WORLD BEYOND the Veil
The World Beyond the Veil will be a horror-themed zine made entirely by transmasculine folks.>It's no mystery that, for many transgender people, horror can occupy a special place in our hearts. Growing up in a body or social role that feels wrong, we’re the ones that relate to the monsters and the “other” in horror fiction; the people who probably watched The Shape of Water with a big old grin as the monster got the girl. It’s no mystery that being trans can be an incredibly alienating experience; families may reject us, lovers may turn away, and indeed society itself seems poised sometimes with a guillotine ready to drop. In an increasingly stressful world, with governmental bodies trying to strip trans rights, our focus shifts from transmasculine joy to transmasculine perseverance.The World Beyond the Veil looks to explore stories of transmasc power through the lens of the horror genre. While the last zine focused on joy and escape, this zine seeks to shine a light on our power and strength, even in a world where the light may seem fleeting. This isn’t meant to be a sad story, though—we aren’t fated to succumb to the allegorical “good guy” at the end. Imagine a story in which the monster wins, and what form that may take for you—do they befriend the good guys, come to an understanding, and happily coexist? Do they take vengeance on those who have wronged them and learn to live on past them? Were the good guys ever good to begin with, or were they just closer to what society views as normal?We want to see your transgressive horror takes. The werewolf waking to new freedom in a body that seems overly hairy and muscular and new. The ghosts and ghouls living their best afterlives away from the constraints of their physical form. You get the gist. In a world that treats us as strange for the way we were born, this zine seeks to embrace the power in taking back our strangeness as a badge of honor, finding community and our own happy ending outside of traditional narratives.So, what’s your favorite horror monster, and how would you live in their shoes?
WORLD BEYOND the Veil
Q - Who can take part?
A - Anyone 18 and older who identifies as transmasculine, including binary trans men and non-binary people who identify with the label. You decide whether it reflects you or not.>Q - Are you accepting artists and writers?
A - We will accept page artists, spot illustrators, story writers, poets, and likely non-fiction writers and other types of creatives if you can think how your work will fit into our zine format!>Q - Is a discord necessary to join?
A - Yes, for the sake of communication, it is much easier to do things over discord. We don't want contributors to miss anything.>Q - How SFW will the zine be?
A - We'll allow artistic nudity and mild gore. Slightly more lenience for horror content in written pieces than artwork.>Q - Will the zine be physical? Is it for charity or for profit?
A - The current plan is that this will be a charity zine with a physical release.>Q - Which charity will the profits be donated to?
A - Our contributors will vote on this before the end of production.>Q - What types of merch are planned?
A - We'll settle on this when we have artists in place, but are looking forward to producing at least one charm, alongside stickers and other popular merch types!
WORLD BEYOND the Veil
The World Beyond zine story began in 2021 with our science fiction zine, 'The World Beyond Our Station'. The main goal of the project was to fill a gap in the zine scene: there were a number of trans-focused projects, but barely any with a specifically transmasculine focus. With a science fiction theme, the zine took off and had a successful preorder campaign in 2022, shipping out in early 2023 to over 100 different homes and zine libraries around the world. The first zine earned a proud donation of just under $700 to the Rainbow Railroad, as well as providing free copies to contributors.The original zine featured almost 100 pages of art and writing from 50 different transmasculine contributors, and was produced in physical form with several merch items to match. You can see photos of the zine and its merch below:
WORLD BEYOND the Veil
The process has begun! We have entered the creation period and will be helping our artists and writers put together some incredible work to share later this year.🦇
---
Schedule of Events:
October - Mod Apps Open
November - Mods Confirmed
January - Contributor Apps
February - Creation Start
June - Preorders Open
July - Order Fulfilment
October - Leftover Sales