Timely documentary photography and bilingual magazines: it's June Things!

June is here which means we’re officially halfway through 2018 (?!) and it’s also time for our regular feature: Things.

Every month here at It’s Nice That we sit down and look through all the goodies that have been sent to us during the previous four weeks. From tote bags to T-shirts, calendars to cassette tapes, we get a huge variety of amazing stuff which, somehow, we have to whittle down. Check out our latest selection below featuring a stellar line-up of publications from all over all the world, in various disciplines, formats and topics. Enjoy!

We appreciate every item that arrives through our letterbox, so if you would like to submit to be in next month’s Things, please do so to this address.

Magnum Chronicles: A Brief Visual History in the Time of Isis

This is the first issue in a series of publications titled Magnum Chronicles, which will allow Magnum to respond to “critical issues with a timeliness that is difficult in a full-length book.” This issue focuses on the rise and apparent fall of the Islamic State and presents 20 Magnum photographers – such as Lorenzo Meloni and Paolo Pellegrin –  who have been documenting the conflict. The images are, understandably, arresting and incredibly moving at times and are accompanied by an essay and timeline by Peter Harling.

Mikael Johansson: And Few of Them Know

This book of 18 portraits is by Swedish photographer Mikael Johansson. The series, titled And Few of Them Know, blurs the lines between masculine and feminine, considering the spaces that exist between the two. Each of the subjects, who are all men, is depicted in a similar fashion on a plain background, topless and with just their head and shoulders in shot. The images are incredibly quiet, providing a peek into an intimate moment between the photographer and his sitters.

Vagina Dentata Zine

Vagina Dentata is dedicated to science fiction and fashion as well as championing women, the LGBTQ+ community, people of colour and feminist creatives. We featured its first issue last August and, somehow, this issue is even more bonkers than the last one. Sticking to its square format, Vagina Dentata issue two is an explosion of colour with nods to aliens, Harajuku and the United Nations. Yes, all in one magazine…

Komma Magazine

Komma is a presentation platform for students from the faculty of design at Mannheim University of Applied Sciences. Each issue is run by the students themselves and the team changes issue to issue. As a result, its format and identity are constantly changing. This latest issue – its 21st – is titled Grenzen which translates to “borders” and comes glue bound with a removable insert held in place by a large elastic band. Its design is simple yet clear, making use of both serif and sans-serif type to create a visual hierarchy.

Cool Brother

Cool Brother (great name) is a self-published zine created by bands, illustrators and young creatives. The team describe themselves as “an ever-expanding family” as they welcome new contributors to every issue. Based in London, the zine is split into three sections. The first, music, features a host of bands who all had a hand in creating the issue. Secondly, illustration which features exclusively created work by up-and-coming illustrators and lastly, style, which presents Cool Brother’s top clothing picks which “reflect an attitude, rather than a code of conduct”.

Daniel Zender: Drawings from Easter Island

New York City-based illustrator, Daniel Zender, sent us this little bundle of goodies comprising of two zines and some stickers. The larger of the two zines, Drawings from Easter Island continues Daniel’s well-known colour palette of red, white and black, although the drawings feel much more spontaneous than some of his other work. With 32 pages, the Risographed zine was the result of a trip Daniel took to Easter Island in October 2017. Famed for its 900 statues called moai, Drawings from Easter Island does exactly what it says on the tin, showcasing these monumental forms through Daniel’s use of line and negative space.

Kiosk Magazine

Kiosk is a magazine that focuses on the area of King’s Cross in London. Home to art school Central Saint Martins, Google’s headquarters, The Guardian and The British Library, the area is a hub of creativity and Kiosk aims to highlight the actual people who are thriving “in between these big players”. This is the publication’s fourth issue which extends one hand across the ocean while “keeping a firm grip on our London and UK roots”. In the issue’s opening feature, Kiosk sent photographer Rosie Matheson and its fashion editor Holly MacDonald to photograph “British brands on the kids of Los Angeles.”

Nichons – Nous Dans L’Internet

Nichons – Nous Dans L’Internet is a biannual magazine, now in its seventh issue, which aims to print the internet before it stops. The publication is printed in both English and French and its title translates to “Abreast the Internet”. In this latest issue, the magazine features a piece of the rebroadcasting of Bob Ross’ The Joy of Painting on streaming platform Twitch, as well as a slick presentation of artist Kim Laughton’s work; which also graces the front cover.