The Adventures of Punk Bird Issue 1
Punk Bird
https://www.instagram.com/punkbird352/
https://www.etsy.com/shop/PunkBird352

The Adventures of Punk Bird Issue 1 is an A6 black and white comic about Punk Bird, making friends, and whether it’s all even worth it.

I feel like I should have a disclaimer at the beginning of this letting you know that I’m not one of the cool kinds and there are probably references that go over my head with this one. That being said, I smiled and laughed a lot.

Punk Bird is a bird who thinks they don’t have friends while also struggling with the basic problem of having friends: dealing with other people. Well, that and having standards that are a little too strict for casual social interactions. Haha.

This zine is a sort of ‘day in the life’ introduction to Punk Bird. I laughed out loud on page one when Punk Bird referenced people who obsessively cover everything they own in stickers. From the get go, it becomes clear that Punk Bird is no Mary Sue character – their faults are out there and apparent (though not so much to Punk Bird).

The Adventures of Punk Bird is a funny introduction to a new comic series. There’s some adult language and situations thrown in the mix for some adult style humour.

I’m going to enjoy reading future issues. Check it out.

Stories From the Inside Issue 1
Compiled by Dawn Graham
https://www.staykind.com/

Stories From the Inside is a 7 inch x 8.5 inch black and white collaboration zine with x-rays, scans, test results, and the stories that go along with them.

Full disclosure: I have a piece included in this zine.

I’d really love to know if Dawn created the font (is it a font?) for the title of this zine because it is very cool and utterly perfect for the zine.

After the inside title page, we jump right into stories of broken bones, brain scans, and botched surgeries. Each story has a page to itself with the page opposite featuring the scan or other image to go along with it.

This zine presents a strange combo for me. On one hand, I’m fascinated by the images and what they represent. (Especially Olivia M’s visual field scans, which are a new-to-me thing.) On the other hand, it’s hard to read about others’ pain. I’m someone who can’t tolerate watching ‘fail’ videos that involve injury. Reading this zine, I felt the ‘there’s nothing I can do to help’ feelings and tension. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but if you’re sensitive in the ways I am, it’s something to keep in mind when checking out this zine.

I may be reading into things too much, but I really like the deeper meanings of the title. There’s the literal stories from inside the body – the x-rays, the pins, the staples. But there’s also the reminder of all the stories and experiences that we carry out of sight. It’s another way of reminding us that we should never judge on sight alone because no one knows what another person is carrying on the inside.

Ramble aside.

Stories From the Inside is an interesting zine that combines medical curiosity and personal stories. Even better, it end with an invitation to submit to the next issue.

Pick up a copy and submit to the next issue.

Life happened yesterday, so we’re getting the Friday review today! Enjoy!

WarGlitter Zines Issue 1
Allie
https://www.instagram.com/warglitter/
https://linktr.ee/warglitter

WarGlitter Zines issue one is a black and white quarter-sized perzine about identity, writing, dreams, witchcraft, family history, and more.

Allie opens on the inside front cover with a quote by Knuffelvos (https://i.pinimg.com/originals/82/c9/bc/82c9bc75a03b368e94be59aaab2374d7.jpg) about wearing your armour – be it make up, tattoos, or your own heartbeat – and kicking ass.

What a brilliant way to start a zine.

I love a perzine, but Allie had me hooked not only with the awesome quote but also with everything on page one. She writes about what ‘Warglitter’ is to her, and what I feel is one of the great beauties of making a perzine:

“It’s letting the past me be stupid because I’m still that person, too, after all, and she needs me to give her a fucking break.”

I swear the past me started yelling, “Yes! What she said!”

What follows is a collection of cut and paste pieces from various places and times (all written by Allie). I identify so much with her as she writes about fears around writing under your real name instead of a pseudonym and the things that means to you as a writer.

She also writes about a strange yet peaceful dream, witchcraft – its meaning and how it might tie into her family history – and all sorts of topics. If you like variety in your perzines, then this one is for you. The pieces range in length as well as writing style, and there’s even a poem in there as well.

I really enjoyed this zine. I identified with so much and found everything interesting – especially Allie exploring her family history. This is a great start to a perzine series that I hope will have a second issue soon.

Pick up a copy.

Draw My Steed Charity Zine
DemonStrips & 30+ Artists
https://www.instagram.com/demonstrips/
https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/Demonstrips

Draw My Steed is an A5 full-colour collab zine featuring art from over thirty artists.

There is so much to love about this zine. Not only do you get to see art from over thirty artists (who are donating their time and art to a zine that raises money for a good cause), they all started with the same base sketch! Demon strips sent them all the same sketch to get them started, and every artist interpreted it in their own way.

(Just in case I’ve been unclear in any way, you can check out the original call for submissions here: https://www.instagram.com/p/BjrzcfiDy7J/)

Page one starts us off with the evolution of ‘Draw My Steed’ – something that actually started at Festival of the Photohopier 2018 as a fun drawing competition. From there it grew into the zine that supports the Amaroo Wildlife Shelter (https://www.facebook.com/AmarooWildlife/). Page two lets us know more about the wonderful, not-for-profit volunteer-based organisation and the work they are doing at the wildlife shelter.

From there, we’re treated to a wild collection of art. Some funny, some complex, some surreal – there’s so much variety to enjoy. It’s fantastic. I keep going through this zine again and again, noticing new things in creations from artists I know as well as artists who are new to me.

The zine itself is printed on nice, glossy paper which makes the art pop on the page. Each piece is accompanied by a clear Instagram handle as well, so if you love what you see, you can follow up with the artists’ work easily.

100% of the money raised by this zine goes to Amaroo, so you can enjoy all the art goodness in zine form and know that you’ve put some good into the world as well.

Definitely grab a copy.