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A zine ( ; short for '' magazine'' or '' fanzine'') is a small-circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images, usually reproduced via a
copy machine A photocopier (also called copier or copy machine, and formerly Xerox machine, the generic trademark) is a machine that makes copies of documents and other visual images onto paper or plastic film quickly and cheaply. Most modern photocopier ...
. Zines are the product of either a single person or of a very small group, and are popularly photocopied into physical prints for circulation. A fanzine (
blend A blend is a mixture of two or more different things or substances; e.g., a product of a mixer or blender. Blend Blend may also refer to: * Blend word, a word formed from parts of other words * ''Blend'' (album), a 1996 album by BoDeans * B ...
of '' fan'' and ''magazine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural
phenomenon A phenomenon ( : phenomena) is an observable event. The term came into its modern philosophical usage through Immanuel Kant, who contrasted it with the noumenon, which ''cannot'' be directly observed. Kant was heavily influenced by Gottfrie ...
(such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleasure of others who share their interest. The term was coined in an October 1940 science fiction fanzine by Russ Chauvenet and popularized within
science fiction fandom Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or fandom of people interested in science fiction in contact with one another based upon that interest. SF fandom has a life of its own, but not much in the way of formal organization (although ...
, entering the
Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a c ...
in 1949. Popularly defined within a circulation of 1,000 or fewer copies, in practice many zines are produced in editions of fewer than 100. Among the various intentions for creation and publication are developing one's identity, sharing a niche skill or art, or developing a story, as opposed to seeking profit. Zines have served as a significant medium of communication in various subcultures, and frequently draw inspiration from a "do-it-yourself" philosophy that disregards the traditional conventions of professional design and publishing houses, proposing an alternative, confident, and ''self-aware'' contribution. Handwritten zines, or carbon zines, are individually made, emphasizing a personal connection between creator and reader, turning imagined communities into embodied ones. Historically, zines have provided community for socially isolated individuals or groups through the ability to express and pursue common ideas and subjects. For this reason, zines have cultural and academic value as tangible traces of marginal communities, many of which are otherwise little-documented. Zines present groups that have been dismissed with an opportunity to voice their opinion, both with other members of their own communities or with a larger audience. This has been reflected in the creation of zine archives and related programming in such mainstream institutions as the
Tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...
museum and the
British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the Briti ...
. Written in a variety of formats from desktop-published text to
comics a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...
,
collage Collage (, from the french: coller, "to glue" or "to stick together";) is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an Assemblage (art), assemblage of different forms, thus creat ...
s and stories, zines cover broad topics including fanfiction, politics, poetry, art & design,
ephemera Ephemera are transitory creations which are not meant to be retained or preserved. Its etymological origins extends to Ancient Greece, with the common definition of the word being: "the minor transient documents of everyday life". Ambiguous in ...
, personal journals, social theory,
intersectional Intersectionality is an analytical framework for understanding how aspects of a person's social and political identities combine to create different modes of discrimination and privilege. Intersectionality identifies multiple factors of adva ...
feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
, single-topic obsession, or sexual content far outside the mainstream enough to be prohibitive of inclusion in more traditional media. (An example of the latter is Boyd McDonald's ''Straight to Hell'', which reached a circulation of 20,000.) Although there are a few eras associated with zine-making, this "wave" narrative proposes a limited view of the vast range of topics, styles and environments zines occupied.


History


Overview and origins

Dissidents, under-represented, and marginalized groups have published their own opinions in leaflet and pamphlet form for as long as such technology has been available. The concept of zines can be traced to the amateur press movement of the late 19th and early 20th century, which would in turn intersect with Black literary magazines during the
Harlem Renaissance The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual and cultural revival of African American music, dance, art, fashion, literature, theater, politics and scholarship centered in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, spanning the 1920s and 1930s. At the t ...
, and the
subculture A subculture is a group of people within a culture that differentiates itself from the parent culture to which it belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles. Subcultures develop their own norms and values regarding cultural, poli ...
of
science fiction fandom Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or fandom of people interested in science fiction in contact with one another based upon that interest. SF fandom has a life of its own, but not much in the way of formal organization (although ...
in the 1930s. The popular graphic-style associated with zines is influenced artistically and politically by the subcultures of
Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, with early centres in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Cabaret Voltaire (in 1916). New York Dada began c. 1915, and after 1920 Dada flourished in Pari ...
,
Fluxus Fluxus was an international, interdisciplinary community of artists, composers, designers and poets during the 1960s and 1970s who engaged in experimental art performances which emphasized the artistic process over the finished product. Fluxus ...
,
Surrealism Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to ...
, and Situationism. Many trace zines' lineage from as far back as
Thomas Paine Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In th ...
's exceptionally popular 1775 pamphlet ''
Common Sense ''Common Sense'' is a 47-page pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1775–1776 advocating independence from Great Britain to people in the Thirteen Colonies. Writing in clear and persuasive prose, Paine collected various moral and political arg ...
'',
Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading int ...
's literary magazine for psychiatric patients at a Pennsylvania hospital and ''
The Dial ''The Dial'' was an American magazine published intermittently from 1840 to 1929. In its first form, from 1840 to 1844, it served as the chief publication of the Transcendentalists. From the 1880s to 1919 it was revived as a political review and ...
'' (1840–44) by
Margaret Fuller Sarah Margaret Fuller (May 23, 1810 – July 19, 1850), sometimes referred to as Margaret Fuller Ossoli, was an American journalist, editor, critic, translator, and women's rights advocate associated with the American transcendentalism movem ...
and
Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a cham ...
. Zines were given a pop culture revival in March 2021 with the release of the
Amy Poehler Amy Poehler (; born September 16, 1971) is an American comedian, actress, writer, producer, and director. After studying improv at Chicago's Second City and ImprovOlympic in the early 1990s, Poehler co-founded the improvisational-comedy tro ...
-directed film Moxie, released by
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...
, about a 16-year old high school student who starts a feminist zine to empower the young women at her school.


1920s


Little Magazines during the Harlem Renaissance

In the 1920s, a group of Black creatives in Harlem began a literary magazine "the better to express ourselves freely and independently – without interference from old heads, white or Negro." This led to the creation of a "little magazine" entitled
Fire!!
'' Only one issue of ''Fire!!'' was released, but this inspired the creation of other "little magazines" by Black authors. Contributions by Black writers, artists, and activists to the zine movement are often overlooked, in part "because they had such short runs and were spearheaded by a single or small group of individuals."


