Category: our illustrious past

  • From the Archives March Edition

    Liz here, and I was having a great time in the basement organizing. Well, I mean, real talk: define “great.” But you know what I mean; I was amused by some of the things I rediscover as I get it all in order down there. But also, again, real talk: define “all in order.” YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN, STOP SASSING ME, PEOPLES. Still though. The stuff I have for you! Dig it.

    Well what do we have here? It’s famed sculpture artist legend Cynthia Plaster Caster and former Quimby’s employee and CUFF legend Bryan Wendorf at an event here, talking to whoever’s hand is in the photo. Are they talking to the hand? You know it. The best I can triangulate the date is as follows: this is from before I started here because whatever this event was, it was pre-me at Quimby’s, so it would be sometime before 2001. It was clearly after Quimby’s moved from the original location at 1328 N. Damen to here at 1854 W. North Ave., so it was definitely the late ’90s. And the guy all the way on the right has a chinstrap beard that screams 1998 in a way that I can’t even begin to describe. So I think somewhere between 1998-2000. No YOU go do the carbon-dating, I’m too busy scanning weird mail art.

    Sir! My soul is beaten down! Me too, bucko. I’m 90% sure we included this postcard in one of our MiniMagalogs but it is totally worth showing it off in its full glory here. How did this get here with no post date? And notice it is addressed to “SQUIMBY’S.” I understand why that happened. If you look at our logo, if you didn’t know otherwise. Allow me to explain once you look at the picture below.

    Check out our patches through the ages. The one we have now is the one on the left. Why did I not put them in order? Because I am a fool. When I placed them down on the scanner I accidentally put them in the reverse order because I am just that sort of absentminded hippo. Don’t @ me, people. And no, we don’t have the white or yellow rimmed ones. Just the peach-y salmon ones, which you can get here. ANYWAY, notice how close that S is at 8:00 to where Quimby’s starts at 9:00, you know what I’m saying? That’s why I know someone is a Quimby’s nube when they’re like “SQuimby’s!” But still, I understand how they arrived at that, even if there’s a color separation.

    Well look at that! It’s Matt Fagan, of Meniscus comic fame. And one of the founders of Brainstorm comics, which used to be down the street. The Evil Dead lunchbox! Can I tell you I forgot we even carried that? Or did he come in carrying it? Like on his way to work with a sandwich in it? Or maybe a necronomicon or something? No, you know what? I think we did sell that lunchbox.

    As the flyer says, Adrian Tomine and Seth did events at both here and Chicago Comics, but what really grabs me are the incidentals: the Chicago Comics phone number! It has a 312 area code. The 773 area code didn’t become a thing until 1996. And the event was at the OQ (Original Quimby’s, as coined by Billy McCall). So was this pre-1996? Wow. And anybody who has done stuff with print and photocopiers recognizes that white tape. It’s so that you don’t see the marks of the paper underneath. Yesssssss. Or if this was 1996, should I say “rad” and “booyah?” You’re welcome.

    I’m pretty sure Shappy (RIP) made this. He worked at both Quimby’s and Chicago Comics, so he dealt with the alternative comics vs superhero comics dichotomy on the regular. I loved his signs. But boy did he hate working! He said to me once, “Can’t I just sit and read issues of Eightball?” Chicago poet Robbie Telfer told me that Shappy got in trouble for using up all the toner in the printer for printing out pictures of Hanna-Barbera characters. Oh Shappy, I miss you. I’m so glad I was never your manager though.

    It’s Jake Austen, editor of the famed Chicago zine Roctober and Chic-a-Go-Go cable access impresario! With baby! So this must have been two decades ago. But I can tell by the placement of the lighting overhead that he was standing in front of the counter, and it was taken by whoever was sitting in the very spot I am sitting in at this very moment. It was me. I think I took this photo. At least, I’m pretty sure. There was a period of time before smart phones in which I always a had a camera with actual film in it, and then we’d take the film over to the Walgreen’s at Wood and Milwaukee to get developed. We’d pick it up like a million weeks later when we remembered it was there.

