The 24-Hour Zine
Latibule
https://www.instagram.com/latibule_art/

The 24-Hour Zine is an A6 full-colour zine full of collages and writing based on suggestions made by other people.

Full disclosure: Latibule and I livestreamed together on Instagram during part of the making of this zine, and the idea of taking suggestions from people came from me.

The 24-Hour Zine opens with an explanation of the challenge (a 24-page zine made in 24-hours) and how Latibule created most pages base on prompts from her Instagram followers. I feel weird mentioning how much I like this idea given the circumstances, but I really do and would love to both do it more myself and see it done more by others.

With prompts like ‘sunflowers’ and ‘utopia’, this zine is full of colour. As a primarily collage zine of this style, I would expect it to be in colour, but I’ll still say that printing it in black and white would have taken something away from it. How Latibule interprets the prompts – especially prompts with less obvious colour associations – makes the zine all the more interesting.

Save for the middle spread, each page has its own prompt. Most of the prompts are from others – each idea credited to the person’s Instagram handle. However, some pages are Latibule’s own. With people coming up with unrelated prompts in the mix, quite a few different emotions are expressed in paper, washi tape, drawings, and sometimes words.

I’ve been enjoying flipping through this zine again and again. There is something relaxing about taking in all the elements of the various collages.

If this sounds like something you’d like to check out, then definitely pick a copy up and get lost in its pages.

Masculinities
Cindy Crabb (Editor/Interviewer)
http://www.dorisdorisdoris.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cindy_Crabb

Masculinities is an about 18cm X 21.5cm black and white zine about what it means to be a man and shaking up meanings within masculinity as expressed through a series of seven interviews.

Masculinities opens with an introduction from Cindy who explains that they didn’t know what to expect from the interview process. They’d seen a world where they shook up what it meant to be feminine and brought to light a lot of things that were wrong. They wanted to do the same for masculinity – and Masculinities emerged.

From there we dive into the interviews, the first between Cindy and Shane Parish. Shane talks about masculinity, manhood, how both those things were tied up on violence, and more. From there we go on to read a series of interviews that had a variety of subject matter and perspectives that I didn’t expect. Classism, masculine expectations and the impact that has on body image, masculinity and disability, abuse, sexuality, gender identity, learning to be a nurturing father… There is a lot to explore, and this zine feels like a great place to start.

Masculinities stands out aesthetically due to its non-traditional size. The drawing you may come to expect from Cindy’s Doris zines is present but I’d say not quite as much as the Doris series. There’s something entirely pleasing but mysterious about the cover. It is a bit of a fragile zine because of its size and a thin paper cover, but it did weather a house move well.

The interview ‘A Different Kind of Strength’ between Cindy and Brontez really stood out to me as Brontez’s story is one of growing up gay in a small 1960s town but is also so much more. The dynamic of a matriarch head of house was such a fascinating dynamic, and I found myself surprised at the positive masculine interactions Brontez experienced.

Even for its 28 pages, there is a lot to think about and process in this zine. The actual interviews are relatively short and get right to the heart of the stories, and yet I found myself taking the interviews slowly to make sure I was understanding – as much as I could – what each person was saying.

Masculinities has a lot to offer with different perspectives, things to consider, and maybe even things to question in the reader’s own life – all within personal stories told in these interviews. I will be reading this one again.

Cats Not Kids 3
Purple Donna
https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/purpledonna

Cats Not Kids 3 is an A6 black and white perzine about family planning clinics, contraception, not wanting kids, and more.

Cats Not Kids 3 opens straight off with a piece about spending 17 years on contraception that it turned out Donna didn’t need to take! Talk about getting me feeling angry right from the get go. I’m so sick of doctors who think the pill is the be all and end all of reproductive health. As you can imagine, Donna had a few thoughts to share about the situation.

Donna writes about conversations she’s had with people around not wanting children. (I’ve never felt so grateful that, for the most part, people have left me alone on that front.) She brings up good points like why do people so often say “you’ll change your mind” to people who don’t want to have kids? Why should someone have to share about their infertility – a private health matter – to actually have their decision respected?

Cats Not Kids also has a small comic and some facts about phone phobia that I greatly appreciated (being phobic myself). I didn’t realise the extent to which it is recognised.

I was sad to read the note at the end of the zine that lets the reader know that this is the last of the series – or trilogy, if you will – but such is the way sometimes. I’ve greatly enjoyed all three. If you’re interested in any of the topics I’ve mentioned in the reviews (Cats Not Kids 1, Cats Not Kids 2), I think you will enjoy them, too.

The Stay at Home Girlfriend #17
Kendy P.
https://www.instagram.com/missmuffcake/

The Stay at Home Girlfriend 17 is a half fold black and white perzine of summer musings.

One of the things I always love about Kendy’s zines is the variety. This issue has ‘Stuff I Like’, recipes, an interview, introspective pieces, and adventures in the life of someone who lives with cats. I always know I’ll find all kinds of interesting bits and bobs in this series.

The Stay at Home Girlfriend 17 opens with a picture of Kendy lying spread out on a gravestone and a brief welcome to the zine. I feel like this introduction fits the whole feeling of this zine so well. It introduces you a bit to Kendy as well as makes reading the zine feel like sitting down to a chat with the friend. The little ‘general feeling’ comment while you’re still putting the sugar and the bikkies on the table before getting comfortable.

‘Reflections, Self-Esteem, and the Pursuit of Finding Balance’ is the piece that hit home the most for me in this issue. I’m also a sensitive person and was a very sensitive child, and reading about how our parents’ responses to thing can influence – even as adults – was very valuable and validating for me. This zine was made in 2015, and I found myself wondering if Kendy has been continuing to show herself kindness and patience.

‘Redefining Crazy Cat Lady’ with Jenny Schlueter is a great interview. I love that people are stuffing the ‘crazy cat lady’ stereotype – a stereotype that could have a negative impact on cat adoption. All sorts of people have cats! The interview had a lot of information, too, from what to do if you find a kitten to why you should consider adopting a pair of kittens rather than one alone.

On the topic of cats, I absolutely love Kendy’s practise of sending out small care packages to sick/injured cats. That would have absolutely warmed my heart during my cat Asimov’s multiple surgeries, and reading such acts of kindness is absolutely lovely.

This zine is fun in looks with pictures, stickers, and hand drawn bits and bobs along with the text. Even the pages with primarily text often have little drawn elements or stickers. The beauty is that none of it is visually overwhelming. There is plenty for the eyes to enjoy but equally plenty of white space as well.

The Stay at Home Girlfriend 17 is a lovely perzine about life and cats that touches on serious issues but doesn’t get bogged down by them. If you like vegan recipes, cats, cemeteries, and perzines, you should check this (and the rest of the series) out.