Category: Zine Reviews

O’Flannigans 1-5
Jessica
oflanniganszine@gmail.com

I’m taking liberties with the capitalisation and the apostrophe. Apologies if I’m wrong! Apologies also to Jessica, who sent these to me for review and, between the time for the zines to arrive and me finally reviewing them, has been very patient.

O’Flannigans is a mini-zine series dedicated to the local music scene in Logan, Utah. Along with a collection of fun bits and bobs, you will find the Music Report (complete with header banner and rock fist) complete with what you’re missing out on if you’re not there.

It took me a moment to realise that ‘Why Sound’ is where the music is happening rather than this imagined O’Flannigans pub I had going in my head. That’s my fault due to extended time spent at pubs over the years. Noticing that made me realise that there aren’t really details as to the location of Why Sound or even any pointers to Logan, Utah. (I found that on the note Jessica included.)

Having a zine dedicated to your community is definitely an awesome thing, no doubt about that. But a few details go a long way if your zine escapes the ranks and wanders out into the rest of the world. Though I should note the email address is now included.

Beyond that, though, this is a fantastic little zine series. There is so much going on in such a little space – it’s fantastic! Backgrounds, drawings… There’s a little Ouija board in one, a crossword in another… I really love the colour accents that change in each issue. In a black and white zine world, colour is an excellent way to stand out and give your zine some pop.

You can easily tell that there is so much passion going into these zines from the things I’ve already mentioned to quotes like this:

The night ended with Like Wildfire savagely kicking ass with their chaotic hardcore jams.

Why do I love that sentence so much? Doesn’t matter. It’s awesome.

All this passion and energy makes the fact that this mini-zine is free even more awesome.

There is No Relief or Release From Sorrow
Philip Dearest & Others
PhilipDearest.tumblr.com

If the name sounds familiar, Philip Dearest
This Has All Been Too Much For Me Today, I Think I’ll Go Back to Bed, another zine of mental illness-inspired art.

By its own description,

There is No Relief or Release From Sorrow is an art therapy zine about depression/grief/loneliness.

Philip has curated a number of pieces created by people expressing themselves and their experiences through words and art.

The art is all beautiful, and sad, and heartbreaking… For me, it was a strange combination of wanting to make each and every artist feel better as well as the sad comfort of knowing that I am not alone. The choice to make the words and art white on black instead of the other way around adds to the entire feel of the zine.

The title of this zine suggests something so hopeless, but I think the fact that this is a collaboration is, in and of itself, a hopeful thing.

I only noticed after a few looks through that this is actually volume four, so I’m looking forward to finding volumes one through three.

f(ART)
?
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Honestly, I didn’t know if I was going to be able to do a review today. The SAD is strong, the to-do list is long, etc. Not the best space to bring to a zine review.

Then Wanderer went to the post office and brought home a box stuffed full of amazing zine goodness from the awesome LogPoes. (Post about that to come later.) I gleefully looked through the zines inside. I saw this zine, and I knew I had to review it. Today.

Why? Because this zine is a hilarious example of how zines can be anything that you want them to be. And everything you would have never thought of otherwise…

I think you can imagine what f(ART) is about from the title. Rather than deep introspection on the meaning of passing gas, this mini-zine is a cut-and-paste project pairing the intense seriousness of fashion with the level of humour I’m only a little ashamed to say I laughed out loud at.

Then I was still so amused that I took it out and showed Wanderer.

So it might not be hilarious to you if you’re, say, more mature than I am (not a hard target to beat)… Still, someone put in all the time and the effort of cutting out these pictures, pasting them, and then adding little fart clouds and words like ‘toot!’. Even if farts aren’t funny, isn’t that person’s efforts worth a smile?

Here’s a peek at the back cover to get an idea of what’s inside.

This is definitely going in the ‘for keeps’ collection.

I Look Miserable, But Laughter is My Theme Song
Karen
www.karenredlich.com

I was so, so excited to see these at the Festival of the Photocopier because I got my first zine of Karen’s work back in 2013 at Sticky Institute.

This comic zine actually starts with a poem that I won’t spoil. However, it’s my kind of poem: easy-to-understand, rhyming, and terribly funny. Talk about starting off a zine on the right. Even better? There’s another cheeky poem inside.

Karen’s artwork follows much the same – it’s funny, it’s sarcastic, it takes as many shots at her as it does at the rest of the world. It’s not so extreme as to be distasteful; it sticks to smirking and poking the world with a stick. It does have a few school type references, but that doesn’t take away from the enjoyment even though I haven’t been in school for more than a few years.

