Posted in: Comics | Tagged: #vreators4comics, Comics, coronavirus, coronavirus comics, covid-19, Creators4Comics

Yet More #Creators4Comics – and We Try to Answer Some Questions

Two more days left of the #Creators4Comics hashtag on Twitter which has seen comic book creators offer up original artwork and unique experiences for fans to bid on, with the money going to comic book stores in need. The fund is being gathered, administered and grants issued by the BINC, the Book Industry Charitable Foundation, created to help bookstores in need, and now taking on comic stores as well. Bleeding Cool has been covering many of the items posted in a series of articles over the last few days but it all has to come to an end today. With so much competition from so many creators, there are some major bargains to be had in its final dayscand you can see a masterlist of all current auctions right here. Here are a few more recent additions.

Bleeding Cool has received some concerns, from comic creators, stores and publishers over the fundraising activity and how it was being administered. We tried to answer some questions ourselves about how comic book stores could apply for funding and grants, and received thanks for that. But the comic book creators who organised #Creators4Comics haven't been open to answering questions from the press. Repeated queries over the past few days remain unanswered. As a result, a lack of transparency has caused further concerns.

Kat Overland from WomenWroteAboutComics got some answers from Kate Weiss, the communications coordinator at Binc, who told her that "the organizers for #Creators4Comics directed that the funds raised be used for both comic shops and indie bookstores. These brick and mortar establishments must be US-based, and must apply for funds which should be distributed "based on need" in mid-May." And that before this appeal "the Foundation's household assistance program, which has, since March 18th, "distributed over $107,476 to 95 comic retailer's households, helping them pay their rent, mortgage, and for other essentials after they lost their income due to the shuttering of their comic shops.""

The US-focus of BINC has been called into question by a number of people, who only realised the appeal just covered comic stores in the USA after they had participated in it. Stores in Canada, Europe, South America, Australasia, all affected by the current global situation are excluded. This wasn't mentioned in publicity however. Some creators, publishers and bidders around the world have expressed concerns that their local stores wouldn't be recipients, and this wasn't made clear when they participated.

There have also been worries that having the hashtag open to all potential bidders without qualification, while making the whole process simple and easy, had little or no protection from both troublemakers making fake bids, or from creators who may flake out and not uphold their part of the bargain.

One publisher contacted Bleeding Cool with concerns that in past filings, BINC only paid out around a third of the income it gained in the form of grants, the rest going on salary and administration costs. This seems to have been part of a pernicious attempt by some bad actors to cast doubt on the proceedings. In truth, Binc has been a relatively small organisation in recent years, raising around 6 million dollars over the decades it has been operating. As a result operating costs will make a larger percentage. However, with the current global situation, and the much greater sums coming in, those costs will make for a far smaller percentage. Yes, funds need to be administered, fraud needs to be prevented and the money needs to end up in the hands of those most in need to be as effective as possible, but the more money that comes in, the smaller share that will take up.

But for those looking to help Canadian and British comic book stores, they may need to find another route. It was pointed out to Bleeding Cool however that, in Britain, the government is paying 80% of furloughed staff's wages and making more generous bank loans available – so maybe the Americans are in greater need. As for creators and bidders keeping up their end of the bargain, Bleeding Cool will try and make that as transparent as possible going forward.

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