LGBT allies: Punk rockers take on bigotry and Westboro Baptist Church in Toe Tag Riot project

Zombie punk rockers with a social conscience taking on bigots, sexists and, ultimately, the Westboro Baptist Church?

Hey, I love it!

You don’t need to be a fan of comic books and/or be young and hip to appreciate — and support — the Toe Tag Riot comic book series, because its message is a timeless one that has been passed down to us through the ages: love is all you need.

Indeed, sowing the seeds of love is what this project is all about, co-creator Matt Miner told me.

“The world of comics fandom (and the greater world in general) is pretty intolerant and I’m in the position, as a comic creator, to be able to call out bad behavior (homophobia, racism, sexism) in a funny “sic zombies on ‘em” kind of way.”

And that’s exactly what he and partner Sean Von Gorman are doing with their comic book series, which their site describes this way:

A hilariously gory mash up of rad stuff like Night of the Living Dead, a GWAR live show, and hardcore punk rock, TOE TAG RIOT is a tongue-in-cheek, lighthearted torrential downpour of blood and guts sure to please anyone who LOVES FUN and HATES JERKS like Million Moms, Nazi Skinheads, Dudebros and the Westboro Baptist Church!

Toe Tag Riot is LGBTQ-positive, and inclusive to everyone except bigots.  Bigots are zombie food.  Toe Tag Riot is a fun book with a positive message and a diverse cast of wacky characters.

Toe Tag Riot is a four-issue series currently in the Kickstarter stage, which means, basically, that they are raising $19,000 to fund it all — which is not a huge amount of cash in today’s world, is it?

Says Matt: “The Kickstarter will be used to fund the creator-costs (artists, colorists, letterers, etc) so that the books can actually be made. Once made we have a publisher lined up to take the books and we’ll be in comic stores worldwide. My goal is to put these books into the hands of people who don’t think twice before calling someone a “fag” or a “slut” and maybe make them think. So, even if someone isn’t a comic reader, I think maybe they could see the potential good that having these books out there could do – I feel it’s a worthwhile project to help spread some better, positive, messages.”

I do, too. And I am going to contribute something to this project. And I’m seeing on their site that they have some pretty cool incentives, offering various goodies to contributors.

But even without the goodies, the idea that Matt and Sean have found a unique way to spread a message worldwide so close to my heart truly touches me — which is why I am writing about it here.

I also suspect that these comic books ultimately will be collectors’ items.

Click here to go to the Toe Tag Riot Kickstarter site, where you can read more about it all, see lots of cool cartoon work, watch the above video again — and become a backer, if the spirit moves you.

The spirit of love, that is.

~jillian/montrealgazette.com