Welcome back to another beginning of the month look at our behind-the-scenes happenings at Broken Frontier. January shot by but, of course, our key posts this month where the results of the Broken Frontier Awards for 2025 (congratulations to both winners and shortlistees) and the announcement of this year’s Broken Frontier ‘Six to Watch’. An awesome line-up of artistic talent I am sure you will agree!
This month’s Andytorial perhaps strays into the area of too much information, and I’ve wrestled a lot about how much detail I should go into here. But I think it’s crucially important for people to understand just how much work goes into keeping this little site going, the reality of how we operate, and just why it is simply unacceptable to publicly complain that we’re not doing enough for you.
But, first, something a little more joyous…
The First Graphic Novel Competition
The very first comics event of 2026 that we attended arrived in the usually barren month of January and saw the shortlisted artists in the First Graphic Novel Competition – Lois de Silva, Calico N.M., Lizz Lunney, Lauren O’Farrell, 2026 Broken Frontier ‘Six to Watch’ artist Yu-Ching Chiu (see we did tell you!), and Hannah McCann – talking about their work-in-progress graphic novels with Alex Fitch at a special event in London.
Photo courtesy of Emily Maher
The winner was Hannah McCann for St. Brigid & Me, described in the following terms:
Brigid: saint and goddess. In this memoir, the fight for abortion rights in her homeland of Ireland inspires the author to reconnect with Saint Brigid, and to connect the dots between traditional folklore and modern social justice.
Congratulations to Hannah whose book will be published by SelfMadeHero. As a former judge for the competition I may have some bias but I believe it’s one of the most important opportunities in UK comics. Huge thanks to Corinne Pearlman and Emma Hayley, and all the judges and sponsors, for continuing to push forwards with this unique and invaluable chance for first-time graphic novelists.
Tell us about your UK and Ireland comics events!
Our Events page is back online but we need your help with keeping it updated! We want to be able to keep running this but there’s a reason it periodically grinds to a halt.
Very few people are telling us about their events.
We are happy to add anything of a more indie and small press nature whether it be fairs, comic shop signings, exhibitions, panels or community groups. But, as ever, time is a premium and we just don’t have enough of it to go searching for comics-related events to add in ourselves. The advantage to sending a press release is that you may also get double coverage – once in a blog entry and also on the Events page listing. Let us know via our Contact Us page because we really want to push what you’re putting on for you.
A little plea for more understanding and less entitlement…
I have written extensively in the last year about the changing face of the comics commentary landscape. You can read my thoughts on that here at BF. Comparatively, as we all know, there are relatively few sites left now providing review/interview/features coverage. If you think that’s to our advantage I can assure you it absolutely isn’t. It simply puts even more undue pressure on us. Sadly, that has meant that over the last couple of years there has been a noticeable increase in a minority who seem unable to understand that a small group of unpaid volunteers can’t be everything to everybody..
Firstly, I am genuinely sympathetic that someone may be frustrated at not getting the coverage they want, need, or think their project deserves. In fact, probably no one gets that more than I do. I wish we were in a position to do more but we really are doing as much as is humanly possible. Last month we were publicly criticised again on social media for a perceived lack of “courtesy” because we cannot reply to every single request for coverage. So here, once again, are some quick reasons as to why that simply isn’t realistic (with an acknowledgment, of course, that 99% of people out there get this and are lovely in their understanding of what we can manage.)
Our workload – In terms of comics offered for review or other coverage requests we hit a three-figure number every single week. There’s just no way we can reply to every single one of those with explanations as to why we cannot give them space or time on the site. I am already working at least 30 hours a week on BF on top of a full-time day job, and on top of any freelance work I may have taken on to ensure that Broken Frontier survives. And Broken Frontier is just one thing in comics I am overseeing or co-organising! We explain all this on the reviews submission page which also underlines that we do not take coverage requests via social media DMs. So, please, e-mail us if you do want to get in touch. For more on just how hard we work in the background check out my piece on two weeks in my BF schedule here. If you haven’t read it before you may be quite surprised at the amount going on at BF outside the site.
Our ethos – We have a very clear, very defined set of areas for coverage: work that is experimental, alternative or form-pushing (“language of comics”). Grassroots self-publishing (“DIY culture”). And socially relevant work (Broken Frontier resource lists). Around key points of the year we may relax that (Thought Bubble is a good example so that our themed TB Month reflects the diversity of approaches at the con) but those are our main concerns. Since so many of our peers in comics commentary disappeared, though, we have seen a surge of material offered from the more traditional genre fiction areas they used to accommodate. We are overwhelmed by it and, again, there are only so many hours in the day.
Our past history – Here’s another reason we don’t get into conversations with folks about reasons why something isn’t a fit for us on any given occasion: not everyone responds well. I just don’t have the energy for a back and forth with someone getting increasingly argumentative and, on rare occasions, even abusive. If we’re going to cover something we will get back to you. Or it will simply appear on the site, so keep checking. If we’re not, we probably won’t. Getting an extra review online, or another press release for a vital community issue, or doing an artist mentoring call on Zoom, are all more important than spending hours individually telling everyone who has contacted us that week that we won’t be covering them on this occasion.
Personal circumstances – Sometimes the world of comics needs to take a back seat. Here’s the part that I am hesitant to write about – and in fact I should not have been put in the position where I have to write about it – but it does give insight into the kind of factors that affect how much we can reasonably be expected to do. So, briefly, for me… Covid last year has left me unable to walk without a stick for the last few months and feeling permanently exhausted; I was diagnosed with an underlying health condition (no doubt significantly contributed to by overwork) in 2025 that was potentially life-threatening had it not been caught; and I need to dedicate more time to family these days while I can because Alzheimer’s is a cruel and awful thing. All of this I mention only to underline that there are priorities we all have in life that go way beyond promoting someone’s comic for them.
So before you fire off that angry e-mail, DM or social media post because you think you’re entitled to someone else’s time, just consider that comics in the UK relies on a community of organisers, volunteers and activists generously giving their efforts for free to support, elevate and promote the scene and those working within it. Without them the whole infrastructure (what passes for it anyway) collapses. Then ask yourself just how appropriate it is to tell people who are already pushing themselves to breaking point in their own time and at their own expense that, actually, they should be doing even more?
I think we all know what the answer to that question is.
That was a bit serious wasn’t it? Next month I promise we will be a bit jollier as I talk about some of the special events Lydia and I have planned at BF in 2026, and introduce you to some new members of the BF team.
Until then…
Andy
