Nancy Zhang
Toronto
This compact little zine is done in modest black and white photocopy, held together with a band that sports Nancy's website on it. When taken off, 3 sheets of paper neatly accordion folded reveal their own landscape per sheet, with a legend of things for the reader to find in the illustration. This zine is cutely interactive with neat design and illustration that is both well balanced and nicely complex for the task at hand. Well done!
It Could Be
Sarah Ayton
Montreal
This 2 staple mini zine deals with the everyday anxieties that flash across the layperson's mind for a few seconds when something unexpected happens. The naïve way of drawing is charming and yet personable, with characterization that most can relate to in some sort of way. The narrative is the same; humanly vulnerable and diaristic, but not so self absorbed that one cannot connect. A nice little zine to read on a rainier day.
(How) I Stopped Washing My Hair
Alison Roth Cooley
Toronto
This zine is about alternative hair-care for those who are tired of the dangers of chemical washes via shampoos and other hair-care products. It goes on to chronicle Alison's journey to an alternative-shampoo lifestyle, and details the substances used and the effects they had.The little blip in this zine is the fact that chemical-hair-dye was used as a last resort to a natural look for the zinesters' "au natural" endeavours. While the zine does not talk about the dangers of such things or other hair products, for alternative shampoo-how-tos, this is a good start.
Fatty Fatty Boombalatty
Clara Bee Lavery
Toronto
This zine hones a wealth of topics on body, weight, gender, and generally emotionally sensitive issues of the writer and their partner Oz. Fat acceptance and body acceptance in general is something not widely talked about in this age where the body is seen as a platform for commentary. The zine is written in an honest and approachable way, gratifying the issues that many people not limited to those categorized as 'fat', experience. The zine is also charasmatic enough to keep one reading through its many wall-text pages that are complimented with illustrations, motifs and cutouts. The end also has a little tip section for dealing with ones own issues, and they are good ones. A good read!
