Got an update on the blog today! Click thru to see some development art for two of our upcoming books 👀
www.balustradepress.com/autumn-check...
01.10.2025 13:44
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Got an update on the blog today! Click thru to see some development art for two of our upcoming books 👀
www.balustradepress.com/autumn-check...
Don't sleep on this!!! Bulgilhan is publishing some of the best comics out there right now!! This looks incredible.
We're SO excited about Bonedust Press--the world needs more indulgent, illustrated novels! Snag a copy and maybe even an editorial session with Jasmine, what a DEAL!
The cats outta the bag~ I'm so excited to work with the incredible Nadia Shammas on this book, it's going to be AMAZING \ ( ^_^ ) /
Yoooo Shammas/Armstrong!
Thanks so much, Steenz!! We're incredibly lucky to have such a fantastic lineup right out of the gate!!
The background of this image shows the ice at a hockey arena; it's got marks from people skating on it, and the blue and red lines to denote zone boundaries. In front of the background is a pale brunette with glasses wearing a green and pink regalia scarf. Next to the figure is text that reads: TCAF June 7-8. Hockey Rink, South side, Table 231.
HEY KIDS I'll be at TCAF this weekend, selling my wares and hyping up @balustradepress.bsky.social !!! Come find me on the hockey rink, no skates required! I'll also be hosting TWO panels at Word Balloon Academy on Friday: Networking for Introverts (10:40) & the Indie Publisher Roundtable (4:00).
If you want to keep up with progress on this and the rest of our 2026 slate, sign up for the newsletter! We'll update you later in the summer on how things are going :) www.balustradepress.com#portal
text reads HEARTBREAK SOUNDS GOOD IN A PLACE LIKE THIS by Nadia Shammas and Jade Armstrong. The illustration, in tones of blue, shows two young women in a messy apartment. They're both holding guitars, and seem to be writing or practicing music together.
HERE IT IS our final publication announcement for 2026: Heartbreak Sounds Good in a Place Like This by @nadiashammas.bsky.social & @jelajade.bsky.social ! Learn more about the book here: www.balustradepress.com/publication-...
And say hi to Jade and Hello Boyfriend at TCAF this weekend!
Cover illustration for the comic titled Leaf Lace, by Ashanti Fortson. The title takes up half the composition, hand-lettered in a cursive style to evoke thread and yarn. Beneath the title, a dark-skinned woman kneels over, tenderly and sadly clutching an older woman’s hand. Tears fall from the central woman’s face, echoing her teardrop earrings. The older woman is not visible aside from her hand. The central woman’s dark, tightly curled hair sweeps upwards from her form, becoming the backdrop for the title and pressing down on the woman visually. The illustration is done in soft linework and painted purples, with an emphasis on color and light.
Comic page from Leaf Lace by Ashanti Fortson. Ananke, the goddess who spins mortals’ life threads, sits in her studio and spins her yarn. Mnimi, her mortal wife, picks vegetables and tea leaves from her garden. She brings a tray of tea and treats to Ananke, and the two share a kiss. Mnimi looks like an old woman, but Ananke ruminates on meeting Mnimi when Mnimi was young. The page is illustrated in lush, warm colors.
Comic page from Leaf Lace by Ashanti Fortson. Through second-person narration, the goddess who spins mortals’ life threads reflects on the time she has shared with her mortal wife. A flashback sequence, framed by intertwining threads of yarn, shows the two meeting when her wife was still young. In the last panel, the mortal woman points out her newly-flowering orchids to her immortal wife, but the mortal woman is now old. The page is illustrated in lush, warm colors.
Comic page from Leaf Lace by Ashanti Fortson. Narration at the top of the page reads, You deserve to live forever. Mnimi, the old, mortal wife of the life-spinning goddess, shakily prepares a pot of tea. She shakes as she carries it to her wife, who is in her studio. Mnimi cries out for Ananke, her wife. She falls, dropping the tray, teapot, and teacups. The panel layout echoes this fall: the panels become irregular, tumbling down the composition. The page is illustrated in purples, hot pinks, and dark teals.
It's the last two days of the @cartoonist.coop Nib & Ink Fest Marketplace, and I have some work available!
LEAF LACE: The goddess of thread-spun fate falls in love with a mortal woman. The rest is history, until history reaches its end. 25 pages, ages 13+
nif-shop.cartoonist.coop/products/lea...
As we head into #TCAF2025 - an ask from me that, if you can, please donate to help our festival with costs associated with its new location, to ensure #TCAF stays free for all, and to protect the vital importance of cartooning in this dangerous time.
