Indie publisher Colossive Press will be celebrating five years – and 66 issues, and counting – of their Colossive Cartographies series next month, with a birthday bash at the amazing Gosh! Comics in London, on Friday 20th June 2025.
The guest list includes Sean Azzopardi, Tim Bird, Peony Gent, Gareth A Hopkins, Ed Pinsent, Miranda Smart, Lucy Sullivan, Olivia Sullivan, Joe Stone, and many, many more.
Featuring work from comics creators, writers, illustrators, photographers and designers, Colossive Cartographies is a collaborative book arts project that uses a format called the Turkish map fold. This creates a neat little hand-folded A6 zine that pops open into a tactile, interactive A4 treat.
“I came up with the idea for the series after finding the format in a book-binding guide,” says Colossive’s Tom Murphy. “Inspired by seven-inch single subscriptions and comics series like mini kuš!, I thought it would be a nice collectable way to present one-page stories. So, I got in touch with a few creative friends and acquaintances to see if anyone wanted to take part.”
It didn’t take long before the first two titles – Stoic Soup by Olivia Sullivan and Fire Purges by Sean Azzopardi, both still available in limited numbers, were launched in June 2020.
The series quickly flourished as a diverse range of creators got to grips with the format and used the various folds and planes to create incredibly original work. The zines have subsequently featured twice in Broken Frontier’s list of “Ten UK Small Press Comics You Need to Own!” and have been nominated for “Best Periodical Series” in the site’s annual awards.
They’ve also been collected by institutions including the National Art Library at the V&A, the Wellcome Collection, Columbia University (US), the Feminist Library and the London College of Communications.
“It’s always a thrill to see what people have done with the format – and we’re never disappointed,” says Colossive’s Jane Gibbens Murphy, who’s finally got to grips with the Turkish map fold after watching Tom do all the folding and sticking by himself for the best part of four years. “Each issue is one of a series of six, and people can subscribe to get all six for just a tenner. That way, you get to discover new artists and ideas, as well as enjoy the work of your favourite creators.”
Tom continues: “Earlier this year, I realised we were coming up to the fifth anniversary of those first titles. I’m so proud of the series and the community of creatives that it brought together, and I really wanted to mark the occasion somehow. I sent the most speculative of emails to Gosh!, who have been great supporters of the series, and got an enthusiastic response straight back. I’ve been shopping at Gosh! since I first moved to London in the 1980s, so it’s an incredible buzz to be holding an event there and become even a little part of the story.
“Added to that, the series took off in the dark days of lockdown, when everyone was stuck indoors. It would have been nice to have known then that we’d eventually all be getting together for a Friday night in Gosh!”
The poster for the event has been created by Canadian artist/Colossive Cartographer Blaise Moritz.
“We knew Blaise probably wouldn’t be able to make it over, but we really wanted him to be involved and were thrilled when he agreed to do the poster for us,” Tom says. “He’s woven some lovely personal details into the design, and we can’t wait to see it up in the shop.”
So get along to Gosh, and join the team on a lovely midsummer evening (weather permitting!) to have a drink, get your zines signed, chew the fat with some of your favourite small pressers and discover your next obsessions!
Colossive Press is an eclectic nanopublisher based in Penge, South London, run since 2017 by Tom and Jane Gibbens Murphy, under the disdainful gaze of their feline CEOs, Gertie and Gracie. They have published nearly 70 issues in the Colossive Cartographies series, featuring some of the small press comics scene’s most renowned creators in a tactile book arts format.
Their wider catalogue includes humour, satire, personal memoir, photo books, hand-sewn riso-zines and the unofficial history of Croydon Spaceport.
• Colossive Press Colossive Cartographies 5th Birthday Bash 7.00 – 9.00pm Friday 20th June 2025, Gosh! Comics 1 Berwick Street, London W1F 0DR
• Colossive Press is online at colossive.com
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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.
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