The poster for the 2023 ShortBox Comics Fair, illustrated by Jean Wei. The central image resembles a comic book cover, with an anthropomorphic fig in the center, but it’s being pushed back by a hand with a green ring opening the book from the inside; three humans, one of them with a sword and a yellow backpack, emerge from the book, as well as a black tabby cat, a green snake, a purple tulip, a comet, and a broken egg.
As mentioned in my previous blog post, traditional, in-person, means of showcasing various art projects were not available to artists of any medium during the initial years of the pandemic. Comic creators were hit especially hard, as conventions and festivals dedicated to selling and displaying the works of these artists were no longer available, with independent and self-published publications taking the largest blow. Thankfully the internet had alleviated some of these issues, with many retailers supporting digital comics and online sales as a means to reach their audiences.
One such event is the ShortBox Comics Fair, an annual digital comics fair established by Zainab Akhtar of independent comic publisher ShortBox. The event originally began in October 2020 as a means to sell out-of-print books and zines, and from 2021 onwards the Fair has become a month-long celebration of new comics by creators from all over the world. It is a fantastic showcase of the vast breadth of creativity and storytelling that is only possible in the medium of comics. While it may be only going into its fourth year, I eagerly await each October to discover what new comics are there for me to read.
Here is a list of nineteen comics from the 2021 and 2022 ShortBox Comics Fairs, which are among my personal favourites. The majority of these comics are intended for either young adult or adult readers, personally recommended at about 14 years of age or older, and cover a variety of themes, art styles and subject matter. I have made sure to include content warnings, typically those provided by the creators, to best ensure readers are properly prepared to read these comics. I hope readers can discover at least one new title they love from this list, and will be willing to visit the next online fair this forthcoming October.
Note: Every comic here is available in digital-only formats, except for Give Her Back to Me, which is only available as a physical book. Two books are available digitally and physically (Twigs and Wormturn).
The cover of the comic “A Lightness” by S. Win Searle. The cover features a plus-sized individual, with long wavy hair, smiling happily with their eyes closed. The cover is predominantly a golden yellow, with a halo of white encircling the person’s head.
Creator’s Content Notes: Mild sexuality and nudity, trans feelings, body stuff
““There’s this funny thing that happens when you reveal yourself to the people you love and they accept you with their whole hearts. See, without that, I would’ve sought wholeness in other ways. Maybe I could have learned to be content. But without the burden of fear…my mind was now open to possibilities I had never dared dream before.”
Follow one person’s journey to ease the Ache in their chest. They find themself chasing an elusive fluttering lightness that seems to be pulling them up into the mountains, through a fantastical landscape toward the sunrise.”
The cover of the comic “Between Sand & Sea” by C.A.P. Ward. The cover shows a person lying in seawater by the beach shore, looking to the right side, their expression pensive. A seagull is looking at the person. A crab in a shell is also present, as well as a rocky shore in the background. The only colours used are various shades of blue, navy, orange, and white.
Between Sand & Sea by C. A. P. Ward
Content Warnings: Animal death, diaspora analogy, social exclusion
“A call to the sea, a call to the shore, a call home. When their family leaves the coast, a youth struggles with life away from the only home they know. Their longing calls the sea inland until a choice must be made, tide the changes this brings, or chart an uncertain path to find what it means to come home.”
The cover of the comic “Bonnies” by Marty Tina G. The cover shows three women standing and doing different actions. The woman in the middle has short brown hair, yellow aviator sunglasses, and a blue shirt. Her nose is bloody and her face is distressed. She is holding a navy blue gym bag full of money, which has blood on it. The woman on the right is leaning against a car; she has curly, shoulder-length hair, and is wearing black sunglasses, an orange crop top and a fluffy white coat. She is applying makeup to herself and checking it with a compact mirror. The woman on the left has short sandy-blonde hair and a red top with a low neckline that shows her cleavage. She is smoking a cigarette with an indifferent expression. The clothes, haircuts, and colour choices are all meant to evoke the aesthetics of the 1970s.
Creator’s Content Warnings: Depiction of a panic attack, mild violence, implied homophobia
“Wilma, Debra, and Jerry are three women going through the worst day of their separate lives. Things will get even messier when their paths cross. A fun, colorful story about finding kindred spirits in the worst of times.”
The cover of the comic “Dead Men’s Tales” by Kiku Hughes. The cover takes place underwater, and the title is in a white speech bubble connected to a speaker unseen and further below the ocean’s depths. Rays of light can be seen coming through the water’s surface.
Dead Men’s Tales by Kiku Hughes
Creator’s Content Warnings: Death mention, skeletons
An expedition to locate a long sunken sailing vessel leads to a startling discovery.
The cover of the comic “Everything You Will Forget” by A Liang Chan. The cover shows the white silhouette of a person against a grey landscape full of various types of flora.
Everything You Will Forget by A Liang Chan
Content Warnings: Death, loss of identity, blood
“A ghost and their body settle into a hillside. A short experiment about time & hauntings & landscapes.”
The cover of the comic “Give Her Back to Me” by Hana Chatani. The cover features a mirror in the center, with two girls looking into it together, both of them wearing purple outfits, with the girl on the left wearing a Japanese “sailor fuku” school uniform, and the girl on the right wearing a dress with a white undershirt. The girl on the left is hugging the girl on the right from behind, and has long black hair, a slight smile on her face. The girl on the right has long brown hair in twin-braids, an open mouth smile on her face. Various yellow flowers surround the mirror. The cover is reminiscent of shojo manga covers published by Hakusensha.
