A punk zine (or punkzine) is a zine related to 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 freedom ...

and hardcore punk music genre. Often primitively or casually produced, they feature punk literature, such as social commentary,

punk poetry Punk literature (also called punk lit and, rarely, punklit) is literature related to the punk subculture. The attitude and ideologies of punk rock gave rise to distinctive characteristics in the writing it manifested. It has influenced the transg ...

, news, gossip, music reviews and articles about punk rock bands or regional punk scenes.

History

1970s: origins

Starting in the 1970s, the DIY aesthetic of the punk subculture created a thriving underground press. Amateur magazines related to punk were inspired by the rock fanzines of the early 1970s, which were inspired by zines from the science fiction fan community. Perhaps the most influential of the fanzines to cross over from science fiction fandom to rock and, later, punk rock and new wave music was Greg Shaw's '' Who Put the Bomp'', founded in 1970. One of the earliest punk zines was '' Punk'', founded in New York City by John Holmstrom, Ged Dunn and Legs McNeil. Debuting in January 1976, the zine championed the early New York underground music scene and helped associate the word "punk" with these bands, most notably 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 ...

. Other early punkzines from the United States included ''Search & Destroy'' (later '' REsearch''), '' Flipside'' and '' Slash.'' An early United Kingdom punk zine was '' Sniffin' Glue'', produced by Mark Perry, who also founded the band Alternative TV, in 1976. Perry produced the first photocopied issue of ''Sniffin' Glue'' in London after attending the Ramones concert on 4 July 1976 at the Roundhouse. Punk zines were produced in many European countries in subsequent years. The first Irish one was published in March 1977. In Australia in 1977, inspired by the Saints and Radio Birdman, Bruce Milne and Clinton Walker fused their respective first zines ''Plastered Press'' and ''Suicide Alley'' to launch ''Pulp''; Milne later went on to invent the cassette zine with ''Fast Forward'', in 1980. Another early publication was ''Self Abuse'' first published in Sydney in December 1977.

1980s

The politically charged '' Maximum RocknRoll'' and the anarchist '' Profane Existence'' were notable punkzines that were founded in the 1980s. By that time, most local punk scenes had at least one punkzine. The magazine '' Factsheet Five'' chronicled thousands of underground publications and "zines" in the 1980s and 1990s. In the 1980s, the punk self-publication scene was quickly expanding to include numerous different subcultures within the genre. For example, the birth of the Queercore movement: inspired by the desire for social change, the subculture was represented by zines that sought to accept those within the LGBT community who were also involved in punk and also had overwhelming themes of promoting individual rights. The topics discussed in the issues often ignited forums and chatrooms where readers could share their opinions. This genre of zine was self-sustaining and produced in a DIY manner. ''Queercore'' is often accredited to a Toronto-based zine entitled

J.D.s ''J.D.s'' is a queer punk zine founded and co-published in Toronto, Ontario, Canada by G. B. Jones and Bruce LaBruce, that ran for eight issues from 1985 to 1991. " ''J.D.s'' is seen by many to be the catalyst that pushed the queercore scene int ...

, an abbreviation for "juvenile delinquents", created by H. Quinn and co-published with Bruce Wayne. ''H.Q.s'' was a cut-and-paste-style zine that featured manifestos and dialogue about identifying as

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the lat ...

within the realms of the punk community. Other zines that instigated this movement are

Chainsaw (punk zine) ''Chainsaw'', a punk zine edited by "Charlie Chainsaw" was published in suburban Croydon in 1977 and ran to fourteen issues before ceasing publication in 1984. A hand-lettered 'n' became a stylised trademark in articles after the 'n' key broke ...

, Outpunk, and Homocore. The queercore zines influenced 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 subcultur ...

zines of the late 1980s and 1990s, as well.

Riot Grrrl zines

The "

" movement emerged from the punk scene in the United States when women began to produce zines with

feminist 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 ...

themes. The "riot grrrl" wave was influential for pinkzines as it called for females to publish and produce content in the male dominated culture. Featuring political issues from a personal standpoint, the zines arose in popularity amongst the underground world of punk. The format of the "riot grrrl" zines was similar to that of queercore zines, in that they were cut and paste and xeroxed with many featuring collages. Self-published punkzines from this era such as Bikini Kill, Girl Germs, and ''Jigsaw'' were put out by members of riot grrrl bands who supported the notion of women learning to play music and feeling self-empowered. Other apparent themes in this category of zine include

activism Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in Social change, social, Political campaign, political, economic or Natural environment, environmental reform with the desire to make Social change, changes i ...

, social change,

sexuality Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...

body image Body image is a person's thoughts, feelings and perception of the aesthetics or sexual attractiveness of their own body. The concept of body image is used in a number of disciplines, including neuroscience, psychology, medicine, psychiatry, ps ...

, and the discussion of controversial topics such as racism and

abuse Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...

List of punk zines

* '' Absolutely Zippo'' * '' Artcore'' * ''

Black Market Magazine ''Black Market Magazine'' was a music, film, art and comic zine which existed between 1984 and 1996. History and profile Based in San Diego, ''Black Market Magazine'' initially featured mostly reviews / interviews of punk rock and other alternati ...

'' * '' Chainsaw'' * '' Cometbus'' * '' Flipside'' * ''

Gadgie {{Short pages monitor