Falling in love with the Zine Scene

I'v always been a lover of books, since way way back.

The time before way way back, I remember being very behind the rest of the children my age in reading. I remember realising that I was still taking picture books out of the library, while everyone else had graduated to "chapter books". But I also remember the very first series of novels to grab hold of me and not let go -- Nancy Drew. I devoured Nancy Drew books and from that point on I skyrocketted ahead of my class in reading; I was a voracious reader and I would spend long hours into the night, and even through class much to my teachers displeasure, reading novels.

Mystery novels were my first love. I read slice of life books, Anne of Green Gables and others of her ilk. Later on when I read Lord of the Rings, my mind began to expand and realise that non-reality was much more creativly engaging then reality, and I read science fiction and fantasy. Then, something magical happened and I discovered graphic novels, comic books, manga, and superheros.
The combination of art and text to me was a stroke of pure genious. Animation and comic books became a fascincation for me as I had a great appreciation for the time and effort and skill involved in creating such a thing, from an artists perspective.

Manga was my first comic love. But I quickly expanded to american comics, appreciating the strange and wonderfull stylistic differences.
But as I went through more and more of both I began to realise that I was seeing much of the same things over and over again. So here I started to look for independant comics. Comics published at home on photocopiers. Comics done by people like me; my age, with their own distinct style, and their own stories to tell. Comics that didnt have the backing of a big publishing company.

So I bought my first few comic zines. I instantly fell in love with them. With the entire idea that there were people out there publishing their own comics, in styles that didnt fit into the other comic genres. Interesting artwork that I had never seen before. All of it was enchanting. Because of my encounter with this, I sought out the zine communities. I wanted to self publish my own comics.

And then, upon entering their online spheres, I came in contact with all sorts of other underground press movements. Magazines, music reviews, poetry books, short stories, artwork, comics.... and all or most of it activistic, political, opinionated, creative, strange. Compliation zines of numerous peoples thoughts on a topic, or a zine of one persons vacation trip with illustrations, each book representing a unique individual who was putting their voice out there, wanting to be heard, wanting to express.

Uncensored and raw, these are peoples voices in print format. These are a rejection of the media and a creation of a new, more honest media. DIY culure unleashed! Its rather spectacular, and powerfull, the peoples ability to create their own culture and their own underground media movement. I am blown away by the force of such a movement.

I have no intention of abandoning traditional print. My book collection will continue to be added too, shelves filling with great published authors and artists.
But now my shelves have a new collection, small, but growing. Of things that publishing houses would likely not spare a second glance at, but I have.