In addition to their Drink ‘n Draw Welcome party on Friday, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund has plenty of stuff going on at WonderCon:

Saturday: CBLDF Live Art Jam!

Witness live art created before your eyes at the CBLDF Live Art Jam! Jim Lee (Batman), Dave Johnson (100 Bullets), Jill Thompson (Magic Trixie), Wendy Pini (Elfquest), and Matt Wagner (Grendel) will create original art projected on the big screen! The Live Art Jam gives you a glimpse behind the scenes of these masters’ artistic processes and is not to be missed by fans and students alike. All art will be auctioned at the end of the event to benefit the First Amendment legal work of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. 3:30 to 5:00 PM, Room 220/224 at WonderCon.

CBLDF Studio - Booth #725

Stop by the CBLDF booth throughout the convention to witness your favorite artists sketching to benefit the CBLDF! Dave Johnson headlines a cast of artists who will be popping by throughout the show to make original art to benefit the Fund. All art will be put on display when finished, and available for your donations. Also be sure to browse our selection of premiums, which includes red-hot items like signed copies of Neil Gaiman’s Graveyard Book; Terry Moore’s Echo; 100 Bullets; Walking Dead, and much much more! Plus exclusive Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab and Neverwear items!

Technorati Tags: WonderCon 09

The Hero Initiative announced today its plans for WonderCon, the West Coast’s second largest comics convention, taking place at the Moscone Center South from Feb. 27 to March 1 in San Francisco.

Celebrated artist Darick Robertson (The Boys, Transmetropolitan, Wolverine) will make the Hero booth (#913) his home away from home at WonderCon, appearing for five signing sessions throughout the weekend. He can also be found spending time at The Comic Outpost booth (#1108).

“As always, I’m looking forward to helping The Hero Initiative for aging and needful creators,” said Robertson. “They do great work, and I’m always happy to be a part of it.”

Fans will also be able to get their first opportunity all weekend to meet writer Matt Fraction (Invincible Iron Man, The Uncanny X-Men, Punisher War Journal, The Immortal Iron Fist), as the Marvel superstar will appear at the Hero booth first thing on Friday.

The Hero Initiative can be found at Booth #913. Fans can stop by to make donations, purchase exclusive signed items, sign up for memberships and get their items signed by Robertson, Fraction and some of their other favorite creators. Here is the schedule of appearances at The Hero Initiative Booth during the weekend (all times Pacific):

Technorati Tags: WonderCon 09

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Via PR:

Prism Comics, an all-volunteer, non-profit organization supporting LGBT comics creators and fans, unveils an exciting slate of events for WonderCon, the Bay Area’s pre-eminent comics and pop-culture consumer convention. Prism will be hosting booth appearances and talent signings, announcing the winner of the 2009 Queer Press Grant, and holding three panel discussions featuring the most prominent and talented LGBT creators in comics today and in San Francisco’s rich history of underground, gay comix. WonderCon takes place at the Moscone Center South, Friday, February 27th through Sunday, March 1st.

“San Francisco is the perfect place for Prism to promote LGBT talent, characters, themes, and titles in the comics field,” said Prism Co-President and Publicist, David Stanley. “Several Board members, along with Co-President Patricia Jeres, will be there to answer any questions from both the press and the large and enthusiastic audience we always find at WonderCon.”

Prism’s booth, #715, will host an extensive schedule of signings by LGBT and LGBT-friendly comics talent, including Eric Shanower (Marvel’s Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Age of Bronze), Paige Braddock (Jane’s World), Robert Triptow (Gay Comix), Jeff Krell (Jayson), Trina Robbins (It Ain’t Me Babe, Wimmen’s Comix), Brian Andersen (So Super Duper), Justin Hall (Glamazonia the Uncanny Super Tranny), Tommy Roddy (Pride High), Ed Luce (Wuvable Oaf), Mark Padilla & Johnny Nolan (Gravity Faggot), and Charles Zan Christensen (Mark of Aeacus), among many others, plus an appearance by the superhero group, Lucky Legendary! For the most up-to-date signing schedule, please check www.prismcomics.org.

Technorati Tags: WonderCon 09

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Karen Ellis, creator of the webcomic PLANET KAREN, is the latest comics creator to face the disaster of a devastating fire, according to a widely circulated letter:

Karen Ellis, creator of diary comic Planet Karen, lost nearly everything in a fire this weekend.

The apartment above her own caught fire on Sunday night, and while firefighters fought the blaze for three hours, tragically, the occupant was killed. Karen is physically fine, but most of her possessions, including books, clothes and drawing supplies, are ruined beyond repair. The apartment itself has suffered so much structural
damage that she’s also been made effectively homeless. (See this comic for an account in her own words.)

Karen is a valuable part of the webcomics community. If you can, please consider making a contribution via the donation button at Planet Karen to help out. Every donation, whatever its size, really counts!

Girl-Wonder.org, the organisation that hosts Planet Karen, is also planning a fundraising auction on Karen’s behalf. If you have items you think you’d like to donate, please contact Karen Healey at ten.karen@gmail.com for details.

Needless to say, if we lived a few thousand miles west, we’d be here:

The Cartoon Art Museum presents an advance screening of one of the most anticipated films of 2009, WATCHMEN, in a special benefit fundraiser sponsored by Warner Bros. Pictures. This is your opportunity to avoid the opening night crowds and pledge your support to the Cartoon Art Museum, which will receive 100% of the proceeds from ticket sales to this spectacular advance screening.

