2020 Denver Zine Fest
CANCELLED
Dear friends of the Denver Zine Library,
With heavy hearts, we’re reaching out to let you know that the 2020 Denver Zine Fest has been cancelled.
The organizers have been monitoring the developments around COVID-19 closely and while we had been holding out hope to move forward, the current CDC guidelines for large community events and the recent “stay at home” order for the State of Colorado have helped us come to a decision. In this time of uncertainty, we want to do our part to flatten the curve and to maintain the health and safety of our vibrant zine community.
Support the exhibitors! While we can’t get together in person, you can still connect with our incredible exhibitors and support their work. Check out the exhibitor profiles on our website and reach out to them directly.
Quaranzine Fest 2020! We wanted to make sure you know (and are excited) about Quaranzine Fest 2020. Check out the website and consider participating in this online event April 4-5, 2020!
We hope that you’re all staying safe and healthy.
Denver Zine Fest organizers
Many thanks to the sponsors and vendors
- McNichols Civic Center Building
- Denver Arts & Venues
- Avant-Garde Events
- Birdy Magazine
- DiNK
- iPie
- Kilgore Books
- Meow Wolf
- Mutiny Information Cafe
- Ratio Beerworks
- Suspect Press
- Warm Cookies of the Revolution
Follow us online
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Exhibitors
Check out their links and support their work!
Denver Zine Library
Denver, CO
The Denver Zine Library is a nonprofit organization founded in 2003 whose mission is to preserve, protect and promote the culture of zines and self-published original work through archival collection, workshops and events. The Denver Zine Library currently houses one of the largest zine collections in North America with a preserved collection of over 20,000 independent and alternative zines. The organization is entirely volunteer run, and the public can access the full library and archives during open hours on Saturdays and Sunday between 11am-3pm or by appointment.
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
+ gallery Chicago, COOP4LIB, Hazel R. Magnolia
Chicago, IL
+ gallery Chicago’s mission is to provide space to underrepresented local artists, makers, activists, story tellers, instructors, and other community organizers to share experiences, skills, resources and locally crafted goods with one another and the public.
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8th Wonder Press
Arvada, CO
“Comics are words and pictures. You can do anything with words and pictures.” – Harvey Pekar
At 8th Wonder Press, Harvey Pekar’s words aren’t just wishful thinking, they’re an inspiration. At a time when most comics are rehashing, relaunching, or rebooting the same old ideas, we want to see something new, and we think you do too. We want to draw inspiration from the classics and take them into the future, fusing new ideas with the anything-goes spirit that hooked us all on comics in the first place.
We firmly believe that there is a comic for every person and a person for every comic. We want to make the comics culture a bigger place, getting more books into the hands of more readers and helping more creators get their comics into those hands.
A.J. Urbina
Broomfield, CO
A.J. Urbina is an illustrator and comic creator and a Colorado native. He is 60% comic and pop culture nerd and 40% public land and outdoor enthusiast. His comic work primarily focuses on fantastic adventure focused stories with an emphasis on original content. When not making comics A.J. can be found hiking and painting landscapes.
Adán De La Garza & Jenna Maurice
Denver, CO
Found photos, photo photos, appropriated images, videos. in zine format. probably some friends zines, buttons, stickers, and matches too. We’ll have something you’ll like. probably. no promises. If we don’t have something you like someone you have met at least once will like what we have. an acquaintance. friend of a friend. maybe less than that too. cool.
Afro Triangle Designs
Denver, CO
My name is Adri Norris and I create artwork about women in history. I believe that it is important to learn the stories of our past that we don’t normally hear, so I focus primarily on women of color and queer and trans women in history. Their work is part of who we are and we need to uplift those from the past to inspire future generations.
Website | Facebook | Instagram
Aim Ren Beland
Chicago, IL
Aim Ren Beland is a trans storyteller originally from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. His work has been seen at Queers & Comics NYC 2019, Chicago Zine Fest, and CAKE, and published in South Side Weekly. He serves as the Events Coordinator for Chicago Alternative Comics Expo, and in 2018 he was a recipient of the The Wiregrid Microgrant for his work in sequential illustration. Currently he resides in Chicago, and enjoys creating visual narratives that invoke empathy in their audience.
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
Alex Volpert
Denver, CO
Alex Volpert is a Denver artist who has just started making zines. Some of her zine topics include satan, trains and all the bacteria that live in our bodies. She loves bugs, 20th century point and click adventure games, architecture and secrets.
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Andrea Pearson
Chicago, IL
Andrea is a comics artist from Chicago. She likes long walks on the beach, sunsets and kittens. She self publishes an autobiographical zine series titled No Pants Revolution. You can see some of her comics and scribbles on her Instagram @Saturn2169
Artist Khiri Lee
Boulder, CO
Artwitch and Creatrix Khiri Lee is re-mything life though paint, movement, and color. She is a mixed media painter, dancer, installation artist, and zine writer. Khiri is the creator of the zines T H R I F T W I T C H, 52 Feathers and most recently 52 Facets. Each issue is filled with original and evocative mixed media art, combined with writings on magick, ritual, & myth in an intimate format.
