Limited offer: Free Will Eisner poster!

The Will and Ann Eisner Family Foundation is a great organization that has done many nice things to help Hero Initiative. Here's one right now:

We have a limited number of promotional posters from the 2011 Will Eisner's New York exhibit at the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art. While supplies last, if you purchase selected prints from Hero's eBay store, we'll kick in a FREE copy of this poster courtesy of the Foundation!

You can get the Frank Cho Howard the Duck signed or unsigned…

Arthur Suydam's Zombie Scarface…

The Toronto Comic Con litho signed by Terry Moore, Matt Wagner AND Marv Wolfman…

Clayton Crain's Robot and Girl…

The autographed Ed Hannigan Spider-Man…

…or the autographed Josh Medors Spider-Man.

Check ’em out, and thanks once again to the Will and Ann Eisner Family Foundation!

Jim McLauchlin

Need help ID'ing some great Jack Davis art!

Folks,
Jack Davis kindly donated this art to Hero Initiative…but even he's not sure what it is! He thinks it might be a Time magazine piece. If anyone can ID, please let us know in the comments section here. Thanks!

And a link to a mighty ComicArtFans.com gallery with this…here!

Jim McLauchlin

Hero Initiative 2012 Memberships: Now with George Pérez sketches!

The time is ripe to sign up for your 2012 Hero Initiative membership!

And for those of you who feel very generous, you can get a head sketch of a character of your choice by either George Pérez or Walter Simonson! One smart guy already owns the Galactus, above!

Maybe you can lay claim to this Scarlet Witch…

Or if your tastes run more to willpower, there's always this great Green Lantern!


Get ’em while they're hot, peeps!

Jim McLauchlin

Kevin Eastman's ENTIRE Studio auction: It's ON!

The auction to end all auctions is up and running! Check it out, because:
a) It's super-cool; and
b) A nice slice of the proceeds go to Hero Initiative!

Seriously. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creator Kevin Eastman is auctioning off his entire studio in one fell swoop. This is one for the ages.

And make sure you make the party at Meltdown Comics on January 4, 2012 as well, huh?

Jim McLauchlin

Kevin Eastman studio auction: Video and list-out!

Perhaps the craziest, coolest auction of all time!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creator Kevin Eastman has moved his entire studio into Meltdown Comics. AND he's gonna auction the ENTIRE thing off in one giant lot!

The KEVIN EASTMAN ART STUDIO auction will run for 10 days beginning Dec. 25th, Christmas Day, at 9:00 PM (PST). It will wrap the evening of January 4th at 9:00 PM, which will be the final night of the 35 DAYS OF KEVIN EASTMAN event at Meltdown Comics in Hollywood. Swing by for the huge blowout closing night party!

And before you do, check out this amazing video in which Kevin walks you through the studio and some of the items.

On Christmas night, you can seek out eBay merchant: oranj
They'll be running the auction. And here are some of the highlights you'll find contained within this treasure trove!

* Kevin's Drawing Table and Chair (table is as it was when Kevin decided to do this auction). Includes Pens, Shotglasses, Empty Redbull Cans, etc.
* Original Illustrated Storyboards for HEAVY METAL 2000
* Highlander Animated Series: press pack, Early Cut of the Movie, Copies of entire Movie as Directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri
* Over 600 DVDs - most of them partially watched while working on art in the studio. Includes DVD deck and monitor.
* Double-Sized Production Prototype of OZZY OSBOURNE "Bark At The Moon" Action Figure sculpted by Digger T. Mesch
* Photocopy of Simon Bisley's Lobo/Authority Pencils & Layout for the entire story
* 2 Pgs of Original Art from TNMT Movie Adaptation - 1 Featuring Twin Towers - 1 Featuring Statue of Liberty - Framed with US Flag from Kevin's Home
* Richard Corben Original Art (at least two pieces - there may be more!)
* Signed Elizabeth Hurly Photo from Austin Powers.
* Kevin's personal San Diego Comic Con Badges going back about 10 years
* Various Movie Posters - Comic Prints - and More . . . used to "wallpaper" the studio!
* Toy Guns, Knives and a Hand-Grenade (non-functional) used as reference for comics
* Original art portrait of Kevin by Simon "BIZ" Bisley (there's actually quite a bit of BIZ art in here!)
* Trigun, Lain, and other favorite Anime Animation Cells
* A Fishtank (formerly held Kevin's gecko) filled with various odds and ends tossed in over a six year period - ???
* TMNT Comic 5-Color Press Proof Overlays (from back in the days before digital press proofs)
* Box of Original Photos of Playmates & Models (mostly nude) - Photography by Julie Strain
* Turtles Car Windshield Sunblock - Still in Original Shrinkwrap
* Turtles Cereal Box (cardboard mock up - never assembled)
* TONS of random Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles goodies . . . prototypes . . . and oddities
* Original Comic Art by Various Creators
* Statues & Action Figures - - Pin-Up, Fantasy, Superhero, Turtles (natch) and more!
* Various Billiken Models From Japan (Frankenstein, Dracula, Creature, Mummy and MORE)
* LOTS OF HEAVY METAL ART . . . BOOKS . . . UNUSED TREASURES!
* and so much more . . . some of these boxes have not even been opened. Who knows what lurks inside?!

