They’re not supposed to appeal to everyone. Zines are not looking for a broad audience. Someone who creates a zine has become obsessed with a subject so small and niche and bizarre that there isn’t even a magazine for people obsessed with it: a celebrity who’s seen better times pulp science fiction games or something so weird you can’t imagine more than one person being into it.

Some publications that sprang from those subcultures, like the punk fanzine Chainsaw, enjoyed cult status others, like Bitch, got so popular that they turned into regular magazines that you can find in bookstores.īut zine-making has always been about being a nerd, too. People who feel a burning need to share their energy with the world make zines, so it’s no coincidence that zine culture is often associated with some of the most energetic movements: punk, feminist, queer, etc. Zines are super powerful! They can communicate rebellious words and strong ideas. For me, zine-making isn’t about rules or knowledge it’s about freedom and (guess what?) POWER. But to be honest, I’ve never read a book about zine-making, and I don’t think you have to, either. If you type “zine making” into Amazon, you’ll get 10 pages of results. There’s a whole wiki devoted to zines here. Because like all art and media, zines can be anything and everything. But it’s hard to generalize about zines, the same way it’s hard to generalize about culture. Since the invention of the photocopy machine, zine-making has been one most popular forms of independent publishing, especially in underground communities.

Everyone, from a major NGO to a teenager like you, can be an author (and also an editor, art director, and publisher) of a zine, and that’s part of what makes them so awesome. They usually deal with topics too controversial or niche for mainstream media, presented in an unpolished layout and unusual design. Zines are self-published, small-circulation, often nonprofit books, papers, or websites.

Comic life 3 anleitung