A comic about imperfect superhumans (secretly about disability).

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What’s The Comic About?

Zip is a comic about imperfect superhumans (secretly about disability)/

It explores the passive, quiet side of prejudice which is fuelled by ignorance and apathy, rather than the more traditionally understood motivation of hatred.

In the world of the comic, superhumans are unnoticed and marginalised. They’ve taken to acts of heroism to give themselves a sense of purpose in a society that seemed to have no place for them.

The story follows the titular character ZIP, whose superior speed makes the rest of the world appear as if it moves in slow motion. It makes fighting crime easy, but living a normal life a desperate dream.

Read The First Five Pages of Zip

(Or skip ahead)

Page one. Comic panels of a superheroine in a costume modelled on a tracksuit and goggles. She is running at super speed after a car, and narrating in caption boxes. “Civilisation was never built for superhumans. And that’s why my life sucks. I’m sorry if that sounds melodramatic. But it’s true. I’m in my 20s. But assuming I don’t get hit by a truck or something, by the time I’m about 40, my heart will pack in. It just beats too fast. Making friends is hard when everyone else talks in slow motion. And the amount of food I need to recharge my body is insane, and it’s all down to these stupid superpowers. Yeah, that’s me. Call me Zip. I dress up and I fight crime. Or sometimes, I chase after idiots driving way too fast in the middle of Bedminster. I can’t run away from who I am. Actually that’s pretty much the only thing I can’t run from, and I can’t lead much of a normal life either. So I do this. It… it gives me a sense of purpose… I guess.”

Skip past tthis five page preview

Page two. Zip approaches the reckless driver’s window and confronts him, but he is shocked to see a woman effortlessly running as fast as a sports car. Zip speaks to him out loud now. Zip: “Hey fire! Where’s the buddy? Oops! I meant to say, well you know what I meant.” Reckless driver: “Huh?” Zip: “Ugh. Too fast for you right?” Each word in Zip’s next sentence is elongated by adding many vowels, to show she is speaking it extremely slowly “hello road user. You have far exceeded the speed limit.” Reckless driver: “Aiieeee!” Zip (shouting): Wait! Don’t swerve! Brake! Emergency…” Zip covers her face with her arm, recoiling in shock. The background of the panel is a large burst originating from the direction of her looking space. A tire bounces away from the burst. Zip narrates with another caption: “So, uh, before you judge me too harshly. I would just like to point out that I have to live with these powers all the time I occasionally forget that all the regular people out there aren’t expecting to see women running around at 60mph.” Scene change: a hospital exterior. Zip speaks to a nurse from somewhere off panel inside the building. Nurse: “And your name is, miss?” Zip: “Zip.”

Skip past tthis five page preview

Page three. A hospital accident and emergency ward. Zip is being interrogated by a nurse. Zip: “It’s the… sound I make when I run past you.” Nurse: “I see… you really should have called an ambulance you know, ‘Zip’. He’s lost quite a bit of blood.” Zip: “Sure. But is he going to be okay?” Nurse: “He’s an O+. He’ll be fine.” Zip: “Alright then, I’m going.” Nurse: “Wait! I think the police will want to talk to you! They’ll want your REAL name too!” More of Zip’s narration captions: “Oh yeah, it’s Allison by the way.” Zip: “Sorry, can’t. The police won’t believe anything I have to say anyway. Bye!” Nurse: “You! Intern! Stop her!” The aforementioned intern turns around. There is an empty space where Zip used to be. The nurse wrings her hands. Intern: “Stop who?” Nurse: “She was, she ran, oh never mind. I don’t care.” Wide panel of Zip running across rooftops. Zip’s narration: “Aah. Rooftops. High up away from anyone I might crash into. I can get some real speed up here. Plus I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get a kick out of how cool I look leaping across these things. As Zip streaks by, she leaves a comic book sound effect in her wake: “Zip!” Back to narration: “Didn’t I say that was the sound I made?”

