t guarantee they’ll find YOUR meaning for the acronym.

Thoughts of a Queer Marshmallow 3 is a relaxed pace zine filled with the inner thoughts of someone processing the ramifications of abuse. If you can take the prodding to your own history, then this zine could be a good example of starting the path of healing.

Intimacies Volume 1
Dara Idris
intimacieszine.bigcartel.com

Intimacies Volume 1 is a black and white half-fold zine about a personal journey with physical intimacy, sex, and expectations told through a collection of short essays.

By and large, I experience zines within the realms of zines that tell me things and zines that share things with me. It’s a delicate distinction and one that may only make sense to me (and I love both types). The difference is telling zines come across as ‘this is an experience, and this is what I take from it’ whereas sharing zines run more along the lines of ‘this is an experience – make what you will of it’.

With the exception of the introduction, Intimacies Volume 1 is a zine that shared experiences.

Over the course of various short pieces, Dara shares experiences from the view of someone who desires things like physical intimacy but questions those desires and the timeline in which to have them imposed by the world and society. Through these experiences you get a picture of what it’s like from the view of someone who explores everything from sex fantasies to the gravity of one’s first kiss – all with the same thought and respect.

Aesthetically, this is a text-heavy zine, with essays broken up by quotes in larger fonts and ‘new section’ tables of contents. I feel like this is a zine you need to sit down and devote your full attention to.

The writing can get a bit confusing as people are named as letters, and the only people who seem to be consistent are Dara and ‘you’. I did get confused in the first piece as to who was speaking with whom and who Dara really was in the context of that piece.

The ‘background’ details got confusing for me at other times, too, but at those points I was so engaged on the thoughts about sex and intimacy being written about that it didn’t stop me.

This zine also had single lines that really stuck out to me:

‘And who knows what I want, except me?’
‘…we were taught to take care of so much, not least our bodies which were never, ever ours.’

Though the first line in the copyright note on the back was more about the laugh it gave me:

‘Don’t be a dick is a good rule, isn’t it!’

By and large, the writing is incredibly vulnerable and open about such intimate things like sexual fantasy and self-pleasure that it gives the zine as a whole its own kind of beauty. It’s a zine of exploring thoughts but not presenting you with conclusions.

If you think that sounds like the zine for you, then check out Intimacies Volume 1.

Connection Edit: Shine
Jessica Maybury
www.thejessicamaybury.com
@codenamewallaby

Connection Edit: Shine is a black and white zine collection of blackout poetry. If you’re not familiar, blackout poetry is where you take a piece of text and black out words so the words remaining – your poem – reads as something different to the original.

So if you’re thinking ‘so it’s just a bunch of blacked out words’, then this zine may not be the zine for you. Or you could stick around and let me win you over with my review.

It’s been a while since I’ve sung this particular tune, so I’ll mention that poetry is not a strength of mine. I often don’t understand it and miss whatever points were being made. That being said, I have a strange fascination with blackout poetry.

The text for these poems come from a book called ‘Shine’ given as a gag gift and the last magazine Jessica’s nana read before the end. (Sorry for your loss.) I found the juxtaposition of flippant and serious a strange one, but I wonder if it was intentional in showing that you can make serious out of funny and vice versa no matter what the text.

The poems can be a little hit and miss, but when it hits, it does so in ways I love. Phrases like “To My Nobody” and “You have to shine bright” stuck with me and made my mind drift pleasantly from the poem at hand. No big spoilers here, but the poem on page 7 is definitely my favourite.

I found myself rebelling at the thought of ever finding out what the original text read beneath the swathes of black.

Honestly, I missed the aesthetics for the words on the first read through. I was so focused on words and possible meaning, but I don’t see that as a bad thing. I am glad that I went through to check out the visuals because I liked the various washi tapes and pictures used.

If you’re curious about blackout poetry, check out this zine.

Taking Up Space
Holly Casio
www.coolschmool.com

Taking Up Space is a black and white mini-zine comic about taking up space with your body.

This zine is so sweet and sad at the same time. As someone who takes up a considerable amount of space, I identified a lot with how uncomfortable it can be. It’s not only physically uncomfortable to try to make myself smaller for other people and their perceived expectations, but it’s mentally uncomfortable, too.

I like Holly’s art style. It’s soft and fun – perfectly suited to the zine and its message without taking away from it.

The comic ended on a lovely, fun note that left me feeling good about a subject that it’s all too easy to feel upset about. In few words and fewer panels, I felt empowered to give the world the metaphorical bird and take up whatever space I need to take. Love it.

If you take up space, then pick up this zine.