Crazy!

Auction starts December 25th at 9:00 PM (PST). Search KEVIN EASTMAN ART STUDIO or go to http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/oranj

Jim McLauchlin

Hero Initiative 2012 Memberships: EVERYONE gets a tote bag!

They're up!

Hero Initiative 2012 memberships are now available. For as little as $29 a year, you can show your support for Hero and get some very cool swag.

AND you can show the world you care by using your Hero tote bag to carry your sketchbook, hand sanitizer, and Doritos to your next convention.

Get ’em while they're hot, folks!

Jim McLauchlin

P.S. We know "Excelsior" is spelled wrong on the sample card below. It's just a sample, son! Unless your name is "Lucas Bishop," I guess.

Hero Initiative's Deep Discount Quickee Christmas Items!

Ugga. So. Hero Initiative has a self-storage locker where we store our convention setup, more paperwork than you can imagine, extra inventory on our books, etc. The storage facility has lost its lease, and I get to move 13,000 pounds of books on January 2. Brother, can you spare a back brace?

As it's easier, weight-wise, to move ’em one at a time, we'll help you with last-minute Christmas shopping as well. For a limited time, through Jan. 1…

• Our Wolverine 100 softcover is 50% off

• The Hulk 100 hardcover is 40% off

• The Archie 50 softcover is 50% off, and similarly, the limited edition hardcover is 50% off as well.

• Avengers 100 softcover at 50% off? Check. And the Avengers 100 hardcover, same 50% off? Okay. Sold!

• Excelsior! Stan's Soapbox: The Collection is 50% off!

• Our Spider-Man 100 papaerback at 50% off? Yup!

• And even the Hero-exclusive Overstreet Comic Book Price guide is 20% off.

Bargains galore, peeps. Make Christmas shopping easy, and save my lumbar all at the same time.

Jim McLauchlin

Josh Medors and Stan Lee prints…almost gone!

The best of all possible Christmas gifts? Well, that would be the stellar Spider-Man print autographed by Josh Medors, Josh's recreation of Steve Ditko's classic Amazing Spider-Man #33 cover that ran on Roy Thomas. Alter Ego #105. Still available for tree-underin'!

But those of you looking for a more rare bird best act NOW! Of the 250 prints, a mere 50 were signed by BOTH Josh and Stan Lee. Hero's stock is sold out, but six remain at Graham Crackers Comics. Get thee there!

And print #1 of 250 is currently up on Hero's eBay store. The last of its kind.

And we have a mere FOUR Artist Proof editions of the 10 created, signed by both Stan and Josh. Worth a look.

Merry Christmas, lucky buyers!

Jim McLauchlin

Darwyn Cooke's 12 Days of Christmas!

It begins!

Darwyn Cooke, raconteur, man-about-town, and occasional writer and draw-er of comics, has opened up the vaults once again for a STELLAR almost-fortnight of great auctions benefiting Hero Initiative. Last year, among other things, Dar helped pay for Russ Heath's new knee. This year? Who knows? Maybe we'll get someone a pancreas!

Things get started with a killer Parker package (above), and keep rollin' with the JLA cover from the 2011 Boston Comic Con (below). Heck, you can scope the whole kit-’n'-kaboodle on one convenient page.

Please check ’em out, and bid generously, huh? And next time you see Dar, say, "Thanks!"

Jim McLauchlin

Kevin Eastman auctions off…his entire freakin' studio!

Okay, you gotta admit: This is pretty cool!

Kevin Eastman has moved his entire studio into Meltdown Comics in Los Angeles, including every item you see above.

