There’s a series of eBay auctions beginning this week that I’d like to draw some attention to. I’ve joined a group of comic creators trying to raise funds for a friend’s hospital costs, and anything we collect beyond that will be donated to the HERO Initiative, a non-profit charity that offers assistance to comic creators in need. The auctions are under the seller name artfriends2009.   There will be some fantastic items from a stellar list of artists, including Adam Hughes, Amanda Conner, Nic Klein, Esad Ribic, Cameron Stewart and Darwyn Cooke.

I’ll be donating the cover artwork for Green Arrow & Black Canary #12, which is the LAST AVAILABLE COVER featuring full-body drawings of the title characters.  The rest are in collector’s hands already, so get it while you can. I’ll update this post with listings as they come online. These auctions are a great opportunity to support a worthy cause and pick up some nifty art in the process. If you’re feeling particularly generous, we’re also accepting donations at artfriends2009@gmail.com via paypal.

UPDATE: I can happily confirm that, after eBay and Paypal fees, we’ve managed to meet our goal and that our friend will be able to pay off his hospital bills. We’re thrilled and would like to thank everyone who donated items for their hard work and generosity, all the blogs and websites that helped us get the word out there, and of course, all the buyers who supported our cause during these uncertain economic times. Bravo!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by the table this past weekend.  It was great to see all the double takes when people saw the Batgirl piece — look for more of that kind of thing this summer. I plan on laying low until Heroes Con in June (see the signings link), but that should give me some time to come up with a few more pieces. Thanks, too, for all the wonderful sketch requests.  Here’s this year’s batch!

Finally, some new artwork! I recently finished the poster for True Adolescents, an independent film making its premiere at the 2009 SXSW Film Festival in March. Starring Academy Award nominee Melissa Leo and mumblecore icon Mark Duplass, it follows our “hero” Sam, an aging Seattle rocker who takes 2 teenage kids camping and quickly finds he has to man up in the face of the elements. It’s a funny, charming and heartfelt movie and I’m looking forward to it getting the recognition it deserves.

(more…)