The Galactic Guidebook
A Team Galactic fanzine
About
☆ About ☆
This is a zine focused on portraying Team Galactic from the Pokemon series and creating a fanmade guidebook for their organisation. We are hoping to highlight some of the complex characters in the team as they are presented in the games, but please note that some villainous actions will be present in this project.We will be showcasing art, writing, and merchandise of the characters, locations, and plots around Team Galactic.This zine will be having a physical run of the booklet and merchandise, as well as a digital PDF and merchandise!Information about these can be read in the Zine Specs section below!This will be a SFW zine. In general the zine aims to be teen-rated, with potential depictions of canon-typical events.We are not associated with GameFreak or Nintendo in any way.☆ Zine Specs ☆
☆ This zine will feature artists, writers, and merch artists.☆ This zine will be for CHARITY. Project profits will be donated after the project. We will determine the charity during the interest check.☆ This zine will have both a digital and physical version. Details are as follows:DIGITAL ZINE:
Will contain:
- PDF copy of the zine — size and page count TBD.
- Digital merch items.PHYSICAL ZINE:
Will contain:
- Physical copy of the zine — 6x9”, page count TBD.
- Physical merch items.
- Bonus stretch goals, unlocked if we reach enough sales.
Moderators
Mod Hawk/Galactic Boss Mercury — they/them — Head Mod & Writer Mod
☆ Mod Hawk/Galactic Boss Mercury (@VeloxVoid) has been participating in Pokémon zines since March 2020, and frequently contributes to the fandom in zines, fandom events, and through writing fanfiction. Pokémon is their favourite series of all time, with their earliest memories being playing Pokémon Crystal at 5 years old!☆ Hawk will be available as a beta reader for writing contributors.☆ Hawk has mod experience from working on:
“Adventure Log” — Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Zine (Head Mod & Writer Mod)
“Our Greatest Treasure” — Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Zine (Head Mod & Writer Mod)
“Trans-cendent” — FE3H Trans Zine (Head & Writer Mod)
… and others!☆ They also have experience contributing writing for the zines:
“Sinnoh Jewels” — Pokémon Sinnoh Zine (Guest Writer)
“Winds of Hoenn” — Pokémon Hoenn Zine (Writer)
“PokéPocket” — Tiny Pokémon Zine (Writer)
… and more!☆ For a full list of their zine experience, check here.
☆ You can find them on Twitter, and AO3!☆☆☆Mod Arill/Commander Earth — Ze/He/It — Head Mod & Art Mod
☆ Mod Arill/Commander Earth (@arill_b_r) is an artist and sometimes writer with a passion for zines. Ze has loved Pokémon ever since ze was a child and started modding Pokémon zines in 2023. He also loves making merch and his favourite Generations are 4 and 5.☆ Arill will be guiding both page and merch artists for this zine!☆ Arill has mod experience from working on:
“Turnabout Ballroom” — A TGAA Ballroom Zine (Co-Head, Merch & Graphics Mod)
“A Stellar Adventure” — A Pokémon ScarVio DLC Zine (Art Mod)
“Surgeon of Death” — A One Piece Law Zine (Head & Merch Mod)
…and more!☆ He also has experience contributing art for the zines:
“Blossoming Love” — A TGAA Susato Shipping Zine (Merch Artist)
“Leaders of the Sea” — A One Piece Captains Zine (Page & Merch Artist)☆ For a full list of its zine experience, check its Carrd.