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter| Patreon
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Authentic Creations Publishing Apothecary
Arapaho territory, Boulder, CO
We are a BY US, FOR US People Of Heritage (Of Colour) specific organization that increases and sustains accessible wellness through initiatives such as artistic writing, Ancestral gardening, Seed stewardship, affinity gatherings, apprenticeships, theatre, educational literature and illustrations (zines).
Every zine come with a home-harvested pack of Seeds. You can find our zines in bookstores, apothecaries, herbal schools, seed libraries and public libraries all over Turtle Island and in Waveroo Territory, Australia; with 18 regular distribution outlets in total. We publish six collaborative zines per Sun cycle by kuwa jasiri Indomela – Seed Steward.Wordsmith.Spiritual Tender.
B. Erin Cole
St Paul, MN
B. Erin Cole is a Colorado artist and public historian who now works and lives in Minnesota. They publish comics about history, mental illness, museums, and eggs with rich inner lives.
Website | Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter
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Babelord
Denver, CO
Babelord is the princess of the planet galactar. This is her story from deep within the andromeda galaxy. She was sent to earth with one impossible mission… Can she save the humans from impending doom?
Website | Facebook | Instagram
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Baby Gibo
San Antonio, TX
Gabriel Garcia is an artist who recently relocated back to his hometown of San Antonio, TX, after nearly 15 years living in Chicago, IL. In addition to his comic work, Gabriel has also created public murals and continues to exhibit original paintings and drawings.
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter| Google Drive
Basement
Erie, CO
This is an incomplete and, on the surface, unrelated, 24 page collection of the artworks that one guy with a full time job and a family completed in the last few months. Each 2 pages is an image, and a short written passage, story, bit of prose, or specific sociopolitical critique that motivated, or is motivated by the image. Along with wild flights into speculative discourse fueled by pinked out thrash psychedelia from untold dimensions. While I’ve been consistently making and presenting art for the past couple of years, this is the first foray into zine publishing.
Beckabunss
Los Angeles, CA
Beckabunss is an animator and illustrator from Los Angeles, curator of the hush anthology and author of JxJ, kit and Vixie and foxy 3
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Benschop Books
Denver, CO
Benschop Books is Vera Benschop’s publishing project, where she makes photo books and photo zines of her own and other’s work.
Website | Facebook | Instagram
Book Group to Dismantle the Romantic Industrial Complex
Denver, CO
We are a group of friends who gather monthly. Our book group started with a desire to explore why friendship felt devalued compared to couplehood. We discovered that the Romantic Industrial Complex (RIC) is an insidious manifestation of heteropatriarchy and racism that creeps into our lives from all angles, impacting everything from the trivial to the serious; holiday office party invitations to housing access. We are dedicated to rooting out and destroying the RIC in all its forms. We hope our zine will help you join us.
Brown and Proud Press
Chicago, IL
Brown and Proud Press is a collective of people of color with the intent of sharing personal narratives of struggle through the medium of zines as a catalyst for collective healing and liberation. We believe in the necessity of self preservation and seek to increase visibility around struggles and histories of marginalized folks. A history told
by us for us. We also seek to create brave spaces for artists to perform and share their audio, visual and written art.
Butter Press
San Diego, CA
Butter Press is a small press project focusing on heritage, place, and attachment through small edition artists’ books, zines, and prints.
Camp Cup Design
Denver, CO
Camp Cup Design is the studio name for my independent design company. I offer a range of work for different sized organizations varying from design to illustration. My background is also in fine art printmaking. Taking the commercial design and fine art I began making books/zines to distribute a lot of my side projects and prints. I have a huge love for the outdoors and pop culture and you will see those mashed together.
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Cara Singson
Denver, CO
Cara Singson is an illustrator currently based in the Denver, CO area. She graduated from California College of the Arts with a BFA in Illustration in 2019. She tends to work with subject matter surrounding personal identity and intersectional feminism. Her sketchbooks often consist of many cats and ladies.
Chel’s Artistry
Norman, OK
As an artist, my goal is to create clean images that takes the viewer to a balanced and reflective place. Thinking of artwork as a visual representation of the human condition greatly inspires me. A lot of my work features women who are strong and goddess-like in nature, but still at the end of the day are human. Some of my greatest artistic influences come from the anonymous and known works of street artists; I find the nature of rebellion in their art inspiring. Music has always been a loyal companion to my inspiration and I often give it power over my pen as I allow its sounds to mold and shape my work.
A major goal of my art is not only give myself, but those who lay their eyes upon my work a thoughtful escape. I hope to open the minds and the mouths of my viewers to help them perhaps find what inspires them and for everyone to know that they too have the power to create.
Chris Jones/Sweet Malarkey
Fort Collins, CO
Chris Jones is a multidisciplinary artist based in Fort Collins, Colorado. His film photography is a juxtaposition of nature and street, often most concerned with where they overlap and intercede one another, magnifying and accelerating the comedy to be found in everyday moments and architecture. Last year, he released Meander, a two volume zine of color photos taken over the course of four years. His drawing and painting work is immersed in the world of indie comics. Chris creates amorphous tessellating landscapes and the beings who are born from, navigate through, and decay back into these landscapes. When paired with his sparse prose, these settings and characters coalesce into stories that are contemplative, humorous, and often bittersweet. Chris released his full length comic From a Speck to a Swarm in 2018 and in 2019 released several collaborative zines: Planet Parking Lot, Department of Sacrilege, and For the Love of Glob.
