Mereida Fajardo and Marcy Fraser’s Zinezilla festival has become a welcome spiritual successor to the Bristol Comic and Zine Fair and now also occupies the same space as its geographical predecessor did as the unofficial opening event of the UK’s major Autumn comics events season. For the last couple of years Zinezilla has also published its own anthology with contributions from exhibitors. This year is no exception with the third volume having the theme ‘Zine Shanties’.
In all its incarnations Zinezilla has always leant heavily into the kaiju motif and this is reflected in The Zinezilla Comics Anthology Vol. 3 which starts with the premise of giant monsters lost at sea and trying to make their way to the titular fair. As you would expect from previous offerings it’s a mix of eclectic styles and tongue-in-cheek misadventures, all wrapped up in a most eye-catching Nanami Takeuchi cover (above).
The opening strip ‘Zine Shanties’ by Marcy Fraser sets the irreverent tone. A group of travelling Kaiju make their way to the festival via a journey that includes desert islands, pirates and mermaids. There’s no real plot here because there doesn’t need to be – it’s a series of likeable random encounters that gets you in the mood and does some fun things with page structures. I particularly liked the inventiveness and comic timing of the walking-the-plank sequence above.
Other highlights include the always reliable Ed Stockham who injects a little bit of witty existentialism into his story of a creature covered in kelp, and Orlangejuice’s ‘You Wouldn’t Download a Boat’ which takes a premise inspired by an old DVD anti-piracy ad in a very literal and gloriously bizarre direction. WeiJia Wu is a new name to me but in the wordless pages of ‘The Day I Became a Sailor’ (above) we are treated to a tale of a mermaid and transformation that is quite beautiful in its haunting fragility.
The standouts are twofold. One is definitely ‘A Selkie’s Spell’ (above) from Abs Bailey whose self-published graphic novel Mother last year was a work of body horror magnificence that really should have been picked up by a publisher by now. This story of peer pressure and rightful comeuppance as a group of mermaids pick on a vulnerable selkie is typical of Bailey’s richly off-centre approach to narrative, gorgeously effective colouring, and fluid cartooning style.
Mereida Fajardo provides the other with ‘Stag Do at the Horniman’ that gives us the wonderful starting point of a support group for fake carnival mermaids and moves on from there. Fajardo knows how to work a page – she’s one of the UK’s finest experimental comics creators after all – and here she wonderfully combines moody colouring, deadpan humour, and a slow build-up to a quite lovely punchline. There’s even a niche walrus/taxidermy joke there for the observant familiar with the location of the title.
Whether you’re attending Zinezilla or not this weekend, this collection is a most worthy showcase of UK-based indie talent providing a platform that will bring its lesser known talents to wider audiences. For that reason alone it’s deserving of your support. The fact that it’s a cracking good read as well should make it an essential buy.
Marcy Fraser, Ed Stockham, Jacob Thomas, Orlangejuice, WeiJia Wu, Abs Bailey, Charlie Barnett, Mereida Fajardo, Sarah Peap, Jamie Mugford • Zinezilla, £5.00 print/£3.00 digital
Review by Andy Oliver
Zinezilla takes place on Saturday September 12th. More details here.
Poster by Marcy Fraser
