Reviews

Reviews



Radical Self Healing
There are two sections in this zine, the first is Jessica’s own recipes for physical and mental healing written in her own hand. These recipes include a cold and flu remedy, migraine prevention,anxiety relief and many more. The second section (found in the middle of the zine) includes art submitted by friends, affirmations and healing words brought to life in beautiful full color photographs and art. Radical Self Healing is a practical zine where in Jessica didn’t worry about making every page a work of art. Jessica’s focus in this zine is about getting these recipes and tips out into the world and sharing her knowledge and experiences in a vital and authentic way.
Jessica Montebello, 36pgs, color cover and art.

This Insane Life: Mad Pride Hamilton’s Occasional Zine #1
Great Zine by a new mental health/illness Group based in Hamilton. This first issue contains an array of articles, art, poetry and theory all written by Mad identified folks.The zine on a Whole has a da da inspired design with images and text not always where you expect to find it. It inspires and excites me to know that self identified mad folks (who identify in many different ways) are  writing, creating, and producing a zine about the topic that affects their lives in a large (and sometimes small) way. Not only a cathartic zine an informative and eye opening one!
Mad Pride Hamilton B/W 54pgs www.madpridehamilton.ca



Ring of Fire #3
On the first page Hillery Homosex is pretty upfront about who she is and why she had both legs amputated. This is the third installment of her zine for radical crips, perverts, and limbless creatures. its a zine of many page and those pages are filled with handwritten thoughts and explanations about the barriers that Hillery faces in her daily life. Articles are sometimes disconnect from one another but this contributes to the over all journalling  theme. This is a very personal; zine that I can’t seem to put down, their are so many details of Hillery's that if find fascinating and this zine does a great job of educating folks about crip life. Sexy times are a big topic in ROF3 and Hillery covers sexy topics such as mastubation in the tub and using a strap on dildo for the first time. Comics are a simple and creative way to convey emotions and situations and ROF3 has comics! Some are drawn by the author and some are by guest artists illustrating their struggles as radical crips and perverts. Also a ROF anthology is soon to be released with Left Bank Books in Seattle.
Half size, 91 pages
Arrow Archive Location: Physical Health




Let Thy Food Be Thy Medicine
An art zine disguised as a colouring book, disguised as a recipe book. Sheena, the author has chosen to educate us about our bodies by using foods that look like our body parts and then continues to teach us how that food with help/ heal that specific body part. Like the tomato, featured on the cover as Sheena says 'has four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red.' She goes onto tell us about Lycopine in tomatoes is food for the heart and blood. The drawings are fun and leave lots of space for you to add your own colour. This zine is best for anyone who eats food and likes bite sized information.
Half sized, 32 pages
Contact: sheenaswirlz@gmail.com
Arrow Archive Location: Food

 City of Dogs
This zine is filled with color pictures of dogs taken by Alice with some words about dog and what she thinks of them by Emily. The Images are not your average photos of dogs which are usually taken from a persons perspective, above them. These images are taken at the dogs level and are a lot out of focus, Kinda like how dogs see themselves. Really neat concept, I like it.  This zine is made by a Guelph resident.
Quarter sized, 16 pgs This zine is made by a Guelph resident.
stubbsletterpress@gamil.com
Arrow Archive Location: Art Zines

Goin' out east: an audio zine by byron.
Audio zines are a new thing to me and even though I don't know much about them I think byron has achieved creating an eclectic and interesting collection of sounds and recordings. A few tracks are people talking, telling stories, or folks playing music but most are of sounds that byron has chosen to share with us. Track seven it is one of my favorites it is labeled 'cleaning light fixtures in the shrine room at ddl' I can clearly hear the sound of dampened glass being rubbed and wiped but suspending reality I can hear so many different sounds, pigs squealing and grunting and birds chirping. We play skeeball, ride the ferry, and listen to Maso play a song. Experience the unexpected Ted and give a listen to byron's audio zine.
20 tracks on a CD-R. This zine is made by a Guelph resident.
Arrow Archive Location: Media


Never Again:a treatise on dwindling abortion access in Canada
Beautiful cut and paste zine, very informative and well researched like a lot of bender's zines. Personal stories are pasted next to statistics. Bender discusses the problem of state being too involved with church which is one of the root problems of abortion access in Canada. Includes that particularly creepy picture of Stephen Harper holding a kitten, in other words his breakfast.-e.war
Half size,18 pgs
bendergear@gmail.com
bendergear.blogspot.com

Broken thunder:The Story of The Passenger Pigeon
The passenger pigeon was once so common on Turtle Island (north america) that migrating flocks darkened the sky for days. More then ant long-winded political treatise, the story of this bird's extinction illustrates the destructive nature of colonialism and capitalism. This story is passionately written and heartbreaking in its brevity: Once there were millions, now there are none. All the green consumerism in the world won't bring them back. This zine is an essential addition to the collection of any nature-loving zinester.
Half size, 6pgs

APJ#3 - Scar and Skull
Timmy has done it this time and collected some awesomely gruesome and sometimes frightening accident stories. Falling from a roof during some urban redecoration, sledding down stairs, and more. All the shocking details and I mean that quiet literally many of these folks describe the bone crunching, blood clotting denial of shock. If you like alittle gore with your cornflakes or just like to twist your face in horror ask timmy to send you a copy.-e.war
Half size, 20 pgs


