In our (possibly!) final look at the saga of the still as yet unfulfilled Tales from the Quarantine Kickstarter we hear from those within the comics community about how they have attempted to support affected creators, speak out about the anthology’s non-appearance after all these years, and the initiatives they took to salvage something from the mess. If you’re coming in new to this long-running drama then the scene-setting introduction to our first two parts is reprinted below to give you some context and history.
Why only “possibly” our final part? That’s because we are happy to run some of your strips from TFTQ next week at BF if you give us permission and send pages over to us. If that happens we will also link to some appropriate charities our readers can donate to. This was, after all, supposed to be a charity project. You can contact me (Andy) here should that appeal to you.
It’s one of the most notorious as yet unfulfilled crowdfunding campaigns in comics history and yet the saga of Tales from the Quarantine drags on and on. Conceived by organiser Frazer Brown of Red Cabin Comics, the anthology was first mooted in the darkest days of early lockdown and fostered a real sense of community as creators from the small press scene through to writers and artists who have worked for the biggest names in comics publishing (Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips, Rachael Stott, Charlie Adlard, Jim Zub) came together to tell their stories framed around the pandemic and their experiences of it.
It should have been something extra special. It should have been something magical. It should have been an enduring social record in comics form of those dark days.
Despite the hard work and commitment of so many it has been none of those things.
Fully funded in 2020 the Tales from the Quarantine print anthology is still missing in action despite multiple promises that the book has shipped (specifically in December 2022 and July 2023) and with questions still surrounding what happened to the proceeds of this charity book that vastly exceeded its crowdfunding target, bringing in £37,185. A digital copy has been sent out, although with many criticisms regarding its quality and accuracy.
Today at BF we continue a multi-part series on this project which, all these years on, has still not materialised in its print anthology form. We asked for perspectives from contributors, backers and those who went to great lengths to support those affected. In our third edition we look at how the community has pulled together in the years since the book was funded. A special shout-out for Comic Printing UK (henceforth referred to as CPUK) whose activism has ensured this issue has never left the comics community spotlight. For a full order of events check out Feff Silvers’ excellent timeline here.
As the book’s tagline states “Everybody has a tale to tell…”
Oh, Frazer, don’t they just…
Comic Printing UK (CPUK): I think he’s burned a lot of people; some of the individual stories surfaced by BF and elsewhere have been incredibly sad and infuriating. I’m proud of the community coming together to support and welcome the people who got so badly let down. Frazer’s handling of the collapse of TFTQ has also exposed a real weakness in the crowdfunding model when it comes to creator accountability and I know that’s left a lot of people leery of the entire concept. That’s a real pity for both creators and readers.
But in terms of lasting impact on comics? Close to nil. Frazer made a play to be a big shot, got notorious, and is honestly only in the conversation today because his thin skin makes him fun to poke. If he’d dropped the pretence either when he got called out or really at any point since this would all be largely forgotten outside third-pint scuttlebutt at mid-con parties. The independent comics scene faces serious pressures in the form of rising costs and falling disposable incomes, but it’s not short of new or established creators, brilliant concepts wonderfully executed, exciting collaborations, or straight-up community spirit. It’s far too resilient for one failed mogul cosplay to make much more than a dent. Frazer had a chance to be a big part of the scene – now he’ll always be on the outside looking in.
Dan Whitehead (Hex Loader, Ella Upgraded): When this all broke above ground in November ’22, I announced on Twitter that if the book wasn’t proven to exist and have been shipped by Christmas 2022 – which was at that point the latest promise – I’d gather pages from whoever still wanted to see their work in print, compile them into a new book and pay for copies for every contributor. I was particularly annoyed at how many newcomers and small press creators had been involved, many were thinking this would be their published debut, in an amazing book alongside world famous, top class artists and writers. Their disillusionment with the whole sorry process really struck a nerve. At the very least, I wanted those people to have something tangible to show they’d made something.
