Something extraordinary is happening in the world of indie comics: 2dcloud, which began as just another of the tens of thousands of creative projects hoping for crowd-funding on Kickstarter, is emerging as an impressive new force in graphic novel and comics publishing. The press has already been praised as “one of the most interesting and exciting independent publishers working today” by ARTINFO, “energetic and enthusi
astic” by Comics Alliance, and “adventurous and daring” by The Comics Beat. Now, they’re garnering even more well-deserved attention with the help of artist Austin English, whose upcoming anthology Gulag Casual is part of 2dcloud’s Winter Collection.
The Huffington Post interviewed English on March 29 about Gulag Casual, calling the book “the ultimate graphic novel for artists, weirdos and renegades.” English explained that for as long as he can remember, his style has “diverted greatly from the classic comic book formula.” Perhaps being somewhat of a “weirdo” is what drew English to 2dcloud. In an interview with comics blog Broken Frontier on March 4, he commended the publisher for “making a commitment to publish complicated work . . . with a great degree of dignity and beautiful production values.” He went on to call 2dcloud “an obvious place to give this work that I wanted to be treated with some care.” The care that 2dcloud shows to their artists throughout the publishing process is evident in the final results: striking, unconventional comics that push boundaries and bend genres.
Gulag Casual, an anthology collection of five short stories illustrated in various mediums, can be found alongside other titles in 2dcloud’s Winter Collection, including ITDN by Andrew Burkholder and Mirror Mirror #1, a collection edited by Blaise Larmee (2dcloud’s creative director) and featuring the work of various artists. To find out more about 2dcloud’s Winter Collection, click here.
2dcloud’s vibrant work is just beginning. Keep your eyes out for more surprises from this artistically rambunctious publisher, such as Turning Japanese by MariNaomi and Someone Please Have Sex With Me by Gina Wynbrandt, both of which come out on May 10!