Drawing up corruption: new comic-book

This post has been written by Alfred Bridi, Policy and Research Department, Transparency International.

A new comic-book anthology turns heads without a single trace of caped crusaders or friendly neighbourhood superheroes. A far cry from the scandals of Gotham City, this anthology focuses instead on a specific breed of dark deeds around Chinese AIDS programmes, British parliamentary expenses scandals and Haitian slum gangs and police forces. These are true stories where the protagonists are real people fighting a common enemy: corruption.

Spelling corruption

The anthology, Ctrl.Alt.Shift Unmasks Corruption, is no child’s play. It presents both a captivating and accessible depiction of over 20 corruption-centred episodes penned by many prominent names in the industry.

The Ctrl.Alt.Shift project, launched by the international development agency Christian Aid, is one led by youth for youth and successfully illustrates the way in which youth can play a prominent role in the fight against corruption.

The project also mirrors TI’s current and past work on the important relationship between Youth and Corruption, which has most recently been explored in a brand new Working Paper on the topic. The publication emphasises the potential of young people to transform this present reality and make a lasting impact as tomorrow’s leaders by creating a world free of corruption. It begins a discussion about why and how young people should get engaged in the anti-corruption struggle, particularly through effective youth-led activities that challenge and change the status quo. To access the document and learn more about the topic, click here.

‘Ctrl.Alt.Shift Unmasks Corruption’ is an exhibition hosted by the Lazarides Gallery on Greek Street in Soho, London as part of the London International Comics Festival, Comica. Running from 6th November to 30th November, the exhibition will display a history of political comic art as well as some of the pieces we commissioned for our very own ‘Ctrl.Alt.Shift Unmasks Corruption’ comic book.

The anthology is available for purchase at Ctrl.Alt.Shift for £4.99.