    Thanks for those super sick Gremlins in 2012, Cara Bean! These are excellent. We get a lot a lot of good mail art on envelopes. We could do a zine or a book of just the correspondence we get from people.

    Jesus saves big money! Thanks for the mail art in 2014, Peter Sickman-Garner! I bet this contained Hey, Mister. Sent Media Mail, the postal choice of self-publishers everywhere.

    A Quimby’s ad in a 1998 edition of Lumpen! That font is so fabulously 1990s-cocktail-exotica-space-age-bachelor-pad-revival that I just want to go drink a martini and listen to Combustible Edison.

    That’s what I got! Now go get in your time machines and listen to the Four Rooms soundtrack.

    xoxo

    Liz @caboosezine

  • From the Archive

    I was organizing the basement, particularly a flat file cabinet and the piles of stuff that had amassed around it. I was reminded that we tend to hire people that are artists and writers (often they’re people who have consigned their work with us too). If you work here you find yourself doing a variety of tasks including making signs, and we have a nice collection of them. It would be impossible to show you all the signs we’ve amassed over the years in one post, so I’ve selected a few of my favorites today.

    Former Quimby’s employee Gabby Schulz made this hilarious sign when we were having a tiki-themed day. The part that really slays me is the “So to speak.”

    If you’re a Peter Bagge fan, you 100% will find this clever AF. Aaron Renier didn’t work here but made us this awesome sign anyway. So great.

    That devil cabbage! Gabby made both the weed one and the Harder Drugz signs above, and they are little nuggets (ba ha ha ha) of hilarity. I love the tiny character portraits on both that serve as amusing commentary.

    Here’s former Quimby’s employee Corinne Halbert’s contribution to the weed bag (THE JOKES NEVER END I CAN’T HELP IT). The fact that it has a tab of LSD on it is quintessential Corinne, and is a nice little inadvertent shout out to her book Acid Nun.

    We sure seem to have a lot of signs about the drug books we sell, ha ha. I’m sure there’s more in the collection. Why didn’t I wait until 420 to whip these out? Because they’re awesome and you need to see these little pieces of art and history right now.

    Did you know Quimby’s used to sell DVDs? And when I started here in 2001 we had VHS tapes! Over time we phased out selling that stuff because it stopped moving for us. But there was a moment when we had it, and when it got cheap to burn your own stuff people were more prolific in consigning that type of thing with us. We had to keep the discs behind the counter because otherwise they’d get stolen though. And god forbid we get some design book that came with a disc! Forget about it. Former Quimby’s mini-comic sommelier Neil Brideau (of Radiator Comics) made this sign for us, and it’s very telling of an era.

    This is the flat file I was telling you about. The labels on the files have zero bearing as to what’s in the drawers, but they are hilarious: “Satanic Sex,” “Manson,” “Naked Wings.” And so on. I laugh out loud every time I look at them. I hope they stay on there forever.

    xoxo

    Liz

    @caboosezine

  • More From the Archive

    I pulled some more stuff from the archive for you people today. LUCKY YOU. I know you all really wanted to see this envelope that says “INVOICE” on it that only contains a letter E  and a fortune cookie fortune. Is that E for sale? Only if you want to — wait for it — BUY A VOWEL.

    Or maybe you wanted to see this sign Edie Fake made when they worked here for wood pizza slices someone consigned? This sign was filed away taped (probably accidentally) to a sign for some kind of fish item we were selling for 30 cents. I don’t think those signs were in any way related to each other but they were right next to each other in the crate for 23 years. Good enough for me! I’m thrilled to see that versatility is one of our outstanding traits, people!!

    Sidenote about the above 2 pictures: If I had to hazard a guess, I feel like that’s a John Porcellino envelope and a fish sign made by Neil Brideau. Maybe????

