War: The Human Cost anthology still on sale

By John Freeman on June 21, 2011

A page from “A Tale of Two Faces”
by Sean Duffield & Nelson Evergreen
– a current story about nuclear weapons
and the double-talk of politicians

I didn’t get the chance to plug War: The Human Cost, a 260-page anthology and 21 track music CD when it came out earlier in the year, but let’s make up for it now.

Four and a half years in the making, part funded via support generated through Indie Go Go to get the final donations, the book features 74 contributers from 19 countries, including some big names and lots of upcoming talent. £1 of every book sold goes to Campaign Against Arms Trade (www.caat.org.uk) and it’s on sale now for the special price of only £10 for facebook users, £11.99 elsewhere.

The book is the work of Sean Duffield of Brighton-based comics creator group Paper Tiger Comix.

The comic strips include well researched stories from around the world such as Tibet, Afghanistan, Israel and Palestine, which cover everything from human rights struggles, war veterans and Post Traumatic Dtress Disorder, political imprisonment and torture, child soldiers, refugees /asylum seekers, peace campaigns, the arms trade, corruption/ conflicts of interest, military spending, propaganda to humour and satire.

Contributors, who have all donated their work comprise the cream of underground and international talent and well known respected artists from the comics world such as Spain’s Rodriguez (Ché: The illustrated Biography), Peter Kuper (World War 3 Illustrated/ Speechless), Alexsandar Zograf (Regards from Serbia), Lawrence Elwick, Nelson Evergreen, Ulli Lust (Warburger), Mazen Kerbaj, Ben Jennings (The Guardian), Alejandro Alvarez (The Bush Junta), Paul O’Connell, Dr Parsons, Abu Mahjoob and many others.

Some of the stories are more historical, going back to previous generations (Vietnam, World War 2, Spanish Civil War etc) and the very personal/ moving stories of those involved.

“My motivation behind creating this project was to put together a work which would help raise money for worthy causes,” he explains, “but also to provide the reader with an educational and engaging collection of comics, art and illustrated factual and pieces surrounding themes of war, but from an emotional and humanitarian angle.

Think of it like a WikiLeaks; getting the real stories out there, but with mostly personal accounts and emotive art.”

The CD features well known artists who support the project, such as Michael Franti and Spearhead, Sly and Robbie, DJ Spooky, Blue King Brown, Zion Train, The Levellers, Big Youth and Twilight Dub Circus, The Groove Corporation and many more.

• Samples of the work featured in the project can be found on Paper Tiger Comix Facebook page and MySpace page

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.