As seller and also buyer, it feels as format of "zine" or "magazine" has been effected by sheer amount of images there are available. I am conscious of it plus critical about it, but also effected. While ago I was ordering some art zines outside Finland, and when you check out couple pre-view images and think.. 32 pages, A5, 10 euro. Ok. I can take it, but could I take multiple copies so I could sell some. To whom? People who may be exposed to hundreds, thousands of images at IG or something, and what is the role of paper zine with couple dozen pages?
Same thing appears with comics. Small DIY underground comics zine format is almost dead here, compared to situation couple decades ago. It is either online or book format that you will find.
My first involvement in "underground" started with self-made comics. Before bands, labels, or such. Just being exposed to 80's finn small-press / comic association anthologies and then self published comics/art zines. Idea of someone putting out tiny zine with handful of drawings, writing or something still remains one of things I remain to be interested in. There is something else in it, than uploading to social media.
Some of latest small print purchases have been like... hmm.. Tiitu Takalo "junassa" (On a train). I suppose it needs to be connected to her work as really talented comic artist, since this small postcard size self published book is "merely" sketches she drew while on long train rides. Small print run, hand stamped, found it in local art gallery couple weeks ago. 2025 release. No story, beyond just drawings and short fin/english texts here and there describing situation. Takalo's graphic novels are usually great. Her ability to depict human facial gestures is way beyond the normal. Which can also get highly annoying for brutes like myself. Feminism and related political leanings combined to expressive emotional female characters are sometimes... both merit and challenge, hah.
Anyways, "Junassa" is indeed one example of art zine (although 100 pages is already pretty thick) that is both object, self financed, partially hand made, but also many can ask: Why? Why I would buy pile of paper with some sketches made during train ride? No story? etc.
https://tiitutakalo.net/junassa-on-a-train/Recently there has been a lot of talk about shittyfication. One example being that bigger corporations keep making search engines worse and worse with conscious aim to keep people online, searching something they cant find fast.. so that they will see more ads and stay on their apps and search engines. Suddenly it feels vastly better idea to grab a zine or art book with merely handful of things to observe than jump into some of the social media apps where you got millions of images, but... nothing you really want to see?
I also like idea that something gets done. 'Zine that you actually read/watch from cover to cover. Not something that never ends.
Inspiring art zines? New, old, soft & arty, vile & transgressive. I'm interested to hear.