Church of Earth
Denver, CO
Church of Earth is a creative space for healing our relationship to the Earth, ourselves and each other. We practice this through public art and installations, community events, a monthly newsletter, ongoing study of Earth-honoring traditions present and past, and by creating opportunities to process the emotional and spiritual affects of climate change.
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clarise the poet
Denver, CO
I aim to find and capture the poetry in everything. Through my poetry, I hope the beholder will find a new sense of beauty and hope within the world, even if the beauty is found is unrequited love or various other emotional sufferings. Nature and people inspire me most and odes (or laments 🙂 are my favorite form of commemoration.
Cori Redford
Denver, CO
Cori Redford is the illustrator of the comic What’d I Miss? (written by R. Alan Brooks) published weekly in The Colorado Sun. She is also an illustrator, zinester, and generally artsy sort of person. She lives in Denver, Colorado. She definitely draws things besides dicks.
Crawfish production/The Indy 500
Denver CO
We’re all about having the most fun possible. Sometimes that means giving adults homework. The Indy 500 is a monthly literary zine based out of Indianapolis. It has nothing doing with the race but rather the concept of 500. It’s a submission based periodical with a 500 word limit and a monthly topic (prompt.)
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Dan Moran Art
Lakewood, CO
I am a self-taught artist specializing in black-and-white drawings, done in a realistic style but most often with surreal, dark, fantastic, or horror themes. My preferred medium is ball-point pen, though sometimes I use roller-ball pens as well. I use only pen and paper, and do not do any computer art. My work has appeared in a number of print and online magazines, as well as in gallery shows and on T-shirts and CD covers for metal bands. I have an M.A. in Philosophy and Religion, and work as a production editor for medical journals. My wife and I moved from Vermont and have been in Colorado for about 5 years.
Website | Facebook | Fine Art America
Denver Public Library
Denver, CO
The Denver Public Library makes our resources, services and expertise accessible for all, recognize the inherent dignity in each person, and provide safe places where everyone can be themselves.
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
DerekWK
Denver, CO
Derek is a Denver based artist who has been creating illustrations his whole life. Growing up around comic books, he knew his passion was to create work that would tell stories. This ultimately resulted in his biggest project yet, “Manifest : Future”, a comic book series he self-published, wrote, illustrated and colored. Over the years, he has premiered new issues and individual work at various Comic Conventions around the nation, such as Denver, San Diego Salt Lake City and Colorado Springs to name a few. His hope is to catch a lucky break in the comic or video game industries and draw pictures for a living!
Dungeon Maven Games
Littleton CO
A maven is an “expert” or “connoisseur”. That’s me; I’m on a quest to make table top gaming more accessible to new players by sharing my experiences and knowledge! I’m also a lady out to show fans and newbies alike that D&D is not just for boys. I’ve been making zines for two years and playing the game since 2011. I love meeting players and hearing their stories. Come say hello at my table!
Website | Facebook | Instagram
Dustin Holland and Jared Romero
Longmont, CO
Two cartoonists and writers living and working in Longmont, Colorado.
Dylan Edwards
Aurora, CO
Dylan Edwards is an award-winning queer & trans comic artist, best known as the creator of TRANSPOSES and VALLEY OF THE SILK SKY. His work has been published in anthologies from Dark Horse, Fantagraphics, and Oni Press, and has been featured on The Nib, PEN America, and Splinter News.
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter | Valley of the Silk Sky
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Dylan Griffith
Denver, CO
My name is Dylan, I was born in Arizona but now I live in Denver. I’m a painter and an illustrator who has shown work at Alto Gallery, Lane Meyer Projects and Helikon to name a few. Everything I do I do for freedom and everything I make I make just for you.
Elise Dietrich
Boulder, CO
Elise is a cartoonist who recently moved to Boulder CO from New England. Her work is largely autobiographical, ranging from short diary comics to longer memoir pieces that explore travel, motherhood and parenting, and the search for identity and meaning in daily life. She is currently working on a serialized long-form graphic novel about her travels in Brazil in her early 20s.
Website | Facebook | Instagram
EMMA Studios
Denver, CO
EMMA is a collaborative, creative effort between childhood friends Eric Meyer and Matthew Anderson. They always liked comics n’ stuff, so decided they’d start making their own.
Faith Lyons
Greeley, CO
Faith Lyons is a Greeley/Denver-based artist who works primarily in digital and hand-drawn media. She makes zines about sentimentality, anxiety, memories, and her old sweet dog, Oreo. When she’s not making art, she’s eating too many peanut m&ms, waiting to stop feeling sick from eating too many so she can eat more, or playing video games.
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FLORA | | FAUNA
Denver, CO
FLORA || FAUNA is a zine publication that produces strong editorial writing with artistically driven photography, highlighting local businesses, musicians, and artisans.
Our mission is to document the city’s modernity and ongoing creative innovations. With Denver’s current market, creatives are given the opportunity to produce quality work, enhancing the richness of community.
The goal is to share all things art, music, and design in a progressive and savvy demeanor, online and in print.
GS Baldridge
Columbus, OH
GS Baldridge is a cartoonist and teacher from New Mexico who currently lives with his wife in Columbus, Ohio. A formally‐trained anthropologist and former pop‐punk guitarist, he now passes his days as a 1st grade teacher and wizard of macaroni art. He runs the biweekly strip “Teech” about the American education system.
