Comics / Press Releases

Occupy Comics #1 News

By The Editor
September 19, 2012 - 18:40

V For Vendetta artist David Lloyd provided the cover for the latest issue of Occupy Comics which was released this week to coincide with the 1-year anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street movement. In addition to Lloyd, this newest issue of the series includes work by Mike Allred (Madman), activist Bill Ayers (The Weather Underground), Pulitzer-nominated political cartoonist Matt Bors, Shannon Wheeler (Too Much Coffee Man), Si Spurrier (2000 AD), Smudge (2000 AD), Riley Rossmo (Wild Children), Patrick Meaney (director Warren Ellis: Captured Ghosts), Matthew Rosenberg & Patrick Kindlon (The Urn), Ryan Alexander-Tanner (To Teach: The Journey, in Comics), and Molly Crabapple (Shell Game, arrested at Occupy 1-year anniversary protest in NY Monday).

"Having David Lloyd provide a cover featuring V (or a V-dressed protester) squared off against the Wall Street Bull is pretty much the most epic image we could possibly have hoped for," said Occupy Comics organizational spearhead Matt Pizzolo. "I really love V's playfulness in the illustration--as the movement enters its second year, I think it's important to remember that we can stand up to injustice with a smile on our faces.

"Also it's funny that there's been such a strong reaction to the Bull's balls on the cover since they're strikingly prominent on the actual statue... in fact, it's common for Wall Street traders to rub the Bull's balls for luck every morning--and doesn't that pretty much say it all?"

Lloyd told Wired why he was interested in supporting Occupy Wall Street: "I was massively impressed by the great camaraderie and strength of will showed in New York last October when I went to see what they were doing, and I hope that they can somehow survive all the blows they've suffered since then... They've got a hard job to do and it's not going to get any easier."

Occupy Comics #2 was released to Kickstarter pledgers on Occupy Wall Street's 1-year anniversary and is now available for sale direct from Black Mask Studios, the new comics publisher-distributor Pizzolo organized with Steve Niles and Brett Gurewitz to distribute Occupy Comics and other subversive books. Black Mask is planning a broader release for Occupy Comics in early 2013 when the company launches its inaugural slate, which is set to be announced shortly.

Having raised nearly $30,000 from eager Kickstarter supporters, Occupy Comics will eventually culminate in the product of a deluxe hardcover book with work from Alan Moore (V For Vendetta, Watchmen), David Lloyd (V For Vendetta), Darick Robertson (Transmetropolitan), David Mack (Kabuki), Amanda Palmer (The Dresden Dolls), Steve Niles (30 Days of Night), Shannon Wheeler (Too Much Coffee Man), Charlie Adlard (The Walking Dead), Mike Allred (Madman), Eric Drooker (Flood!), Ben Templesmith (30 Days of Night), J.M. DeMatteis (Justice League, Imaginalis), Dean Haspiel (American Splendor), Molly Crabapple (Shell Game), fine artist Guy Denning, Tyler Crook (Petrograd), Joshua Dysart (Swamp Thing, The Unknown Soldier), Zoetica Ebb (Biorequiem), Ales Kot (Wild Children), Dan Goldman (Shooting War, '08: A Graphic Diary of the Campaign Trail), and many more.

All revenue outside hard costs will be directly donated to various actions of the global Occupy movement.

