Our writers reflect on what makes their hearts beat. Critical, witty, honest.
What delighted me about The Heroines Zine when I first started flicking through its pages was the way in which it embraces old school zine philosophy. It really is a…
Columns · Crossing Borders · Eyecatcher
It’s all about those magical numbers as Crossing Borders tackles time travel sci-fi in Numbercruncher and Japanese folk heroes in The 47 Ronin. Numbercruncher by Simon Spurrier and PJ Holden…
Accent UK’s supernatural Western series with its surly monster-hunting cowboy Josiah Black is one that I’ve covered twice before (on the old Broken Frontier site Book One here and Book…
Columns · Crossing Borders · Eyecatcher
As the cold and snow creep in, it’s time to snuggle up with the kids on a sheepskin with these all ages releases starring Gaston Lagaffe and the kids from…
Columns · Eyecatcher · Small Pressganged
This first ‘Small Pressganged’ edition of 2014 provides us with a chance to reflect on and celebrate the last twelve months of micro and self-published comics in the UK as…
In a world just one cataclysmic war removed from ours, a covert group of operatives are seeking to recover information from a hard drive in a high rise apartment building….
The triumphant rise of both the micropublisher and the small press collective as viable models for distributing and nurturing new talent has been one of the most exciting developments in…
It’s something of a rarity for me to squeeze anything Christmas themed into ‘Small Pressganged’ but Scene City creator Rob Cureton has produced a delightfully cynical stocking stuffer featuring some…
Columns · Crossing Borders · Eyecatcher
Beirut 1990: Snapshots of a Civil War is a touching biographical travel diary of two brothers to a land of war where we meet the people behind the abstract facade…
Columns · Eyecatcher · Small Pressganged
It’s been a longer than usual gap between issues for David O’Connell’s chunky but digest-sized ink + PAPER – a publication that I’ve referred to here in the past as…
Columns · Crossing Borders · Eyecatcher
A new emerging talent in the Belgian alt scene, Shamisa Debroey immediately goes for the throat with a stunningly rendered tale of parental loss. Brecht Evens and Randall C are…
Columns · Eyecatcher · Small Pressganged
Science fiction anthology Faction represents something of a ‘Small Pressganged’ first. While the Australasian continent has not been unrepresented in this column in the past, with work from Paul Bedford,…
A science teacher with attitude takes on otherworldly invaders in Mr. Yang Fights Aliens, Mickey Lam’s tale of an extraterrestrial incursion in London. Ostensibly a recently qualified schoolteacher with a…
‘Stories from the St. Louis’ is the banner tagline under which Caitlin Skaalrud has grouped all of the self-published work I’ve read from her to date, including the nostalgically structured…
Rob Jackson and Kyle Baddeley-Read’s sci-fi anthology RhiZome is a conscious attempt to create a comic that hearkens back to an edgier time of experimental small press publishing, as noted…
Columns · Crossing Borders · Eyecatcher
Al Ewing & Henry Flint’s hilarious and rather outrageous undead crime-fighter is back. THIS IS COMICS: weaponized zombies, mega-brained pop music moguls, male stripper minds in butt transplants, gung-ho military…
Columns · Eyecatcher · Small Pressganged
Cross#atch are a small collective of five manga creators from a variety of cultures who all share the experience of success in the UK Manga Jiman short story competition. Their…
Reading the background information which arrived with my copy of London artist Darren Cullen’s Join the Army I wasn’t surprised to note the polarised reactions this most uncompromising of anti-war…
“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
