Comics / Comics News

Greg Pak collects donations for Sikh temple shooting victims


By Dan Horn
August 9, 2012 - 17:47

sikh_1.jpg
The Sikh symbol
Last year, writer Greg Pak had done something groundbreaking: He had successfully mass-distributed free trade paperbacks of his and artist R.B. Silva's Vision Machine digital comic. It's doubtful that you'll find that book anywhere these days, except possibly on eBay, but Pak has a few signed copies he'd still like to give away to donors.

Pak is currently collecting donations for the victims of this week's mass shooting at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin. For every donation $25 or greater, Pak will send a copy of Vision Machine, signed by him, to the donor.

Vision Machine is a graphic novel about social change brought about by technological advances in personal virtual reality. It offers keen satire and social commentary on the way we experience media, the way that media is siphoned through government, and the influence media exerts upon humanity as a whole.

Perhaps most interesting about Vision Machine is its real world implications. The comic itself was created by Pak to challenge the status quo of comic book distribution and retail. By creating a free-to-share (i.e. pirate), free-of-cost (via a Creative Commons license) product and then making alternate versions of that product for people to remix and to make their own comics from that source material, Pak was crossing into uncharted waters as far as multimedia is concerned. Vision Machine didn't have quite the impact I'd always expected it might, but its existence alone opens up interesting new ideas in distribution avenues.

The Sikh temple shooting in a Milwaukee suburb occurred on Sunday, leaving six members of the temple's congregation dead and others wounded. The gunman was also shot by police and then took his own life. That gunman was linked to white supremacist and hate groups. Sikhism is a religion that originated in India and stresses the importance of a culture built on the values hard work, honesty, peace, tolerance, and charity.

If you'd like to donate to the Sikh temple shooting victims, please visit Greg's website here.


Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12

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