1930s–1960s and science fiction

During and after the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, editors of "pulp" science fiction magazines became increasingly frustrated with letters detailing the impossibilities of their science fiction stories. Over time they began to publish these overly-scrutinizing letters, complete with their return addresses. Hugo Gernsback published the first science fiction magazine, ''
Amazing Stories ''Amazing Stories'' is an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction. Science fiction stories had made regular appearances ...
'' in 1926, and allowed for a large letter column which printed reader's addresses. By 1927 readers, often young adults, would write to each other, bypassing the magazine. Now complete with a mailing list for their own science fiction fanzines, fans began writing to each other not only about science fiction but about fandom itself. This also led to perzines, zines about themselves.
Science fiction fanzine A science-fiction fanzine is an amateur or semi-professional magazine published by members of science-fiction fandom, from the 1930s to the present day. They were one of the earliest forms of fanzine, within one of which the term "''fanzine''" wa ...
s vary in content, from short stories to convention reports to fanfiction were one of the earliest incarnations of the zine and influenced subsequent publications. "Zinesters" like
Lisa Ben Edythe D. Eyde (November 7, 1921 – December 22, 2015) better known by her pen name Lisa Ben, was an American editor, author, active fantasy-fiction fan and fanzine contributor (often using the name Tigrina in these activities), and songwrite ...
and Jim Kepner honed their talents in the science fiction fandom before tackling gay rights, creating zines such as "Vice Versa" and "ONE" that drew networking and distribution ideas from their science fiction roots. A number of leading science fiction and fantasy authors rose through the ranks of fandom, creating "pro-zines" such as
Frederik Pohl Frederik George Pohl Jr. (; November 26, 1919 – September 2, 2013) was an American science-fiction writer, editor, and fan, with a career spanning nearly 75 years—from his first published work, the 1937 poem "Elegy to a Dead Satellit ...
and
Isaac Asimov yi, יצחק אזימאװ , birth_date = , birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR , spouse = , relatives = , children = 2 , death_date = , death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S. , nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (192 ...
. The first science fiction fanzine, '' The Comet'', was published in 1930 by the Science Correspondence Club in Chicago and edited by Raymond A. Palmer and Walter Dennis. The first version of
Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book '' Action Comics'' #1 ( cover-dated June 1938 and pu ...
(a bald-headed villain) appeared in the third issue of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster's 1933 fanzine ''Science Fiction''.


''Star Trek''

The first media fanzine was a ''
Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
'' fan publication called ''Spockanalia'', published in September 1967 by members of the Lunarians. Some of the earliest examples of academic fandom were written on ''Star Trek'' zines, specifically K/S (
Kirk Kirk is a Scottish and former Northern English word meaning "church". It is often used specifically of the Church of Scotland. Many place names and personal names are also derived from it. Basic meaning and etymology As a common noun, ''kirk' ...
/
Spock Spock is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. He first appeared in the original ''Star Trek'' series serving aboard the starship USS ''Enterprise'' as science officer and first officer (and Kirk's Second-in-command) and ...
)
slash Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash ...
zines, which featured a gay relationship between the two. Author Joanna Russ wrote in her 1985 analysis of K/S zines that slash fandom at the time consisted of around 500 core fans and was 100% female.
"K/S not only speaks to my condition. It is written in Female. I don't mean that literally, of course. What I mean is that I can read it without translating it from the consensual, public world, which is sexist, and unconcerned with women per se, and managing to make it make sense to me and my condition."
Russ observed that while science fiction fans looked down on ''Star Trek'' fans, ''Star Trek'' fans looked down on K/S writers."Concerning K/S." Joanna Russ Papers, Series II: Literary Works: Box 13, Folder #, Page 25. University of Oregon Special Collections. Kirk/Spock zines contained fanfiction, artwork, and poetry created by fans. Zines were then sent to fans on a mailing list or sold at conventions. Many had high production values and some were sold at convention auctions for hundreds of dollars.


''Janus'' and ''Aurora''

''
Janus In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus ( ; la, Ianvs ) is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces. The month of January is named for Jan ...
'', later called ''Aurora'', was a science fiction feminist zine created by Janice Bogstad and Jeanne Gomoll in 1975. It contained short stories, essays, and film reviews. Among its contributors were authors such as
Octavia Butler Octavia Estelle Butler (June 22, 1947 – February 24, 2006) was an American science fiction author and a multiple recipient of the Hugo and Nebula awards. In 1995, Butler became the first science-fiction writer to receive a MacArthur Fellowship ...
, Joanna Russ, Samuel R. Delany, and Suzette Hayden Elgin. ''Janus/Aurora'' was nominated for the
Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier ...
for "Best Fanzine" in 1978, 1979, and 1980. ''Janus/Aurora'' was the most prominent science fiction feminist zine during its run, as well as one of the only zines that dealt with such content.


Comics

Comics were mentioned and discussed as early as the late 1930s in the
fanzines A fanzine (blend of '' fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''-zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleasure of others who share ...
of
science fiction fandom Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or fandom of people interested in science fiction in contact with one another based upon that interest. SF fandom has a life of its own, but not much in the way of formal organization (although ...
. They often included fan artwork based on existing characters as well as discussion of the history of comics. Through the 1960s, and 1970s, comic fanzines followed general formats, such as the industry news and information magazine (''
The Comic Reader ''The Comic Reader'' (''TCR'') was a comics news- fanzine published from 1961 to 1984. Debuting in the pre- direct market era (before the proliferation of comics retailers), ''TCR'' was the first regularly published comics industry news fanzine, a ...
'' was one example), interview, history and review-based fanzines, and the fanzines which basically represented independent comic book-format exercises. In 1936, David Kyle published '' The Fantasy World '', possibly the first comics fanzine. Malcolm Willits and Jim Bradley started '' The Comic Collector's News'' in October 1947. In 1953, Bhob Stewart published ''The EC Fan Bulletin'', which launched EC fandom of imitative Entertaining Comic fanzines. Among the wave of EC fanzines that followed, the best-known was Ron Parker's ''Hoo-Hah!'' In 1960, Richard and Pat Lupoff launched their
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
and comics fanzine Xero and in 1961, Jerry Bails'
Alter Ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I", "doppelgänger") means an alternate self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other self, one with a different ...
, devoted to costumed heroes, became a focal point for superhero comics fandom.