Someone Stranger #5: The Silent Pen Issue
Zippity Zinedra
www.facebook.com/ZippityZinedra
zippityzinedrapress.tumblr.com

Someone Stranger is a black and white perzine that is hard to describe, so I will let Zinedra do it:

The following is my experiment at ‘ghosting’ myself, tongue in cheek style.

Someone Stranger is a zine that seems to be in its own category with strange thought meanderings that encouraged me to stop thinking so much and just enjoy the ride.

Right from the foreword, Zinedra had me thinking of how strange a concept ghostwriting was when put into the context of the zine world only to turn around into Zinedra deciding to ghost themself in this zine.

After ghostwriting came the tumbleweeds.

I know that I have had some very random things in common with the people who write the zines I read, but tumbleweeds have to be the most random. Because, yes, I quite like tumbleweeds. I laughed out loud at:

Tumbleweed is to western movies like chocolate is my mouth: a place to call home.

I quite liked the ‘I am not/I am’ piece that was like stream of consciousness writing but with a solid prompt/direction.

The zine continues on with a collection of interesting – and, honestly, sometimes trippy – pieces that include things like fighting with one’s shadow and an altercation over pancakes. Toward the beginning, I decided to stop thinking about it so hard and, by the end, I had no idea what was going on.

Don’t get me wrong; it was a strange journey but funny as well.

Aesthetically, the pages are mostly white with various pasted images, quotes and the like around the typed words. I may be reading too much into them, but I do like the humour and cheekiness of the images.

I find myself at a little bit of a loss after reading this zine. Not in a bad way but like I’ve just watched a movie, and I’m not quite sure what to make of it. If you’re looking for something different, unexpected, and a bit fantastical, then give this zine a go.

Proof I Exist #20: “Why I’m in a band.”
Billy
iknowbilly@gmail.com
www.iknowbilly.etsy.com

Proof I Exist #20 is a black and white mini-zine about the love of music and being in a band.

High school band is as close as I ever got to playing music with other people, so to say I am not familiar with starting a band or band dynamics is an understatement. I was a little unsure as to whether this zine would be for me, but I shouldn’t have worried about a zine by Billy.

Billy throws you right into the story from page one with no intros, no table of contents, nada. He starts straight off with a high energy beginning reminiscent of a movie with the words, “The year was 1996, and I was just on the verge of discovering music.”

That energy is carried through the whole zine, mixing with nostalgia and a bit of regret along the way. Billy’s love of being in bands is practically palpable as you read. I could go on and on, but I really don’t want to spoil what this zine has in store for you if you pick it up.

This line really said it all for me:

“I began to realize that bands are not much different than relationships.”

Billy focuses on the story rather than pictures while still keeping to the cut and paste aesthetic. The words are typed and cut out in white strips that stand out starkly against the black background.

This is a gorgeous little zine full of love both past and present for bands and music. Even if you’re like me and not within that sort of world sphere, check it out anyway just because it’s fun.

Introduction to Gratitude & Self Love
The School of Life Design
http://www.schooloflifedesign.com

Introduction to Gratitude & Self Love is a black and white education zine designed as a seven-day course on gratitude and self love.

Introduction to Gratitude & Self Love starts off with an intro that flows along the lines of ‘you get back what you put out into the universe’. That may be oversimplifying it a bit, but it basically takes you into the realm of your thinking influencing your reality. If you remember The Secret, this zine reminded me of that.

As you can imagine, a seven-day course should be done over seven days. So I decided that a proper, full review of this zine could only be accomplished if I did it ‘as prescribed’, so I did one exercise a day over the course of a week.

I like that the exercises didn’t require anything but a pen and some time (and the zine, of course). I’ve seen too many of these sorts of things that require money and various other supplies.

I am very familiar with the concept of gratitude and daily gratitude exercises, so the basics weren’t new to me, However, the exercises included were. I won’t list them out, but I will say that the ‘success of another’ exercise was definitely my favourite. The exercise made me think outwardly and about others.

That’s something that this zine does very well. The exercises cover both inward and outward thinking as well as past and future thinking. The course got me to sit down and calm down for a bit once a day, and that’s a lovely thing.

Aesthetically, this zine ties right into its own message. It focuses on the exercises with simple designs that are nice to look at but only serve the task at hand. They aren’t overwhelming and serve to compliment the words rather than take away from them.

The one detail that did give me pause is that the “Introduction to Gratitude & Self Love is a 7-day, intensive course…” is on the back of the zine rather than on the front or in the introduction. I can see someone smashing out all the exercises in one session for missing that detail. I’m not sure that’d actually be a problem, but I imagine the creators of this would prefer it be done over seven days.

While I may not have agreed with all the sentiments and wording, I did find value in the course. I like that this zine exists. I like that there are people making zines that can help people wanting to connect to the spiritual sides of their lives. If that sounds like you, I think this zine could be a good place to start.