Hemlock
Colorado Springs, CO
I’m Hemlock, an illustrator of nature, magic and myth. My work is an clandestine reflection of our reality where fantasy runs free.
is PRESS
Denver, CO
is PRESS publishes short run art books and zines documenting urban art and conceptual time-based art projects in an accessible narrative format along the loose theme of individuals and their relationship to groups. Our art books and zines deploy a sophisticated design aesthetic and high quality printing, often featuring letterpress, screenprinting, and risography. is PRESS also distros art books, zines, patches, and prints featuring graphic art, urban art, street art, urban photography, and graffiti.
is PRESS is the press of The Institute of Sociometry, or is, which practices and promotes guerrilla sociometry. As the term implies, guerrilla sociometry is similar in focus to text book sociometry, yet in no way conforms to the rigorous demands of science or mathematics! Instead is deploys strategies from ’Pataphysics, Fluxus, Situationism, Neoism, Immediatism, Ontological Anarchy, and Dada Epistimology.
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Sociometry
Jaromir Stoll
Columbus, OH
Stoll is a comics creator, scholar, and Assistant Professor at Columbus College of Art & Design. He is committed to visual storytelling on the ineffable in life – with recent works in Rainbow Reflections: Body Image Comics for Queer Men and Blocked: Stories from the World of Online Dating. He edits and publishes as Great Bear Comics, including DOGS! An Anthology of Comics on Our Canine Companions with Vidyun Sabhaney and Ursa Antho: An Anthology of Bear Comics. Stoll’s scholarship has appeared in The International Journal of Comic Art; Marg, A Magazine of the Arts; Cultures of Comics Work; and The Routledge Companion to Comics.
Website | Facebook | Instagram
Jeff Washenberger Art
Denver, CO
Originally from the Black Hills of South Dakota Jeff now lives on a little hill overlooking Denver. Self taught artist, he likes to draw cute characters and comics about life, dogs, coffee, and all things silly. A love for bright colors, trees, sunsets, and funny comics have inspired him to draw from a young age. Today Jeff does his best to make people smile, promote peace, love, equality, and help the world be a better place.
Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter | Deviant Art
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JENNMU
Denver, CO
Jennifer is from Aurora, Colorado and is constantly inspired by the state’s beauty. This has led to the creation of several zines and watercolor paintings. She also makes works based off of cute animals and travels, and loves to experiment with different mediums.
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Jess Vosseteig
Colorado
Jess Vosseteig is from Fort Collins, Colorado. She makes colorful, creative, and fun portrait illustrations, and has recently brought her illustrations into zine form. Jess is inspired by the pop culture of the 80s, street fashion, and vibrant color combinations.
jme zines
Colorado Springs, CO
jme is a zinester and librarian from Colorado Springs who makes perzines and also uses zines as a tool for community building, alternative modes of publishing research, and tools for questioning authority and credibility of information. her zines are about online dating, local history, opposums, and chicken nuggets.
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Joy and Spider
Englewood, CO
I have been sporadically publishing Joy and Spider since 1992 CE. Like a manic agnostic street preacher desperate to articulate his ideas before they disappear into the ether, I make a comic about life and discovery and use minimalist characters to express little epiphanies
Karl Christian Krumpholz
Denver, CO
Originally from a city on the East Coast, award-winning cartoonist Karl Christian Krumpholz’s work has appeared in many different formats, publications and even animated in a documentary.
Karl is currently working on the weekly ‘The Denver Bootleg’ comic for the Westword newspaper, a comic about living on the street and the plight of the homeless done for the City of Denver, the sequel to his biographical comic ‘An Introduction to Alcohol’, and the continuing series of short stories and slice of life comics set in the city: ’30 Miles of Crazy!’
Karl continues to live in the city, though now a different one, and also owns way too many hats.
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter | Westword
Kelly Shortandqueer
Denver, CO
Kelly Shortandqueer is one of the co-founders of the Denver Zine Library (DZL), a volunteer-run nonprofit organization that boasts over 20,000 zines in the lending collection. For over a decade, the DZL has hosted multiple Denver Zine Fests, facilitated tons of zine-making workshops, and has championed the power of self-publishing as a powerful tool for marginalized voices. He has been publishing his zine series “Shortandqueer” since the early 2000s, with each issue focusing on a different theme through the lens of his queer and transgender identities. Kelly’s live storytelling has been featured on The Narrators and Mortified podcasts. Besides writing and storytelling, Kelly is also a drag artist, performing under the name Olive de Bottom. Since being crowned Honky Tonk Queen of the International Association of Gay Square Dance Clubs in 2014, he has performed at several local and national venues and is always looking for new excuses to make appearances.
Website | Facebook | Instagram
Kels Choo
Colorado Springs, CO
Kels Choo is a Hawaii girl self-publishing comics and zines in Colorado Springs. Her comics work is heavily influenced by monsters, magic, nature, nostalgia, and whimsy.
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter
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Kirixin
Springfield, MO
Kirin Xin is an epicene designer and illustrator. They like bands, boys, and millenial pink. Currently working in comic production, their work includes themes of inclusion, aesthetics, murder, virtual pets, cassettes, California, and femininity in masculinity.
