When folks speculate about which comics publisher will be the next to shut down, Koyama Press isn’t among them because they are, simply, the best. But alas, it’s been announced by publisher Annie Koyama that the press will end in 2021 and she’ll switch to giving micro-grants to worthy projects. All the details are in this story by Tucker Stone.
I’m in transit today so I can’t write too much except to say, Annie Koyama is THE BEST. The best person in comics. And Koyama Press books are also the best, award winning, thought expanding, laugh out loud wonders. And this is sad times, although it’s not quite over:
“I will not tell the artists how to do anything,” Koyama said. “There are no strings attached. Once I decide to work with an artist, as I have always done with the press, I put enough trust in them and their project not to interfere. They don’t need my creative help, they need money.”
How this next venture will work is still being formulated. Though the projects she supports will not be owned by Koyama, recipients of these “micro-grants” will be expected to fulfill their end of the bargain, whether if be self-publishing the project, offering a performance, or whatever Koyama and the participating party agree to.
Instead of mourning the end of a beautiful thing, I guess we should just be grateful we ever saw it, and grateful that a person with the integrity, taste and kindness of Annie Koyama ever stopped by our little world.
We still have a few years to go though, so let’s make the best of it and repeat, Annie Koyama is THE BEST.
She truly is the best.
I’m not familiar with Koyama. What titles has she published?
NOOOOO!! This is soooo sad!! Booo!!!
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