Category: Zine Reviews

killing spiders & other words in spring
s. rivka m.
IG: @s.rivka.m

killing spiders & other words in spring is a zine filled with imagery, colour, prose, and poetry. On the first page, there is a brief description:

pieces from scratch or prompts given in a course conducted by tomas moniz

I have to admit that I am very drawn in by layout and those sorts of details, so this zine caught my attention straight away by having no white margins on the cover or the interior pages. Immediately I began to wonder how it was made, whether there are still to-the-edge printing options out there or whether, perhaps, s. rivka m. sat and trimmed all the edges off all copies of this zine.

All the pages are cardstock with full colour cut and paste images that almost but not quite take precedence over the text set upon them.

My favourite piece is the first: To my nineteen-year-old self. Maybe it’s because I’m now thirty or because I identified so well with things like ‘by twenty-six, you’re practically thirty’. Either way, it was both nostalgic and inspiring for me.

There are no contact/further reading details in this zine other than the creator’s name. I always remember that there can be reasons for doing this, but I also always mention it when it happens. Never assume people won’t want to see more of your work. ^_^ (To which I respond to myself: never assume that everyone wants to be found.)

There’s something about this zine as a whole – the cardstock all the way through, no white margins, saddle stitching, cut and past style – that makes me feel like I’m holding a piece of art as much as I am holding a zine. I liked reading the words, but I also like to flip through. I admit that I’ve had this zine for a long while, but in the time, I have taken this zine out and flipped through the pages to take in the colour choices, text placement, and the like more times than I can count.

I don’t have other zines by s. rivka m., but I get the feeling that they have already found their style, their way of doing things – whether they’ve realised it or not.

(PS. This zine made me realise that in the past I may have been capitalising titles that the creators didn’t want capitalised. It’s a force of habit, but I’ll do my best to put in the titles exactly as they are in the future. Apologies if this annoyed or offended anyone.)

Kackle Issue 3D Skull Water
By Bruce Wilson
www.facebook.com/kacklezine

A zine that comes with 3D glasses? Yes, please!

Skull Water is a short horror story zine with the addition of some 3D illustrations to go with the story. The story takes place in the mountains with a sweet old couple and their adult son. I’m not sure if the moral of the story is not to mess with nature or ‘love can be both beautiful and disgusting’…

I’m an editor by nature (and by qualification these days), so I rarely read a piece of fiction without finding something to nitpick. Overall, though, it’s a fun (for horror) short story with an ending that made me literally chuckle out loud. It’s a story that someone with a bit of dark, crude humour will enjoy.

The images are well done, but the focus still remains on the story instead of the 3D. What I mean by that is the images add a great amount of fun and dimension to the zine on the whole, but, in the end, it’s still about the story. They complemented the story, as good illustrations do.

The 3D aspect to this zine is another great example of you only being limited by your imagination when it comes to making zines. Why not make a 3D zine or something else entirely? That this came with the 3D glasses gave that sort of ‘bonus prize’ feeling upon first receiving it.

I quite enjoyed this and greatly appreciated the laugh.

The Life and Times of Billy Roberts Issue 78
Billy
www.iknowbilly.etsy.com

The Life and Times of Billy Roberts Issue 78 is a single piece of paper folded in half to create four pages. It’s a reminder that zines don’t have to be gloss and colour, thick, thin, or any one thing. I find myself wishing that all my friends would create little life update zines like these so I could keep up with their lives when we can’t catch up otherwise.

Right away I could feel Billy’s depressed mood through his words. “I’ve already written 3 versions of this newsletter and thrown them all away” isn’t a good sign. In this zine, Billy talks about the US election, dealing with full-blown depression, and finding some good things in amongst the doom and gloom. It’s a zine-ified version of a letter from a friend. Even if you aren’t friends with Billy, I feel like you could get that sort of feeling from this zine nonetheless.

It’s hard to read about the hard times anyone is going through – friend or stranger. My heart went out to Billy, especially talking about not being able to do much more than stay still and watch television most days. I think that’s what makes it even more special that Billy is able to still talk about some happy things happening despite all the weight of depression.

If you’ve read my reviews for a while now, you know one thing that niggles me is no contact details. When the creator leaves the reader to hunt down further reading. I’m almost willing to ignore it on this one because it might be something ‘just for friends’ anyway, but you still never know where your little creations may go, so…

This is a zine I’m keeping not just for the reasons I like it but because it’s like keeping a letter from a penpal. It’s a zine that shows how much zines can connect people and remind us that we are all people dealing with our own struggles.

Good to Know Issue #1 Creativity
Amy
http://www.pikaland.com/good-to-know-project/
www.pikaland.etsy.com

As a creative, I knew that Good to Know Issue #1 Creativity was going to be a valuable zine to me personally. It’s all about people sharing things that stop them or hinder them from being their creative selves and making their art.

From fears of getting back to it after a break to too many restrictions to battling with distraction… Many voices have come together to create this zine.

