A group of Canadian comic book retailers are organizing a Facebook Live telethon to benefit their fellow Canadian comic shops that have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Be Our Heroes, Canada! will take place May 16 and 17, with appearances planned by Chip Zdarsky, Jason Fabok, Ken Lashley, Michael Cho, Svetlana Chmakova, and more.
“What started as a conversation between four retailers on how we could cross-promote our shops turned into this idea of a national fundraiser to help preserve Canada’s unique comics landscape,” says organizer Jennifer Haines, owner of the Ontario comic book store chain The Dragon. “Now more than ever, we need to come together to support one another, and provide our respective communities with a way to stay connected, all while protecting retailers that might otherwise fall through the cracks of government funding.”
Other creators signed on are Adam Gorham, Andy Belanger, Brendan Fletcher, Casey Parsons, Dylan Burnett, Ed Brisson, J. Torres, Jason Loo, Jay Stephens, Karl Kerschl, Ray Fawkes, Richard Pace, Scott Chantler, Seth, Shawn Daly, and Yanick Paquette.
The retailers organizing this with The Dragon are Gotham Central, Heroes World, and Cyber City Comix.
Funds raised by this telethon will be collected and distributed by the Comic Legends Legal Defense Fund (not to be confused with the U.S.-based Comic Book Legal Defense Fund), a Canadian-based non-profit organization protecting free speech in the industry, supporting retailers, schools and libraries, creators and publishers alike.