The response was great, loads of people volunteered their pages, the pages were all excellent, and plenty had pretty horrible stories about how they’d been treated or ignored during the process, and even quite a few of the “big names” involved were happy to be involved and privately expressed their dismay at being associated with the project.
Sample art from Joel Meadows and David Baillie’s TFTQ story
Needless to say, there was no sign of the book by Christmas ’22 – I even waited until April ’23 to give plenty of time – but literally the day before I was about to send the alternate book to print, I got a long email from Frazer accusing me of “stealing” the pages – odd, since everything was creator-owned and nobody signed any contract giving him ownership – and made vague threats of legal action if I proceeded. He also refunded my pledge (I had not requested this) ensuring my comments and questions on the Kickstarter campaign disappeared. On the very same day he finally sent out the digital edition of the book – a rather scruffy and unprintable PDF, padded out to the promised 200 pages with around 50 pages of titles and self-promoting filler, and metadata that showed it had only been made that week. At that point I washed my hands of the whole business.
I don’t believe he has any legal claim to the pages, but he’s shown himself to be erratic and petty, and is presumably still sitting on tens of thousands of pounds from the Kickstarter. I don’t have the time, energy or money to fight even vexatious lawsuit from this guy. And besides, he’d now shown that he had all the pages needed for the book. We know he has enough money to print it. The fact the book still hasn’t materialised almost another full year later, and as we are in the fourth year since the campaign was funded, it all just proves to me that this thing is never happening, for whatever reason. It’s such a ridiculous waste of so much hard work and goodwill from a community that really showed up, only to be let down.
From Adam Bagley’s TFTQ story Propinquite
Lucy Sullivan (Barking, Black Hammer): I’ve tried to do what I can to highlight the situation. I’ve rescinded my copyright to Frazer, preventing him from legally using my work. I was involved in the creator-only print run organised by Dan Whitehead; this was pulled when the PDF was released. I’ve tried to be a part of publicly highlighting the issues on social media and making people aware of Red Cabin’s actions or lack thereof. It won’t get the money taken to the charities as was intended or get the comics printed but it is a way of preventing more future debacles, particularly in comics.
Joonatan Itkonen: I’m happy to say that some of the other contributors have personally helped me over the last couple of years. Whether it’s words of encouragement, kindness, or wanting to work together on projects, that small circle of people who came together in the wake of this disaster has done an immense goodness to my mental health. I don’t know how to thank them enough for it.
Matt Hardy (Thunder Child): With the approval of the artists involved I allowed the inclusion of my stories in the on-line digital TFTQ that Dan Whitehead was putting together. When a promo image of the cover for that book was released showing Gustavo Vargas’ art from one of my stories, Frazer sent me an email saying he was going to sue me and everyone involved. Sigh.
I made sure Dan W had full access to my complete spreadsheet of creators who worked on the book so Dan could approach them all about inclusion in his digital version.
I’ve also managed to help a number of creators that I met through working on TFTQ find other comic work – and the thing I’m most proud of is that some of the creators I paired up have remained in touch with each other and some have gone on to work together. So at least a small amount of good has come out of that.
Adam Bagley: As there were no comp copies for contributors, I parted with several hundred pounds to obtain copies of the book for myself and as gifts for family and friends. During what seemed like an eternity waiting for these to be delivered, it became apparent the project had fell short of its targets and that Frazer was running out of excuses and ignoring emails. I did eventually receive a less than satisfactory response providing no proof that the books existed and making clear there was an unwillingness to issue refunds. Ultimately, I had no choice but to begin court proceedings against Frazer to formally withdraw my work from the project and to get my money back. With less than an hour to go before filing with the courts, I was pleased to be refunded in full, and my work was not included in the digital version of TFTQ that was issued soon after.
I have since offered support and assistance to anyone else affected by TFTQ and considering such action.
Edited panels from Adam Bagley’s art on Inanition in TFTQ
Top banner art from the cover by Rachael Stott.
Article compiled by Andy Oliver