One thing that was a stumbling block for me is that I didn’t know what the zine was called. With the ‘make your own rules’ nature of zines, I wouldn’t have thought it was a big deal, but I found myself searching for the likely title. Looking back, is is somewhat obvious that ‘Good to Know’ is the title (it’s on the first inside page as well as on the back). It was only when I looked at the site and saw that this zine would usually come with a coloured band of paper proudly wrapped around it.

I only mention this because it’s something to consider that I hadn’t considered before. I received this zine secondhand and have given many zines to friends. It’s an important consideration that any ‘wraps’ or otherwise disposable bits might fall off or be torn off your zine…

Aesthetically, this interior pages aren’t ones that are going to grab your attention. This is a text-only zine (with the exception of the front cover). I’m someone who can be easily distracted from what I’m doing, so I appreciate visuals that can keep me engaged with the text. That being said, I completely understand why the words and what is being read is what’s important to this zine. Words I found quite valuable.

I’m not sure what I enjoyed more – the ‘oh, me too!’ moments or the ‘oh, I hadn’t thought of that’ moments.

Even better, each response comes with a link or links. So if you really connect with someone’s response, you can go and support their art.

Of course, I’m not going to dislike a zine simply because a coloured paper band is no longer around it (or because I’m a bit silly/slow when it comes to finding the title). This zine goes firmly in my collection. There are many different ways to be creative out there and many different creative blocks to overcome. This zine reminds me that I’m not alone.

What I Have Lost
Keely O’Brien
www.kissmego.etsy.com

I seem to be reading a lot of zines lately that have ‘on the nose’ titles. Keely O’Brien’s ‘What I Have Lost’ is a mini-zine of past things gone… sacrificed unwillingly to the universe.

I can’t put my finger on exactly why, but there is something about the fact that Keely includes something stolen that I really appreciate. Maybe it’s the reminder that sometimes losing things and people are completely out of our control? Something for me to ponder.

Not only that; there is another step taken in the wishes for these things that are now gone. Like hoping that the person who found the green iPod was inspired to become a total hipster…

Aesthetically, this zine is lovely. The bright blue saddle stitching is a small but pretty contrast to the black and white of the zine itself. The cover as well as the internals are all cardstock quality. Keely is a talented artists, and the way the sketches cross over from one page to another, encompassing the whole ‘spread’, adds to the flow of reading it.

Handwriting can be a gamble when it comes to zines. Just because you can read it doesn’t mean other people again. Lucky for we zine readers, Keely’s handwriting is clear and yet whimsical in the way the art surrounding the words in. They make a perfect match, and I find myself grateful that Keely decided to do things this way.

This is one of those zines that, even if I’ve read it plenty, I’ll still go back to enjoy the art.

Queer Content #4 – An Essay on W.H. Auden’s ‘Another Time’
Wolfram-J VK
Social Media: @QueerContent

I’ve had this zine for a little while now, but I wanted to make sure to save it until I had the proper amount of time (slow reader, here) and space to really take this one in. Plus, I was a little worried that it would all go over my head…

The title really says it in that Queer Content #4 features an essay on W.H. Auden’s ‘Another Time’ along with an introduction from Wolfram in regards to the creation of this essay and why it’s important. I did find it a bit amusing that I was so intimidated by an essay – and one featuring poetry, no less – only to read:

Now I’ve never been great at academia, alright? This isn’t going to be a top-notch essay that will convince you of anything (I certainly didn’t get a good mark for it).

But the important part – and what this zine is all about – is what comes next:

What I’d like you to consider is how denying homosexuality a positive identity within a text – particularly when that text is written by a queer writer and/or intended for queer readers – can have a negative impact on both your interpretation of the text and the visibility of queer folk everywhere.

This is definitely a text-heavy zine with a lot to think about. Honestly, even from the first page, some things went over my head. However, when Wolfram gently but unmistakenly called out the lecturer (dayum!) who glossed over the subject of Auden’s homosexuality at the start, I knew I had to keep going.

As I said, some of it went over my head. Even so, Wolfram’s writing in and of itself is easy to understand and gave me a lot of small nuggets of information to ponder. Things that I simply don’t encounter in my life experience. The poems Wolfram decided to include along with the essay added to the essay very well. They were beautifully sad in such a wistful way.

I really want to share the last paragraph of an essay because it’s sad and beautiful in the same way that the poems included in this zine are, but alas, that would be like giving away spoilers. No one likes spoilers.

I appreciated the bibliography. You might think ‘it’s an essay – of course there’s a bibliography’. However, it would have been easy to leave it out. However, not only is its inclusion a way to find further reading but also says that just because it’s a zine doesn’t mean it’s not worthy of respect and form.

In the end, I think the essay did what it set out to accomplish. I found myself being frustrated along with Wolfram at the denial of such a huge part of one’s identity can be damaging both within a life as well as within historical context. I felt like this essay was, at least in part, Wolfram’s way of ‘taking back’ Auden’s homosexuality and putting it back within the proper context of his poetry and identity.

Imaginary Homework
Theo Ellsworth
www.thoughtcloudfactory.com

This zine is another offering from the Zine O Matic pack that arrived on Aussie shores a couple months back.

