i like zines

WOOTINI! is a new science fiction orientated zine from graphic designer Arron Worsley. The first issue features full colour articles on potentially-habitable planets for Humans, Germany’s planned invasion of Great Britain during the Second World War, and a fold-out guide to the opening two-part miniseries of Battlestar Galactica.

My newest zine is up for sale - Oddments #4 is the Book Issue and has stuff on my favourite bookshops for old and independent books, some of my favourite book finds and tales from the visitor book we kept in our flat when bands used to stay over. Plus, for fun, there’s a pull out colour mini zine in the middle all about my Day in the Life which includes outfit drawings, doodles of everything I ate and my word of the day! I hope you like it.

You can also buy a copy in person at the Glasgow International Artists Bookfair at the Royal Concert Hall this weekend. Look out for Pushpin Zines at table 15 near the Buchanan Street entrance. I’ll have some special offers and a box full of bargain secondhand zines!

I See All is a new illustrated A-Z zine by Deth P. Sun. Also the 5 volume 1920s pictorial encyclopedia it was partly inspired by, now sitting in my house. Get your copy of the zine from Pushpin.

Future Tense

Subtitled ‘A comic compilation about “2012” and/or “the future,” featuring 11 different artists’, which is exactly what it is. I don’t normally buy comics because I’m more of a words person than a pictures person but I enjoyed this a lot and two of my favourites were almost text free, by Edie Fake and Caroline Paquita. There’s also a great mostly-text piece by one of my favourite zinesters Al Burian. Not everything was to my taste but that’s the risk with compilations.

My favourite thing about the zine though is how it looks - it’s printed on a risograph duplicator mostly in blue ink so there’s some lovely print effects (although I trained as a printmaker so I may be biased). The yellow pages in the middle are a nice touch too.

Well worth your money and still available from Caroline Paquita’s Etsy shop, along with an illustrated calendar.

(photos from her Etsy listing - it’s too dark and foggy here)

How To Be A Ghost by Neil Slorance and Campbell Miller

This is an especially pleasing zine to review as I was a bit of an instigator. I’ve been “encouraging” Neil to do a zine for ages and he came along to my zine workshop and made a little zine about a ghost. A year or so later and here’s a proper finished illustrated zine. It’s a guide for what to do when you become a ghost, written by a new ghost and is at times sweet, funny and a little bit sad. As well as tips on ghost activities like haunting your old enemies and winding up psychics, you’ll learn that it’s best to make the most of your time on earth before it’s too late.

I’ve got some copies available at Pushpin for a measly £4 which includes an original drawing too. Bargain. 

Neil’s on Tumblr too - go follow him!