☆ You can find him on Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram!☆☆☆Mod Max Cat/Galactic Boss Venus — He/him/lord cat
— Graphics Mod
☆ Max Cat/Galactic Boss Venus (@max-0-cat on tumbr) is the graphics mod - Art, Science and Knowledge enthusiast. Here to help the project the best way they can!☆ Max Cat has mod experience from working on:“pris-M-agic” — A Magical Girls Zine“Ten Thousand Stars” — A free, digital zine celebrating English vocaloid songs and Western producers.☆☆☆Mod CinderArts/ Galactic Boss Neptune – he/him – Social Media Mod
☆ Mod CinderArts (@Cinder_Arts) is a freelance writer, artist and content creator. He has a small but growing experience with a few zines and love the structure that social media management brings! He is also the owner of Out of Context Pokemon, and moderator for Media with Pokemon Music!☆ He also has zine experience contributing for the zines:
“Love Letter to Unova” — A Pokemon Black and White Zine (Artist)“Dear Ranger Union” — A Pokemon Rangers Fanzine (Artist)☆ You can find them on Twitter and Bluesky!☆☆☆Mod Fei/Galactic Boss Eris – they/she – Formatting Mod
☆ Mod Fei (@ _feiyu) is a mixed-media artist with a love of Pokémon and paper! They’re really excited to help bring this zine to life!☆ Fei will be turning the finalised pieces into a PDF layout for digital and physical release.☆ Fei has mod experience from working on:
“Adventure Log” — PMD Zine (Formatting/Layout Mod)
“Character Study” — A D&D OC Zine (Formatting/Layout Mod)
“Iustitia” — An Ace Attorney Women Zine (Formatting/Layout Mod)
… and others!☆ They also have experience creating for the zines:
“Our Greatest Treasure” — Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Zine (Page Artist)
“Hisui Chronicles” — A Pokémon Legends: Arceus Zine (Page Artist)
“At the End of Everything” — A Night in the Woods Zine (Page Artist)
… and more!☆ For a full list of their zine experience, check here.☆ You can find them on Twitter, and Instagram!☆☆☆Mod JoJo/Galactic Boss Pluto –she/her – Shipping Mod
☆ Mod JoJo has participated in several zines, mainly as the Shipping Mod, but has also been a Head Mod for three. Pokémon is her all-time love even though she has yet to play the new games from probably what feels like the last 10 years (except for Sun/Moon). Sapphire/Ruby/Emerald is her all time favorite.☆ JoJo has mod experience from:
“Fragile Things” — Centaurworld Zine (Shipping Mod)
“Lunar Labyrinth” — A Moon Knight Fanzine (Shipping Mod)
“Voyage of Light” — Sky: Children of the Light Zine (Head Mod)☆ For a full list of their zine experience, check their Carrd.
☆ You can find them mainly on Instagram, but also Twitter.☆☆☆Mod Mai/Galactic Boss Saturn –she/her – Finance Mod
☆ Mod Mai is Big nerd who got into Pokemon back with the game boy color games. I've done plenty of zines☆ Maihas mod experience from working on:
“We Are! On a Journey!” (Finance, Production)
“Re•Voir” (Head, Finance)☆☆☆
Schedule
Please note that due to changing circumstances, all dates are estimates and are subject to change.Interest Check: May 20th - June 20th
Mod Applications: May 20th - June 20th
Mod Application Results: June 25th
Contributor Applications: July 15th - August 15th
Contributor Application Results: August 25th
Discord Entrance Deadline: August 30th
1st Check-in (Concepts/Pitches): September 30th
2nd Check-in (30-50% done): October 30th
3rd Check-in (80-100% done): November 30th
Final Submissions (Hard deadline): January 15th
Preorders Open: February 1st - March 1st
Shipping Expected: TBD
Application Guidelines
During the contributor application process, a few things will be asked of you. Please remember to provide all requested samples, and if using Google Drive, to set link sharing to “on”. If we cannot access your work or your samples are incomplete, we will have to disqualify your application, so please double check everything is completed on your form!—Artists
We will be grading artist applications based on grasp of anatomy, use of colour, piece composition, and other artistic fundamentals.We will require of you:
- A link to your portfolio with at least 3 completed SFW pieces in it; this can be a Google Drive link, Twitter Moment, Instagram/Tumblr account, your own website, etc; as long as we have access to view what’s inside! Please do not submit NSFW-only portfolios.
- 3 SFW examples of your best work, ideally fully coloured with backgrounds, reflecting the standard of work you would like to contribute to this zine.
Works featuring Pokémon/Team Galactic characters are preferred, although not required.
