FIRE!! Devoted To Younger Negro Artists (1926), via POC Zine Project.
American zines trace their origins to the amateur press movement of the early 20th century, when amateur printers purchased their own presses in order to produce small works concerning a specific topic or interest. Components of the amateur press movement can be seen in an often overlooked precursor to zines, the “little magazines” of the Harlem Renaissance. While not unique to the Harlem Renaissance, during the 1920s, individuals or small groups of Black artists and writers used the little magazine (a short, small distribution magazine) to undermine the established literary system. These self-published works, often local in scope, featured lesser-known voices of the Renaissance along with those of greater prominence.
Zines in their current form largely derive from the fan magazines (shortened to fanzines) of the 1930s. Fans of the evolving science fiction genre created these self-published works to share theories and opinions regarding published works and to create community across geographic distance. The Comet (1930) is considered by many to be the first fanzine. From the 1930s to 1960s, fanzines expanded to genres like comics, music, and horror.
ThroTTle Magazine, May/June 1981
The advent of new technologies, specifically the photocopier, allowed for easy duplication of zines, which were adopted by the punk music scene in the 1970s and 1980s. While zines were used as a medium of subcultures from the start, the overt anti-establishment ethos of the punk movement meant the scene relied heavily on zines to disperse information regarding music groups, venues, and events as they rejected corporate labels and more mainstream publications.
By the 1990s, influenced by the punk movement, the “Riot Grrrl” movement used zines as a way to discuss feminist messages rooted in social consciousness. Zines allowed individuals to share their own experiences in an unfiltered manner that passionately addressed issues of gender identity, discrimination, sexism, and body image. With computers becoming more widely available and the creation of the World Wide Web, some Riot Grrrl zines adapted to electronic platforms as “e-zines.”
The expansion of the internet has resulted in more traditional zine content moving to online forums, blogs, and digital media; however, physical zines are still popular forms of expression and are available for purchase at many independent bookstores, zine fests held across the country, and directly from creators. Additionally, public libraries, universities, and other cultural and archival institutions are developing collections of zines for public use, serving as a testament to the enduring value of these publications.