Shelf Heroes: F
Shelf Heroes celebrates great (and not so great) cinema one letter at a time. Each issue is made up of submissions, and begins with a simple brief: go create something. Now on its ‘F’ issue, it has transformed into a several-part fanzine, complete with stickers, postcards and a book of poster illustrations, on top of the usual zine packed full of reviews.
Founder Ben Smith has said that he wants Shelf Heroes to be ‘instinctive, anarchic and personal’. Each piece is surprising and diverse, and highlights include a two-page review of Fifth Element in poetry form, an ode to the charming legacy of Four Weddings and a Funeral, a feminist take on Footloose, and an imagined exchange of letters between the protagonist and antagonist of Frances Ha, to name just a few.
Beyond the zine, the new bonus features in the ‘F’ issue add to the sense of film fandom that drives Shelf Heroes, with a particular highlight being the woven patch inspired by a scene from Fifth Element. A useful index in the black-and-white zine guides you through the poster book, which is made up of 10 double-sided folded full colour posters of Shelf Heroes’ exclusive illustrations. ‘F’ proves itself to be the funnest, brightest and most eclectic issue of the magazine yet.