A new publishing company is looking to fill the gap for local comic creators.

Cartoonist Kevin Woolridge is launching Heavy Sweater Comics, a publishing company for comic books made in Newfoundland and Labrador by local artists.

Woolridge has been making comics since he was a child and says the publishing company felt like a natural evolution after self-publishing comics a decade ago. He says the pandemic brought him back to cartooning

He says during the pandemic, his theatre career was put on hold, so he decided to start making comics again and take the publishing side a step further.

Woolridge says there are talented creators in the local community and he is hoping Heavy Sweater Comics can help get their work out there.

He says cartooning can be a very isolating profession and not having a dedicated publisher is tough for anyone looking to get into the business. He’s hoping Heavy Sweater will fill that niche.

The company will officially launch in November.