It’s MarchApril?? Well, it’s never a bad time to read a list of our favorite comics from small presses, indie presses, and creators who self-publish! Specifically favorites — best-of lists promise a lot, and we’d rather just let you know what we loved. So grab a comic and hang out in that nice spring weather.
REVIEW: Childhood Agency and Literary Freedom Break Free in Occulted
I am always checking for new graphic novels from Iron Circus Comics, one of my favorite publishers in the game who consistently bring strange and amazing comics and more. This recent release offers an eyebrow raising yet intriguing premise: it is a graphic memoir of cult survivor Amy Rose’s childhood in the late 90’s. Occulted…
REVIEW: Put on Your High Heels for Wine Ghost Goes to Hell
Wine Ghost Goes to Hell is a comic that you must read twice. On the first read-through, let it wash over you. Soak up all the details Sage Coffey places in the backgrounds that color Wine Ghost’s world; her high-femme shoe fashion, the strange hellish liquors on the shelves at the bar, the wildly detailed…
REVIEW: You Died Anthology Explores a Gentle Afterlife
You Died: An Anthology of the Afterlife from Iron Circus Comics collects two dozen original short comics about death. The anthology’s theme of death positivity is a welcome approach to the subject, and the tone of the comics is gentle and playful. Bestselling author Caitlin Doughty leads the anthology with a short essay introducing the…
INTERVIEW: Editor Alberto Rayo Helps Spin a Tale in The Lizard Prince
The Lizard Prince and Other South American Stories is the sixth in Iron Circus’ crowd-funded volumes of Cautionary Fables and Fairytales, and is also the last of the series, which began in 2017. Each volume focuses on a different region of the world, bringing together cartoonists, artist, and writers to showcase their takes on regional…
INTERVIEW: So Much to See in Jessi Sheron’s The Sea in You
Lured into the ocean by the hypnotic melodies of a mythical creature, 15-year-old Corinth finds herself swept away in the most unlikely friendship. Reimagining The Little Mermaid fairy tale with a properly terrifying sea creature and a relationship that goes far deeper than yearning from a distance, Jessi Sheron makes us a part of her…
INTERVIEW: Otava Heikkilä Breaks The Silence on Letters for Lucardo: The Silent Lord
Otava Heikkilä’s Letters for Lucardo is a delightful queer erotic horror comic that’s been crowdfunding volumes since 2016. It’s a must-read for fans of vampire fiction as a whole, and especially fans of the queer subtext found in stories like Interview With The Vampire; if you liked that film, imagine a comic where the queerness is much…
INTERVIEW: The Poorcraft Cookbook and C. Spike Trotman’s Poetic Crowdfunding Evolution
Hey! Did you know that C. Spike Trotman has left Kickstarter behind? In case you’ve missed this news buzzing in the wake of Kickstarter’s announcement that it would be implementing blockchain technology as part of its growth strategy, Trotman has packed up her Iron Circus bags and ventured out on her own with an independent…
REVIEW: Gazing into the Shadows from The Crossroads at Midnight
The Crossroads at Midnight collects five short stories by Abby Howard, whose previous publications were educational science comics and the young adult dark fantasy adventure The Last Halloween. None of the stories in Howard’s newest collection is suitable for children, and the gory tone is reminiscent of twentieth-century pulp horror comic magazines. Each piece is…
INTERVIEW: Kendra Wells Is up to Some Silly, Sexy, and Queer Real Hero Shit
Calling on their love of stories like Dragon Age and Critical Role, cartoonist Kendra Wells says that “Real Hero Shit is the most self-indulgent comic I have ever created.” With works like Tell No Tales: Pirates of the Southern Seas, contributions to The Nib, and character designs for Dimension 20’s The Unsleeping City already in their…
Cautionary Fables and Fairy Tales: North America an Interview with Editors Kate Ashwin and Kel McDonald
After visiting Asia, Africa, and Europe, the Cautionary Fables and Fairy Tales anthology series is moving to North America. Featuring 100 pages of entertaining and educational stories, The Woman and the Woods and Other North American Stories — now on Kickstarter — explores the stories, passed down through generations, of the people who have inhabited Turtle…
Cautionary Fables and Fairy Tales: North America an Interview with Artist Alina Pete
Today, Iron Circus Comics launches its 30th Kickstarter with Cautionary Fables and Fairy Tales: North America. The fifth anthology in this series that retells fairy tales and folklore from around the world, The Woman and the Woods and Other North American Stories steps into the world of Indigenous stories as told by independent Indigenous creators in…