Skip past tthis five page preview

Page four. Scene change. Two men have parked their black van in front of a rundown office building. One of the men (nicknamed Pinstripe) wears a cheap suit speaking on a mobile phone. The other man behind him (nicknamed Dogsbody) wears in suspenders and a shirt is hauling heavy looking scientific hardware out of the back of the van. Pinstripe: “Yes, I heard what you said. No sir, I’m not talking back to you. I just think that a few far-fetched local rumours don’t justify, yes sir. Of course. Right away.” Angry, Pinstripe hangs up his phone. Dogsbody is losing his grip on a particularly large piece of equipment that resembles a motor engine with antennae and electrodes coming out of it. Pinstripe: “Ugh. Bloody impossible bastard.” Dogsbody: “Mate, huff… get the door for me?” The two men work together to carry the equipment into the building and start it up. Dogsbody: “So, what’s all this hardware for this time?” Pinstripe: “Get a straight answer out of the boys at the top and I’ll have a stroke.” Pinstripe: “Something about detecting anomalies in background radiation. It’s meant to lead us to… whatever it is the bossman’s been searching for. I can work the equipment, but the hard science is best left to the fellas back at the lab. Plug that in there, cheers.” Dogsbody: “In the mains? Will the grid be able to handle that?” Pinstripe: “Nearby sub-stations might experience a brief spike, but it’ll go unnoticed.” Pinstripe holds the door out of the office open for Dogsbody. Pinstripe: “Now that’s done, the machines need to calibrate overnight.” Dogsbody: “Same time tomorrow then?” Pinstripe: “See you then.”

Skip past tthis five page preview

Page five. Zip jumps down from a roof towards an open window high up in a tower block. She climbs through the window into a studio flat. It is a bay window. Zip: “Grampy! I’m home!” Zip sits down at the bench in the bay window, slipping off her shoes. She looks off into the distance as if someone is there to hear. Zip: “The police scanner was going crazy today!” Zip opens the sliding door to a large cupboard. She is carrying a bowl of soup with a spoon in it. Lying inside the cupboard is an ancient man, staring into space, frozen in a petrified gaze. Zip: “I had one tiny slip up, but those are happening less and less. I just miss the days when you came out patrolling with me. Anyway, I made you some soup.” Zip holds the bowl of soup in one hand and guides a spoonful of soup to Eternity’s mouth in the other. Zip narrates again: “This is granpy. Well, actually he’s my great, great, great,“ Eternity in the middle ages, mixing strange chemicals in beakers and vats in a steampunky lab. Zip’s narrtion: “he’s been alive for a while, put it that way. He was a scientist that discovered a way to make himself immortal.”

Back to first page

In This Issue…

Our current issue is based on the real-life testimonies of an ex-con murderer, with a time travel twist.

A teenager out for BLOOD.

A science experiment gone WRONG.

TIME is of the essence.

A comic book double page spread of an elderly homeless man confronting a teenager who has bought and illegal switchblade. Apologies but it is a long sequence and unfortunately cannot be comprehensively described here. For an accessible transcript please visit: zip comic dot co dot uk forward slash alt. Once you have arrived at the page, use the contents table to find the transcript with the heading "Issue 4 - Knife Confrontation".
Click/tap for larger image

Rewards

When you pledge to our Kickstarter campaign, you can choose from a whole bunch of rewards which are often exclusive to our backers.

With rewards starting from $1, £1 or €1 (or equivalent depending on your local currency) backing our campaign can get you:

