Cum Dolore: a TF2 Gore Zine

From 2018 to the present year of 2020, the internet has stifled the creation of transgressive art. Tumblr banned NSFW and died. Patreon banned fetish art. And god knows how many other art platforms are hostile towards even the most vanilla NSFW art. I would like to encourage artists to draw gore and sex by providing my artistic support, as well as a small distribution platform via social media and physical. And there’s nothing like having a physical zine that can never be censored by arbitrary online rules. You’ll have to burn this book if you wanna get rid of this filth!

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 each 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!

Love is war, and sex is violence. Sweating, heaving, bloodied bodies are pressed against each other in the trenches. Men penetrate each other with bullets and knives to a groaning climax. Homies kiss each other goodnight in the barracks after having group bonding via exercise and communal showers. Y’know those intricate rituals which allow them to touch the skin of other men? This is it.

And simply touching can turn into more! Warring hatred transforms into obsessive lust! Decapitate your rival and skullfuck him, keep his head as a fetish trophy in every way! Rip open your lover’s ribcage and eat his heart out with his explicit adoring consent! Or simply hold hands with your best buddy while covered in blood.

A dope artist can explore violence and sexuality through the entire spectrum of darkness, humor, or romance. And all the artists in this zine? Are hella dope.