Horror

Calvin T. Beck's ''Journal of Frankenstein'' (later '' Castle of Frankenstein'') and Gary Svehla's ''Gore Creatures'' were the first horror fanzines created as more serious alternatives to the popular
Forrest J Ackerman Forrest James Ackerman (November 24, 1916 – December 4, 2008) was an American magazine editor; science fiction writer and literary agent; a founder of science fiction fandom; a leading expert on science fiction, horror, and fantasy films; a pr ...
1958 magazine ''
Famous Monsters of Filmland ''Famous Monsters of Filmland'' is an American genre-specific film magazine, started in 1958 by publisher James Warren and editor Forrest J Ackerman. ''Famous Monsters of Filmland'' directly inspired the creation of many other similar publica ...
.'' ''Garden Ghouls Gazette'' – a 1960s horror title under the editorship of Dave Keil, then Gary Collins—was later headed by Frederick S. Clarke and in 1967 became the respected journal '' Cinefantastique.'' It later became a prozine under journalist-screenwriter
Mark A. Altman Mark A. Altman is a writer, producer and actor. He is a former Los Angeles bureau chief for Cinefantastique magazine and was also a previous editor in chief of Sci-Fi Universe magazine. He has also been a writer for comic books. Credits Film ...
and has continued as a webzine. Richard Klemensen's '' Little Shoppe of Horrors'', having a particular focus on " Hammer Horrors," began in 1972 and is still publishing as of 2017. The
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...
-based ''Black Oracle'' (1969–1978) from writer-turned-
John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, writer, actor, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including '' Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), '' Pink Flamingos'' (1972) and '' Fe ...
repertory member George Stover was a diminutive zine that evolved into the larger-format ''Cinemacabre.'' Stover's ''Black Oracle'' partner Bill George published his own short-lived zine ''The Late Show'' (1974–1976; with co-editor Martin Falck), and later became editor of the ''Cinefantastique'' prozine spinoff '' Femme Fatales.'' In the mid-1970s,
North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...
teenager
Sam Irvin Sam Irvin (born June 14, 1956) is an American film and television director, producer, screenwriter, actor, author and film teacher. Irvin's directing credits include '' Guilty as Charged'', '' Oblivion'', '' Elvira's Haunted Hills'', and all ...
published the horror/science-fiction fanzine ''Bizarre'' which included his original interviews with UK actors and filmmakers; Irvin would later become a producer-director in his own right. '' Japanese Fantasy Film Journal'' (JFFJ) (1968–1983) from Greg Shoemaker covered
Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer ...
's ''
Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film '' Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films produ ...
'' and his Asian brethren.
Japanese Giants ''Japanese Giants'' was a kaiju (giant monster) fanzine with an emphasis on Japanese monsters, such as Godzilla. History ''Japanese Giants'' was inspired by the fanzine '' Japanese Fantasy Film Journal'' (JFFJ), edited and published by Greg Shoe ...
(JG) appeared in 1974 and was published for 30 years. In 1993, '' G-FAN'' was published, and reached its 100th regularly published issue in Fall 2012. ''FXRH'' (
Special effects Special effects (often abbreviated as SFX, F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the imagined events in a story or virtual wo ...
by
Ray Harryhausen Raymond Frederick Harryhausen (June 29, 1920 – May 7, 2013) was an American-British animator and special effects creator who created a form of stop motion model animation known as "Dynamation". His works include the animation for '' Mi ...
) (1971–1976) was a specialized zine co-created by future
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...
FX artist Ernest D. Farino.


Rock and roll

Several fans active in science fiction and comics fandom recognized a shared interest in rock music, and the rock fanzine was born. Paul Williams and
Greg Shaw Greg Shaw (January 1949 – October 19, 2004) was an American writer, publisher, magazine editor, music historian and record executive. Biography Shaw was born in San Francisco, California. He began writing about rock and roll music as a ...
were two such science fiction fans turned rock zine editors. Williams' ''
Crawdaddy! ''Crawdaddy'' was an American rock music magazine launched in 1966. It was created by Paul Williams, a Swarthmore College student at the time, in response to the increasing sophistication and cultural influence of popular music. The magazine w ...
'' (1966) and Shaw's two California-based zines, ''Mojo Navigator'' ''Rock and Roll News'' (1966) and '' Who Put the Bomp'' (1970), are among the most popular early rock fanzines. ''
Crawdaddy! ''Crawdaddy'' was an American rock music magazine launched in 1966. It was created by Paul Williams, a Swarthmore College student at the time, in response to the increasing sophistication and cultural influence of popular music. The magazine w ...
'' (1966) quickly moved from its fanzine roots to become one of the first rock music "prozines" with paid advertisers and newsstand distribution. ''Bomp'' remained a fanzine, featuring many writers who would later become prominent music journalists, including
Lester Bangs Leslie Conway "Lester" Bangs (December 14, 1948 – April 30, 1982) was an American music journalist, critic, author, and musician. He wrote for '' Creem'' and ''Rolling Stone'' magazines, and was known for his leading influence in rock music ...
,
Greil Marcus Greil Marcus (born June 19, 1945) is an American author, music journalist and cultural critic. He is notable for producing scholarly and literary essays that place rock music in a broader framework of culture and politics. Biography Marcus wa ...
, Ken Barnes, Ed Ward,
Dave Marsh Dave Marsh (born March 1, 1950) is an American music critic, and radio talk show host. He was an early editor of '' Creem'' magazine, has written for various publications such as '' Newsday'', ''The Village Voice'', and ''Rolling Stone'', and has ...
, Mike Saunders and R. Meltzer as well as cover art by Jay Kinney and Bill Rotsler (both veterans of science fiction and Comics fandom). Other rock fanzines of this period include '' denim delinquent'' (1971) edited by Jymn Parrett, ''Flash'' (1972) edited by Mark Shipper, ''Eurock Magazine'' (1973–1993) edited by Archie Patterson and ''Bam Balam'' written and published by Brian Hogg in East Lothian, Scotland, (1974). In the 1980s, with the rise of stadium superstars, many home-grown rock fanzines emerged. At the peak of
Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originato ...
's megastardom following the '' Born in the U.S.A.'' album and Born in the U.S.A. Tour in the mid-1980s, there were no less than five Springsteen fanzines circulating at the same time in the UK alone, and many others elsewhere. Gary Desmond's ''Candy's Room'', coming from Liverpool, was the first in 1980. This was quickly followed by Dan French's ''Point Blank'', Dave Percival's ''The Fever'', Jeff Matthews' ''Rendezvous'', and Paul Limbrick's ''Jackson Cage''. In the US, '' Backstreets Magazine'' started in Seattle in 1980 and still continues today as a glossy publication, now in communication with Springsteen's management and official website. ''Crème Brûlée'' documented post-rock genre and experimental music (1990s).