Updated Complete Roster
(in alphabetical order)
Charlie Adlard (The Walking Dead)
Mike Allred (Madman)
Marc Andreyko (Manhunter)
Bill Ayers & Ryan Alexander-Tanner (To Teach: The Journey, in Comics)
Matt Bors (War Is Boring: Bored Stiff, Scared to Death in the World's Worst War Zones)
Susie Cagle (Notes on Conflict, arrested at Occupy Oakland)
Mike Cavallaro (Parade (with fireworks), Life & Times of Savior 28)
Kevin Colden (I Rule the Night, Grimm's Fairy Tales)
Molly Crabapple (Dr. Sketchy's)
Tyler Crook (Petrograd, B.P.R.D.)
Vito Delsante (Superman, FCHS)
J.M. DeMatteis (Justice League, Spider-Man, Imaginalis)
Guy Denning (painter)
Eric Drooker (Flood!)
Troy Dye (Shrek, Puss in Boots, The Goblin Chronicles)
Joshua Dysart (Swamp Thing, The Unknown Soldier)
Zoetica Ebb (Biorequiem.com)
Theo Ellsworth (Capacity, Sleeper Car)
Joshua Hale Fialkov (I Vampire, Tumor)
Allen Gladfelter (Cars, The Inspectre)
Dan Goldman (Shooting War, 08: A Graphic Diary of the Campaign Trail)
Jenny "Devildoll" Gonzalez-Blitz (Coffin Factory art collective)
Brea Grant (We Will Bury You, Suicide Girls)
Zane Grant (We Will Bury You, Suicide Girls)
Joe Harris (Ghost Projekt, Spontaneous)
Dean Haspiel (American Splendor)
Megan Hutchison (upcoming An Aurora Grimeon Story: Will-O-the-Wisp)
Joe Keatinge (Hell Yeah, Glory, Brutal)
Tom Kelesides (Shrek, Puss in Boots, The Goblin Chronicles)
Patrick Kindlon (The Urn)
Ales Kot (Wild Children)
George Krstic (Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Megas XLR)
Jonathan Swifty Lang (Feeding Ground)
Joseph Michael Linsner (Dawn)
David Lloyd (V For Vendetta)
Patrick Meaney (Grant Morrison: Talking With Gods)
Mark L. Miller (Luna, Nanny & Hank)
Caleb Monroe (Batman: Fearless, Hunter's Fortune)
Alan Moore (V For Vendetta, Watchmen, Batman: The Killing Joke)
B. Clay Moore (Hawaiian Dick, Superman Confidential)
Jerem Morrow (Kingdom Suicide)
Amancay Nahuelpan-Bustamante (Hijos de P)
Steve Niles (30 Days of Night, Batman: Gotham County Line)
Ryan Ottley (Invincible)
Jimmy Palmiotti (The Pro, Jonah Hex)
Amanda Palmer (The Dresden Dolls)
Laurie Penny (Penny Red)
Matt Pizzolo (Godkiller)
Darick Robertson (Transmetropolitan, The Boys)
Steve Rolston (Ghost Projekt, Queen & Country)
Matthew Rosenberg (The Urn)
Riley Rossmo (Proof, Cowboy Ninja Viking)
Douglas Rushkoff (Testament, media theorist)
Mark Sable (Two Face: Year One, Rift Raiders, Unthinkable)
Salgood Sam (Dream Life, RevolveR One, Revolution on the Planet of the Apes)
Tim Seeley (Hack/Slash, Witchblade)
Smudge (2000AD)
Art Spiegelman (Maus)
Simon Spurrier (2000 AD, X-Men: Curse of the Mutants)
Ben Templesmith (30 Days of Night, Fell)
Shannon Wheeler (Too Much Coffee Man)
Anna Wieszczyk (Godkiller, Lucid)
Ronald Wimberly (MF GRIMM: Sentences)

[Description of the book from Kickstarter page]
This book is intended to be a time capsule of the passions and emotions driving the movement. We are comic book & graphic novel artists and writers who've been inspired by the movement and hope to tell the stories of the people who are out there putting themselves at risk for an idea. What is that idea? Most of the media will tell you the idea is a vague and befuddled mess, but movements don't coalesce around vague, befuddled messes. We hope that through the medium of comics we can share some of the ideas and experiences driving this movement.

Watch the Occupy Comics video here

Organizer Matt Pizzolo has posted a blueprint of the fundraising strategy here
http://occupycomics.com/2011/10/11/the-blueprint/

Logistical support for the project was provided by Pizzolo's indie film & comics studio Halo-8 Entertainment, though Occupy Comics is not officially a Halo-8 production and Halo-8 will receive no profits from it... in fact, Halo-8 will not even distribute the book. After considering offers from various publishers and consulting with the creators, Pizzolo and the organizational team decided to create a new company Black Mask Studios devoted to supporting subversive comics and graphic novels.

All revenue generated by the project, past hard costs, will be donated to Occupy protesters.

Occupy Comics debuted as a rolling series of digital comics in June 2012 which will be followed by limited edition paper comics and then compiled into a hardbound, deluxe, collectible anthology book late in 2012.

To learn more, visit www.occupycomics.com

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12