Zine in a Day Zine 1
Warglitter Zines
https://linktr.ee/warglitter

Zine in a Day Zine 1 is a one-page folded black and white mini-zine about a mermaid who fell in love with a star.

There’s something about the unexpected phrase that gets me every time, so when I saw “Once upon a time, there was a moderately attractive mermaid” I couldn’t help but smile. ‘Moderately attractive’ caught my attention, that’s for sure, and that she fell in love with a star rather than a human? Well, of course I had to read on.

This amusingly lightly sarcastic tone continues through the short story. The words ‘bangin’ hot’ may have been used. The fun illustrations add to this but don’t betray the tone of the ending until it comes (so don’t flip through without reading it first!).

I must admit that I was a little nervous about the readability of not only handwriting but cursive handwriting, but I had absolutely no trouble reading it.

The story cumulates into a funny ending that had me chuckling and smiling.

I really enjoy Warglitter’s sense of humour, and I think you will, too. Check this one out.

Rum Lad Issue 12
Steve Larder
http://www.stevelarder.co.uk/
https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/rumladzinesandart

Rum Lad Issue 12 is an A5 black and white zine sharing Steve’s memories of his grandparents in words and drawings.

I had a feeling this one was going to pull on my heart strings the moment I saw it. I wasn’t wrong.

Rum Lad opens on the inside front cover with a beautiful dedication of this zine to his grandparents, both of whom have passed away. It is clear from the start that he admired his grandparents and loved them dearly. Other than Steve’s sweet words in regards to his grandparents, something else struck me as beautiful as well. Even in his grief, Steve writes:

“…hopefully anyone reading this will be able to recognise and reflect on the familiar, yet ordinary tenderness that you might share with loved ones of any description.”

It certainly did for me.

Following two text-filled pages about their early lives are an assortment of drawings and comics encompassing some of Steve’s favourite memories. Most are one page long, and all are filled with a lot of love. Little anecdotes along with Steve’s awesome art style give such a rich impression of these memories.

This zine is a heartfelt tribute to two people but also a realistic one with plenty of moments of humour to go along with the moments of sadness. From the footnotes that include ‘do keep up’ as well as the fun little moments with his grandparents, Rum Lad 12 took me through a full range of emotions.

I really love the entirety of this zine and am grateful that Steve chose to share these stories. It feels wrong to ‘rank’ memories in any sort of way, but I do want to mention how Tesco Bag made me smile so much, and I keep smiling whenever I think about it. The memory is lovely in and of itself, but it also reminded me of how important the ‘little’ moments are in our lives.

I think what impressed me the most is that Steve included both good and not as good memories. It’s all too easy to idolise those have passed away, brushing over the bad and focusing on the good. But Steve hasn’t done this, and that speaks to me as him being someone who wants to remember his grandparents for who they were rather than some idealised version.

I also loved that he included stories of them as told by his brother as well.

Steve’s art style is fantastic – a mixture of highly detailed and yet sometimes more simple. No matter what I’m looking at, I love looking at it.

Absolutely pick up this zine. You know where it will end because of where it starts, but it’s beautiful and a zine I highly recommend.

PS. I won’t spoil it, but when you pick this up, don’t forget to look at the page numbers. There’s a little fun something at the end of each memory.

Livor Mortis 1
@stphnrttly
https://www.instagram.com/stphnrttly/
https://www.instagram.com/livormortiszine/

Livor Mortis 1 is a zine a bit smaller than an A5 that contains black and white photography with a focus on skulls and skeletons.

Livor Mortis 1 is a photography zine that opens with a haunting quote about “…the dead, piled high and pressed ‘neath the earth” from lemierre, a deceased Perisian, before leading you into the catacombs of skeletal photography…

Skulls and skeletons are fascinating to a lot of different people for a lot of different reasons. For me, it’s wondering about the human lives once held in and around the bones. Who were they, what was their life like, and how did they end up where they did? In that way, the black and white (as opposed to colour photography) really worked for me, stripping away another layer of identity and thus compounding the sense of never knowing.

The photography itself feels… I think ‘unassuming’ is the best word for it. Photos feature skulls with fully clothed skeletons, slightly mummified remains, skulls piled high in a sort of macabre room decoration. There are no ‘artistic angles’ (I’m not taking a shot at that – I do it myself) nor does it feel like anything was set up as such; the subject matter of the photos is curious and intriguing all on its own.

I didn’t find myself wondering why the photographer took a picture this way or that – I was too busy wondering about the individuals in the photos. When there weren’t so many skulls as to overwhelm the imagination, that is.

I think there is an obvious level to this zine being one that you will likely know already whether you want to check it out. I found it strangely curious in the way writers – especially horror writers – are curious about things.

I will say that if you are curious, do check it out, because there’s more to come in the rest of the series…

A Visitor in Myself #1
Nichole
https://www.etsy.com/shop/collectingwords
https://www.instagram.com/corridorgirl/

A Visitor in Myself #1 is a black and white ¼ sized stream of consciousness zine about therapy, therapists, antidepressants, and more.

I started this zine series with #2 – https://www.seagreenzines.com/mini-zine-review-a-visitor-in-myself-2/ – and being able to go back to start at the beginning is not only soothing for my completionist heart but also gives me a chance to learn about the motivations that had Nichole starting the series in the first place.

“I’m working on myself and my life every day. It isn’t so much having a positive outlook on life as it is the desire to make change. Evolve and live.”

A Visitor in Myself #1 opens with a handwritten note from Nichole about how this is a stream of consciousness zine, how Nichole is (at the time of writing) contemplating the idea of antidepressants and how big of a step that is for her. From there, we take a gentle slide into a stream of typewritten thoughts with handwritten notes interspersed throughout.

Nichole mentally wanders through self-examination, pointing out tendencies like pushing people away before they can leave her – and regretting it, unhelpful ways of coping, and things like knowing she shouldn’t feel afraid to ask for help… but struggling to do so anyway.

As per usual with Nichole’s zines, I found myself nodding along with the things I’d felt myself and even rolling my eyes at the therapist who didn’t think she was living with Borderline Personality Disorder because she didn’t lack empathy. I don’t think anyone would accuse me of lacking empathy, and I’ve had my diagnoses (including BPD) confirmed on multiple occasions. But I’m not a professional. Still, this is what Nichole’s writing does to me. It draws me in with its laid bare vulnerability and has me saying, “You’re not alone!”

Nichole also writes about anxiety and dissociation as well as her experiences and feelings around borderline behaviour. Her writing is a wonderful mixture of clarity while also still coming to grips with everything that being borderline encompasses.

Having ready many of Nichole’s Pieces zines, I couldn’t help but compare this zine to them. Would they stand out, or would they feel like Pieces under a different name? (I certainly wouldn’t complain either way, given how much I love Pieces.) The differences, I feel, are subtle. This zine has a bit more of a ‘wild’ element with a touch more cut and paste, more pictures, and definitely more handwriting. I feel a vulnerable curiosity coming through these zines that feels like a different angle of Nichole’s personality shining through. I like it.

Nichole is one of those zinemakers whose zines I will always read. I identify with so much and find the things I don’t identify with interesting. I’ve been looking around for more zines about Borderline Personality Disorder and, lo and behold, I had one in my zine stack already.

This zine is an interesting, open exploration of mental health/illness, and I recommend checking it out.