Long live ShortBox, between festivals and publishing: interview with Zainab Akhtar

In February 2024, the small British publisher ShortBox officially closed its doors. A cult micro-publisher among British and international comic book enthusiasts, it discovered many artists over the years who later became quite significant. ShortBox published comics that were even nominated for awards such as the Eisners or the Harvey Awards (including Homunculus by Joe Sparrow, Sobek by James Stokoe, and Don’t Go Without Me by Rosemary Valero-O’Connell). Behind this high-quality, diverse reality (in terms of genres, formats, and creators) lies the passion and expertise of Zainab Akhtar. She has been active in the world of comics for many years, first as a blogger and critic (her former blog Comics and Cola was also Eisner-nominated), then as a publisher, and for the past few years, as the organizer of an online comic festival, the largest of its kind, the ShortBox Comics Fair. This festival runs throughout the month of October, featuring digital comics from creators worldwide (this year, for example, featuring Italians Giulia Sagramola and Bianca Bagnarelli). We interviewed this dynamic and multifaceted figure of British comics to discuss her journey and her many “lives” in the comic industry.

But before we begin, I’d like to share my personal selection of comics published by ShortBox over the years (and to this, I’ll add the selection made by the talented David Harper on his site SKTCHD) to honor her journey and provide an idea of the incredible work done over these years, her ability to spot great talents, and her knack for capturing the spirit of the times, and in some cases, even anticipating it.

ShortBox and ShortBox Comics Fair 2024 – A Personal Selection

Sobek by James Stokoe
Released in 2019, when James Stokoe was already well-known to the general public, Sobek is a short comic that not only showcases the artist’s passion for monsters (later fully realized in his projects on Alien and especially Godzilla, of which this feels like a trial run) but also his ability to create detailed, dynamic pages. It also highlights Stokoe’s humor and playful spirit, telling the story of a lazy and reckless Egyptian god who speaks like a modern-day human and causes more harm than good while answering the pleas of his worshippers. It was nominated for an Eisner Award for Best Short Story in 2020.

Beneath the Dead Oak Tree by Emily Carroll
Emily Carroll needs no introduction: her stories, blending fairytale elements with horror and violence, often addressing themes related to the female condition, have won numerous awards and critical acclaim. Beneath the Dead Oak Tree is no exception, telling a tale of love, carnality, and violence (both gendered and otherwise) with anthropomorphic foxes in Victorian clothing, allowing Carroll to display her full artistic repertoire in just a few pages. She excels at swift tonal shifts, blending elegance and dynamism with a masterful use of black and color (in this case, red monochrome). It was nominated for an Eisner Award for Best Short Story in 2019.
Still available digitally here.

Homunculus by Joe Sparrow
Among the many gems in ShortBox’s catalog, Joe Sparrow is undoubtedly one of the brightest, having created multiple works for the publisher (in addition to this, the highly acclaimed Cuckoos). In this excellent sci-fi story, Sparrow narrates the birth of the first artificial intelligence from a first-person perspective: through the “eyes” of the AI, set in a fixed three-panel grid, we witness its growth through interactions with its creator, a scientist struggling to balance her work and personal life. Simultaneously, we see the world changing around them. A reflection on the human-machine relationship, but more importantly on human relationships and the very meaning of society, Homunculus uses simple art and storytelling to achieve deep emotional and intellectual resonance, making readers laugh, think, and, above all, feel. It was nominated for an Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album in 2019.
Still available digitally here.

Minötaar by Lissa Treiman
A fun, tender, and ironic story set in an IKEA-like world, except that the staff are spirits and the store itself is, literally, a labyrinth. A fantasy of the everyday that explores human relationships, the expectations born from both friendships and romantic relationships, and the mutual respect that comes from dialogue. It was nominated for an Eisner Award for Best Short Story in 2020.

Pass the Baton by Hana Chatani
A fully-fledged “Western manga” that adopts the aesthetics of shojo manga and blends them with Western storytelling. A delicate story, drawn with a gentle touch, it explores the importance of chance encounters and how human connections can become significant without us even realizing it. It shows how kindness, even a simple gesture or word, can change or save a life.