    Hey! A signed 2003 Sof’ Boy calendar from cartoonist Archer Prewitt of the Coctails/The Sea and the Cake. But why does this one start with October? I mean, I’m sure he gave us a full calendar (probably before 2002 was even over) but I’m trying to remember what happened here in 2003 that we were prematurely like, “Well that’s it! This year IS OVER!” and promptly took the calendar into the basement for storage. Knowing what it’s like around here though, it probably has more to do with us getting a tremendous amount of mail, and we were afraid of it getting lost in the shuffle. Hence it went downstairs to live with whatever else we’ve been hording down there, waiting for over 20 years later to reappear and be given love, in some kind of toy-that-became-real scenario. Well time is now, Velveteen Rabbit 2003 ‘Sof Boy Calendar! It’s October 2003! Log into Friendster and scream into your camera phone because you think nobody can hear you!

    Is that Neal Pollack? Reading from The Neal Pollack Anthology of American Literature here in 2000? Why yes it is. Happy graduation, sir!

    And check out that classy all caps serif flyer for the event.

    Look at this! It’s queercore luminaries Lynn Breedlove (left) and Nomy Lamm (right) when they were here in 2002. Lynn (Tribe 8) read from their first novel Godspeed, with Nomy (zinester and musician extraordinaire) on the bill as well. This hilarious photo says it all, and I couldn’t love it more.

    What else will I unveil in the near future? Will I be buying vowels? Do they offer those wholesale or is that the kind of thing people consign? Stay tuned!

    xoxo

    Liz

    @caboosezine

     

     

  • Big news About Quimby's!

    We’ve got some major news to tell you about the future of the store. More information here at Block Club Chicago.

  • Five Things From the Archive

    I was looking for something and poking around in our archives (or perhaps I should say “archives” since it’s really just boxes, shelves and file cabinets bursting with ephemera) and fell upon some real fun stuff. Quimby’s has such a rich legacy of weirdness and a lot of folks have come through here, either as employees, consignors, shoppers, event performers or friends. Here’s a few choice things I pulled for you today.

     

    Shoplifters will be damned to hell. Who made this sign? Shappy? (RIP, good man.)

    Mini-comics BFFS It’s designer and musician Paul Koob (on the left) when he was in the thick of his Hamster Man days and director/illustrator/designer Arthur Jones who similarly sold his comics 900 Lb Gorilla and Magic Pants here. 2002, baby!

    Two experimental writers On the left is Shelley Jackson in the days of her tattoo short story project called Skin Project where people would get words to get tattooed on their skin and all the participants’ tattoos added up to a short story, around 2003. She was one of the first writers to really embrace hyperlinks as storytelling, which she did in her 1995 book Patchwork Girl. On the right is writer, Small Beer Press/Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet co-editor/Book Moon Bookstore co-owner, and MacArthur “Genius” Grant recipient Kelly Link. Her newest novel The Book of Love is awesome. I think this photo was roughly 2003-ish.

    When I found this picture of Billy McCall and texted him with it, the main thing he had to say about it is how amusing the Goldfinger shirt is. Former manager of Uncle Fun, editor of Behind the Zines Distro, writer of Chicago Joe and the Ancient Pages, zinester extraordinaire and so many other things, we miss the fact that he left Chicago. He now resides in Albuquerque. This picture is probably 2004 maybe? He had just started running his Chicago-based mail order Loop Distro.

    2005: When We Printed Out Articles Ahahahahaha this is hilarious to me! We got a mention in the Trib because they talked about Zisk editd by Mike Falloon, Mike Fournier & friends. And they have a yahoo address! This is the greatest thing ever. I apparently have grandparent tendencies if I was printing out articles. Well, long live paper, may bit rot rest in peace.

    xoxo

    Liz

  • On Quimby's Turning 33

    Quimby’s turns 33 on September 15th this year.*

    We thought about a number of ways to honor Quimby’s turning 33 that didn’t make it past the brainstorming stage: give everybody an honorary membership to the highest degree of Freemasonry, print a 33(1/3) disc, make some religious jokes, radiate harmoniousness that resonates with the significance of 33 as a Master Number (that’s a choice right? to radiate?) then have a tattoo artist on hand for customers that want to get a tattoo of it on their forehead…There’s definitely a joke in there about 33’s relation to 666, or quite possibly some tricky math about pi. But at the end of the day, we decided to just have a party (and you should join us on 9/21, while we also celebrate Zine Club Chicago’s sixth anniversary here as well. More info about that here).

