Our writers reflect on what makes their hearts beat. Critical, witty, honest.
Columns · Eyecatcher · Small Pressganged
Over the course of the last few days on Twitter you may well have seen an explosion of interest in the comics of Anna Readman. Attention that only goes to…
When I reviewed Laurel Pettitt’s Quiet Moments last year at Broken Frontier here I argued that it was a minicomic that was “proof positive that truly exciting new work doesn’t have…
Last year in this column I reviewed Ed Stockham’s minicomic Owl Goes for a Walk and was so taken by its titular avian protagonist’s nonchalant, jaunty journey through a series…
Columns · Eyecatcher · Small Pressganged
“There’s magic in all music!” Defining Ricky Miller and Jules Scheele’s Metroland is not a simple task, stubbornly defying as it does any easy categorisation. This grand and sweeping (yet…
Columns · Eyecatcher · Small Pressganged
The empathetic nature of comics as a communicative tool has seen an explosion of material in the area of graphic medicine over the last few years. Sequential art explorations of…
Edited and published by João Sobral as part of the output of his micropublishing venture O Panda Gordo, the twice-yearly anthology Seven Stories takes its premise from nineteenth/twentieth century literary critic Arthur…
Set in a post-apocalyptic future where humanity’s history has been largely forgotten outside of the mysterious Elder Race, J. Edward Scott’s The Blade of Arozone playfully fuses genres, bringing sword…
Columns · Eyecatcher · Small Pressganged
Last Autumn when I reviewed the latest Comic Book Slumber Party anthology Escape from Bitch Mountain, published by Avery Hill Publishing, there were a couple of artists in that collaborative…
Columns · Eyecatcher · Small Pressganged
It’s that time of year again when we showcase the work of six up-and-coming artists as part of our annual ‘Six Small Press Creators to Watch‘ initiative – half a…
Columns · Eyecatcher · Small Pressganged
Keiler Roberts doesn’t dress her autobiographical comics up in the trappings of knowingly contrived storytelling structure. Their relatability lies in their unrepentant honesty and naturalistic composition; in her frankness and…
Columns · Eyecatcher · Small Pressganged
In My Father Was a Fisherman Dáire Lawlor presents a multi-faceted tale that can read on a number of different levels. On the surface it’s a claustrophobic and tense thriller playing with…
Columns · Eyecatcher · Small Pressganged
Since 2012 we’ve been running these annual, end-of-year round-ups of ‘Ten UK Small Press Comics You Need to Own!‘ as a coda to that year’s ‘Small Pressganged’ coverage at Broken…
For those perhaps discovering the work of our 2018 Broken Frontier Breakout Talent Award winner Jayde Perkin (also one of 2018 ‘Six Small Press Creators to Watch‘) for the first…
The democracy of the small press is embodied in books like Theora Kvitka’s Dispatch from the Desert. I first discovered Kvitka’s autobiographical minicomics when she tabled at London’s ELCAF in…
Columns · Eyecatcher · Small Pressganged
Describing the work of Cat Sims in XENOS: At the Edge of Life as “social commentary” seems a desperately inadequate term for such an undeniably potent piece of pure visual…
Columns · Eyecatcher · Small Pressganged
A couple of years back, in an interview here at Broken Frontier, graphic novelist Karrie Fransman spoke about the potential of the form saying “There are still so many untapped…
Columns · Eyecatcher · Small Pressganged
As part of our ELCAF Fortnight of coverage in the summer we reviewed the second edition of PersonaЖ from Russian micropress Sputnikat; an anthology that looked in on the life of TV…
David Robertson’s regular comics collections always compile an interesting mix of subject matter between their covers. The Dundee-based artist’s strongest offerings are usually those based in autobio work but his…
“I Cannot Wait to Really Dig into the Nuts and Bolts of Literary Adaptation” – Kristen Haas Curtis on Bringing Chaucer to Comics and on Moderating the Thought Bubble Literary Adaptation PanelOctober 29, 2025
“Themes Around Human Connection and Loneliness Are a Constant Throughline in All of My Works” – Rein Lee on Exploring Identity and Queerness in Comics, and Finding Your Way in the Small Press CommunityOctober 28, 2025
The Tale Spinner – Karrie Fransman’s Immersive Peepshow/3D Comic that Can’t Be Replicated by Al Comes to Thought BubbleOctober 28, 2025
“It’s Fascinating How Many People React with Total Disbelief that Disability Hate Crime is an Actual Thing” – Al Davison on ‘The Spiral Cage’ and ‘Muscle Memory’October 27, 2025
“Basically, I’m Hoping to Please Both Nostalgia Fans and Those Who Enjoy Pop Culture Critique!” – Paul Cornell on the Bronze Age Avengers, His First ‘Commando’ Comic, and New Publishing Venture Cosmic LighthouseOctober 23, 2025