 Everybody Moon Jump 11 &12 and Real Life, A Magical Guide to Getting Off the Internet
I never read zines back to front, I start at the front then flip to the back then to the middle then read forward, I'll flip around till I find the parts I really like, with Dave and Maranda's zines I do this same but a lot slower because fascinated every part. I picked up EMJ 11 & 12 and have to say have after reading 10 (which was bigger, longer, and more intense, where I learned about Dave's life, pain, goals, barriers, triumphs, and loses) and getting an update from these subsequent zines was very satisfying. Dave still faces barriers on a daily basis. By hearing about the changes that Dave implement's on a daily basis. I have said this before and will say it again and by no means mean this in a patronizing way, I find EMJ truly inspiring. I may not have the same issues that EMJ talks about but I can relate, I think a lot of folks can. Write Dave a little letter and they'll send you a little zine.
Maranda and Dave are dedicated to communicating though zines, the zines they both make are touching, organic, and beautiful. I hope they don't mind that I reviewed their zines here together.
Real Life, A Magical Guide to Getting Off the Internet, is a collaborative zine by Maranda and Dave about their addiction to the internet. In this zine they both identify problems found with their internet usage, how they use it and why, and most importantly how it makes each of them feel. There are lists, and I am one for lists. I like lists because I some times don't need whole paragraphs and sentences to relate to emotions that the listed item can bring, albeit that emotion maybe a lot different then what that author feels but reading is an internalized thing, it is something we do for ourselves, not unlike writing.The lists are an easy intro to the things that the over consumption of internet can make the authors feel. I found this zine an important contribution, identifying that we (in the first world) live in a world forever connected and letting us know that it is okay to pull the plug, hit the switch, leave your phone at home, and not check your email/blog/twitter/newsfeed/myspace/facebook/ right now, today, or tomorrow. We are still living, breathing, important, beautiful people with out the internet.
Everbody Moon Jump and Real Life:
Dave Cave, 122 Cambray Rd, Cameron Ontario, K0M 1G0
Real Life and Many other awesome zines:
Maranda Elizabeth, Box 1689, Guelph Ontario, N1H 6Z9
 
 

 If Death Comes #2
Todi likes to make zines, travel and write letters. In the intro Todi says he going to 'just wing it' and throw together a zine, well the end product is fascinating and has great DIY feeling about it. This zine is full of hitchhiking stores and journal entries about working shitty jobs in halifax.
Half Letter, 40 pages
Arrow Archive Location:  Perzines
Shotgun Seamstress
A rare gem! This is a fucking great zine made by black punks for black punks. There is a lot of martial about black role models within the punk/ rock and roll subculture with a focus on female rockers. An interview with Brontez (creator of the zine Fag School) really floated my boat. Completely readable DIY punk zine, yeah!
Half Letter, 28 pages
Arrow Archive Location: Fanzine: music
Whorelicious Written by, for and about sex workers. Lusty Day is our editor here and has collected a few very accessible writings about sex work, money, and other things that whores write, talk, and think about. This issue of Whorelicious was complied mainly in Australia and Lusty herself writes differences between working here in Canada to working in the down under. This is just the frist intall ment of Whorelicious and I have my eye peeled for the next issue!
half legal size, 26 pgs 
Arrow Archive Location:Work
Everybody Moon Jump Dave has done it again only this time bigger. I just about read this zine all in one sitting if it weren’t for bus transfers and moving about in my commute to the Peak office. I have been reading Dave’s zines for a while now ever since I picked up EMJ way back in I'unno when. I have always found Dave's writing to be funny and soulfully honest. When I read EMJ I feel that I am an ear that Dave whispers his deepest darkest secretes to. But don't get me wrong when Dave writes it is for an audience entertaining us with jokes and silly quips but with also heartfelt confessions that many if not all of us can realte to in one way or another. In EMJ 10 Dave writes from his Parents house, again having to need a break from another overwhelming time. EMJ is Dave's confessional, his therapist, and his best-friend. I found this issue heartbreaking, when he writes about his childhood anorexia and inspirational by just by his writing about his experiences. Thumbs up Dave keep on writing. Can't wait for the next installment of EMJ! everybodymoonjump.blogspot.com  
 
Dibenu Zins (butt zine) I just about ate this one alive, historical articles about bisexuality and homosexuality in the ancient world, well researched and fascinating. Also a few mythbusting articles about butt sex in the christian faith and one about homosexuality in the jewish faith. Even if you no into god this zine is a great read with a academic feeling without all the abstract concepts and huge words.
Half Size, 40 pgs
Arrow Archive Location: Queer
 Queers Read This Local queers re-designed an old classic. This version acknowledges its U.S.centric and out of date content but highlights that the info contained is still relevant. QRT is an anti-assimilation rant written in NYC at the hight of the aids crisis in 1990. The authors define straightness as different from heterosexuality and say straightness is a force in the world and inside each of us that we must purge. A controversial but good read for everyone. contact: fierce.n.fabulous1069@gmail.com
Half Size, 19 pages
Arrow Archive Location: Queer                                          
 One Way Ticket: Lucky Number Seven Beautiful two colour letter pressed cover. Time and care went into not only the writing of this zine but  the appearance too. Design is slick and coherent to the content. Stories are honest reflections of the authors experiences moving to a new city. The stories in OWT read like listening to a friend tell travelling stories with enough literary body to make it a good read.
Quarter Size, 60 pages
Arrow Archive Location: Per Zines        
Burning  Bridges Anonymous collection of writings by anarchists about Southern Ontario. Articles are in depth and well researched but at times can be wordy and a little academic. Starting somewhere in the middle of the zine has a side bar filled with acts sabotage and resistance in chronological order, little bits of news, which are so easily over looked but highlighted here in BB. Layout is stimulating and consistent throughout. This a well thought out anarchist publication.   
Full Size, 42 pages
Arrow Archive Location: (A)