Designer interview Jamzilla + new releases
Journey to the eerie world of Jamzilla and check new releases!
At The Lost Bay Studio I’m always on the lookout for cool tabletop RPG zines that surprise me. Cool by their form and layout, the setting, specific mechanics, their mood, or a combination of those things. Starting today, and for the coming weeks (months?), I'll be sharing with you my findings. I’m super excited!
Jamzilla
I’m super stoked to introduce you to the magical and weird world of Jamzilla and his unique collage style zines. If you’re into fantasy, space fantasy, acid fantasy, any kind of fantasy, you’d love to be teleported into Jamzilla’s magic land. If castles and dragons still make you dream, Jamzilla’s zines are for you.
Conversation with Jamzilla
Jamzilla, w fun about collage?
I love the fact that with collage you can never quite depict things the way you want. With illustration, you can draw things just as you imagine them, but with collage you have to make do with what you have. Things become a little hazier because of that, almost like a dream.
Do you do collage digitally or using plain old glue?
I do all my writing for a zine before I make the art. I tend to start with a few weird sentences or phrases that I expand upon until I have enough to make a zine.
As far as collage goes, I do a bit of both! I definitely prefer doing things by hand, ripping up magazines and sticking them down with tape. That kind of style works for Today’s Porridge, but doesn’t work for everything, so some of my other zines like CYST are completely digital. When I’m making a collage on a computer, it’s way too tempting to find exactly what I need for a piece and put it in, rescale it, change the colours etc, which makes things much more cohesive, but isn’t half as fun or challenging for me!
How do you source the images?
For lofi stuff like Today’s Porridge, I use everything I can. There’s a second-hand book shop near me that sells old magazines. Every few months I’ll go spend a couple quid on some 60s National Geographics, but I’ll use anything I can get my hands on. I think there’s a page in Today’s Porridge where I use my grocery receipts and stuff like that!
For the more polished zines like CYST and some of the adventures for it, I have a few archival books of prints and illustrations that I got off eBay, and the website Old Book Illustrations is a really good online source!
With each zine you release it seems like you reveal another bit of a gigantic world. Yes or no?
I definitely want to create a shared setting between my zines. It’s a strange, crumbling world that I’m exploring as I write, where the changing landscape and people are reflected by the varied art and writing styles I try to use.
Such a weird place can feel hostile or alien as I’m exploring it, like a club where the walls are wet and the ground is sticky. Places like that can be scary or just gross when you’re alone, so you need some familiar faces and recurring characters to go with you.
I know most people who read my zines may only read one and don’t realise there are recurring characters or stories, or even if they do they just might not care, but for me seeing what my favourite characters are up to is the most enjoyable part of writing :)
What’s next?
By the time this interview goes live, I should be finishing uni which is really exciting for me! I’m currently writing an adventure called The Mines of Murdoch, where we’ll get to see a lot more of the great, immortal Ing and what he’s up to now! After that, I think I’ll work on Yesterday’s Porridge, an even weirder sequel to Today’s Porridge! I have a load of one-page adventures and stuff in the works as well which should be fun :)
I’ve managed to save up some money over my time at uni, so I’m thinking of getting a printer/copier so I can start printing all my zines myself which I’m really excited for :)
Wait what? Home printing, why?
It’ll give me more freedom with my art and a greater appreciation of the crafts involved. I go to a lot of zine fairs here in the UK and there’s a part of me that’s always a little jealous of artists who print their own work. When you’re involved in every step of the process things seem far more personal than getting them printed in bulk online, or at least that’s how it seems to me :)
By printing zines myself I think I’ll be pushed to try new techniques and visual styles that I wouldn’t have tried otherwise. It’ll be a fun new creative challenge, and if it doesn’t pay off then at least I’ll have learned a lot!
I’ve heard you’re working on a Choose Your Own Adventure game. Can you tell us more?
Of course! I’ve had a lot of freedom for my final project at uni, so I’ve been putting together branding for a series of ‘single-player pocket adventures’ called The Thinworld Phantasy, as well as the first zine in that series, The Last Bile Lord.
The Last Bile Lord is a sequel of sorts to The Lords of Bile Keep, where you come upon the Last Bile Lord and must decide whether to forsake his people or bring a new age of bile unto the lands! As well as the zine I’ve put together a few rotoscoped trailers for this project which I’m really happy with!
I won’t be releasing The Last Bile Lord, not in its current state at least. I was designing it largely with my uni grade in mind, so I made decisions that I wouldn’t have if I was working on it independently. The Thinworld Phantasy is definitely a project I want to explore and work on after my degree!
That was Jamzilla, now say good bye to him and pick your fave zine(s) below.
CYST
If you’re into dungeons, monsters and world building → grab CYST.
A6 zine, 16 pages, Color, Staple-bound, natural recycled paper.
The Lords of Bile Keep
If you fear nothing and are looking for a grand slime-drenched fantasy adventure → grab The Lords of Bile Keep.
A6, 40 pages, Color, Perfect-bound, natural recycled paper.
Today’s Porridge
If you’re excited about psychedelic realities gone wild then → what you need is a cup of Today’s Porridge.
A6 zine, 24 pages, Color, Staple-bound, natural recycled paper.
In the next few weeks I’ll be announcing new super exciting items in the store. On the menu we’ll have lots of goblins, horror, and more weird, so keep your eyes peeled for The Dispatch and subscribe.
You’re still here? Good.
Two Jams have finished little ago and they are loaded with cool submissions that might interest you:
TTRPG Art Asset Jam - yes, you heard right, assets, art, textures, fonts and much more, for your zines or game sessions: https://itch.io/jam/ttrpg-art-asset-jam/entries
URBN_LGND.exe - is filled with CY_BORG psychedelic bonanza, digital nightmares, and neon lit beings https://itch.io/jam/urbn-lgndexe/entries