Mythical Type

"Cat's Cradle" is a tiny story about mimicking someone. It's not quite sci-fi, but it feels like it...maybe because it was inspired by a scene near the end of Annihilation. (I won't spoil the movie and neither does the zine.)

Here's the full text of the story:

It's like playing cat's cradle,
but we aren't using string.

I do one thing.
She does something else that feels like...
an extension. A continuation.

And then we swap.

She does one thing—
says a phrase, draws some lines, moves her arm
just so.

I extend—
a line of poetry, a floral doodle, a yoga pose.

And then we swap.

The training protocol doesn't specify how to teach.
Just that I'm supposed to.

I report progress back to the team.

And then we swap.

“Modern-day Sisyphus” is a mini zine about 21st century tasks that never go away.

The zine is inspired by Sisyphus, a figure from Greek mythology who is tasked with rolling a boulder up a mountain, only for the boulder to roll back down every time he reached near the top.

Copies are available on Etsy.

Page 1 has a summary of the story of Sisyphus.

Page 2 lists chores that are repetitive: washing dishes, doing laundry, dusting, and vacuuming. At the bottom of page 2, there’s an illustration of a man rolling a boulder up a hill.

Pages 3 and 4 list tasks that are repetitive: making the bed, replying to emails, mowing the lawn, taking out trash, and paying bills. At the bottom of the pages, there’s an illustration of a man rolling a boulder up a hill.

Pages 5 and 6 list positive things that are repetitive: listening to favorite songs, making a cup of coffee, saying good night to loved ones, cooking favorite meals, celebrating holidays, and spending time on hobbies. At the bottom of the pages, there’s an illustration of a man rolling a boulder up a hill.

Here’s the back cover:

“Song lyrics I mishear” is a mini zine that lists lyrics where I hear the wrong words. Each page is about one song and includes the actual lyrics along with what I hear instead.

I wanted the interior pages to be a mix of typed text (the actual song lyrics) and handwritten notes (the words I hear). This way, the pages look like they’re annotated.

Copies are available on Etsy.

I've been particularly annoyed lately about how much we depend on cars, so I made a little zine about it.

I'm not saying we should eliminate cars completely. I want better public transportation so everyone has more and better options for getting around.

Here are the interior pages.

"Playground games in the 1990s" is a pros and cons list of recess activities that were popular in elementary school. (At least in central Pennsylvania, in the 1990s.)

Each page includes small illustrations relating to playground activities. I drew on Whitelines paper, so I could draw with a regular pen and then photograph the paper to use the drawings digitally.

Here are the interior pages.

"Movies I never want to see again" is about movies I watched one time and do not want to watch again. This doesn't mean they're bad movies! But something about them makes me feel like once is enough.

I drafted this zine by hand and then I made it in Canva. The popcorn bucket on the front is modified from Terrance Barksdale's photo on Pexels.

It's an 8-page mini zine printed on red paper. Actually, this is the first mini zine I've printed on something besides white paper. :)

Here are the interior pages.