    Recently the owner of the store (Eric Kirsammer) handed me a stack of file folders with some ephemera of the store, and I saw some old notes that were clearly in his handwriting (I mean, I’ve worked here for 23 years — I know everybody’s handwriting by now), but it looked like maybe Eric had sat down with Steven Svymbersky, the founder of the store, when Eric first bought the store from Steven in the 90s. This must have been quite a meeting because notes were taken. In light of our anniversary, see if you can tell what the thing is that struck me from this note:

    First, I chuckled at the old school zine itemization (Duplex Planet! Dishwasher! Crap Hound! Film Threat! Like it was a zine grocery list.). And of course, Jack Chick. Jesus, we still carry those.** And I’ve heard Steven talk about Harriet Quimby before (which stands to reason, given Steven’s link to Boston with the “ur Quimby’s” which was called Primal Plunge, that he bought from Michael McInnis). Then my eyes zeroed in on something at the bottom: “33 is magical #” which was rather serendipitous. Our 33rd birthday was mere weeks away from that moment. (Also, the lack of the noun marker “a” was not lost on me, because it always makes people writing shorthand sound like a caveman.)

    Also serendipitously, Steven was visiting from NY that week, and I showed the stack of stuff to him. When I showed him this and reminded him we were turning 33 this year, he arched an eyebrow and said, “You know, 33 is a magical number.” He reminded me of some really great stuff, so I present to you, in Steven “Burf Quimby” Svymbersky’s words, the significance of 33 in Quimby’s history. I put it in pink! So you know it’s Steven talking!

    “So, the short version of the significance of the number 33 in Quimby’s history is that in the mid to late 1980s when I was publishing the magazine, Quimby’s Quarterly, the preferred beer of the Quimby’s staff (also known as the delinquents I partied with) was Rolling Rock, primarily because it was cheap and came in a nice green bottle. Printed on the inside of the bottle were the words ‘Rolling Rock From the glass lined tanks of Old Latrobe, we tender this premium beer for your enjoyment, as a tribute to your good taste. It comes from the mountain springs to you.’ It was followed, inexplicably, by the number 33. If you look it up, the internet claims the 33 is an acknowledgement of the 33 words in this pledge. We always figured it was a nod to 1933, the year prohibition was repealed.”

    “Over time the number 33 seemed to pop up everywhere and it began to take on a mystical quality for us until we began featuring a list of 33s on page 33 of each issue of the magazine.” [Examples below.]

    “At one point I also created a chart of the most important 33s.”

    “The apotheosis of our inebriated fascination with the number 33 happened in the original Quimby’s store on September 28, 1993, my 33rd birthday, when I hired a band to play the whipping music from Jesus Christ Superstar while my friend, Mistress Bliss, shackled me to the shelves and gave me 33 lashes with her favorite scourge. This was immortalized by the infamous, D.B. Velveeda, which I share with you now because I have no shame.”

    “Congratulations on 33 years of selling the most vile, pernicious and twisted publications known to humankind. You all make me so proud!”

    So there you have it, straight from the instigator himself, the real rundown of the number in question in relation to this shack of weirdness that we call Quimby’s. If you want to go say hi to Steven in NY, you should definitely visit him at Quimby’s Bookstore NYC, at 536 Metropolitan Ave in Brooklyn. He opened it in 2016, and it is a true oasis of awesome.***

    I have both founder Steven and the current owner Eric to thank for holding the legacy of high weirdness in highest regard, a place where I have worked for 2/3 of its life. But I also want to thank all our consignors, the artists who make the zines, comics and books we carry. Without them we would not be the store we are. Thank you for keeping us around for over three decades.

    –Liz

    *Yes! We’re celebrating our birthday. Just not on the 15th. On the 21st! Info about it here.

