Comic creator RE Burke, aka Becky Burke, who was recently detained by American immigration authorities over a visa mixup, is joining the line up for Macc-Pow!, now in its tenth year, in June.
As we previously reported, comic creator RE Burke, aka Becky Burke, is home after her detention nightmare in the United States, detained by the United States by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for over two weeks for travelling with wrong visa. She is now back in the UK.
Her family issued a detailed statement about her detention nightmare in the United States, asking for it to be shared so that the many thousands who offered support after her family’s appeal for Becky’s return can see it.
“Her harrowing end to her US trip is something she is now turning into a comic, documenting exactly what happened to her whilst over there,” says event coordinator and fellow comic creator Marc Jackson. “We’re thrilled she’ll be returning to Macclesfield, and that she is back home safe and sound now.”
In an interview for The Guardian this week, Becky explained how, on arrest, she was told she had violated her tourist visa by working in the US. They took her fingerprints, seized her phone and bags, cut the laces off her trainers, frisked her, and put her in a cell. “I heard the door lock, and I instantly threw up.” She was then shackled and put into the back of a van. “I had no idea where we were going. It was just bumping around in darkness with handcuffs on.”
R. E. Burke, also known as Becky Burke, is a non-stop artist and creator from Monmouthshire, who studied English and Philosophy at Bristol University, and then a postgraduate degree in Publishing Media at Oxford Brookes. Despite never studying art professionally, she has developed her craft persistently and with determination, alongside her ongoing education.
After finishing her masters, Becky moved to London, where she keeps working on new artistic projects as much as possible. She also wrote for the British comic news site Broken Frontier as Rebecca Burke between 2020 and 2023
Thanks to additional support from local business supporters, the event also includes an appearance by American cartoonist and writer Tom Scioli in Macclesfield, Cheshire, over the weekend of 27th -29th June.
Macc-Pow! is the younger sibling of the Lakes International Comic Art Festival.
• Macc-Pow 2025 27th – 29th June 2025, Macclesfield, Cheshire | Latest Information: Facebook | Web: maccpow.co.uk
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as 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: Comics, Creating Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Events
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