Posted in: Comics | Tagged: joel meadows, kickstarter, tripwire

Stripwire On Kickstarter – The New "Cancelled" Comics Cavalcade

Stripwire On Kickstarter - the new "Cancelled" Comics Cavalcade for 2026? Or a storm in a very British teacup?

After the DC Comics Implosion of the seventies, DC Comics published internally, a few copies of a comic called Cancelled Comics Cavalcade, featuring photocopies of the completed comics that would not be published as the line had been cut in half. They have become quite collectable in the almost fifty years since. Of course, being cancelled means something different when you can be ostracised for holding beliefs that others do not, supporting those with beliefs that others do not, or supporting political candidates that others would rather put in a cannon and fire into the heart of the sun.

Into all this comes Stripwire, collected comics that have appeared in Tripwire, the comics magazine that has been running since 1992. As owner/publisher/writer Joel Meadows says, "we have decided to delve into our strip archive in Tripwire and offer people a unique book which represents a selection of strips taken from our regular Stripwire section, which kicked off back in 2007. Work from the likes of Roger Langridge, Declan Shalvey, Frazer Irving, Kody Chamberlain and more plus a few strips which are seeing the light of day for the first time just as a fun bonus here. There will be a full colour Sherlock Holmes and The Empire Builders short in full colour which has only been seen in the UK's Shift magazine before." And that includes an unseen cover by Frazer, being crowdfunded on Kickstarter.

As for my use of the word 'cancellation' in the title, well, editor and publisher Joel Meadows holds views about Israel that, well, would match one-to-one with Howard Chaykin. Declan Shalvey was pilloried online (or at least on BlueSky) for funding free speech defence for Graham Linehan. Frazer Irving has reposted Tommy Robinson, as well as bringing up the "scamdemic" with everyone he ever speaks to, it seems. And yet they sit happily alongside the likes of the kindest and wokest of folks, Roger Langridge, Kody Chamberlain (who has just been working with Warren Ellis), as well as other creators Jasper Bark, Andy Bennett, John Charles, Joshua Hale Fialkov, Marty Grosser, Matthew Kirscht, Andy Meanock, Rob Moran, David Morris, Paul N Neal, Tom Newell, Ian D Peterson, Matthew Plog, Paul Rafferty, Mike Walters and Lyndon Webb. And with quotes from the following comics folks, mostly liberal and left-wing comics activists.

• "Tripwire is research done right celebrating and investigating the love of comic books." – Jimmy Palmiotti
• "Tripwire is a vibrant part of entertainment coverage – specifically comics and geek culture. Supporting them, we support ourselves." – Alex Segura
• "I've missed seeing Tripwire in print. The website is great, but the production values and content for their magazine were always great, and there's just no substitute for the real thing." – Dirk Wood, Image Comics
• "Tripwire is always well researched and enthusiastic, by people who truly care about the importance of story. It's analytical without losing heart." – JH Williams III
• "Tripwire covers such a wide variety of topics in the world of news, entertainment and the arts, and covers them so well, that it's pretty much become my go-to source for what's going on in media. I know if Tripwire is covering a subject, it's not only interesting, fun and informative, it's also legit."- Bill Sienkiewicz
• "If you're a media fan, Tripwire has you covered. With articles and reviews full of insight covering the entire range of pop culture, and interviews with folks like Howard Chaykin, the Prince of Comics, Tripwire dissects, analyses, and reconstructs the world in which we all live. Evolving from a magazine, into a multifaceted website, Tripwire is looking to turn into a real boy again, and you can help. This is the place to do it."–Walter Simonson
• "In an industry and a world full of uncertainty, the constants that Tripwire offers in all its forms — great reporting, interesting information captivatingly presented, beautiful graphic design — are always a welcome thing. Joel Meadows and his team never fail to remind me why I love comics as much as I do, and why I feel the same about Tripwire, too." – Chris Ryall, Image

Will this kick off a new campaign of cancellation, as anyone listed as a contributor or donor is condemned? Will everyone decide to live and let live, with people with different, often diametrically opposing beliefs? Will they put this in their back pocket to be relitigated online at a later date? Or will it be ignored entirely? Only the future will tell…

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