JESS JESS PRESS

Independent risograph press dedicated to uplifting marginalized artists! Based in Baltimore MD Shop comics, magazines, and print services at jessjesspress.com

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We are so excited to open submissions for our second issue of SICK FREAKS Magazine! SICK FREAKS is an independent riso magazine dedicated to uplifting marginalized artists working in comics! The theme this time around is HORROR 😈

💌 If you’re interested in collaborating, please send

a two page sample

a logline summing up your comic

an artist bio

and your contact info

to [email protected] with Issue 2 submission in the subject line.

📅 The submission deadline is 3/21/2026. For more details you can head over to jessjesspress.com/sick-freaks

Looking forward to seeing your work!

- the JESS JESS PRESS team

[jessjesspress]

The first ever issue of SICK FREAKS Magazine is now available online! Featuring 10 local artists, this issue is centered on the DC/Maryland/Virginia area. We hope you enjoy this love letter to the DMV as much as we enjoyed making it!!! We’ve brought this from baltimore to zinefests across the country and now you can get it delivered straight to you! Head over to jessjesspress.com/shop to purchase! :D

JESS JESS PRESS is committed to providing a platform for marginalized comic artists to shine. Stay tuned for more opportunities coming soon 👀

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💚🚬💜 FEATURED ARTIST: @grendel-menz

Grendel Menz is a mixed Filipino/white artist based in the southern US. He has a profound love of anything involving horror, the woods, fantasy, and family - especially the overlap!

Grendel contributed the beautiful cover! (But smoking is bad you guys)

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💚 🚋 💜 FEATURED ARTIST: Shurjo Mukhi

Shreya/shurjo mukhi is a Bengali multimedia artist that hopes to always create and reimagine with community-- to use art as a way to manifest healthy loves and ways of being in real and dream worlds. They enjoy using colors, textures, and a mix of medias in both finding and sharing their growing voice.

What does it mean to belong to a community? Shurjo's comic reflects on their place in the DMV as a transplant and our shared responsibilities to keep the Black and people of color communities that have been here for generations intact. The narrative flows like a stream of consciousness, tracing their commute from Maryland to their job in DC. It is a heartfelt nod to a local spot special to them but recently closed, as well as the community work that has been occurring across the DMV in recent years.

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💜 🌳 💚 FEATURED ARTIST: Christine Zito

Christine Zito is a printmaker and illustrator, graduated with her BFA from MICA 24. She works both digitally and traditionally, using the language and texture of block prints to inspire her work.

"The Tree Next to the Art Store" is a 2 page wordless comic inspired by the weird things Christine had seen on her breaks at work. It all starts with a beer left in the tree next to the art store.

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💚 🎸 💜 FEATURED ARTIST: Hal Malone

Hal is a butch illustrator currently based out of Durham NC. Hal loves representing queer relationships & fantasy in their work. You can find more work on Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr as @cicadasaint.

Hal contributed a a small comic about his time in the punk/music scene in Baltimore. The magic of the small moments in the city is like no place I’ve ever been, and my time spent there is something I want to return to every day.

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💜 🌮 💚 FEATURED ARTIST: @dawmoro

Rania otherwise known as Dawmoro, is a black illustrator born from Togolese parents, raised in Pittsburgh, and currently based in the DMV. They specialize in combining vibrant colors with playful and ironic concepts, exploring the link between adulthood and childhood.

They've contributed a 4 page comic food tour for the DMV area based on food establishments that they frequent with friends. Rania tried to put an emphasis on the public transport that they use to get around to encourage people who might be new or otherwise haven't explored the area yet to venture in a calm way that's realistic (to some degree) for someone that doesn't have a car.

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💚🐶💜 FEATURED ARTIST: @buppletea

Linda creates comics, zines, and illustrations to express personal experiences and explore the transformation that happens in close relationships. Her work is informed by an academic background in science, Chinese art, as well as scholarship in the humanities.

Linda contributed a 4 page mini comic about a system of subterranean passageways under the various buildings of Crystal City connecting several blocks in a now-closed shopping center, including a beloved puppet store. #comics#risograph#indiecomics#dmv#dc#urbanexploration

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💜🥂💚 FEATURED ARTIST: @robablo

Roland Boles, aka Robablo loves to write and illustrate action adventure comics and graphic narratives. His work focuses on absurdist comedy mixed with thrilling action sequences designed to keep readers at the edge of whatever surface they decide to sit on.

Roland contributed a 4 page comic telling the 100% true story of the mysterious Poe toaster and their legacy.

[jessjesspress]

FEATURED ARTIST: Stefani Vlusha

Stefani Vlusha is a horror comic artist making work ranging from character narratives to personal, exploring the constant stream of thoughts instead of pushing them away.

They’ve contributed a 2 page one-shot about the moment the crows that live on their building swarm daily, between 4:00pm to 7:00pm. As they pass their echoes suffocate your senses, taking your breath and sight with their sound.  

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3 color riso print -Bright red, Cornflower blue, and Yellow- of Benny from my webcomic Astrologer

which btw you can read on webtoon or tapas

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Oh printed with @jessjesspress

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Hey everyone! We’ve decided to extend the deadline to submit to SICK FREAKS to 2/20 meaning you have an extra week to send in you work!! For more information on submitting head to jessjesspress.com/sick-freaks

[jessjesspress]

We are so excited to open submissions for our debut issue of SICK FREAKS Magazine! SICK FREAKS is an independent riso magazine dedicated to uplifting marginalized artists working in comics! The first theme is the DMV area.

If you’re interested in collaborating, please send -a two page sample -a logline summing up your comic -an artist bio -and your contact info to [email protected] with Issue 1 submission in the subject line. The submission deadline is 2/13/2025.

For more details you can head over to jessjesspress.com. Looking forward to seeing your work!

the JESS JESS PRESS team