I Knew A Motherfucker Like You And She Said…(#1)
Edited by Clementine Cannibal, Canada – lickingstarsoffceilingsAThotmail.com
Clementine Cannibal (AKA Clementine Morrigan), self-styled “rockstar bitchgoddess”, is the lady behind this kick-ass comp-zine. Typical of Clementine’s outspoken gutsy style, the ethos of this zine is to give women a space to share their taboo stories and “write openly and honestly without fear or judgement”. The zine is filled with stories of sex, threesomes, masturbation, lesbianism, rape, alienation, gender roles, and tattoos, with some well-known contributors including Kira Swales, Cocoa Puss, and Clementine’s sister Casey Jean. At a whopping 70 pages, this must be the longest 1/4 sized zine I’ve read! One thing that’s a little frustrating about this zine is the lack of structure – that is, with so many written pieces, there’s no table of contents and no page numbers, so it can be hard to find particular pieces – everything is just thrown together. The layout is also the same throughout the whole thing, with no variety of backgrounds or fonts. But, as a lover of order and neatness, that’s just my pet peeve, and it didn’t detract from the awesomeness of the written work inside. Trivialities aside, this is a very exciting and fun zine, which certainly lives up to Clementine’s passionate promise.
Anatomical Heart #8
Bettie, UK – bettieriotATgmail.com
Published this summer, the eighth issue of Bettie’s perzine marks a change from mental health zine to perzine, as her life became “less consumed by mental illness”. She writes about her current state of mental health, including her medication and their crappy side effects. She also discusses tattoos, being a mental health nurse, and things that make her happy. Tucked away at the back are a few zine reviews, including 2 that I reviewed last month (Tempest In A Teacup #3 and Baking Hearts Up At The Stove)! Mostly typewritten with some handwritten pages, Bettie’s zine layouts are plain, but pretty. Bonus points for the gorgeous cover.
Anatomical Heart #9: A 24 Hour Zine
Bettie, UK – bettieriotATgmail.com
At a mere 14 pages, this 24 hour zine is very short and sweet! Bettie writes in the introduction that this zine is a change from her usual “depressing” zines, as it focuses on the things that she loves. She discusses girl-love, cardigans, mail, tattoos and books. Handwritten with a very pretty layout, this zine is a lovely little thing indeed!
Your Pretty Face Is Going Straight To Hell! #11
Tukru, UK – tukrulovesyouATgmail.com
Tukru describes this zine as a “sort-of 24 hour zine” – I think she means she wrote it in over 24 hours, even though it was intended to be a 24 hour zine! Almost entirely handwritten (apart from the first page, which is written on a typewriter), this zine is absolutely gorgeous to look at, with lots of cute drawings and moomins scattered throughout the pages (Moomins! I love moomins!). The writing has an almost stream-of-consciousness feel to it, as if Tukru was writing the words down as she was thinking them. She discusses her new-found interest in roller derby and how she is hoping to find new friends through the sport, as she has recently been craving some female company – something that I can completely empathise with! She also writes about her first ever Ann Summers party, feeling like a bit of a prude, testing out the vibrators on their noses (too tickly!), and being a bit too honest after a bottle of red. Also includes some recipes, and a list of things Tukru likes. Another beautiful little zine from one of my favourite zinesters.
