FALSE START independent books & zines

by Leanne

This short how-to zine was inspired by the punk DIY events calendars seen in various cities across the United States. After realizing how awesome it was to have a tangible paper calendar filled with free events, workshops, bike rides and punk shows to turn to in case of boredom, Leanne decided to start one in her own city, Pittsburgh. Leanne saw this sort of calendar as a way to bring different social circles who are interested the same sort of punk/DIY activities together by sharing information about cool events in a way that’s accessible to everyone. This zine details the steps Leanne took to start the “Do It!” calender, such as how to get people involved in your project, copying and distributing it and possible problems that may arise. This is a fun, inspiring zine that will give you awesome ideas to make your community even cooler.

20 pages, quarter legal.
$1

by Efrén de la Cruz, Martín Eskerra, NHSR, José Miguel Salcido, Marisol Valdez and edited by Héctor J. Herrera

Aquí No Hay Nada, published in Mexicali, Mexico, translates to “there is nothing in here”. What Héctor is referencing with the title is the boredom many residents of Mexicali feel in their small town. Within the black cardstock folder there are five zines by five different artists from Mexicali, each with a sewn binding and soft cardboard covers. All of the written works are entirely in Spanish, but if Spanish isn’t your native language, do not fret! All you need is a good background in the language and a Spanish dictionary by your side! If you are fluent in Spanish, this collection of zines is not to be missed. Even if you’re not, the three zines with text also include drawing and/or photography. One of the most interesting zines included is Marisol Valdez’s portraiture of mentally ill young women. It is entitled “No estamos locas, somos de un estilo especial” [we aren't crazy, we are of a special style] and frames mental illness as not something scary or tragic, but a unique set of challenges these women deal with. All of these zines are beautiful and deal with culture, identity, place and self. Aqui No Hay Nada #2 proves that there is a flourishing artistic community in Mexicali, and though there may not be much to do, there is lots of art to be made.

5 10-page zines with cardstock screen printed covers and sewn binding, screen printed cardstock folder
$15

published by Bert Benson

Each issue of Art Bureau showcases the work of a variety of artists and illustrators alongside interviews and articles. The work of Junichi Tsuneoka graces the cover of this issue, and art by Feanne and Zeptonn are featured inside. Art Bureau #12 also features an article by Faythe Levine on the inception of her Milwaukee based art and craft space, the Paper Boat Boutique & Gallery.

36 pages, color cardstock covers, quarter legal.
$3

published by Bert Benson

Each issue of Art Bureau showcases the work of a variety of artists and illustrators alongside interviews and articles. This issue of Art Bureau features a cover design by Kyle Pellet, a Q&A with the filmmakers of the graffiti documentary Bomb It, photos from the Want2BSquare exhibition, an interview with the artists behind Wallspankers and artwork by Henrique Lima.

36 pages, color cardstock covers, quarter legal.
$3

published by Bert Benson

Each issue of Art Bureau showcases the work of a variety of artists and illustrators alongside interviews and articles. The cover of Art Bureau #15 was created by the artists Sebastian Bagge and Julio Rolle of 44 Flavours Magazine and artist collective. Inside are interviews with 44 Flavours, Holograph Magazine and the 1000 Journals Project. Artwork by Inksecticid and Topsi round out the issue, which features purple spot color throughout, making for another visually satisfying issue of Art Bureau.

36 pages, color cardstock covers, quarter legal.
$3

published by Bert Benson

Each issue of Art Bureau showcases the work of a variety of artists and illustrators alongside interviews and articles. This issue of Art Bureau is heavy on the artwork with an intricate cover illustrated by Mulheres Barbadas. Art by Bubi Au Yeung, Piktorama, Catalina Estrada and Jan Willem Wennekes make up the bulk of this issue. A short interview with Computer Arts Projects, a digital illustration magazine, clues readers into the relationships between artists and their publishers.

36 pages, color cardstock covers, quarter legal.
$3

published by Bert Benson

Each issue of Art Bureau showcases the work of a variety of artists and illustrators alongside interviews and articles. Hannah Stouffer’s stunning hand-drawn, highly detailed illustrations grace the cover and inside of this issue of Art Bureau. Work by graphic designer Cristian Vargas is featured throughout the zine. An interview with Matt W. Moore and an article on advice for new illustrators comprise the text portion of this awesome issue.