Don’t Go Without Me by Rosemary Valero-O’Connell

Lastly, regarding the Comics Fair, here are a few titles on my list, including our fellow Italian artists. You can find them all here, available until the end of October. You can even filter by page number and genre to find what suits you best:

• Aglæca by Mohnfisch
• BLEED ANY% by Blue Delliquanti
• Lapis Blue by Barbara Mazzi
• The Solar System by Seosamh Dáire
• The Good Night Bodega by Kym Gray
• Dead Days by Alice Scarpa
• Dog Days by Bianca Bagnarelli
• Dr. Worm by Serena Cirillo
• Finding Comfort by Laina Deene
• Home by the Rotting Sea by Otava Heikkilä
• Iceland by Giulia Sagramola
• Requiem to the Goddess of Eternal Lies by Ping Sasinan
• Rat Hall by Ash Green
• Songs For The Forgotten by Cloudy Magpie
• Coppélia et Swanilda by Hana Chatani

Interview with Zainab Akhtar

Hi Zainab and thanks for this interview. Let’s start from the beginning: when did it start your passion for comic books?
I’ve been reading comics since I was a child: my access to them was via the public library and via school. I read Tintin, Asterix, and British children’s comics anthologies called The Beano and The Dandy. The wonderful Raymond Briggs was also a formative comics experience. In my teens, things were more patchy: whatever was available at the library: usually a random mix of superhero titles and ‘literary’ comics, or the odd Euro-title- something by David B or a volume of Blacksad. Growing up, I didn’t really view ‘comics’ as separate from books or my reading in general. I simply loved reading and comics were part of that.
That changed when I was at university. When it came to doing my dissertation, I decided that if I had to spend so much time researching and writing, I wanted it to be something engaging that I could maintain interest in. I wrote my dissertation on Batman and that was sort of the ignition point of my broader interest in comics as an artform in its own right.

As a first, you started as a freelance writer and comic book reviewer on different websites (from The Beat to The Guardian) and especially with your own blog Comics and Cola, which also was nominated for an Eisner award in 2014. It was quite a unique work, one of the few english websites which was dedicated to self publishing and small press, with an eye on international comics. How did you start in this profession and what do you remember about that time, especially the very beginning of your work in this field?
The blog was a very amateur, casual enterprise. I had no ambition or enterprise in mind when starting it. I wasn’t part of any comics community; I didn’t even know such a thing as a comic book shop existed until I was in my early 20’s! My only interest at that point was to have a space where I could continue practising my writing (after completing my literature degree) and at the same time as I had become very interested in comics, it seemed an ideal outlet to marry the two: I could read comics and write about them- very simple!
It was very free, in that I had no goals, no expectations. I wasn’t looking to find readers, or make money, or perhaps be discovered and get a job. I was writing solely from a place of enthusiasm, and for myself. Of course, that changed as things progressed.
In terms of focusing on small press and self-publishing, because my journey into comics was very un-traditional and roundabout, I had no preconceptions regarding what comics are, or should be. It meant that I was very open to anything and my tastes developed accordingly. At that time blogging was in its heyday, the internet worked, and international shipping prices were reasonable (we lived in a utopia!), so discovering and following a myriad range of artists and getting hands on their work was entirely feasible. I wouldn’t have been able to articulate it then, but now of course I understand how reticent and risk-averse publishers are, and I think on some level I understood that the most interesting work is always self-published, or published through small indie presses.

In 2016 you decided to “make the jump”, becoming a publisher of your own with Short Box. What brought you to make this step? Many of us writing about comics think about doing this, but not many people are able to do it in concrete.
It was never a deliberate thought or decision to become a publisher. The idea was actually very different: I would create a ‘bundle’ or ‘box’ of self-published mini-comics and sell it as a package of curated recommendations. From the blog, I had been very lucky to build a loyal readership, and they would often tell me that their trust in me was such that they would read anything I suggested. So this curated bundle was tailored towards fitting that need, and also fulfilling my own desire to bring comics I loved directly to people- albeit on a very small scale.
From there it spiralled: when I would contact artists to ask if they had any comics that could be part of the bundle, they were almost always interested in making something new. And then of course, if you’re making new comics with various artists from around the world, for logistical purposes you have to print them yourself in one place; and then if you’re printing and distributing new comics, you have to be involved in design and production and then editing. And so, as you can see, I fell into being a comics publisher!

