When I check my p.o. box and pull new zines outta their envelopes, I usually know what to expect: b&w zines with collaged covers almost always turn out to be perzines or poetry; zines printed via riso typically find their way to me from art students, etc. etc. But there are always exceptions, surprises: take Syringe Nest vol. 2. On the surface, it has all the makings of an art zine — that full-color, glossy printing on nice, thick paper stock — and at a glance you might expect it to be a showcase of grim, violent art, given it’s cover. And it is that — a dark, skuzzy art zine — but Syringe Nest vol. 2 is also an earnest memorial to an artist gone too young.

In amongst the collages built from skulls, bondage, weapons and drawings of weirdos and degenerates is a heartfelt tribute to the zine’s co-creator, Bailey McCann, who passed away unexpectedly in January. The ink drawings are his, and based on descriptions from by zine’s co-creator Jack Begakis, Bailey was a real one, a true artist. Jack describes his friend as “one of the most humble and gentle people” and someone with an “open mind yet stubborn opinions (… who) craved for things to be harder, louder, faster, darker.” Volume 2 of Syringe Nest is subtitled “exitus vitae” – “exit life” – a title chosen before Bailey’s passing, an eerie coincidence that only makes the memorial all the more touching.

A GoFundMe has been put together to publish a broader collection of Bailey’s work – you can find a link to that fundraiser below.