HOW STRANGE. The Visual Literary Arts (VLA) Collective, a locally-founded group of artists, has released four issues of their zine, "Other Strangeness." (Pictured is zine #3)

Frank Fucile, a visiting assistant professor of English at UW-Eau Claire, was looking for a creative outlet outside of academia, and was seeking a group of other creatives wishing to do the same – so he created something new.

The Visual Literary Arts Collective is a nonprofit organization of writers, illustrators, photographers, and other visual artists who value a community-oriented form of publishing their work. The collective recently released its fourth zine, Other Strangeness, which focuses on comics.

Locals have joined the VLA and participated in Other Strangeness, including artists Dave Recine and Chanel Harwick (Nonfat Melk). But the VLA isn’t just a local group – it has members reaching as far as Toronto, where the second chapter is located.

The idea to create a zine with works from artists of various mediums came from a few members, with an emphasis on making sure everybody got paid, no matter how little it may be at first. The collective recently published the fourth iteration of the Other Strangeness zine on Feb. 12, which can be found at many local businesses in downtown Eau Claire including bars, coffee shops, and record stores – wherever Fucile sees fit to distribute them. There are always copies available at Clairemont Comics (2215 Fairfax St., Eau Claire).

“(We thought) if we do a variety magazine, then what that can lead to is more sustained projects, maybe (projects) that spin out from specific ideas within the magazine,” Fucile said. “Or else it’s just a good way of promoting people within the collective and maybe they get to move up to better things.”

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my theory is that if we stick to (the zine) long enough, providing something that’s meaningful to a wide variety of people, that would be something that would be worth the effort.

frank fucile

vla collective founder

Other Strangeness is a short, diverse zine of comics ranging in topics: from political cartoons to non-fiction profiles to classic humorous comic strips that many audiences love. The zine has a reoccurring comic titled “Nana Boo Boo,” created by Fucile, Recine, Dan Lamm, and Brandon Jennings.

The art found in Other Strangeness is under a non-exclusive license, and even though some of it is by well-known cartoonists – such as Tom Tomorrow and Jeremy Nguyen – it’s the kind of work that’s not seen as often due to other publishers’ focus on what readers deem “popular.”

“I think a lot of people were very skeptical from the beginning – maybe even still are – but my theory is that if we stick to (the zine) long enough, providing something that’s meaningful to a wide variety of people, that would be something that would be worth the effort,” Fucile said.

Any artists interested in joining the VLA or participating in Other Strangeness can reach out via Instagram. In order to sustain Other Strangeness, the VLA is accepting subscriptions (which will get you an issue sent directly to your home) and donations via Patreon. Going forward, the VLA is hoping to expand into other genres of zines – including one called FullMetal DiaFram – and community meetings.

Keep up with the VLA (@vlacollective) and Other Strangeness (@other_strangeness) on Instagram. Get a subscription to Other Strangeness on Patreon.