    **Alternative comics artists love Jack Chick comics. They’re still making new ones. And he’s not even alive any more.

    ***And if you want to read about some of the early days of the store, Steven compiled some of the material from his early Magalogs and what not into a wonderful saddle stitched volume called Qvimby’s The First Five Years (1991-1996) which we sell in our webstore. Steven told me recently that it would be really awesome to have the energy, means, money and time to do Magalogs again. I agree. We did a bunch of Mini Magalogs in the early to mid 2000s that were folded broadsheets but then the internet got really, you know, intenet-y. At that point, it made more sense for us to sell stuff on our website instead of spending a gazillion dollars on a catalog like it was a Loompanics mail order endeavor or something. But I miss it. I’ll tell you what though. If you come in and request a Mini Magalog when I’m working, I’ll go down into the basement and get you one of our Mini Magalogs we made in the early aughts. Warning though: the font is tiny. Prepare yourself. And I’m pretty sure we still have a some piles of Steven’s old magalogs down there. You’d be surprised what I find when I’m cleaning out down there. That’s another blog post in and of itself.

     

  • Zine Club Chicago: Cut-and-Paste Challenge + Quimbiversary Party, Sept 21st

    Zine Club Chicago: Cut-and-Paste Challenge + Quimbiversary Party

    3 p.m. Saturday, September 21, 2024

    Quimby’s Bookstore, 1854 W. North Ave.

    Free!

    Zine enthusiasts, are you ready for the Cut-and-Paste Challenge? This month marks Zine Club Chicago’s 6th Quimbiversary! And our shop is turning 33! So of course we’ve celebrating with zinecentric hijinks.

    Please join us for Zine Club Chicago: Cut-and-Paste Challenge + Quimbiversary Party, 3 p.m. Saturday, September 21 at Quimby’s Bookstore, 1854 W. North Ave. in Wicker Park. Free!

    Here’s how the Cut-and-Paste Challenge will work: Zine Club Chicago is going to set up six stations of fun zine-related activities throughout our shop. Complete all the challenges, and you’ll be entered in a raffle to win a bag full of zines, swag, snax (of course), and more!

    One black cat we’ll let out of the bag is an activity we’re hoping you’ll help us with at this event. We want you to help us decorate a spine. Wait what? We swear that makes sense. If there’s 33 vertebrae in the human spine (See? We said it would make sense), and if Quimby’s is the supportive backbone of the zine scene in Chicago, and if zines have a spine (saddle stitched, glued or sewn), WHY NOT HELP US DECORATE A SPINE? It seems even more apropos as we march toward the hallow season.

    But of course we’ll have other activities too, just you wait and see.

    Zine newbies and longtime enthusiasts alike are always welcome at Zine Club Chicago. This free monthly event series is produced by Cynthia E. Hanifin and sponsored by Quimby’s Bookstore. Anna Jo Beck designs the monthly flyers, created the logo, and made the Zine Club Chicago Shout-Outs site, where folks can peruse and recommend zines we’ve discussed at our events: https://zineclubchicagoshoutouts.spread.name/

    More info at Zine Club Chicago social media channels: @zineclubchicago like here on IG and here on Twitter.

    Facebook event invite is here.

    Image descriptions

    A red-and-blue infographic flyer featuring a photo of children at a birthday party, with text that reads: “Zine Club Chicago: Cut-and-Paste Challenge + Quimbiversary Party! We’re turning 6! Quimby’s is turning 33! In Person! Free!; 3 p.m. Saturday, September 21, 2024; Quimby’s Bookstore, 1854 W. North Ave.; www.quimbys.com”

  • Quimby's 32nd Anniversary T-Shirt Celebration Featuring Vichcraft Live Chainstitching, Sat, Sep 30th

    Wahoo! Quimby’s is turning 32!*

    To help us celebrate Chicago gem of a printer and chainstitcher Vichcraft (aka Jenna Blazevich) has designed some new merch for us to premiere at A LIVE CHAINSTITCHING EVENT HERE AT QUIMBY’S ON SATURDAY, SEPT 30TH from 6-9pm! She designed a spanking new Quimby’s t-shirt that is BEAUTIFUL (trust us) we’ll be debuting at this event. And we’ll be unveiling some other unexpected merch too — but we don’t want to spoil the surprise!

