DIY feminist zines since 2001
😮 Today, August 25th, is Chainsaw Bunny‘s birthday aka the anniversary of her creation! Send all birthday cards, carrot cake, and wishes her way! She’s turned 14 but is still such a little baby. 🙂
Some cute photos:
As you may already know, I just released two new issues of my zine Confined.
Here are some sneak peeks of the inside pages of Confined #3 and #4: (spoiler alert!)
And one image I wanted to highlight because it’s so relevant right now:
Thanks to everyone who has supported the pre-order! If you haven’t received your copies of the zines yet, they will reach you very soon!
More info about the new Confined issues here.
The Covid-19 quarantine has proved to be an excellent time to make zines for me. I made a bunch of of new ECHO publications and also collaborated on others.
It started small: in the beginning of the lockdown I created a mini-zine about herbs called Witches’ Brew #1 which allowed me to retain some connection to nature while staying mostly at home. Thanks to a herb patch at a local park, I could draw and write about rosemary, lemon balm, thyme, and other herbs, and create a little booklet.
New comic diary zine made during International Zine Month:
Scissors & Chainsaws #2
Seven years ago I made the first issue of Scissors & Chainsaws*. It was my first self-published diary comic and I enjoyed the creation process a lot. And now it was time for a follow-up…
This second issue documents my life during July 2020: International Zine Month (IZM). With drawings, words, and comics I talk about the zine projects I was engaged in, what the Covid-19 lockdown situation was like where I live in July, my dream house, my friends, street-art I’ve spotted on walks, Chainsaw Bunny, and more.
*The title refers to zines (scissors as an essential tool for zine-making) and to Chainsaw Bunny (the stuffed bunny I made and appaears in my comics and postcards).
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36 pages, A5, black/white printed on recycled paper with light-green cover, hand-bound with green cotton yarn
How to order this zine?
Send me an email to place an order or if you have any questions. The zine costs 3 euros + postage.
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Other zines you might be interested in:
Scissors & Chainsaws #1 was made during International Zine Month in July 2013. Nice to look back at what things were like before this pandemic started…
ECHO has not 1 but 2 new zines out!
Confined is a diary comic zine in two parts about how I experienced the Covid-19 lockdown. Both zines talk about everyday things and little adventures like going on walks and drawing with friends, as well as political reflections. Both zines also feature Chainsaw Bunny.
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Part I: April 19 – May 21
Part 1 of Confined tells the story of the (semi)lockdown starting from my birthday mid April. It includes a privilege list, things that brought me hope and joy since the beginning of the lockdown, a lockdown-themed bingo, and a playlist. The comic zine mentions how I celebrated my birthday, playing music at home, guerrilla gardening, eating fries, going back to work, online zine fests, feeling tired, printing zines, meeting friends, and more.
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Part II: May 22 – June 30
In part 2 of Confined I started rehearsing again with my band Lavender Witch and we set up the pre-order for our debut album Awakening (it was released in July). My old band Vagina Dentata got together to record a song as well. There are also mentionnings of the zine mail I received, hanging out with friends, Black Lives Matter and anti-colonial protests, listening to Juliana Hatfield, and more. Finally, part 2 includes an easy lasagna recipe and a lockdown-themed playlist.
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Each zine is 44 pages, A5 format. Printed on recycled paper with a light-brown cover and tied with red cotton thread.
How to get this zine?
Mail me if you want a copy.
Each zine costs 3 euros and both together is 6 euros (postage not included)*.
* It’s a bit more expensive than my usual zines because there are maaaany pages and I’d like to break even with the print costs…
Since somewhere halfway in April I’ve been drawing a diary comic. The plan is to publish it as a zine soon – or better: a zine in at least 2 parts because I already have too many pages for just 1 zine! I’m enjoying making this comic so much I don’t want to stop yet.
In the comic I draw about what my life is like these days and how I deal with the (semi)lockdown. I guess it’s a mix of a perzine and a comiczine. 🙂 There is stuff about guerrilla gardening, having to go back to work, recording music at home, protests, and mini-adventures, while Chainsaw Bunny keeps me company.
I’m just looking for a title now… I have some ideas but haven’t made the final decision yet. I hope to release both parts some time in July.
As you may or may not know, International Zine Month will be upon us soon (July is dedicated to all-things-zine) and I intend to just continue drawing and make another comic diary zine during that month. Not sure if it will be part III of the lockdown diary comic (since there’s almost no lockdown left anymore at the moment) or a second issue of Scissors & Chainsaws. The first issue of Scissors & Chainsaws was made in July 2013 and I think it was also the first zine which featured Chainsaw Bunny.
More news soon!
The MINE Anthology is a book full of engaging, creative and colourful cartoons, comics, and illustrations from various international artists, published to support the Repeal the 8th campaign by Irish feminist organisations. The project demands to repeal the 8th, provide true reproductive freedom and install legal and accessible abortion services in Ireland.
Our bodies are OURS!
My body is MINE!
So I get to decide what happens to it!
MY body MY choice!
Bodily autonomy now!
This amazing book was published a little while ago and you can still buy it here. There are also some cute bags for sale. Check it out and support MINE!
I happily participated in this project by contributing a comic for the publication. Here you can see the comic I made, depicting a short herstory of abortion rights in Belgium (it was only semi-legalised – legal under some conditions – here in 1990!):
Please support MINE and reproductive freedom for all!
Someone made a translation in Portugese of my illustration about leg hair! Cool!
It was a long and hard delivery, but then again, it’s quite something to give birth to your 8th child!
