Books in hand

River Heights

St. Vital

Independent comics publisher Nicholas Friesen is intent on making his mark.

When Friesen first launched Inservice Comics in 2022, it was a means of getting his own work out to the world. The author, illustrator, musician and animator is no stranger to the do-it-yourself ethos at the heart of indie media, having played in bands, put out records, zines and graphic novels for years. He’s even released some compilation albums and original music on the Inservice Records label.

But now the 43-year-old, is putting his years of experience in the indie comic world behind titles by authors and illustrators from across Canada.

“I really like the comics community, meeting people at shows and online,” the Dakota Collegiate alumnus said. “This is a way to test the waters of working with other people, a way to lift them up while also upraising my own work. It was an easy way to get others involved.”

After publishing a pair of indie comics anthologies, The Set List and First Dates, which featured short, one- to four-page comics from artists around the world, Inservice Comics is set to publish a full line of autobiographical titles, from zines to comic books to graphic novels, from Canadian artists this spring.

“It’s been like, ‘What do I like and what do I want this publishing company to be?’” Friesen said. “I like autobiographical stuff, I like black-and-white graphic novels – which is also more affordable to print.”

Titles include Dancing with the Sheyd, a 260-page graphic novel about growing up Jewish and queer in Winnipeg by writer/artist Rotem Anna Diamant, who now calls Victoria, B.C. home; All Stripes, a 130-page graphic novel from Toronto cartoonist Georgia Grieve; and Vivisect, a 150-page graphic novel from Toronto cartoonist Vivi Partridge, among others.

“We have some indie people who have been doing it for a while, some who are just coming together, putting out their first or second book. That’s really what I want Inservice to be — a very boutique, low-run, 200-copies-per-edition kind of press,” Friesen said. “If you’re doing shows and you want to get into shops, this might be the publisher for you.”

One of those projects is Funarama Photo Scene, the debut zine from a local queer Métis artist who goes by urchindisco. The project collects photos taken in Vancouver, B.C., using only an instant camera.

“These are photos I took living in B.C., capturing spontaneous moments throughout,” the Corydon-area resident said. “Some are double exposure, which is tricky to do with instant cameras.”

Currently, urchindisco is also at work on a comic, and hopes to publish it with Inservice in 2027.

“It will be about my daily life living in Vancouver, like going to the beach on Christmas day, hundreds of crows following me around. Capturing small moments,” they said. “My biggest inspiration is Simon Hanselmann, the Australian graphic novelist. In a similar vein, the main characters (of my comic) are a witch, a cat, and an owl. Because I’ll be taking inspiration from my real life, I want to make the characters like caricatures (of real people).”

All of Inservice Comics spring 2026 releases are now available for pre-order, and will be physically available May 15, when Friesen will be at the Montreal Comic Arts Festival, followed by the Toronto Comic Arts Festival in June. Winnipeggers can expect to see Friesen and many of the artists published by Inservice at the Prairie Comics Festival in September.

“We’ll have a nice little Inservice Comics showcase,” Friesen said. “I really want the focus on Canadian and Winnipeg creators. We need a little indie publisher focused on Canadian creators, like Drawn & Quarterly was doing in the ’80s and ’90s.”

While Friesen said some in the indie publishing world are content to interact primarily online, for Inservice, meeting people in person at comics festivals and fairs is key.

“This is the way to be actually reaching your audience. It’s actually getting books in hand. Holding the physical object is so much more interesting than seeing a book on the screen,” Friesen said. “This is the type of thing that we can be doing, as a publisher, is tabling. Having your book and your zine and your buttons and original art is so important. It shows anyone can do this.”

While Friesen is taking on the role of editor and publisher at Inservice Comics, he’s still writing and creating his own stories. His latest, Bark in Her Favour, a 30-page, black-and-white comic about a young woman who comes from Ontario to Manitoba to stay with her aunt, because her aunt thinks ghost of dead husband is haunting her, is also available this spring from Inservice.

“It’s loosely based on a story my grandma told me,” Friesen said.

Visit inservicecomics.com for more information.