The Hard Agree podcast team have announced their latest annual Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol charity podcast, this year in support of the BINC Foundation‘s Comic Book United Fund.

A Hard Agree Christmas Carol is the Christmas 2021 edition of Hard Agree’s annual yuletide charity podcast, featuring host Andrew Sumner and an all-star line-up from comics, movies, TV and theatre performing Charles Dickens’ live recitation of A Christmas Carol in support of the Book Industry Foundation’s Comic Book United Fund.

Joining Sumner on the podcast are author, actor and MCU star Evangeline Lilly (Lost, The Hobbit, Ant-Man and The Wasp), comic book legend Dave Gibbons (Watchmen, Kingsman, The Originals), wine expert and BBC presenter Olly Smith (BBC’s Saturday Kitchen, Olly Smith’s Home Cocktail Bible) and West End theatre star Julie Stark (Company, Les Misérables, We Will Rock You).

Sumner commented: “we’re coming to the end of another wildly-turbulent ad damaging pandemic year, during which the comics industry’s all-important network of individually-owned comic book stores – the temples of pop culture in which we all worship – have remained hard hit & struggling to survive.

“The BINC Foundation have dedicated themselves to helping bookstore owners, booksellers and comic store employees/owners who encounter unforeseen emergency financial needs. Their mission of community support reminded myself and my co-producers John Horsley and Kenric Regan of Dickens’ own seasonal message of empathy and civic responsibility, so we thought “what better way to underline and amplify the BINC Foundation’s mission than to return to the words of Charles Dickens himself, the great believer in human society pulling together?”

• A Hard Agree Christmas Carol is live now, available at this direct link and wherever you listen to your podcasts

• More about the BINC Foundation – or make a direct donation – here

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. Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Star Trek Explorer (previously known as Star Trek 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: Audio, British Comics, Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Other Worlds, Podcasts

Tags: Andrew Sumner, BINC Foundation, Book Industry Foundation, Charles Dickens, Comic Book United Fund, Dave Gibbons, Evangeline Lilly, Hard Agree, Julie Stark, Olly Smith