This blog has been written by one of the Archives and Special Collections Centre volunteers. Our volunteers are working with us remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic.
LCC Zine Collection
The LCC Zine Collection website has been set up in order that the UAL community can still engage with the LCC Zine Collection held at the London College of Communication Library during the university building closure. Zines have been useful for individuals to spread ideas, stories and other thoughts to a wider group of people.
On initial arrival at the LCC Zine Collection is information about the project and why it has been set up.
The types of content are differentiated into two sections. From Pages can be found resources relating to the Zine Collection, including examples of zine sessions and an index to individual zines. From Sections can be found access to ongoing posts on the zines which are held in the collection, such as zines available online, websites and further information. All this is linked on the main page for faster access.
The initial set-up of the site means that it can be used to find a wide range of topics, which are grouped to the side. They are alphabetical, beginning with anarchism and going down to zine projects. The most recent posts also appear on the side of the page.
For this article I will be referring to the comics of the zines. These can be easily accessed from the side of the page, as can subjects ranging from anarchism to veganism.
While not LCC’s largest collection of zines, the comics collection is certainly one of the more entertaining collections of zines, showing a range of creativity and ideas. They range from the purely comical, such as Skeletor vs Sherlock Holmes, to a more slice of life, thoughtful one such as Up a blind alley.
Humorous comics
Skeletor vs Sherlock Holmes stands as a good example of the more comical side of zines. This 2010 strip acts as a crossover between two iconic characters but effectively parodies these fan-loved showdowns. Here the only conflict is the famous animated villain Skeletor turning off the kettle, leading to the great detective being tricked into throwing it away. The title itself deceives us into thinking this will be a different type of story before subverting our expectations with it being a story of a basic prank that could have been done with any other characters.
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These include further parody crossovers, such as a version of The Wicker Man using the Muppets.
Other comics
The Bedsit Journal is particularly interesting. It was published in 2009 and edited by Richard Cowdry, claiming on its cover to be for the discerning reader. The intention of this work was to a compilation of the best of British cartoonists.
Man with a camera is more serious, created by Francesco Fusaro and Tobia Maschio it as an examination of the former’s grandfather trying to create a better environment of the mentally ill before the Italian Psychiatric Revolution.
Usually copies of the zines mentioned can be found in the Library Catalogue, or there are links to further information, such as with Joe Decide’s What I Drew, which links to his website where all his comics can be found and to his personal blog.
Conclusion
The comic zines shown are therefore useful in demonstrating various ideas, from simple humour to more detailed ideas, demonstrating an amateur approach to express the stories that individuals have conceived. It is possible to leave comments on these zines, which could be useful in encouraging discussion on these products. Therefore, I highly recommended looking through the comic zines that LCC has on this website. The LCC Zine Collection also has a Facebook page.
For further information about the LCC Zine Collection contact libraryspeccolls@lcc.arts.ac.uk.