1970s and punk

Punk zine A punk zine (or punkzine) is a zine related to the punk subculture and hardcore punk music genre. Often primitively or casually produced, they feature punk literature, such as social commentary, punk poetry, news, gossip, music reviews and artic ...
s emerged as part of the
punk subculture The punk subculture includes a diverse and widely known array of ideologies, fashion, and other forms of expression, visual art, dance, literature, and film. Largely characterised by anti-establishment views, the promotion of individual freedo ...
in the late 1970s, along with the increasing accessibility to copy machines, publishing software, and home printing technologies. Punk became a genre for the working class because of the economic necessity to use creative DIY methods, which were echoed in both zine and Punk music creation. Zines became vital to the popularization and spread of punk spreading to countries outside the UK and America, such as Ireland, Indonesia, and more by 1977. Amateur, fan-created zines played an important role in spreading information about different scenes (city or regional-based subcultures) and bands (e.g. British fanzines like Mark Perry's ''Sniffin Glue'' and Shane MacGowan's ''Bondage'') in the pre-Internet era. They typically included reviews of shows and records, interviews with bands, letters, and ads for records and labels. The
punk subculture The punk subculture includes a diverse and widely known array of ideologies, fashion, and other forms of expression, visual art, dance, literature, and film. Largely characterised by anti-establishment views, the promotion of individual freedo ...
in the United Kingdom spearheaded a surge of interest in fanzines as a countercultural alternative to established print media. The first and still best known UK 'punk zine' was '' Sniffin' Glue'', produced by
Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century to the late 19th it was home ...
punk fan Mark Perry which ran for 12 photocopied issues; the first issue produced by Perry immediately following (and in response to) the London debut of
The Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United St ...
on 4 July 1976. Other UK fanzines included '' Blam!'', ''
Bombsite A bombsite is the wreckage that remains after a bomb has destroyed a building or other structure. World War II bombsites After World War II many European cities remained severely damaged from bombing. London and other British cities which had ...
'', ''Burnt Offering'', ''
Chainsaw A chainsaw (or chain saw) is a portable gasoline-, electric-, or battery-powered saw that cuts with a set of teeth attached to a rotating chain driven along a guide bar. It is used in activities such as tree felling, limbing, bucking, pru ...
'', ''
New Crimes New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...
'', '' Vague'', '' Jamming'',
Artcore Fanzine ''Artcore Fanzine'' is a punk zine first published in January 1986, covering punk and hardcore music based out of the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Br ...
, '' Love and Molotov Cocktails'', '' To Hell With Poverty'', ''
New Youth ''New Youth'' (french: La Jeunesse, lit=The Youth; ) was a Chinese literary magazine founded by Chen Duxiu and published between 1915 and 1926. It strongly influenced both the New Culture Movement and the later May Fourth Movement. Publishin ...
'', ''
Peroxide In chemistry, peroxides are a group of compounds with the structure , where R = any element. The group in a peroxide is called the peroxide group or peroxo group. The nomenclature is somewhat variable. The most common peroxide is hydrogen p ...
'', '' ENZK'', '' Juniper beri-beri'', '' No Cure'','' Communication Blur'', '' Rox'', ''
Grim Humour Fourth Dimension Records is a British record label, specialising in international underground music. It was founded by Gary Levermore as an offshoot of his Third Mind label before being taken over by Richard Johnson (aka Richo) in 1984. The l ...
'', '' Spuno'', '' Cool Notes'' and '' Fumes''. By 1990, ''
Maximum Rocknroll ''Maximumrocknroll'', often written as ''Maximum Rocknroll'' and usually abbreviated as ''MRR'', is a not-for-profit monthly zine of punk subculture. Based in San Francisco, ''MRR'' focuses on punk rock and hardcore music, and primarily fea ...
'' "had become the de facto bible of the scene, presenting a "passionate yet dogmatic view" of what hardcore was supposed to be." ''HeartattaCk'' and ''
Profane Existence Profane Existence is a Minneapolis-based anarcho-punk collective. Established in 1989, the collective publishes a nationally known zine (also called ''Profane Existence''), as well as releasing and distributing anarcho-punk, crust, and grindc ...
'' took the DIY lifestyle to a religious level for
emo Emo is a rock music genre characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of and hardcore punk from the Washington D.C. hardcore punk scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore and pioneered b ...
and
post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has be ...
and
crust punk Crust punk (also known as crust or stenchcore) is a form of music influenced by English punk rock and extreme metal. The style, which evolved in the early 1980s in England, often has songs with dark and pessimistic lyrics that linger on politic ...
culture. ''
Slug and Lettuce Slug and Lettuce is a chain of bars that operate in the United Kingdom, with a large number located in London and South East England. As of 2017, there are a total of 70 outlets. Hugh Corbett opened the first Slug and Lettuce in Islington in ...
'' started at the state college of PA and became an international 10,000 copy production – all for free. In Canada, the zine ''Standard Issue'' chronicles the Ottawa hardcore scene. The Bay Area zine ''
Cometbus Aaron Elliott (born May 20, 1968), better known as Aaron Cometbus, is an American musician, songwriter, roadie, and magazine editor, best known as the creator of the punk zine ''Cometbus''. Career Born in Berkeley, California, Cometbus started ...
'' was first created at Berkeley by the zinester and musician
Aaron Cometbus Aaron Elliott (born May 20, 1968), better known as Aaron Cometbus, is an American musician, songwriter, roadie, and magazine editor, best known as the creator of the punk zine ''Cometbus''. Career Born in Berkeley, California, Cometbus started ...
. ''Gearhead Nation'' was a monthly punk freesheet that lasted from the early 1990s to 1997 in Dublin, Ireland. Some hardcore punk zines became available online such as the e-zine chronicling the
Australian hardcore Australian hardcore punk bands tend to have local fan bases, although a number have toured Australia and internationally. Prominent bands from the scene that have been recognised by the mainstream have included Toe to Toe, Massappeal and Minds ...
scene, ''RestAssured.'' In Italy, ''Mazquerade'' ran from 1979 to 1981 and Raw Art Fanzine ran from 1995 to 2000. In the US, '' Flipside'' (created by Al Kowalewski, Pooch (Patrick DiPuccio), Larry Lash (Steven Shoemaker), Tory, X-8 (Sam Diaz)) and ''
Slash Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash ...