Same Heartbeats gives you insight into the local, Belgian and European zine/ladyfest/feminist scene. This feminist zine has been going for 8 years and has covered a great number of feminist events and actions, shared DIY/craft ideas, reflected on feminist theory and activism, promoted zine culture and published travel stories and other personal-political writings.
The 8th issue of Same Heartbeats delves into the world of feminist festivals again: LaDIYfest Berlin, F-Word in Amsterdam, Et Biiim in Lille and Agitations in Charleroi. Just before its release, ECHO’s 24 hour zine Letter Soup rolled off the printers too. Same Heartbeats gives you the inside story for all 24 Hour Zine events that have taken place so far in Belgium (in 2014 and 2015). And what else? More personal-political writings, and even a call for a feminist strike!
Contents:
As always, Same Heartbeats combines text, comics and drawings, both hand-made and computer edited / layouted. #8 is an extra big issue: 36 pages instead of the usual 32.
Get a copy now! Same Heartbeats #8 costs only 2 euros + postage.
Mail to: flapper_grrrl@yahoo.co.uk
Distros, please get in touch. Open for zine trades too.
This zine was presented at:
For previous issues of Same Heartbeats, click here, and info about all other ECHO zines can be found here.
Because the winter holidays are near, ECHO presents two zine gift packs:
Winter zine pack I:
The most recent issue of Same Heartbeats, a personal-political feminist zine that was started almost a decade ago, delves into the world of DIY feminism again. It contains comics about going to Ladyfest Brussels 2014 and going on tour with the feminist punk band Vagina Dentata, analyses the pros and cons of women-only spaces, talks about feeling part of the feminist scene in Brussels and Ghent, reports on Queer Zine Fest London and the event against violence against women called Doorbreek de Stilte, and interviews British zine maker Melanie Maddison. The cover is a reprint of a lino cut.
Same Heartbeats #6 is a return to the travel stories and ladyfest experiences that were so present in the earliest issues of Same Heartbeats. Here, those travel stories include visiting Ladyfests in Berlin and Amsterdam (or LaDIYfest as they call it) and the Queer Zine Fest in London. But there’s space for local stuff as well, with a DIY tour guide to Ghent, mentioning various interesting spaces and projects (inspired by the zine DIY Berlin: Be Your Own Damn Tour Guide). Furthermore, there are tips on how to play drums and learn self-defense. As ever, lots of collage art, comics and drawings.
Consciousness-raising, a call for action, questioning academic/post-modern feminist language, zines and libraries, non-hierarchical feminist ways of organising, crafty recycling ideas and lots of drawings on herstoric and contemporary feminists (Anneke Van Baalen, Bunnies On Strike, Pussy Riot, Famba, Vagina Dentata…): you can find it all in this issue of Same Heartbeats, published in July 2012. This 5th issue concentrates on the activist part of the feminist movement, whereas #4 is more about feminist theory…
Published in the autumn of 2010, the 4th issue of Same Heartbeats focuses on feminist theory (strategies for a feminist revolution and a critique on academic/post-modern feminism) and history (about the Dolle Mina action groups and the women’s liberation rock bands, both from the 1970s). Of course there are also some reports of feminist events: _fest in Cologne and Take Back The Night / Heksennacht in Ghent. The cover is decorated with a hand-made lino stamp making each copy of this zine unique and the back cover is the now notorious “So what? I don’t shave my legs” poster.5 euros + postage
Winter zine pack II:
The most recent issue of Same Heartbeats, a personal-political feminist zine that was started almost a decade ago, delves into the world of DIY feminism again. It contains comics about going to Ladyfest Brussels 2014 and going on tour with the feminist punk band Vagina Dentata, analyses the pros and cons of women-only spaces, talks about feeling part of the feminist scene in Brussels and Ghent, reports on Queer Zine Fest London and the event against violence against women called Doorbreek de Stilte, and interviews British zine maker Melanie Maddison. The cover is a reprint of a lino cut.
Space Invasion was hand-made in a few days time, a weekend full of die-hard zine-creating, during the 24 hour zine challenge that took place in October 2014 in Ghent. As the title says, the zine focuses on space in different meanings of the word. Inside you’ll find pages dedicated to space camps, lesbian feminist haunted houses, squats and women’s peace camps. The zine also talks about reclaming the streets, adbusting / street-art, street harassment and taking space as a woman in public places. In the centerfold you can see a map of autonomous feminist projects and groups in and around Belgium.
CunT & Paste was made in exactly 24 hours during 24 Hour Zine Day in Juy 2014, mostly by hand, drawn, cut and pasted, with a hand-printed lino stamped cover. This zine tells the writer’s personal story of discovering the zine world, listing zines that made an impact in her life, telling short herstories of zines and feminist posters and explaining how to make your own poster. In other words: a zine dedicated to feminist zine culture and graphic art.
One month of drawing comics, that’s the idea of this zine that was made for International Zine Month in July 2014. Each page is a day of that month, telling what happened. It ranges from work-related stuff to zine adventures and playing live for the first time with Vagina Dentata. And of course Chainsaw Bunny plays an important role! The zine has a green recycled cover. (Foam bunny book marks are sold out).
A how-to-make-stuff zine that was collectively made and co-edited with Coco Riot, full of DIY guides to a great variety of things! This includes making candles and anarchist flags, organising DIY days and home parties, fixing flat tires and building a greenhouse for your plants. At the back there are collectively-made comics too! This zine was made during Buy Nothing Make Something, a day full of DIY workshops organised by the Riot Grrrl Collectief in Hasselt in 2008.5 euros + postage
Offer available until January 31st 2014.
Echo Zines 