Re-Live, a charity based in the UK, is releasing a new anthology comic titled Coming Home highlighting military veterans’ mental health experiences.
Re-Live, a Welsh Arts in Health charity based in the United Kingdom, is releasing a new anthology comic titled Coming Home highlighting military veterans’ mental health experiences.
Edited by Steve Sullivan, Coming Home was created after Re-Live launched a new Life Story group for military veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic. When the group conveyed its love for comics, Re-Live began developing the Coming Home anthology with the members. Rather than presenting traditional tales often seen in war comics, Coming Home aims to give readers a deeper look into military life with autobiographical stories focusing on healthcare and mental health.
“I’ve always loved comics, but as a filmmaker I’d never had the opportunity to make one before,” Sullivan, who previously directed films such as 2018’s Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story and 2013’s Happy Hours, said. “So when I was approached by Re-live to take part in this project, I jumped at the opportunity…It’s a testament to the power and emotion of our veterans’ mental health stories that we were able to attract such a stellar list of artists to help bring them to life.”
Coming Home includes additional contributions by a number of cartoonists, including Keith Page, Emma Vieceli, Mike Donaldson and Clark Bint, with the logo designed by Richard Starkings. Ian Kennedy, who previously worked on titles such as Judge Dredd and Dan Dare, designed the wraparound cover painting for Coming Home before he passed away in early 2022. “It was such an honour to have Ian agree to paint our cover–and the fact it was the last thing on his drawing table when he passed away is truly humbling and poignant to us,” Sullivan said.
Re-Live works with under-represented communities in an effort to support their experiences and spread awareness toward their stories for audiences everywhere. “We’re honoured to be sharing some of the hidden mental health stories of veterans, and hope Coming Home sheds light and understanding on the impact of military service on someof our service people,” said Re-Live artistic director Karin Diamond. “Comics have proved to be a powerful and therapeutic medium to help get these stories out there.”
Coming Home is being distributed by Diamond Distributors and will recieve an official retail release in November. Readers can pre-order copies now using Diamond’s SEP221929 order code up until Sept. 18. For more information on Coming Home or to track the progress of the project, visit Re-Live’s website.
Source: Re-Live