'' (created by Steve Samioff and Claude Bessy) were important punk zines for the Los Angeles scene, both debuting in 1977. In 1977 in Australia,
Bruce Milne Bruce Milne (born 1957) is an Australian radio presenter and music journalist. He co-founded Au-Go-Go Records and the cassette magazine ''Fast Forward'', and was owner of The Tote Hotel. Career Milne began his career in the 1970s hosting m ...
and
Clinton Walker Clinton Walker is an Australian writer, best known for his works on popular music. He is known for his books ''Highway to Hell'' (1994; a biography of Bon Scott), '' Buried Country'' (2000; also a film and soundtrack album), ''History is Made ...
fused their respective punk zines ''Plastered Press'' and ''Suicide Alley'' to launch ''Pulp''; Milne later went on to invent the cassette zine with ''Fast Forward'', in 1980. In the American Midwest, a zine called Touch and Go described the area's hardcore scene from 1979 to 1983. We Got Power described the LA scene from 1981 to 1984, and included show reviews and band interviews with groups including DOA, the Misfits, Black Flag,
Suicidal Tendencies Suicidal Tendencies is an American crossover thrash band formed in 1980 in Venice in Los Angeles, California by vocalist Mike Muir. Muir is the only remaining original member of the band. Along with D.R.I., Corrosion of Conformity, and Stor ...
, and the
Circle Jerks Circle Jerks (stylized as Ciʀcle JƎʀᴋs) are an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1979 in Los Angeles, California. The group was founded by former Black Flag vocalist Keith Morris and Redd Kross guitarist Greg Hetson. To date, Circle ...
. My Rules was a photo zine that included photos of hardcore shows from across the US an in Effect, launched in 1988 described the New York City punk scene. Among later titles, ''
Maximum RocknRoll ''Maximumrocknroll'', often written as ''Maximum Rocknroll'' and usually abbreviated as ''MRR'', is a not-for-profit monthly zine of punk subculture. Based in San Francisco, ''MRR'' focuses on punk rock and hardcore music, and primarily fea ...
'' is a major punk zine, with over 300 issues published. As a result, in part, of the popular and commercial resurgence of punk in the late 1980s, and after, with the growing popularity of such bands as
Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of t ...
,
Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lamp Richard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colomb ...
,
Fugazi Fugazi (; ) is an American post-hardcore band that formed in Washington, D.C., in 1986. The band consists of guitarists and vocalists Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto, bassist Joe Lally, and drummer Brendan Canty. They are noted for their sty ...
,
Bikini Kill Bikini Kill is an American punk rock band formed in Olympia, Washington, in October 1990. The group consisted of singer and songwriter Kathleen Hanna, guitarist Billy Karren, bassist Kathi Wilcox, and drummer Tobi Vail. The band pioneered the r ...
,
Green Day Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt. For most of the band's career, they have been a ...
and
The Offspring The Offspring is an American rock band from Garden Grove, California, formed in 1984. Originally formed under the name Manic Subsidal, the band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Bryan "Dexter" Holland, lead guit ...
, a number of other punk zines have appeared, such as ''
Dagger A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or popular-use def ...
'', ''
Profane Existence Profane Existence is a Minneapolis-based anarcho-punk collective. Established in 1989, the collective publishes a nationally known zine (also called ''Profane Existence''), as well as releasing and distributing anarcho-punk, crust, and grindc ...
'', ''
Punk Planet ''Punk Planet'' was a 16,000 print run punk zine, based in Chicago, Illinois, that focused most of its energy on looking at punk subculture rather than punk as simply another genre of music to which teenagers listen. In addition to covering music ...
'', ''
Razorcake Razorcake is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that publishes the Razorcake fanzine, a DIY punk rock fanzine published bi-monthly out of Los Angeles, California. It was co-founded by Todd Taylor (former Flipside managing editor) and Sean Car ...
'', ''
Slug and Lettuce Slug and Lettuce is a chain of bars that operate in the United Kingdom, with a large number located in London and South East England. As of 2017, there are a total of 70 outlets. Hugh Corbett opened the first Slug and Lettuce in Islington in ...
'', ''
Sobriquet A sobriquet ( ), or soubriquet, is a nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another, that is descriptive. A sobriquet is distinct from a pseudonym, as it is typically a familiar name used in place of a real name, without the need of expla ...
'' and '' Tail Spins''. The early American punk zine '' Search and Destroy'' eventually became the influential fringe-cultural magazine ''
Re/Search RE/Search Publications is an American magazine and book publisher, based in San Francisco, founded by its editor V. Vale in 1980. In several issues, Andrea Juno was also credited as an editor. It was the successor to Vale's earlier punk rock fanz ...
''. "In the post-punk era several well-written fanzines emerged that cast an almost academic look at earlier, neglected musical forms, including Mike Stax' ''
Ugly Things ''Ugly Things'' (''UT'') is a music magazine established in 1983, based in La Mesa, California. The editor is Mike Stax (born 1962 in England). The magazine covers mainly 1960s Beat, garage rock, and psychedelic music ("Wild Sounds From Past Dim ...
'', Billy Miller and
Miriam Linna Miriam Linna (born October 16, 1955 in Sudbury, Ontario) is a Canadian-American drummer who has run the Brooklyn-based independent record label Norton Records since 1986, originally with her husband, the late producer and singer-songwriter B ...
's ''Kicks'', Jake Austen's '' Roctober'', Kim Cooper's ''
Scram A scram or SCRAM is an emergency shutdown of a nuclear reactor effected by immediately terminating the fission reaction. It is also the name that is given to the manually operated kill switch that initiates the shutdown. In commercial reacto ...
'', P. Edwin Letcher's '' Garage & Beat'', and the UK's Shindig! and Italy's '' Misty Lane''." Mark Wilkins, the promotion director for 1982 onwards US punk/thrash label
Mystic Records Mystic Records is an American record label and music production company specializing in hardcore punk, crossover thrash, underground music, vintage and cult records. It is owned and operated by Doug Moody. The label was first established in Hollywo ...
, had over 450 US fanzines and 150 foreign fanzines he promoted to regularly. He and Mystic Records owner Doug Moody edited ''The Mystic News Newsletter'' which was published quarterly and went into every promo package to fanzines. Wilkins also published the highly successful Los Angeles punk humor zine ''Wild Times'' and when he ran out of funding for the zine syndicated some of the humorous material to over 100 US fanzines under the name of Mystic Mark.