Website | | Instagram | Twitter
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Kris Lockie
Fort Collins, CO
Kris is a freelance comic artist/illustrator who works under her preferred username: AutomaticMollusk. With a focus on diverse casts and world building she strives to create comic spaces that people dream about living in. If you like Cryptozoology, bugs, monsters and aliens you’ll probably love her work.
Website | | Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter
KULT OV SP3KTR
Boulder, CO
The KVLT OV SP3KTR is a for profit religious organization hellbent on subverting mass media’s attempts to make us despise ourselves. The KOS uses Horror, Humor and Positive sexuality to combat the sadistic and venal advertising machine hell bent on destroying our etheric light beings.
Lye Lawrence
Denver, CO
Lye, a displaced Appalachian cottontail, designs and makes multimedia art in their burrow in the winter months, and can be found relaxing amongst the flowers when the air is warm. They expect to bring some art zines, comics, and how-to zines, as well as a couple anthologies. Topics include ritual, observational animal drawing, rudimentary medicine, and gay cat blogs.
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marinaislame
Colorado Springs, CO
Hello! I am but a humble art goblin who wishes to make cute and colorful fantasy pieces.
Marsh & Mellow
Fort Collins, CO
We are two local artists from Fort Collins who enjoy illustrations and comics! Our zines are themed with science or cute stories. We hope to debut what we are working on this year!
Martin Sammy Gardea
Chicago, IL
Without any light installations the art world would be a slightly darker place.
This guy behind me in line only has a bottle of tequila and a bottle of shampoo. I was at the store and this guy asked his daughter if she wanted to go see a movie. She replied, “ I have to poop.”
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Mile Marker Fifteen
Denver, CO
Mile Marker Fifteen is a Zine that was established in 2015 by Maxx Zenisek and Rachel Pickett as a way to engage in Denver’s DIY community and collaborate with other local artists, writers and poets.
Miles Monroe
Denver, CO
Miles Monroe is an independent artist specializing in flora and fauna illustrations & merchandise design. They love their cat, filling sketchbooks, and crying a lot about how cool animals are.
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Mister V
Granby, CO
Mister V is a mainstay in the Colorado comics scene and the creator of the dozens and dozens of works, including the new graphic novel Mile High: Adventures in Colorado Medical Marijuana.
Website | Facebook | Tumblr | Twitter | The Duck
Mori Guild
Denver, CO
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Nash’s Comic
Denver, CO
My name is Nash. I’m eight years old. I really liked Adventures In Cartooning (by James Sturm, Andrew Arnold, and Alexis Frederick-Frost) and then my dad asked me if I wanted to make some comics. I came up with the characters: a smiley sun, a knight, an elf, a princess, the Cheerful Reaper. My dad writes scripts and I do all the art. I did my first ever table selling my comics at the Pike’s Peak Zine Fest last October and people liked them a lot. It was super fun. I will have issue #3 new for the Denver Zine Fest.
Nathaniel Kennon Perkins
Boulder, CO
Nathaniel Kennon Perkins lives in Boulder, CO, where he works as a bookseller and publisher. He is the author of The Way Cities Feel to Us Now (Maudlin House, 2019), Cactus (Trident Press, 2018), and the ongoing literary/per zine series Ultimate Gospel.
Website | Instagram | Twitter | Patreon
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Nathaniel Wendt’s Utopian Dreamscapes
Kansas City, MO
With my work I take a note from Surrealist artists and try to explore my subconscious and express the iconography of my inner-self as well as the images and ideas that reside within the collective unconscious that connects us all. I take this subject matter and present it in the saturated palette of cartoons and video games that shaped my aesthetic taste in the early 90’s as I grew up in the culturally depleted American Midwest, hopefully touching on a sense of familiarity in the eye of the viewer.
Nick Holland
Fort Collins, CO
Nick Holland is a multi-disciplinary artist who lives in Fort Collins, Colorado. He works within many disciplines including relief printing, paining, collage, performance, film, poetry and prose.
Holland’s work is humorous, while also often grotesque and aggressive. Juxtaposing wordplay and a keen sense of setting, his work is steeped in fever dream techno dystopia. Holland carefully crafts an abstract-realist junkyard of neon treasures that flicker in and out of lucidity.
He attempts to maintain continuous output between different medias. He thrives in collaboration. He believes people would be happier if they spent more time reading books.
He is the cofounder and creative director of Sludge Apparel, as well as a cofounder of New Trash Media.
Nudie Magazine
Aurora, CO
Nudie magazine serves as a promotional platform for feminine femme and queer artistry, where everyone’s voice is heard but where marginalized communities come first. Our goal is to dismantle the white supremacist patriarchy and all the dangerous stigmatizations that come with it by using sexual content to raise awareness of systemic inequality, and to provide monetary compensation to marginalized artists.
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Office of BS
Denver, CO
Office of BS began as the independent design studio of Blair Stapp. After 10 years of client work, the studio developed its own brand to create space and visibility for the LGBTQ+ community. It began with the simple idea that “the future is queer as f*ck.” A nonbinary designer, Blair was tired of seeing their femme friends go invisible and their trans friends go misrepresented or misgendered. As members of the LGBTQ+ community actively create their OWN narratives, Office of BS exists to help celebrate that unapologetically. If it’s queer, irreverent, witchy, plant-based, or working to create an intersectional future, they’re about it.
