Most Unwanted Zine

Author: Liz Mason

Publisher: LizMasonZines (2021)

So I did it. I made The Most Unwanted Zine, based on data I amassed from a zine survey filled out by zine makers and readers (combined with my experiences selling customized zine packs at Quimby's Bookstore where I am the manager).

The #1 thing people said they didn't want in a zine? Poetry. So there's that. The #2 thing people complained about zines? Shitty construction. So there's that. But also, don't miss a self-involved perzine rant, ridiculous font decisions with bad letting/kerning, a poorly laid out photo spread, the obligatory punk scene report, vague or meandering ramblings, lecturing with pedantically big academic words, whining and more!

In some ways, this zine is a collaboration with the zine-reading public, a democratically constructed People's Zine. It was inspired by the work of Russian conceptual artists Komar and Melamid's forays into the worlds of Most Wanted and Most Unwanted art and music. I also used it as a loving and snarky satire of zine culture, of which I have an intimate knowledge of based on my experiences being part of the culture.