ALT A burning match sparks a flame in front of text. Text: literally no one in my life has ever told me it’s a good idea to be an artist… but somehow many of my favorite people are artists no matter what.

ALT A drawing of four matches, three of which are burned. The zine title says BURN OUT

ALT Text: I’ve been reading every article about pandemic-related depression. The word we use for what i’m feeling is burn out but what I really feel is trapped. Illustration: a hand holding a phone that says “this is why you’re sad.” Another page shows a mousetrap, where a house, money, and healthcare is the bait.

ALT Text: the pandemic took away this things that made this trap bearable for me — friends, events, travel. Illustration: Me saying, “so if i want healthcare, i have to work all the time until i die? Is there another way? That looks not fun.” A board game called Life unfurls and includes stops at work, debt, and more work.

ALT Text: I don’t want to make life decisions based on fear, but our entire culture is built on that. I want to make decisions based on joy, to build my life around what I love. It’s hard to separate out real, practical risks from all of our society’s fearmongers. Illustration: a puritan stands in hellfire saying “you must work! You must make money! Or you’ll get sick! You’ll be homeless! You’ll be homeless! You’ll go to hell!” That is juxtaposed with things that bring me joy, like pencils, pens, books, a dog, a bike, and plants.