Frazer Brown, known for his role as William Shakespeare in Troma Entertainment's Shakespeare's Shitstorm, has become the center of a major controversy within the comics community. In 2020, Brown launched a Kickstarter campaign for a charity comic anthology titled Tales from the Quarantine, featuring contributions from over 400 creators. The campaign raised £37,185 (approximately $47,000 USD at the time), nearly three times its original goal of £13,000 (around $16,500 USD). Despite the strong financial backing, the project quickly fell into disarray. Years later, the physical books-both hardcover and paperback-remain undelivered. While a few backers received peripheral items like trading cards and posters, the core anthology never arrived. A digital version was eventually released but was widely criticized for being incomplete and riddled with errors.
Compounding the fulfillment problems were serious concerns about Brown's treatment of both backers and contributors. Many individuals who inquired about the status of the project were met with hostility-some were blocked on social media, while others received threats of legal or even police action simply for asking questions or raising public concerns. Brown's communication throughout the process has been inconsistent, with frequent excuses involving lost emails and vague promises of imminent shipments that never materialized.
The charitable aspect of the project has also come under intense scrutiny. Brown had pledged to donate a portion of the proceeds to NHS Charities and The Hero Initiative, yet no public evidence of any donations has ever surfaced. The absence of transparency around the nearly $47,000 raised has significantly eroded trust among backers and creators.
In response to the growing backlash, Kickstarter's legal department reportedly conducted an investigation, ultimately placing restrictions on Brown's account. The Tales from the Quarantine debacle has since become a cautionary tale in the crowdfunding world, highlighting the need for transparency, accountability, and respect for supporters in creator-led campaigns.
