Hi friends!

First and foremost, all profits raised from this GoFundMe will be used for the following auction by writer Charles Soule, who will then donate them directly to the Book Industry Charitable Foundation (BINC): https://www.bincfoundation.org. The BINC provides financial relief to independent bookstore owners and employees who are experiencing hardship.



Charles is auctioning a signed “first-print Rise of Kylo Ren #1” comic plus an original, non-canon 500-word story about Kylo or Ben (our choice) for the auction winner only, unless that winner decides to share.



With that said, I decided to start this GoFundMe to pool money together from fans around the Star Wars community who want to contribute and guarantee Ben Solo’s newest story is told to all fans! This way, everyone gets to participate in the win, rather than one bidder only.



Ultimately, this is for charity and every donation supports independent bookstores that are struggling during the COVID-19 crisis.



[Update: since this GoFundMe reached $9,000, Charles will be writing 1,500 words]

Will Sliney, the artist behind the Rise of Kylo Ren comic series, will also be penning new art for Soule’s original story! He has agreed to do more artwork as the GoFundMe contributions increase.



Funds will be raised through April 20, 11AM ET. At that point, I will submit our bid equal to whatever amount we raised. If we win the auction, I will work directly with Charles to finalize and distribute the donation to the BINC, who is the beneficiary.



If we do not raise enough money to win the auction, you will be fully refunded and can make a donation to the BINC on your own.



I am looking to determine what will be done with the signed comic so that it can benefit the greater good as well.



Please do consider that GoFundMe charges transaction fees, which means the final withdrawn amount will equal the amount raised less any fees.

Thank you for all your help! Let’s Save Ben Solo and let's keep our local bookstores open during these turbulent times. Your donation matters.



May the Force be with you,



Brad (@bradwhipple)