For the love of zines
The Rock N’ Roll Horror Zine
Submissions Now Open
Looking for rock, metal and punk themed horror, sci-fi, pulp and bizarro fiction submissions up to 2,500 words. Also interested in visual art submissions that are on theme, especially cover art.
Accepted submissions receive $5 and a contributor copy.
Email submissions to doomgoat666@gmail.com
I’ll get to the goodies first and write click here to check out the Kickstarter page because the digital copies of this anthology are ready to send out when you pick a reward tier that includes a digital version!
Zine friends! Oh, zine friends, I am so, so, so (yep, three ‘so’ level happening here) excited to share this Kickstarter with you.
It’s a comics anthology – and I’m in it! Of course it’s not all about me, but if you had told me earlier this year that I’d be part of an anthology like this, I would have told you that I’m not skilled enough for that. Lo and behold!
This cover, all put together by the amazing and wonderful mind behind Zine Love – iestyn pettigrew – features my painting!
But that’s just the cover. There are so many awesome artists to be found inside as well!
Ian Miller – The cult fantasy illustrator returns to comics for the first time since 1994’s The City, with a style familiar to those fans of his current illustration, but new to those who know his work from 25 years ago.
Web: www.ian-miller.org/ Instagram @edwindorf (www.instagram.com/edwindorf/)
Dave Crane – UK small press creator Dave Crane produces lush illustrations that immerse the viewer in a new way of seeing. Dave’s work presents the experience, so that you feel like you’re there in the page.
Web: improvisedcomics.co.uk/ Twitter @davethecrane (twitter.com/davethecrane)
Mister Zinester – Working out of Singapore, Mister Zinester produces all manner of carefully crafted zines and comics; all with a great sense of wit and joy.
Instagram (two accounts) @misterzinester (www.instagram.com/misterzinester/)
@shuffleplaycomics (www.instagram.com/shuffleplaycomics/)
Gareth Hopkins – A mainstay of the UK small press scene, Gareth Hopkins creates abstract and confessional comics that touch the heart of being human. As well as his own comics, his work has featured in several anthologies, including Douglas Noble’s award-winning ‘Jazz Creepers’.
Web: www.grthink.com/ Twitter @grthink (twitter.com/search?q=grthink&src=typd)
Instagram @grthink (www.instagram.com/grthink/)
Facebook Gareth A Hopkins (www.facebook.com/garethahopkins)
iestyn – Editor of “The Seas” anthology, iestyn is a maker of zines focusing on mental health or illustration, his approach to each project is as mercurial, as fluid as the seas themselves. Or you could just call him fickle.
Twitter @iestynpettigrew (twitter.com/iestynpettigrew) Instagram @iesorno (www.instagram.com/iesorno) Facebook (www.facebook.com/iesorno.zines)
Miranda Smart – A UK small press creator and recent contributor to Heavy Metal magazine, Miranda Smart uses an abstract, colour saturated approach to story-telling that is strongly reminiscent of 1960’s psychedelic and paperback cover art. Her stories tell personal stories as abstract metaphors.
Twitter: @ Mir_And_Or (twitter.com/Mir_And_Or) Instagram @mir.and.or (www.instagram.com/mir.and.or/)
Sophie Ell – A US resident and citizen of the world, Sophie Ell, who is currently at work on her debut graphic novel, draws from her heart and experiences to make beautiful illustrations and tell fascinating stories.
Instagram: @pip_odyssey (www.instagram.com/pip_odyssey/)
Vacuum Books – A US small press creator, Vacuum Books normally bring their singular style to small run, handmade books. Beautifully succinct illustrations belie the emotional heft that these stories manage to deliver.
Instagram: @vacuumbooks (www.instagram.com/vacuumbooks/)
Jaime Nyx – A US ex-pat now living in Australia, Jaime Nyx is more well known as Seagreen Zines; writing, distro’ing and even running a review channel all about zines. Her writing is always personal and heartfelt.
Web: www.seagreenzines.com/ Twitter @zineninja (twitter.com/zineninja) Instagram @seagreenzines (www.instagram.com/seagreenzines/) Facebook Jaime Nyx (www.facebook.com/jaime.nyx.7)
Zeno the Cartoonist – Mysterious and enigmatic, all you need to know is there in the line and the story. With such excellence, who needs more.
