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Section: Columns

Our writers reflect on what makes their hearts beat. Critical, witty, honest.

Columns · Small Pressganged

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Fizzle #1-3 – Whit Taylor’s Beautifully Observed Slice-of-Life Tale from Radiator Comics Possesses an Emotional Immediacy

  • by Andy Oliver
  • February 20, 2020

Whit Taylor’s minicomics series Fizzle, published by Radiator Comics, has been something of a slow burn read to date, and that has very much been a huge part of its…

Columns · Eyecatcher · Small Pressganged

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Illustrated Haiku – Sajan Rai Introduces Us to a Fantasy Realm that is Diverse, Magical, Bizarre and Unashamedly Irreverent

  • by Andy Oliver
  • February 19, 2020

When I say that I have always found Sajan Rai to be a curious creative voice I mean that in a distinctly positive way. His work feels notably different from…

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Curls – Charlot Kristensen’s Autobiographical Minicomic Captures Her Feelings of Exclusion in this Account of Growing Up with Naturally Curly Hair

  • by Andy Oliver
  • February 18, 2020

In a recent Avery Hill Publishing press release I was quoted as saying of the work of Charlot Kristensen that “Kristensen’s vibrant visual characterisation, immersive employment of colour and playful…

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The Promise – Chloe Starling’s Fantasy Comics Short Makes Entrancing Use of Colour in a Tale of Obligation and Discovery

  • by Andy Oliver
  • February 17, 2020

A young woman. A promise she made. And the journey she undertakes to honour it. That’s the simple premise of Chloe Starling’s The Promise, another of the self-published comics I…

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š! #37 – kuš! comics Take us “Down Down Under” in a Collection of the Work of 20-Plus Australian Comics Creators

  • by Andy Oliver
  • February 13, 2020

In our recent Broken Frontier Awards not only was digest series š! nominated for Best Ongoing Series but we also inducted kuš! comics publishing team David Schilter and Sanita Muižniece…

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Stand in Your Power – Rachael Smith Runs the Emotional Gamut in Her Heartfelt Yet Witty Account of Surviving a Relationship Break-Up

  • by Andy Oliver
  • February 12, 2020

Acting as both chronological and thematic sequel to her earlier book Wired Up Wrong, but still entirely accessible as a standalone work, Rachael Smith’s Stand in Your Power explores the…

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Mary and Agnes – Cathy Brett’s True Tale of Two Teenage Penpals in 1920s Scotland Has a Twist in its Gorgeously Illustrated Pages

  • by Andy Oliver
  • February 10, 2020

Cathy Brett’s tale of two 1920s penfriends reunited in reflection in the latter days of their lives may sound like touching if standard slice-of-life comics fare at a first glance…

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Frontier #21: Derek Yu – A Meditation on the Creative Process Via Youth in Decline’s Showcase Series

  • by Andy Oliver
  • February 5, 2020

A week or two back at Broken Frontier we began a game of catch-up by looking at some of the recent issues of publisher Youth in Decline’s acclaimed and award-recognised…

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Walking Distance – Lizzy Stewart’s Meditation on Perambulation Underlines the Remarkable Communicative Power of Her Work

  • by Andy Oliver
  • February 4, 2020

To call Lizzy Stewart’s Walking Distance “a book about walking” seems both an elegantly succinct if obvious encapsulation of its contents and yet also a woefully inadequate summation of its…

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The Misadventures of Jay + Han Book One – Havva Bird’s Tale of University Life Takes Us on an Eventful Night Out with Its Titular Protagonists

  • by Andy Oliver
  • February 3, 2020

Returning to covering more grassroots self-publishing is one of my main aims for ‘Small Pressganged’ this year at Broken Frontier and, after my recent look at Beatrice Mossman’s The Lure…

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Frontier #20: Anatola Howard – Anatola Howard Explores Aspects of Love in a Witty Entry in Youth in Decline’s Acclaimed Spotlight Series

  • by Andy Oliver
  • January 23, 2020

Over the last few years Youth in Decline’s Frontier series has provided an acclaimed space for creators to spotlight their personal approaches to graphic narrative. Sometimes these self-contained one-shots showcase…

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Internet Crusader – George Wylesol’s Innovative Story of Doomsday Cults and Satanic Computer Viruses Pushes, Probes, Tests and Even Breaks the Boundaries of What Comics Can Be

  • by Andy Oliver
  • January 20, 2020

Arguments about what exactly constitutes comics as a form always seem something of an unnecessary distraction. The elasticity of that definition is surely one of the medium’s greatest strengths, allowing…

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Six Small Press Creators to Watch in 2020 – Spotlighting the Work of Dominique Duong, Miranda Smart, Nic Mac, Pigeon, Shangomola Edunjobi and Tal Brosh

  • by Andy Oliver
  • January 16, 2020

The most exciting time of the year here on the site is our announcement of the names of the artists selected for the year’s Broken Frontier ‘Six Small Press Creators…

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The King – John Tucker’s Eccentrically Amiable Tale Combines the Downright Bizarre with Themes of Family and Responsibility

  • by Andy Oliver
  • January 15, 2020

John Tucker’s The King is perhaps more illustrated story than pure comics but this eccentrically amiable tale has an idiosyncratic charm that makes it well worth picking up if you’re…

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The Lure of the Flesh – Beatrice Mossman’s Horror/Fairy Tale Hybrid Explores the Possibilities of the Page with Its Distinctive Tactile Presentation

  • by Andy Oliver
  • January 13, 2020

Beatrice Mossman’s The Lure of the Flesh brings together dark fantasy, allegorical storytelling and autobiographical elements in an enticingly unusual physical format. Freya is a young girl who has struggled…

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Buuza!! Vol. 1: Good Morning Salwa – Shazleen Khan’s Broken Frontier Award-Winning Webcomic About “Found Family, Diaspora and Religion” Comes to Print

  • by Andy Oliver
  • January 3, 2020

Shazleen Khan describes her 2019 Broken Frontier Award-winning webcomic Buuza!! as bring about “found family, diaspora and religion, set in an urban fantasy 90s Middle East and central Asia.” Last…

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Celebrating 2019 – Ten UK Small Press Comics You Need to Own!

  • by Andy Oliver
  • January 1, 2020

We supplemented our annual Broken Frontier tradition of rounding up just ten UK small press comics representing the diversity of approach in self-published comics practice this year with an additional…

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Wild – Debbie Fong’s New Minicomic Provides an Existential Reflection on the Pursuit of Happiness

  • by Andy Oliver
  • December 30, 2019

In last year’s Broken Frontier Awards Debbie Fong’s short comic Greenhouse won the ‘Best One-Shot’ category for a story that I described as a subtle yet uncompromising account of mental…

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