Zine Review: Meme Queen

Meme Queen

Zine, Kyle Bridgett and friends, 16 pgs

Meme Queen is totally out there and a major WTF. It kinda “reads” more like a Tumblr profile, layered with all sorts of weirdness and scary drawings and collage art and the like. There is basically zero central narrative or focus. In lieu of those, we get a half dozen or so contributors, each playing “one upper” to each other, tossing bits of art and imagery into the mix.

You could judge this zine using the classic “mosaic versus melting pot” argument that’s sometime applied to cultures and society. In this instance, it’s more of a melting pot, albeit one that was dropped with disparate ingredients splurged about, mixing with grime and goo and other bits of random matter. The “Types of Penguins” chart is a highlight. The little guys look pretty cute, especially when they’re trying to appear all rough n’ tumble by dressing like Vikings or gunslingers.

It all doesn’t make sense, and that’s okay, because Meme Queen is (I think) a celebration of people coming together and squishing their respective bits of quick, easy art into a singular work. It’s a triumph of collaboration, and you’d probably dig it if you like your zines loose and off-the-cuff. Otherwise, this might just be too messy to make the effort to read. (Cam Gordon)