Sugar Needle 36: Licorice is Sexy
Phlox & Corina
https://cathycamper.com/art/
http://zinewiki.com/Sugar_Needle

Sugar Needle 34 is a US vertical half-fold that is mostly black and white with some hand colouring. It contains reviews of treats, a piece on a tour of the Jelly Belly factory, and more.

Once more, this sweet-toothed lady ventures into dangerous territory… What can I say? I love sweets, and I didn’t know that I could enjoy a candy review zine so much when it’s unlikely I’ll ever get my hands on the sweets reviewed. (Unless someone has a source of pumpkin Pocky and dark chocolate mint M&Ms…)

Sugar Needle 36 opens with the usual ‘life between issues’ introduction before diving head first with a review of ’16 Candles’ cake candy that didn’t really do much for Phlox. From there, we have a mix of reviews and longer article-like pieces.

You never know exactly what you’ll find in Sugar Needle, which makes it all the more enjoyable. There is a funny short interview with the cover artist (who just so happens to be Mr Corina) and even some zine reviews thrown in the sweet mix. The variety just works for me. The whole zine gives off the vibe of friends with great senses of humour just having a good time.

More and more I find myself hoping that this series is still going so I can send them some Australian treats sometime.

Definitely check it out (and check out my review of Sugar Needle 34 here: http://www.seagreenzines.com/zine-review-sugar-needle-34).

Kitchen Sink (everything but the)
Habitual Novelties
https://habitualnovelties.com/
https://jasonrandell.com/

Kitchen Sink (everything but the) is a full-colour A6 zine with reality-bending visual instruction guides.

From trees that grow… unusual ‘fruit’ to an especially complicated attempt at tying a tie, Kitchen Sink is a strange but fascinating mostly wordless zine. Each page features a different visual instruction guide. The guides all start off as you would expect, but they all end up with surreal conclusions.

This feels like an art series to me – a feeling made stronger by the details JR includes. In the front inside cover, you find all the information you could want about the zine – edition, print run, inks used, etc – and, in the back, you find an ‘About this Zine’ page as well as links and contacts. (All listed out so nicely and clearly. Thank you!)

I quite enjoyed this zine. Visual instructions, playing with expectations, the humour in some of the instructions… I felt like I was wandering around an art exhibition without leaving home.

I’m looking forward to checking out more from Habitual Novelties.

Sugar Needle 34: The (Almost) Vegan Issue
Phlox & Corina
https://cathycamper.com/art/
http://zinewiki.com/Sugar_Needle

Sugar Needle 34 is a US vertical half-fold that is mostly black and white with some hand colouring. It’s all about sweet treats we love (and hate), this issue focusing (mostly) on vegan treats.

Hm. Am I doing a bad thing to myself by reading about sugary snacks when I have none? We shall see…

Sugar Needle opens with a brief intro about life between issues of the zine before launching into the candy reviews. I knew I was in trouble straight away because all natural vegan gummy animals sound so yummy.

After that came chocolates, toy-shaped candy, and all sorts of interesting concoctions. This isn’t your general review of Snickers and Twix, that’s for sure. They include all kinds of things including candy from other countries. (Can someone please find and send me a Vosges bacon and chocolate bar?! Mmm.) There is variety in the reviews as well with some being short and some being a little longer.

The middle spread was a pleasant surprise with a more ‘article’ style piece about Melissa Berry, owner and maker of Missionary Chocolates.

A few of the reviews made me hungry, but it’s well worth the amusing read. The whole tone of the zine is one of friends just having fun, and I really enjoyed it – and felt tempted to make my own sweets review zine.

Sugar Needle is a light read that made me smile. I’m glad I have a couple more issues in my hands to enjoy.

It’s True My Cat Isn’t Cute Enough for the Internet
Imogen Dall
https://imogendall.wordpress.com/
https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/BigFaceGoods

My Cat Isn’t Cute Enough for the Internet is an A5, full colour zine about Pekoe the cat and life as a cat not cute enough for the internet.

I fell in love with this zine the first time I saw it on Instagram, and I have not been disappointed.

