Rum Lad #5
Steve Larder, Lincolnshire – www.stevelarder.co.uk
Rum Lad has to be one of my favourite comic zines – every issue
features interesting handwritten stories, surrounded by Steve’s charming and
rich illustrations. This issue features a visual diary detailing the
“organised chaos” of his band’s tour around America – travelling for over 10
hours at a time in their tour van, playing at pubs and house parties, sofa
surfing, and exploring the American towns they visited. The illustrations of the band members, the
venues, the interesting personalities they meet along the way, and the American
scenery, are all so full of character that they really draw you in to Steve’s
story. I liked the choice of topic too;
it was fascinating to see the details of what goes on during a cross-country tour. Rum Lad never disappoints – get your paws on
this issue now!
Buy Her Candy #2
Bettie, Carlisle – http://manufacturinghearts.blogspot.com
Another cracking zine by Bettie, which opens with a list of
things she has been up to since the last issue, including planning a riot grrrl
night, and watching Star Trek TNG. We
read about Bettie’s concerns surrounding privacy in her zines, a little guide
to her favourite parts of Chorlton, her feelings as she approaches the end of
her nursing degree, and her future plans for when she qualifies as a
nurse. The layouts are as pretty as
ever, with handwritten and typewritten sections, and lots of cool pictures and
patterns pasted in. However, my
favourite thing has to be the cover – a cartoon of Cinderella and Snow White
sharing a passionate kiss, printed on lilac paper! Gorgeous.
Sad Songs About
Failed Relationships
Kirsten, London – www.website-schmebsite.blogspot.com
This zine is very difficult to describe. From the title and gorgeous cover, I expected
some sort of dissection of classic break-up songs alongside a story about a
break-up. Instead, Kirsten briefly outlines
the dissolution of a relationship with sparse words, cartoons of typical
relationship anxieties (e.g. how many kisses to include in a text), and
symbolic drawings. On the last page,
Kirsten provides a link to the “soundtrack” of the zine, which features some
great songs about failed relationships, including Leonard Cohen’s ‘Take This
Longing’, The Dresden Dolls’ ‘Delilah’, and Gloria Gaynor’s ‘I Will
Survive’. This was a nice touch, though I
would’ve loved to read a discussion as to why those particular songs were
chosen! I like the fact that it’s not
your typical break-up zine, and it’s been put together carefully and
creatively. Having said that, I love me
some dense, wordy zines, and the lack of text just didn’t sustain my
interest. A very interesting concept though, definitely
worth a flick. Buy your copy for a mere 45p (I love cheap
zines!) – this zine has a limited print run, so grab hold of one asap!
Nancy #1
Alex Creep, London – www.creepclub.co.uk/nancy
An intelligent queer zine written by effeminate queer Alex,
which discusses in detail the concept of a nancy boy (a femme gay man), the way
mainstream gay culture marginalizes effeminate queers and the pressure gay men
face to “act straight”. Tied in with
this larger discussion Alex brings in ideas about the concept of “camp”, the idolization
of strong women like Lady Gaga by gay men as examples of “strong femininity”, the
oversexualization of gay culture, and effeminate boys in anime and goth culture. We also read Alex’s own story of coming to
terms with his effeminacy, and a list of his favourite femme gays of TV and
film, including Kurt of Glee and Lafayette Reynolds of True Blood. The layout is functional – mostly black text
on white background, with hand drawings of a few of the aforementioned queers
scattered throughout. Having never
really considered the idea of “sissyphobia”, this zine was an illuminating
read. Alex did a good job of discussing
a murky issue with clarity and good humour, peppered with stories
of his own experiences. Highly recommended!
Bloomurder #1
Laura, Bristol -
bloomurderATgmail.com
This little perzine features the kind of topics you’d expect
from a first issue - bicycles, gigs (Adelaide Fringe Festival 2011), travelling
stories, thoughts about femininity, and nostalgia. In the middle there’s a very interesting little
piece on Laura’s love of violent/horrific art (including Medusa by Caravaggio),
which was my favourite part of the zine. Bloomurder has a nice upbeat tone, laid out with cut and paste imagery and charming
scratchy handwriting.
