Fanzine
For this assignment, alone or with a partner, you will produce a single issue of a fanzine. A fanzine (or zine) is “a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleasure of others who share their interest” (Wikipedia. “Fanzine”).
- The fanzine can be on any subject, but you are encouraged to choose a topic related to comics, pop culture, and fandom.
- The zine must have an identifiable cover, title, table of contents, and introduction.
- Apart from the introductory material (cover, title, contents, introduction), your zine must have 3 or more additional content items. A content item could be whatever fits the subject and purpose of your zine. Examples of possible content items are articles, biographies, reference lists, art galleries, puzzles, games, news, letters from readers, fiction, poetry, comics.
- Including cover, introduction, table of contents, and three or more content items, your fanzine should have at least twelve pages.
- If you work with a partner, also submit, on a separate piece of paper, a paragraph that explains each student’s contribution.
Submit your assignment materials in class.
Here are some sample ’zines created by students :
- Ahart, E., & Osabiya, A. A Journey Through LGBTQ+ Spaces @ SSU’s Campus Zine (pdf)
- Melendy, K., Brown, T., Bedard, M., Radamacher, S., & Barringer, A. Reproductive Justice (pdf)
’Zine-making resources
- “Zine Workshop Freebie File”
- Akbari, R. (2018). “How to Make a Zine.”
- @brattyxbre (2024). “How to Make a Zine the Old Fashioned Way.”
Rubric
- 4 — Exceptional
- 3 — Good
- 2 — Acceptable
- 1 — Unacceptable
| Element | Score |
|---|---|
| Required assignment components (30 pts) The required assignment components are present: cover, title, table of contents, introduction, content items, twelve pages. Material is organized clearly and precisely. Introductory content creatively captures attention and concisely explains subject and purpose of fanzine. |
4 3 2 1 |
| Design (30 pts) Creative design is apparent; different content items are distinguished headings and discrete design. |
4 3 2 1 |
| Professionalism and effort (30 pts) By definition, fanzines are not “professional” publications. They are documents produced by fans and enthusiasts who are generally amateur writers, artists, and publishers. Nonetheless, a casual observe should be able to tell that the fanzine was created with care and considerable effort, not “thrown together” in a few minutes. All the examples we looked at in class demonstrate sufficient professionalism, care, and effort. |
|
| Structure and writing (5 pts) Fanzine writing has correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Written pieces have introductory paragraphs, and paragraphs have topic sentences. Playful, satirical, comedic, creative writing (fiction, poetry), and similar content does not always have to be “correct,” but otherwise, strive for correctness. |
4 3 2 1 |
| Citations (5 pts) External sources are consistently and accurately cited. Credit your sources, including sources of images. Note: Individual components of collages and similar uses of images do not need to be cited. But if you were doing a Peanuts fanzine and and include a short biography of Charles Schultz or an article about a particular Peanuts daily strip, you should cite content and image sources for those types of pieces. |
4 3 2 1 |