Zines: Sunshine[s] Underground #13: In the Archipelago of Sadness/Witchpunk for Life
A poetic tumbledown palace of words, poetry, and art make up this full size zine. The theme is similar to SSU #15: struggle, redemption and hope in the aftermath of psychic battle.
"This zine comes with a soundtrack... a series of noises and sound collages... this is not lite rock, this is a feast of alchemy and wretched shapechanging ecstacy," reads the introduction. The zine comes with a mini-CD (tucked in the back pocket labeled "Hellruna") containing between 10 and 20 songs (the mix changes with each zine) by Echen. The CD, an original industrial/noise/cyberpunk album, is meant to be played while reading the zine.
"I give my love to all zinemakers, including those who do it as a hobby. No high horse when I say I do this for mental survival," Echen writes.
This is Rowan (now Echen) being silly and working through memories with equal parts poetic intensity and goofiness. "When I was 20 I joined a cult. I didn't know I had joined. They cracked open my soul head and I went insane," reads one snippet. "But I'm okay now!" is scrawled jauntily in the margin, accompanied by a smiley face. A few more snippets down are some makeup tips and the question, "Would you ever let the wind catch a rainbow on fire?" and several album reviews. SSU 15 is made up of "story-poems," drawings, a tally of Echen's "punk points" ("Played an illegal generator show: 50 points"), and pagan and mythological memories. Echen wants to tell you her story but not to scare you, so she breaks it down into "little bite size darknesses." A cute, fey zine with no narrative or organization; a small testament to a person and moment in time.
13 p/full size/B&W
$3.00
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Zines: Sunshine[s] Underground #8: The Way of the Witch
Shamaness and artist Rowan Maeriwillow describes, in comics, stories, and prose, her initiation into the service of Goddesses Kali and Persephone and her descent into the metaphysical underworld over the course of a year. She describes her battles with shamanic initiation, mental illness and homelessness and how she survived and began to reclaim her power.
24 p/full size/B&W
Currently, this zine is being revised by the author-editor and is not available.
Salvaged journals and memories tell the story of being young, transgender and homeless on the streets of Portland, Maine. Rowan shows that beauty and desperation live side by side, and sometimes hand in hand. This zine is about "the gravity of poverty, the harsh realities that homeless youth live with every day, gang violence, ethnic tensions in rundown neighborhoods, and the beautiful hearts that keep on beating strong in spite of all of it."
35 p/full size/B&W
$2.00
Zines: Sunshine[s] Underground #6: The Collage Issue
A Situationist collage artzine about radical fairies & resisting assimilation and spectacle culture. Now back in print.
"Hi my name is Rowan Maeriwillow Alexander.
Im a spooky tranny girl bunny robot monster kitty.
I also go by the name Cinderhela, or Mary Morphine.
I have many permutations, many faces, though I try my best to put up an honest, united front in the face of consensus reality....
In other words, I'm not fake, just complicated.
Actually I'm so real I scare the shit out of myself.
Especially around Halloween...."
A poetic tumbledown palace of words, poetry, and art make up this full size zine. The theme is similar to SSU #15: struggle, redemption and hope in the aftermath of psychic battle. 
This is Rowan (now Echen) being silly and working through memories with equal parts poetic intensity and goofiness. "When I was 20 I joined a cult. I didn't know I had joined. They cracked open my soul head and I went insane," reads one snippet. "But I'm okay now!" is scrawled jauntily in the margin, accompanied by a smiley face. A few more snippets down are some makeup tips and the question, "Would you ever let the wind catch a rainbow on fire?" and several album reviews. SSU 15 is made up of "story-poems," drawings, a tally of Echen's "punk points" ("Played an illegal generator show: 50 points"), and pagan and mythological memories. Echen wants to tell you her story but not to scare you, so she breaks it down into "little bite size darknesses." A cute, fey zine with no narrative or organization; a small testament to a person and moment in time.
Shamaness and artist Rowan Maeriwillow describes, in comics, stories, and prose, her initiation into the service of Goddesses Kali and Persephone and her descent into the metaphysical underworld over the course of a year. She describes her battles with shamanic initiation, mental illness and homelessness and how she survived and began to reclaim her power.
Salvaged journals and memories tell the story of being young, transgender and homeless on the streets of Portland, Maine. Rowan shows that beauty and desperation live side by side, and sometimes hand in hand. This zine is about "the gravity of poverty, the harsh realities that homeless youth live with every day, gang violence, ethnic tensions in rundown neighborhoods, and the beautiful hearts that keep on beating strong in spite of all of it."
