Here I've reviewed some of the zines I bought and traded at last
month’s Sheffield Zine Fest (read our review of the event here). I’ve been a bit lax with updating this blog
recently, so I hope you enjoy this bumper zine review post. :)
We Heart Lisa
Simpson
Edited by Beth Sivyer, London – http://bethsiveyer.tumblr.com/
An awesome concept – this zine is all about Lisa Simpson and
her feminist credentials, and includes songs, drawings, opinion pieces on why Lisa is awesome, and screencaps of some of her best moments from the TV series
(including a scene in the school cafeteria where she is seen reading ‘The Bell
Jar’!). Printed in full colour, and with
lots of Lisa-themed artwork dotted throughout to break up the text, it’s a
lovely zine to look at – bit of a shame that the zine is entirely written in
comic sans font, but that’s just me being a font snob!
Bi Community News
Edited by Jen Y, Manchester – www.bicommunitynews.co.uk
BCN is a regularly-published (maga)zine for bisexuals, with
lots of great resources on offer including local group listings, news, upcoming
events, national bi organisations, and publications of interest. Alongside the regulars we read some longer
articles and opinion pieces; this issue features writings on mythbusting
bisexuality, gender and romantic relationships, and reflections on starting up
a bi group. The zine has a professional,
almost glossy feel, and this issue is printed entirely in colour. I cannot recommend this zine enough to my fellow
bisexuals! I had the pleasure of meeting
the editor Jen at Sheffield Zine Fest, and she tells me that BCN is always
looking for contributors – drop her a line at editor @ bicommunitynews.co.uk.
Tempest In A
Teacup #6
Louise, Lincoln – directingshipsxo.tumblr.com
The 6th issue of Louise’s feminist perzine,
written especially for SZF, seems to focus on moving beyond her negative
experiences to make positive changes in her life. We read stories about major life changes
including new friendships, new pets, travel, loss, bereavement, assault, and career
change. Louise closes the zine with a
positive piece on her hopes for 2013 and beyond. The layouts are fairly plain and cute this
time around – mostly black text on white background, with some stickers and
pretty pictures of women and cats here and there. A very nice read!
Hard Femme
Kirsty Fife, Lewisham – kirstywinters.etsy.com
This is half-sized perzine all about the concept of hard
femme, femininity outside of social norms, and what this means to the author. Rather than focusing on the style aspect of
hard femme, Kirsty focuses on themes of resilience, self-reliance, strength,
survival, and “femininity on its own terms”.
Her hard femme identity includes being fat and strong, being marked with
bruises and scars, modifying her body, and surviving a childhood partly lived
in poverty. Entirely handwritten in
Kirsty’s scruffy capitalised handwriting, laid over leopard-print backgrounds,
the layout itself feels very true to the hard femme aesthetic! A powerful, thoughtful zine that gave me lots
to think about.
I Love Myself: A
Self-Care Zine
Kirsty Fife, Lewisham – kirstywinters.etsy.com
Another zine by the same lady; this time, a minizine on the
importance of self-love and body confidence, which folds out to reveal an A4 “self-care
map” full of self-care tips. Love it
love it love it - I want to photocopy this zine and put a copy inside every
glossy magazine I see!
Awaiting an
Epiphany
Rachel, Stoke-on-Trent - http://www.awaitinganepiphany.co.uk/
I’ve been waiting to get my hands on this zine for
aaages! It’s a perzine that focuses on
the things that mean the most to Rachel, and the cover features a painting of
her late rabbit Taff, whom Rachel had hoped to write about but couldn’t quite
face just yet. Inside, we read about her
ME and recent frustrations where she was badly misrepresented in a local newspaper
interview on ME (reading it made me sooo angry!), her love for the Manic Street
Preachers and meeting the band, and a thoughtful piece on extinction and the
lesser-known species that humanity has wiped out. The zine closes with some zine reviews, and lists
of things Rachel has enjoyed recently. A
lovely read, with a nice variety of topics.
D&D Virgin
Emily, Sheffield – www.emilytulett.com
D&D Virgin is a friendly zine all about the
author’s love for fantasy roleplaying game Dungeons and Dragons, and includes
an explanation as to how the author got into D&D, the story of her first
gaming experience (where she played the role of an elf cleric named Tia), a basic
guide to the game, and a glossary of terms.
I’m not sure I’d have the patience to play D&D (some games can
potentially stretch to 10 years long!), but Emily’s enthusiasm is very
infectious!
Buy Her Candy #5
Bettie, Sheffield – manufacturinghearts.blogspot.com
This issue of BHC was written for Sheffield Zine Fest (Bettie
was one of the organisers!), and has a mostly positive and strong tone. Bettie writes about feeling empowered at
Sheffield Reclaim the Night, meeting fellow “rad fats” at the Yorkshire Rad Fat
plus-size clothes swap event, tabling at London Queer Zine Fest, and more
thoughts on her identity as a “hard femme dyke”. The zine closes with an angrier piece on her
frustrations that so many zines and blogs about body hair focus on the “normal”
areas of pit, leg and pubic hair, with no mention of facial hair or excessively
dark/thick hair (completely agree with this – I’d also add that many of these
writers tend to be white, thin, cisgendered women too, which grants them certain
privileges when it comes to growing out body hair)! An introspective and personal zine, this may
be my favourite issue so far!
Pylon
Jacob Tomlinson, England – www.candle-party.tumblr.com
I’ve started to get into comic zines more and more, and
Pylon is one of my recent favourites.
The story is described by the author as “about not spiralling inside
online and the importance of nice people in your life”. After getting frustrated and angsty
online, the protagonist is taken on an adventure by an internet friend where
they travel to another dimension and skim stones over the clouds. Expressive drawings and a great story make this a lovely
read. The cover looks good too, printed
on glossy paper.
Bolam Retrospective
(Grab bag/package)
Richard Bolam – richardbolamat50.wordpress.com
Bolam is a mixed-media modern artist, and this Retrospective
package is part
of an “ongoing project to catalogue, curate and
present [his] life's work in art” towards his
50th birthday. The zine
package doesn’t seem to be a retrospective in and of itself, but part of the
larger project; having read through his blog, I think the project will
culminate in an art exhibition, although it’s not immediately clear whether
this is the case. The package
contains issues 1 through 7 of Bolam’s art zine, along with
other fun goodies including a fridge magnet, some coasters, and business
cards. I have to be honest and say that
I didn’t understand what the art meant, but I don't want to be dismissive of
Bolam’s work - perhaps I'm not the right audience. I can’t say I found the
content engaging, as I’m not a fan of modern art, but from a design point of
view, it’s a lovely tactile package, and each issue is very different from the
others, so it feels like a good introduction to Bolam’s work. Check out his website for more info about the
Retrospective project.