36 pages, color cardstock covers, quarter legal.
$3

published by Birdsong Micropress

Birdsong isn’t your average literary publication. Featuring works by artists, musicians and writers who all share belief and commitments to feminism, queer rights, anti-racism and anti-classism, Birdsong brings to the forefront pieces of literature and visual art that are often relegated to the sidelines. This is the second anniversary issue of the publication and is subtitled ‘ravel’ in reference to Birdsong’s dedication to collaboration between different mediums and communities. With a nod to the word ravel’s dual meaning of entangling and disentangling, the vignettes, short stories and poems printed on the pages of issue #12 are complex in their simplicity, quiet moments of intense meaning. Catherine Chung’s “The Ride Home” is a short yet powerful piece about a friend whose life ended just as it was beginning, and Tommy Pico’s “In Love With All My Lovers” combines Craigslist missed connections with small stories of death and bad dates. With contributions from 17 different writers and artists, such as Geoff Trenchard, Lauren Wilkinson and Chantal Johnson, Birdsong is a zine that is not to be missed.

50 pages, silkscreened covers, hand bound, cellophane packaging with 2 stickers and 1 one-inch pin, half letter
$6

by Alex Wrekk

Brainscan is not only a beautifully written perzine, but innovative in its design as well. Alex is probably the one of the most interesting zinesters when it comes to layout, as she uses medium of photocopying to the fullest in every issue. This is an older issue of Brainscan, dating all the way back to 2002 and focuses mainly on that year’s Portland Zine Symposium which Alex helped plan. She writes about unspoken hierarchies in the zine community, attending workshops, how it’s easy to feel so close to zinesters that you’ve never met and more. Alex also writes upon being involved in the Rock n’ Roll Camp for Girls and her DIY wedding. Included in issue #19 the text from Brainscan #18.5, which was a very limited run. Since this issue is pretty old, it can be hard to find, so if you missed out on getting it when it first came out, now is your chance!

64 pages, offset printed, 6 1/2″ x 5 1/2″
$2

by Alex Wrekk

Alex intended this issue of Brainscan to be a travel zine about the experiences she had on the Copy and Destroy Zine Tour. Instead, she describes Brainscan #20 as being like a venn diagram — stories from the time she spent living in Portland, stories about when she lived in Salt Lake City and stories that combine the two. Alex writes about her personal ghosts that haunt the places that she once called home. She recounts stories of working in coffee shops, old relationships and friendships, and drinking games that involve chasing alcohol with cups of coffee. As always, this issue is beautifully written and visually stunning, with hand-pasted covers that lend a personal touch to the zine.

64 pages, offset printed, hand pasted cardstock cover, quarter letter
$2

by Alex Wrekk

This hefty zine took Alex five years to make and chronicles the end of one relationship and the rekindling of an old romance. She weaves tales of the present (2004-2006) in with stories of punk shows, growing up and stunted romances from 1996-1999. Alex calls this zine the chronicle of her Saturn Return, stating: “The Saturn Return is the time between ages 27 and 30 when the planet Saturn is in the same place it was at your birth. It is usually seen as a harbinger of change and a test of character where individuals are forced to evaluate their life in relation to their values”. As always, Brainscan #25 is personal, reflective and an engrossing read. The zine is beautifully designed, featuring transparency acetate covers and a 16 page epilogue zine in an envelope glued to the back page. Packaged along with issue #25 in a hand stamped envelope is issue #24, a more light-hearted mini zine that Alex packs with quirky fun facts about herself including the origins of her pen name.

$5
128 pages, transparency acetate and cardstock covers, hand stamped envelope, saddle stitched, half legal

Canary Sing named their hip-hop project after Danny Senza’s quote from Caucasia that states “The mulatto in America functions as a canary in a coal mine…Likewise, mulattos have historically been the gauge of how poisonous American race relations were”. The mixed race ladies that compose Canary Sing, Hollis Wong-Wear (Ispire) and Madeleine Clifford (Lioness), rap about race, gender and so much more. If you’re not lucky enough to get to see them rap their hearts out on stage, this mixtape is the next best thing. Spoken word poets from Seattle, they infuse awesome beats with witty and biting social commentary. These girls are smart. Really, really smart. Confident and cool, they spit lyrics such as “Even when I was young they put me into speech therapy/Couldn’t understand my sentences cuz I was spewing prophecy” and “Go ahead and call me bizarre/I still brawl with the raw patois” in the mixtape’s first track, ‘Freak Show’. They entirely re-work Dead Prez’s ‘Mind Sex’ and infuse it with sexy intellectualism, talking about boys who are “suave like Nabokov”. The two final tracks feature other artists such as Gabriel Teodros, LA, Chev Rajnii Eddins, One.Two, and Slay. If you like your hip-hop socially conscious and female-fronted, this mixtape is for you.

Track listing: Freak Show, Sippin Coffee Remix, Mind Sex Remix, Forward and Raindrops

Check out their music video for Freak Show!

