Xerography Debt #34
Editor: Davida Gypsy Breier
http://www.leekinginc.com/
https://microcosmpublishing.com/

Is it weird to review a review zine? Am I going to poke a hole in the universe if I post this?

Last year, I was thinking about bundling up all my reviews into a zine review zine. Rather than jump right in, I decided to have a look around and see what, if anything, other people were doing with the idea. Let’s just say that when I came across ‘Xerography Debt’, I thought: Well, they have it covered.

Xerography Debt is amazing. I’ll put it right here toward the beginning of the review because that pretty much sums it up.

Aesthetically, I love this issue. The art is fantastic, the colours, and even the font of the words on the cover drew me in. They use great paper, a clear and readable font, and it’s one of those nice, thick zines that you know you’ll get to spend a lot of time with.

I usually don’t mention layouts, but this one bears mentioning. The inside cover has not only contact details but also lists out the whole Xerography Debt team, the table of contents, and breaks down the reviews into individual reviewer sections. Have I mentioned that they have 15 reviews on the team? Wowza. And an index in the back.

Even more, they have a “Basic stuff you should know” in the back in case this is your first issue of Xerography Debt.

This is where I start doodling ‘Nyx loves XD’ in my zine notebook.

As you would expect to see inside Xerography Debt, there are zine reviews. They tend to be on the shorter and sweeter side of things – at least, compared to my prattling on, they certainly are. Having a team of reviewers makes things even more interesting with the differing tastes and reviewing styles.

What gives the content that ‘frosting on top’ is that there are columns in there as well! There’s a perzine quality inserted into this review zine with columns that range from an interview to PO Box Withdrawal. I absolutely dug right in and loved the columns so much. I learned so much! For instance, I was reading one column that talked about amateur press associations. I lost hours researching APAs.

Backtracking a little to the first piece – the introduction – Davida beautifully states why it can still be a zine even if it has an ISBN:

[Zinesters] all try and stretch the boundaries of what can be done with photocopies and staples, but if what we have to say can’t be stapled, moving to book format makes perfect sense.

Boom. Done. Drop mic. There you go.

I must admit that letting myself loose with a zine that gave me even more zines to try to get my hands on might not have been the best idea, but I’m still glad I did it. Because zines. (Of course, now I have to get my hands on all the copies of this series…)

Do yourself a favour and grab an issue of Xerography Debt.

Bloomurder #1
Laura
www.facebook.com/bloomzine
https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/BLOOMURDER

My 101st zine review. Wow. I feel like I have a clean slate and greater expectations all at the same time. Haha. To give my anxieties a bit of a relax and my brain box some enjoyment, I figured Bloomurder #1 would be the way to go…

Bloomurder is a collection of bits and pieces of experiences. I say ‘bits and pieces’ with no disrespect. The content is a mix of art and travel, music and television shows from her youth. It bounces around a bit and doesn’t have a theme for the issue as such, but sometimes it’s nice to go along with someone else’s flow to see where it takes you. This style of doing things reinforces the ‘scrapbook’ feel I get with this zine.

I found the pieces funny in a synchronicity sort of way. I’ve never been to France, but Wanderer has, and he had some very similar things to say about the places there. Laura also talks about South Australia and the Adelaide Fringe Festival. I just so happen to be looking at moving to South Australia. So in that strange way, I do have somewhat of a bias toward some of the content.

This zine also combines journal aspects as well with little additions to go along with the writing instead of a cut and paste fiesta distracting from the words. Had I learned after the fact that this zine was a product of ‘converted notebook ramblings’ (instead of at the intro), I wouldn’t have been surprised.

Earlier today someone asked if there were any rules when it comes to making zines. There really aren’t, but Laura provides a good demonstration of the ‘general understanding’ when it comes to handwriting in zines: make sure people can read it! Laura has easy-to-read handwriting (except for one word on occasion 😉 ), as you can see* on the first page here:

One thing I found interesting in this zine is that Laura uses handwriting for some pieces and typing others. If someone had simply suggested this to me, I would have assumed that I wouldn’t like it. As it turns out, I do. The change from piece to piece fits the overall ‘scrapbook’ sort of feel that I get with this zine.

I find it a lot of fun to look at a person’s first zine, especially after they have been making them for a while. I’m very curious to see how Laura’s style has changed or stayed the same in the issues of Bloomurder that follow.

PS. I have to mention that her contact/media details right in the front, clear and easy to find. Yes!

*I’ve decided to revisit my rule about no pictures of the insides of zines. I am looking at doing it more, but for the time being, I am going to be very picky about what I take pictures of.