Kan・COMMISSION OPEN

October newsletter is up! This time I got to talk about various comic-related events I've participated thorough Spring - Summer 2026, and more! I hope these reports can be useful for any working artist hoping to reach out more in their community in Vietnam. kohiu.kit.com/posts/there-...

Please do not apply to Shortbox Comic Fair. Here's a thread:

This is to remind long-time supporters of Shortbox the kind of behavior Zainab has behind the scenes, how she treats your favorite artists, and why so many of us decided to keep silent: it is to protect ourselves but also to protect the reputation of Shortbox.

Please do not apply to Shortbox Comic Fair. Here's a thread:

- these are organized by people who simply liked the idea of having more comics. While sympathizing with Zainab's background - a brown Muslim woman who has experienced the worst parts of the comics industry -

Please do not apply to Shortbox Comic Fair. Here's a thread:

I felt the same way: people turning a blind eye to Steam’s monopoly and their first reaction being "You'd have other vendors/publishers to pitch to". While SBCF is not a monopoly, it’s still the most well-known online comic fair in English. Artists have very little to no avenue to pitch their comic,

Please do not apply to Shortbox Comic Fair. Here's a thread:

Conventions in Vietnam are... very sparse especially for art and comics people, to put it lightly. If this happened in gamedev, it'd be much easier for me to find outlets to speak out. I feel especially annoyed... and angry that artists have been such pushovers that we allow any level of micro or

Please do not apply to Shortbox Comic Fair. Here's a thread:

During this period, she had proceeded to erase all of my involvement with SBCF'25. I believe this is a silencing PR tactic she had used with other artists with smaller voices. As for my comic currently, it's already done and has been translated into Vietnamese, -

Please do not apply to Shortbox Comic Fair. Here's a thread:

In mid August, Zainab got back to me to tell me that my comic is ineligible for submission because it's 'incomplete', and she demanded a drop out fee from me. It completely took me by surprise.

Please do not apply to Shortbox Comic Fair. Here's a thread:

During this period I didn’t have any income from commissions or freelance, I wanted to put my all into the comic even if the sales in October were close to nothing. All the risks were on the artists who couldn’t get any pay for the comic making period, while the organizer had little risk on it if -

Please do not apply to Shortbox Comic Fair. Here's a thread:

- but copy-pasted a statement from the participant guidebook about "exhibiting work post-Shortbox" (to summarize, we're not allowed to lower our prices or put up the comic for free immediately after the fair ends, an example can be seen here, sorry for QRT again).

Please do not apply to Shortbox Comic Fair. Here's a thread:

- or say anything against her decision throughout the fair. She was dictating our tone in both public and private spaces. As for my case, I only communicated with Zainab via email. I tried to be as transparent with my progress as possible, though I was often met with a dismissive tone.

Please do not apply to Shortbox Comic Fair. Here's a thread:

I was among the participants that were going to exhibit my comic at SBCF 2025. I applied to this fair due to its reputation and very few, almost no bad press about it. The only example I could find is the organizer's anti-competition statement here. (sorry for QRT, Duke)

Fanbox is also doing a lottery to pick trial creators to test out limited time print code (eg Lawson print). It'd help illustrator artists like me since we can't afford to pack & ship prints, but still would like supporters have the means to display prints of my works without copyrights infringing