Imaginary Homework is a comic zine filled with imaginary homework assignments and actually started out as a real homework assignment for students of a workshop back in 2009. While ‘homework’ would seem to put a damper on anything, this zine goes to show that it can actually be pretty cool and amazing. (At least, when it’s imaginary.)

Each page has an imaginary assignment for you. From imagining interactions with the creatures pictured to contemplating metaphoricals like “Suppose you could have all of the answers right now…”

There’s something about the art in this zine that really draws me in. I think it’s all the complexity and little lines used to create each illustration. (Take a closer look at the cover as well as the picture above.) Each assignment is paired with an illustration that goes with the assigned task but also does even more to encourage the imagination of the reader.

I find myself actually wanting to do some of these ‘assignments’. Far out.

I think this is definitely a zine to keep and one that I will be reading again more than once.

Dress Up Zin – Colour, Cut & Stick
Zin (I’m Guessing)
?

I’m in the mood for something fun and cute today, and what’s more cute than this mini-zine?

Dress Up Zin is a mini-zine designed to be cut up and played with like paper dolls! (Did anyone else come across paper dolls as a kid?) On the first page is an adorable Zin, and various clothing items like hats, pants and accessories are scattered across the pages that follow – ready for you to cut out.

What’s even more fun is not only can you cut up the little clothing items and ‘dress up Zin’, you can colour the clothing yourself, too!

It’s interesting for me to see a zine that you’re actually meant to cut up. It’s so distinctly not being precious about one’s work when you tell people to cut it up. The whole aura of the prospect is interesting and different. I’d feel a little weird cutting it up, but at the same time, anything that makes me feel like a kid again is pretty cool.

The only thing that trips me up with this zine is that there is no contact/website/etc info whatsoever. With something so utterly adorable and with such fun art, OF COURSE I want to see where I can find more/get more/find out more!

Never underestimate where your zines will go or who might want to find out more.

It’s still definitely in the forever collection, though.

The La-La Theory #6: Always Already
Katie
http://www.thelalatheory.com/
Jimmy Tierney (Art) www.graphiteplayground.com

I feel like it would be a disservice to this zine to say it’s about ‘words’, and yet it is. However, it’s also about interesting words, language, strange words, strange ways to learn words (who knew old ‘learn to read’ books were so… somewhat disturbing?), finding poetry, zines, and more. There is even an interview with Manija Brown, a writer who has done manga adaptations.

So there it is: about words and yet so much more than words.

The La-La Theory 6 starts off with Katie pondering whether the thought that language is what makes us human. That reminded me of Let’s Communicate and how language can be so much more than what we humans usually think of it. When I dove straight onto that thought train into the world of world and language, I knew I had a winner.

This zine is fun and engaging in a calm way right from the start. The little things drew me in like how Katie mentioned this zine was a way of coming back to the spirit of the first La-La Theory. Even the somewhat/sort of incomplete table of contents had me smiling.

What a fun way to point to a few specific pieces.

Katie goes on to include brief etymologies (the history of a word’s meaning) of various words, a few reviews of very strange old language use books, and a piece about words that don’t have direct English translations.

The piece in this that spoke the most to me “On Finding Poetry”. I’ve said plenty of times that I don’t ‘get’ poetry and have always felt a little uncomfortable about that. So when I read this piece, I felt like Katie may as well have been talking directly to me…

A lot of the people I know feel shy about poetry. They’re not sure they understand it, they’re embarrassed of the poems they wrote when they were really young, and they’re certain they couldn’t write anything good now if they tried. But I know different: Anyone can write poems, and everyone should.

I would have bet money on me never writing a poem again and no one ever being able to convince me to do so. And yet, Katie’s surety about and love for poetry (along with tips on ‘finding’ poems) has me thinking about trying my hand again for the first time in many years.

I quite enjoyed this zine and taking in Katie’s love of words. I’m looking forward to tracking down more issues of The La-La Theory.

Literal Trash
Talia Enright
talia@feminerds.com
feminerds.tumblr.com

It’s time for something mini, sweet, and absolutely adorable.

I was just listening to a podcast today where two people were talking about how a great thing about zine culture is how you can really have an idea about anything. Specific subjects need not apply. All welcome here.

So when I was this little zine about dumpsters, well, I couldn’t help but smile.

Literal Trash is a zine featuring drawn pictures of dumpsters in different situations. This is one of those times where I really wish I didn’t have my self-imposed rule about showing the insides of zines (especially the minis) because the art inside is even cuter than what’s on the cover.

There are little slogans or words to go along with each one, and I just can’t pick a favourite. Though “Trash can! Not a trash can’t” nearly claims that title.

The full-colour suits this zine so, so well. The level of detail in the illustrations is really brought out by all the different colours. This would still be a fun mini zine in black and white, but I really think going full colour brings it to the best possible level.

While it may seem like a strange thing, I really need to point out the awesome folding on this zine. It’s totally precise, and, yes, I do struggle a little with the one-page zine edges coming together properly at the end. This zine is excellent. I love it.