During these 8 years you produced many awesome comics that were recognized also by the critics with nominations to international prizes (many Eisner Awards).What were the decisions behind building up the catalog of Short Box? And what were the highlights of your experience as a publisher?
I’ve never approached publishing as ‘building a catalogue’ or with an eye towards legacy or anything like that. My only goal was to publish artists and comics which I felt were of interest -foremostly to myself, with the hope that what I saw/connected to would translate to readers. I have never been interested in publishing one specific type of work, style, genre; or in finding the ‘next big thing’ or publishing ‘perfect’ comics. I’ve never published something because I thought it was going to be popular, or because the artist is popular – a flaw I have is as a person is not being able to muster any energy towards something I don’t care about! I’m really bad at faking! In a strange way, that has served me well, because it allows me to be completely sincere in what I do. And I believe sincerity is a quality people connect with.
Highlights: publishing Jonathan Djob Nkondo, James Stokoe, and Em Carroll, some of my favourite artists- having the trust of these brilliant people was an honour and a personal highlight. Overall, I’m most pleased with the breadth of the work I’ve put out, platforming new artists, and to have those comics exist at all and be able to connect them with a readership is special, and never something I take for granted. 

Beginning of this year, Short Box ceased its activities. I cannot refrain from asking what’s behind this decision, but I would also add to this another question: do you think you could have started up Short Box today? Or the comics industry has changed too much and different approaches are necessary?
As is often the case with these kinds of decisions, there was no single factor, but multiple reasons that led to the closure of ShortBox’s print publications.
Earlier, I talked about not planning to be a publisher but falling into it. And one of the outcomes of being a small press publisher is that you are not just a publisher, you are a 1-person business doing the work of a dozen people (and not being paid for even one!). You are the marketer, the distributor, the proofreader, the editor, the admin, the customer service, the foreign rights negotiator, the social media person, the production person, the person who travels to every single convention, and on and on. Most of these jobs I have little interest, or indeed capability, in. Increasingly you not only feel incredibly thinly spread, but also guilty of letting down your artists and their books.
I found myself thinking about things like growth and pressure (largely self-imposed) to try and be something which wasn’t feasible for a single-person run small imprint which has never had any kind of grant, funding or investment. Our budget came purely from whatever we made from selling our books. At the same time, it’s an unusual position, because publicly you grow and people come to you with certain perceptions and expectations. There are expectations that a 1-person imprint with no funding or resources is going to function the same way as a publishing house employing multiple people on salary, with marketing and design departments etc.
With all this swilling around, the disaster that is Brexit was the final straw. Our main distribution is via mail order: direct shipping to readers worldwide. This became such a mess with all the new, nonsensical regulations and expenses, it was clear things would only get steadily worse on many fronts, not just shipping.

Of course your work in comics is not over: in 2019 you launched Short Box Comics Fair, a digital only comic book festival that runs all October only and showcases digital comics from different creators that can be bought as digital copies only. How did you come to this idea and was the fans and creators reaction? We have also run a digital only comic festival in 2021, Nuvole Digitali, that provided a quite unique experience to us as well as to the authors involved…
When I began considering shuttering the print side of ShortBox, I started thinking about digital comics and the possibilities it might offer. I do believe you can just make good comics and whether they are printed or digital, people will find them. But when Covid happened, a lot of comic conventions/festivals were obviously cancelled and my focus shifted to envisioning what a purely online-only, digital comics fair could look like.
To my mind, it hinged on being able to offer people a reason to ‘attend’ a digital comics event. The experience has to be different from people browsing the internet or buying digitally on any regular day. The idea I came up with was getting artists to make new, original comics, and then releasing them all on the same date for a limited time: this would be ShortBox Comics Fair. To put it in a way that’s easily understandable: imagine going to a comic festival where every single exhibitor has with them only one comic, but that comic is a brand new comic. It’s never been published or released before. This is what the ShortBox Comics Fair is. A gathering of over 100+ brilliant artists from around the globe, all releasing a new comic. Because the comics are new, people have a reason to want to visit the fair. And because there’s so many new comics, it becomes an event. Add to that these comics are only available on the fair website for a month, and you have something that is innovative and unique. 
The important thing in the fair’s success is that people know digital is a means, not the end- it is all about the comics. I’m not messing around with tech or doing anything gimmicky. I have always focused on comics and that again brings in that element of trust with both the creators I work with and the ShortBox readership.

And now let’s close with an unavoidable question, giving your active and eclectic personality: what’s your next project?
Haha! I am not thinking of anything beyond the digital comics fair right now. ShortBox Comics Fair is the biggest digital comics fair in the world- if that was marketing hyperbole I would feel deeply uncomfortable even attempting to say it, but because it’s true I have no trouble! I have been in/around comics for over 14 years now and I feel like founding and running the fair truly is a culmination of my knowledge, skills, and experience: everything I have learned over the course of that journey has led to this- I definitely wouldn’t have been able to think of it  (never mind execute it) if I was starting out. So I’m just very glad to be exactly where I am doing what I do.

Thanks Zainab and good luck with the Fair!

Interview done via e-mail between september and october 2024