''Factsheet Five''

During the 1980s and onwards, ''
Factsheet Five ''Factsheet Five'' was a periodical mostly consisting of short reviews of privately produced printed matter along with contact details of the editors and publishers. In the 1980s and early 1990s, its comprehensive reviews (thousands in each issue ...
'' (the name came from a short story by
John Brunner John Brunner may refer to: * Sir John Brunner, 1st Baronet (1842–1919), British industrialist and Liberal Member of Parliament * John L. Brunner (1929–1980), Pennsylvania politician * Sir John Brunner, 2nd Baronet (1865–1929), British Libera ...
), originally published by Mike Gunderloy and now defunct, catalogued and reviewed any zine or small press creation sent to it, along with their mailing addresses. In doing so, it formed a networking point for zine creators and readers (usually the same people). The concept of ''zine'' as an art form distinct from ''fanzine'', and of the "zinesters" as member of their own subculture, had emerged. Zines of this era ranged from perzines of all varieties to those that covered an assortment of different and obscure topics. Genres reviewed by Factsheet Five included quirky, medley, fringe, music, punk, grrrlz, personal, science fiction, food, humour, spirituality, politics, queer, arts & letters, comix.


1990s and riot grrrl

The
riot grrrl Riot grrrl is an underground feminist punk movement that began during the early 1990s within the United States in Olympia, Washington and the greater Pacific Northwest and has expanded to at least 26 other countries. Riot grrrl is a subcul ...
movement emerged from the DIY Punk subculture in tandem with the American era of
third-wave feminism Third-wave feminism is an iteration of the feminist movement that began in the early 1990s, prominent in the decades prior to the fourth wave. Grounded in the civil-rights advances of the second wave, Gen X and early Gen Y generations third-w ...
, and used the consciousness-raising method of organizing and communication. As feminist documents, they follow a longer legacy of feminist and women's self-publication that includes
scrapbooking Scrapbooking is a method of preserving, presenting and arranging personal and family history in the form of a book, box or card. Typical memorabilia include photographs, printed media, and artwork. Scrapbook albums are often decorated and frequ ...
, periodicals and health publications, allowing women to circulate ideas that would not otherwise be published. The American publication ''Bikini Kill'' (1990) introduced the Riot Grrrl Manifesto in their second issue as a way of establishing space. Zinesters Erika Reinstein and May Summer founded the Riot Grrrl Press to serve as a zine distribution network that would allow riot grrrls to "express themselves and reach large audiences without having to rely on the mainstream press". Girls use this grassroots medium to discuss their personal lived experiences, and themes including body image, sexuality, gender norms, and violence to express anger, and reclaim/refigure femininity. Scholar and zinester Mimi Thi Nguyen notes that these norms unequally burdened riot grrrls of color with allowing white riot grrrls access to their personal experiences, an act which in itself was supposed to address systemic racism.
BUST Bust commonly refers to: * A woman's breasts * Bust (sculpture), of head and shoulders * An arrest Bust may also refer to: Places * Bust, Bas-Rhin, a city in France *Lashkargah, Afghanistan, known as Bust historically Media * ''Bust'' (magazin ...
- "The voice of the new world order" was created by Debbie Stoller, Laurie Hanzel and Marcelle Karp in 1993 to propose an alternate to the popular mainstream magazines
Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Food and drink * Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo" History * Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953 Hotels and resorts * Cosmopoli ...
and Glamour. Additional zines following this path are Shocking Pink (1981–82, 1987–92), Jigsaw (1988– ), Not Your Bitch 1989-1992 (Gypsy X, ed.)
Bikini Kill Bikini Kill is an American punk rock band formed in Olympia, Washington, in October 1990. The group consisted of singer and songwriter Kathleen Hanna, guitarist Billy Karren, bassist Kathi Wilcox, and drummer Tobi Vail. The band pioneered the r ...
(1990),
Girl Germs ''Girl Germs'' was a zine created by University of Oregon students Allison Wolfe and Molly Neuman, both members of the band Bratmobile. Feminism was influential in the Pacific Northwest in the early nineties: ''Girl Germs'' identified feminist ...
(1990), Bamboo Girl (1995– ), BITCH Magazine (1996– ),
Hip Mama ''Hip Mama: The Parenting Zine'' is an American Alternative Press Award-winning quarterly periodical covering the culture and politics of parenting. The magazine is widely credited with launching the contemporary mothers' movement. The first issu ...
(1997– ), Kitten Scratches (1999) and
ROCKRGRL ''ROCKRGRL'' was the first national publication for female musicians in the United States. Created by Carla DeSantis, the magazine purely focused on women in music and highlighted the artistic diversity of women musicians, often overlooked in mai ...
(1995–2005). In the mid-1990s, zines were also published on the Internet as e-zines. Websites such as
Gurl.com Gurl.com (formerly stylized as gURL.com from 1996 to 2011) was an American website for teenage girls that was online from 1996 to 2018. It was created by Rebecca Odes, Esther Drill, and Heather McDonald as a resource centered on teen advice, bo ...
and
ChickClick ChickClick was an American website for women that was online from 1998 to 2002. It was created by Heidi Swanson as a web portal for websites created by young women. The website also served as an online community, with a message board and Internet ...
were created out of dissatisfaction of media available to women and parodied content found in mainstream teen and women's magazines. Both Gurl.com and ChickClick had a message board and free web hosting services, where users could also create and contribute their own content, which in turn created a reciprocal relationship where women could also be seen as creators rather than consumers.


Commercialization

Starting in this decade, multinational companies started appropriating and commodifying zines and DIY culture. Their faux zines created a commercialized ''hipster'' lifestyle. By late in the decade, independent zinesters were accused of "selling out" to make a profit.


Distribution and circulation

Zines are sold, traded or given as gifts at symposiums, publishing fairs, record and book stores and concerts, via independent media outlets, zine 'distros', mail order or through direct correspondence with the author. They are also sold online on distro websites, Etsy shops, blogs, or social networking profiles and are available for download. While zines are generally self-published, there are a few independent publishers who specialize in art zines such as Nieves Books in Zurich, founded by Benjamin Sommerhalder, and
Café Royal Books Café Royal Books is an independent publisher Coco-nut Dancers: An interview with Craig Atkinson of Café Royal Books">ic">Brittania Giant_Robot'',_''
Giant_Robot'',_''
Dazed_&_Confused'',_''Bust_(magazine).html"__"title="Dazed.html"_;"title="Giant_Robot_(magazine).html"_;"title="ic/nowiki>_Coco-nut_Dancers:_An_interview_with_Craig_Atkinson_of_Café_Royal_Books,_The_Photographers'_Gallery._...
_founded_by_Craig_Atkinson_in_2005._In_recent_years_a_number_of_photocopied_zines_have_risen_to_prominence_or_professional_status_and_have_found_wide_bookstore_and_online_distribution._Notable_among_these_are_''Giant_Robot_(magazine)">Giant_Robot'',_''Dazed">Dazed_&_Confused'',_''Bust_(magazine)">Bust_ Bust_commonly_refers_to: *_A_woman's_breasts *_Bust_(sculpture),_of_head_and_shoulders *_An_arrest Bust_may_also_refer_to: _Places *_Bust,_Bas-Rhin,_a_city_in__France *Lashkargah,_Afghanistan,_known_as_Bust_historically _Media *_''Bust''_(magazin_...
'',_''
Dazed_&_Confused'',_''Bust_(magazine).html"__"title="Dazed.html"_;"title="Giant_Robot_(magazine).html"_;"title="ic/nowiki>_Coco-nut_Dancers:_An_interview_with_Craig_Atkinson_of_Café_Royal_Books,_The_Photographers'_Gallery._...
_founded_by_Craig_Atkinson_in_2005._In_recent_years_a_number_of_photocopied_zines_have_risen_to_prominence_or_professional_status_and_have_found_wide_bookstore_and_online_distribution._Notable_among_these_are_''Giant_Robot_(magazine)">Giant_Robot'',_''Dazed">Dazed_&_Confused'',_''Bust_(magazine)">Bust_ Bust_commonly_refers_to: *_A_woman's_breasts *_Bust_(sculpture),_of_head_and_shoulders *_An_arrest Bust_may_also_refer_to: _Places *_Bust,_Bas-Rhin,_a_city_in__France *Lashkargah,_Afghanistan,_known_as_Bust_historically _Media *_''Bust''_(magazin_...
'',_''Bitch_(magazine)">Bitch_ Bitch_may_refer_to: *_A_female_dog_or_other_canine *_Bitch_(slang),_a_vulgar_slur_for_a_human_female Bitch_or_bitches_may_also_refer_to: _Arts_and_media__Film_and_television_ *__''The_Bitch''_(film),_a_1979_film_starring_Joan_Collins *__''Bitch_...
'',_''Aaron_Cometbus.html" "title="Bitch_(magazine).html" "title="Dazed">Dazed_&_Confused'',_''Bust_(magazine).html" "title="Dazed.html" ;"title="Giant_Robot_(magazine).html" ;"title="ic/nowiki> Coco-nut Dancers: An interview with Craig Atkinson of Café Royal Books, The Photographers' Gallery. ...
founded by Craig Atkinson in 2005. In recent years a number of photocopied zines have risen to prominence or professional status and have found wide bookstore and online distribution. Notable among these are ''Giant Robot (magazine)">Giant Robot'', ''Dazed">Dazed & Confused'', ''Bust (magazine)">Bust Bust commonly refers to: * A woman's breasts * Bust (sculpture), of head and shoulders * An arrest Bust may also refer to: Places * Bust, Bas-Rhin, a city in France *Lashkargah, Afghanistan, known as Bust historically Media * ''Bust'' (magazin ...
'', ''Bitch (magazine)">Bitch Bitch may refer to: * A female dog or other canine * Bitch (slang), a vulgar slur for a human female Bitch or bitches may also refer to: Arts and media Film and television * ''The Bitch'' (film), a 1979 film starring Joan Collins * ''Bitch ...
'', ''Aaron Cometbus">Cometbus Aaron Elliott (born May 20, 1968), better known as Aaron Cometbus, is an American musician, songwriter, roadie, and magazine editor, best known as the creator of the punk zine ''Cometbus''. Career Born in Berkeley, California, Cometbus started ...
'', ''Doris'', ''Brainscan'', The Miscreant, and ''
Maximum RocknRoll ''Maximumrocknroll'', often written as ''Maximum Rocknroll'' and usually abbreviated as ''MRR'', is a not-for-profit monthly zine of punk subculture. Based in San Francisco, ''MRR'' focuses on punk rock and hardcore music, and primarily fea ...
''.
Live map of zine distributors worldwide
There are many catalogued and online based mail-order distros for zines. The longest running distribution operation is Microcosm Publishing in Portland, Oregon. Some other longstanding operations include Great Worm Express Distribution in Toronto, CornDog Publishing in Ipswich in the UK,
Café Royal Books Café Royal Books is an independent publisher Coco-nut Dancers: An interview with Craig Atkinson of Café Royal Books">ic">Brittania ic/nowiki> Coco-nut Dancers: An interview with Craig Atkinson of Café Royal Books, The Photographers' Gallery. ...
in Southport in the UK, AK Press in Oakland, California, Missing Link Records in Melbourne. and Wasted Ink Zine Distro in Phoenix, AZ.


