Archiving the Underground (#1)
section(s): zines
I feel it’s awkward to say that a zine is “important”, because i believe all zines are important — but this is one of those rare instances where i’m going to say it anyway because this zine covers a subject that really is important to spend some time thinking about. “Archiving the Underground” will be especially interesting to any zine-makers (or former zine-makers) who have gone into academia or librarianship, or to any scholar who’s enjoyed zines and is interested in their uses as pedagogical tools. But it’s also important for any currently-active zine-maker to consider the topics in this zine, because as more and more of us consider academia/archiving as a profession, it means that more and more scholarship will have its eyes on zines and the underground — and what does that mean for us as zine-makers? for zines as a community? This series of interviews with archivists, authors, and academics tackles topics such as is there a zine canon? do zines belong in archives? what’s the relationship between the academy and underground artists? Most impressive is that Jenna and Jami included Teal Triggs, author of the controversial Fanzines (2010) book, in their roster of interviewees. (Chris)
- by: Jenna Brager & Jami Sailor (eds.)
- from: U.S.A. | 2011
- half-letter: 5.5" x 8.5"
- 38 pages, saddle-stapled
- $1.03
Cipher (#1)
section(s): zines
The first issue of this personal critzine is well crafted and lovely, not to mention a great read! Contains articles on subjects ranging from Chris Wrdnrd’s prior experiences making zines to Harry Potter fanfiction. (My own favorite article is “A Postmodern Herbal”. Such a great concept!) (Jess)
Special features: color cover and hand-stamped effects.
Cipher (#2)
section(s): zines
With Cipher #2, Chris has outdone herself. This issue is just brimming with thoughtful personal essays (on pianos, on the prom, on ballet, on being a student outside the bounds of “traditional” student-hood) and also features poetry and recipes. All contained in a quarter-sized zine with simply gorgeous layout. The voice here is so strong and assured, and the essays which make up the bulk of the content represent a kind of clarity of thought that’s engaging and immensely readable. The personal-crit-zine style that Cipher #1 established continues here in a lovely, lively way. (Jess)
Special features: color cover.
Entry Level
“Entry Level: Approaches to getting used to the idea of talking about class,” edited by Chris Wrdnrd, was born out of Crabby Media’s desire to engage with issues of social justice and Chris’s hope to provoke more Wiscon discussions of class.
This comp zine is composed of 11 pieces that investigate aspects of class ideas from various angles. Contents include a brief overview of Marxist theory, a bibliography of class-related reading, and a bingo card of typical dismissals of class discussion, all punctuated by deeply personal essays of individual class situations. We are also delighted that John Scalzi allowed us to reprint his oft-cited “Being Poor” post from the Whatever. The zine is rounded out by an abridged version of Karl Marx’s “Wage, Labor, and Capital.”
“Entry Level” is also available as a free PDF download.
- from: Seattle, Washington, U.S.A. | 2009
- half-legal: 7" x 8.5"
- 42 pages, saddle-stapled
- $2.57
Entry Point
section(s): zines
Put together by Nicole of Click Clack Distro, “Entry Point” is “a compilation of zinester firsts.” Seventeen zine-makers each created 1 page exploring how they got into zines in the first place, then sent them to Nicole who compiled and printed the zine in time for July “International Zine Month” 2009.
Stories of making zine-like objects as kids. Stories of finding zines despite living in zine-less backwaters. Stories of school journalism leading into zines. Stories told in comic form and stories artfully laid-out in classic zine style. The 17 stories in this comp zine not only offer interesting glimpses into personal zine histories, but also offer inspiration if you’re just now thinking of doing your first zine and encouragement if you’re debating about doing your 20th. (Chris)
- by: Nicole Introvert (ed.)
- half-letter: 5.5" x 8.5"
- 18 pages, saddle-stapled
- $0.01
How to Screen Print the AdventureLand Way
section(s): zines
Heather Q’s skillshare zine is a super efficient introduction to the process of screen printing. She may caution in her intro that her method “is not THE way to screen print,” but her zine is so awesome and efficient because in just 30 short pages she goes on to provide a remarkably thorough outline of how screen printing works and how to do it yourself. You’ll find: lists of screen printing terms & supplies, photos of processes & specific equipment, and diagrams of work stations.
I bought heather Q’s zine the friday of the 2009 Portland Zine Symposium and read it that night. On saturday i took a screen printing workshop and marveled at how easy it all sounded, how comfortable the process seemed — and then i realized it was because i’d learned all about it the night before from heather Q. (Chris)
- by: heather Q
- from: Portland, Oregon, U.S.A. | 2006
- half-letter: 5.5" x 8.5"
- 30 pages, saddle-stapled
- $2.06
Let’s DIY! (#1)
section(s): zines
Description coming soon! (Chris)
- by: Grrrl Zines A Go-Go
- from: San Diego, California, U.S.A. | 2006
- half-letter: 5.5" x 8.5"
- 8 pages, saddle-stapled
- $2.06
Let’s DIY! (#2)
section(s): zines
Description coming soon! (Chris)
- by: Grrrl Zines A Go-Go
- from: San Diego, California, U.S.A. | 2007
- half-letter: 5.5" x 8.5"
- 8 pages, saddle-stapled
- $2.06
Letterbox (#1)
section(s): zines
Jess’s zine is a feast of stories from beginning to end. It looks like just 1 story, a handful of poems, and a cookie recipe. Don’t be fooled — the poems are stories, too. The cookie recipe? Tells a story, so quick you almost miss it, of women across generations — a story you can bake up and eat.
My favorite story in Letterbox might, in fact, be the shortest work in the zine — “i saw her wings open.” Look for it in the back! (Chris)
Special feature: Hand-bound with colored thread.
