Zines

Dang, has it really been 4 months since I last posted on the blog? Sometimes life gets away from me and it’s hard to sit down here and just type away. When 2024 began, I told myself that I wanted to write at least one blog post a month, recapping all of the zine-y things that I’ve been up to. But every time that I scribble “write a blog” on my to-do list, the actual writing feels like it gets father and farther away. I plan, I procrastinate, I feel bad about myself, so I make a plan again to do the thing… but often, the cycle just starts again. Plan, […]

Grab your dice and give ’em a shake: everyone can now play Roll for Zine! Roll for Zine is my silly internet game show inspired by Adventures in Aardia’s Roll of Sandwich series. Based on the whims and wishes of the dice, I craft, or crack the spine of, a zine. So far, this has resulted in the creation of one brand new mini (“Riding Roller Coasters with Vincent Price” from Episode 2) and it’s allowed me to revisit some old favorite titles. And now you can play along at home! Click on and download the game sheets, print ’em off, grab your dice, and get rolling. Fill the blank space […]

Summer 2023 was bookended by zine fests. It began with KC Zine Con #8 on the first Saturday in June, and then over labor day weekend, I celebrated summer’s end at Paper Plains Zine Fest just across the stateline in Lawrence, KS. This was only Paper Plains’ second year, but you wouldn’t know it — this fest is run like a well-oiled machine and I had a top notch tabling experience. As a fest organizer myself, it takes a lot to impress me, and Paper Plains did just that. The organizers were super communicative and helpful, the tables were thoughtfully-arranged with ample room for browsing, the vibes were impeccable, and (as […]

Reviews of the zines “Frightmarish #3”, “Of Restless Wonder”, “Spidertown”, “Horse Horse Magazine”, and “Syringe Nest vol. 2”

We’re just gonna pretend that it isn’t already halfway through August and that I’m not only just now finishing up my International Zine Month posts. I’ve made a bad habit of starting every blog with some sort of apology about the post coming out late (how zinester-y of me!) or waxing poetic about how fast time flies… and I’ve gotta stop that. It’s boring. Let’s be real: I’m shouting into a big internet void on this blog. Time here is flexible, malleable. Any deadlines are self imposed. This post could have premiered at anytime and it really wouldn’t change a thing about it. I’ve noticed that when I hem and haw […]

July, where have you gone? Just like June, July has been flying by, and I can’t believe that it’ll be over in just eight short days. And with the end of July comes the end of International Zine Month 2023. I’ve got some catching up to do! Clearly, time flies when you’re having (zine) fun – here’s how I celebrated the second week of International Zine Month 2023: Day 9 – Buy Direct! Do you sell zines online? Update your shop and post a link to it. While I do sell my zines online, right now my little web shop is under construction as I work on shifting from Paypal to […]

Well, this post is coming out a bit later than I had planned! Little did I know when I set out to create a loose IZM schedule for myself that I would be laid out by an especially brutal head cold just a few days into the month. Instead of reading, writing about, and filming zines, I spent most of week one curled up on the couch with a hot cup of chamomile, watching comfort content (Twin Peaks and Halloween). It all sounds pretty dang cozy, albeit for the congestion, headaches, snot, and the awful raked-coals feeling in the back of my throat. I’m glad to report that I’m feeling better, […]

Time flies. I can’t believe it has been just over a month since I tabled KC Zine Con #8 on June 3rd. It feels like it happened last weekend, and I’m still riding that good, good zine fest high, all inspiration and motivation. Time fucking flies. I can barely begin to comprehend that I’ve been involved with this event in some form or fashion for close to a decade now: I tabled the first-annual KC Zine Con at the Uptown Theatre in 2015 and the second iteration a year later on the UMKC campus. Then, in 2016, I volunteered to help plan the event, organizing and tabling each year until KC […]

Happy International Zine Month 2023! ✂️🖊 IZM was inaugurated in 2009 by the one-and-only Alex Wrekk of “Stolen Sharpie Revolution” fame. Aside from encouraging folks to read and make lotsa zines in July, the month-long celebration features a prompt list full of ideas for zinecentric activities. 2023’s list was designed by @zineville, and I’ll be posting weekly recaps of how I fulfilled each prompt here on the blog. Day One‘s prompt is to define “zine” — I’ve always said that “zines are handmade, diy publications, typically printed on a copy machine, then folded and bound/stapled by hand.” To expand on that, I think zines are inherently non-commercial, tactile (not digital; I […]

May was a pretty sweet month. I saw a lot of great bands: Radkey, and the Slackers, and the Blast Monkeys, and True Lions, and Mint Fatigues, among others. The highlight was probably MO Executive Order 44, Multicult, Kal Marks, and Weaponize Chomsky at Farewell — 4 deliciously loud bands, a night quivering with energy, the sort of music that fills you up and leaves you whole. What a show! It was a month of bike adventures and game nights. I took first place at bar trivia (team Nancy Druid FTW), and had some time off from my day job for a little staycation. I worked on a lot of art […]