Motobus – Living and working in the US, Motobus produces zines and illustrations, both professionally and personally. Imaginative, kind-hearted and elegantly simple her world is beautiful to the heart as well as to the eye.
Web: www.motobus.etsy.com Twitter @motobus_draws (twitter.com/motobus_draws) Instagram @motobus_draws (www.instagram.com/motobus_draws/) Facebook @motobusillustration (www.facebook.com/motobusillustration/)
Simon Russell – A UK comic professional and small press grandee, as well as being at the heart of many things UK comics, Simon is an incredibly talented creator, producing vibrant experimental work that remains accessible to all.
Web: boinggraphics.co.uk/ Twitter @Simon_at_Boing (twitter.com/Simon_at_Boing) Instagram @simon_boing (www.instagram.com/simon_boing/) Facebook Simon Russell (www.facebook.com/simon.russell.779)
How amazing is that?!
If you’d like to share the love and let people know about this lovely anthology, there’s even a press release you can share (along with the info above). I’ll put it below the more tag!
Call for Submissions: Going Gray Zine
Recently I found a white hair on my head, the first ever, and I pretty nearly panicked, because no one has EVER talked to me about the milestones of going gray, and I’m 27! I didn’t know what was “normal” or what/when to expect. I posted about the experience on Facebook, Discord and Twitter, asking for support, because the shock had made me feel physically ill. It turns out that a lot of people want to talk about this, and almost no one talks about it! And I learned for the first time that getting your first gray hairs in your 20s is in fact normal. So it occurred to me that I think many more people will benefit if I were to compile people’s stories about going gray in a zine, to encourage people to talk about this and to let younger people getting their first gray hairs know they’re not alone.
Most of my friends talking about this are women or nonbinary, but this zine will be open to all genders and all ages to share stories about both naturally graying hair and about medical conditions that cause hair to change color outside of the “normal” aging process. It’s a space to process our feelings about aging, where talking about this usually unspoken topic isn’t taboo. If I end up getting a lot of stories and can’t fit them all, priority will go to stories by women and nonbinary people due to the stigma against non-men going gray and the pressure we face to hide gray hairs. I’m hoping to get stories from people from lots of cultural backgrounds as well, as I’m sure different cultures treat graying hair differently.
If you’d like to submit a story, email me at metaparadox11@gmail.com with the phrase “Going Gray Submission” in the subject. Contributors will receive a free pdf of the zine and can redistribute it or print it however they wish. I will be selling physical copies of the completed zine.
Tentative Deadline: August 3, 2019 (may be extended if I don’t get enough stories)
Share your call for submissions, let people know about your distro or zine library, announce your newest zine, let people know you are crowdfunding a zine project…
If you have an announcement to make that has to do with zines, do it here! Sea Green Zines wants to be your megaphone. Even better? It’s an automatic shout out on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr when your call is posted here.
Big fuzzy love hearts to those who have a .jpg call for subs, but all are welcome. Get in touch by emailing seagreenzines[at]gmail.com or comment below.
Road Trip
Saff
https://www.instagram.com/saffmiro/
Road Trip is a full-colour A7 (A3 when fully unfolded) fold-out flow chart zine.
Road Trip starts out seeming like a checklist for road trips and turns into a short of choose your own adventure story with plenty of chance that you’ll end up… in a bad way. For something that looks rather sweet and cute at first glance, there’s plenty of dark humour to enjoy. While it’s definitely a flow chart, the design, colours, and layout reminde me of the board game Life. Anyone else remember that game?
There’s a lot to enjoy about this mini from the humour (I wonder if Saff really doesn’t like road trips) to the different-than-normal way it’s folded up. I give Saff a big hat tip for the amount of time and effort making this must have taken.
Definitely check out this fun mini-zine.
Rainy Day
Andrina Manon
http://andrinamanon.com/
https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/andrinamanon
Rainy Day is a slightly smaller than A5 full-colour, wordless zine about the love between a person and their cat.
Sometimes I just want a happy, light story to help me to feel calm and grounded. Rainy Day definitely fits that mark.
Rainy Day opens with a rainy day in the city, and a cat with no milk left. We follow along as human and cat venture out for more and encounter a bit of umbrella trouble on the way back home.
