If, like me, you watched the recent Japanese tsunami, that left over 8,500 people dead and half a million people homeless, with a sense of dismay and sympathy then you’ll undoubtedly want to do something to help those struggling to cope with the aftermath. Here’s a suggestion of how you can make a small but significant contribution.

I recently had the honour to contribute to the Comic Book Alliance’s fundraising anthology ‘Spirit of Hope’. This fabulous graphic novel contains a stellar line up of contributors with some amazing stories and art and is a mere steal at only £14:99. Every penny of the profits from this publication will go towards providing aid for those who are most sorely in need in the wake of the recent catastrophe.Please go to the Comic Book Alliance’s website and buy a copy for everyone you know, even if they don’t read comics. In fact this would be a great introduction to those people (like the ignoramus MP Tom Harris) who still don’t get comics. Not only is it a great read but it’s making a significant contribution to rebuilding more than a million lives.

Here’s a little more info:

SPIRIT OF HOPE

The Spirit of Hope is a unique anthology of short stories from the world’s greatest creators dealing with the impact of disasters on people’s everyday lives. Creators include Liam Sharp, Henry Flint, Nick Abadzis, Glenn Dakin, Mark Buckingham, Al Davison and Peter Hogan with stories covering all aspects of human life in the face of catastrophe. The collection comes in two editions – one with a beautiful Jimmy Broxton cover and a second with a cool Michael Allred cover. All profit from the title will go to help disaster victims via Second Harvest and the New Zealand Red Cross.Release date: 18th June 2011, Price £14.99 + £3.00 postage (UK), £5.00 postage (Rest of World). Books will be dispatched after the release date.