Sticks And Stones
Tasha
lifeasawhitepicketfence.wordpress.com
https://azinething.com/
www.madeit.com.au/zinesbytash

Sticks and Stones is a black and white zine of poetry and nature sketches.

I was a little bit nervous when I opened up this zine. As I’ve mentioned plenty of times, poetry isn’t my strong suit, and no one likes not ‘getting it’. However, this combination of words and sketches really caught me and had me flipping back and forth between the pages.

I even found a favourite few lines:

bramble clings, defends and bleeds
to benefit of
her fruit,

I read those lines, quite beautiful to my mind, and they helped me to relax. The poetry became less about worrying over whether I understood the poet’s meaning but what meaning I took out of it.

In the literal sense it’s a zine that is on the quicker read side of the spectrum. However, I found myself spending more time with it than the initial read through.

There’s a lovely balance struck with this zine that I find difficult to put into words. The aesthetic of black and white sketches in combination with the typewritten words as well as the actual meaning of the words… Even the rock or grey sky colour of the cover works into it.

Recommending a poetry zine is like recommending a dessert – sure, I know what I like, but I’d need to know what you like to have any chance of coming close to a good match. However, if you like poetry – especially free verse style – then check out Sticks and Stones.

Shit’s Fucked #2
Iggy Nicklbottum ft. art by Tahnee Marie
itscompleteshit@gmail.com
IG: @shitsux
JoshCorea.com/zines

With a Ouija/Spirit Board as its centrefold, Shit’s Fucked #2 is a full-colour glossy zine filled with articles, stories, and art featuring the strange, spooky, and downright evil.

I knew going in that Shit’s Fucked was going to be a bit different compared to my usual reading, but I did not know how much. If I had ten seconds to describe it, I would say that it’s jam-packed with all sorts of fun things for the horror enthusiast.

There’s even an advice column for all your supernatural and spiritual queries.

I really enjoyed reading through this zine. The writing style is great – even for articles that, written differently, would have been on the dry side. There’s a great twisted humour mixed in with even with researched pieces. (And the researched pieces come with sources listed!) The first piece on spirit boards was even more interested than I thought it would be.

The serial killer profile reminded me of a guilty pleasure of mine – a series of YouTube videos all about serial killers. What a great addition to a zine like this one.

It’s not all facts and history, though, with some twisted fiction to enjoy as well.

There are plenty of fun little bits and pieces amongst the articles and art. I’m not sure which is my favourite – the spooky ‘Missed Connections’ spot or ‘Iggy’s Date Ideas’. Both are… unique. (Be sure to read the disclaimer on the back inside cover when it comes to the date ideas.)

And talk about cut and past. This is not a zine that is precious about itself; it invites you to cut up the covers! The back cover has a membership form to cut out, and the front cover has a planchette to cut out and use on the spirit board centrefold!

Shit’s Fucked has well and truly earned a place on my list of zines that flew far above my initial expectations. If you like spooky things, if you have a darker sense of humour, if you like horror films… If you’re in the general area of being into any of that sort of things, then definitely pick this zine up.