#comics
www.torontocomics.com/support-tcaf
I really love Sunshine's work and I cannot wait to read this
book cover for Slumlord Ethics by sunshine gao. the front cover shows a person in a white sweater and work gloves with their hair up in a bun. they're carrying some wooden planks which obscure their face, but they peer at the viewer over their shoulder as they walk into a dark doorway, framed by UNDER CONSTRUCTION banners. Behind them is a table featuring a drill and other construction tools and materials. On the back cover is a cropped image of a green tree in front of a blue sky, in contrast to the mess inside
Announcing the second of our 2026 graphic novels: Slumlord Ethics by sunshine gao! Learn more about the book and about sunshine at our website: www.balustradepress.com/publication-...
SO STOKED TO BE WORKING WITH MAYA ON THIS it's gonna be so cool!!!!!!
NOT A HOAX! NOT A DREAM!*
*(Well, maybe a dream.)
Wanna be an Ignatz winning cartoonist, we’ve gotcha covered!
Ignatz submissions are officially open from today, April 1st-May 31st.
Only works published between June 1, 2024 and May 31, 2025 are eligible for the 2025 Ignatz Awards.
Good luck! 🤞
Picked up Cole Pauls-curated Salmon Run collection a little while back and was completely blown away by this cartoonist’s comic, “Momentum.” Super-excited for this and to pick up their new zine at TCAF.
Thanks, Alex! We can't wait!!
Sign up for the newsletter while you're here, to be the first to get our next book announcements! www.balustradepress.com/publication-...
Cover of a comic called I DREAMT OF YOU by Maya McKibbin. The image is largely pink with yellow, purple, and orange accents. It's a close-up of two faces embracing each other's faces, looking into each other's eyes, like they're about to kiss. They each have cyberpunk, circular gadgets on the sides of their heads, which are connected by jagged white lightning. Above their head are ghostly salmon.
Announcing the first of our 2026 graphic novels: I DREAMT OF U <3 by @mkchibs.bsky.social Check out the summary and more information about Maya at our press release:
www.balustradepress.com/publication-...
It was an honour to be included in this roundup of amazing small presses; thanks so much to Akira at WildStar for inviting us all to have this conversation!
oh wow this will be GORGEOUS!
Now's the perfect time to make sure you're SIGNED UP for our newsletter--book announcements will start next week! For now, here's a preview of what I'll be up to at TCAF and some other indie comics news I'm excited about. www.balustradepress.com/book-announc...
TCAF was my access & introduction to the comics community when I started pursuing working in direct market.
It's by far one of the most extensive and dense FREE events in the city yearly that I have loved and attended countless times.
If you love comics, please consider contributing:
STEP 1. TELL ME WHAT YOU KNOW ABOUT MADEUP LANGUAGES STEP 2. WIN COMICS
I'm doing more conlang research! Ten years ago I wrote my dissertation on madeup languages, and now I'm updating it for public release. Please fill out this survey to tell me what you know about conlangs and enter to win a 50% discount code for quindriepress.com!
🗯️ Survey: forms.gle/GwbkjpKvZoKr...
By popular demand, I'm excited to be launching a second session of my 5 Weeks Comics Layout course for non-USA timezones (EU, Asia, AUS/NZ)!! I'll be teaching you how to think and make interesting comics layouts!
Sign up before April 24 2025! 📚 www.sequentialartistsworkshop.org/comics-layou...
A dark green background with a light orange ornamental B. The B is decorated with flourishes and lines in an art deco style. This is the logo for Balustrade Press.
Over at @balustradepress.bsky.social we've officially signed on THREE books to be published next year! Follow the newsletter to stay up to date--I'm hoping to start announcing the books this Spring! www.balustradepress.com
Announcing Balustrade Press, a new small press of original graphic novels!
The publisher of Ignatz Award winner Shades of Fear is relaunching as a small press for original graphic novels! After a decade of editing comics--from the Shuster Award-winning anthology Wayward Sisters to Chip Zdarsky’s Eisner winner Public Domain--Balustrade Press publisher Allison O'Toole is excited to expand the work she started on Shades of Fear.
Creators with bold, unique visions will tell stories aimed at adult readers without ties to traditional genre molds and conventions. We want to make comics that are excited to be comics--the harder they would be to adapt to other media, the better! Our first slate of books will be announced soon. They will be published in 2026, funded via Kickstarter in 2025.
Sign up for the newsletter to be the first to hear about our upcoming books! You'll only hear from us when we have real updates to share.
Announcing Balustrade Press, a new small press of original graphic novels!! Learn more and sign up here: www.balustradepress.com/announcing-b...
Green background with white text reading: Coming Soon Balustrade Press dot Com. An ornate orange B logo is in the centre of the image
www.balustradepress.com