- At least three pitches of what you would like to portray in the zine. The more detail the better!Writers
We will be grading writer applications based on story flow, characterisation, spelling, grammar, and punctuation.We will require of you:
- A link to your portfolio with at least 3 completed SFW pieces in it; this can be an AO3/Fanfiction.net account, Google Drive link, your own website, etc; as long as we have access to view what’s inside! Please do not submit NSFW-only portfolios.
- 3 SFW examples of your best work, reflecting the standard of work you would like to contribute to this zine. We ask that they are between 500 — 2,500 words for prose (about 100 words of ‘wiggle room’ will be allowed).
- For other writing types, such as travelogues, diary entries, etc, we ask that pieces be between 100 — 1,500 words.
- At least one sample must be a complete piece of work in order to see how you can work with the zine’s assigned word count. Your second and third samples can be either excerpts or other complete works.
- Works featuring Pokémon/Team Galactic characters are preferred, although not required.
At least three pitches of what you would like to portray in the zine. The more detail the better!Merch Artists
We will be grading merch artist applications based on suitability of your designs to the merch in question, grasp of anatomy where applicable, composition, and use of colour.We will require of you:
- A link to your portfolio with at least 3 completed SFW pieces in it; this can be a Google Drive link, Twitter Moment, Instagram/Tumblr account, your own website, etc; as long as we have access to view what’s inside! Please do not submit NSFW-only portfolios.
- 3 SFW examples of your best work, reflecting the merch style you would like to contribute. If you have photos of produced merch, feel free to show us, but initial designs are also welcome and will not affect your chances of being accepted.
- Showing examples of merch designs that you would like to make for this zine is recommended. E.g. if you would like to make a charm for the zine, including charm designs in your samples.
- Works featuring Pokémon/Team Galactic characters are preferred, although not required.
- At least three pitches of what you would like to portray as merch, as well as the types of merch you are interested in creating. The more detail the better!
Contributor Information
We ask our contributors to adhere to our schedule and work to the best of their ability! Of course, we understand that life happens, in which case we will be more than happy to grant you extensions should you ask in advance.We ask of you:General Expectations
- Be polite, kind, and considerate to your fellow contributors and the mods; no rude or inappropriate behaviour will be allowed and may result in your ejection from the project.
- Have a Discord account, or be willing to make one for all major communication.
- Keep us in the loop: turn in check-ins on time, or ask for extensions at least 24 hours in advance. If you ghost the project, we will have to forfeit your position in the zine.
- We will not be allowing any type of plagiarism whatsoever. This will include AI.Artists
- Create one full piece (size yet to be decided) that adheres to your accepted prompt.
- Mod Arill will provide feedback prior to the final submissions, but you are more than welcome to ask for feedback at any part of the process!Writers
- Contribute one full piece (word counts/writing type yet to be decided) that adheres to your accepted prompt.
- Mod Hawk will provide a full beta-read prior to the final submissions, but you are more than welcome to ask for feedback at any part of the process!Merch Artists
- Contribute your assigned pieces of merchandise that adhere to your accepted prompts/merch types.
- Our Merch Mod will provide feedback prior to the final submissions, but you are more than welcome to ask for feedback at any part of the process!
Frequently Asked Questions
Feel free to send us questions that haven’t been answered here via Twitter DMs or email!☆ How old do I have to be to apply to this zine?
We ask for contributors to be at least 16 years of age.☆ Will there be NSFW content?
No. This is a completely SFW zine. While canon-typical themes will be allowed, nothing explicit will be permitted.☆ Will shipping content be included?
No, we are preferring to keep this zine Gen. After all, workplace relationships are a HR nightmare for Team Galactic!☆ Will there be merch?
Yes! If we get enough interest, we will have both digital and physical merch available.☆ Will this zine feature alternate media art?
We hope so! Content creators of any kind are welcome to apply.☆ Will follower count matter in application?
No! We will decide contributors based on skill, so social media following won’t matter.☆ Will characters outside of Team Galactic be featured in the zine?
Characters that aren’t part of Team Galactic may be included, but they won’t be the main focus of the pieces.Got a question for us that we haven’t answered? Please feel free to DM us on our social media or email us, and we will be happy to respond to you!