@femmesupremacy creates candy-colored zines full of affirmations and advice for survivors of trauma. I had seen their instagram posts shared in the Midwest Perzine fest’s stories feed, and their “Barbie as zinester” aesthetic would always catch my eye, so I was stoked to see Issue 3 of their zine Healing is the Best Revenge land in my P.O. Box.

Don’t let the cutesy cover fool you, this vulnerable perzine covers some really tough subject matter: Karina tells the story of how they survived being stalked and abused through a tactic called “DARVO”. But this is also a zine full of hope, levity, and as the title suggests, healing. I appreciated hearing about the ways that their creative process has helped them heal and the methods they use to write affirmations. There are so many words to live by within Healing is the Best Revenge (heck, just that title alone is a terrific reminder!) and I especially loved the Femme Cockroach manifesto, which is about “surviving out of spite and against all odds” like a “flower blooming from a crack in the concrete”.