5-track compact disc
$5

by Timothy

This zine grew out of an exercise Timothy did to deal with the death of his father. Everyday in January, Timothy wrote about his dad who died of cancer four years previously. Although this intensely personal zine doesn’t contain every piece he wrote during that month, it includes a lot of powerful writing. Timothy’s parents were white activists in South Africa during the 1960’s and 70’s, and much of the zine is Timothy reflecting on his father’s past — the political and personal aspects of it. There are paralells between the lives of father and son — both of them were politically active and both lost their fathers at a young age. Rarely do we look at our parents as whole beings separate from us, so it is interesting to watch Timothy reflect upon his father’s life and what it meant before he was born. His father died before his transition, so he wonders what his father would have felt about it. In a particularly poignant pat of the zine, he writes a brief but powerful letter to his father. Timothy writes, “Dad, I’m writing to say that I’m a boy. It makes more sense like this, my body and my heart. I’m Timothy now, that’s the name you can use, it’s my only one.” Even if you’ve never lost a parent, we’ve all had to face the idea of it happening in the future. This zine is important, emotional and most significantly, universal.

32 pages, quarter letter
$2

by Nicki

DIY or Don’t We compiles different pieces of writing from a variety of contributors, all hinging on the concept of community. Nicki starts off the zine with a piece about her first memories of community, which happen to be about farming and food. Emmie writes about the history of the Olympia Film Society, a volunteer-based organization for the arts. Other interviews and articles are about identity-based communities, such as feminist-based organization and Cambodian communities abroad. This zine has a good balance of articles about DIY living and organization and how-to articles, such as a guide to local media outreach. There’s lots of good stuff in these pages!

40 pages, color cardstock cover, half letter
$3

by Helen Walden

Helen uses the old school format of perzines to make Doctrinal Expletives. Helen not only uses the zine design mainstay of cut n’ paste typed and handwritten text over background images culled from old books, but she also has mad attitude in her writing! She describes Doctrinal Expletives #4 as being a “surly little zine” and she’s got that right! Helen’s attitude is not just talk though, this girl has got brains and wit like no other. “Why ‘Allies’ Sometimes Annoy The Crap Out of Me” is a pointed critique of the ways allies can sometimes do more harm than good and “Going off the Rails on a Crazy Train” discusses the way alternative communities handle issues like mental health. Other articles cover subjects that aren’t written much about, if at all, such as the romanticization of redneck culture. An overview of some vertically challenged but still bad ass metal gods help round out the issue. If you’re a fan of old school zines written by smart and funny ladies, this zine is for you.

38 pages, quarter letter
$1.50

by Helen Walden

This cut and paste style zine from your favorite female metalhead is sharp and witty. Helen’s combination of colloquial language with complex ideas makes for a refreshing read. She writes about reconciling her choice of IUD as birth control with her politics, a continuation of her discussion of medical choice in radical communities that she wrote about in issue #4. Helen details her choices for top heavy metal movies, explores turning 25 and moving away from the punk rock and anarchist subcultures, examines the “fictive kinships” rife within the punk community, and much more.

38 pages, quarter letter
$1.50

by Cindy Crabb

Doris has held a special place in the heart of many zinesters for years. Cindy uses the alphabet to guide the topics she writes about in each installment, this one being the L-M-N-O issue. The titles for each section of the zine are Love, Ladies Lunch, Menstrual Extraction, Nicky and Ocean. Cindy uses these topics as jumping off points. She’ll start writing about the types of love we as people experience and end a few pages later leaving you feeling like you got punched in the stomach. Open and honest writing, a trademark of perzines, is perfected by Cindy in Doris. Her prose-like style of writing moves through space and time backwards and forwards, never slowing down and always leaving you wanting more. It’s deeply personal, but always relatable. Don’t miss out on Doris.

32 pages, color cardstock cover, half letter
$2

by Cindy Crabb

This is the O-P issue of Doris, covering “Ohio”, “Politics”, “The Pitchfork Strategy”, “Power”, “Punk” and “Protection”. If you have read any issues of Doris before, you know how Cindy often starts writing about one thing and it evolves into something much more. In “Ohio”, Cindy writes about her former fears of rural America and how moving out into the countryside changed her deeply. Oddly, it was the country tunes she heard on the radio that quelled her fears. Songs about heartache and hard-living, but persevering through it all were what helped Cindy see the connections between rural communities and anarchist communities. Cindy’s “Pitchfork Strategy” is a five-prong strategy for social change and self-fulfillment based around simple notions like self-education and counter-institutions. Doris #24 is filled with many amazing and inspirational pieces of writing that challenges the reader and will leave you wanting more.

