MCR
INTRODUCTION BY CAN RICHARDS
Hi there! I’m Can, the curator of this zine project! If you’re reading this, I just want to say thank you! I originally started working on this fanzine in July 2017, with a vague idea in mind of getting a bunch of talented content creators together to form a little zine project, which would be a tribute to the art, music, and aesthetics of MCR, and would help people discover new artists to enjoy, help artists find each other, and maybe, possibly, help people make some friends along the way! I was inspired by the fanzine culture of the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s (informal magazine-like books dedicated to literally anything, most commonly to punk rock bands and sci-fi fandoms), and how it’s been adapted to the modern age – some still in that raw, beautiful physical format of Cool Stuff Just Stuck Together On Paper, some adapting to the internet age to be equally beautiful collaborative works of wonder, with content from people all around the world! The thing is, I never actually expected a lot of people would notice me making this project at all. But before I knew it, 150+ people were signing up for the opportunity to contribute fan content for this zine, a bunch of lovely, talented people were coming together in droves and discovering each other’s work, artists I admired and was personally too intimidated to even speak to were joining this humble project, and (most importantly, I think), so many creators from across the globe, including myself, actually came together and made wonderful friendships with people they otherwise might not have started talking to. Originally, this zine was just going to be a cutesy tribute to a band that wore really cool (really draw-able) costumes and helped kids who felt like outsiders to believe in themselves (cheesy but uhh,, yeah!!), and a little gift to the fandom, but dear heck, the contributors to this zine made it so much more than that. To everyone reading the zine, I hope you enjoy the wonderful art and writing put together by this zine’s dear contributors! From desert-running Killjoys, to feather boa wearing vampires, to aesthetic aliens in space, weird superheroes, and just straightup rock ‘n roll, this project had no shortage of subject matter for good content. This zine is a gift from us to you! Xoxo Can
3
DISCLAIMERS All content in this zine is fan-content made purely for the enjoyment of the readers. No participant in this zine claims copyright to the identities, personas, and characters created by the Way Brothers, Mr Iero, Mr Toro, etc., nor are we officially endorsed by them at all. However, all artwork, photography, writing, and other such content in this zine is copyright of the respective Content Creators, and in downloading this free zine PDF, you (The Reader) hereby acknowledge that you will not use, reproduce, repost, sell, or otherwise distribute any content in this zine without the Content Creator’s express permission. As this is a collaborative project of nearly 150 people, not all content in this zine is a reflection of the views, ideas, interests, tastes, etc. of The Curator, and each Content Creator is reflecting their own ideas and tastes in their work. All work included was screened by The Curator before publication, to deflect any defamatory content, including anything blatantly disrespecting any real person (living or dead), or any identity, gender, sexuality, race, mental or physical disability, etc., to the best of The Curator’s ability, including expressly banning content depicting harmful, defamatory, or distasteful concepts. Trigger warnings are applied where necessary, and it is up to the Reader’s own discretion to avoid content that may harm them. All art, prose writing, etc. in this zine should be taken as fiction, unless describing real confirmed events. Please do not, under any circumstances, use the contents of the zine to harass its Content Creators, nor to harass Messrs Way, Toro, Iero, or anyone else involved with the Original Content (musical or visual, including the music, videos, and comics). The Curator allowed a small amount of ship-based content involving real persons, regardless of the Curator’s views on the matter, and would like to remind Readers to not show anything in Section 7 of the zine (Ship Content) to the persons depicted, or to individuals or groups involved with the Original Content. TL;DR: The views of the Content Creators don’t necessarily reflect those of the zine administrator, the content of this zine is owned by its respective creators, this is all fun with art and fiction, and don’t be a bully. Thank you.
4
By Dasha (@dasha_kosch on Instagram)
By Can (@CanCan.jpg on Instagram, @CanCan_jpg on Twitter)
By Jasmine (@like_ghosts_in_the_snow on Instagram)
By Eve (@cemetery__art on Instagram)
By Olivia Vester (@oliviarvester / @twentyonetoomanybands on Instagram)
By Ari (@thisisthe4thalbum on Instagram)
CONTRIBUTOR LIST FOR THIS SECTION Dasha (@dasha_kosch on Instagram) Can (@CanCan.jpg on Instagram, @CanCan_jpg on Twitter) Jasmine (@like_ghosts_in_the_snow on Instagram) Eve (@cemetery__art on Instagram) Olivia Vester (@oliviarvester / @twentyonetoomanybands on Instagram) Ari (@thisisthe4thalbum on Instagram)
And Acknowledgements Wowza! That’s the zine, folks! I’m honestly so glad to have been part of this project! Seeing people give their hearts to create art is truly inspirational, and through this project, so many people made friends with each other! I suppose what’s cool about this zine is that it’s not dedicated to one specific thing! There’s music! There’s comics! There’s a whole associated fiction (many fictions, in fact) with concepts and aesthetics to explore, and characters to make AU’s of! Not to be Fake Deep™ or anything, but it’s neat how everyone can draw inspiration from it differently, from different aspects, and play with art! I suppose at this point, I should be thanking people who made it possible! (I may single people out here, but that doesn’t mean anyone meant any less to the zine) Special thanks to the band in general, of course, as well as the people involved with it! Without Shaun Simon and Becky Cloonan, we wouldn’t have the Killjoys we know and love! Without Gabriel Bá and Nick Derington, we wouldn’t have the same Umbrella Academy and Doom Patrol! David Debiak, James Dewees, all the members of The Hormones, The Patience, and so on, all contributed to inspiring this zine! Thank you to Ink for encouraging me to go through with this zine when I came up with the idea in the first place! Thank you to Sovay for encouraging me and helping me to calm down whenever I got unreasonably stressed over zine work (calming pictures of sloths are truly a valuable resource). Thank you to Zero for inspiring many aspects of the zine layout with their own project, the Young Animal Zine! Thank you for the entire Contributor Discord for being sweet and caring, excitedly sharing Killjoy headcanons and hyping up the project! Thank you to every single person who contributed art or writing: without you, the zine wouldn’t be what it is! You each have your own special unique touch when it comes to your art, which nobody but you would be able to create! I truly wish every one of you will have success with all your future art endeavours, and I hope paging through the zine inspires people to support the contributing artists! Lastly, thank you to everyone who showed interest in the zine at all, when it was announced, whether or not you contributed: your interest means the world to me and every artist in here, and without everyone’s enthusiasm, I doubt the zine would even have been made. You’re all the real MVP’s, and I hope you enjoyed the final product of this zine! Thank you.
xo Can