Our writers reflect on what makes their hearts beat. Critical, witty, honest.
Columns · Crossing Borders · Eyecatcher
Ranked fifth in Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time, Robert Johnson’s life is cloaked within the mists of time and myth. This legendary guitarist of…
A SAFARI FESTIVAL TIE-IN! In terms of whimsical UK small press fantasy, Matthew Swan’s Parsley Girl loosely sits somewhere between Colin Bell and Neil Slorance’s Dungeon Fun and Adam Vian’s Long Lost…
One of acclaimed micropublisher (and Broken Frontier 2014 Award nominees in the Best Publisher category) Avery Hill’s most overlooked projects, the anthology Reads is a wonderfully eclectic collection of complete stories and serials…
A SAFARI FESTIVAL TIE-IN! Wai Wai Pang’s rather straightforwardly titled Itinerary April 2015 is her travelogue comics account of a trip to Japan she took in the Spring of this year, with…
In her second blog this week on community arts projects, graphic memorist Wallis Eates talks about the school and charity collaboration she was involved in that saw Year 9 students recreating…
A SAFARI FESTIVAL TIE-IN! For anyone with an interest in the international small press comics scene there are few more important micropublishers out there at the moment than Latvian outfit kuš!….
The self-published work of graphic memoirist and Myriad First Graphic Novel Competition shortlisted creator Wallis Eates has featured here in ‘Small Pressganged’ a number of times this year. Her zines…
Those who do the rounds on the UK small press comics circuit, particularly those in London, will need no introduction to prolific cartoonist Zoom Rockman. Broken Frontier is, of course,…
A SAFARI FESTIVAL TIE-IN! With Latvian micropublisher kuš! making a welcome appearance at London’s Safari Festival on August 22nd it seems an appropriate time to take a look at the…
Columns · Crossing Borders · Eyecatcher
Centrala, founded in Poland but now based in the UK, has a keen eye for iconoclastic projects like Blacky: Four of Us, previously spotlighted in Andy Oliver’s Small Pressganged. All…
A SAFARI FESTIVAL TIE-IN! “This was the Nineties. Music wasn’t considered free and we played our purchases until they worked for us.” Around a year ago I covered Babak Ganjei’s…
Describing your mission statement in the terms of the lyrics of cheesy ‘80s pop group Bucks Fizz may seem something of an eccentric way to introduce a small press comic…
The first act of Owen Michael Johnson’s Reel Love was a heady tale of a young boy’s growing love affair with the big screen – a coming of age story…
A SAFARI FESTIVAL TIE-IN! In terms of sheer unbridled escapism, there are few creators on the UK small press scene who offer such an unrelenting sense of fun as Jack…
A SAFARI FESTIVAL TIE-IN! A mix of comics, illustrated stories and single images, Grace Wilson’s Eyes Peeled has a slightly zine-like feel to its collection of fragmentary but evocative slice-of-life…
Columns · Eyecatcher · Small Pressganged
Last year’s debut Safari Festival, curated by micropublisher Breakdown Press, was one of the most welcome developments on the UK events circuit of 2014. I described it as “a happy…
Columns · Crossing Borders · Eyecatcher
Back from its annual summer break, Crossing Borders immediately tackles one of the bigger releases in Europe in recent months. It’s been a while since we last saw Gianni Pacinotti –…
Wonderfully inclusive UK small press anthology Dirty Rotten Comics is a project that feels like a kindred spirit to the philosophy and aims of ‘Small Pressganged’ at Broken Frontier. Like…
“It’s about Fame, Friendship, and Just How Long You’re Willing to Fake it to Make it” – Duane Murray and Ahmed Raafat Talk ‘Who Are the Power Pals?’ from Dark HorseNovember 6, 2025
“It’s Tough Out There, But You’re Absolutely Not Alone!” – Dave Cook on ‘Killtopia: Phantoms’, Challenging Times for Crowdfunding, and Returning to Thought BubbleNovember 5, 2025
“My Brain Broke, and Out Came Donuts” – Neill Cameron Looks Back on ‘Mega Robo Bros’ and Forward with ‘Donut Squad’, the Latest Smash Hit Strip from the Pages of ‘The Phoenix’November 4, 2025
“The Biggest Challenge for Me Was Having to Think More Like a Director” – Michael Schwartz on Writing for Comics for the First Time and His Supernatural Ghost Story ‘Armored’October 31, 2025
“It’s a Fantasy Adventure about Growing Up” – Joe Latham Talks ‘Haru’, the Self-Publishing Journey, and Using Colour as a Narrative ToolOctober 30, 2025