    Vichcraft will be on hand with her 80-year-old Cornely machine to chainstitch a variety of items, including felt pennants and other things for sale. For a fee, she can customize items, so bring your stuff you want to have personalized.*

    Vichcraft is the multi-disciplinary design studio run by Jenna Blazevich in Chicago, Illinois since 2015. Find her at https://vichcraft.shop/ and on IG: @vichcraft

     

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    Here’s the Facebook event invite if you want it!

    *Our actual anniversary is September 15th! This event is not actually on the 15th! But you should buy us a birthday cake on that day anyway. Happy birthday, us!

    *Here are helpful hints about what materials are ideal for your customized chainstitched item!:

    Ideal items:

    Woven fabrics: Canvas, Denim, linen
    Crewnecks or sweatshirt type knits
    Beanies
    Bandanas

    Materials to avoid:

    Thin knit fabrics (tee shirts)
    Loosely knit fabrics (sweaters, scarves)
    Items with sherpa linings or excessive batting

     

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  • New Stuff This Week

     

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    Zines

    Portland Rappers #1 by Ross Jackson $5

    Zines by Rowan Rohwer:
    Aromantic Semantics: a Cottage Zine
    Notesapp Entries That I Wrote While Under the Influence #1
    Genderventures: A Zine Where I Contemplate Gender for However Many Pages This Is
    & more.

    Even the Introverts Are Out Here: Six Ways to Get Involved by Jamie Kadas $1

    Comics

    Vacuum Decay #6 A Horror Anthology by Harry Nordlinger & friends $10

    Flowery isues #50-#52 by Mel Stringer $10 each

    Comics by Jake Slingland, $5 each: Funland (with Midjourney), Habitat (with Dream Misa Kabashima)

    Comics by Matt MacFarland & friends: Scenes From a Marriage, My Troubles with Crumb & more.

    Gutter Presents Noir: A Collection of Thrilling and Comedic Graphic Stories by Meg Scribner & friends $12

    No More Than 10% by Laurel Hauge $12

    Playtape by Ana Two $8

    Play for Keeps #1 by Fox Graham $5

    Elizas Wish by Tiff Zhang $4

    Chained Male by Connor Tapscott $5

    Drawing Bridges by Eva Carrillo $10

    Comics by Clint Williams:
    QPs and the Magic Fruit
    Netar Aquatic World Builder #1
    Vile Shift Horror Anthology
    & more.

    Comique #2 $2

    Comics by AnneMarie Rogers $6 each: Diver: A Pearl, Groundskeepers

    Enjoy the Cake by Jamie Kadas $7

    Graphic Novels & Related

    Live Rock vol 1 Aquarium Life by Ross Jackson $20

    Dirty Pictures: How an Underground Network of Nerds, Feminists, Misfits, Geniuses, Bikers, Potheads, Printers, Intellectuals, and Art School Rebels Revolutionized Art and Invented Comix by Brian Doherty $18

    Vessel by Henry Fernau $15

    LSBN by Emma Jayne (Silver Sprocket) $14.99

    Prokaryote Season by Leo Fox (Silver Sprocket) $24.99

    Family Style: Memories of an American from Vietnam by Thien Pham $17.99

    Art & Design Books

    Welcome to the Peculiar Antique Shop: The Art of Makura Kurama $29.99

    20th Century Alcohol and Tobacco Ads: One Hundred Years of Stimulating Ads by Jim Heimann and Steven Heller (Taschen) $30

    Politics & Revolution Books

    Our History Has Always Been Contraband: In Defense of Black Studies edited by Colin Kaepernick, Robin D. G. Kelley and Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor $19.95