Give Her Back to Me by Hana Chatani (Publisher’s webpage) (European/Non-North American recommended retailer)
Content Warnings: Death, grief
“Tragedy follows those whose lives are linked by a family heirloom and the strange curse it bequeaths. Simultaneously tender yet haunting, Hana Chatani’s shoujo horror manga depicts the human weakness such a curse reveals, the trauma and loss wreaked upon each generation by the last.”
Creator’s Content Warnings: Death, mild blood / gun violence
“The Hourglass is many things. The “perfect machine”. The “source of all life”. The “fountain of youth”. It promises immortal comfort to the privileged, but it also looms over its creators, making them slaves to its tics and gears.
But Martel knows that there are other simple, inexplicable things that give life meaning, way more valuable than eternity. A system built on rejecting such principles is beyond fragile – it is a ticking time bomb.”
I Am Of Two Hearts by Val Wise
Creator’s Content Warnings: Pregnancy, nudity, sexual themes, self-harm. For mature readers
“Emissary Thresa will be executed on return to his King. Before his death, he visits the temple of his birth.”
Creator’s Trigger Warnings: Blood, death
“Life is just as much about loss as it is growth and it’s no doubt for every door that closes, another one opens. But what happens when you refuse to step through the doorway?
What happens when you’re stuck clinging to the past… and the past reaches to cling back?
Joey lost his best friend, River, three years ago, but not a day goes by where he doesn’t think about him.
An original 60+ page BL comic about grief, loss, and a love that never quite lets go.”
Love Condemns Her by Hana Chatani
Content Warnings: Death
“The original Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen perished tragically, turning into sea foam when she failed to win her prince’s love. This is a story after her untimely death, a tale about the little mermaid’s younger sister who she had never met. The “little” little mermaid welcomes her fifteenth birthday, as she traces her late older sister’s wake towards the ocean ceiling. Upon breaking surface, will she also trace her sister’s fate?
A speculative spinoff of the much loved fairytale through a queer eye.”
“A long week with a mender and her assistant. Slice of life & dimensional rifts.”
Mnemosyne’s Well by C. A. P. Ward
“Mnemosyne’s Well is a comic about forest wanderings, friendship, and feelings. When one friend gets separated from the group they discover a well reflecting their memories together.”
Creator’s Content Warning: Implied assault
“An artist, looking for an answer to their struggles, visits a fortune teller.”
Content Warnings: Burnout and imposter syndrome
“Penelé, a young baker running her bakery stall, finds out there’s a new competitor in town. She makes it her mission to get ahead but things take an unexpected turn with a strange old lady and a red flower.”
Oh, Radiant Devil! Oh, Whispering Angel! by Kimberly Wang
Creator’s Content Warnings: Drinking, implied violence, implied suicidal ideation, blood
“A nun, a saint, and a witch walk into a bar.
When hitman-for-hire Thirteen encounters two enigmatic clients at a run down bar, she suddenly has a real chance at turning around her dead end life.
But which woman will be the one to lead her out from rock bottom? Saint, or Witch? Dreams, or Ambition? Angel, or Devil?
A black and white comic about temptation, indulgence, and futile choices in a rigged world.”
Creator’s Content Warnings: Occasional gore-y/violent moments, police brutality, emotional abuse
“Things go awry on grad prom night when Rachel goes berserk and turns into a wolf-like beast, gravely injuring her classmate. Jude, who witnesses the incident, decides to take matters into her own hands and pays a visit to the detention centre…”
Note: Unlike the other titles on this list, Run Wolf Run is a currently ongoing series with the first two parts of the story completed. Additional installments of this series will be posted in the future
Sea Urchin 2 by Laura Knetzger
Creator’s Content Notes: Contains nudity
“What’s growing in the tide pools of your mind? Stream-of-consciousness autobiography about life as an artist, internet addiction, and what the unconscious builds without our permission.”
Creator’s Trigger Warning: Suicidal thoughts
“A summer beach vacation with friends with hidden feelings of despair and pain hiding beneath the surface.”
The cover of the comic “Twigs” by Rowan MacColl. The cover shows branches, leaves, and vines from a variety of different types of tress and flora, with a butterfly sitting on a branch and a spider making a small web. A black bird is perched on the bottom right corner of the cover, holding a stick with some leaves in its beak. The comic’s title is drawn to resemble twigs, with the letter “I” being drawn with a leaf on top. The cover is entirely in black and white.
Twigs by Rowan MacColl (digital edition)
Creator’s Content Warnings: Implication of terminal illness, slight body horror
“A changeling’s journey to find the Witch of the Plains to ask her to make him human again.”
The cover of the comic “Wormturn” by Rowan MacColl. The cover shows the skull of a dog, sitting on top of some grass. The framing of the skull makes it appears that there are eyes inside the cranium. The cover is entirely in black and white.
Wormturn by Rowan MacColl (digital edition)
Creator’s Content Warnings: Animal death, bugs, implied abuse
“A ghost story about a lost dog that wasn’t supposed to come home.”
Image Sources: All images of these comics belong to their respective artists and publishers. Creators and publishers are free to contact me if they wish to have the entry discussing their work edited, or removed, or to have any image descriptions edited or changed for clarity.