Memory Aids Digestion
section(s): zines
In the intro to her zine, Mal writes: “I can talk a lot about food. And memories. And doesn’t making the memories make the meal? So i’ll share some memories and recipes.” And so “Memory Aids Digestion” is a perfectly blended dish of recipes and memories: the cucumber-onion salad pairs with a cucumber-picking memory, the chicken recipe is adapted from a friend’s, the salsa recipe back to lunch dates. Part cookzine — there are basic cooking tips; part perzine — Mal explores her own relationship with food. Recipes range from omni to veg*n. (Chris)
Special features: watercolor-washed cover.
- by: Maladroit
- from: Ty Ty, Georgia, U.S.A. | 2006
- custom sized: 4.25″ x 8.5″
- 16 pages, saddle-stapled
- $1.03
No History, No Self
section(s): zines
Description soon! (Chris)
- by: johanna eeva
- from: Bristol, U.K. | 2009
- half-A4: 148.5mm x 210mm
- 30 pages, saddle-stapled
- $1.54
Quick and The Dead, The (#2)
section(s): zines
I imagine Hannah writing poems in the margins of her textbooks and essays in the margins of her poetry books (while all i did was doodle the name of the cute kid next to me). In the 2nd issue of “The Quick and The Dead” we are lucky enough to get the best of both worlds — poems written in the margins of daily life and essays written in the margins of the poems. There are poems that stand alone, poem-essay pairs that illuminate a subject from different angles, and even a secret tucked into a discreet brown envelopes. Hannah’s writing is sure and luminous — a scalpel dissecting a mother-daughter relationship, a lamp shining light on the tangles of the soul. (Chris)
Special feature: 1 secret-filled envelope!
- by: Hannah
- from: York, U.K. | 2009
- quarter-A4: 105mm x 148.5mm
- 30 pages, saddle-stapled
- $1.03
Sisu (#3)
section(s): zines
Sisu #3 is a perfect example of my favorite kind of perzine: it investigates the ways larger topics intersect with the intensely personal. Johanna writes in the intro: “This issue … focuses a lot on my family in particular, but i think that the lessons i am learning are applicable far beyond.” In Sisu, she gones on to — wonder about the lasting impact war has had on her father’s and mother’s families; look at how history connects with families and individuals; explore her own place in movements like Asian-Americans, feminism, “and the revolution.” Sisu #3 is amazingly powerful. It’s full of questionings that are urgent and yet articulated precisely and eloquently. (Chris)
- by: johanna eeva
- from: Kew Gardens, NYC, U.S.A. | 2004
- quarter-letter: 4.25" x 5.5"
- 30 pages, saddle-stapled
- $1.03
Sisu (#4)
section(s): zines
Description soon! (Chris)
- by: johanna eeva
- from: Kew Gardens, NYC, U.S.A. | 2004
- half-letter: 5.5" x 8.5"
- 18 pages, saddle-stapled
- $2.06
Stolen Sharpie Revolution 2
section(s): zines
Alex Wrekk, of Small World Buttons, is a walking encyclopedia of zine knowledge – “Stolen Sharpie Revolution” is something like a print edition of her brain. This deceptively small book is packed with all the basics you need to make your zine and get it out there. SSR includes: an introduction to copyright, tips on zine layout, quick primers on binding and papermaking, information on how to sell your zine to a distro, and “what to do at a zine event.” There’s lots more, too, including pages upon pages of resources in the back. (Chris)
- by: Alex Wrekk
- from: Portland, Oregon, U.S.A. | 2009
- quarter-letter: 4.25" x 5.5"
- 143 pages, perfect-bound
- $6.18
Zine Capsule
section(s): zines
Description coming soon! (Chris)
- by: Kim Schwenk | Grrrl Zines A Go-Go
- from: San Diego, California, U.S.A. | 2008
- half-letter: 5.5" x 8.5"
- 20 pages, saddle-stapled
- $2.06
Zine World (#28)
section(s): zines
Description soon! (Chris)
- by: Jerianne (ed.)
- from: Murfreesboro, Tennessee, U.S.A. | 2009
- letter: 8.5" x 11"
- 49 pages, stapled & reinforced with blue tape
- $3.09
Zine World (#29)
section(s): zines
Description soon! (Chris)
- by: Jerianne (ed.)
- from: Murfreesboro, Tennessee, U.S.A. | 2010
- letter: 8.5" x 11"
- 34 pages, saddle-stapled
- $4.12
shipping > > >
Priority envelope — U.S.A.
section(s): Priority shipping
Don’t want to wait for 1st-class mail to get your zines to your mailbox? We can also tuck your zines into a flat-rate Priority envelope, which should (in theory) get them to you in just 2-3 days.
If you add a Priority envelope to your cart, don’t forget to use the PRIORITY code in the promotions box in your shopping basket to remove the standard shipping charges!
$5.40Priority envelope — Canada & Mexico
section(s): Priority shipping
Don’t want to wait for 1st-class mail to get your zines to your mailbox? We can also tuck your zines into a flat-rate Priority envelope, which should (in theory) get them to you just a little bit faster.
If you add a Priority envelope to your cart, don’t forget to use the PRIORITY code in the promotions box in your shopping basket to remove the standard shipping charges!
$12.60Priority envelope — International
section(s): Priority shipping
Don’t want to wait for 1st-class mail to get your zines to your mailbox? We can also tuck your zines into a flat-rate Priority envelope, which should (in theory) get them to you fast as our respective postal services can manage it.
If you add a Priority envelope to your cart, don’t forget to use the PRIORITY code in the promotions box in your shopping basket to remove the standard shipping charges!
$14.66