5-4-3-2-1
An unexpected treat today.
The brilliant David LaFuente and I did a four-page comic about gun violence for charity years ago.
Our story was long ago completed — and it was to go in an anthology with a bunch of other comic creators. But now, after years of waiting, it looks like they have pulled the plug on the project due to a variety of issues.
If you were a backer (it was the Shots Fired Kickstarter), the campaign is offering full refunds (or the option to let your original donation go ahead through to the charity) and some of the pieces will likely be published via the Kickstarter page — but David and I, after so many years twisting on this little project, thought we’d rather take back some control. So he very generously agreed to have me post it here for all of you to enjoy.
It’s FREE to everyone, so please feel free to spread it around on social or wherever - anything that can raise a bit of awareness about gun violence — just making people think or feel something can sometimes help. And if you have any interest in donating to the cause I’ll put a donation link below the pages. NOTE: Trigger Warning for gun violence trauma.
5-4-3-2-1 is written by Kelly Thompson. Art, colors, and lettering all by David LaFuente.
And here’s the donation link: CJRC (Community Justice Reform Coalition) Donations can be made here.
Be good to each other, and to yourself. <3
~ Kelly
Kelly, I knew people in the room at NIU 14 years ago, discovered last week that low flying news copters can trigger my PTSD, which manifests as panic and the phantom sound of a busy signal- for hours all any of us were doing was calling everyone we knew who might be on campus to make certain that they were safe, all while receiving calls from seemingly everyone we had ever met ever to make certain that we were...
I usually write sentences better than that, but the rushed nature, I think is actually a pretty good representation of the feeling, so no editing.
Kelly, David... Thank you. It's nice to have this little piece out in the world to show people blessed enough to not know what it feels like a little slice of how a mass shooting has a profound traumatic effect on SO MANY people...
Thank you.
This is so wholesome and amazing Kelly! As an Australian, I am forever grateful for our strict gun laws/policies, and possibly cannot fathom what people go through that have unfortunately experienced that. I will defs be sharing this!