  • Digital or Kickstarter exclusive physical copies of any issue of Zip which we’ve made to date. You’ll also have your name printed in the comic itself as recognition for your pledge.
  • An autograph by writer Mike Scrase with a personalised message of your choice.
  • A black t-shirt with a DTG print featuring artwork by Francesco Tomaseli
  • A 7 piece stickers set
  • An A3 poster (backers outside of Europe get this FREE – see our campaign for details)
  • A set of smart phone wallpapers.
Several copies of our first issue spread out into a fan. There are two alternate covers visible, a colour one and a black and white one, although only the front of the colour one is clearly shown at the top of the pile. This cover shows a superheroine in googles and a costume inspired by a tracksuit running from a giant shadow monsters who is wearing a suit. Text on the cover shows the title of the comic is Zip.
A product mock-up of a black t-shirt. On the t-shirt is a print: it is comic cover with the logo "Zip" at the top. The art is of a woman in goggles and a tracksuit inspired superhero costume running at super speed, with buildings blurring behind her. Below the cover is a URL: zip comic dot co dot uk.
Comic art, 10 smartphone wallpapers. 1: a woman clutching her fist intensely, as it glows. 2: a martial artist wielding a bo staff in a pink sunset. 3: Extreme close up of a screaming face being electrocuted. 4: colourful cover art, a woman in a tracksuit superhero costume sprinting at super speed. 5: a caped, silhouetted superhero standing in mist. 6: a gaunt, bare chested man looking grimly straight at the viewer. 7: a menacing skeletal robot with a mass of cables and strange machine parts protruding from it. 8: the speedster heroine running a giant living shadow which is wearing a suit. 9: speedster heroine fighting bare-chested martial artist, their swipes at each other swirling around like a tornado. 10: speedster heroine brooding on a rooftop.
Four covers for Zip issue 4, each displayed on a tablet screen. San Espina's cover depicts a woman superhero and a hooded figure wielding a knife. They are stood in front of a huge clock face. Giulio Centrella's cover shows a blonde superheroine in a tracksuit inspired costume and wearing goggles running at super speed down a city street. Tall buildings and neon lights blur in the background behind her. Vanessa Cardinali's cover displays a superhero bar. The patrons in the background are outlandish types, some are living flowers, some have tentacles, and some have fins or tails. At the front, the title character of the comic a speedster named Zip, is speaking to another superhero named Planemo, who is dressed in a tank top. There is a pigeon eating crumbs on the bar top. Ray Friesen's cover is pixel art of a superheroine wearing googles and a tracksuit inspired costume running across a rooftop, towards a hooded person clutching a knife, and an elderly man whose white beard flows in the wind. Behind the two people she is rushing to, there are ripples in the air emanating from behind them.
Photo of a poster depicting a woman in googles and a superhero costume modelled on a tracksuit, clutching her fist as it glows. There is a moonlit city street and x-rays hanging in the sky in the background. The art is black and white with heavy linework.
Photo of a sheet of stickers. Sticker 1: horizontal, an elderly man in a metal cap, like the kind worn in an electric chair, being electrocuted. 2: vertical, a woman in goggles and a tracksuit inspired superhero costume. 2: horizontal: the woman runs towards a shadow monster wearing a suit in a dystopian industrial wasteland. 3: grim faced man with long messy hair and a bony face. 4: Zip logo, a bold capitalised font with motion blurring as if the text itself is moving extremely fast. 5: a woman in a tracksuit inspired superhero costume throwing a powerful punch. 7: the silhouette of a woman in front of an explosion with a comic book sound effect (crash).
Text which says: International backers. We understand that international postage costs can make it difficult for backers outside of Europe to take advantage of our physical rewards. In recognition of the extra charges all backers in The United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand will receive a free A3 poster with their pledge. Everyone else will still be able to get our A3 poster with a pledge to one of our 'merch' reward tiers, or by selecting it as an add-on.
See our campaign for more details.

Available Covers

Issue 1:

Comic book cover. A speedster superheroine wearing goggles runs. In the background a face being penetrated by cables is screaming in pain. Two bewildered blue collar types stand amid the chaos, and a skeletal figure looms behind them all. Text on the cover reads: Spectacular debut issue of a very unusual speeder! By Mike Scrase, San Espina and Ferran Delgado. The Zip logo is blurred, as if moving very quickly itself.
Comic book cover. A woman in goggles and a tracksuit inspired superhero costume runs from a hulking monster dressed in a suit. The monster is a giant compared to her, and is essentially a living shadow with glowing yellow eyes. Text on the cover reads: Markosia (publisher), by Mike Scrase, San Espina and Ferran Delgado. The Zip logo is blurred, as if moving very quickly itself.

