My friends Chella and Sarah visited me this winter, and I was super pumped that they brought me copies of their zine to distro. I mean, I was more pumped to actually see them, but still! - zines rock. Adventures in Menstruating is all about periods (who knew?) and the ridiculousness of it being taboo. Inside, you will find humorous stories about Chella and Sarah's gaymarriage (as they call it – or “getting civilized”), Sarah's desire to make her period come earlier because of said event, Chella's witty deconstruction of tampon/napkin advertisements, and some of Sarah's poetry about feminine sprays and menstruating Barbies. There is also contributors' stories about changing one's attitude towards menstruating, a product review of an IUD, and a funny meeting with a senior on a bus. Chella and Sarah are always looking for contributors, so check this out! |
In this issue, Chella writes about meeting people in different parts of Europe while on tour for her zine, an incident with a pretty sexist review of a period-related book in Redbook, the problem with certain ads, and an interview with the cover model for this issue. Sarah shares with us a poem titled “A Cautionary Tale of Monthly Michael and His Menstrual Cycle”, and a product review of Activia. You'll also find more stuff by contributors, including a comic, a (fictional?) short story about self-defense with a bloody tampon, and a piece about oral sex whilst bleeding. Good stuff, as always. |
Katie is moving out of Virginia, and this zine is a reflection of the places in Virginia that have impacted her life in some way. She revisits them now, and sees how much they have changed. One personal essay about spending time at Barnes and Noble as a teen, and looking at it now as an adult, really struck a chord with me. I'm sure we've all revisited places from our past, and experienced the nostalgia written about in this zine. This is a great read. |
I love Joshua's zines – they are very cut-and-pasty and his writing reads like he is talking directly to you. In this issue, which is laid out horizontally, he includes a list of his top favorite things as well as a list that details his perfect summer day. He also writes about visiting with his grandpa and finding a book about local history – this book includes information about his great great grandfather, which spawns writing about family. Then there's the account of his purchase of his first car and his reasoning behind that, reflections on the phrase “live free or die”, and an interview with Valerie Park. |
This third issue is about falling out of love with zines and then getting back into them (I can relate!), and his feelings on the new e-book/Kindle craze. There's also an account of going to a magazine award ceremony with his friend who makes a zine, and feeling awkward among the “bigger” magazine people. But, without a doubt, my favorite part was the history of the U.S. postal system. It's absolutely fascinating, and I found myself saying “no way!” a lot while reading it. This zine perfect for those of us who love sending and receiving mail the old-fashioned way. |
In the introduction, Alex writes: “I left my partner/husband of six years, and people keep asking me 'why?' J seems so nice and friendly, so talented and successful. Why would I leave? Why would I leave the life we had created, the home we owned, and the business we ran? It's complicated and it took me a long time to identify the problems that were so inherent in our relationship and even longer to get the strength to do anything about it.” This zine is about her revelation of being in an emotionally abusive relationship, how it changed her, and the steps she took to leave and regain control of her life. It's an empowering read, and important for others to read, especially if they have experienced or are experiencing a similar situation. There are details about the abuse, so please proceed with caution, as this could be triggering. |
*description coming soon* |
*description coming soon* |
I really love the layout of this zine - it's actually what attracted me originally. It's very fluid and folded in a unique way. Stephanie writes about being shy, her social anxiety (which I could totally relate to), acronyms used at her work place, what it was like to go to mascot camp, her favorite B-movies and actor (Mary Beth Hughes), and her genetic hair loss. Lots of different topics, but Crapulescense flows nicely. |
This zine reminds me of the zines I read when I first got into the scene. Very personal and cut-and-pasty...love it! You get insights into her life in little snippets - she discusses her anxiety, feeling like a little girl, the joy of riding her bike, how she met her doppelganger at a zine fest (this was my favorite part), having hairy armpits, and more. Also included are some zine reviews, which is always a good thing. |
Amber and Maranda are twin sisters who both happen to make zines - this is a split zine between them. This is one of those zines that made me want to bust out my glue sticks and typewriter (okay, computer) and create my own. Both ladies write about what it's like to be a twin, and their relationship with their estranged father. Maranda also lets us know about the ghost in her old house and finding out about a half sister, while Amber writes about the desire and importance of changing her last name. Like every other issue of Culture Slut or Telegram Ma'am, I loved the cut-and-paste style and topics discussed. Great personal writing and one of my favs. |
