Short Box Online Comics Fair announced

By John Freeman on September 18, 2020

Short Box, the a quarterly, independent comics box service, is to holding an online comics fair next month, in part to mitigate the impact of the Coronavirus Pandemic which has wiped out a third of the independent publisher’s expected income this year.

Created by Zainab Akhtar, Short Box was borne from a love of receiving bookish post – namely, the excitement of comics mail.

As explained in more detail here, Short Box is a quarterly, independent comics box delivered by post with a unique difference: they publish all their own comics, some of them award winners. With each box, you get brand new work from a specifically curated range of contemporary, international cartoonists and artists.

Taking place 24th – 25th October, the ShortBox Fair will spotlight five brand new titles, alongside an award-winning catalogue of over 30 brilliant, varied comics, as well as offering related merchandise such as prints and pins.

*Coming soon: Pipette and Dudley Charming Dig by Charlotte Mei*

*Coming Soon: Dead End Jobs for Ghosts by Aminder Dhaliwal*

*Coming Soon: She Would Feel The Same by Emma Hunsinger*

*Coming Soon:* Outspace by Nuria Martinez

(As well as the ShortBox service, you can also buy their books individually).

Creators whose work they’ve published include Hana Chatani, Jen Lee, Wren McDonald, Ariel Ries, James Stokoe, Michelle Theodore Lissa Treiman, Jessi Zabarsky and more.

“My hope with the Fair is to bring more people to it, and raise enough money that it will allow ShortBox to go on for another year,” says Zainab, who outlines the current state of ShortBox in more detail here.

“If there’s a title you’ve always wanted, or whether you want to take advantage of the special prices and get in some early holiday shipping, now is a wonderful time to do it.“

• Find out more about how ShortBox works here | Home Page | Catalogue

• You can sign up to the ShortBox mailing list here,to be notified when the new box arrives

• ShortBox books are currently stocked at a number of UK establishments including Gosh, Dave’s Comics and Orbital in the UK

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.