And because Kevin is a delightful kind of crazy, he'll be auctioning off the ENTIRE thing as one lot starting December 25. Talk about a Christmas present of crazed-out proportions! Won't fit under most trees, but still…

And Kevin will be donating a portion of the auction proceeds to Hero Initiative. Nice guy, he.

More later!

Jim McLauchlin

JLA cover auctions—one down, two to go!

The first round of our JLA cover auctions has been completed! And you can see the pics at Hero's page at PopCons.com!

Next up, Tate's Comics, Jan. 21, 2012;
And Orlando MegaCon, Feb. 17-19, 2012.

We hope to see you there. Now check out the pics, including Mike Kunkel and daughter (below)!

Jim McLauchlin

Some quick words from Jerry Robinson

Legendary comic artist and humanitarian Jerry Robinson has passed away, aged 89 years. There are many eulogies and obits already, I'm sure, trumpeting his works both in art and in service to his fellow man. And they are all well deserved. He was a great guy.

The only thing I'd like to add are just some brief excerpts from an interview I did with Jerry back in 2002, while researching a Bill Finger feature. I'm pretty sure this was all "cutting room floor" stuff that didn't make the final piece, but speaks nicely to that time-and-place of when Jerry started working as an assistant to Bob Kane at age 17. Who knew this stuff would be so significant?

“We certainly didn’t have any thoughts about if this would be popular in 60 years, or even if it would endure at all. At 17, you really don’t think that far in advance. We were all young. It was a young art form. We were all in our early- or mid-20s. But we did have the feeling that were creating something new. We didn’t think of it as being lofty as an art form, but that it was a new means of communication.

“And almost every time we did something, it was new! It was a first. There was no precedent to fall back on.

“It presses on me more and more as time goes on. So many great talents in comics have passed on in the last few years. I guess I am the last of that first Batman group—Bill Finger, Bob Kane and myself. Shelly Moldoff worked around that period. But yes, there is a sense that I’m the only survivor. It is the end of an era."

Godspeed, Jerry Robinson. You are loved and missed.

Jim McLauchlin

This party just got REAL!

Parties are great. The only thing better? Parties with free food and drink!

And so it comes to pass that the Hero Initiative/Golden Apple bash this Friday night, Dec. 9, will have free food and drink from the mighty Seyj Catering! All you have to do to participate and partake of our bounty is bring your your Ralphs Rewards card, or an old cell phone or ink cartridge!

And there's even a GREAT raffle and more! Full details…

What: Charity Cocktail Party to benefit the Hero Initiative.
-Catering & Bar graciously provided by Seyj.

When: Friday Evening December 9, 2011 from 7-10pm

Where; Golden Apple Comics
7018 Melrose Ave (at La Brea)

Who: Creator Signing with Darick Robertson, Co-Creator & Artist of Transmetropolitan, The Boys & Much More!!!

How: FREE BOOK: Bring your RALPH'S Rewards CARD! Designate the Hero Initiative to receive a portion of your spending at the supermarket and get a FREE $50 Limited Edition Transmet Art Book or Ultimate Spider-Man #100 Project book. It's FREE!!

-RAFFLE AT 9PM.. Items include:
*FULL Set of Transmet comics #1-60!
*The Boys Limited Edition Art Print by Darick Robertson
*Limited Edition promo items
*The Boys Definitive HC with original sketch by Darick Robertson
*Hero Initiative swag!
*& Much More!!

TELL ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS!

Facebook Invite:
http://www.facebook.com/events/171253832970545/


Jim McLauchlin

Acme Comics Takes the Initiative

Big thanks—like 3,095 times over—go out to Acme Comics of Greensboro, NC. The forward-thinkers at Acme came up with an idea that turned out to be great for everyone—Hero Initiative included.

Acme asked its customers to bring in old, unwanted comics for Acme to accumulate. The staff there matched every book brought in with one of its own, tirelessly sorted and alphabetized the stock, and held a massive, one-day sidewalk sale with all books that were brought in available at $1 each.The results? A lot of people cleared some deadwood out of their collections. A lot of OTHER people found some gems that they really wanted. And 3,095 comics were sold at $1 each, with proceeds benefiting Hero Initiative.

It was a great, grass-roots idea that really calls to mind Hero's Razoo.com campaigns as well, where individual fans can set up their OWN fundraisers. It was low-impact, fun, people participated in different ways at whatever level they felt confortable, and a charity got some much-needed funds.

Our gracious thanks to Jermaine Exum and the whole crew at Acme. Next time you're in North Carolina's Triad area, check ’em out.

Jim McLauchlin