Website | Facebook| Instagram| Etsy
Perceptionally Aware
Denver, CO
Perceptionally Aware is a perzine about some of the most impactful moments in the author’s life thus far, including experiences as a medium, strange encounters with other humans, experiences in altered states of consciousness, and thoughts and ideas about this reality and our place in it.
The author is a Colorado native working in good ol’ corporate America in Downtown Denver. She likes food (particularly sugar), stickers, Psychedelic Club of Denver, and about 2/5 people.
Pollux Zine
Denver, CO
Pollux is a Denver based art zine lead by Kaleigh Coleman. Pollux strives to promote up-and-coming artists across all mediums into their pages and has featured more than 40 artists and musicians since it’s beginning in 2016.
Website | Facebook | Instagram
Possum Costume
Lakewood, CO
Cormick is either a zine maker or a possum in a human costume. Her zines are mostly drawings of animals. They’re made old school with a photocopier, and then hand bound.
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Posthumous
Denver, CO
Posthumous Zine is focused on death from an anthropological perspective. It’s intent is to disseminate information about death and cultural and individual behavior surrounding death.
Primordial Pals
Fort Collins, CO
Primordial Pals is all about bringing dinosaurs and other prehistoric life back to the forefront with vibrant art and up to date research. There’s something for people of all ages to enjoy and learn!
Queer Dreaming | Oriana Richmond
Denver, CO
Queer Dreaming (AKA Oriana Richmond) is a creative, writer, visual artist, burlesque performer, activist, and community organizer living in Denver. They are passionate about radical activism, slutidarity, social justice and liberation, pop culture, and making art about nonbinary femme experiences. Their work unapologetically illustrates the beauty of queer and trans love, sexuality, resiliency, chosen family, and spiritual witchcraft. Most recently, they have worked on editing and contributing to Denver Slutwalk’s “Slutidarity” zine; writing and producing the zines “Pink Lighters” and “Lucky 13;” as well as creating visual art.
Website | Facebook | Instagram
Rachel Bard
Tinley Park, IL
Rachel Bard is a cartoonist and illustrator who loves monsters, sad stories, and small press publishing. She spends her time making comics, inventing strange new animals, and assembling an endless amount of tiny books.
Rio Burton
Loveland, CO
Rio Burton is a freelance illustrator. She studied and lived in the UK for 6 years, earning a BA Degree in Illustration in 2011 & M.A. in 2016. She traveled the world before settling down in Colorado, USA. Rio is passionate about creating art for fantastical stories and characters for books, comics, games and other various illustration projects. Rio is the sole creator for her comic Lucid Dreaming.
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter
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River MaKenzi
Missouri
River, a Kansas City Native, has been an artist from day one. She comes from a family full of artistic a type personalities and has expressed herself through various art forms and mediums her whole life. Over the last few years her style has developed into a world of lines, colors, shapes, and patterns… Some have called her work a geometric playground. She associates color and shape with emotion. Each piece is a visual representation of the feelings bouncing around in her head. She is heavily inspired by Frida kahlo, keith haring, takashi murakami, Yayoi kusama, and local artist Hayveyah mcgowan. Currently, she is building the foundation for her non-profit organization one mic stand kc that focuses on arts and education in minority communities as well as curating the gallery at the best vegan spot in kansas city, happy apple cafe. Her passion has always been art, exposing others to the healing powers of art, providing opportunities and resources for artists, and creating spaces for art. Stay connected with her through instagram @rivermakenziyoung and @onemicstandkc
Roexeart
Longmont, CO
Roexeart is a Colorado native who’s work focuses on women, nature and at times politics. She works with hand printing zines on her miniature linoleum press or hand binding zines at times to put a bit of herself into each zine. She likes to use comedy in her work and really just enjoys the process of creating and sharing with others. On a personal note she loves hot chocolate, cats, and plants.
SAP Press
Denver, CO
SAP Press is half art collage, half nonfiction, and half fiction, with subject matter ranging from ecology to decolonization to capitalism to sci-fi to human rights to ancient history. Breaking down barriers between imagination, science, metaphysics, and past and future history.
Sean Leftwich
Longmont, CO
Sean Leftwich is an artist living in Longmont, CO. His work ranges from drawings, to new media, to laundromat art shows, to compiling receipt drawings made at his job at a grocery store into a zine. For creative inspiration, he is largely interested in mundane objects, sacrificial pits, laundry, and wizards.
Self-published. Title: My Mind’s Eye: Poetry and Visual Art on Social Justice, Philosophy and Identity.
Boulder, CO
My Mind’s Eye is an interdisciplinary book that weaves visual poetic creations and original paintings made by Topaz Hooper. It touches on topics of the author’s living growing up in a queer friendly household, life at a predominately white college, love, heartbreak, culture and politics.
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Shop
Shop Destruya
Denver, CO
Shop Destruya is a collection of all things Latinx, feminist, and fandom culture. You can find flair, fanzines, apparel, and other goodies all designed by Natalia.
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Tumblr
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sloth.chan & It’s Raining Color
Denver, CO
sloth.chan & It’s Raining Color are two local illustrators from the Denver area. Meg (sloth.chan) is a science nerd who creates educational zines and illustrations. Anna (It’s Raining Color) is a cyberpunk enthusiast who runs a charity webzine for new artists.
