An up close and personal look at some of the zines in our collection. If you're interested in contributing to this page with a review of a zine from our collection, please email Marta at mchudolinska@ocadu.ca.
The Ukulele Song Book by Thary. Call Number: I24S
Chosen by Marta Chudolinska: " This zine opens to a two sided pocket — one with a sheet that teaches you all the relevant chords, one with a small booklet of easy songs to start with. It's beautifully designed and the perfect little package for aspiring uke players."
Bessie Coleman by Marya Errin Jones. Call Number: I122M
Chosen by Heather Evelyn: "Seeing a black woman on the cover of this zine with clouds swirling around her and a tiny airplane peaked my interest. After reading the introduction by Marya Errin Jones, I understood why - “When I need to remember that there are women in the world who look like me, thrive like me, create like me, laugh like me, challenge stereotypes and perceptions of everyday black life, just like me.” It was that reason in itself why I love this zine."
Wood Panel That Shit! by Krystina Plante. Call Number: ML12XS
Chosen by Marta Chudolinska: "This zine is so creative and fun! It's a loving homage to wood panelling, and how you could incorporate it into your life, in mostly unpractical ways. It uses wood-panel contact paper for the cover and throughout to drive the point home. The best part: you flip the zine over and you have the same zine in French. A bilingual zine!"
I like girls: Issue 1: "my first crush". Call Number: Q17M
Chosen by Yasmin Emery: "My absolute favourite zine from the collection, Queer Sailor Moon Fanfiction Saved My Life, has already been chosen and written up, but this zine is a very, very close second! i like girls issue 1: "my first crush" is a collection of seven stories 'for and by queer ladies', talking about that (bitter) sweet first gay crush, from high school to university to sixth grade. It's a little funny, a little sad, and perfect for fellow queer girls, those who like perzines, and/or anyone who likes a nice trip down memory lane."
Messy Bitch, Stay Messy by Ness Lee. Call Number: A78XS
Chosen by Heather Evelyn: " The size says it all, extra-small. I think that this is the smallest zine in the OCADU Zine Library collection. Wonderful and playful illustrations makes the zine seem larger in appearance than it actually is."
Queer Sailor Moon Fanfiction Saved My Life. Call Number: Q37M
Chosen by Lindsay Gibb: "I was first drawn to zines because of their personal/confessional nature. So, I generally love any perzine, but perzines about fandom and how pop culture connects to our lives and makes us feel less alone are 100% my bag. This zine explores 90s queer girl culture (my heart!) and how the author used media and fanfiction to find herself as a young, queer person. I was (and still am) into finding queerness in cartoons and I saw a lot of myself in this zine (I'm still in love with Sailor Mercury). Connecting with writing on that level is the definition of what makes zines amazing!"
Fruits of Love: a Book of Love and Magic Ed. by Sabrina Scott. Call Number: I47S
Chosen by Aruvi Rajasingham: "The INFO + DIY section of our ZINE LIBRARY is interesting to read. It is a fun way to learn new things. This coIourful zine shares different stories of different fruits."
Chosen by Marta Chudolinska " How does one describe Asscat? This zine is often referred to by the zine library staff as our favourite zine. It is so surreal, funny and... why does it exist? We don't know, but we love the ridiulous joy that it brings to our lives. There are so many zines about serious and important issues, but sometimes it's so fun to read a zine that is just plain zany."
Pizza Doing Stuff Vol 2. by Christine Hale. Call Number: A160S
Chosen by Lindsay Gibb: " I mean, it's a zine full of cute anthropomorphic pieces of pizza doing stuff like sleeping in a park and watching a 3D movie. I think my choice is self explanatory."
Everybody Moon Jump by Dave Cave. Call Number: PER11XS
Chosen by Lindsay Gibb: "Dave Cave's zines are so honest, relatable and funny. Often reflecting on mental health and his day to day experiences coping, Cave's stories also make the mundane super interesting. He tells us about things as varied as the time he spent the day thinking about buying ice cream, to his visit to the mental health emergency room. One issue features a run down of his average day versus what he wishes his day would look like (his ideal day features snowshoing, "Man Harems," and a lot less dishwashing than his average day. Both contain much Wilson Phillips and Pat Benatar, though.). I love reading about other people's experiences and picking out the things that really resonate with me, and there's a lot to gain from reading Everybody Moon Jump."
Likes 2/ Dislikes 2 by Lacey Prpic Hedtke. Call Number: PER01L
Chosen by Dylan North: " This zine is just two long lists of the dislikes and likes of the writer, but it is still engaging and relatable. The exhaustive quality of these lists makes you think about many different aspects of life and it's interesting to see how, as a reader, you can agree so much with some things and disagree so strongly with others. It is fun to read and consider what you would put on your own list of likes/dislikes."
Ideas from the Know by Madeline Colleran. Call Number: A52M
Chosen by Tom Colleran: " I think my favourite thing about our zine library is going through and finding something a friend has made and submitted. A zine I’d like to point out is “Ideas from the Know” by my sister Madge Colleran. I’ve always loved my sister’s comics and really enjoyed looking through the art she compiled for this zine. Madge blends humour, illustration and collage elements into work that is equally funny, colourful and surreal. I also always get a kick out of how stylistically opposite her work is from my own tendency towards formal realism. She can capture someone’s character in a few quick gestures."