It often pleasantly surprises me how often a person’s art style goes so well with the stories they tell. Andrina’s style is not overly complicated and has a ‘homey’ touch to it – just like the story. Plus, I do really love cats (and dogs) so I can’t help but associate cats with home.
Of course, the presentation is lovely, too, with a variety of colours that all have a certain softness to them. I always love to-the-edge printing as well.
Rainy Day is a lovely art zine that has a wordless story inside as well. Check out Andrina’s sites; if you like their style and cats, then you’ll enjoy this zine.
Hello, hello, hello, zine friends. This blog post is brought to you by electrolytes, a lot of sleep, and a massive amount of TLC from the dear and amazing Wanderer. Truly, he’s been absolutely brilliant to the point of piling blankets on me when I felt very cold.
I’m very slowly getting back to normal. I’m one of the fun and exciting people who can get mono/glandular fever more than once if I push myself too much/overstress myself. Good times. This round has been mild but meant I’ve slept away most of the week thus far.
Enough of that, though! As you can imagine, the last part of IZM has been a bit of a bust. But no stress! Life happens, and sometimes we just have to dance to the tune.
Or sleep. Haha.
On to it!
On day 27 of this fabulous month, the prompt is to host or attend a zine event. That was definitely off the books this past weekend (honestly, I lost track of the days a bit), not only for health reasons but location.
You can always check out the Zine World Calendar to see if there are any events happening near you and/or to make sure your event is listed.
Day 28 is the day for listing our favourite zines. I decline on the grounds that I love all the zines. Hehehe.
On this fine day of IZM, the prompt is to take a picture of yourself with your zine collection. I’ll meet you halfway with a picture of some of my zines…
On the 30th day of IZM, the prompt is to write or make a wrap-up of International Zine Month. I’m actually going to save this prompt for tomorrow because I have a few things to write about that don’t quite fit in here.
This, the final day of IZM, we take a moment to remember the zines and zinesters no longer with us.
For another year, I find myself grateful and relieved to not know any zinesters who have passed. As I meet new zinemakers and make new zine friends, I avoid thinking about this sort of thing more and more. It’s all a part of the life cycle, but I’d like to stay in my shiny bubble for as long as I can.
My thoughts do go to all of those who have lost people. I light a candle and hope that you can find comfort in knowing you aren’t alone.
That’s all for me today, zine friends. I will be back tomorrow at least a little bit. 😉
Until then…
Others Joining In:
* Hadass: https://hadass420.wordpress.com/
* Phoebe’s Zines: https://www.instagram.com/phoebeszines/
* Feral Publication: https://youtu.be/trS6pVtjsjw
* Enter the Papernet: http://www.enterthepaper.net/
Let me know if/where you are joining in!
Call for Submissions: Going Gray Zine
Recently I found a white hair on my head, the first ever, and I pretty nearly panicked, because no one has EVER talked to me about the milestones of going gray, and I’m 27! I didn’t know what was “normal” or what/when to expect. I posted about the experience on Facebook, Discord and Twitter, asking for support, because the shock had made me feel physically ill. It turns out that a lot of people want to talk about this, and almost no one talks about it! And I learned for the first time that getting your first gray hairs in your 20s is in fact normal. So it occurred to me that I think many more people will benefit if I were to compile people’s stories about going gray in a zine, to encourage people to talk about this and to let younger people getting their first gray hairs know they’re not alone.
Most of my friends talking about this are women or nonbinary, but this zine will be open to all genders and all ages to share stories about both naturally graying hair and about medical conditions that cause hair to change color outside of the “normal” aging process. It’s a space to process our feelings about aging, where talking about this usually unspoken topic isn’t taboo. If I end up getting a lot of stories and can’t fit them all, priority will go to stories by women and nonbinary people due to the stigma against non-men going gray and the pressure we face to hide gray hairs. I’m hoping to get stories from people from lots of cultural backgrounds as well, as I’m sure different cultures treat graying hair differently.
If you’d like to submit a story, email me at metaparadox11@gmail.com with the phrase “Going Gray Submission” in the subject. Contributors will receive a free pdf of the zine and can redistribute it or print it however they wish. I will be selling physical copies of the completed zine.
Tentative Deadline: August 3, 2019 (may be extended if I don’t get enough stories)
