Good Cause – SMASH PAGES

Cartoonists confront the pandemic for a good cause in ‘Pandemix’

Dean Haspiel and Whitney Matheson spearhead an anthology benefiting the Hero Initiative.

Dean Haspiel and a group of cartoonists have used their downtime during the pandemic to create an anthology for a good cause.

Pandemix: Quarantine Comics in the Age of ‘Rona is a benefit anthology that’s raising money for the Hero Initiative. Haspiel is editing the book along with Whitney Matheson (USA Today’s Pop Candy blog), as well as contributing a story that features his character The Red Hook.

“When COVID-19 sparked a global pandemic and national quarantines, I worried about my creative colleagues,” Haspiel said. “Many of us lost freelance work, and the comic book industry shuttered for a while. But I felt compelled to rally cartoonists to confront the pandemic and make art out of it. Art that can help comic creators in need.”

Gerry Conway’s Skulls for Justice shirts raise $45,000 for Black Lives Matter so far

The Punisher co-creator uses the skull symbol ‘for the cause of equal justice and Black Lives Matter;’ the campaign runs through June 30.

The death of George Floyd and the protests against police brutality that followed have also once again put the spotlight on the use of the Punisher logo by police officers. The skull logo, often altered to include a blue line, has become a popular symbol with some members of law enforcement, with many websites selling bootleg merchandise.

While Disney hasn’t done anything (yet) to stop the sale of this merchandise, Punisher co-creator Gerry Conway has taken matters into his own hands. He has a campaign up on the website Custom Ink call Skulls for Justice, and has teamed with several artists to sell shirts featuring altered versions of the Punisher logo, in support of Black Lives Matter. And so far, he said, they’ve raised more than $45,000 for the organization.

Quarantine Comix to be collected in September

‘Ice Cream Man Presents: Quarantine Comix’ #1 will collect stories by W. Maxwell Prince, Martin Morazzo, Chris O’Halloran and more.

If you’ve been waiting for all the fun Quarantine Comix released by the Ice Cream Man team to come to print, have I got some good news for you, with sprinkles on top — Image Comics will release Ice Cream Man Presents: Quarantine Comix in September.

Originally started to help raise money for retailers who had to close down their shops during the corornavirus pandemic and shelter-in-place orders, Quarantine Comix was the brainchild of the team behind Image’s crazy horror anthology, Ice Cream Man. W. Maxwell Prince, Martin Morazzo, Chris O’Halloran and Good Old Neon created six minicomics that they released and sold online, with half of their profits going to the Book Industry Charitable Foundation, or BINC. Those were followed by a “guest series” that wraps up this week with a new comic by Christopher Cantwell and Eoin Marron.

Creators, publishers raise money for protestors + related causes

Creators offer commissions, comics and more, with proceeds going to Black Lives Matter and other organizations.

As protests against policy brutality continue around the United States, many comics creators and publishers are currently helping to raise money for Black Lives Matter, the Bail Project, the Minnesota Freedom Fund and other organizations dedicated to this cause or, in some cases, helping the protestors.

Here’s a rundown of several we’ve seen who are drawing commissions or selling their comics, with proceeds going to these organizations. If you see others, let us know on social media or in the comments below.

Kevin Colden draws a comic for the Children’s Tumor Foundation

For NF2 Awareness Day, the CTF releases a new comic they produced with the comics studio Bottled Lightning.

In honor of NF2 Awareness Day, the Children’s Tumor Foundation has released an educational comic to help inform people about neurofibromatosis type 2, which is characterized by the development of benign tumors on the hearing nerves.

The comic was written by CTF’s Director of Communications Vanessa Shealy Younger and drawn by Fishtown creator Kevin Colden, who has previously worked on comics like The Crow and The Sweetness. Colden has a personal connection to NF through his wife and fellow comic creator, Miss Lasko-Gross. “My wife’s second cousin has NF1, so I’ve personally seen how NF can affect families. Working with this script and being able to bring Billy’s story to life was a wonderful opportunity,” Colden said.

Shalvey, Camp, Topilin contribute to Quarantine Comix

The imprint started by the “Ice Cream Man” team kicks off a new “Quarantine Comix Guest Series.”

Along with Animal Crossing and a new season of Dead to Me, the weekly Quarantine Comix releases have been one of the highlights of the coronavirus pandemic. Created by the team behind Image’s Ice Cream Man anthology series, they’ve now broadened their umbrella to include guest contributors through the aptly named Quarantine Comix Guest Series.

The first two guest comics are by Declan Shalvey of Moon Knight and Savage Town fame, and the team of Deniz Camp (Maxwell’s Demons) and Artyom Topilin(Long Rain).

Quarantine Comix promises ‘a nice little surprise’ after sixth issue arrives

Support a good cause and get some great comics.

The creators of Image’s bonkers horror title Ice Cream Man — W. Maxwell Prince, Martin Morazzo, Chris O’Halloran, Good Old Neon — have been selling four-page comics to help support comics retailers over the past few weeks, with issue #6 arriving this week.

If you’re a fan of Ice Cream Man — or just good, kinda creepy, out-there comics — then you should check out Quarantine Comix. Half of their profits go to the Book Industry Charitable Foundation, aka BINC, so you get a quick read and a good cause, all for less than $2.

Insider Art establishes fund for female, non-binary comic retailers

Female creators unite to help raise funds for those affected by the coronavirus pandemic, with a planned anthology, auction and more.

As shelter-in-place orders continue to impact businesses of all shapes and sizes, an all-star list of female comics creators have come together to support female and non-binary comic book retailers.

Jen King, owner of Space Cadet Collections in Texas, will administer The Insider Art: Female Comic Book Retailer Fund, which will raise money in three key ways:

A digital comics anthology, details on which you can find below.
An Insider Art fabric: Two fabrics will beavailable in the coming months via Spoonflower — one featuring cat art by noted comic book professionals, and another by a host of young female artists.
An auctions of exclusive artwork, signed prints and various collectibles: King, who is also host of CBSN, her Comic Book Shopping Network FaceBook Channel, will run auctions, live on FaceBook and on eBay, to raise money.

“We couldn’t think of a better way to acknowledge the female comic book retailers who are on the front lines every day, spreading the good word about our favorite medium,” said former Vertigo and Black Crown editor Shelly Bond, who helped put the project into motion. “Over 50 female comic book creators have donated their time and mad skills to support female retailers who have lost incredible amounts of money due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Support comics retailers by buying this ‘Love and Rockets’ shirt

Sport some Gilbert Hernandez artwork while helping out a good cause.

Fantagraphics is offering a new T-shirt to raise money for the Book Industry Charitable Foundation, or Binc.

“Ripped straight from the pages of Love and Rockets Vol. IV #8,” the new shirt features artwork by Gilbert Hernandez:

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