04 Jan 2026
On New Year’s Day, I came across a video by a gentleman named Stefan Halbuer where he shared Zinuary, his let’s-make-a-zine-in-a-month challenge.
YouTube’s algorithm regarding my personal tastes is pretty tightly dialed in at this point. Most artsy, craftsy, DIY kinds of things tumble through my feed eventually…and I love it.
Getting an unexpected jolt of inspiration like this is like Mario getting a power-up, I hear that jangly 8-bit organ riff and instantly feel more creatively powerful.
Lots to love about Zinuary:
1. I love that he opens it up to whoever wants to join, any and all types of creators. One of the original superpowers of digital media is to quickly amass an online group of like-minded nerds and share stuff. I should really try to join more of these types of things..!
2. I really dig his illustration style — that grungy, sci-fi, comic bookish feel is smack dab in my sweet spot! (His work reminds me a little of the King of drawn detail, Geof Darrow.)
3. Zines! It fills me with joy that this form of expression lives on. It remains one of the most immediate and accessible ways to play with color, text, language, imagery, sequence — whatever floats your innermost boat! Zines are born out of love of the creative act and can be humble or fancy, playful or deep, narrative or nonsensical. They are the individual voice made tangible.
Now, while it’s true that Stefan is a professional illustrator and his zine, Electric Bazaar, represents a work on the highly polished end of the scale, the spirit of the form has its roots in a much grungier, handmade aesthetic.
For example… another YouTuber I like has a channel called Bill Making Stuff and, as luck would have it, he recently posted a zine vid, as well. His work hews far closer to the old school, punk-inspired origins of the zine. Rustle up a marker, some scissors, old magazines, and a copier, and you have the makings of an independent publication.
Bill’s zine and Stefan’s zine couldn’t be more different, visually. But both radiate the passion of their creators, and it’s invigorating to gather warmth from that fire.
To my mind, zines are like a magical Tardis tent, where no one gets turned away, there’s enough room inside to accommodate whatever you care to bring, and they might just take you somewhere unexpected.
So, I’m adding making a zine to my list of January goals. (Maybe this will be a good project to kick off content for my root website?)
I encourage you to join in! There are tons of vids out there on how to make a zine, go as simple or as fancy as you want. There are literally no rules! If you join Stefan’s discord, you’ll get insights into his process and what’s happening in his group, but there are lots of zine creators out there with work to share. Who knows? There might even be events/get-togethers/conventions in your local area.
For those wanting to dive deeper into the world of zines, here’s a Goodreads list of zine resources.