Welcome to the official Carrd for X-TRAORDINARY: AN X-MEN CHARITY ZINE
This is a charity zine in celebration of the X-men! This zine is about celebrating differences and shining a light on all mutants in a positive and self-uplifting way!
This zine is a collaborative project and we will donate all of the proceeds to ILGA (the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association).
If you want to know more about them and what they do, you can do so here!
ABOUT THIS ZINE
About X-TRAORDINARY: AN X-MEN CHARITY ZINE:
Hello, my name is Viv, I am the main moderator/host of this zine!
I decided to organise X-TRAORDINARY because I've been a long time X-men fan and ever since I first got into the fandom I've felt like there was a lack of fan-projects. I want to change that.
This is a project that I have been wanting to do since 2018 but never got the time to, until now. With the upcoming introduction of the mutants into the MCU, I've noticed that more and more people are joining the fandom, so I thought this was the perfect time to start this project.
The connection between X-men and exclusion/discrimination is well known. The X-men comics (movies and TV-shows) have always made a lot of people feel seen and understood. Many of us can connect to the struggles of the mutant kind and a big factor in the appeal of X-men is the “embracing yourself as you are” aspect of it. We believe self-love is always worth promoting and we want to do that through this zine as well!
For this zine we want to shine a light on all the mutant characters in a positive and self-uplifting way! Something that makes people want to celebrate diversity and differences!
Like you may have already noticed, this is a charity zine.
All of the proceeds will be donated to ILGA (the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association). Because the X-men represent an underrepresented group of people in a society, we thought this would be a fitting charity!
ILGA works to achieve and maintain recognition and protection of the human rights of people with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities, gender expressions and sex characteristics by the United Nations and other global institutions. Since our mods are from different places in the world we thought it was very important to choose a charity that helps people everywhere! They have member organisations in six different regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, North America and Oceania.
If you want to know more about them and what they do you can do so here!
Please feel free to contact us via DM on the zine's official social media pages or through the official email ([email protected])
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
PRODUCTIONAL QUESTIONS
How will the zine be published?
The zine will be published in two formants: a physical copy and digital PDF. The physical copy will have different tiers with different extras, in the form of merchandise.
How much will the zine cost?
We can’t tell you a fixed price yet but digital copies will probably be $15-$20 USD. Physical copies will probably be $20-$25 USD and zine+merch bundles will vary from $30-$50 USD. There might also be a merch only bundle which could be around $25-$30 USD, depending on the type of merch we're able to make.
When will pre-orders start?
Pre-orders have ended as of Janurary 3rd 2022. We will be back with leftover sales in March.
When will the zine be shipped?
If everything goes according to plan the shipping will start in mid-February to late-March. This zine will be shipped from the Netherlands and will be available worldwide!
What are the specifications of the zine?
The zine will be the standard comic book size, so 6-5/8 by 10-1/4 inches (16,8 by 25,7 cm). It will be perfect bound.
Will contributors have to pay for the zine?
All contributors will recieve a discount code for the physical zine release (and get the digital zine for free). As for merch bundles, those will be full price.
UPDATED:
All contributors will have the option to buy the physical zine and merch at production cost (+shipping). This means it'll be available at a discounted price. Contributors will also recieve the digital zine PDF for free.
Are we allowed to sell the art we made for this zine?
Yes, AFTER leftover sales have finished you are allowed to sell prints of your art. Selling the art you made for this zine is strictly prohibited during the production and distribution of this zine! We want people to see the art first in the actual zine, so to give them an incentive to buy it, it needs to be exclusive.
ZINE QUESTIONS
Am I allowed to draw other marvel characters besides x-men as well?
For this zine we would like to only include characters who are mutants in the canon media. This includes the comics, cartoons, movies and TV-shows!
However, There are some technicalities. For example, Wanda's design from the comics is allowed into the zine, because she is a canon mutant in the comics. Wanda's design from the movies and TV-show is not allowed as she is not a canon mutant within the MCU.
Feel free to ask a mod about this if you have doubts about a certain character.
Is this zine SFW (Safe For Work)?
Yes, this zine will be SFW.
Am I allowed to draw villains?
Absolutely! In fact, we would even encourage you to draw villains as well! But keep in mind this is a positive SFW zine so no gore or gruesome elements!
Will we be allowed to draw ships?
If they are a canon ship, then yes, go for it! But keep it SFW. If you end up submitting a NSFW piece it will NOT make it into the zine. Soft and gentle hugs, kisses, hand-holding etc. are completely OK. But no heavy make-out sessions or suggestive art. Platonic friendship art is definitely allowed outside of canon friendships.
Note: In the case of Cherik:
We'd say this is allowed. Cherik is probably the only fan ship that the whole fandom agrees upon... In the movie verse it's basically canon (Dark Phoenix ending), and in the new HOX/POX comics they are very close. It would be an eXception. The thing is, we don't want this zine to be all about Charles and Erik/Cherik. It's an X-men Zine, not a Cherik Zine. We want this zine to be about ALL mutants and their powers, showing them in a way that makes people want to celebrate diversity and differences!
Is traditional art allowed for this zine?
Yes, however, we ask that you provide us with a high quality scan of your art. 400 DPI at least.
Do I need to have/use discord to participate?
This zine will mainly be hosted through a Discord server, yes.
If you are accepted as a contributor, we will send you an invite link. We would really appreciate it if contributors joined the server, because Discord is a very organised place for collaborated projects like these. It's easy for moderators to contact everyone and keep everything in one place. Besides that it's also more fun as you'll be able to connect with other contributors and share ideas and WIPs etc. However, if you're not able to create a discord account we will be contacting you though your provided email. This will be the only way we will contact you about updates, deadlines and changes, so we expect fast/active responses.
Are there any rules around posting our pieces on social media?
We'd appreciate if you held off posting your art/writing until the zine is fully released. WIPs and cropped previews are fine!
contributors
HOST
MODERATORS
ARTISTS
WRITERS
Updates
Update: Jan 10 2022 - bundles 2, 3 and merch only
Since the closing of preorders we have been reviewing the finances again to get everything ready to order. Unfortunately our zine has not been able to make enough sales to fully support merch production. What does this mean?
We will be substituting the logo enamel pin for the X-gene enamel pin for every order which had the logo pin in it. For orders which had both pins, they will receive the logo pin as 2 big vinyl stickers. Everything else will remain as planned.
We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for understanding. If you have any questions, please email us at [email protected]
Schedule
PreProduction
Interest check open: May 24th 2021
Interest check close: June 14th 2021
Zine Applications
Mod applications open: June 20th 2021
Mod applications close: July 1st 2021
Sending out mod application results: July 6th 2021
Contributor Applications open: July 8th 2021
Contributor Applications close: August 12th 2021
Sending out application results: August 14th – 17th 20th 2021
Production
Discord links sent out to confirmed contributors: August 17th 20th 2021
Brainstorm
Contributor brainstorms: August 17th – 30th 24th - September 7th 2021
Final ideas confirmed: August 31st September 8th 2021
Work
First check in: September 13th 21st 2021
Second check in: September 28th October 6th 2021
Deadline: October 15th 23rd 2021
PostProdruction
Pre-orders open: November 4th 19th 2021
Pre-orders close: December 4th 20th 2021
Digital zine release: December 14th 27th 2021
Production period: December 4th 20th 2021 – Late January 2022
Shipping: Mid February 2022 – Late March 2022
Leftover sales: Late April 2022 – Early May 2022