The independent comics scene is vibrant, featuring unique and diverse cartoonists dotted all over the world. Even if you’re ingrained in the scene, the spread-out nature means there’s always something new to discover. For those less familiar with the scene, it can be challenging to know where to start. Luckily, there’s a shining light that makes discovering your new favourite cartoonists easy – the ShortBox Comics Far.
The much-loved online comics fair returns for the fifth year in a row. Like every year, ShortBox Comics Fair promises a smorgasbord of cartooning and comics from creators of a wide range of backgrounds and styles. It’s a great outlet to find your favourite creators’ latest work and discover new creators at the same time.
So how does it work? Unlike traditional comic fairs, such as SPX or Cartoon Crossroads Columbus, the ShortBox Comics Fair isn’t tied to any geographic location. Instead, it lives online for the whole month of October. Anyone can jump onto the ShortBox Comics Fair website between 1st and 31st October and discover comics from a broad range of exhibitors worldwide. No need to travel or wait in line. And unlike conventions in real life, you won’t get con-crud. Each comic can be purchased for the price nominated by the exhibitor and downloaded as a PDF when you’re ready.
This year’s ShortBox Comics Fair is the biggest yet, with over 140 exhibitors featured. Each cartoonist is handpicked by the online festival’s organiser Zainab Akhtar. Expect to see variety of stories on offer, ranging from personal memoirs, imaginative fantasy, creepy horror, LGBTQIA+ narratives, unorthodox comedies, and heaps more.
The online festival is always a cornucopia of art styles. You could argue it’s even more so this year with more artists featured than ever before. Keep a look out for fun cartooning, lush illustration, and abstract-leaning styles to excite the eyes.
Get a taste of what will be available at the ShortBox Comics Fair on the official Bluesky and Instagram and by browsing the list of participating cartoonists.
It’s also worth noting that the comics will only be available via ShortBox Comics Fair during October. After that, they’re gone. Artists may offer them later through their own outlets. However, that’s not guaranteed.
Each artist retains full rights and ownership for their comic. Additionally, they get 100% of the proceeds of each sale after the payment processing fees. As a result, the ShortBox Comics Fair is an awesome way to support independent artists and their work. It’s also a fantastic way to expand your reading, exploring different styles of stories you might not usually and discovering new artists.
Shortbox Comics Fair 2025 poster by Alariko.Zainab Akhtar has been running ShortBox since 2016, where it began as a quarterly mail-order box of unique comics and evolved into different forms over the years. The micro-publisher is known for its keen sense of curation, working with established and up-and-coming cartoonists. As a result, it published many high-quality and beautiful comics. And while ShortBox has ceased publishing physical books, Akhtar’s knack for curation has carried through the comics fair and her work as an editor at Peow Studios.
It looks like this year’s edition will be the biggest one yet. So make sure you don’t sleep on it. Remember, it’s only running from October 1st to 31st. If you miss out, you’ll have to wait until next year.
Check out all of the comics available in this year’s comics fair over on the ShortBox Comics Fair website.
Have you checked out the Shortbox Comics Fair yet? Which comics and cartoonists have grabbed your attention? Share your thoughts in the comments below or via Bluesky, Facebook, or Mastodon.
English (US) · 