31 pages, color cardstock cover, half letter.
$2

by Cindy Crabb

This is the R-S-T issue in the Doris alphabet series. The first section, entitled “Robin”, starts off with Cindy disagreeing with her lover Robin’s inability to have hope that people will ever change. “Shy” is about how Cindy found a place for her introverted self among the loud and raucous punk girls she called her friends, and how you don’t have to make a lot of noise to be radical. “Social Ecology” explains just that, the belief that in order to repair humans’ relationship to nature we need to repair our relationships with each other first. “Truth” is about Cindy’s childhood, family, friendships and the truths and lies we tell ourselves. This passage from “Robin” sums up the way Doris will make you feel: “Robin says ‘this is not political,’ as she touches my ribs and I grab her in handfuls and we crawl together into nest-warmth-heat-feeling. Political. Yes. Political I say, because this is what it feels like to be alive full int he body heart beat to heart beat alive beyond hope. I want everyone to feel this much, this sweet.”

20 pages, color cardstock cover, half letter
$2

by David Magdaleno & Matthew Chambers

Druidism 5 is a split zine of illustrations, half by David Magdaleno and half by Matthew Chambers. The outside and title pages alone are a visual treat, but what’s inside is even better. Matthew’s side incorporates diary entries and stream of consciousness text with drawings of strange figures and landscapes, Coolio and bad slogan tees. Magdaleno’s side of the zine features comic-style layouts and looping cursive text. Together these two artists make for one mighty good and awkwardly humorous art zine.

42 pages, vellum title pages, half letter.
$6

by Celeste Christie

This little manifesto was published as a part of the Local Manifesto Series by Art for a Democratic Society, a small political grassroots organization based out of Oakland, CA. One of the goals of A4DS is to encourage a public discussion of art, and that is what the Local Manifesto Series is all about. Like any good manifesto, Christie’s writing is strong, succinct and unapologetically opinionated. In the Earnest Art Manifesto, she calls out postmodernism as failing us, writing that, “The postmodernist smirks and looks cool, he views with disdain those who can’t follow his rhetorical gymnastics, those who can’t get the inside joke…Let’s put the earnestness back into art, and talk about things we care about, things that have meaning and speak to everyone and things that can affect change and stir us to action.” Whether you’re a diehard postmodernist or interested in the “earnest art” Christie believes in, this little manifesto is sure to get you thinking about what art means to you. And if you don’t like her manifesto, take the advice on the back cover and go write your own!

8 pages, quarter letter
$1

by David Magdaleno & Albert Reyes

The art of David Magdaleno and Albert Reyes utilizes text, pop culture, and different styles and techniques to keep the viewer turning the pages of this generous art zine. Their repetition and layering of patterns and figures ensures there’s never a dull moment for your eyeballs. As always with David Magdaleno and the artists he works with, attention to detail and high quality are what sets his artwork and art zines apart from the bunch.

32 pages, vellum title pages, half letter.
$6

compiled by Amber Forrester

Amber’s motto is “Only the boring get bored”, and this compilation zine will give you tons of inspiration to keep your trap shut about being bored and do something about it instead! In the introduction Amber admits that boredom can be a difficult foe, citing that no matter how many art days or crafternoons she plans, it just sometimes doesn’t come together. And that’s okay! Just don’t give in completely! The rest of the zine is filled with articles by different zinesters on how to get off the internet and do something fun in the real world. Be it trying to create a cohesive punk scene in a new town, discovering your local feminist history, making real mix tapes or throwing an alien party, there’s lots of fun stuff in here to inspire you to fight boredom.

44 pages, quarter letter
$2

compiled by Amber Forrester

Amber is quick to write that she didn’t set out to make another “riot grrrl revival” zine with this issue of Fight Boredom. Instead, she noticed a need within herself and own community to address issues of jealousy and girl hate. Amber and other contributors, such as her twin sister and fellow zinester Maranda Elizabeth, write about issues such as girl fights, mean girls, jealousy, rape jokes and how to fight against these negative things. Zinester Ciara Xyerra writes about the complexities of the supposed “riot grrrl revival” and how riot grrrl doesn’t need to be revived because it never quite died. This zine is chock full of articles about girl love, girl hate and riot grrrl by awesome lady zinesters. So how does this zine help you fight boredom? By making you think, making you challenge yourself and if you don’t like it, do what Amber suggests — write your own!

