Launched at the weekend in Leicester, Do Something is a zine of powerful, thought-provoking short stories, illustrations, strips and poetry that came about as a result of the EU Referendum and the rise in hate crime that followed.
Published by Factor Fiction, edited by Jay Eales and Selina Lock, comic creators involved include Mike Carey, PB Rainey and Dave Windett, alongside authors such as Doctor Who author Paul Magrs.
The launch event at Firebug in Leicester tied in with a ‘HOPE not hate’ weekend of action.
Do Something contributors at a panel discussion for the project’s launch. Photo: Selina Lock
“We put out a call to arms to the writers, the artists, the poets and comic creators. The political cartoonists. Many from Leicester, but also from much further afield. We called and they answered. Leicester based novelist Rod Duncan. Political cartoonist for the Morning Star, BlueLou. Mike Carey, writer of X-Men and The Girl With All the Gifts.
“What we originally expected to be a 24-page photocopied effort ended up a professionally published 72-page beast!”
All profits from sales of Do Something go to the charity Hope Not Hate, which sums up the ethos of the project. So far, sales have raised over £130.
“It may not be a big thing, but as the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said ‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step’, say Jay and Selina.
“We hope that you will join us in adding to the sum of Hope and tipping it away from Hate.”
• To buy a copy of Do Something, PayPal £6.50 (includes UK p&p) plus your delivery address to selina.lock@ntlworld.com
The Contributors
Bluelou, Simon Bennett, Mike Carey, Peet
Clack, Rod Duncan, Jay Eales, Will Ellwood, Dr Stevie-Jade Hardy, Andrew
Hook, Mike Jennings, K.A. Laity, Emma Lee, Selina Lock, Paul Magrs, Ambrose Musiyiwa, Penny Jones, Paul B. Rainey, Emma Reynolds, Cynthia Rodriguez, Patrick Scattergood, Farhana Shaikh
, Vicky Stonebridge, Alasdair Stuart , Jen Walklat and Dave Windett – plus Nottingham LGBT Switchboard and the Leicester Hate Crime Project
- About the Author
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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: Creating Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Events
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