In honor of Needles and Pens’ 9th birthday, I went on a Twenty-Three Dollar Adventure, a zine-reviewing approach pioneered by Suzanne Kleid on KQED Arts in 2008. For my own zine adventure, I doubled down and bought ten zines. Half were recommended by Needles and Pens’ co-owner and zine specialist, Andrew M. Scott, and the other half were selected by my wandering eye. Surprisingly, it was a challenge to find zines published by women, but after some digging, I left the shop with a well-balanced pile. After poring through each little book, I confirmed that my zine taste leans toward the more illustrative side. Here are the ones I liked best:
Read This to Get Your Enjoys, Number 3 by Maria Forde
It starts with a dedication to her grandmother, Eileen, and ends with portraits of manly, funny men like Louis C.K and Kenny Powers. Maria Forde is a San Francisco artist from Iowa who is beloved on the zine scene and takes special care with the details. This edition includes a bonus mini zine stapled into the middle, and a pocket in the back that holds a coupon for one free sunrise — a reminder that the best things in life are free (and apparently the best zines in life are nine dollars because this was my favorite).
Untitled by Shawn “AKO” Whisenant
On top of the pile of zines recommended by N&P was a small stitched and folded gem by my pal, Shawn. “AKO” is the one person I know who truly lives like a starving artist. He doesn’t get regular jobs and prefers life on a shoestring budget with the freedom to skate and make art. He’s into stitchwork and doesn’t use a sewing machine. He just hunkers down with a little Walgreen’s sewing kit and gets busy with his two hands, emphasizing the labor of love in his work. Behind its crafty sewn cover, the zine has color copied pages of Shawn’s artworks (paintings and collaged works with paper found on the street, like bus tickets and wet paint signs) and photos from his SF neighborhood adventures.
Permanent Vacation 2 by The Viking
You could say this zine looks like a neatly stacked pile of garbage stapled together. Stickers, receipts, to-do lists, and paper bingo boards make up this publication, which is exactly why I liked it. Reading it was like going through someone else’s wallet without feeling guilty. Some pages were photocopied but others had original hand-drawn doodles and tags. In the middle was an airmail envelope with a Loteria card tucked inside, and discovering it made me feel like Nancy Drew; like I’d just found an inconsequential clue. I tracked down The Viking’s Flickr and learned that Permanent Vacation 2 also includes the work of some pseudonymed colleagues: “Safety First, Optimist, Morgan, Have, Aider, Spesh and others.”
