While its ending is a shame, the magazine, over its brief life, has managed to produce a number of stunning and unique comic books. And the things it once set out to subvert remain standing. Island Issue 1, intro page, by Brandon Grahamīut now, the magazine is shuttering, the recent Issue 15 being its last. The goal was to radically shake up the comics industry, which it certainly achieved.
To put out a book like this was ambitious, and to do so nearly every month, even more so. It contained no advertisements, it boasted a mammoth page count, and it was an anthology - far from the most popular format. With an interest in bringing together authors from around the world for comics, interviews, illustrations, and even prose, Island represented a distinct break with the contemporary comics scene. The AV Club described it as a “bold, exciting risk” and Nate Patrin at The Comics Journal opined that “ the anthology highlights the ways comics can engage and affect creators in real life, how they can build community and expand aesthetics and philosophies.” The magazine boasts an impressive roster of contributors, including a number of the most challenging and compelling cartoonists working today, so the excitement with which each issue was greeted came as no surprise. When the comics magazine Island launched in 2015, it did so to quite a bit of fanfare. Island Issue 1, cover, by Brandon Graham (all images courtesy of Image Comics)
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