Jams

Jams is one of the first zines I ever received from a zinester. It is a music review zine. It features 6 album reviews, for each review he included a page of drawings that he drew while listening to the album in one listening session. He includes a rad synopsis of the album, his favourite track on the album and what he thinks it tastes like. The whole thing is written by hand, which I think looks way better than if he had typed it out. 

I loved the drawings, it complimented the content very well. I also like how he chose to handwrite the reviews; It kind of reminded me of Beavis & Butthead. It was a cool selection of music, with a few bands I never have heard of. 

Chris not only reached out to me to trade zines when I was a brand new zinester, but he also recommended me another zinester in my country to check out which I have always appreciated. So thank you dearly for being super cool.

You can check out Chris through his Instagram account.

Fiveoclockzine

Craig (fiveoclockzine) found me on Instagram and followed me, thankfully, and eventually I was able to gather up the courage to ask him to trade.

The little three little mini zines (The Hungry Cat, Landscapes and Cityscapes From My Mind & How I Make Coffee: A Fanzine About Coffee) that he sent were a delight to look through. Fun little snippets from his mind. I loved how they weren't the standard size for a mini zine also.

Coffee & People is his main zine series. Focusing on life stories he has been thinking about a lot lately, or was reminded of because of something that recently happened to him. It's cool to see the progression of how this series is made over time. It started as a mini zine made out of two pages and glued together, a very solid mini zine that was made with care. It progressed into a bigger zine with many pages later on. Reading about his memories is very intriguing to me. To see which moments he has chosen, out of all the possible moments. It definitely feels like a physical embodiment of early morning thoughts over coffee in the quiet beginnings of a brand new day.

I'm also excited for 5 O'Clock Press and where it may lead in the future. In the first issue he explains, "Why zines?" I wholeheartedly agree with his response.

If you don't know who fiveoclockzine is then you are missing out. Check out his Instagram page here to see his zine reviews. You can also check out his personal Instagram account.

You can buy his zines online as well on his BigCartel page.

Take Care

I got this zine, and submitted to it, a few months before I started making zines. It was my reminder that zines existed. I had made a few poetry zines when I was 14 but never really did anything with them. The fact that this zine existed was the spark that lit the zine making fire inside of me. So I am deeply thankful for that.

This is a bi-annual collaborative zine featuring art, poetry, short stories, mantras, collages, etc all focusing on mental health. The purpose of this zine is to encourage creative expression as a way to heal, process trauma and promote self-care. They also give you the option to submit anonymously, which I think is amazing because not everyone is comfortable being so emotionally vulnerable and sharing it with the world. It is a wonderful collection and I am honored to be a part of it. 

My copy came with a handmade affirmation card. I have that card posted on my cork-board and look at it often. It's helped me so much this year. The thought and effort that they put into making this zine is amazing.

If you want to support this project check out their website to submit or grab a copy for yourself or head over to their Instagram page.

Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams

I found Steppp on Instagram while looking through posts tagged “zines.” They are an artist and zinester. I love their art. [They even prettied up the envelope they sent me with some art!] You should definitely check them out.

Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams is a 24-page colour art zine. Featuring mental health themed art. The art and format of these zines seem very much like pages from a personal art journal. Depicting thoughts, dreams &\or experiences they have had; whether it’s how they feel about lies, how they see themselves, or how shitty Mondays are.

The first issue is black, red and blue for each illustration. The second issue features even more colours and seems even more like a journal. There are a few pages I keep flipping back to because I absolutely love them.

You can find Steppp on Instagram or by emailing them at uhmzines@gmail.com

To support their art you can visit https://ko-fi.com/steppp.

Latibule

I discovered this artist from fiveoclockzine as well. I am so thankful for the Instagram zine community. Well, the zine community as a whole too, but specifically Instagram because that’s the platform I use most often. 

Latibule is an amazing artist. I love their style of art. I love the raw sincerity they display with their art. Most of their zines I would describe as art perzines, featuring a lot of mental health themes without specifying any diagnosis in particular, which makes it even more relatable.

Untitled \ Miles Apart 

This one is an 8-page mini zine featuring watercolours and a short story about long-distance friendships/relationships. Most of the friends I have are online and a far way away, so this zine hit home for me. 

