Shawn is joined by Johnny M of the Legion of Dudes &Walking Dead TV podcast and DC Comics artist Dave Beaty(Brightest Day, Adventure Comics) as they discuss some more of their favorite Kung-Fu & Martial Arts movies ever. Discover what an “IP Man” is, marvel at the skill of Sonny Chiba, find out about some Jet Li flicks you didn’t know about, and discover what film Chuck Norris played in as a drug-lord/kung fu pimp!

Featuring the music of the WU-Tang Clan.

http://thepkdblackbox.podbean.com/2010/12/09/episode-41-the-kung-fu-explosion-returns/

In January, I’ll be taking part in a fundraiser event called the Comic Creators Alliance: Fighting Together to End Human Trafficking. Last year 87 comic creators united to create one desktop wallpaper image featuring all their different characters, and together raised $10,000 for the purpose of fighting Human Trafficking! I’ve been asked to take part this year, so I’ll be adding (fill in the name of your character) to the wallpaper along side everyone else.

What is Human Trafficking? Human Trafficking is a sanitized term for slavery. There are over 27 million people enslaved in the world today, and most if it is young girls being sold into forced prostitution–both over seas and yes, in the United States. In the United States there are only 39 beds at facilities for victims in the entire nation–and at least 16,000 people being trafficked into the US from other countries each year! Not to count the domestic victims already living here.

The money that the CCA raised last year was split between two organizations, one global–Love 146, and a local shelter trying to get up and running–Gracehaven in Ohio.  (Toledo, Ohio is one of the largest trafficking hubs in the U.S.) Both organizations were able to expand their particular fights against this heinous problem in 2010. Love 146 is setting up Task Forces around America, local groups of concerned citizens bringing the fight and awareness to their own corners of the nation. Internationally, Love 146 set up the Cambodia Border Officers Project . This is total prevention: officers patrol the border crossing, looking for possible victims and the kids they rescue will never know the horrors they might have.  Gracehaven used our funds in the ongoing renovations that are necessary to bring the house up to code–plumbing and air conditioning were installed, along with two new bathrooms. They hope to be up and running soon but must first have six months of operating expenses in the bank. They are currently at one fifth of their goal–let’s see what we can do to help them!

If you’re a creator and would like to participate, the deadline for contributions is December 31st. EmailComicCreatorsAlliance@gmail.com to be added to the list. And the Donations Drive goes live January 11th on National Human Trafficking Awareness Day and will last for 2 weeks.  See you then!

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” -Margaret Mead

Monday, January 11th is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. To participate, we formed the Comic Creator’s Alliance–a group of over eighty comic book creators (both web and print) who volunteered our artistic talents to raise money and awareness for this cause. You may not know it, but there are currently 27 million enslaved people worldwide- more than double the number of enslaved Africans during the trans-Atlantic slave trade. UNICEF estimates that 1.2 million children every year are sold into slavery, most of it sexual. The US Department of Justice estimates 16,000 victims of human trafficking are brought into the United States every year. Unlike slavery in the 19th century, what is happening today is happening in secret. So it won’t end until awareness is raised, and people like you and me take a stand. So here’s what we did: each creator contributed an original drawing of one of our own female characters, and combined them into a single wallpaper image. The wallpaper features characters from The Phoenix Requiem, Girls with Slingshots, Earthsong, Looking for Group, Shadowgirls, Marsh Rocket, The Uniques and three IDW Publishing titles: Fallen Angel, The Dreamland Chronicles and The Dreamer, and lots, lots more! Donate today to download this unique, once-in-a-lifetime wallpaper. The Donations Drive will last for two weeks, from January 11th – 24th. All proceeds will be split evenly between Love146 and Gracehaven House- two organizations working on rehabilitation of victims and prevention of this crime. To learn more about the Comic Creator’s Alliance visit www.comicalliance.weebly.com. To learn more about the problem, visit http://love146.org/slavery. (Note: contains adult themes and actual accounts of sex slavery.)

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BushiTales.com has donated art to this wallpaper, too. 

Lin