RENATE Comics

🪩 We proudly announce 👾 that the Berlin Comic Exchange 2025 zine is finally published and for sale @renatecomics ! The zine 📖 will also be for sale at the zine kiosk this weekend during the @crosscomix.rdam festival in Rotterdam, feel free to hop on by and get your copy! Aside from that, parts of the Berlin Comic Exchange project will be exhibited during the Cross Comix festival @dedoelenrotterdam , the festival will take place on 12-13 september and we welcome you all to come and check it out ✨🌷! 🫶🏽 A huge thank you to all 10 participating comic artists for sharing this experience with us and eachother! You are all so talented and look what a beauty of a zine we’ve made all together; @mvictoria.rodriguez @celsteen @annailluco @moominmasha @dirtyliketheweeds @diedestudio @krgn @mblschonok @hoonova @brolandaland 💫 We look back with great graditude on the sweet memories shared and all the warm comic-hearts 💓 that are connected during this first edition of the Berlin Comic Exchange last February! We can’t wait to meet all of you again next weekend or in the near 🌱 future! ❣️ This collaboration has been made possible thanks to; alea rodriguez (co-founder, organizer & host), @burning__desk (co-founder, organizer & host) in collaboration with Renate Comics and Cross Comix. Graphic design publication by: alea rodriguez and Saskia van Amstel (AKA: Burning Desk), Publisher: Renate Comics (2025) © All rights reserved by the participating artists, the publisher, the Graphic Designers & founders mentioned above ✌🏾. #zinesforsale #smallpublisher #renatecomics #crosscomix #comicbook #comiclovers #selfpublishcommunity #collaborativecomics #crosscomixfestival #moderngraphics

Renate suchte und suchte – irgendwo plätscherte Wasser – ein passender Abzweig vom Hauptkanal? Nein, wieder nichts – nur ein viel zu trockenes ungastliches Rohr! Seit Renate aus ihren schön gemauerten, kühn gewungenen Gewölbe durch einen Starkregen herausgeschwemmt worden war suchte sie eine neue Bleibe. Aber nur ein Betonrohre hinter den anderen, billige Zuleitungen aus Plastik und wo sollte sie den Platz finden für ihre Käse-Zines, die Alben-Sammlung über die Große Pest, die Floh-Mangas und die die etwas undergroundige Rattenschwanz-Siebdruck-Sammlung? Da hörte sie aus der Dunkelheit ein leises Raschel und… Ab 2026 braucht die Renate-Comicbibliothek einen neuen Raum. Rettet Renate! Renate searched and searched - water was splashing somewhere - a suitable branch off the main canal? No, nothing again - just a much too dry, inhospitable pipe! Since Renate had been washed out of her beautifully crafted, boldly curved vaults by a heavy downpour, she had been looking for a new place to stay. But only one concrete pipe after the other, cheap plastic feed pipes and where was she supposed to find space for her cheese zines, the collection of albums about the Great Plague, the flea mangas and the somewhat underground rat-tail screen printing collection? Then she heard a soft rustling sound from the darkness and... From 2026, the Renate comic library will need a new room. Save Renate! Renate-Bild: Marissa Krieger @kriegerlein #rettetrenate #saverenate

Hört hört!! Die Öffnungszeiten für den Samstag wurden geändert (schon geltend ab morgen), viele werden diese vielleicht verschlafen, aber wie man so schön sagt: der frühe Vogel fängt den Wurm. In dem Fall ist der Vogel die Renate und der Wurm seid ihr. Da wir umplanen müssen und unbedingt Leute brauchen für Schichten mussten wir die Zeit leider ein bisschen kürzen. Hoffentlich kommt ihr trotzdem vorbei! Die Öffnungszeiten müssen auf jeder anderen Plattform noch aktualisiert werden. Habt bitte Geduld mit uns <3 [English] Hear hear!! The opening hours for Saturday were changed (effective tomorrow), many may oversleep during this time, but as the saying goes: the early bird catches the worm. In this case, the bird is Renate and the worm is you. Since we have to reschedule and absolutely need people for shifts, we unfortunately had to shorten the time a bit. Hopefully you'll still be able to come by! Opening hours still need to be updated on every other platform. Please be patient with us <3