This is a thick issue, with full-color pages and lots of Polaroid pictures. Amber shares photos of friends, herself, graffiti, cities she's visited – and there's accompanying text that tells us the story behind the photos. I love taking peeks into someone's life like this, especially when I can get a visual. It also inspired me to use my own pictures as inspiration for my writing. |
Amber refers to this as her “coming out” issue. She writes about how she identifies as queer, dealing with a long-term boyfriend who did not accept her identity, wanting to experiment more, telling someone for the first time, wanting to be part of a community but feeling out-of-place, and her experiences with sexual assault. Her writing is very honest and open, and I love that. Please be aware that this zine may be triggering. |
There's so much jam-packed into this little zine, with lots of varying content, but it flows nicely – mostly because of the great layout. Amber writes about moving to a new city (Montreal) and her fear of exploring it for the first time, learning French and trying to/wanting to use it more, going to her first pride event, her childhood obsession with Twiggy Ramirez, the love of her divacup, losing a pet and finding a new one, and more. |
Krissy describes her zine: “I started collecting photos of houses over ten years ago. I was inspired by the idea that people would take pictures of just the house with no one in the picture…many years later I started writing little fictions about the houses.” As someone who collects old photographs, this zine was a great find for me. She includes a photos of old homes, and accompanies each photo with a fictional story of what may have happened in said house. A unique read, great writing, and very enjoyable. |
This zine is lovely, heartbreaking, honest, and all about crushes. There's the workmate crush, the internet stalker/customer crush, the acquaintance/frienemy crush, and the university tutor crush - the author gives each one their own page or two. Here's a little snippet: "The crush I had on this woman had little to do with her. She was just a catalyst for me finally coming out to myself. I had been closeted and cut off from myself for such a long time." A short read, but I read it a few times. Wonderful. |
Amber, of the zine Culture Slut, put together this great compilation zine with lots of interesting reads. Included is an article about working in a sex shop (with sex tips!), ideas of things to do when you're bored, an interview with the lovely zinester Niku Arbabi, tips on how to put together an event in a small town, vegan recipes (delicious *drool*), some poems in the back, and the ubiquitous zine reviews. A little random, but I really enjoyed it. I mean, how can go wrong with sex and vegan recipes? |
Hey, guess what this issue of Fight Boredom is about? Yep, feminism - which means I adored this. Lots of great and important reads about capitalism, beauty standards, Hello Kitty and whether or not she is a good role model/feminist, what it's like to be a bartender and feminist, mentrual cramps, and female genital mutilation. Also included is an interview with zinester Chelsea Gunn. This zine may be triggering, so proceed with caution. |
Krissy's zine is about fighting for fat rights and combating fatphobia. She includes an interview with a zinester who made a "fat map", and an interview with an individual who creates fat girl anime (awesome!). Also in this issue are tips on how to be a good ally and activist, the scary truth about the drug Alli, a piece about a couple who was deemed 'too fat to adopt', a piece about fat history, indie fashions, and much more. This zine is a very important read - pick it up! |
 Fissure - by Laura/Broken Bottle Press - full size - 48 pages
I have a strange obsession with natural disasters (and a deep fear at the same time), so I was absolutely facinated by this zine. It's subtitled "Tales From Earthquake County", and the fine folks at Broken Bottle Press have compiled some great vignettes from their contributors. Most of the stories center around the 6.9-magnitude 1989 'quake in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. Here's an excerpt from the introduction of the zine: "We didn't ask our contributors to answer a specific question. We didn't hand out formal guidelines. We simply asked for true earthquake stories from personal history, and were wowed by the range of work we got in return." The writing in here is excellent, and I'm so excited to be distroing this. |
Adventures in Menstruating #4 - by Chella and Sarah - half size - 24 pages
Adventures in Menstruating #5 - by Chella and Sarah - half size - 24 pages
Aubade #4: Virginia Stories - by Katie - quarter size - 40 pages
Basic Paper Airplane #2 - by Joshua - half size - 16 pages
Basic Paper Airplane #3 - by Joshua - half size - 28 pages
Brainscan #21: Irreconcilable Differences - by Alex Wrekk - half size - 44 pages
Brainscan #23 - by Alex Wrekk - quarter size - 40 pages
Brainscan #24 and #25 - by Alex Wrekk - quarter size/full size - 32 pages/96 pages 
Crapulescense #2 - by Stephanie S. - quarter size - 31 pages
Culture Slut #16 - by Amber - quarter size - 30 pages
Culture Slut #17/Telegram Ma'am #17 - by Amber and Maranda - quarter size - 40 pages
Culture Slut #18: The Polaroid Issue - by Amber - quarter size - 62 pages
Culture Slut #19 - by Amber - quarter size - 26 pages
Culture Slut #20 - by Amber - quarter size - 38 pages
Current Resident #3 - by Krissy - quarter size - 24 pages
Dirty Laundry - by anonymous - half size - 8 pages
Fight Boredom (with Apathy!) #2 - by Amber and contributors - half size - 22 pages
Fight Boredom (with Feminism!) #3 - by Amber and contributors - quarter size - 42 pages
Figure 8 #4 - by Krissy - half size - 34 pages