Issue 2:

Comic cover art of a shirtless martial artist with a shuriken shaped tattoo on his chest and an animal tooth necklace is wielding a bo staff in a pink sunset. He has messy hair and appears gaunt in some places yet strangely, muscular and lean in others. He is facing someone in a stand-off, although only their leg and sporty trainer can be seen in the background: crackling with electricity. Text on the cover reads: Markosia (publisher), by Mike Scrase, San Espina and Ferran Delgado. The Zip logo is blurred, as if moving very quickly itself.
Comic book cover art depicting a woman in googles and a superhero costume modelled on a tracksuit, clutching her fist as it glows. There is a moonlit city street and x-rays hanging in the sky in the background. The art is black and white with heavy linework. Text on the cover reads: by Mike Scrase, San Espina and Ferran Delgado. The Zip logo is blurred, as if moving very quickly itself.
Comic book cover art. A monochrome purple colour pallet depicting the Bristol Clifton Suspension Bridge, and in the sky above it the woman from the first cover is looking off into the distance, as if she is a giant above the city. Text on the cover reads: by Mike Scrase, San Espina and Ferran Delgado. The Zip logo is blurred, as if moving very quickly itself.

Issue 3:

A comic book cover with a vibrant colour pallet where a woman is running in the foreground. She is wearing a costume modelled after a tracksuit, and her hair is blowing in the slipstream she has created by her speed. The energy she is creating is causing electricity to spark around her. She is almost entirely lit in an amber tint, all except for her googles, which are bright purple in contrast: a hue which matches the blurred buildings that she is whizzing past. The comic's title 'Zip' is stylised as if it too, is blurred by moving at great speeds, and is distorted in places by the bursts of electricity.
A colourful comic book cover. A multiheaded robot with long necks like a hydra is firing several arm-mounted miniguns at a woman in goggles and a superhero costume inspired by a tracksuit. She is running and weaving away from the line of fire at super speed, leaving a line of lightning in her wake. Top text reads: "Zip." Bottom text: "Survive The Hive!"
Black and white comic art with heavy inks. A woman in a tracksuit themed superhero costume and goggles, screaming in horror as she is transformed into a robot.

Issue 4:

Comic book cover art. The cover depicts a woman superhero and a hooded figure wielding a knife. They are stood in front of a huge clock face.
A comic book cover depicting a superhero bar. The patrons in the background are outlandish types, some are living flowers, some have tentacles, and some have fins or tails. At the front, the title character of the comic a speedster named Zip, is speaking to another superhero named Planemo, who is dressed in a tank top. There is a pigeon eating crumbs on the bar top.
Comic book cover art. A blonde superheroine in a tracksuit inspired costume and wearing goggles running at super speed down a city street. Tall buildings and neon lights blur in the background behind her.
Pixel art comic cover. A superheroine wearing googles and a tracksuit inspired costume runs across a rooftop, towards a hooded person clutching a knife, and an elderly man whose white beard flows in the wind. Behind the two people she is rushing to, there are ripples in the air emanating from behind them.

Reviews

“Love the art in this”

Gail Simone

Rating: 5 out of 5.

“One of my favorite new comics”

Amazon review from Apparition Writer

Rating: 5 out of 5.

“a comic that I can’t wait to read more of.”

COMIC NEWS UK

Rating: 5 out of 5.

“Excellent comic. Really love where the story is going. Love the artwork.”

Amazon review from Ahmed

“REALLY ENJOYING THE EXPERIENCE OF READING THIS. GOOD, DENSE BUT WITH FLOW, FEELS LIKE A PROPER MEAL.”

CLAIRE NAPIER

Don’t Miss Your Chance To Read Zip!

Kickstarter campaigns are only active for a short time. The campaign for our current issue will be finishing on the 16th of October, 2025 at 6pm BST.

So hurry now and back our campaign to get your rewards!

If you enjoy this blog, subscribing now, as I’m going to send out a subscribers-only discount code for our Kickstarter campaign after Bristol Comic Con takes place!

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Zip

Zip is published by Markosia in the United Kingdom. © Mike Scrase 2023. ISSN 2976-8721 (print) 2976-8721 (online). No similarity between the names, characters and institutions depicted in Zip with any real life names, persons, or institutions is intended. Any such similarities are purely coincidental. Zip’s Kickstarter rewards are printed in the UK by Stuart Lloyd Gould. You can find our press kit here.