Resources

Resources for making and publishing independent comics — videos, guides, tools, and links across hosting, community, funding, and making comics.

Making Comics

Tutorials, discussions, and tools focused on the craft of making comics.

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Stephen Fox's hand drawing his character Arthur Bryne

Video · Making Comics

Making Indie Comics: Episode 1 - The Concept

Creating a compelling concept – the journey from idea to independent comic

Making Comics (XL) Fleshing out a Concept, Episode 2

Video · Making Comics

Making Indie Comics: Episode 2 - Fleshing Out A Concept

This episode, Stephen Fox shares his process for evolving a compelling idea into an actionable concept. We'll discuss how to think through a story's theme, tone, genre and visual language before beginning work in Episode 3 to outline the story.

Conventions

What conventions are worth your time as an independent creator?

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Comics-first · Ann Arbor, MI

A2CAF

Annual, JuneNot yet rated

Free, family-facing, library-hosted, with a separate small-and-indie-press strand. Free tables make it an easy first show.

Zine fest · Albuquerque, NM

ABQ Zine Fest

Oct 3, 2026Not yet rated

Fifteenth year at GIZMO ARTS on Central. Long-running, unfussy, deeply DIY.

Comics-first · Phoenix, AZ

AZCAF

Annual, FebruaryNot yet rated

Bills itself as the only Arizona show fully dedicated to comics and the people who make them. First-come tabling is rare and worth knowing.

Zine fest · Asheville, NC

Asheville Zine Fest

Sep 26, 2026Not yet rated

"Power to the small press." Zines, comics, artist books and independent publishing in the mountains.

Comics-first · Minneapolis, MN

Autoptic

IrregularNot yet rated

Design-literate Midwest art-comics fair with a print-culture bent. Has gone dormant and come back before — check before you plan around it.

Comics-first · Brooklyn, NY

BICS

Annual, springNot yet rated

Brooklyn Independent Comics Showcase, now in Industry City's largest room. One of two shows filling the hole CAB left.

Broader · Baltimore, MD

Baltimore Comic-Con

Sep 25, 2026 – Sep 27, 2026Not yet rated

Bigger and more mainstream than the rest of this list, but independently owned since 1998 and genuinely comics-creator-first. Hosts the Harvey Awards.

Comics-first · Harlem, NY

Black Comic Book Festival

Annual, winter/springNot yet rated

Free and library-run at the Schomburg Center. Panels alongside a floor of Black creators and publishers.

Comics-first · Boise, ID

Boise Comic Arts Festival

Sep 5, 2026 – Sep 6, 2026Not yet rated

Fourteenth year. Free, library-run, two-day artists' alley — the anchor comics show for the Intermountain West.

Comics-first · Brooklyn, NY

Brooklyn Expo of Comics

Nov 14, 2026 – Nov 15, 2026Not yet rated

The direct successor to Comic Arts Brooklyn, with CAB's Gabe Fowler running panels. Inaugural year — Chris Ware and Lisa Hanawalt on the guest list.

Comics-first · Chicago, IL

CAKE

Annual, springNot yet rated

Chicago Alternative Comics Expo, at the Irish American Heritage Center. Grassroots, artist-curated, minicomics-heavy. No application fee.

Comics-first · Alameda, CA

Cape & Cowl Con

Annual, late AugNot yet rated

Free, all-ages, in a brewery, with an anti-book-banning streak. 2026 pulled Gene Luen Yang and Mariko Tamaki.

Media Outlets

Who’s talking about independent creators and comics — and how to reach out to them.

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Podcast

Awesome Comics Podcast

The podcast where the best in the small press comics scene make one hell of a big noise! The Awesome Comics Podcast is a podcast where the best and brightest…

Brain outlined with a dashed-style comic bubble

Comics Journalism

Weird City Media

If accuracy is the measure of telling an objectively truthful story, covering the news in the AI era should be far weirder... Weird City Media is a grand…