Hello, zine friends! Welcome back to day two of that wonderful month of the year featuring all kinds of zine goodness to enjoy. If you’d like to jump in, check out the 2020 IZM list of daily activities by Alex Wrekk. (Pssst! Go here to download your own printable IZM 2020 poster!)
Also be sure to leave a comment and let me know if you’re joining in. I’ll keep a growing list on each post so we can all check out what each other are doing.
Onto day two!
Every year I have trouble with this one because I don’t like picking favourites. Hahaha. I want to pet all the zines!
Because it’s Thursday, which is a review day, I’m going to be a bit cheeky and post two zine reviews from the past – one mini-zine that makes me smile and one perzine that really introduced me to a part of me that I didn’t realise had a name. So here we are…
Zine Review: Tasteful Insect Nudes
Tasteful Insect Nudes
Steve Steiner
Mulletturtle.storenvy.com
If insects had adult classifieds, then they would look like this zine.
I can’t help but laugh whenever I think about this zine (look at this zine, pick up this zine, show this zine to other people) – for all the right reasons. Featuring up-close-and-personal insect ‘nudes’, you may feel a little bit squeamish and amused at the same time when reading these ads for insect companionship.
What’s even better is that it’s so easy to imagine a game show host-like voice announcing these ‘sexy bachelors and bachelorettes’.
This zine is an excellent antidote to taking yourself or life too seriously.
Zine Review: Pieces #13 on being a romantic asexual
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).