Mushrump
Bodie
www.slowquest.com
@bodieh

Mushrump is an A7 black and white mini-manual about the curious, peaceful creature: the mushrump.

This gorgeous mini introduces you to the everyday life, rituals, and lifecycle of the mushrump. It’s four pages long, but I don’t class it as a quick read. There is so much detail to take in, both in the descriptions and the illustrations. I could look at Bodie’s work all day.

I’ve reviewed the ‘choose your own adventure’ comic zines SlowQuest and SlowQuest II and absolutely adore the fantasy world that Bodie has created. That there are these little fantasy guides to go along with the SlowQuest adventures makes me all the more excited to see what Bodie does next.

Guitarrr (And Bass) Mini Manual
Nina Echozina
https://echopublishing.wordpress.com/

Guitarrr (And Bass) Mini Manual is an A7 full-colour mini about playing guitar and bass.

I swear Nina is the queen of packing a lot of info into mini-zines while still keeping them lovely to look at and easy to read. I don’t even play guitar, and I enjoy this zine. That being said, it’s not just the nice layout that kept me reading.

Guitarrr is a fantastic introduction to learning to play (electric) guitar and bass. Nina is self-taught, has played for several years, and is in the band Lavender Witch. She shares basics, tips, and tricks for learning to play with sections like ‘pick or no pick?’, ‘tuning’, ‘solo techniques’. Each section stands out easily with headers in blue, and illustrations help demonstrate what Nina is writing about.

True to form, Nina even adds a spot with a couple of resources for you to check out.

Even cooler, the entire mini folds out to reveal an illustration to show where notes are on your guitar/bass as well as some examples of chords. Love it!

Guitarrr is an excellent mini to check out – especially if you are learning or thinking about learning guitar/bass.

Emergency
Iestyn
https://www.instagram.com/iesorno/

Emergency is an A6 full-colour zine of photos and text contemplation of the forms of guilt and the power of other people’s perceptions.

This zine hurt my heart but in the ultimately good way that leaves it more open and willing to question first reactions when dealing with other people.

Emergency features colour photos taken in public toilets. While this may seem a strange thing, it has become a soothing measure for a father of a special needs need who needs to be accompanied in the toilet. Being a grown man with a teenage boy in a toilet brings up many feelings for Iestyn – pretty much all of which are negative despite the actual care he is providing for his child.

I feel a bit petty bringing up that this zine has no contact details because I almost feel like the point of this zine is the feelings and the words. To be in the moment of reading those thoughts and feelings and to continue pondering them even after you’re done reading. But with the strength of feeling in this zine, how could I not want to look at what else Iestyn is making?

Emergency is a zine that will be on my mind for a long time after I’ve posted this review. Check it out.