G.P.S.

G.P.S.

by VEEK

20 Pages

Size: Digest
$3.00 + Shipping

G.P.S, a comic zine by VEEK, tells the darkly humorous story of a G.P.S. and its crazy passing of ownership.

Printed on glossy paper and bound with staples, the artwork in this zine, genuine looking and feeling hand drawn, gives the reader a closer connection to the author that is sometimes tough to achieve.

Throughout the story, VEEK takes us through several darkly humorous scenarios with an almost paranormal G.P.S. system. The drawings paired with the humor give it a nice balance that is difficult to achieve with darkly humored zines.

If you are looking for a good Halloween read, or are just looking for a chuckle, go ahead and pick this one up!

To purchase, click here.

Facebook and Instagram: @veek1313

Twitter: @fight_that

Review by Daniel Peralta

Completed on 10/29/2017; 9:51 PM EST

NickName - Issue 1

Nick Name Issue 1
Hurley Winkler and Aysha Miskin

24 Pages
Size: Digest
Printer Paper - bound with staples
$4.00 + Shipping

Ohhhhhh myyyyy!!

NICK NAME, a new zine series by Hurley Winkler and Aysha Miskin, hits EVERY MARK that I enjoy and look for in a zine - every single one.

This little zine, handmade in Jacksonville, Florida, is packed full with art, poetry, letters and various other little surprises. Printed in black and white on simple paper and bound with staples, this zine has a lot to offer in such a little package.

A mere 24 pages, this zine offers so much of what I like and what I like to see. Heavily influenced by pop-culture today, these ladies seem to be some of the rare young people today who GET IT and SCREAM IT.

Being young is hard, and this zine manages to cover the angst that some young people are too afraid to express in their work throughout art and creative writing.

This zine has everything to fulfill the angst that some people are too afraid to scream out. There aren't enough young writers like this out there telling the hard, beautiful truths of youth. Winkler and Miskin do an amazing job at exposing those truths.

Purchase a copy here!

Social Media:

FB - Nickname Zine
IG - @nicknamezine

Review by Daniel Peralta
Completed on 10/16/2017; 9:58 PM CST

How to Make Soap Without Burning Your Face Off

How to Make Soap Without Burning Your Face Off
Raleigh Briggs

10 Pages
Size: Digest
Professional Bound in Paper and Card-stock
$3.00 + Shipping

Have you ever, in your entire life, wondered about the magical process of making soap?

Well, if you were one of the people that answered "Yes", then this zine is for you. For the people who said "No", this zine is definitely for you!

While I had always been one to mildly wonder how the process worked, I had never been too interested in knowing until this little joy showed up on my doorstep from Microcosm Publishing!

Bound and beutifully printed on card-stock and nice, ivory paper, this little wonder gives you a step-by-step guide on how to make your own bars of soap!

Raleigh Briggs really seems to know her stuff and clearly conveys that through the text. Not only is she giving you really awesome recipes all the way from beginner to advanced, she also goes through many important and necessary safety precautions when handling some of the ingredients.

Split up into several sections, she'll take you through safety, the process and several recipes in order to complete all of this right in your backyard.

If you want to make it yourself, are curious about the process or just want to learn something new, I would highly recommend this as a top priority. I honestly had such a joy in reading this and really look forward to seeing other things from her!

Purchase your copy here!


Review by Daniel Peralta
Completed on 07/06/2017; 5:32 P.M. CST

*Disclaimer! SZR (Syndicated Zine Reviews) nor Microcosm Publishing hold responsibility for any injuries sustained in the process of making soap*

How To Get Abducted By An Alien

How To Get Abducted By An Alien
Krystal Becker

12 Pages
Printer Paper - black and white
Size: Digest
$2.65 + Shipping

This comic zine, bound with string and printed on normal printer paper, gives you a brief guide on how to be abducted by aliens.

The artwork throughout is very "cute" - giving it a more child-like, non-serious vibe. The pictures are all in black and white, which accompany these silly steps to have your chances of being abducted by aliens supposedly higher. While the idea is really neat, I feel like having the pictures in color would have made for a lot better experience overall.

The writing and steps, I will admit, are very amusing, and I like how she plays on this idea. However, I feel that the ending was very abrupt and there could have been room for a lot more in terms of steps.

Needless to say, I know how hard it is to put zines together, and the fact that Becker has put the time and effort to give us a nice, sleek layout is a feat in itself.

In the end, it is an extremely cute idea, with extremely great artwork, that did have me snickering a little throughout.

Purchase a copy through: Etsy

Review by Daniel Peralta
Completed on 4/3/2017, 5:08 P.M. CST

Drawing Is Hard

Drawing is Hard
Michelle Smith

32 Pages
Printer Paper - black and white
Size: Mini (4.25" x 5.5")
$2.00 + Shipping

This is an art zine printed in black ink, with a cream-colored cover and white pages - all on regular printer paper.

When I first saw this zine, I was very intrigued by just the concept - a person with an art degree using minimalist tools and references to create an entire zine of art. Michelle Smith uses a black crayon to draw, from memory, an animal corresponding with every letter in the alphabet.

The layout is very simplistic, containing one animal per page, and as the letters get a little more tricky, Smith uses a little humorous variation (especially around "X") among the drawings. Looking through the zine, I felt very connected to the drawings in that the print quality is so good, you almost expect to feel the crayon under your fingers when you touch it.

I apologize for my dry skin haha

While there is definitely nothing edgy or extreme about this zine, it is definitely a nice little thing to browse through and giggle at when you need a break. This work doesn't take too much of the mind to process, and sometimes that's a good thing. There's no hidden messages or deeper meanings, just cute drawings in black crayon.

And, sometimes you need things like that. ~

Purchase a copy through BlackShellPress on Etsy: Drawing is Hard



Review by Daniel Peralta
Completed on 3/26/2017, 9:26 A.M. CST

DRUG.

DRUG.
Kate Berwanger

8 pages
Size: Mini
Parchment Paper
$3.25 + Shipping

DRUG. is a flash-fiction by Kate Berwanger which describes the momentous heart-beats directly after a huge break-up.The (now previous) significant other has just walked out the door, and the narrator is left kneeling on the rug that once held so many precious memories.

Kate manages to brilliantly describe these terrible moments of a rough break up in around 400 words and does so in a way that is both heartbreaking and personal, but very easy to relate to. The descriptions and emotions are brilliantly described in that you can feel the gut-wrenching sensation the narrator is feeling just as it is occurring. The narrator is left on their knees absorbing what just happened while also reliving the past in a way that is sure to leave you gasping for air.

Printed on folded parchment, with a picture of the rug printed on it, the text is in a cut-paste type format which really suits this feeling of disconnection, yet sound mindedness in a time when one's emotions are in a flurry..

In the end, DRUG. is flash-fiction that makes you remember and ache for someone that could so easily be yourself.

Purchase on Etsy:  DRUG.

Kate's social media are as follows: Instagram, Etsy

Review by Daniel Peralta
Completed 3/25/2017 12:56 A.M. CST