Tulips

This is an 8-page mini zine describing places that mean a lot to Latibule in a collage style. I love the idea of sharing places that feel like home to you and this was brilliantly executed.

Rose Water [no longer confused]

This is a 16-page mini zine in a comic format about trying to find yourself when the world tells you that you have to fit into the moulds they give you even if you don’t fit. 

Drift

This is an 8-page mini zine which tells a short story. I related very much to this one as well. It put into words and images a feeling I have felt countless times but don’t know how to explain. 

blur.

This is a 16-page zine which tells a story about a night Latibule had with someone. I love how they decided to draw themselves in this comic and all the subtle differences they added to show the “static” and how it affected them. 

If you are interested in their zines or art then be sure to follow them on Instagram or Facebook. You can also contact them directly at latibuleart@gmail.com

You can show your support for them at https://ko-fi.com/latibule

Pink, Green & Blue

I received three poetry zines from Malorie after seeing a review of them by fiveoclockzine. Each zine has it’s own colour theme which is based off what colour her hair was at the time. The first two were made while in Maine and the third was done while she was in London.

All three feature 5 poems that are accompanied by a watercolour. The watercolours reflect the colour of the issue and her hair. The poems are little snippets of her life in Maine and London, and reflections of her life and thoughts.

Check out her Instagram page or Twitter page to see about grabbing a copy of these zines. 

stainperfect

This is another zinester I discovered through fiveoclockzine, thank goodness Craig exists. Where would I find zines otherwise?!

I received a lot of beautiful zines from stainperfect. Beautiful. Printed with Risograph. The amount of love and effort put into creating these zines is very noticeable. Finding the perfect colour combinations, and creating all the illustrations. I love their style.

It’s Okay

An 8-page mini zine based on a phone conversation about using mindfulness to help when you’re going through rough times.

Dance With Me

A 20-page mini zine filled with illustrations. Tells a story without saying a single word. I felt like it was about getting closer as time passes. I’d love to know what you thought of it.

I Am A Tree

A 40-page mini zine containing the story of a tree written by Yasuko Kobayashi featuring artwork by stainperfect. It is in Japanese but comes with a little English translation booklet, translated by stainperfect. A lot of love and effort went into the making of this zine.

Up Above

An 8-page zine telling the story of how they thought the crescent moon was created when they were a child.

The Day The Mountains Move

The copy I have of this zine is 10 pages and is an English translation of a poem by Akiko Yosano. Featuring artwork by stainperfect. However, if you check out her Etsy page you will see the copy of this zine for sale looks different. It is 20 pages and includes two other poems and even more artwork. So don’t hesitate to grab it.

Fuckboys And Where To Find Them

A 12-page zine written by Molly Arnthal illustrated and layout by stainperfect. It describes the two types of fuckboys and goes on to explain why exactly you should avoid them. A great comical read, and a unique way of explaining why they suck so horribly. Regardless of if you know what a fuckboy is or not, you should read this.

You can find all these amazing zines on her Etsy page.

You can also keep up to date with her zines and art on Instagram or Twitter.

Negative Scissors & Strawberry Leaflet

Zippity Zinedra was the first Canadian zinester I ever made contact with. They were recommended to me by someone else, which I am thankful for. In the first envelope I received from them I got a copy of Negative Scissors and Strawberry Leaflet #1-3.

Negative Scissors

This is a 24-page zine in black and white, made in a cut and paste design. It features stories about their life; random events, random thoughts. Told in a unique and sincere voice. The stories are typed on a typewriter and pasted onto a collage\cut-and-paste background. Most of the stories they include showcase what it’s like to live with a mental illness and features a lot of thoughts which are very relatable.

Strawberry Leaflet

These leaflets are a single paper folder brochure style. Each one is just an update about their life; current thoughts, things that had happened during the month. And reading these really made me crave to do something similar (I haven’t yet). Everything I have read by them leaves me feeling inspired to create. They have such a unique voice in which they talk about their experiences that leaves me intrigued every time. You can’t tell in my photo, but they are all done on pastel purple paper. Love the purple.

If you want to support Zippity Zinedra you can buy their zines on their Etsy shop.

You can get in contact with them through Facebook, Instagram or by emailing them at xyendrarocks44@hotmail.com