BLACK MASK ANNOUNCES ANTHOLOGY TO BENEFIT THE WGA
WGA Members/Comic Creators GRANT MORRISON, MATTEO PIZZOLO, and BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS join forces with TV Writers behind THE BOYS, DAREDEVIL, and WINNING TIME for new comic book Celebrating the Power and Success of the Strikes
Pre-orders open today for GENERAL STRIKE, the new comic that will help support workers impacted by the Hollywood Labor Strikes
A new comics anthology curated by the creators of CALEXIT aims to celebrate the Hollywood Labor Movement’s massive success and also support workers impacted by the dual Strikes as the WGA closes its historic new deal with the studios. Titled GENERAL STRIKE: Calexit and Other Tales of Fighting the Good Fight, the collection of new stories dedicated to the struggle for economic equality is written by WGA members, and publisher Black Mask Studios is matching the writers fees with donations to the Entertainment Community Fund.
With official pre-orders opening today, GENERAL STRIKE is hosted by a brand new comic book heroine (labor organizing badass Gen. Strike) and features stories by a roster of WGA-writers including writer/producer/WGA NBCU Lot Coordinator Judalina Neira (The Boys, Gen V, The Flash), Rodney Barnes (Winning Time, The Boondocks), Tamara Becher (Doom Patrol, Daredevil), Daniel Dominguez (Seis Manos), Charley Feldman (X-Men 97, Teen Titans Go), Grant Morrison (Happy!, All-Star Superman), and Brian Michael Bendis (creator of Miles Morales and Jessica Jones). The project is being run by WGA-member writer and publisher Matteo Pizzolo (Calexit, Godkiller, Rogue State).
“Our initial idea was to put together an anthology of new stories set in the world of Calexit, but, when we proposed that to the creators, they envisioned using Calexit as a launchpad for something bigger that could help support the community through the strikes,” explained Pat Shand, head of Black Mask Special Projects. “And that’s how General Strike came together.”
GENERAL STRIKE is an anthology comic of genre stories about characters fighting the good fight against injustice, linked by the theme of confronting economic inequality. All of the stories are written by striking guild members. In addition to paying Marvel/DC-level writers’ rates, Black Mask is also matching the writers’ rates with donations to the Entertainment Community Fund, and the creators retain ownership of the IP to their stories and characters.
“With the longest running dual-strikes in Hollywood history reaching a crescendo, this is an amazing moment to celebrate the power and solidarity that got us here and also to keep telling stories that inspire us to fight these good fights,” said Calexit writer/co-creator Matteo Pizzolo, who is overseeing GENERAL STRIKE. “The WGA and SAG strikes are part of the bigger labor movements growing across the country and around the world, but they’re also unique because they focus on creative artists – the public outpouring of support we’ve seen here hasn’t always been the case with past Hollywood strikes. It’s really inspiring and we’re hoping this project can honor that and also support the workers who are still struggling due to the impact of the strikes.”
Comics’ newest superhero Gen. Strike, a bubblegum-chewing labor organizer, comes to life in a set of covers by comic book artists Tyler Boss (4 Kids Walk Into A Bank, What’s The Furthest Place From Here?), Iolanda Zanfardino (Alice In Leatherland), Ben Templesmith (30 Days Of Night), Ramon Villalobos (America Chavez), Creees Lee (Lab Raider), Elisa Romboli (A Thing Called Truth), Amancay Nahuelpan (Calexit), and Darick Robertson (The Boys).
Artists illustrating the GENERAL STRIKE stories include Antonio Fuso (Something Is Killing The Children: House Of Slaughter), Jamal Igle (BLACK, The Wrong Earth), Butch Mapa (Star Wars Adventures), Tyler Jenkins (Grass Kings), and Josh Hood (We Can Never Go Home).
“For 148 days, WGA writers have been pencils down/picket signs up. But I’m stoked to pick up the pen again as a part of GENERAL STRIKE. Black Mask is serving up allyship with this comic anthology benefitting Hollywood’s not-for-profit lifesaver – the Entertainment Community Fund,” said Judalina Neira, Writer/Executive Producer (The Boys, Gen V, The Flash).
“This is a pivotal moment for our business and it’s projects like this that show our solidarity in the most difficult of circumstances,” said Rodney Barnes (Winning Time, The Boondocks).
“This strike isn’t just about writers in Hollywood, it’s about the exploitation of labor. As a proud member of the WGA and a recipient of Strike Fund assistance, I jumped at the chance to participate in this anthology,” said Tamara Becher (Doom Patrol, Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Daredevil).
“Indie comics are special because risky and subversive stories and fresh, new characters can be created without a lot of meddling,” Pizzolo said on the standing-room-only Activism In Comics panel at San Diego Comic Con. “In comics, creators can be especially daring and vulnerable and create visual rallying cries because it’s such a personal medium, just a couple of creators working unfettered to make a story you can hold in your hands.”
The creators of Calexit have a long history of using their comic for activism. Previous initiatives include raising money for families separated at the U.S.-Mexico border during the Trump Administration’s Border Crisis, running voter registration on the showfloor of San Diego Comic Con, supporting Indivisible’s Get Out The Vote campaign, donating to bail funds during the George Floyd protests, featuring interviews with organizers and grassroots candidates in the comic book’s backmatter, and using comic profits to form the SuperPAC “Become The Government.”
GENERAL STRIKE: Calexit and Other Tales of Fighting the Good Fight is available for pre-order now on Kickstarter.
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