ShortBox Comics Fair runs once a year for all of October, entirely digitally, and frequently has some of the most interesting comics I get to read each year. I haven't even finished reading everything I bought, but because we're almost at the end of the month, I wanted to take a moment to plug the ones that I thought were especially good. Endorsements don't cover all the relevant content warnings, so check the descriptions on the website, please!
A Three Body Problem by Tan Juan Gee ( @juangeedraws ) is a space sci-fi murder mystery that's full of oppressive systems, uncaring concrete, and people who are also machines that are trying to do what's right. A really smartly-put-together comic, crisp and satisfying. If you get anything this year, get this one.
COME HOME SAFE by Boya Sun is a touching, ethereal story about mech pilots, death, and dads. A simple story well-told with beautiful shapes and colors.
Daisy Bush by https://twitter.com/4threset4threset is LOVELY lovely stuff. What to do when there's an angel in your greenhouse and they're impossibly beautiful? Especially when they remind you of someone you lost? A knife to my heart.
Drifting by Madita Schwenke is a great sketchy slice-of-life about what it's like trying to live with other people, especially when one of them might be ... haunted? or haunting? Who could say.
EXTINCTION by VER is probably my favorite from this past year. A story of academia and pedigree, of violation and retribution, of army officers and territorial borders. A great story if you've enjoyed OATHSWORN - it plays in a lot of the same space. A little bit Area X, a little bit Band of Blades. I really struggled to figure out what image to use to preview this comic - Please click through and look at the big-page previews. I cannot wait to see what else VER makes.
IN THE JAWS OF ST CAMILLUS by Stevie Barot includes the following list of content warnings and it delivers on all of them.
My Father Was a Good Man by Adeline Kon is a beautiful, brutal horror story about predators, prey, and the humans that kill both.
the body from the river by riot bones is a wonderfully-rendered story of what-ifs, a Canterbury Tales swirling around the death of a stranger.
Chan Chau was my favorite artist that I discovered in last year's Short Box, and their offering this year, The Things We Carve, is a wonderful meditation on what it means to create things. (Also, it's free!)
My Unhinged Food Diary by Shazleen Khan was my favorite of the personal-story genre of comics this year: a rumination on food, culture, bias, expectations, and bodies. Check the content warnings on this one!
finally, Unicorn, Hunted by ian simmons is a marvelous, mischievous little fantasy encounter between a man and a nun who loves unicorns.
that's all my favorites! I have not even finished reading everything I bought and there's lots more besides that. take a look around the site and pick up what strikes your fancy! tell your friends! and hurry, time's almost up!