Yappy Hour Zine Reviews: How to Make a Scrubby, Workout Rewind, and Ghoul's Born to Kill

Reviews by Parisa Eshrati

Yappy Hour is a volunteer program at Pima Animal Care Center where people can read to dogs by their kennels for quality socialization time. This blog shares reviews of zines read during Yappy Hour, as well as information about the adoptable dogs being read to!

Did you know that in many dog shelters around the country, there are volunteer opportunities to read to dogs? This program, Yappy Hour, is extremely beneficial for shy, scared, or unsocialized dogs to decrease shelter decline and improve their quality of life, in addition to increasing their likelihood of getting adopted.

For the Yappy Hour versions of our zine reviews, we’ll share zines that we read to shelter dogs at Pima Animal Care Center (PACC) and share information on both the reads and the adoptable dogs!

Update as of 7/5/24:

• Penelope is in foster care and still looking for a forever home!
• McDaniels has been adopted!
• Gary has been adopted!

How To Make a Scrubby & Penelope
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How To Make a Scrubby is a mini-zine that might seem like an informational DIY craft booklet, but actually is a hilariously sweet story with unexpected turns. In just six short pages (and probably about six or so sentences), this autobiographical comic zine manages to capture the spirit and love of a mother from the perspective of a first generation American*. I don’t want to spoil too much because I think you should just buy it and read for yourself, but I also love how this zine comes with a handmade scrubby by zinester Andrew Oh’s mother, and on the back of the zine there’s a QR code for a video of Oh and his mother making a scrubby together. I bought this last year at Tucson Zine Fest, and it’s my become one of my favorite zines in my collection. A true testament to the fact that mini-zines may be mini, but they are certainly mighty!

* Assumingly, because as a first generation American myself, this story really hit home.

You can find this zine and many more autobiographical comics from Andrew Oh here:
https://bio.site/dayandagecomic
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I read this zine to Penelope, who admittedly is my favorite dog currently at Pima Animal Care Center. Penelope is a lumpy, sweet potato of a lady who has the gentle and soulful eyes you ever did see. I read to her often, and she always sits as close as possible and looks directly at me the entire time. I felt this zine would be a good fit for her because she has a maternal, loving feel about her. She is housed with another big dog who has a lot of injuries, and I think she  provides a comforting nature that’s been helping him heal. She has been at the shelter since February 3rd and came in as a stray, so not much is known about her history or how she is in a home setting, so she would really benefit from a foster stay! 
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More information on Penelope: https://24petconnect.com/DetailsMain/PIMA/A830872?fbclid=IwAR17WJzlSLX1LallJhcBlfkTJMbkq5X5TejrS6fLRMSe8OwhiF3IlkSshLY_aem_AWeXq6tnt8rpqyaT9Whgr67gt9Kaj6UUvD92cK3ViNSGBLsx3hBO6HCQDgBiQFgHWFM7IZMHtdMfkQFgEWh1O_Bl
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Workout Rewind & McDaniels

Workout Rewind is the first installment of a funky fun photo zine from the good fellas at the Found Footage Festival showcasing oddball exercise tapes from the golden age of VHS. Even if you’ve never been to one of the FFF shows, this zine is a gold mine for anyone interested in weird VHS culture, ‘80s fitness freakiness, or just want a good laugh. This 48-page, full color zine is a visual feast with vibrant graphic design, and also features an entertaining short interview feature with a gaffer who worked on the set of Maximum Potential, a straight-to-VHS workout tape with He-Man himself, Dolph Lundgren. It never ceases to blow my mind the length the FFF guys will go to find obscure stories about the random videos they discover in thrift stores. 

Find the Workout Rewind zine (only $3!) and other Found Footage merch:
https://store.foundfootagefest.com/collections/more-gifts/products/workout-rewind-magazine

McDaniels is a handsome, energetic pup who has spent too much time of his young life at the shelter. As you can tell from his grin, he’s a really happy boy with a great disposition despite how long he’s been waiting to find a home. I read the Workout Rewind zine to McDaniels because he would be a fabulous fitness partner! Want a hiking buddy or someone to accompany you on some long walks? McDaniels is your guy! He had a two week foster getaway and came back with great notes. He is housebroken, crate trained, and did well with another dog and cat. 

​More information on McDaniels:
https://24petconnect.com/DetailsMain/PIMA/A827150?fbclid=IwAR2xs-877VcG0fqmf3DO3ecHJu9hgCQw7myzbgKC1T8DtvVyEpg6U04X6TM_aem_AWdAsbwsnsLJiQNG8EAwNFCa9KWjyLoQ-uIJdoO47xNeHu5E84_1RBit7MonaxUzIs3qnlDU7c-mXRCRoElS_qK2 
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Ghoul vs. Killbot and Gary

I got to see thrash metal band Ghoul recently on tour with Municipal Waste and Necrot, and I was STOKED to see that they had a feature length comic book at their merch table! If you’re unfamiliar with Ghoul, they’re a group of “mutants from Creepsylvania” that have created a universe of lore around them. In their first ever comic, Born to Kill, you get to dive into the horrific and ghastly tales of Creepsylvania as the band battles against the dreaded KILLBOT! The 28 pages are illustrated in the vein of classic EC and Warren horror comics, with fictitious advertisements and all. This comic was crass, disgusting and in poor taste..so all around, excellent! I especially enjoyed the write-in question column at the end with bassist Cremator. I definitely recommend this zine if you're into horror comix, even if you’re not familiar with the band’s music.
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Find the comic here, or buy it at your local merch table next time Ghoul is in your town:
https://www.doktorsewage.com/product/ghoul-born-to-kill-limited-backing-board

I read this comic to Gary, because this boy is an absolute GOOFBALL and, similarly to the band Ghoul, doesn’t take himself too seriously. As soon as you’ll meet this boy, he’ll flop over for belly rubs with the biggest, cheesiest grin. He loves affection as much as he loves to play. As you can see from that picture, he has a very expressive and charming face that’s made him into a staff favorite! He came in as a stray and unfortunately, has found himself in the long-timers club. Gary has been at PACC since July 2023, and hasn’t had a break in foster. While many people may see that and assume he’s been skipped over for a particular reason, the truth is, with shelter overcrowding it’s easy for guys like Gary just to simply get overlooked! Gary would love an active home where he could play fetch for hours and end the night with lots of snuggles. 
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More information on Gary:
https://24petconnect.com/PimaAdoptablePets/Details/PIMA/A814451?fbclid=IwAR06ZH3tBi05z2xMDMbvbZbnYi8-2Ndry6IuXNLh5tupLjDzZBKtD_Mhi6E_aem_AWf9VFixEIUfBLS1uunWasHItvcQ04lS33fRTcxMWG5z5ZD2IV7UgwwcA2D1Jpf-rixtu4lZDs-4c-15jEIAkaGj 
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If you'd like your zine to be reviewed for Yappy Hour, please send it to:
Trial and Error Collective
c/o Wooden Tooth Records
426 E. 7th Street
Tucson, AZ 85705

For more Yappy Hour volunteer information, check out @yappyhourstorytime on IG

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