    Essays & Some Other Stuff

    Wannabe: Reckonings With the Pop Culture That Shapes Me by Aisha Harris $29.99

    Moby Dyke: An Obsessive Quest to Track Down the Last Remaining Lesbian Bars in America by Krista Burton $28.99

    Pregnancy Test by Karen Weingarten (Object Lessons Series) $14.95

    Bi: The Hidden Culture, History, and Science of Bisexuality by Julia Shaw $17

    Boom Chicago Presents: The 30 Most Important Years in Dutch History edited by Andrew Moskos and Pep Rosenfeld $20

    Music & Film Books

    Where Are Your Boys Tonight?: The Oral History of Emo’s Mainstream Explosion 1999-2008 by Chris Payne $32

    Mud Ride: A Messy Trip Through the Grunge Explosion by Steve Turner & Adem Tepedelen $27.95

    More 33 1/3 books:
    Dance-Punk (33 1/3 Genre Series) by Larissa Wodtke, Living Colour’s Time’s Up by Kimberly Mack
    BBC Radiophonic’s Workshop: A Retrospective by William L. Weir,
    Madvillain’s Madvillainy by Will Hagle Madvillain
    ESG’s Come Away With ESG by Cheri Percy

    BFI Film Classics:
    Lost In Translation by Suzanne Ferriss
    Eraserhead by Claire Henry

    Sufferah: The Memoir of a Brixton Reggae Head by Alex Wheatle $28.95

    Fiction & Poetry

    City of Unspeakable Fear by Jean Ray $15.95

    Tisa: New Generation African Poets: A Chapbook Box Set edited by Kwame Dawes and Chris Abani $36.95

    Girls They Write Songs About: A Novel by Carlene Bauer $19

    Sexxxy

    various new Tom of Finland books!

  • Zine Club Chicago Online: It Came From the '90s Edition, Sept. 20th!

    Zine Club Chicago Online: It Came from the ’90s Edition
    7:30 p.m. CT Tuesday, September 20 on Zoom
    Free!

    This month, Zine Club Chicago is commemorating the 31st anniversary of Quimby’s Bookstore by celebrating the decade that gave birth to our shop: The 1990s! While self-publishing has evolved across many eras, there’s no doubt that the ’90s left indelible Sharpie marks on zine culture as we know it today. Quimby’s has been proud to serve as a home base for zine creators and fans in Chicago and beyond since we opened in the Wicker Park neighborhood in 1991.

    We want to hear all about your favorite zines tied to the 1990s, whether they were published in that decade or focus on that era and its distinctive culture, music, technology, art, politics, and more. We’re also sending out a special invitation to zinemakers who first began creating zines in the ’90s – we’d love to hear about your memories of that time and what you’re doing now!

    Grab your favorite zines about the ’90s, BYOG(ushers), and join us on Zoom for Zine Club Chicago Online: It Came from the ’90s Edition at 7:30 p.m. CT Tuesday, September 20!

    ** RSVP required ** We want to make sure that our online Zine Club Chicago events are a safe space, so we won’t be releasing the Zoom link publicly. If you’d like to attend, please email zineclubchicago@gmail.com to RSVP by 9 p.m. CT Monday, September 19 (the evening before our event). We’ll email you the Zoom link by 5 p.m. CT on Tuesday, September 20.

    Zine newbies and longtime enthusiasts alike are always welcome at Zine Club Chicago, the city’s only book club-style event for people who read zines. This free monthly series is produced by Cynthia E. Hanifin and sponsored by Quimby’s Bookstore. Anna Jo Beck designs our monthly flyers, created our logo, and made our Zine Club Chicago Shout-Outs site, where folks can peruse and recommend zines we’ve discussed at our events.

    More info at quimbys.com and on the Zine Club Chicago social media channels: @zineclubchicago. Facebook event is here.

    Image description: A red-and-blue infographic flyer, with an image of the counter and zine racks at the original Quimby’s Bookstore location in Wicker Park, and text that reads: “Zine Club Chicago: It Came from the ’90s Edition; Online! Free! Zoom info on quimbys.com; 7:30 p.m. CST Tuesday, September 20”