The Wishlist of a Zine Queen

TEXT AND ILLUSTRATIONS BY MAGGIE LEE

I love you, I hate you, I hate you, whatever! Get over it and then gift and get gifted. Here’s a list of my top ten something specials to make your friend your best friend. These books, zines, art supplies, and other treasures are mind-expanding instruments that I have studied thoroughly with my face pressed against the cold glass window. I actually own some of these zines and they are the most cherished of all. Often, I refer back to them and reflect on their silly quirks, conceptual ideas, engaging pictures, or challenging theoretical ideals. When you are fully absorbed and constantly referencing imagery and quotes run wild through your mind, you know you have something great.

THE COLLECTED FANZINES OF HARMONY KORINE

www.dragcity.com, $24

This will educate you further on why us kids act the way we do as it was such a prime foundation for our generation’s city-art-drug-skate culture. Ideas, concepts, and aesthetics within this fanzine act as a catalyst that rekindles the spirit of the Alleged Gallery/New York art-world flame.

TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY BY PATRICK GRIFFIN

www.anewyorkthing.com, $5

This zine is the fictional drama of a child who wishes for TGIF, but only acquires a case of the Mondays. It’s illustrated with very weird clip art (like a woman holding a huge rock to the end of a chain that’s wrapped around her husband’s neck) and cool pics that come straight from the author’s mind.

KATE MOSS RORSCHACH BOOKS 1-3 BY ASHER PENN

www.shopgoldenage.com, $35

Asher has chosen three specific Kate Moss portraits and has juxtaposed the symmetrical mark of a Rorschach inkblot with her figure. Each book contains one image; my favorite is the second one. The design is really simple yet fascinating. These inkblots are ephemeral while the figure is stationary, some images appear a bit sinister while others charming. I most enjoy combining the viewer’s perception from the Rorschach with K.M.’s smirk.

LYSERGIC BY KRYSTLE COLE

www.amazon.com, $25.99

I first saw this psychedelic gem on

Vice

regular Hamilton Morris’s bookshelf. Krystle was once a black-lipstick-and-fishnet-wearing schoolgirl who matured into a psychedelic protégé and guru who loves the occasional San Pedro enema! She was taken under the wing of two LSD chemists who once produced 90 percent of the US acid supply in a missile silo in Kansas. This book is the story of all that.

STILL LIVES BY DAVID BEREZIN

www.sister.la, $12

What happens when you mix a little romance, something funny, thrills, and a dash of wit? The answer is

Still Lives

. David is a graphic designer who creates only the most exquisite fine art and makes you think, “Wait, are you related to Jan Davidszoon de Heem?” It’s just that baroque.

I AM NOT GOING TO DO ANYTHING BECAUSE I COULD NOT EVEN IF I TRIED, SELECTED ESSAYS 2007-2009 BY JORDAN AWAN

www.thekingsboropress.com, $8

These written passages study the existence and flux of creation. Crucial for the pissed prudent pupil and filled with quotes like “I have forced myself to contradict myself in order to avoid conforming to my own taste”—Marcel Duchamp.

WHATEVER DUDE BY JENNIFER SHEAR

yojshear@gmail.com, $5

“Whatever, dude” is exactly what this zine is about. Jennifer Shear is doing a slow burn throughout this mini-foldout accordion. She tells us first about her nasty staph infection, then about how Kurt Cobain tried to have sex but got way grossed out. On the last page, Jennifer’s fuse is finally blown as she ends the zine with a guide to making a colored smoke bomb

BLACK-GLAZED APPLE BONG BY LISA SITKO

www.oogaboogastore.com, $80

This ominous piece, I want to smoke. This sinister fruit, I have held in my hand once before and wished so badly that it were mine. And if it were mine to keep, I’d be that creep to breathe in deep. I would press my lips upon its orifice and weep, softly, to sleep.

PANTONE COLOR CHART

www.pantone.com, $125

This is basically a booklet of swatches that tell you the chemical breakdown of how to mix ink to get the color you desire. Mixing ink is really technical and perplexing even with a trained eye. This helps a lot, but I think it costs a million dollars. Ok fine, just a little over a hundred.

RISOGRAPH COPIER AND GLOW-IN-THE-DARK INK DRUMS

www.ebay.com, $1,000 - $4,000

This is the mass-producing machine that will give you the most pleasureable of all zine dreams. The Riso operates like a photocopier and prints in layers of color like a silk screen, using real ink instead of toner, and that makes it look like a hand-pulled print. More luscious zines, less manual labor.