Dave Hankins makes zines. He’s a zine maker. A zinester, if you will. What I like about the zines Dave makes is their laser-like focus on a particular subject such as gorilla movies, elephant-shaped buildings, or the ‘66 Batmobile. To learn more about Dave and his zine-making inclinations, I asked him 10 Questions. Here are his answers:
1. Who are you?
My name is Dave. I like to make zines. I also like to draw a little bit.
2. How long have you been making zines and what was your first one?
I made my first zine in March of 2004. I had written a bunch of short rhyming stories, and I wanted to send them to a few people. I think I made eight copies. I really enjoyed doing that, so I just kept making little zines filled with rhyming stories. Finally, in 2022, I stopped rhyming and began writing other stuff.
3. How many zines do you make per year?
It’s a different number every year, but it’s always a lot, probably too many. Besides the zines that people know about, I also make zines that I don’t sell, and zines that I don’t put my name on. I think it must be some kind of compulsion or addiction or something. I can’t stop making the damned things.
4. How do you choose what subjects to write about? Do you have a set publishing schedule or is it more spontaneous in how you decide what to work on?
I don’t have a schedule, and I never know what my next zine will be about. I’ve always got a hundred ideas in my head for zines, but never know which ideas will make it onto paper. The subjects for my zines are usually chosen very spontaneously.
5. Where do you sell the stuff you make?
My zines are sold at many different stores all over the country. Surprisingly, most of my zines are sold in the East, even though I’ve spent my entire life in the West.
6. What is your favorite part of making zines?
I really love it all. I love learning about a subject. I love folding and stapling. I love corresponding with other zine makers through the mail.
It’s a great feeling to make something… to have an idea, then sometime later, to have something that I imagined become a real thing, a little book that I can hold in my hands and put into an envelope, and mail to a friend. I love it. Two of my very favorite things are books and mail, so to make these little books and mail them to people is the perfect hobby for me.
7. What is your least favorite, or maybe the thing(s) you would like to change if you could?
Anything to do with money. I wish I could just do it all for free. It’s nice getting payments from stores, but I hate all of the shipping costs, PayPal fees, all of the expenses for toner, paper, etc. I don’t like asking for money that I’m owed. I’ve had a few little disputes over amounts and prices, and I don’t like dealing with that stuff at all. Anyway, it’s really not that bad, but I could do without the money and business side of zines.
8. What do you like most about living in Las Vegas?
My experience living in Las Vegas is probably quite a bit different than what you’d expect, because I pretty much never leave my house. Every once in a while I go to the post office, library, and grocery store, but that’s basically it.
I’ve always loved seeing unusual buildings and statues and stuff like that. I love novelty architecture and roadside attractions. So on the very rare occasion that I’m on the strip, I enjoy seeing all of the strange buildings and neon signs. I enjoy seeing the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel Tower, a 550-foot tall Ferris wheel, a pyramid… it’s such a weird place. There’s a lot of interesting history in this city and a lot of interesting buildings. I’m always more attracted to older stuff, but the modern stuff is pretty neat too.
9. What do you like least about living in Las Vegas?
The summer. It’s way too hot.
10. What’s next for Dave Hankins in 2025?
I don’t know. I’ve got tons of ideas, but I honestly never know what I’m going to do next. For the past three years I’ve been thinking that my next zine will be about a place in Florida called the Coral Castle, but for some reason, I never make it. I don’t know why. I really want to make it, but I always make something else instead. I even had color covers for it printed two years ago. So hopefully I’ll make the Coral Castle zine this year. There’s also a very good chance that I’ll make more Van Gogh zines. I’ll probably make a zine about elephants. I might make a second issue of Gorilla Movies. I’ll probably make another issue of Questions and Answers.
MORE
Visit: Lazer Attack to see all of Dave Hankins’ zines.
Read: Interviews with comics artist Flo Woolley, O. Stevens, Fran Lopez & zinester Joshua James Amberson of Antiquated Future distro.
