Lady Fixie – Metias Gray’s Story Exudes Charm from Every Carefully Constructed Page
When Chloe receives a message from her mother from beyond the grave, she is determined to abide by her wishes and make her proud. How hard can the task be?…
Tagged: shortbox
The ShortBox Comics Fair 2024 is Open – Browse a Treasure Trove of Digital Comics Again this October
You don’t need Broken Frontier to remind you that the ShortBox Comics Fair 2024 is now open for business but it would be remiss of us not to give it…
Unicorn, Hunted – Ian Simmons’ ShortBox Comics Fair Offering is a Gorgeously Designed Fantasy Parable
Sometimes a cover is so very striking that it immediately captures your attention and positively demands your further attention. Such was the case with Ian Simmons’ Unicorn, Hunted when I…
A Walk in the Park – Winnie Chua’s Contemplative Journey through the Natural World from this Year’s ShortBox Comics Fair
Winnie Chua’s A Walk in the Park – today’s penultimate visit to this year’s ShortBox Comics Fair at Broken Frontier – is a comic of parallels. An unnamed protagonist (in…
The Deep End – A Return Trip to the ShortBox Comics Fair for Elizabeth Lander’s Haunting Graphic Memoir Tale
Returning to the digital aisles of the ShortBox Comics Fair today and we have Elizabeth Lander’s graphic memoir The Deep End; a comic that sits somewhere in that broad definition…
Release – Olivia Sualdea Contributes a Haunting Tale of Letting Go of the Things We Love to ShortBox Comics Fair
Olivia Sualdea’s propensity for communicating theme, emotional depth and character through wordless narrative is an essential part of her comics work that I have long admired. Sualdea was, of course,…
Prism – Fatima Wajid’s Hypnotically Hallucinogenic Meditation on the Bonds of Friendship, from ShortBox Comics Fair
The between-the- panels reading comprehension that comics requires in its readers, and its associated relationship with the passage of time, means that it’s a particularly communicative medium for depicting gradual…
Return to Sender – Violet Kitchen’s Oozing, Dribbling, Bubbling Approach to Body Horror is a ShortBox Comics Fair Must-Buy
Strong curation is about showcasing both established, familiar practitioners and voices in the medium who are deserving of a far wider appreciation. Each year the ShortBox Comics Fair has introduced…
Jack – Megan Llewellyn’s Atmospheric Horror Story is a Perfect Autumn Read Via the ShortBox Comics Fair
With the beginning of October being notable for both the ShortBox Comics Fair and the lead-up to the Halloween season it seems appropriate that our first look at what the…
Cuckoo – Joe Sparrow Presents a Cosmically-Charged Coming-of-Age Story, from Shortbox
Readers may see the major plot twist of Joe Sparrow’s Cuckoo coming well in advance and, indeed, it’s hardly disguising itself given that it’s there front and centre in the…
Columns · Reviews · Small Pressganged
Dream Diaries – Shazleen Khan Ruminates on Loss and Empty Spaces in this Shortbox Comics Fair Offering
BROKEN FRONTIER AT 20! Multiple Broken Frontier Award-winning artist Shazleen Khan has become something of a semi-regular fixture here at BF over the last few years given the success and…
Columns · Eyecatcher · Reviews · Small Pressganged
PUDICA33 – Chelsea Akpan Takes Us on an Alien Quest in Another Shortbox Comics Fair Offering
Creating truly alien visual environments in comics does not necessarily require elaborate extremes of intricately designed and pseudo-realistic extraterrestrial landscapes, flora and fauna. In PUDICA33, another digital offering from this…
Columns · Eyecatcher · Reviews · Small Pressganged
The StarBrigade In: A Quest to Help a Friend – Yetunde Ekuntuyi’s Delightful All-Ages Story with a Worthy Message, Available Via the ShortBox Comics Fair
Back in 2021 Yetunde Ekuntuyi was another artist we featured in a creator round-up on the site after she participated in our Broken Frontier Small Press Day one-tweet review event…
Columns · Eyecatcher · Reviews · Small Pressganged
Meteors – Kry Garcia’s Quietly Observed Coming-of-Age Story is Defined as Much by What Isn’t Said or Shown
Kry Garcia’s Meteors is a curious comic. I certainly do not mean that in a pejorative way however, but rather to describe a short story that is idiosyncratic, unexpected and…
Columns · Eyecatcher · Reviews · Small Pressganged
Temple – Jack T. Cole’s Fantasy Tale of Discovery and Rebirth from Shortbox
I have spoken a lot at Broken Frontier recently about the particular skills needed to communicate a wordless narrative in comics. What I probably haven’t discussed in quite so much…
Shortbox to Publish First Full-Length Graphic Novel – ‘A Cat’s Day’ by Genie Liang Currently Crowdfunding
Shortbox announced their first full-length graphic novel A Cat’s Day by Genie Liang this week. With the acclaimed publisher recently announcing they were closing down their publishing operations this will…
Columns · Eyecatcher · Small Pressganged
The Drake’s Sword – Molly Mendoza’s Fantasy Tale is a Sumptuous Feast for the Eyes
A couple of years ago at Broken Frontier I described Molly Mendoza’s graphic novel Skip as both a “truly magnificent visual spectacle” and “a deeply human story”. That reality-jumping book…
Columns · Eyecatcher · Small Pressganged
Don’t Look – Nocturnal Terrors Encroach in Sadiya’s Claustrophobically Atmospheric Short Comic
We have all been there at some point. Restless nights, the frustration of not being able to drop off to sleep, the consequent anxiety that only exacerbates our insomnia. But…
Broken Frontier Anthology
312 pages • 27 stories • 50 star creators
Limited copies available!Recommended Reads!
Inside Look: Ruin of the House of the Divine Visage – Eve and Spire Greenwood on Their Graphic Novel Exploring Religion and Queer IdentityJune 6, 2025
“Welcome to Foodtopia: Where the Crumbs Matter” – The ‘Aw, Nuts!’ Team Spills All on Puns, Peanut Butter, and Building a Delicious UniverseJune 6, 2025
“We Have Been Feeling the Pressure Like Never Before” – The Worrying Disappearance of Comics Commentary and Journalism Sites from a Broken Frontier/UK Small Press PerspectiveMay 19, 2025
“A Time Travel Story through Rave Culture” – Sara Kenney and Company on ‘Acid Box’, Working with Avery Hill, and Mentoring Young CreatorsMay 16, 2025
“A Single Panel Can Depict a Multitude of Narratives” – Chris King Talks ‘Cold Chips’, Psychogeography in Comics, and Cross-Media PracticeMay 7, 2025