Check it out and, if you like it, get them all.

Plaid Skirts & Converse #1
Quinn
http://www.museumofidiots.com/plaidskirts/
https://www.etsy.com/shop/touchthepuppethead

As I’m just diving into writing my fourth novel, I decided that a perzine about NaNoWriMo was a great way to bring in July.

In Plaid Skirts & Converse #1, Quinn takes us through her one-month journey of writing 50,000 words. It’s a combination of a writing diary, a scrapbook, novel notebook and excerpts. However, this zine isn’t all text…

I quite like how she was able to create actual pictures of her characters. (I’m not sure what program she used.) I think it’s nice to have visuals in the mix. There were some other pictures as well as some interesting ‘word art’ made out of the words that she used the most in her novel. (I tried to make one, but I couldn’t get Wordle to work.)

The ‘diary’ entries had me hooked right in, especially as tragedy struck on day one and words were lost. Oh, I cringed. Been there, lost words in similar ways… I almost want to keep a diary while I’m working.

I’m glad that she put an excerpt from her novel in the mix. I think I would have felt like something was missing had that not been a part of it.

On another note, though, this zine is an example of why, if you’re going to use your handwriting in your zine, you need to be confident that your handwriting is clear. I could read her writing for the most part, but I did have some trouble with it. On one hand, it’s totally appropriate and plays into the NaNoWriMo focus to have handwritten notes in there. But, again, it’s kind of riding that edge of readability in some spots.

As an author, it was great to get a glimpse into the mind of someone else writing a novel. By that, I think you’ll know whether you want to pick up this zine or not.

The Super Happy Anarcho Fun Pages! #1
?
strangers@riseup.net

I picked up this zine at Festival of the Photocopier, and it was a moment that made me really love the zine scene even more. This zine was one of many on a table that had no one sitting at it. There was simply a cup in the middle for you to put in whatever money you felt right.

Fantastic stuff. On with the review!

I must admit that I wasn’t sure if I would review this zine because, even though it’s a comic, I thought some of the humour might be wasted on me. Alas, you never know unless you try, and I have a habit of not regretting giving something a go.

This zine is no exception.

The comics in this zine are the kind of funny that you laugh at the ‘surface’, but any sort of additional thinking makes you realise that it falls into the ‘it’s a bit sad, too, because it’s true’ category. There’s definitely tongue-in-cheek and even a little stinging humour in there as well.

There is one comic that really got to me about medical debt. If there is one thing that riles me up, it’s medical debt. I grew up in the States where my health care was determined on the basis of whether my parents had the money to seek treatment. There was a lot of other stuff mixed up in there, but there should never, ever be a reason to hesitate when it comes to seeking healthcare for a child.

The comic ended appropriately with: This isn’t funny. It’s just sad.

All up, I was pleasantly surprised to find a lot more going on in this zine than I expected – and a lot more that I could identify with as a bonus. Definitely pick it up if you see a copy.

PS. Favourite quote? “If there are no more questions, I will now don my party hat and laugh maniacally.”

Wiseblood 64
Fishspit
fuzzybunnyflatbunny@gmail.com

If there is anything I love about reading a perzine series for a while, it’s having my assumptions about a person challenged. This issue of Wiseblood certainly did that for me in regards to Fishspit.

I feel like Wiseblood #64 is a bit nostalgic in ways that other issues aren’t. Past mistakes, childhood memories… I like ‘reflection’ mixed in with the current stuff. Especially when it’s not all sunshine and flowers stuff.

It’s not easy to admit when you’ve wronged someone, even in the quiet of writing your own zine. Fishspit would (will?) likely brush off the statement, but I have to tip my fedora to someone who up and admits it.

“I was never mean to Jessie…I just wasn’t good for her.”

As much as I don’t like needing to hunt down details like websites and such, I do like it when I can look into the actual zine content a bit more (if I want). It might be a song mentioned that I’ve never heard of before, a kind of coffee I’ve never tried… In this case, it happened to be “The Absinthe Drinker”. A bit of bonus content to pursue if I really like a zine.

I think Robert at MoreVerbs said it well when he said of Wiseblood:

Is it good? Definitely. Will you like it? That one is tougher.

I think with Wiseblood, you need to give it a go and see what you think.

Check out my reviews of Wiseblood #62 here and of #37 here.

