Independent publisher ThirdBear Press is currently in the last days of a crowdfunding campaign for the fourth issue of it BOXES Comic Magazine, the critically acclaimed comics anthology series.
BOXES – an 80-page, B5 size anthology, collects new short comics from a diverse range of UK based creators. The aim is to create a space that highlights the breadth of talent in comics right now. The magazine features a range of different styles and story-telling that really showcases what comics can do.
If you haven’t heard of this critically acclaimed title before, (we highlighted their latest call for contributions back in January) there’s an option to pick up back issues as an add-on. It looks like a great way to sample the work of both established and up and coming independent comics talents, and past issues have been well received.
Featuring cover art by Aimee Lockwood, strips planned for inclusion are by Mike Armstrong, Enrico Ariis, Lucy Freeman, Michelle Freeman, Will Hudson, Emilia McKenzie, J W Murray & Aimee, Pictii, Eleanor Sikorski, Faye Stacey and Jules Valera, along with an article, “Pushing Trough”, by Dominique Duong, about the importance of taking care of your body as an artist.
This volume includes stand-alone stories about mischievous creatures making a deadly bargain, the tale of an artist struggling as their body slowly rebels against them, an unexpected scratch card prize, an abstract dream about bereavement, and many others.
BOXES, which has been nominated for several awards, is edited by Steven Ingram and published by ThirdBear Press, an independent comics publisher based in Scotland, who’ve had plenty of crowdfunding success in the past, but need a bit of push to take this latest Volume over the line.
In addition to three volumes of BOXES and a limited run of Sycamore by K. Briggs, Third Bear also offers Steven’s own graphic novel, Holly and Burn With Me.
• Check out the full details of BOXES Volume 4 here on Kickstarter
The standard pledges of Digital and Physical editions of BOXES Volume 4 are £7 for digital and £14 for a physical copy.
The previous editions of BOXES are also available as either add-ons if you only need one of them, or there is the Physical Catch Up and Digital Catch Up tiers if you want all three volumes.
• ThirdBear Press is online at thirdbearpress.com
“Where Boxes really shines is in the diversity of both styles and subject matter … [it’s] the kind of regular collective showcase we have been missing on the small press circuit for far too long in the UK.” – Broken Frontier
BOXES Volume 4: The Contributors
In Alphabetical Order…
Cartoonist Mike Armstrong has contributed to anthologies by WIP Comics (including ∞: The new WIP Comics Anthology, also seeking Kickstarter support) and self-published his mini comic, Bigger.
After appearances in BOXES 1 and 2, London-based Italian comic creator Enrico Ariis returns with a new tale for Volume 4, in which a new discovery flips a pseudo-feudal society on its head. Enrico currently produces an irregularly published comic book called OUT! together with some of his other personas such as Gino Koltz and Eva Zorović.
Dominique Duong is the author and artist of the graphic novel The Dog and the Cat, as well as the forthcoming Patchwork.
Lucy Freeman is an illustrator who created the digital comic series Rewind with Together Women. She’s also published a graphic novella, Wander, and is currently working on her debut graphic novel.
Liverpool-based author-illustrator Michelle Freeman creates stories with a strong sense of social justice that explore big themes of life in accessible ways.
Will Hudson is a comics creator with an interest in enchanted woodland folk and folk horror. He works in pen and ink with an intricate drawing style.
Scottish illustrator Aimee Lockwood is the creator of the comics Daydream, Pushinka and The Wilds, among others, as well as the artist on the poetry comic The Wilds.
Emilia McKenzie is the author of the award-winning graphic novel But You Have Friends, a memoir about friendship and loss, published by Top Shelf Comics.
J W Murray, a previous BOXES contributor, is author of the comic collection Short, Dark & Peculiar and the webcomic The Wilder Shore. He has also published a fantasy novel The Alchemist’s Child and, just recently, a science fiction novel, The Coming Harvest.
Pictii is a comics creator whose work often explores the fantastical and spiritual. After a break from comics, they have returned, to create the webcomic Gods in the Wind, a preview available to read here.
Eleanor Sikorski is an interdisciplinary artist with a background in performance and filmmaking. Also a choreographer, she published her first book, Oil Field, a meandering daydream of a comic, in 2024.
Faye Stacey is the creator of the IGNATZ-nominated comic Find a Seat. They have created “Hounded” for BOXES, a comic about the small trying to survive in a big world.
Jules Valera is a comic artist from Glasgow with a strong interest in print. They have published various short comics including 16H20220201, and A Very Fragile Release Coming Along as a Light Breath.
• Check out the full details of BOXES Volume 4 here on Kickstarter
• ThirdBear Press is online at thirdbearpress.com
- About the Author
- Latest Posts
John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as 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.
Categories: British Comics, British Comics - Current British Publishers, Comics, Creating Comics, Crowd Funding Projects, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News
Related Articles
-
Crowdfunding Spotlight: PSYComics Odysseus project continues!
-
In the Works: Brian Bolland’s The Actress and the Bishop – The Deluxe Colour Edition
-
Crowdfunding Spotlight: Time Bomb Comics latest Quantum anthology campaign launched
-
PSYComics next “Odysseus” adventure offers dark magik and sea dwelling cannibals!