Facebook | Instagram (sloth.chan) | Instagram (It’s Raining Color)| Tumblr
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Slutwalk Denver
Denver, CO
Slutwalk Denver— an annual rally, march and speak-out— is based on the premise that rape and sexual violence is never the survivor’s fault, and that no one is ever “asking” to be raped or assaulted. We are demanding an end to sexual violence in our community and creating an empowering community of support for survivors. Led by sex workers, womxn and femmes of color, queer and trans people, and survivors, we organize and host events year-round to dismantle rape culture, white supremacy, heteropatriarchy, whorearchy, colonialism, and all forms of oppression. We will work continuously to form a community of support, empowerment, and direct action for survivors, sex workers, and advocates; and to put an end to rape culture. Our zine ‘Slutidarity’ focuses on themes such as sex work, sex positivity, body liberation, queer and trans sexuality, sexual assault, sexual liberation, and activism – created by slutty activists, organizers, writers, and artists.
Sofie Birkin
Denver, CO
Sofie is a queer British artist who plays with color and shape to represent a diverse range of bold characters in bright, playful illustrations. She draws queer and trans inclusive sex positions for Cosmopolitan UK, and has worked with local and national clients such as Playboy magazine, Thrillist and Bust. She recently co-illustrated the upcoming drag history book ‘The Art of Drag’ for Nobrow Press. Her first zine, ‘Sapphists and Amazons’, was created with writer Jasmine Eilidh, and celebrates lesser-known queer heroes through history.
Solid Mercury
Denver, CO
Poems from performers at The Mercury Café combined with collage
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Spacecase Kid
Denver, CO
Girl, 27, store clerk by day, comics writing hermit by night.
Likes to create abstract or poetic mini-narratives that center around themes of mental illness, relationships, and inner landscapes. In her zines and comics, she hopes people find a space where they can engage with narratives of what it really is to be human and deepen their own connections with the people and the world around them.
When not writing silly, angsty mini-comics or singing sad songs with Trash Heap, she can be found aspiring to be a space pirate, getting lost in Wikipedia tangents, and eating way too many jelly candies.
Spit Poet Publishing
Boulder, CO
Spit Poet is a mobile community publishing company that seeks to educate artists on self publishing as well as shed light on local and international poets in our submissions based flagship publication Spit Poet Zine!
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Etsy
Sunny and Windy Day
Salt Lake City, UT
Saeko is an animator, graphic designer and a zinester. She makes mostly children-friendly illustrated storybooks about animals and other creatures. She also makes Halloween stickers and greeting cards.
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Super Cool and Stuff
Salt Lake City, UT
Ricky Vigil has been making the autobiographical comic zine Super Cool and Stuff since 2011. It’s mostly about sitting on the couch with his wife. He also makes some short fiction comics about monsters and people in ska bands–not necessarily at the same time. Sometimes, he even makes zines about music. Also also, he helps organize Grid Zine Fest in Salt Lake City!
Website | Instagram | Grid Zine Fest
Suspect Press
Denver, CO
Suspect Press is a Denver publishing company that blends the raw energy of zine culture with the editorial sharpness and commercial reach of mainstream publications. We publish a quarterly arts and literature magazine that features poetry, short stories, essays, comics and artwork primarily from Denver, CO, presented in a cleanly designed, vintage newsprint format, and delivered to various locations throughout the state, Suspect Press also publishes novels and comic books, and presents various music, literature and stand-up comedy events around the Denver and Boulder areas.
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
Swamphouse Press
Fayetteville, AR
Swamphouse Press makes zines about the intersection of queer and nerd interests.
Taco Tuesday Comics
Kansas City, MO
Every Tuesday night we go to a dive bar with a Taco Tuesday special and draw comic zines, aiming to finish one before we are done eating and drinking. Our core group is 2 artists, Catherine Grimes, originally from Denver, a Kansas City Art Institute graduate with a background in print making and fabrication, and Nick Bell, a graduate of English from The University of Kansas and a published poet. Other artists frequently join us on Tuesdays to draw. Our project started in early 2018 and we have drawn over 100 zines since then, self published a book and a couple of chapbooks. We sell these along with stickers and other art. We started doing alternative comics festivals late last year, though we have long been fans of alternative and independent comics.
Taylor Design Collective, LLC
Denver, CO
IAN TAYLOR is an award winning illustrator that makes apparel, comics, zines, public art installations, paintings, screen prints, and pretty good ramen. TDC is his label where he and his degenerate friends make art and act up. Ian lives in Denver and sells merchandise in CO, TX and CA.
Website | Taylor Design Collective Instagram | Ian Taylor Instagram
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Thane Benson
Denver, CO
Thane is an award-winning comic book artist and writer. He is the creator of the adventure comic book series Quick The Clockwork Knight, the infernal mystery graphic novel Burnt, and the ongoing web noir serial HellHole. Thane’s other comic book work include Hook, Lynn, & Sinker: The Misadventures of a Pirate Trio and Mr Skizz; The World’s Worst Kindergarten Teacher. Known for his hyper-detailed art, humor, and creative storytelling, Thane is passionate about making comics as fun as possible. His newest comic, Quick The Clockwork Knight and The Pyramid of Doom, an all-ages, choose your own adventure comic book, won the “Best of Colorado” award at the Dink Comic Book Convention in 2019.
