There’s No Such Thing As The Poop Fairy: 5 Things To Remember When You Walk In The Woods
Three Chairs Publishing / Jen Payne
Illustrations by Ron & Joe, Art Parts
https://3chairspublishing.com
https://linktr.ee/jenpayne

There’s No Such Thing As The Poop Fairy: 5 Things To Remember When You Walk In The Woods is a full-colour (primarily black and white on green), US-sized one-page-folded mini-zine about five things to remember for properly taking care and appreciating the woods when you’re out wandering.

There’s No Such Thing As The Poop Fairy doesn’t wait a single second before launching right into the five things promised in the title of the mini. The first also points back to the title in a reminder that shouldn’t need to exist but alas… Dispose of your dog’s poop. Seriously. There is no magical woodland poop fairy running around dealing with your… well… poop.

From there we launch into some no-holds-barred advice about treating nature and the animals within it better. Things we shouldn’t need to be reminded of but apparently still do given the inspiration for this zine. (If you want to read the inspiration behind this zine, you can check that out here on the Three Chairs Publishing page.)

Each point is accompanied by art that reminds me of the carvings people make in rubber to create stamps. The angles are mostly sharp, the black and white contrast sharp – all of which match appropriately with the tone of the words included.

I always love it when a mini-zine includes something printed on the inside. I feel like I’ve discovered a little not-so-secret treasure of bonus content, and that always makes me happy. There’s No Such Thing As The Poop Fairy includes some art with a lovely quote inside. I won’t go beyond that because it’s your own little treasure to discover should you pick up a copy.

There’s No Such Thing As The Poop Fairy is a great mini with the usual awesome Three Chairs Publishing quality. While it makes me sad that people need these reminders at all – don’t litter seems like such an obvious no-brainer to me – they’re obviously still worth having. Personally, I’ll still always carry my phone because I don’t get out much and taking pictures of flowers and other pretty nature makes me happy. But even the last on the list makes a good point in that there is a whole lot of beauty out there if we all keep it clean and pause for a moment to take it all in first-hand.

There’s No Such Thing As The Poop Fairy is a mini to pick up. Perhaps even multiple copies so you can hand them out as needed on your nature walks…

*Note: The main colour of this mini is more of a gorgeous sage green, but that didn’t really show in the pic.

Attempted Not Known 12 – Pain Points.
Peter Conrad
48 pages
https://www.instagram.com/peter.conrad.comics/
https://www.peterconrad.com

Attempted Not Known 12 – Pain Points. is a 7.8cm x 12.2 cm black and white comic featuring comics about physically painful accidents that happened in Peter’s life – with the entire zine curled up in a standard US pill bottle.

Pain Points opens with a drawing of pills filling up the page before the title page and then launching into the first comic: “No, A Fence.” (Love a pun.) Luck struck that day with Peter landing outside a nurse’s home. Said luck, however, would not follow Peter through all the accidents…

We then are introduced to various injuries – often involving stitches – Peter has dealt with. Falls, braces, and a number of injuries thanks to cars, and we have a collection of ‘scar stories’. ‘On the Chin’ definitely has to be one of the top ‘days filled with bad luck’ I have ever read or been told about. It involves a bike accident, a dodgy car, ridiculous parking at the hospital, and DIY bandaging to keep things in place. And I thought I’d had some bad luck days.

Peter’s art style with thick and thin lines working together to create just the right light and shadow, with some panels more details than others in a way that conveys a narrative tone as well as containing the art itself… It makes me feel nostalgic for the newspaper comics I used to read while still having its own ‘Peter’ flair to it.

Of course, in my reviews, I talk about the aesthetics of a zine. How could I not love and have a chuckle at a comic zine about painful moments coming in a pill bottle? Not only that, the bottle is covered in stickers like “Controlled Substance – Dangerous Unless As Directed” and the description reading “Acomxine 40pp”. Little touches like that tickle me to no end, and I love discovering all of them.

As someone who is sensitive to others’ pain (I can’t watch those ‘funny’ videos of people getting injured in various ways), this zine definitely made me wince more than a few times. That said, it was still well worth the read. Peter’s art style, his ‘slice of life stories’, how the zine itself is presented… I think it’s all a lot of fun, and I am very much looking forward to getting my hands on more of Peter’s comics. (Until then, I will be satisfied with checking out Peter’s Instagram, which features plenty of comic goodness.)

Chronically Invisible
Jessie Ziegenbein
12 pages
https://ko-fi.com/s/aff0b7c08f
https://linktr.ee/bitterpillpress

Chronically Invisible is an approximately 12.8cm x 17.8cm green and grey tones zine about the impact – both immediate and long-term – of chronic illness on a person’s life as well as the challenges they face.

When I saw this zine when it first came out. I knew I needed to get a copy of it. As someone who has been forced to face her chronic illnesses in unavoidable ways in the past couple of years, I always value all the ways I can remind myself that I am not alone.

Chronically Invisible opens with Jessie introducing themselves, a bit about their background, and what they hope to achieve with this zine. As with many zines like this, a little more empathy in the world would be an amazing thing. From there Jessie writes about what self-advocacy is, medical admin, statistics, and more. There’s even a crossword puzzle inside to enjoy.

Jessie wraps up with a piece called ‘A New Perspective’ in which they detail finding a new way to look at the world which comes with darkness but also with an appreciation for growing self-confidence, self-trust, and self-growth. I found myself identifying with this piece so much – down to a similar time frame in which my own chronic illnesses took a dramatic escalation. It was lovely to read someone sharing thoughts similar to ones I had contemplated before but never truly expressed in those ways.

I couldn’t possibly review this zine without touching on the aesthetic of this zine. Jessie takes it to an awesome level by carrying the green (with grey) theme through the zine in everything from the type to the colour of the paper itself. Everything about this zine from message to production feels very thoughtful to me, and I appreciate it all the more. The leaves featured on the front are called Monsteras, and I can’t help but wonder if choosing them as opposed to some other green leafy lovely also plays a part in name, appearance, or both thematically in this zine. I enjoy when a zine gently encourages my brain to stretch and ponder rather than demanding it does to understand.

Chronically Invisible is an introduction to the impact of chronic illness on a life – from day to day to medical care. I feel like it strikes a beautiful balance between informative, personal, informational, and empathetic. While I know I would have enjoyed more (and would certainly enjoy a Chronically Invisible 2), I do feel like this zine was ‘just right’ in terms of length and substance.

Definitely one to check out – especially if you are feeling alone in dealing with your chronic illness(es).