38 pages, quarter letter
$2

published by Walt Gorecki

This compilation art zine is an ode to those hairy creatures of the night, werewolves. The pages in between the beautifully silkscreened cover feature the work of a huge variety of artists and writers, such as Misha Poleschuk, Paul Solis, Briana Gonzales, Nathan Newbold, Derek Corns, Jonathan Zadjman and more! Whether it be a short story about a wine guzzling werewolf in denial, werewolf comics, a list of the best werewolf movies ever or how to make a werewolf hat, this zine will ensure that you really do get yr fill of werewolves, in the best way possible! This zine is numbered and limited to 100 copies.

28 pages, silkscreened cover, numbered edition of 100, half letter
$4

by Mark Todd, Esther Pearl Watson & Bwana Spoons

Artists Mark Todd, Esther Pearl Watson & Bwana Spoons joined forces to create the super fun and super weird Flip-tard! Remember that game you used to play as a kid where you’d fold up a piece of paper and each person would draw a segment of the body, and at the end it would be unfolded to reveal a totally bizarre monstrosity? Well that’s basically what Flip-tard is. Inside you’ll find 16 different characters, ranging from a pantless Michael Jackson to an 80’s new waver, cut up into four different sections. Flip the pages and construct unfortunate creatures such as Skeletor with a robot body wearing sexy fishnets. This is absolutely perfect if you’re a fan of any of these artist’s artwork and comics, and endlessly entertaining in it’s weirdness.

$4
64 pages, 12″ x 4″, two-color cover, b&w inside

by Jeff

Ghost Pine #8 is an old school fanzine with six short stories by Jeff. Montreal serves as the backdrop for stories of brief but meaningful moments with strangers. He writes about the subterranean world hidden beneath Montreal, a world full of muffins for commuters and buskers for those who care enough to listen. His tells him about almost getting into a fight but sharing a cigarette and a conversation instead. Jeff’s style of writing flows easily and his dialogue reads naturally, allowing the reader to get absorbed into his world. These tales about friendship and connection in a big and anonymous city are not to be missed.

44 pages, quarter letter
$2

by Esther Pearl Watson

This comic shows us that super heroes are just as anxiety-riddled and bogged down with day to day life as the rest of us — maybe even more so! In this issue, Superman wears a skort, Captain America works on his self-esteem, The Thing acts like a big jerk, and much more! Be sure to check out the next issue and Esther Pearl Watson’s other comic, Unlovable.

32 pages, three color cover, 5 1/2″ x 6 1/2″
$4

by Esther Pearl Watson

The fifth issue of Heroland shows us what it’s REALLY like to be a superhero. Esther Pearl Watson’s illustrates funny vignettes such as Superman’s scheduling dilemmas (book a dentist appointment or kill a cyclops?), Coffee Break with Batman, Spiderman’s hot young assistant and more! If you enjoyed Heroland #4 or Unlovable, you will love this issue. Esther’s quirky illustrations of the ridiculous, everyday scenarios these superheros end up are sure to make you giggle!

28 pages, three color cover, 5 1/2″ x 6 1/2″
$4

by Matt Heindel

This little mini-comic printed on striped found paper is all about love for Van Halen! A bear wearing headphones recounts the reasons why ‘Hot for Teacher’ is his favorite Van Halen song, Matt’s dad explains why Sammy Hagar’s “modest style” makes him a better musician, and members of Van Halen (barely) recall tour memories, plus more. Matt’s rather free-form rendering of David Lee Roth as a weird dog and Eddie Van Halen as a skeleton make this comic even more absurdly amusing. Whether you’re a fan of Van Halen or think they totally suck, this comic will have you laughing!

$2
8 pages on found paper, quarter letter

by Meg

It’s not often that you read a short story that accuses Old Mother Hubbard of being a ballsy bitch. But it somehow fits in perfectly within the pages of I Hear You Like Stories #3. Meg shares two stories with us, one about a relationship gone awry, and the other about belligerent and deranged theme park employees who snack on spiders. Though both stories are very different from one another, they both employ her sharp, dry sense of humor. In between the stories are pages of clip art and strange lists, such as “Things That People Prize or At Least Expect in Babies that they See as Unfortunate Signs of Ineptitude in Adults” and “Excuses That Have to Do With Big Cats”. This bizarre little treasure is not one to be passed over.

32 pages, cardstock color cover, quarter letter
$2

by Clutch McB & Nicole J. Georges

Nicole & Clutch have been doing this annual diary-style split comic for a long time, and every issue keeps getting better. Through each of their totally different and quirky drawing styles they relay their daily going-ons, such as Nicole’s adventures in teaching zines to children and the elderly and Clutch’s adventures at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival. If you’ve never read this comic before, you’ll immediately fall in love with it. Clutch and Nicole are both supremely talented at what they do and their sense of humor and wit will have you giggling the whole time!

30 pages, quarter legal
$3