New in our library! “Dream of the Bat” by @joshuahallsimmons and @pat.keck In this demolition of the superheroic myth, Josh Simmons paints the portrait of a hero alienated by his own convictions and ready to use extreme and deviant means to change a society he considers perverted. If he was an example, or even a source of hope for the weak, he is now only a shadow of what he once represented and has abandoned all reason and nobility to sink into a devouring madness and depression. A perverse character who has abandoned all morality, is the Bat still on the side of good? Published by @themansionpress

New in our library! “The past is a grotesque animal” by @tommi_pg A rich collection/scrapbook of over two dozen short stories, plus diary entries, photos, and other images fueled by a propensity to understand the way we relate to each other, and told with a visual and lyrical beauty — and raw emotion — that collectively reaffirms the power of art. Tommi Parrish is an Australian trans cartoonist and one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary comics and graphic novels. Balancing emotional honesty with a keen awareness of the human condition, Parrish navigates fear, loneliness, identity, body politics, queer desire, masculinity, fear, and the ever-fluid nature of all human relationships. The Past is a Grotesque Animal collects over two dozen short stories of varying lengths, interspersed with ephemera from Parrish’s own life: diary entries, photographs, illustrations, paintings, and more. Parrish’s autobiographical elements inform their voice as a writer and the ways their characters constantly find one another adrift in their own seas of experience, current situations, trauma, and desire. How those characters coexist, how they are complicated by outside forces, and internal ones, affect our hardwired need for meaningful connection. The book also showcases Parrish’s singular and assured visual style, blending clear lines, expressionistic character designs and gorgeously complex, hand-painted color. Published by @fantagraphics

Woo and Judy Greta Moore join eight other artists from Berlin and the Netherlands to create a zine in four days at the Berlin Comic Exchange 2026, at the Renate Comics Library in Berlin. Woo is an illustrator and comic artist from Korea. They enjoy creating stories that explore the lives of women and genderqueer individuals. Judy Greta Moore is the author of the trans memoir comic "Everything is Somewhat Repaired," which was awarded a Berlin Senate Comics Endowment in 2023, as well as recent books with WEIRD and Moom comics publishers. Her work has been shown in many exhibitions from Berlin to Londen to Malmö. The Berlin Comic Exchange zine will be curated and published after the exchange and all the work will be on show during the Cross Comix festival on Friday 11th and Saturday 12th of September 2026 in De Doelen in Rotterdam, NL. So many thanks to organizers Saskia van Amstel aka Burning desk and alea rodriguez at the Renate Comics Library, Tucholskystraße 32, Berlin. 📍May 8–11, Renate Comics Library, Tucholskystraße 32, Berlin. ➤ follow Judy Greta Moore: @ignatzhoch ➤ follow Woo: @young_jwoo ➤ follow Renate Comics: @renatecomics #berlin #renatecomics #rotterdam

Adam Pol and Sterre Richard will join eight other artists from Berlin and the Netherlands and create a zine in four days at the Berlin Comic Exchange 2026, at the Renate Comics Library in Berlin. Adam pol (SK) is an illustrator and comic artist from Slovakia, currently living and working in Berlin. They make comics and draw, mostly about their lived queer experiences, mixed with stories from local folklore and myths. Sterre Richard (NL) makes a combination of queer love stories, weird knight horror stories and fantasy comics for kids: ‘creating comics is a way to get to know myself’. The Berlin Comic Exchange zine will be curated and published after the exchange and all the work will be on show during the Cross Comix festival on Friday 11th and Saturday 12th of september 2026 in De Doelen in Rotterdam, NL. So many thanks to organizers Saskia van Amstel aka Burning desk and alea rodriguez at the Renate Comics Library, Tucholskystraße 32, Berlin. 📍May 8–11, Renate Comics Library, Tucholskystraße 32, Berlin. ➤ follow Adam Pol: @adamski0_o ➤ follow Sterre Richard: @studiosterric ➤ follow Renate Comics: @renatecomics #berlin #renatecomics #rotterdam

