Monthly Archive for August, 2024

We’re swimming in zines over here at Quimby’s! 

Did you know that we receive zines & comix by hand and by mail just about every day? As anyone who has stepped through our door can attest, we have a staggering number of zines on our shelves. Gazing upon them may make you wonder—where to begin?????????

Well, worry not dear reader, cause I, your friendly neighborhood zine slinger Echo the Human, am here to share a few of my current faves!

Here are just a few of the glittering standouts that are currently gracing our shelves (so get ‘em while we got ‘em!):

Shit Dates #5: Shit or Lit? by Mel Stringer

Mel Stringer’s endlessly entertaining Shit Dates series documents real people’s shitty date experiences in comic form. And issue #5 features a special twist! It contains a mix of shitty and wonderful dates, so you can have extra fun guessing how each one will turn out. 

This is one of my current faves cause it’s both funny and touching, and cause I’m a big fan of Mel’s drawing style. A top-notch comic!

De las Casas by Dave Ortega

De las Casas is a beautifully illustrated zine by comic artist Dave Ortega. It contains “selections from ‘an account, much abbreviated, of the destruction of the Indies’ written from 1540 to 1542 by Dominican friar Bartolomé de las Casas.” 

As horrifying as it is to read about the unimaginable atrocities that the Spanish inflicted upon the indigenous people of Ay-ti (what is now Haiti and the Dominican Republic) and other Caribbean islands, this is a very important story to share. It’s so critical that we are able to see and preserve every aspect of history, not just the whitewashed points of view. 

This is one of my current faves because I deeply appreciate the efforts that artists like Ortega are making towards educating the public about colonization. As a person of afro-indigenous Caribbean descent, this particular chapter of colonial history, one that is largely under-recognized, strikes a chord deeply within me. 

Thank you for a beautiful and moving zine, Dave!

Caboose #10: the Searching Issue by Liz Mason

I recently read issue #10 of Caboose and found it to be delightful! In it, zinester extraordinaire Liz Mason provides us with a fascinating peek into the world of transcendental meditation. It’s so fun to follow Liz’s experience as she curiously and dubiously dips her toe into the strange realm of TM.

I love this zine because it’s a shining exemplar of Liz’s fun and excellent writing style. And it’s hilarious! This is a must-have for any serious zine collection!

Shine on, zine-stars!

<3 Echo

Live from the basement of Quimby’s!