Zine Crush 3. Call Number: PER111M
Chosen by Dylan North: " Zines about relationships and crushes are great. Zine Crush focuses on crushes people have on zinesters and writers but also crushes in general. There's something about anonymous tales of weird relationships and juicy encounters, especially in the early 2000s, that really capture me. They remind me of the long rambling love letters of teenhood and the weird twists and turns of love and life. I love getting a short intimitate insight into how people of all walks of life navigate their feelings."
Audre Lorde by Eloisa Aquino. Call Number: Q12S
Chosen by Heather Evelyn " Reading about awesome, strong women can be inspirational. 'The Life and Times of Butch Dykes' series presents a series of fanzines about awesome strong women. It's great to see Audre Lorde's voice represented amongst 'icons.'"
Stork Scissor Story by Bresica Brixia Bloodbeard. Call Number: I51S
Chosen by Aicha Niazy: " I thought it was a pretty cool story, or a fun fact if you will. I don't want to give away the fun fact, but it's something I had never thought of before."
Pepino - el muĊeco vudu by El Bruno. Call Number: ML10XS
Chosen by Nikole McGregor: " First of all, it is in spanish. second, it is really simple. I love the little character and how mundane but clever the puns are."
Paper Crush #4 by Krissy Durden. Call Number: I108M
Chosen by Shelby Stinnissen: "This zine motivated me to send some old-fashioned snail mail. Postcards are a great form of entertainment and way to connect!"
Idris-San Look my Way: a fanzine. Call Number: A159S
Chosen by Heather Evelyn: " A fanzine dedicated to DCI John Luther, I mean Moreau...no, no, I mean Nelson Mandela or do I mean Heimdall? Well, if I have not said it any louder - I heart Idris Elba!"
The Do-It-Yourself Guide to Fighting the Big Motherfuckin' Sad by Adam Gnage. Call Number: I44S
Chosen by Marta Chudolinska: " We all get sad. Sometimes we get S.A.D. And other times we get the real big sad. This zine consists of short pieces of writing and various lists to help you get your head in a better space. It may not be able to heal all that ails you, but it's a great read for the rougher times."
Stitching Together by Annie Mok. Call Number: C375M
Chosen by Natalie Mark: "I love the muppets and I love Kermit the frog. I think he's having a midlife crisis since separating from Miss Piggy. I really love the kermit memes. Also, I have cried watching the muppet's movie about Gonzo's deep seated heartache and longing to belong."
How Mystery Science Theater 3000 changed my life by Tyler Hauck. Call Number: I120M
Chosen by Lindsay Gibb: "I like zines about personal stuff, queer stuff, and how pop culture can change a person's life. Mystery Science Theatre 3000 is one of my favourite shows, so when I first encountered this zine I was intrigued. MST3K is almost a zine in TV show form. It started on a low budget on an independent station in Minneapolis, it featured homemade puppets, and its premise (of a guy trapped in space forced to watch bad movies by an evil scientist) is a celebration of low art and pretty much everything I look for in media. It's also everything Tyler Hauck was looking for when he discovered it. As fun and silly as MST3K can be, the lessons Tyler learned from the show are serious. They include "In someone else's trash, you can find treasures," "Your heroes are imperfect" and "To make something, all you have to do is set your mind to it." Those, and the other nine lessons Tyler learned from one of the greatest TV shows ever made, make this zine worth reading whether you've seen the show or not."
Frontier #12: Kelly Kwang. Call Number: C306M
Chosen by Yasmin Emery: "Kelly K's Space Youth Cadets concept is a longtime fave of mine, and this issue of Frontier is both an introduction to and a retrospective on that work so far. Incorporating hand-drawn MSN-esque interfaces and chatspeak, SYC is a love letter to space, to found family, and to the online communities of the 1990s-2000s. I'm particularly attached to her meditations on the nature of the Internet: 'mold it 2 your likeness or do you imitate its?'"
Untitled by Elaine Lee. Call Number: PH08XS
Chosen by Kyla Friel: " I love tiny zines, and this zine is about the size of my palm, and features some tiny birds (chickadees? Maybe? I'm not an ornithologist). The little bird on the cover has a little gold crown, and it suits him. Reading the zine, the birds feel like my friends. They almost seem to be staring out at you from the pages. I think all tiny birds should wear tiny crowns."
Switchblade Queens by Chris Eng. Call Number: S104M
Chosen by Lindsay Gibb: "This is the story of seven badass girls who are fighting a corrupt city. Who doesn't want to read that story?"
Nerd Burglar. Call Number: C96M
Chosen by Nikole McGregor: " What is a Nerd Burglar? Someone who burgles your nerds! I love comics and this zine presents a great collection of comics, each one of them very different from the one before. the art styles presented are amazing and mesmerizing. I particularly love "15 Variations on The First Day We Met" by Sarah Oleksyk."
What Makes an Object Queer? by Jamie Q. Call Number: Q04XS
Chosen by Lindsay Gibb: "Jamie Q's 'What Makes an Object Queer' is a very mini, beautifully colourful zine that launches itself off from Sara Ahmed's text 'Queer Phenomenology' to explore what queerness means when it's applied to objects. I'm drawn to this zine for its clever combination of a thoughtful concept (that can relate to more than just objects) with fun drawings."