Libraries and archives

A number of major public and academic
libraries A library is a collection of Document, materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or electronic media, digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a ...
and museums carry zines and other small press publications, often with a specific focus (e.g. women's studies) or those that are relevant to a local region. Libraries and institutions with notable zine collections include: * Barnard College Library * The
University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 co ...
Special Collections * The Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture at
Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist Jam ...
* The
Tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...
Museum * The
British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the Briti ...
* Harvard University's
Schlesinger Library The Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America is a research library at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University. According to Nancy F. Cott, the Carl and Lily Pforzheimer Foundation Director ...
*
Los Angeles Public Library The Los Angeles Public Library system (LAPL) is a public library system in Los Angeles, California. The system holds more than six million volumes, and with around 19 million residents in the Los Angeles Metropolitan area, it serves the lar ...
*
San Francisco Public Library The San Francisco Public Library is the public library system of the city and county of San Francisco. The Main Library is located at Civic Center, at 100 Larkin Street. The library system has won several awards, such as '' Library Journals ...
* Jacksonville Public Library The Indie Photobook Library, an independent archive in the Washington, DC area, is a large collection of photobooks and photo zines dating from 2008 to 2016 which the
Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library () is the rare book library and literary archive of the Yale University Library in New Haven, Connecticut. It is one of the largest buildings in the world dedicated to rare books and manuscripts. Es ...
at
Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...
acquired in 2016. In California, the Long Beach Public Library began to be the first public library in the state to start circulating zines for three weeks at a time in 2015. In 2017 the
Los Angeles Public Library The Los Angeles Public Library system (LAPL) is a public library system in Los Angeles, California. The system holds more than six million volumes, and with around 19 million residents in the Los Angeles Metropolitan area, it serves the lar ...
started to circulate zines publicly to its patrons as well. Both projects have been credited to librarian Ziba Zehdar who has been an advocate in promoting circulating zines publicly at libraries in California. It has been suggested that the adoption of zine culture by powerful and prestigious institutions contradicts their function as declarations of agency by marginalized groups.


Zine fests, workshops, and clubs

There has been a resurgence in the alternative publication culture beginning in the 2010s, in tandem with the influx of zine libraries and as a result of the digital age, which has sparked zine festivals across the globe. The San Francisco Zine Fest started in 2001 and features up to 200+ exhibitors, while the Los Angeles Zine Fest started in 2012 with only a handful of exhibitors, now hosting over 200 exhibitors.These are considered to be some of the biggest zine fests in the United States, Other big zine fests across the globe include, San Francisco Zine Fest, Brooklyn Zine Fest, Chicago Zine Fest, Feminist Zine Fest, Amsterdam Zine Jam, and Sticky Zine Fair. At each zine fest, the zinester can be their own independent distributor and publisher simply by standing behind a table to sell or barter their work. Over time, zinesters have added posters, stickers, buttons and patches to these events. In many libraries, schools and community centers around the world, zinesters hold meetings to create, share, and pass down the art of making zines.


2000s and the effect of the Internet

With the rise of the Internet in the mid-1990s, zines initially faded from public awareness possibly due to the ability of private web-pages to fulfill much the same role of personal expression. Indeed, many zines were transformed into
Webzine An online magazine is a magazine published on the Internet, through bulletin board systems and other forms of public computer networks. One of the first magazines to convert from a print magazine format to being online only was the computer maga ...
s, such as ''
Boing Boing ''Boing Boing'' is a website, first established as a zine in 1988, later becoming a group blog. Common topics and themes include technology, futurism, science fiction, gadgets, intellectual property, Disney, and left-wing politics. It twic ...
'' or '' monochrom''. The metadata standard for cataloging zines is ''xZineCorex'', which maps to
Dublin Core 220px, Logo image of DCMI, which formulates Dublin Core The Dublin Core, also known as the Dublin Core Metadata Element Set (DCMES), is a set of fifteen "core" elements (properties) for describing resources. This fifteen-element Dublin Core has ...
. E-zine creators were originally referred to as "adopters" because of their use of pre-made type and layouts, making the process less ambiguous. Since, social media, blogging and vlogging have adopted a similar do-it-yourself publication model. In the UK ''
Fracture Fracture is the separation of an object or material into two or more pieces under the action of stress. The fracture of a solid usually occurs due to the development of certain displacement discontinuity surfaces within the solid. If a displ ...
'' and '' Reason To Believe'' were significant fanzines in the early 2000s, both ending in late 2003. ''
Rancid News ''Last Hours'' (known as ''Rancid News'' prior to 2005) is an anti-authoritarian publishing collective. From 2003 to 2008 it produced a fanzine, initially called ''Rancid News'' until issue 9, changing its name to ''Last Hours'' from issue 10 till ...
'' filled the gap left by these two zines for a short while. On its tenth issue ''Rancid News'' changed its name to '' Last Hours'' with 7 issues published under this title before going on hiatus. ''Last Hours'' still operates as a
webzine An online magazine is a magazine published on the Internet, through bulletin board systems and other forms of public computer networks. One of the first magazines to convert from a print magazine format to being online only was the computer maga ...
though with more focus on the anti-authoritarian movement than its original title. ''
Artcore Fanzine ''Artcore Fanzine'' is a punk zine first published in January 1986, covering punk and hardcore music based out of the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Br ...
'' (established in 1986) continues to this day, recently publishing a number of 30-year anniversary issues. Mira Bellwether's zine '' Fucking Trans Women'', published in 2010 online and 2013 in print, proved influential in the field of transgender sexuality, receiving both scholarly and popular-culture attention. It was described in '' Sexuality & Culture'' as "a comprehensive guide to trans women's sexuality" and '' The Mary Sue'' as "the gold standard in
transfeminine A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...
sex and masturbation".


alt.zines

The
Usenet Usenet () is a worldwide distributed discussion system available on computers. It was developed from the general-purpose Unix-to-Unix Copy (UUCP) dial-up network architecture. Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979, and it wa ...
newsgroup A Usenet newsgroup is a repository usually within the Usenet system, for messages posted from users in different locations using the Internet. They are discussion groups and are not devoted to publishing news. Newsgroups are technically disti ...
''alt.zines'' was created in 1992 by Jerod Pore and Edward Vielmetti for the discussion of zines and zine-related topics.