Tessellations
Dystatic – dystatic@gmail.com
Fishspit – fuzzybunnyflatbunny@gmail.com
Big Tight – mm12716@me.com

I’ve never reviewed a zine that has left me so conflicted as to whether I want to look at it or play with it…

Tessellations is a fun collection of photos, collages, and other art in black in on colour paper. I may as well get right into the aesthetics of it, because when you get your hands on this zine, you can’t possibly miss it.

It opens up! Well, of course it opens up, but it opens up in fun and interesting ways because it’s make of individually folded pieces of paper glued together.

I almost feel like this is as much a toy as it is a zine. With the colours and the way the papers are folded, I’ve flipped through it many, many times now. Sometimes to check out the art, other times to check out the folding, and still yet just to have fun with it. Each colour is like its own chapter, its own little world.

Not that I’ve found any story or linear thought process with it overall, but I honestly don’t need it or care. What one square or piece may lack is made up for by the enjoyment of the whole. I enjoy this zine for what it is.

I really like how you open up the last page, and each person who contributed to the whole has a square with their contact details on it. This definitely goes to the top of the list in regards to creative contact details. The only hiccup is that Dystatic does have a website, but part of it got lost in the ink of the print.

This is the kind of zine if you are like me in that you need reminding sometimes that zines are never and will never be just one thing. I want to keep it on my desk, but I feel like it will distract me all the time for want of playing with it. Haha.

Grab a copy, and let it inspire you.

Pieces #13 on being a romantic asexual
Nichole
https://www.etsy.com/shop/collectingwords
IG: @corridorgirl

Pieces #13 is a black and white quarter-sized perzine “on being a romantic asexual” that also serves as an introduction to asexuality and the asexuality spectrum.

I hardly know where to start with Pieces #13. It’s one of those zines that I absolutely devoured and that left me with so, so much to think about. I like perzines, and I like learning things. This zine happened to be an intense combination of both.

Aesthetically, Nichole’s zines have always been appealing to me (as mentioned in reviews of previous Pieces reviews). I do so love a thick quarter-sized zine, and I like how the cut and paste style is fun but not overly distracting from the writing.

Oh, the writing.

Nichole manages to be frustrated, informative, vulnerable, and many other things, all within one zine. While the pieces do cut from one to another – the intro being distinctly perzine, the laments being vulnerable, and the FAQ/comments responses being a mixture of many things. Nichole doesn’t need to say the obvious because feelings come through so clearly in the writing.

There is a section in the back where Nichole responds to questions and comments regarding asexuality. I felt so, so frustrated that people could say and ask those things. At the same time, I have to respect Nichole for addressing them anyway.

I found the spectrum of asexuality absolutely fascinating. Like many (I imagine), I was part of the problem in that I only ever saw it as the ‘you don’t’ side of ‘you do or you don’t’ when it comes to sex. I had no idea that there’s not only a spectrum but that there are other names as well. Thanks to this zine, I’ve not only learned things about asexual people but may have clarified a thing or two for myself as well.

I think this is a great resource not only for people who are still figuring out the facets of their asexuality but also for anyone who has even a little open mindedness in learning more about asexuality. It’s a zine I want everyone to know about because I know it’ll be valuable to those who are looking for zines on the subject (and more beyond them).

Strictly Ballroom: A Fan Zine
Larua Bibby
www.bloomurder.etsy.com
bloomurder@gmail.com

I feel a little weird reviewing a fan zine. It almost feels like someone professing to love doughnuts, and me saying things like, “I really like how you express your love for doughnuts… but where are the contact details for people who want to know more?” That being said…

Strictly Ballroom is a full-colour mini fanzine about the classic Australian romantic comedy by Baz Luhrmann.

Laura starts off the zine by lamenting about not seeing this movie sooner (it’s from 1992) and all the good times missed (oh, I do so love a twirly skirt as well). As much as I understand Laura’s pain, I have to say that I really love that this is a fanzine borne not of years and years of love but of discovering something and loving it so intensely from the get go that she made a zine about it. There’s just so much energy and excitement in Laura’s writing that I can’t help but feel like I need to get my hands on the movie and watch it again straight away!

Laura launches into five reasons why you should give the movie a go (or a rewatch if you’ve already seen it). I had to laugh when Laura got to talk about Fran’s character and got so excited that she wrote about the possibility of a zine dedicated just to Fran. It was almost like talking to someone who is so excited about something that they can hardly finish one sentence before starting the next.

Strictly Ballroom isn’t comprised only of the list, though, but I’ll leave the other contents for you to discover.

This zine has left me feeling pretty upbeat, energetic, and inspired. I love all the energy and delight Laura has put into this zine, and I think you should check it out.