Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Alex King, Chris Hazeldine, Claudia Matosa, Ed Firth. Chloe Starling, Elena Cerisciola, Hannah Gwynn, Infinity Agbetu, jenny robins, kickstarter, Lara Callaghan, Lauren Marie Sandercock, Nick Bryan, Tami, WIP Comics, Zach Cobb

WIP Promises A Big Change For Comics

WIP have a new Kickstarter for their latest anthology in a brand new format. And look, Shelly Bond backed it, so you have no excuse not to.

Published Thu, 27 Jul 2023 12:27:10 -0500

by Rich Johnston

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The weekend before last, I was at the South London Comics & Zine Festival, with amongst other Shelly Bond exhibiting before rushing to the airport to exhibit three days later at San Diego Comic-Con. Which, yes, is mad. I also got the chance to pick up WIP's anthology from last year, a broadsheet newspaper-sized comic book, folded in the fashion of Wednesday Comics, and featuring a plethora of comic book talent. WIP was once "Work In Progress" group of London comic book creator pools, but since lockdown and a lack of monthly meet-ups, has extended remotely to creators across the world.

And now WIP have a new Kickstarter for their latest anthology in a brand new format. And look, Shelly Bond backed it too. Here's what you'll be getting and why you'll be getting it.

'Change' is the latest anthology from WIP Comics – an award-nominated group of comic creators based in London. The book features around 50 short stories from a diverse mix of new and established creators, resulting in over 170 pages of stunning original comics.

Each comic takes the titular theme of 'change' as a starting point, but every contributor is encouraged to interpret that theme however they want and produce work in any style or genre they see fit. Expect fantasy, sci-fi, humour, slice of life, autobiography and more, featuring everything from untidy dragons to giant transforming robots, and topics like finding loose change on the floor and the emotional impact of moving to a new home. There is truly something for everyone.

For the last five years the group has produced an annual anthology book, setting the theme in January and then having around six months for any of the members who wants to take part to produce a 1-4 page comic. All of our previous books have been self-financed, with the profits from the sales of each book helping to fund the following years printing. But due to the rising costs of production and other fees associated with running the group, this year we need your help to make it a reality.

We have a stellar line-up of over 50 incredible contributors, including some familiar faces for anyone who has read any of our previous books with returning creators such as Chris Hazeldine, Lara Callaghan, Zach Cobb, Claudia Matosa, Hannah Gwynn and Nick Bryan, some fresh new talent including Alex King, Elena Cerisciola, Tami, Infinity Agbetu, and Lauren Marie Sandercock, and a few award-winning or nominated creators like Jenny Robins, Ed Firth and Chloe Starling. And that's just a handful of the people involved.

We're already well on the way to having all the art finished and hitting our funding target on the Kickstarter, but we're not quite there yet. There are some great tiers backers can choose from, including one which includes digital versions of every previous WIP anthology for a super low price, and hand-drawn sketch cards by our contributing artists.

When we hit our target we also have some important stretch goals we'd love to do, with a few extras like bookmarks and a bonus mini-anthology, but most importantly if we earn over a certain amount all of the profit will be shared equally amongst all the creators involved.