Happy Accidents
I came across the world of zines by accident, fortunately, a happy one. I have always been interested in comics and graphic novels, particularly those written by women — the more personal, the better. I decided to search the Internet for comic festivals in the San Francisco Bay area, where I live, and I came across a comics and zine fest. Zine? What a curious term, I thought, as I clicked on a link that forever changed my life in fabulous ways. The more I researched the term “zine” the more I fell in love. At first, it was an addictive kind of love where I COULD NOT get enough. I read and read. I listed every zine fest around the country on my calendar (I had, and still have, a fantasy that I will one day visit them all, including those in Canada where the zine community is flourishing!) For all the fascination I have with zines, I confess, I’ve only been to two zine festivals: the SF Zine Fest and the San Antonio Zine Fest.
SAN FRANCISCO ZINE FESTIVAL
The San Francisco Zine Festival was special because it was my first one. I brought $100 to spend and ended up spending $200. I couldn’t help myself. The picture below of all the zines laid out on a table is the bounty I collected. I read my zines all week and continue to go back to them when I need a dose of inspiration. I also enjoyed stopping by the table of zines made by middle schoolers. Whoa are kids advanced these days! It’s amazing.
SAN ANTONIO ZINE FESTIVAL
San Antonio was special for two reasons: 1) I took my paternal grandmother, Iris, with me. She lives in San Antonio and is a poet. She enjoyed learning about zines and bought a couple for herself. And 2) the festival had a large representation of Latinx artists. It was beautiful to read their stories and to note the differences between my two zine collections: San Francisco vs. San Antonio. Fascinating stuff!
I can’t wait to attend the next zine festival and am already saving up so I can add to my collection!
