Community Spotlight – Metroid35 Zine

For this month’s Spotlight, we are presenting to you the work of Isabel Braman on a fanzine celebrating 35 years of Metroid and fans of the series. Featuring many artists, musicians, writers and more, the Metroid35 zine shows how much the adventures of Samus Aran have influenced people over the years. Isabel also discusses her love for Metroid, how the zine came to be, and even some plushies she made based on characters from the series.

Metroid35 Zine

Hello! My name is Isabel Braman. You may also know me as Metroid35, the admin of the Metroid35 fanzine project. I’m a designer, an illustrator, and a big fan of the Metroid series.

My first official experience with the series was with Other M, but I quickly dropped the game because of the control scheme. Flash forward to 2018 and my brand new 2DSXL, and I decided to try Samus Returns after watching videos from The Orpheon. Even though it was, to that date, one of the hardest games I had ever played, exploring SR388 was so engrossing that I pushed through the frustration and was rewarded with an incredible experience. Soon after that, I played through the other 2D games (yes, even the original and Return of Samus). I may not be the best Metroid player, but speed doesn’t really matter to me as much as exploring and finding my way.

On April 1st, 2021, I made a joke about Nintendo releasing a Ridley plush later that year on Twitter. Then, I started thinking. I had made plushies before. Would it be possible to turn a complicated, fearsome pirate like Ridley into a huggable plush? After lots of hard work, I posted the goofy result online thinking that everyone would get a good laugh out of it. Instead, the reaction was so positive that I was completely blown away. So I ended up making even more plushies, like Crocomire, Dark Samus, Meta Ridley, and even a Samus based on a TerminalMontage video. In the future, I would like to make more plushies, such as Rundas, U-Mos, and the Baby Metroid. If my plushies make Metroid fans happy, then that makes me happy!

At the beginning of 2021, I had a crazy idea. I wanted to create a project that would celebrate the 35th anniversary of the series that I loved so much. I was inspired by a Studio Ghibli fanzine called “Vines in the Gears”, which featured art from different artists celebrating various Studio Ghibli movies. I also had some experience creating my own zine, called “Echoes of Aether”, which was based on Metroid Prime 2: Echoes.

Soon, I was working on the project as a second job almost, trying to make something that I felt not only celebrated 35 years of Metroid, but also 35 years of Metroid fans. I wanted there to be not only artwork, but also writing, cosplay, and even music. I began to reach out to the community and ask, “would you like to be part of this project with me?” And, shockingly enough, people said yes.

I put a lot of pressure on myself to complete the zine, putting in countless hours trying to make something that I wanted to be proud of. The hardest part, besides various technological hiccups, was trying to make sure that I didn’t abandon the project completely. Luckily, there were very lovely people in the community who gave me the encouragement I needed to get the zine done.

I want to thank the Metroid community for helping me with the zine. Without you, I never would have been able to complete it. Here’s to many more adventures (and zines) in the future!

Our Thoughts

Isabel put a lot of work into what I think is a great way to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Metroid series. It’s incredible that she managed to bring so many people together! I like that it features a variety of fanmade content, and not just illustration, it’s a good idea and makes it a bit different from what we are used to see.

I have so much appreciation for what Isabel organised to mark Metroid’s 35th anniversary. A zine that promotes the fan community and celebrates a milestone anniversary for Metroid is a really cool idea, and I am thankful that she was able to pull it all together. Ten years ago to mark the 25th anniversary, I worked closely with a publication to do something similar, and I understand just how much time and effort goes into something like this. Isabel, you have my respect!