Help Turn Dreams Into Print: WIP Comics Seek £2,500 for a New Anthology

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There’s a particular kind of magic that happens when artists stop working in isolation. Comics, for all their colour and movement, can be a lonely craft: hours spent sketching, scripting, lettering, rewriting—often with no one around to tell you whether the story is landing, whether the pacing breathes, whether the characters feel real. That’s exactly the gap WIP (“Work in Progress”) was created to fill.

Based in London but shaped by voices from across the UK and a handful of creators from further afield, WIP is a monthly meetup community where comic writers and artists come together to share what they’re currently building—unfinished pages, rough drafts, half-formed ideas—and offer each other the thing every creative needs but rarely gets enough of: honest feedback, practical advice, and steady support.

What makes WIP quietly radical is how simple its ethos is: anyone can join, and everyone is treated the same. And beyond the meetups, WIP doesn’t just talk about comics—they expose them into the world. The group tables at comic fairs around the UK, selling their anthologies and showcasing individual members’ work, creating real-world visibility for creators who might otherwise struggle to find an audience.

For the last eight years, WIP has produced an annual anthology: a shared challenge that becomes a shared object, something tangible that proves what can happen when community meets commitment.

The process is part structure, part creative sprint. Each January, the group sets a theme. Then creators who want to participate are given around six months to produce a comic. Every year, the anthology becomes a snapshot of where the community is artistically—different voices, different styles, one unifying concept.

This year’s theme is “Dreams and Nightmares”, exploring duality through a series of double-page spreads—each creator given the same space, the same invitation, and the freedom to interpret it however they choose. This year’s twist is literal. For Dreams and Nightmares, WIP isn’t just asking readers to follow a story—they’re asking them to physically participate in how it unfolds.

Each comic incorporates a moment where the reader must turn the page in a new way—rotating the book in their hands to continue the narrative. It’s a playful, inventive constraint that opens up fresh possibilities: unexpected reveals, shifting perspectives, layouts that refuse to sit still.

Featured Art by Elena Artese from a script by Nick Bryan

WIP has already shown they can deliver ambitious projects. Last year, the group successfully funded their previous anthology, ∞, via Kickstarter. And recent editions—Tall Tales and Short Stories (2024) and Change (2023)—were selected as Broken Frontier’s Book of the Festival for Thought Bubble, the UK’s premier small press comic festival, where they made their post-Kickstarter debuts. This isn’t a community dreaming out loud. This is a community with a track record and Dreams, and Nightmares is the next leap—and like any independent publishing effort, it comes with real costs.

WIP is currently raising £2,500 to cover production and keep the group running. The majority of funds will go toward printing and posting the book. Anything left after Kickstarter fees and taxes will support the infrastructure that keeps WIP accessible and free to join—things like Zoom fees, Meetup costs, table fees for conventions, and the behind-the-scenes expenses that make a community sustainable.

Backing the campaign isn’t just buying a book. It’s helping protect a space where creators can learn, grow, and keep showing up for the work—and for each other.

You can support WIP Comics by backing their Kickstarter campaign and helping them reach their £2,500 goal.If you believe in independent publishing, in grassroots creative culture, and in the kind of communities that quietly change people’s lives one meetup at a time—this is one worth supporting.

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