Features

The Editors | May 1, 2026

Paper Airplane Vol. 2 cover illustration by Kaitlin Brito

Today on TCJ we are pleased as punch to bring you an excerpt from Paper Airplane, a new magazine of comics, long-form writing, games, puzzles, and other sorts of things you like. Paper Airplane Vol. 1 began as a fundraiser for Refugees.org, you can now find both print and digital editions of Vol. 2 here. From the publisher's press release:

“Like Highlights, but for adults.” This is how I once described what my ideal magazine would be like. As soon as I said it, I knew I had to make it exist.

It’s obvious that there is an increasing craving for independent media created by humans for humans. Every single page in Paper Airplane is made for the reader—you—to enjoy. Not to feed the algo or fill space with content.

The whole point of the magazine is to celebrate human creativity and natural beauty—to revel in all the quirks and wonders and small moments that come from the inefficiency of real life.

No cynicism. No ads. No A.I.

Thank you to Paper Airplane editor and founder Nick Norlen for sharing this excerpt with The Comics Journal. Below you'll find some of the comics from Vol. 2, featured here are works by K. Wroten, Navied Mahdavian, and Maris Wicks: