If you’ve been anywhere near comics social media today then you will no doubt have seen the outpouring of love for yesterday’s first Hackney Comic + Zine fair and its organiser Joe stone (also, of course, one of our 2019 broken Frontier ‘Six small press Creators to Watch‘). Thoughtfully curated, very carefully located and with a pre-publicity campaign that was machine-like in its well-oiled efficiency this was a very special day of genuine supportive comics community at London fields Arches in Hackney.

Creators, publishers, activists and punters came together in what was one of the most celebratory occasions I’ve had the pleasure to attend in all my many, lots of years of writing for BF. and maybe a lot of importantly this was a day when great work found new readerships. It was very evident that this was a fair that had pulled in a far larger audience than the normal diehard regulars and the room broken Frontier was tabling in was certainly packed all day.

For once I’m going to shut up and rather than write an substantial festival report I’m going to let the pictures below speak for themselves. They exude a sheer sense of happiness that is far a lot more eloquent in its communicative power than anything I write here could possibly be. We also have 25 HCZF reviews and interviews here for those wanting to catch up.

Thank you Joe! We’re going to be talking about this one for a very long time…

The hero of the day – Hackney Comic + Zine fair organiser Joe Stone

Punters start arriving in east London…

A heaving room 2 with Joe stone and WIP Comics at the forefront

Broken Frontier’s Jenny Robins and Holly Raidl at the BF table

Hat-based japery from Holly Raidl, Aleesha Nandhra, Andy Oliver and Olivia Sualdea

Broken Frontier remaining on-brand with Holly Raidl, Andy Oliver, Olivia Sualdea and Jenny Robins

A view from behind the exhibitor tables in room 1

Looking out from the Breakdown press table

The courtyard verified a popular space for enjoying those London fields Brewery beers

Veterans of the London indie comics scene – Andy Oliver, Megan Donnolley, John Miers, Sally-Anne Hickman and Sean Azzopardi

2019 broken Frontier ‘Six to Watch’ artist Aleesha Nandhra

2017 broken Frontier ‘Six to Watch’ artist Olivia Sullivan whose exceptional Fried Milk offered out at HCZf

2019 broken Frontier ‘Six to Watch’ artist Olivia Sualdea