This zine is a fun ode to the not-exactly-cute cat with murder eyes and silly sleep positions that don’t quite make the cut for cute internet cats. 99% about a fun kitty and 1% a little poke at the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ of internet fame. The 1% being this quote from the introduction of the zine:

“And yet, there’s something to be said for [Pekoe’s] pig-headed unwillingness to conform to the socio-cultural expectations of his time.”

The quote is fun in a sort of cheeky way out of context, but it’s even better with the rest of the intro.

The zine is full of fun and funny pictures of Pekoe living that Pekoe life. A somewhat evil stare, a treat hunt, and more fill this zine of cat awesomeness. There’s a spread for Pekoe’s advice for life (I especially like ‘take up space’ hehe) that I really love. My favourite part (if I dare pick a favourite) is the middle spread which let’s just say features Pekoe and would make great gift wrap.

I could go on forever about the content, but I have to take a moment to mention the design as well, because this zine is so nicely laid out, so visually pleasing, and nicely printed as well.

I love cats (and dogs!), and I feel like I’ve found a whole new genre to love in the zineverse. I would love to see more pet/furbaby/etc dedicated zines like this one.

Unless you dislike cats, then there’s every reason to check out My Cat Isn’t Cute Enough for the Internet.

Real Friends and the Emoji We Use
Imogen Dall
https://www.instagram.com/bigfacegoods/
https://www.etsy.com/shop/bigfacegoods/

Real Friends and the Emoji We Use is an A6 full-colour zine about the emojis Imogen’s friends and family use the most and what their use really means.

“Because talking on the phone is weird and awful.”

Yes. Yes it is.

Real Friends opens with a funny homage to the show Law and Order that makes me chuckle every time I read it. I’d love to quote it, but I’d have to quote the whole thing – and that’s a bit of a spoiler. I’ll just say that anyone who watched the show will, at the least, get a smile out of it.

Imogen’s homage to their friends’ and family’s often-used emojis follows after this amusing intro. Each person gets their own coloursful page with their name, emojis, and the ‘true’ meaning of that person using those emojis. Mixed in with these ‘emoji profiles’ is a spread of obscure emojis (and what they really mean), the history of emojis, and a great conclusion. (There have been studies about emoji usage!)

I enjoyed this zine a lot. I’m a big fan of pastels, which are used throughout the zine. I’m so glad Imogen went with full colour for this zine because it puts the best kind of icing on this cupcake. I also really like the ‘decrypting emojis’ premise mixed in with plenty of humour as well as emoji facts.

Real Friends and the Emoji We Use is a nice mix of colour, humour, and facts. It’s a zine that left me smiling.

I’m Just Not Hungry: A Zine About Surviving an Eating Disorder
Hattie Porter
https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/dogsnotdiets
https://www.instagram.com/dogsnotdietsshop/

I’m Just Not Hungry: A Zine About Surviving an Eating Disorder is an A6 black on blue paper zine about dealing with disordered eating no matter what your specific diagnosis is.

Note: There is some gendered language in this zine. I read it as a consequence of the studies being referenced not accounting for trans or non-binary people.

I’m Just Not Hungry opens with a warm introduction in which Hattie writes about trying to cover a number of experiences no matter what your diagnosis or stage of recovery. As an ‘Eating Disorder NOS’, I appreciated that kind of inclusiveness.

From there, Hattie writes about the wonders of the human body and the importance of challenging beliefs in order to start/keep recovering. Hattie tackles subjects like weight and calories to provide a clinical view of them. Hattie also includes an ‘Important Notes’ section and wraps up with a section you can use to fill in reminders to yourself.

This was a tricky zine for me to read because I am so sensitive to the subject. It’s hard to read about the wonders of the human body when your body malfunctions due to incurable conditions. But once I mentally stepped back and focused on Hattie’s intention in making this zine, I found I got a lot from the words.

Hattie writes:

“Eating disorders are complicated… There will be parts of this zine that aren’t really relevant to you…”

I agree completely. I think if you approach this zine with that in mind, then you can pick and choose the gems that speak to you like I did. Hattie does a good job of a difficult task in encompassing a disorder with many different symptoms in a mostly general way.

This zine is about a sensitive subject and should be treated as such. That being said, I think that there is wisdom to find here if you’re up to reading it.