Self-publishing is a topic near and dear to my heart. My love of zines and awesome little indie books is almost as old as my love for comics. There’s just something magical about checking the mail and receiving a package containing someone’s labor of love–their project that they cared enough about to overcome all the inherent challenges and see through to the end–and now you are holding it in your hands. Before the internet, this was often our only view into other scenes and subcultures. Digital projects are great, but nothing will ever come close to that feeling of holding someone’s special project in your hands. I still believe deeply in DIY ethics, and self-publishing is the very embodiment of those beliefs. Clearly, so does the creator of my pick for this category.
Best Self-Published Title
Becky Cloonan is one of my favorite artists working in comics, and has been for some time now. Readers might know her from recent work on Conan the Barbarian, or her current art in The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, but if you haven’t checked out her absolutely gorgeous, self-published mini-comics, you are missing out.
Demeter is the third installment in her trilogy of mini-comics, which also includes Wolves and The Mire (which won this same honor last year, as well as an Eisner). Though the stories in each installment are standalone, they each deal with similar themes involving love, loss, and tragedy in an almost poetic manner. Her art is expressive, stylish, and instantly recognizable. Demeter is a cautionary tale full of lush, black and gray illustrations that you’ll instantly sink into like a dream and be captivated by. For all these reasons, Demeter is my pick for “Best Self-Published Comic” of 2013. You can find Demeter, along with her other work, on ComiXology, but I’d definitely recommend trying to find print versions to cherish forever.
Becky also just wrote a great post about self-publishing that I’d highly recommend checking out, and shared the news that two follow-ups to Wolves are in the works.
Honorable Mentions: Not So Super, This Bites, Doc Unknown, Stars -N- You, and Dungeon Fun.
Read David Gillette’s pick of another excellent title here.
Comics, and Stuff, and Things 