Here at Spool, we love us a bit o' D.I.Y, so naturally we love the guys behind Brisbane's ZICS, which was on over the weekend. We went along to their opening night of the weekend symposium, which set the tone for the whole event - a love of writing in all of the zine and comic glory.
A bit of a backstory - ZICS stands for Zine & Indie Comic Symposium, and they're pretty much supporting Brisbane in the write right way. Friday night's festivities included a performance by The Bedroom Philospher, as well as The Golden Stapler awards (honouring such categories as Best Zine Series won by Ferguse; Best Zine and Zine Maker of the Year, both won by Rachel Kay); Scribble Slam (where brave folks went head to head creating amazing artwork under a time limit, and the winner was decided purely on how loud the crowd was) and even a 7" launch by Mystery School!
Throughout the weekend, there were plenty of zines and comics available, as well as live panels and discussions, and even workshops! We caught up with a few other attendees to see what they thought of the night!
Elly/Librarian & Keira/Medical Scientist
How did you hear about tonight?
E: A guy I used to work with helped organise tonight.
Do you have a favourite Zine?
K: Not so much, Im just starting to get into it.
E: The Lavender Room Zine-in-a-Matchbox.
Where have you last bought your Zines from?
E&K: Newcastle.
Describe what a Zine is in 5 words:
E: Small, fun, informative, clever and opinionated.
K: Comic, small, weird, unique and D.I.Y.
Last arts event you attended?
E&K: Quilts at GOMA.
Anything arts related you are looking forward to?
E: Brisbane Writers Festival.
How did you hear about tonight?
E: A guy I used to work with helped organise tonight.
Do you have a favourite Zine?
K: Not so much, Im just starting to get into it.
E: The Lavender Room Zine-in-a-Matchbox.
Where have you last bought your Zines from?
E&K: Newcastle.
Describe what a Zine is in 5 words:
E: Small, fun, informative, clever and opinionated.
K: Comic, small, weird, unique and D.I.Y.
Last arts event you attended?
E&K: Quilts at GOMA.
Anything arts related you are looking forward to?
E: Brisbane Writers Festival.
Luke Humphris/ Author of 100 Tips for Being Awesome and General Kick-Assery
What is your comic about? Is it just you writing it?
Lots of jokes, and yep - I prefer to work alone. It's easier and I have more control.
How long have you been writing your comic for?
About a year
Where can we find it?
You can get it online, or here at ZICS.
What are some of your favourite zines or comics?
Definitely Ashcan Comics
How'd you get involved with ZICS?
They gave a shout out and I wanted to get involved with something alternative. There aren't many zine circles around Brisbane so this is really good.
What was the last arts event you went to?
It's been a while... I went to the Melbourne Supanova!
Is there anything you're looking forward to?
The Brisbane Writers Festival, especially Well Drawn and all the comic stuff.
Words by Wendy Ma
Saturday night was a bit of a party at the Hangar, with Laura Brown's carefully curated Rinse and Repeat. We walked into a handful of delightfully bright colourful pieces amongst them a video of a scantily clad bubblegum haired babe cooking some unicorn meat (Hannah Bronte). That was just the beginning...
Words by Wendy Ma
Saturday night was a bit of a party at the Hangar, with Laura Brown's carefully curated Rinse and Repeat. We walked into a handful of delightfully bright colourful pieces amongst them a video of a scantily clad bubblegum haired babe cooking some unicorn meat (Hannah Bronte). That was just the beginning...
Sarah / Does things (too humbled to say but she writes for fourthousand /artist /DJ/ takes photos)
1. What was your favourite and why?
Alice's aura mirrors, which represented each stage in her life; taken by aura photographers the transposed onto the mirrors.
2. Most exciting thing you did today?
Made a vegetarian lasagne; crumbed eggplant, pasta, pumpkin and feta, pasta, spinach and onion, pasta, tomato saucy stuff with tomatoes boiled down, cheese sauce, cheese.
3. What are you looking forward to seeing?
All denim party at Black Bear; I'm going to be sewing a few pairs of jeans together for a onesie and maybe bake a denim cake for it, cause it's like a birthday party.
4. If you were a digital platform what would you be and why?
Okaycupid because I'm a creep...
1. What was your favourite and why?
Alice's aura mirrors, which represented each stage in her life; taken by aura photographers the transposed onto the mirrors.
2. Most exciting thing you did today?
Made a vegetarian lasagne; crumbed eggplant, pasta, pumpkin and feta, pasta, spinach and onion, pasta, tomato saucy stuff with tomatoes boiled down, cheese sauce, cheese.
3. What are you looking forward to seeing?
All denim party at Black Bear; I'm going to be sewing a few pairs of jeans together for a onesie and maybe bake a denim cake for it, cause it's like a birthday party.
4. If you were a digital platform what would you be and why?
Okaycupid because I'm a creep...
