You know what zines are, right? Zines, or fanzines are typically small circulation, self-published works showcasing the artwork and/or musings of creative-type people. They've been around since well, forever, but experienced a surge in popularity in my lifetime during the early 90s as part of the riot grrrl movement.
I got into zines in high school, and what I love most about them is how personal they are. Anyone can make a zine, and unlike mass market books, they're tiny snapshots of an individual at a given moment, choosing to dedicate their time to their passion on a single topic. Also, price-wise, they're very inexpensive and some are only a few pages long, which means they often deliver high reward for relatively low commitment.
While the rise of the internet caused the popularity of zines to plummet (it's way cheaper and easier to type up a blog post than to schlep to the store to make copies of your zine), a passionate community still exists. They can be found in the wilds of independent book and music shops, zine fairs, and I also recently came across a charming selection on Etsy, dedicated to what else: cats!
Check out a few of my favorites below, and tell me in the comments: Do you make your own zine, or know of any I missed?
Here is a very small comic zine I made for my Kneehigh series. This one is all about cats I have known in my life. I drew a picture from memory of each cat and I wrote a little bit about them, too.
I could not forget about my cat, Nilla! This zine is all about her! Check out Nilla as she eats people food, likes to be chased, and becomes a super hero!
This full-colour zine is cute and kooky! A perfect publication for anyone who loves kittens.
Folded booklet on recycled paper of cat illustrations. These are cats I have owned since the year I was born. Limited number of 10 only!
A collection from the first couple years of Degrassi Digest being "the musings of a young man whose principal interests include Cat Fancying and Canadian teen dramas." A hilarious, almost 300 page read for fans of Degrassi High, pop culture, cats, and obsessive behavior.
Two of my favorite things are cats and dressing up for Halloween, so I figured, why not combine the two?
This is a zine featuring my two cats, Sweeney and Lily, dressed up in various costumes for Halloween (or any other costume-wearing occasion I suppose), looking extremely silly. Everything is illustrated by me.
This is a very little mini zine - 4"x3". One piece of letter paper folded and folded and one cut and it's a mini book of 8 drawings including the front and back covers. No staples, just one piece of paper and some folds.
CATMAN AND is an original illustrated mini book/zine that includes the classic CatMan and all of his friends. Along with his arch nemesis (find out for yourself who it is!!!) and some random characters from his backyard who jump and jive in this funky zine. 20 exciting pages of my beastly drawings along with an old timey cover that was copied from my original letterpress print.
This is the first zine from CATS I KNOW. It includes 20 selected cat drawings, made between 2007 and 2010. Printed & hand-bound in Oberlin, Ohio, USA.
About my cat. The inside is hand drawn and has rhymes. Mini-zine. 8 pages with cover.
Awesome! I keep meaning to make a zine, I must stop putting it off!
ReplyDeleteI love this post and am about to link to it on the zinecats Tumblr I just started.
ReplyDeleteHere's another cat zine, made by a long-time zinester, Emily K. Larned: Muffin Bones #13: Basil Is Dying. It's a sad, but loving tribute.