Free comics! It’s hardly a difficult proposition is it? Today, in the spirit of pushing some of those artists whose work really should have a greater fanbase, I am going to point you in the direction of the webcomics of a number of favourites to have featured in this column over the last couple of years. ‘Small Pressganged’ exists not just to review and analyse work from the self-published scene, after all, but also to promote and celebrate the best creative voices out there, and unearth those small press gems that deserve to be enjoyed by a larger audience. Read, enjoy, bookmark and, if you like what you see, why not head over to the relevant artists’ online stores and investigate their print comics further?
Me & Brain – EdieOP
Officially my ‘Small Pressganged’ find of 2013, EdieOP’s mischievous and slightly sinister comics work in books like Jonah and Seven Blows to the Head made my 2013 ‘Ten UK Small Press Comics You Need to Own’ column at the beginning of the year. Her webcomic Me & Brain has that same childlike glee to it and depicts her fractious relationship with her own bowtie-wearing grey matter who she carries around like a balloon on a string.
Read EdieOP’s webcomic here and visit her online store here. You can follow EdieOp on Twitter here.
On the Way – Rebecca Bagley
And while we’re on the subject of ‘Small Pressganged’ finds of the year. Here’s Rebecca Bagley who took that unofficial title in 2012 largely due to her amazing comic Tick. ‘On the Way’ is not a regular webcomic like the other entries on this page but it is a quite beautiful one-off love story; the perfect showcase for her fantastic imagination and deft ability to pull at the heartstrings with her expressive storytelling style. This four-pager was an entry for last year’s Jonathan Cape/Observer short story competition and is a prime example of why I have been pushing her work so effusively for the past two years!
Read ‘On the Way’ here and visit Rebecca’s online store here. You can follow Rebecca Bagley on Twitter here.
Querstret Comics – Elizabeth Querstret
A recent reviewee in ‘Small Pressganged’, Elizabeth Querstret’s Enter My Working World – her witty anecdotal accounts of her often troubled experiences in the realms of employment – got a thumbs up from me a few weeks ago. Her regularly updated webcomic is full of similarly amusing observations on life – stories to make you smile, wince, nod your head in agreement or just make you go “ewww” (see right!).
DIY autobio comics at their most fun!
Read Elizabeth’s webcomic here and visit her online store here. You can follow Elizabeth Querstret on Twitter here.
Team Girl Webcomic – The Team Girl Comic Collective
The all-women anthology Team Girl Comic has become an established presence on the British small press scene over the last few years but what you may not be aware of is that TGC also has its own webcomic. Here you can catch short strips from all your favourite Team Girl contributors including Gill Hatcher, Claire JC Stewart, MJ Wallace, Toni Zhang, Kat Sicard and many more. For the uninitiated it’s not just an opportunity to discover the work of one creator but a whole collaborative group of them!
Read the Team Girl Webcomic here and visit their online store here. Follow Team Girl Comic on Twitter here.
[…] at it again! The Broken Frontier boys are gracing the internet with a wee bit of Bagley love and spreading the joy of my, and others’ short, fun and utterly FREE comic […]