Tentative Atrophy is a Columbus-based art and music zine created by Jack Corthell, a local artist and music enthusiast.
Corthell got into zines after finding a copy of My Little Underground by Shannon McMahon at Joint Custody, a record store in Washington, D.C. and visiting friends at Kafe Kerouac for a poetry night where people were talking about their zines.
“I was like, oh, so I can just do this myself,” Corthell said. “And it was also like an excuse to actually interact with people as well. Because if I go to a show, I can like go up to somebody and hand them a zine. Maybe I’ll talk to them, or maybe I’ll just hand it to them.”
The process of making the zine for Corthell starts with four folded pieces of paper which makes 16 pages. He then separates those pages into sections to include an interview, submitted art and advertising for local artists, musicians and other zines.
“The actual printed zine is a photocopy book, basically a little collage book. Any kind of creative collaging is usually done for promotional stuff,” Corthell explained. “When you first open it, there’ll be some collaged graphics. Any graphics I have in the zine are either like stickers or actual cutouts from like magazines or advertisements.”
In addition to what is on the page, second issue of zine comes with a sampler CD for two songs each from the artists Spoils and Between the Trees and Me. Corthell said he plans to include another sampler with the third issue featuring at least seven local artists.
The name Tentative Atrophy, according to Corthell was supposed to be an “edgy and ironic” because the content is ultimately wholesome and community focused.
“I was gonna make this like super ironic, like over the top, like kind of edgy zine, but then I was like, we really don’t need that,” Corthell said he wanted to feel good making the zine and have the readers enjoy it too. “I decided to go like a wholesome route about community building and stuff. I thought that was a little more appealing. And I guess not just appealing, but just more productive.”
The community-based vision Corthell has for the zine will be on display at the third issue release show on Sept. 4.
The event will be hosted at The Valley located at 238 North Fourth St. and is set to feature three local music acts and a variety of clothing and art vendors. Tickets for the zine release show are available at The Valley Soulz website.
For more information about Tentative Atrophy follow the zine on Instagram and check out Corthell’s Internet Archive for scans of the previous Tentative Atrophy issues and other media.
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