Television shows

Two popular kids shows in the late 1990s and early 2000s featured zine-making: ''
Our Hero ''Our Hero'' is a Canadian teen comedy-drama television series. It ran for 26 episodes over two seasons on CBC and WTN from October 5, 2000, until January 20, 2002, and was syndicated in the United States on WAM! and in the United Kingdom on ...
'' (2000–02) and ''
Rocket Power ''Rocket Power'' is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky and Gábor Csupó, the creators of '' Rugrats''. The series aired on Nickelodeon from August 16, 1999 to July 30, 2004. Premise ''Rocket Power'' revolves aroun ...
'' (1999–2004). The main character in ''Our Hero'', Kale Stiglic, writes about her life in the Toronto suburbs. The episodes are narrated and presented in the form of zine issues that she creates, inheriting her father's storytelling passion. The show won titles from the Canadian Comedy Awards and Gemini Awards during its development.


See also

*
Artist's book Artists' books (or book arts or book objects) are works of art that utilize the form of the book. They are often published in small editions, though they are sometimes produced as one-of-a-kind objects. Overview Artists' books have employed a ...
* Broken Pencil (with zine reviews) *
Chapbook A chapbook is a small publication of up to about 40 pages, sometimes bound with a saddle stitch. In early modern Europe a chapbook was a type of printed street literature. Produced cheaply, chapbooks were commonly small, paper-covered bookle ...
* Copybook *
Doujinshi , also romanized as ', is the Japanese term for self-published print works, such as magazines, manga, and novels. Part of a wider category of ''doujin'' (self-published) works, ''doujinshi'' are often derivative of existing works and created by ...
* Ezine *
Hugo Award for Best Fanzine The Hugo Award for Best Fanzine is given each year for non professionally edited magazines, or "fanzines", related to science fiction or fantasy which has published four or more issues with at least one issue appearing in the previous calendar y ...
* Information activist * List of minicomics creators *
Minicomic A minicomic is a creator-published comic book, often photocopied and stapled or with a handmade binding. In the United Kingdom and Europe the term small press comic is equivalent with minicomic, reserved for those publications measuring A6 (105& ...
*
Pamphlet A pamphlet is an unbound book (that is, without a hard cover or binding). Pamphlets may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths, called a ''leaflet'' or it may consist of a ...
*
Pop-up book The term pop-up book is often applied to any book with three-dimensional pages, although it is properly the umbrella term for movable book, pop-ups, tunnel books, transformations, volvelles, flaps, pull-tabs, pop-outs, pull-downs, and more, each ...
*
Samizdat Samizdat (russian: самиздат, lit=self-publishing, links=no) was a form of dissident activity across the Eastern Bloc in which individuals reproduced censored and underground makeshift publications, often by hand, and passed the document ...
*
Underground comix Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority ...
* United Fanzine Organization


References


Further reading

* Anderberg, Kirsten. ''Alternative Economies, Underground Communities: A First Hand Account of Barter Fairs, Food Co-ops, Community Clinics, Social Protests and Underground Cultures in the Pacific Northwest & CA 1978–2012''. USA: 2012. * Anderberg, Kirsten. ''Zine Culture: Brilliance Under the Radar''. Seattle, USA: 2005. * Bartel, Julie. ''From A to Zine: Building a Winning Zine Collection in Your Library''. American Library Association, 2004. * Biel, Joe ''$100 & a T-shirt: A Documentary About Zines in the Northwest''. Microcosm Publishing, 2004, 2005, 2008 (Video) * Biel, Joe ''Make a Zine: Start Your Own Underground Publishing Revolution'' (20th anniversary 3rd edn) Microcosm Publishing, 1997, 2008, 2017 * Block, Francesca Lia and Hillary Carlip. ''Zine Scene: The Do It Yourself Guide to Zines''. Girl Press, 1998. * Brent, Bill. ''Make a Zine!''. Black Books, 1997 (1st edn.), . Microcosm Publishing, with Biel, Joe, 2008 (2nd edn.), . * Brown, Tim W. ''Walking Man, A Novel''. Bronx River Press, 2008. . * Duncombe, Stephen. ''Notes from Underground: Zines and the Politics of Alternative Culture''. Microcosm Publishing, 1997, 2008, 2017. . * Kennedy, Pagan. ''Zine: How I Spent Six Years of My Life in the Underground and Finally...Found Myself...I Think'' (1995) . * Klanten, Robert, Adeline Mollard, Matthias Hübner, and Sonja Commentz, eds. ''Behind the Zines: Self-Publishing Culture''. Berlin: Die Gestalten Verlag, 2011. * Piepmeier, Alison . ''Girl Zines: Making Media, Doing Feminism''. NYU Press. (2009) . * Spencer, Amy. ''DIY: The Rise of Lo-Fi Culture''. Marion Boyars Publishers, Ltd., 2005. * Watson, Esther and Todd, Mark. "Watcha Mean, What's a Zine?" Graphia, 2006. . * Vale, V. ''Zines! Volume 1'' (
RE/Search RE/Search Publications is an American magazine and book publisher, based in San Francisco, founded by its editor V. Vale in 1980. In several issues, Andrea Juno was also credited as an editor. It was the successor to Vale's earlier punk rock fanz ...
, 1996) . * Vale, V. ''Zines! Volume 2'' (
RE/Search RE/Search Publications is an American magazine and book publisher, based in San Francisco, founded by its editor V. Vale in 1980. In several issues, Andrea Juno was also credited as an editor. It was the successor to Vale's earlier punk rock fanz ...
, 1996) . * Wrekk, Alex. ''Stolen Sharpie Revolution''. Portland: Microcosm Publishing, 2003. . * Richard Hugo House Zine Archives and Publishing Project (ZAPP). "ZAPP Seattle". Seattle, USA. * "The Ragged Edge Collection," Skateboarding, Music, and Art Zines from the ‘1980s and’1990s
Internet Archive
{{Authority control DIY culture Fanzines Publications by format Subcultures Publishing Underground culture