Now Presenting the latest, greatest mini-comics
Each year the Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo enthusiastically supports self-published comics by awarding MICE Mini-Grants to independent creators. We are thrilled to celebrate the hard work and talents of our exhibitors with MICE Mini-Grants. MICE Mini-Grants offer funding to help creators print their work, provide focused marketing and promotional support, and a top-notch distribution channel for their comics thanks to our partner Radiator Comics.
our partners
We continue our rewarding partnership with Radiator Comics, which offers winning entries an open opportunity for retail and online distribution, and Brookline Booksmith, one of New England's premier independent bookstores.
MINI-GRANT 2025 Showcase
Congratulations to all of our MICE Mini-Grant winners of 2025! These award-winning selections will be available for purchase at the exhibitors' tables and (most) later this year from Radiator Comics.
Brains
Alexandra Gallant - Table 52A
A comic love letter to the brain: a visual exploration of some of the amazing things brains can do and why thinking for yourself is the most powerful thing you can do in the face of AI.
Homebound #5
Carlos Jambrina - Table 7B
Homebound No. 5 concludes the epic adventure of the toddler Ona across space and time! The puzzle pieces fall into place as the various threads come together. At the core of the story is exploring one’s “mission” or purpose, and how it can change over time, and what constitutes a family.
Mutineers
Catalina Rufin - Table 1B
On a road trip to Western Massachusetts, Zephyr is excited to see where their partner, Wallace, grew up, and play their favorite CDs for him. But for Wallace, the trip means revisiting his pre-transition, pre-sobriety life. After a harrowing confrontation with Wallace's estranged family, the purpose of their road trip becomes sharply clear--accept the ghosts of the past, or keep running away.
For mature readers.
Love Fool #2
Chelsea Akpan - Table 72B
While Maria waits for a response from the Sacred Hearts Club, Frida is forced to be in the limelight and Tiffany can't wait to be a star. The second episode of LOVEFOOL!, an ongoing satirical, romantic-comedy. LOVEFOOL follows the exploits of Maria, a girl whose only wish is to find the love of her life. When she pleads to God to give her a sign, the Sacred Hearts Club appears in an ad promising the very thing she yearns for.
Gatherwing
Clover Ajamie - Table 8A
Gatherwing is an ongoing series about teenagers, fairies, and teenage fairies. It was nominated for a 2025 Minicomic Award in the Fantasy category. This edition features a new, ten-page story about the fairies celebrating a winter holiday centered around staghorn sumac and how, like a number of types of birds, fairies rely on it during the winter months.
Ducky The comic
Dillan McGahey - Table 9B
Ducky returns home to the Small Pond after moving out to the Big Pickle five years ago. He left with one thing on his mind- becoming a star. Returning to his small town brings up old conflicts as Ducky is forced to confront what he had left behind.
the big bang
Ednaur Kuntman - Table 21A
The Big Bang is a story on grieving conveyed through space metaphors. Loss marks a turning point in one’s life, reshaping the inner world for good. The ones who remain are left to not only move on but search for new meaning in life. To mirror that experience, readers tear out pages as they go, turning the book into a physical act of letting go.
The ocean eats the universe
Faye Thomas - Table 7A
The Ocean Eats the Universe follows Odessa and Maya, two portrait painters who travel through space and time to paint all the most interesting beings in the universe.
Odessa is an insecure, teen apprentice trying to discover her strengths as a person and an artist. Maya is a very famous painter with a prolific career, who has to learn to be a proper teacher for Odessa, while struggling with the slow loss of her own eyesight. On their journey they will encounter: strange clients, giant sharks, evil art dealers, secret ocean societies, love, loss, hypnotic art stores, wise old hags, and so much more!
The Ocean Eats the Universe is a multi-media style comic created by combining hand-made miniature props with digital illustrations.
Homecore
K H - Table 19A
Ever heard of the Chinese Evangelical Underground? Well, Homecore is a glimpse into whatever that means. Growing up evangelical in mainland China gives you a sort of cultural psychosis. Getting baptized in a kiddie pool in someone’s backyard. Sending youth group PowerPoints on an end-to-end encrypted app. At some point, it becomes necessary to see your own home as the bizarre theme park it is, the foreignness of it all.
If I were a sandwich
Kit Fraser -Table 52B
If I Were a Sandwich" is a graphic medicine memoir dipped in daydreams, capturing the difficult, transformative experience of being thrust into The Sandwich Generation — caring simultaneously for two generations.
Sigil
Matthew DeFelice - Table 44A
In this cozy cosmic horror story, a young woman copes with the stresses of the present day through escapism. This strategy backfires when she reads an occult tome that dramatically alters her perception of reality.
Guys who suck at dating
Richard Mercado - Table 50B
Here are a bunch of boys who sort of suck at dating. From hating his partner, wanting someone to pet you, to not telling a person what you think... the boys will be messy. Are you in for the ride?
Soothsayer (Take the wheel the night is young)
Ryan Davis - Table 17A
Soothsayer (Take the Wheel the Night is Young) is a dream-like poetry comic about an attic, Ouija board, beanstalk, soothsaying egg, and the courage to move. Each edition is hand-sewn.
Good grief
Sadie Levine - Table 16B
Two seemingly unrelated things come together in this 24-page Risograph comic: preteen angst and a spiritualist gated community. In her mid-twenties, Sadie meets with a psychic medium, and when asked who she would like to contact, she falters. Readers are transported back to middle school, where the story of a cringeworthy relationship unfolds. Years later, the former preteen lovers reconnect right before a sudden tragedy. Using the visual metaphor of a garden, the story shifts to a fantastical realm, leading to a journey of healing and self-discovery
Know not a man
C.S. García Martínez - Table 16B
Joanna Goralczyk is a scientist studying in-vitro spermatogenesis — in other words, creating sperm from scratch. When the director of her laboratory is found to have faked all his results, however, she is forced to abandon her PhD program. Jo sets out to perfect the method by herself, hoping to repair her reputation ... and perhaps start a family with her wife.