20 Anthology Comic Themes: Curated Collection Concepts
Planning an anthology comic? Explore 20 themed collection ideas that unify multiple creators while allowing diverse interpretations and styles.
Anthology comics bring multiple voices to a shared theme. The best themes are specific enough to create cohesion but open enough to allow diverse interpretations. Here are 20 themes designed for memorable collections.
Place-Based Themes
1. Liminal Spaces
Stories set in transitional spaces—airports, waiting rooms, hallways, parking garages. Places of passage where brief encounters happen.
2. The Building
Multiple stories set in the same building—different apartments, different time periods, different genres. The structure unifies while stories diverge.
3. The Road
Travel stories—road trips, migrations, deliveries, escapes. Movement as a unifying element, destinations as diverse as contributors.
4. After Hours
Stories set in places after they close—museums at night, schools in summer, restaurants between shifts. What happens when the public leaves?
5. The Border
Stories set at borders—national, metaphorical, magical. What it means to be on the edge, between places, about to cross.
Time-Based Themes
6. The Hour
Stories that take place in exactly one hour. Real-time tension and focus, diverse genres and settings.
7. Last Days
Stories set during endings—last day of school, last shift at a job, last day of the world. How people spend their finals.
8. The Return
Stories about going back—to hometowns, to exes, to abandoned projects. What’s changed and what hasn’t.
9. Waiting
Stories about waiting—in line, for results, for someone who might not come. What happens in the pause before resolution.
10. Aftermath
Stories set after the dramatic event. The disaster happened yesterday; this is about today.
Concept-Based Themes
11. Inheritance
Stories about what’s passed down—possessions, traits, curses, expectations. What we receive and what we do with it.
12. The Lie
Stories centered on a lie—white lies, necessary lies, lies that become true. What we hide and why.
13. Translation
Stories about translation—between languages, cultures, generations, species. What’s lost and found in transmission.
14. The Favor
Stories about favors asked and owed. The economy of obligation and what it costs.
15. Mistaken Identity
Stories where someone is mistaken for someone else. Comedy, tragedy, and everything between.
Genre-Bending Themes
16. Day Jobs
Genre characters at their day jobs. What does a wizard’s Monday look like? A ghost’s lunch break? A superhero’s performance review?
17. Origin Stories
Origin stories for the ordinary—how someone became a barista, how a friendship started, how a quirk developed. Mundane beginnings treated as mythic.
18. Love Letters
Stories presented as love letters—to places, people, activities, ideas. The form unifies while subjects vary wildly.
19. Instructions
Stories told as instructions—how-to guides, recipes, warning labels. What the instructions reveal about their context.
20. The Monster
Stories featuring monsters of all kinds—literal, metaphorical, internal, misunderstood. What we fear and why.
Anthology Organization Tips
Lead strong: Put a hook up front. First impressions set expectations for the collection.
Vary pacing: Alternate short and long pieces, intense and light, to give readers space to breathe.
Build to themes: Arrange stories so themes deepen through the collection, not just repeat.
End with resonance: Final pieces should feel like conclusions—even in a collection of standalones.
Coordinating Contributors
Clear guidelines help: Provide page counts, format specifications, and theme interpretation examples.
Diverse interpretations strengthen: Don’t push contributors toward similarity. The contrast is the point.
Credit carefully: Ensure every contributor is credited equally and accurately.
Set realistic deadlines: Anthology coordination is herding cats. Build in buffer time.
Assemble Your Anthology
Ready to bring multiple creators together? Multic’s collaborative platform is designed for group projects—perfect for managing anthology contributions while maintaining individual creative visions.
Related: Mini Comic Story Ideas and Collaborative Story Prompts