Ihre Borke juckte langsam wie wild, langsam tauten ihre Bahnen wieder auf und ihr Stamm knarzte lustvoll. Überall brache ihr wie Pickel Knospen aus um dann schrillbunt zu erbrechen. Wenn nur nicht diese Köter wären, aber irgendwann würde Renate es ihnen mit den Wurzeln geben, oder dann im Herbst Früchte genau dann über ihnen abzuwerfen wenn… Auch etwas verholzt? Oder schon voll erblüht? So oder so kommt zum legendären, einzigartigen Renate Comic-Stammtisch! Wie immer um 19:00 Uhr in der Renate-Comicbibliothek Tucholskystraße 32, diesmal am Montag den 11. Mai! Diesmal mit Wimmelbild Release-Party von Caro zum 39. jährigen Jubiläums der Bolle-Stürmung in X-Berg am Maifeuertag. Her bark began to itch like mad, her channels slowly thawed out again, and her trunk creaked with delight. Buds burst forth like pimples all over her, only to burst open in a riot of colour. If only it weren’t for those mutt-like creatures, but eventually Renate would give them a taste of her roots, or perhaps in autumn she’d drop fruit right on top of them just when… A bit woody too? Or already in full bloom? Either way, come along to the legendary, one-of-a-kind Renate Comic Regulars’ Table! As always at 7 pm at the Renate Comic Library, Tucholskystraße 32, this time on Monday 11 May! This time featuring a Wimmelbild release party hosted by Caro to mark the 39th anniversary of the storming of the Bolle in X-Berg on May Day. Zeichnung/ drawing: @fantheoryonreality

Shawn Wannapat & Ellie Mc Guinness will join eight other artists from Berlin and the Netherlands and create a zine in four days at the Renate Comics Library in Berlin. Shawn Wannapat (THA) (they/them) is an illustrator/graphic designer from Bangkok, who has e been living in Berlin for eight years. A big theme in their work is commentary on gentrification and displacement in Berlin. Ellie Mc Guinness (EIR) is an Irish Illustrator and tattoo artist living in Rotterdam who often makes short, detailed pages that show part of their dream world. As a queer non binary artist, their work is centred on the relationship to their body and the desire to change oneself. The Berlin Comic Exchange zine will be curated and published after the exchange and all the work will be on show during the Cross Comix festival on Friday 11th and Saturday 12th of september 2026 in De Doelen in Rotterdam, NL. So many thanks to organizers Saskia van Amstel aka Burning desk and alea rodriguez at the Renate Comics Library, Tucholskystraße 32, Berlin. 📍May 8–11, Renate Comics Library, Tucholskystraße 32, Berlin. ➤ follow Shawn Wannapat: @der.shawn ➤ follow Ellie Mc Guinness: @suck_ants ➤ follow Renate Comics: @renatecomics #berlin #renatecomics #rotterdam Tagging: burning__desk, marijnvanderwaa, dasha.starostin, diedestudio, renatecomics, suckants, der.shawn Collab: suckants, der.shawn, renatecomics, burning__desk

