Anonymous said: A Zine By Cutthroat Cutie
US Half-Fold
Cutthroat Cutie
http://www.etsy.com/au/shop/CutthroatCutiexx

I love it when I set up a trade and get my end of the deal sent off… and then forget about it. Haha. Then I am completely surprised when something arrives in the mail. Not the way to conduct business, certainly, but it can make for a nice surprise. Moving on!

I received this zine earlier this week and couldn’t resist diving in. I’m a bit gobsmacked that I haven’t pursued more anonymous type zines considering I enjoy making Dear Anonymous so much. As you can imagine, when offered a trade for this zine, I jumped at the chance.

Everything about Anonymous Said is clear and bold. I really love how easy it is to read everything. The read is on the faster side, but the actual content does slow you down, so I think it works out as a good balance.

The basic idea is that Cutthroat Cutie sent a call out for anonymous confessions, rants and unpopular opinions. This zine is the result. Set on backgrounds of various patterns, these messages have been cut out and pasted in as is. Everything is put in together, but the first half is more confessions and the second half is more secret confessions (I hope you’ll understand the distinction I’m trying to make).

Like with Dear Anonymous, some of the letters made me sad while some made me smile. While there’s no way I could possibly know, I do feel like there is a certain age group in regards to who submitted work, but that worked for the zine. Some of the letters were heartbreaking in that they’re so reflective of current societal struggles with issues like sexuality and mental illness. It was interesting to see that all packaged up and delivered this way.

I like that there is a letter on the back from Cutthroat Cutie to everyone who contributed. It could just be me reading into things, but I really got this sense of awe from the letter like she didn’t expect the response to be as much as it was. Good stuff.

My one nitpick (besides one letter that got put in there twice) is that there isn’t an info page whatsoever. I can’t get too wrapped up in that detail because I know some people create their zines that way on purpose. Still, whenever I see a zine I like, my first question is always: “Is there a second one?” Info pages make that much easier to find out.

Summer Goals List
A6
Sarah McNeil
http://www.etsy.com/au/shop/SarahMcNeil

I’m not sure if I’m trying to be ironic or if I’m really missing summer in the midst of a dreary end of July (so sick of winter) by reading and reviewing this zine. Then again, how could I resist such lovely bright colours!

This is where I apologise for my absolutely shocking photography because I have done absolutely no justice to the striking colours of this zine. The first thing I notice about Summer Goals List is the fact that it’s a list zine (fangirl squee). But the second is definitely the vivid colours. Wowza.

See, I’m still not doing it justice. Get a copy so you can check it out.

With a zine like Summer Goals List, I think you have to appreciate the subtle things. At least, that’s how I looked at it. You would think a list is a list, but there were so many ways that people approached this. I love the variety. From simplicity to complexity, from things to get done to things to see… There is a variety that I didn’t expect.

I do have to mention that some of the lists were a touch hard to read. Nothing that got it kicked out of my forever collection, but enough to warrant a mention.

One extra little spesh thing is this:

I feel pretty cool when I know that I have one of only X number of copies or if I know I have a zine from the first print run.