Comic creator Chris Lynch (author of the acclaimed The Black Room, showing on Amazon Prime now) will be undertaking an #ironwriter challenge at Comic. Con Cymru
Visitors to the Comic Con in Cardiff will be able to choose a Person, Location and an Item and have their own unique short story written there and then just for them.
And as if this wasn’t hard enough, Chris will be undertaking this challenge on an old fashioned typewriter. Not only does he have to come up with a story on the spot, he can’t make any typing mistakes as there is no delete button on a typewriter. (Break out the Tippex!)
Chris is taking the challenge in aid of the Autumn Star Fund, raising money to help Autumn, a lively happy three-year old girl who was born with Retinablastoma, a rare eye cancer. By 18 months old she had beaten it, but at the end of May, just after her third birthday, she had a fit. The hospital diagnosed her with Metastatic Pineoblastoma, a rare type of aggressive brain tumour.
Autumn is currently undergoing intensive Chemotherapy.
Chris has incredibly generously offered all donations for his #ironwriter chalked to Autumn’s fund. If you can’t make it to Comic Con you can still take part. Simply use the form here on the Autumn Star web site to choose:
- A Person – e.g. a dentist, a werewolf, a spaceman etc
- A Location – e.g. Space, The Wild West, a Bank etc
- An Item – e.g. a hammer, a sausage, an umbrella etc
Once you have submitted your request, you will be redirected to a page where you can ‘Donate’. (If possible please use the same name or email address below that is linked to your Paypal account so the Fund runners can match donations to requests).
Chris will not see these until he is at Comic Con so he won’t be cheating or getting a head start.
“Autumn Star is a charity very, very close to my heart,” says Chris, “and whilst I’m not the kind of person to run a marathon or jump out of a plane, I’ve been known to knock out a story or two in my time. I thought it was maybe time to do something useful with that.
“So, I’m bringing back my old ‘live writing’ gig to raise some money for a very deserving cause and a very special little girl. Autumn and her family are just about the bravest people I know… please, please offer them your support.
“Lee, Autumn’s father, definitely won’t be giving me any sneak peeks [at the suggestions] and there will be no head starts allowed!
“You’ll be able to donate and get a story at the convention as well but if you can’t make it then this is your chance to still be involved with this really great cause. Plus, the more people who donate in advance the bigger a backlog I’ll start the day with. If you’ve got a mean streak, put it to good use – donate and make my #ironwriter challenge that bit harder!
“The more this hurts, the more money we will have raised so… bring it on guys!”
• Click here to make your suggestions and then donate for this good cause
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.
Categories: British Comics, Creating Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News