Commonplace Zine Issue 6

Nintendo hanafuda cards, the history of a niche Y2K internet community, why Mark Twain sucks (respectfully), carnivorous plants, and a blueberry muffin recipe

Hello all! Issue 6 of Commonplace zine is now up in the shop. It was written during March and April of 2025 and has:

• Surrealist Hello Kitty figures

• A brief history of the niche online club The Quilting Bee

• An interactive Obliteration Room inspired by Yayoi Kusama

• An essay about why Mark Twain sucks and we should stop valorizing him

• A deep dive into Nintendo hanafuda cards

• A blueberry muffin recipe and the irritation that spawned it

• A carnivorous plant-themed horoscope

• Random haikus

• Monthly book reviews (100% romantasy)

• Other stuff!

It took a bit longer than normal, but it’s a nice 32 pages, which is my biggest issue yet.

The cover is purple with super fancy pink holo foil that has a flower pattern. Can you see the flower pattern? You cannot. Did I pay a lot of money for flower pattern foil? Yes, I did. Regrets? TBD.

The article that surprised me the most this month was this one on Hanafuda cards. I was researching them after an artist acquaintance posted her illustrated deck and it turned into a deep dive into Nintendo’s history with the cards as well as special editions (Pokemon, Kirby, etc.). This one article took so much work, went in a completely unexpected direction, and I’m really happy with it.

This month the zine is a bit extra eclectic and I ended up writing about everything from why Mark Twain sucks to niche Y2K internet pixel art clubs. It was a journey! I also included a really good blueberry muffin recipe courtesy of my husband who adjusted one he found online.

Originally, I was going to have a flower theme for this issue, but that fell apart fairly quickly. However, you can see the bones of it in this month’s horoscope where you can find your ideal carnivorous plant. The activity this month is a Yayoi Kusama tribute that I’ve wanted to put together for several issues, so I’m excited about that.

Issue 7 is already almost done, which is wild to me. After having no time to write, I ended up writing so much this month out of nowhere. There will definitely be an issue by the end of May to early June and I expect another out the next month. After a few bi-monthly months it’s been nice to have more time to write, at least for the moment.

Okay, bye!