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter | Patreon
The Art Warrior
Centennial, CO
The Art Warrior is a comic created by Scott Murphy. He is a martial artist who decided to add art into his work to create something unique and unlike ever before. His work includes comic books, such as the Art Warrior, Taxi of the City Styx, and Skraggs. He also hosts live nunchaku painting, where he creates parts of his mixed media illustration. Scott’s ultimate goal is to touch and empower the world through his art.
Website | Facebook | Instagram
The Barbosa Twins
Denver, CO
The Barbosa Twins are Denver local artists who have been writing zines and mini-comics for about six years. Using hand drawn or found imagery from websites like craigslist, these two explore the liminal space between being happy and feeling sad. Some of their zine topics include self help, relationships, and their mutual love of Adam Sandler. Jazzmyn and Taylor met on the first day of sixth grade in the line to join the Renaissance Club. When the twins are not making zines, you can typically find them on their porch, roasting their friends.
Website | Instagram | Jazzmyn’s Tumblr | Taylor’s Tumblr
The Hermetic Circle
Denver, CO
The Hermetic Circle is an eclectic art zine with an occult focus. It was founded by two artists and is currently published in Denver Colorado. Each issue of T.H.C. features original art, poetry, essay excerpts from prominent thinkers, explorations of hermetic principles, the tarot, reflections upon the spiritual nature of existence, and more! To learn more about our zine and the artists who create it, please check out our Instagram page.
The Talbot-Heindl Experience
Denver, CO
The Talbot-Heindl Experience is a tiny company with big aspirations to do everything creative under the sun. The Talbot-Heindl Experience is really whatever Chris (they/them) and Dana (he/his) Talbot-Heindl decide that it is! They are most known for their quarterly submission-based art and literature compzine, The Bitchin’ Kitsch, but dabble with perzines and comics (Chris & Crampus, Unexceptional Oddball, What to Expect When You’re Expecting to Birth Your Own Uterus, Chrissplains Nonbinary Advocacy to Cisgender People), design random pun illustration they think are pretty funny, and host chapbook competitions to provide an opportunity for other creatives. Chris is currently working on a graphic novel series called The Story of Them about what it’s like to be nonbinary in a very gender binary world.
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Patreon
These Are Collages
Miami, FL
Originally from San Francisco, Miami-based multidisciplinary artist, KT is best known for her analog collages. Inspired by gender politics, social unrest, historical and current events, Katie’s artwork is subtle and thought provoking. Her work has been featured in galleries across South Florida, including the Mize Gallery in St. Petersburg, and a pop-up exhibit at the Superchief Gallery during Miami Art Basel in 2018.
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Tinto Press
Denver, CO
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Tiny Spoon Lit Mag ft. Sharon Cole
Boulder, CO
Tiny Spoon is a bite-size experimental literary magazine created by Chris Chady and Stephanie Hempel. Sharon Cole is their friend and a true zine inspiration. They will be sharing a table filled to the brim with zine glory, lit mag brilliance, and hidden magic.
Tiny Spoon Website | Facebook | Instagram | Nickeynickers Website
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Todd Tillinghast
Denver, CO
Tucson Zine Fest
Tucson, AZ
Tucson Zine Fest is a community-oriented one-day event featuring the self-published and hand-made work of artists and authors in the Tucson area, hosted annually at music venue 191 Toole in downtown Tucson.
Violetta
Denver, CO
I work to develop anti-oppressive, anti-carceral, and anti-violent educational and inspirational zines. My work rests of the shoulders of so many other powerful people whose life’s work has been to pave the road I am so fortunate to walk along.
Wanderweird
Ward, CO
WANDERWEIRD is an esoteric comic book artist and painter who focuses on the border between the sacred and nerdy, writing and illustrating meta-mythological comic books and painting large-format mandalas based on classic video games.
Website | Facebook | Instagram
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Wayward Studios
Brighton, CO
Wayward Studios is a creative partnership between Crystal M. Henderson & Emily R. Gillis. Together, they write and draw a variety of comics including ongoing titles such as Jikoshia as well as minicomics like A Day in the Life of My Cats and Tikoloshe. Though they tackle many different genres, the team has a fondness for fantasy and female-driven stories.
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
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Wig Shop
Denver, CO
Wig Shop is a Denver-based publisher and curated webstore specializing in zines, artist’s books, original art and comics, with a focus on international publications. We aim to inspire artists and collectors and spark passion for creators and their content.
“Let us do something, while we have the chance!”
Will Betke-Brunswick @transboycomics
Boulder, CO
Will makes all sorts of comics (queer, autobiographical, surreal, funny, informative, sad) and is an MFA student at California College of the Arts. Will mentors trans* youth and loves friends and math.
wwmairs
Denver, CO
wwmairs is a bookmaker, photographer and occasional poet of small verse. His work focuses on smallnesses and seeing beauty in the commonplace.
Zane Barrow
Ogden, UT
Zane is a writer and occasionally an artist making comics and zines in Ogden Utah. While he occasionally writes about squirrels that smoke, his existential anxiety, or toxic masculinity, he can’t avoid writing about monsters or other spooky things.