Countdown to the Berlin Comic Exchange 2026. Ten artists from Berlin and the Netherlands will create a zine in a four day exchange in May. Today we feature artists Eva ten Cate and Maka! Eva ten Cate (NL) is an illustrator/image maker based in Zwolle, NL. Her work is usually about connecting with the organisms around us like trees, bugs and shells, and to see them as equals to us humans. Maka (FI) has lived in Berlin for 16 years now. She’s interested in personal themes such as emotions, feminism, relationships, encounters, sexuality, as well as the boundaries and freedoms imposed by society. Her first graphic novel ‘Rusinat Berliinin munkista’ has just been published. The Berlin Comic Exchange zine will be curated and published after the exchange and all the work will be on show during the Cross Comix festival on Friday 11th and Saturday 12th of September 2026 in De Doelen in Rotterdam, NL. So many thanks to organisers Saskia van Amstel aka Burning desk and alea rodriguez at the Renate Comics Library, Tucholskystraße 32, Berlin. 📍May 8–11, Renate Comics Library, Tucholskystraße 32, Berlin. ➤ follow Maka: @Makavirta ➤ follow Eva ten Cate: @eva.ten.cate ➤ follow Renate Comics: @renatecomics #berlin #renatecomics #rotterdam

Renate Comics Berlin & Cross Comix Rotterdam are teaming up again! Ten artists from the Netherlands and Berlin will create a zine in a four day exchange in May. They will work in teams and we’re happy to introduce the first couple, Anh Ngô and Angelie. Anh Ngô (NL) is an illustrator and comic artist who focuses on social-cultural subjects: her work is shaped by ongoing questions of belonging, distance, and memory. Angelie (DE) has worked as a character artist in gaming but she now branches out into comics again. We can't wait for the results! The zine will be curated and published after the exchange and all the work will be on show during the Cross Comix festival on Friday 11th and Saturday 12th of September 2026 in De Doelen in Rotterdam, NL. Big shoutout to the organisers and creative engines behind the exchange: Saskia van Amstel aka Burning desk and alea rodriguez from the Renate Comics Library, Tucholskystraße 32, Berlin. 📅 May 8 - 11 ➤ follow Anh Ngô: @anhenknst_ ➤ follow Angelie: @angeliekoe ➤ follow Renate Comics: @renatecomics #berlin #renatecomics #rotterdam

DIGITALER COMICSTAMMTISCH AM 4. MAI UM 20 UHR Im Mai stellt sich unser liebes Renate-Mitglied Caro, Künstlerinname "foxitalic", als Mentorin des digitalen Stammtischs der Comicbibliothek Renate vor. Wenn ihr ab und zu im Laden seid, kennt ihr vielleicht das ein oder andere ihrer bunteren und lustigeren Werke. Bisher hat foxitalic nur einen längeren Comic veröffentlicht, »die Welt ging immer unter«. Es geht in diesem Sachcomic um die Klima- und andere Krisen und um die Frage, ob apokalyptische Narrative angesichts der derzeit stattfindenden Umweltkatastrophe angemessen, übertrieben, hilfreich, oder deprimierend und kontraproduktiv sind. Außerdem wirkt Caro seit vielen Jahren als eine der Organisator*innen des Berliner Comicfestivals ComicInvasion mit. Teilnahme als Video-Call mit ANMELDUNG. Bitte schickt eine kurze EMAIL an augusto [dot] paim [at] gmail [dot] com (oder @paimaugusto ). Dieses Onlinetreffen wird nicht aufgenommen oder gestreamt, es ist nur für euch angemeldete Comic-Künstler*Innen. +++ DIGITAL COMICS ARTISTS MEETUP ON MAY 4, 8 PM This May, our dear Renate member Caro —who goes by the artist name "foxitalic"—will be serving as a mentor for the Renate Comic Library's digital meetup. If you've stopped by the shop from time to time, you might recognize one or two of her more colorful and humorous works. So far, foxitalic has published only one longer comic, "Die Welt ging immer unter" (The World Always Came to an End). This non-fiction comic deals with the climate crisis and other crises, and with the question of whether apocalyptic narratives—in light of the environmental catastrophe currently unfolding—are appropriate, exaggerated, helpful, or depressing and counterproductive. Caro has also been one of the organizers of the Berlin comic festival ComicInvasion for many years. Participation as video call with APPLICATION: please send an email to the Meetup coordinator Augusto (augusto [dot] paim [at] gmail [dot] com, or @paimaugusto ), he will send you the meeting link on the day. This online meeting will not be recorded or broadcast, it is only for you artists who are participating.