LP Style
LogPoes
YourFriendLP.wordpress.com
LogPoes.tumblr.com

Okay, I’ll just get this out first: Fashion or style is not my thing. I don’t understand it. I don’t get the ‘rules’. I can’t afford the things I’m supposed to like, and I don’t like much of the stuff I can afford. (Seriously, why do people think fat women just loooove enormous floral prints. FFS.) But if there was someone who could get me to acknowledge fashion like your socially awkward friend barely acknowledges someone you introduce them to, then it’s LogPost.

Now, that out of the way, on to the review!

LP Style was either a trade or an Etsy purchase (I really need to write these things down) from LogPoes. It’s a 24 Hour Zine Thing that turned into something more. (I’m assuming. There’s an implication that it became something other than a 24 Hour Zine Thing but no statement as such.) See those little hearts on the cover? Those are actually cut out hearts that have been stuck on. I’m not sure exactly why, but something about that makes me laugh.

Before you get to thinking what you might be thinking, it’s okay. Rather than some ‘this is the way it is’ sort of zine, it’s actually almost a memoir through clothes. That might be pushing it a little, but I don’t really think so.

This zine includes childhood photos as well as memories from the beginning when her mom was making most of her clothes. She talks about going through times when she tried to conform even though it was quite obvious she knew what she liked and what she didn’t like. She then goes into her actual style with sections for cardigans, shoes, etc, but she still includes memories.

I did have to laugh (again) in the Hoodies section.

Once, my mother asked me: “How many hoodies DO you own?!”

Hahaha. It’s lovely that two people who live in dramatically different parts of the world can face the same question from their mothers.

Plus, I have a soft spot already for people who choose to express themselves through tattoos.

All up, I have to say that I was surprised with this zine. And that’s my own fault for making assumptions based on the title. Yes, it’s about LP’s style, but it’s also about her life. A style perzine. Who’d have thought?

Mild Scribbling #6
Rebecca Sheedy
https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/rebeccasaurusrex
http://mildscribblingzine.tumblr.com/

I reviewed Mild Scribblings #5 a while ago and found myself craving something similar to get back into the swing of reviewing zines again. Lo and behold, I was trying to organise my ‘to be read’ zine pile, and I found I had Mild Scribblings #6.

It’s all coming up Nyx.

The fact that this zine series is called Mild Scribblings seems oh, so appropriate when I look through at the lovely art inside. There’s something literally calming about it for me. It reminds me of when I was a kid and things got so overwhelming at times that I just sat down with a book and lost myself in the illustrations for a while.

Rebecca continues to make everyday life into art in a way I find engaging as well as relaxing. I absolutely adore her small but detailed art, the fact that the zine is full-colour, and her tiny, tiny handwriting. (Seriously, do you write that small? Either way, love.)

The new names for Cadbury Roses chocolates is definitely my favourite. Or maybe the product ideas… Or both.

Check out Rebecca’s Tumblr! You, too, can check out this interesting, colourful art. If you like what you see there, then definitely pick up this zine, because you will love it, too.

PS. I have to say that I absolutely adore the idea of the ‘beverage segmentation’ glass. Except maybe segmented vertically like a peace sign so you could have three sections and three straws!

PPS. My cat has a glow in the dark collar. It is a thing! 😀 Seeing a glowing thing silently making its way across the floor in the middle of the night is super creepy.

This Has All Been Too Much For Me Today, I Think I’ll Go Back to Bed
Philip Dearest
PhilipDearest.tumblr.com

I got this zine on Etsy a while back, but I can’t get back to the Etsy shop to provide the link. I have no idea what’s happening there, so I apologise to Philip Dearest.

This Has All Been Too Much is a mini-zine that links words and art to express thoughts from the anxious and/or depressed mind. The phrases easily struck home for me, and it was a sad reminder of the things so many people go through.

I’ll be the first to say that I can be a little dense when it comes to art, but seeing statements like, “I can’t stop thinking” fleshed out as a potted plant was a lot more interesting than what I imagine it sounds like. I like the combination of words and uncomplicated art to express mental health issues.

The printing of this zine is intriguing as it appears to be white printed on black instead of the other way around. I fully admit that I had my nose pretty close to this zine to get a better look.

My one hesitation with this zine is that, while it may provide a way for people to not feel so alone, the messages might further feed into a dark place. Sometimes it’s a thin line between the two things, and this zine is one of those times.

I found This Has All Been Too Much to be a somewhat bittersweet experience, but the fact it made me feel something is a goal accomplished.