Cum Dolore: A TF2 Gore Zine

Zine
Title:	Cum Dolore: TF2 Gore Zine
Publisher:	scumsuck
Editor(s):	scumsuck and defelectric
Type:	art zine, zine anthology
Date(s):	2020
Medium:	print, digital
Size:	43 pages
Fandom:	Team Fortress 2
Language:	English
External Links:	https://archive.org/details/tf2gorezine_images
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Cum Dolore: A TF2 Gore Zine is an art and fiction anthology zine in the Team Fortress 2 fandom focusing on eroticized depictions of gore and violence.

The zine also features interviews with some contributors, exploring topics like TF2 fandom, eroguro, and increasing social and institutional hostility towards explicit and transgressive works.

Background

In an interview with fellow editor defelectric, scumsuck explained their motivations for creating the zine:

I wanted to run a TF2 zine, specifically gore, because I kept seeing community zines that failed/scammed their artists, and because I found that most zines had very milquetoast subject matter. I wanted to prove that even I could run a zine better than these large community figureheads. And I wanted to show off artists that drew gore/eroguro because the internet has not been very kind to artists who draw things that are not family friendly.

In the zine's foreword, scumsuck also cited the influence of early encounters with eroguro art on TF2chan, as well as opining on aspects of the TF2 canon and fanon that make it particularly suited to eroguro fanworks:

My first introduction to ero guro art was lurking TF2chan in the late 2000's, and discovering Khorosho’s art. My favorite piece of theirs was a drawing of Medic riding Heavy maniacally while sewing up the larger man, both of them covered in blood. It was graphic and cartoony, perfectly complementing the style of TF2. Their artistic influence on me persists to this day. I organized this zine so I could share my love of gore art, erotic art, and a certain hat-themed war simulation game.

Why does this hat simulator game provide such a wonderful playground for blood and fornication? The characters are simple, and their personalities and motivations are malleable, The world is a paradise of ridiculous hyperviolence. Men explode into bloody gibs, reform, then march back to die constant excruciating deaths of bullets, flame, and piss. The game and SFMs are inherently comedic, but a writer can take the war and death as seriously as they want (or not!). With the inherent respawn mechanics, Spy and Sniper may hunt and kill cach other in an endless flirtatious game of cat-and-mouse. But playing with the BROKEN RESPAWN or PERMADEATH tropes, Demoman may grimly stare death in the eye, while Soldier pathetically prods at his friend’s corpse. The possibilities are endless for a creative mind!

"How has TF2 fandom changed over time?"

Multiple contributors observed major changes in TF2 fandom compared to the points at which they joined (generally in the early 2010s). Overall, they characterized the newer wave of TF2 fandom as more focused on the comics than the game, and increasingly composed of fans who had not participated in the fandom's earlier days on TF2chan.

They also perceived the new wave as less open to "problematic" ships and "edgy content", leading to the decline of genres like "Scout abuse".

Contributor Distasty:

When I restarted, I hadn’t really been doing any fandom stuff. I read a few fanfics from time to time, but pretty much kept my nose clear of fandom discourse until I started attracting and meeting new folks. The whole mood has changed. There was always a dumb “elitism” in the TF2 fandom even from the get go, which funny enough, caused the chan to literally go up in flames, but the whole “moral police” aesthetic is sparkling new and pretty discouraging.

The idea you could get death threats for fictional men hand holding the wrong way is a new and terrible concept to me.

But yeah, I’ve talked to many artists and they literally are too scared to post their work because they don’t want to be involved with the discourse. It’s kinda sad how easy I had things back when I was an edgy youth, tbh.

Contributor jylliet recounted experiences with TF2 fandom on Tumblr:

for context, nearly all of my experience with the fandom is from tumblr. a lot has changed. i was real adjacent to some big intracommunity fight-y stuff on tumblr in mid 2014 that drove out a lot of the tf2 content creators. a lot of those creators had been in the fandorn since tf2chan and because they let so abruptly and all at once, it feels like the remaining fandom lost touch with the pre-comics days. i think that’s why the newer waves of the fandom hold so tightly onto the comics as undeniable canon and why there are fewer scout abuse fics.

Contributor manntreads also observed a shift away from "dark" content, but noted increasing diversity in how the fandom characterized Soldier:

I think the biggest change I’ve seen though is I remember back then there was a lot more openly edgy/gory/generally fucked up content that I don’t see as much now   (which is exciting about this zine! It feels nostalgic for the older days of TF2 fandom!) . I remember when Scout abuse was a whole genre, and you’d see people purposefully trying to write the edgiest fanfic possible just for the shock value. On the other hand, I think now I see more varied interpretations of the mercs, maybe because there’s been more comics/SFMs released since then, or just a change in fandom culture, I’m not sure, but I do like seeing the mercs get more diverse characterizations. I remember back then especially, I almost always saw Soldier characterized as stereotypically “crazy”, mean, and usually bigoted, and while I’m not saying he can’t/shouldn’t ever have those characteristics if that’s how someone wants to explore his character, that seemed to be allllmost the only way I saw him portrayed, and I think that influenced me not liking Soldier much until the comics started expanding on his character (and now he’s my favorite).

Contents

• Foreword by scumsuck.
• "hospital stay", illustration by deflectric.
• "Chili Lemon Peanuts", illustration by Captain Solsikke.
• "The Caretaker", illustration by Captain Solsikke.
• "La Petite Mort", short story by Distasty, illustrated by Distasty.
• "Demon's Degradee", illustration by PHNTM.
• "Must Feed the Queen," illustration by PHNTM.
• "all guts, no glory," short story by jylliet, illustrated by scumsuck.
• "Love Ya", by n33dlebabe.
• "karma is a bitch" by ONAIROO.
• "beefcake tartare", by Puck.
• "pocket puppy", by Puck.
• "Heart to Heart", short story by Motte, illustrated by Spillingdown.
• "Graveyard Smash" by Pyapya.
• "gorezine001psd" by Spillingdown.
• "Oh God", by Tivitto.
• "Main Course", by Chambonizer.
• "Shot Through the Heart", by Teratomarty, illustrated by GlitchPirate.
• Artist bios.
• Deflectric's interviews with contributors.