British independent comic publisher Shortbox has announced more details about its upcoming virtual ShortBox Comics Fair, including lists of what rare titles will be available for purchase during the two-day event.
The Comics Fair was announced last month, with ShortBox founder Zainab Akhtar explaining that the event was purposefully intended to act as a fundraiser to assist the COVID-impacted finances of the small press company. Akhtar explained at the time that the lack of conventions and festivals had wiped out a third of the company’s 2020 income, and it was struggling with shipping costs for titles.
The Comics Fair was intended to feature a mix of currently available ShortBox material with rare and otherwise unavailable items. In a new announcement, Akhtar has revealed that it will feature material from creators including Sloane Leong (A Map to The Sun), Kiku Hughes (Displacement), Lisa Hanawalt (Tuca and Bertie), and multiple award-winning creator Rosemary Valero O’Connell, including copies of the Eisner-nominated What Is Left.
ShortBox launched in 2016 as a mail-order comics box featuring new material created specifically for the box and curated by Akhtar. Each box features five titles and an A4 print. Creators published through ShortBox have included Ariel Reis, Sophia Foster-Dimino, James Stokoe, Emily Carroll, and Luke Pearson.
Multiple ShortBox-published titles have been nominated for industry awards, including the Eisner Awards and the Ignatz Awards, which recently awarded both Outstanding Comic and Outstanding Artist categories to ShortBox books. (Cry Wolf Girl by Ariel Ries, and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell for Don’t Go Without Me, respectively.)
The ShortBox Comics Fair will take place Oct. 24 and 25 at the ShortBox webstore.
