The Super Happy Anarcho Fun Pages! #1
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strangers@riseup.net

I picked up this zine at Festival of the Photocopier, and it was a moment that made me really love the zine scene even more. This zine was one of many on a table that had no one sitting at it. There was simply a cup in the middle for you to put in whatever money you felt right.

Fantastic stuff. On with the review!

I must admit that I wasn’t sure if I would review this zine because, even though it’s a comic, I thought some of the humour might be wasted on me. Alas, you never know unless you try, and I have a habit of not regretting giving something a go.

This zine is no exception.

The comics in this zine are the kind of funny that you laugh at the ‘surface’, but any sort of additional thinking makes you realise that it falls into the ‘it’s a bit sad, too, because it’s true’ category. There’s definitely tongue-in-cheek and even a little stinging humour in there as well.

There is one comic that really got to me about medical debt. If there is one thing that riles me up, it’s medical debt. I grew up in the States where my health care was determined on the basis of whether my parents had the money to seek treatment. There was a lot of other stuff mixed up in there, but there should never, ever be a reason to hesitate when it comes to seeking healthcare for a child.

The comic ended appropriately with: This isn’t funny. It’s just sad.

All up, I was pleasantly surprised to find a lot more going on in this zine than I expected – and a lot more that I could identify with as a bonus. Definitely pick it up if you see a copy.

PS. Favourite quote? “If there are no more questions, I will now don my party hat and laugh maniacally.”

Wiseblood 64
Fishspit
fuzzybunnyflatbunny@gmail.com

If there is anything I love about reading a perzine series for a while, it’s having my assumptions about a person challenged. This issue of Wiseblood certainly did that for me in regards to Fishspit.

I feel like Wiseblood #64 is a bit nostalgic in ways that other issues aren’t. Past mistakes, childhood memories… I like ‘reflection’ mixed in with the current stuff. Especially when it’s not all sunshine and flowers stuff.

It’s not easy to admit when you’ve wronged someone, even in the quiet of writing your own zine. Fishspit would (will?) likely brush off the statement, but I have to tip my fedora to someone who up and admits it.

“I was never mean to Jessie…I just wasn’t good for her.”

As much as I don’t like needing to hunt down details like websites and such, I do like it when I can look into the actual zine content a bit more (if I want). It might be a song mentioned that I’ve never heard of before, a kind of coffee I’ve never tried… In this case, it happened to be “The Absinthe Drinker”. A bit of bonus content to pursue if I really like a zine.

I think Robert at MoreVerbs said it well when he said of Wiseblood:

Is it good? Definitely. Will you like it? That one is tougher.

I think with Wiseblood, you need to give it a go and see what you think.

Check out my reviews of Wiseblood #62 here and of #37 here.

LP Style
LogPoes
YourFriendLP.wordpress.com
LogPoes.tumblr.com

Okay, I’ll just get this out first: Fashion or style is not my thing. I don’t understand it. I don’t get the ‘rules’. I can’t afford the things I’m supposed to like, and I don’t like much of the stuff I can afford. (Seriously, why do people think fat women just loooove enormous floral prints. FFS.) But if there was someone who could get me to acknowledge fashion like your socially awkward friend barely acknowledges someone you introduce them to, then it’s LogPost.

Now, that out of the way, on to the review!

LP Style was either a trade or an Etsy purchase (I really need to write these things down) from LogPoes. It’s a 24 Hour Zine Thing that turned into something more. (I’m assuming. There’s an implication that it became something other than a 24 Hour Zine Thing but no statement as such.) See those little hearts on the cover? Those are actually cut out hearts that have been stuck on. I’m not sure exactly why, but something about that makes me laugh.

Before you get to thinking what you might be thinking, it’s okay. Rather than some ‘this is the way it is’ sort of zine, it’s actually almost a memoir through clothes. That might be pushing it a little, but I don’t really think so.

This zine includes childhood photos as well as memories from the beginning when her mom was making most of her clothes. She talks about going through times when she tried to conform even though it was quite obvious she knew what she liked and what she didn’t like. She then goes into her actual style with sections for cardigans, shoes, etc, but she still includes memories.

I did have to laugh (again) in the Hoodies section.

Once, my mother asked me: “How many hoodies DO you own?!”

Hahaha. It’s lovely that two people who live in dramatically different parts of the world can face the same question from their mothers.

Plus, I have a soft spot already for people who choose to express themselves through tattoos.

All up, I have to say that I was surprised with this zine. And that’s my own fault for making assumptions based on the title. Yes, it’s about LP’s style, but it’s also about her life. A style perzine. Who’d have thought?

Mild Scribbling #6
Rebecca Sheedy
https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/rebeccasaurusrex
http://mildscribblingzine.tumblr.com/

I reviewed Mild Scribblings #5 a while ago and found myself craving something similar to get back into the swing of reviewing zines again. Lo and behold, I was trying to organise my ‘to be read’ zine pile, and I found I had Mild Scribblings #6.

It’s all coming up Nyx.

The fact that this zine series is called Mild Scribblings seems oh, so appropriate when I look through at the lovely art inside. There’s something literally calming about it for me. It reminds me of when I was a kid and things got so overwhelming at times that I just sat down with a book and lost myself in the illustrations for a while.

Rebecca continues to make everyday life into art in a way I find engaging as well as relaxing. I absolutely adore her small but detailed art, the fact that the zine is full-colour, and her tiny, tiny handwriting. (Seriously, do you write that small? Either way, love.)

The new names for Cadbury Roses chocolates is definitely my favourite. Or maybe the product ideas… Or both.

Check out Rebecca’s Tumblr! You, too, can check out this interesting, colourful art. If you like what you see there, then definitely pick up this zine, because you will love it, too.

PS. I have to say that I absolutely adore the idea of the ‘beverage segmentation’ glass. Except maybe segmented vertically like a peace sign so you could have three sections and three straws!

PPS. My cat has a glow in the dark collar. It is a thing! 😀 Seeing a glowing thing silently making its way across the floor in the middle of the night is super creepy.