Not Trans Enough: A Compilation Zine on the Erasure of Non Passing and Non Conforming Trans Identified People Editor: Eddie Jude Contributors: Megan Madden, Travis Alabanza, Tasha Tristan, Rhiannon Rober, Thryn Hare, Janae Shepherd, Amndissolved, Taylor Heywood, Maëlys Lecastor, Dani Ko Flux, Aya Mccabre, Dmitri-Coco Miller, Geoff, PAiNt, Rex Leonowicz, Rory, Clementine Morrigan, Girlie Wilson,…
Old Friends: Who’s Your Favourite Comic Book Character?
What do we love? Comics! Why do we love them? For various reasons! But among those reasons, of course, lies this one: a lot of comics let us form emotional bonds with made-up people. Characters! We all have favourite characters, right? Here are some of ours.
Stop Telling Women How to Feel
This is not a piece of hard-hitting journalism. I didn’t bury myself under a mountain of research before sitting in front of my computer to write, and that is on purpose. I’m here to talk feelings, because I am sick of women being policed for expressing their real and legitimate emotions.
Get On With Ron: Ronald Wimberly, Cartoonist in Profile
You may have heard of Ronald Wimberly. Perhaps you discovered him through The Nib when they published “Lighten Up,” in which he discusses being told by an X-Men editor to lighten a character’s skin, and then elaborates on the complexity of skin tone, race, ethnicity, and mainstream comics’ narrow view on the subject. Maybe you’re a…
How to Make a Zine the Chicago Zine Fest Way
Hey there, baby zinesters! Have WWAC’s zine reviews left you itching to create something of your own? You’re in luck, because Chicago Zine Fest (CZF) organizers Savay, Heather and Johnny Wawrzaszek graciously taught my artist-friend Bike Morch and me a simple binding technique. The Chicago Publishers Resource Center (CHIPRC) lent us their space for this…
Review: Beyond: The Queer Sci Fi & Fantasy Comic Anthology
Beyond: The Queer Sci Fi & Fantasy Comic Anthology Editor: Sfé R. Monster Assistant Editor: Taneka Stotts Beyond Cover Artist: Levi Hastings Beyond Interior Artist: Evan Dahm Contributors: Gabby Reed, Rachel Dukes, Niki Smith, Reed Black, Christianne Goudreau, Taneka Stotts, Ted Closson, Wm Brian MacLean, Blue Delliquanti, Shing Yin Khor, Kiku Hughes, Jon Cairns, Sfé…
Zine Review: Nonbinary by Melanie Gillman
Nonbinary Melanie Gillman If you’re a webcomics reader, you may be familiar with Melanie Gillman’s beautifully illustrated As The Crow Flies. Nonbinary still features Gillman’s extraordinary shading and color-sense, but jumps genres into nonfiction, autobio comics. In sixteen pages, the artist crafts a highly accessible and very personal portrait of their experience coming out as…
Zine Review: Hot Dog Beach #3
Hot Dog Beach #3 Art and words by Lale Westvind September 2015 Disclaimer: I received review copies of issues 1-3 of Hot Dog Beach from Lale Westvind. I discovered Lale Westvind’s comic zines when I attended a panel at the 2015 Chicago Alternative Comics Festival (CAKE) titled “Comic Books and Speculative Fiction.” When the conversation…
My First Game: Oregon Trail
The list of computer games I played as a kid is downright hilarious. My earliest, fuzziest memories are of something my sister and I called “The Miss Piggy Game” in which Miss Piggy rode a spaceship and shot some kind of weaponry. (I’m assuming this was Pigs in Space, but we never owned a video…
Screen Daze: Religious Webcomics to Binge On
September is a busy month for Jews. It’s our New Year (l’Shana Tovah!), we go through some redemption, we pray and chant and eat. So religion’s on my mind a bit and I started looking around for religious webcomics as a result. Readers, have any suggestions for me?
Decoupling Gender: Why You Should Care About Toys
On August 7th, Target announced that they were eliminating gender-based signage from their toy department. Proponents of the changes celebrated, and opponents released a flurry of negative media coverage. When I discovered the backlash exploding all over Facebook and Twitter I was pretty surprised, because this isn’t a very big change. The move to separate…
Zine Review: Hidden Expressions: Volume II
When no one will listen to your voice, you must make them listen. A fundamental part of zine and DIY culture is that it provides a space for marginalized people to meet others like them and be heard. While self-publishing comes with its own hurdles—many of them financial—zines are special because even if the paper…