British comic creators plan Haiyan Benefit Anthology

By John Freeman on November 13, 2013

Comic creator Phil Woodward and the team behind the Sequentially British project have announced plans for a Haiyan Benefit Anthology to raise funds for victims of the natural disasters in the Philippines.

While the project has only just launched, and discussion of format is ongoing on the project’s Facebook page, Phil is looking at other benefit projects as models for the proposed title, such as Spirit of Hope, the book created to benefit victims of the earthquake and resulting tsunami that hit Japan and New Zealand in 2011, edited by Alan Cowsill; and Beyond The Finish Line: Boston Marathon Benefit Art Book for the victims and families of the Boston Marathon tragedy earlier this year.

“We already have some fantastic people in both skill and personality,” says Phil.

Creators signed up already to the as yet untitled project include Grant Perkins, Jeremy Biggs, Jonathan Clode, Richmond Clements, Jay Faulkner, Marcelo Ferreira, Rick Hudson,Chris Johnson, Eva Perkins, Sam Roads, Peter Rogers and Jonathan Wyke.

Also to be decided are what kind of stories will be included, although tales inspired by Filipino myth appear one well favoured suggestion.

The project’s cost will be crowdfunded via IndieGogo and we’ll add a link to the fund raising page as soon as we get it.

“The plan is to launch a crowdfunding campaign for the project,” says Phil, who has already created a promotional video, “launching … either late tonight or early tomorrow morning.

“The donations will be sent to the Philippine Red Cross and not the British or American counterparts [because they] are there before, during and right after the disasters and in the long run this won’t be the last time anything this tragic happens. I want the cash to go towards the first response and people who there throughout.”

• If you’re a creator or a publisher that could support this nascent charity project, head over to their Facebook page and let them know

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.