Best-Selling DCC and MCC Zines of 2022
It’s time to turn our eye back on the year 2022 with a focus on one of the most popular third-party products, the zine! We’ve compiled a list of the best-selling zines without separating them out by product line, so this list contains releases for both DCC and MCC in a single review.
In past years we have used the aggregate sales of an entire zine line to rank best sellers. This means zines with more issues invariably rise to the top. Starting last year, we’re instead ranking based on the single best-selling issue of each zine. This gives newer zines a chance to break into the top 10. In addition, we have to consider the place of compilations in the rankings. Over the years, some publishers have released books that compile the individual zine issues. To keep the zine rankings true to the original intent – which is the zine format – we have opted to not include the compilations as part of the rankings (such as Gongfarmers Almanac, or the Tales From the Smoking Wyrm 3-volume set, for example).
So, without further ado, here are the best-selling DCC and MCC zines of 2022!
#1 – Hobonomicon #3
Coming in at the top spot again this year is Doug Kovacs’ smash-hit zine Hobonomicon. Whether you are traversing the wilds of Meat Planet or reading about the adventures of the Reavers, each issue is packed with artwork, articles, and adventure. The best-selling individual issue for 2022 was Hobonomicon #3, but each issue is something special in its own right.
#2 Macabre Vol. 1
DCC’s first zine dedicated to b-movie-inspired horror and mayhem. Macabre Volume I is 42 pages of horror inspired by Troma, Full Moon Pictures, Roger Corman, Hammer Horror, and more. Inside, you will find new optional rules, a class inspired by an 8-bit NES vampire killer, the world’s most comprehensive random werewolf generator, and details about a new horrific setting, Nekrovania. There are also tips for running a horror-themed game within the confines of DCC, new monsters, and a drink recipe to calm your nerves.
#3 – Hexanomicon Issue #1
The Hexanomicon isn’t a setting of its own, but rather a tool to help you create your own setting. It uses stickers of hex map landscape elements, sheets on which to place them, and tables to determine the contents of hexes. Specific destinations are left to the judge, but the basics are waiting for you inside its pages.
#4 – Crawl! Fanzine No. 6
The first zine for DCC RPG is still one of the most popular. Each issue of Crawl! is packed with material for your DCC RPG campaign. Several issues of Crawl! were top sellers for 2022 with Crawl! #6 proving the most popular, but every issue puts out fantastic material.
#5 The Stennard Courier Vol. 1
The Stennard Courier Vol. 1 is a 40-page DCC RPG compatible town center for 0-4th level characters. Stennard is a great base of operations for adventurers, filled with NPCs to engage with, rumors to be gleaned, and shops to frequent. Eleven encounter locations complete with NPCs, rumors, details on cultures, laws, shops, even a Stennardite name generator.
#6 Tales From the Smoking Wyrm Issue #4
Tales from the Smoking Wrym issue 4 returns with 8 great articles, including a Trolls character class with a new luck mechanic, new mutations for MCC, rules for organizations, new familiars, a comic and word search, and six potted meats!
This is the limited-edition, hand-numbered to 300 copies, version of issue 4. Once all 300 copies are sold, this edition will not come again. Featuring archival quality Mohawk cover stock and Mohawk smooth paper stock. Printed in two colors throughout.
#7 Mutant High School
Welcome to Mutant High School, where the students have evolved beyond the curriculum. Can toxic teens survive killer robots, mutant gangsters, toxic truthers, and exams? The answers are hidden behind the walls of No-Go City, and you must find them! Written by Brendan LaSalle.
#8 – Merchants of the Multiverse
Merchants of the Multiverse offers up everything that a character wants—treasure and a means to get it! Scarcity and surplus, supply and demand; whether it be need of guzzoline, water, or super-tech, the world will continue to operate off these adages after civilization falls. We’ve created this zine to help fill in those gaps for your post-apocalyptic game, primarily for use in Mutant Crawl Classics, but these rules can be easily adapted for use with other post-apocalypse or science-fantasy settings. Includes Virtual Table Top tokens.
#9 Crepuscular Issue #1
This comic-sized zine contains the 0-level adventure funnel, Sanctum of the Snail, plus a wealth of other material including a new patron, new magic items, and 30 NPCs ready for use!
#10 Rabid Dogs
This revised and updated 2nd printing of Rabid Dogs Zine is packed full with even more DCC RPG compatible content — including the Canine Character Class and tons of occupations, encounters, goods, weapons, and more!
If you want to dig in deep and delve into the underground lairs, be sure to check out the Best-Selling DCC Third-Party Products for 2022.
Want to try your hand at creating something for DCC or MCC? If so, check out our post on how to be a third-party publisher.
And this is just a small sample of what is available. We’ve got a ton of great products from other folks on our site, and we encourage you to check out everything from all of our Third-Party Publishers!