General Admission: $25: One ticket to the March 5 advance screening of WATCHMEN at The Metreon, plus one free pass to the Cartoon Art Museum

Silver Level: $50: One ticket to the March 5 advance screening of WATCHMEN at The Metreon, plus an Individual Membership to the Cartoon Art Museum

Gold Level: $100: One ticket to the March 5 advance screening of WATCHMEN at The Metreon, a Family Membership to the Cartoon Art Museum, plus an invitation to the exclusive February 20 WATCHMEN exhibition Preview Night at the Cartoon Art Museum featuring WATCHMEN artist and co-creator DAVE GIBBONS

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As usual, the CBLDF booth will present all kinds of merchandise and signings, and they’re kicking off the show on Thursday with the traditional welcome party. IN addition they are sponsoring a number of workshops which you can read about in the jump:

Join the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund in kicking off the 2009 convention season at our New York Comic-Con Welcome Party on Thursday, February 5! Enjoy drinks, free sliders for early arrivals, and door prizes! This party is sponsored by Image Comics and Dark Horse Comics. Admission will be $5 and up for CBLDF members, $10 and up for non-members.

Attending artists will include: Colleen Doran, David Mack, Rantz Hoseley, Dean Haspiel, Mike Cavallero, Nikki Cook, Mahmud Asrar, Brahm Revel and many more!

What: The CBLDF’s NYCC Welcome Party
Date: Thursday February 5, 2009
Time: 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM
Location: Side Bar
Street: 120 E. 15th Street (Near Union Square)
City: New York, NY
Donation : $5 & up for current CBLDF Members; $10 & up for non-members

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A party, an auction and signings by George Perez and many others highlight the activities at The Hero Initiative:

The night before the show begins, the organizers of New York Comic Con are throwing a Pre-Con party at Dave & Buster’s Times Square (234 West 42nd St., New York, NY 10036), from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m., on February 5, 2009. Admission is free and open to attendees, creators, exhibitors and staff, but for a donation of $10, guests will receive five raffle tickets for a chance to win some amazing prizes. All proceeds collected from the raffle will benefit The Hero Initiative. Winning numbers will be announced at the end of the party and winners must be present to win.

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Rich Faber writes that he’ll be at the show and selling many items (like the print above) to raise money to pay continued expenses for his wife’s cancer treatment:

Now, as for the title of the post, the NYCC is this coming weekend, from February 6-8th, and I will be there. Thanks to the generosity of my colleagues at Kids Love Comics, I will have a table with them at booth #1930, and will be selling all of my various wares, to help raise money for my wife’s medical bills, as well as a lot of other related expenses we’ve been incurring. My hope is to come up with enough to keep things stable for another month or two, and I’m hoping you guys that will be there can help. Below are pics of most of the things I’ll have for sale. I hope you’ll drop by to see me, and maybe pick up a little something. In addition to what I’m showing here, I’ll have 15 years of original comics art for sale, including Green Lantern, Steel, Titans, and many others. I will also probably be doing some character head shot sketches, for those interested. The main goal is to raise money, so I’ll be there for the entire weekend, and try to stay at the table as much as possible, so I am able meet as many of you as I can. Please stop by to say hi. Thanks!

Readers may recall that underground legend S. Clay Wilson suffered a severe brain injury back in November. Although he’s making progress towards a recovery, he needs much therapy — expensive therapy. Tomorrow, Sunday, a benefit for Wilson will be held at the Hemlock Tavern in San Francisco with a raucous assemblage that Wilson would be proud of. Details below:

Sunday 11 January 2009 at 6:00pm
Hemlock Tavern
1131 Polk Street
San Francisco CA 94109
United States

Anvil Encephalopathy, Liz Albee and Agnes Azelag, Skullcaster, Loachfillet, Heartworm, Heule/Dryer, Headboggle, Horaflora, Arachnid Arcade, Fognozzle, Amphibious Gestures, Bullshit Detector, Slusser, and Terror Apart

The SF Weekly has more:

Tonight more than a dozen avant-noise iconoclasts raise benefit funds by doing with sound what a Wilson comic does on the page, i.e., create a dense mess of transgressive weirdness. Sonics range from shivering liquid phantasms (Amphibious Gestures) and fractal-smashing loop fabrications (Skullcaster) to double-bass-and-percussion improvs (Tony Dryer/Jacob Felix Heule duo) and beyond. The odditorium opens at 6 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 11, at the Hemlock Tavern, with a donation between $7 and $20 required for entry.

Updated to add: You can find all the auctions right here.

On Tuesday, December 16, 2008, a series of auctions will begin at 5:00 p.m. Central Time, benefiting Rich Faber and his family. Rich is a well-known comic book inker and co-creator of the indy superhero series BUZZBOY. His wife Traci is battling Stage 4 metastatic melanoma. According to organizer Drew Geraci:

Times aren’t easy for anyone right now, but the Fabers are also raising their 2-year old son at home, and could use all the help that they can get right now as they try to pay for costly cancer treatments for Traci.

100% of the money raised through these auctions will be donated directly to the Faber family. These auctions are being run by longtime DC comic inker Drew Geraci, and Splash Page Comic Art.”

Inker Andy Owens has generously donated a page from the top-selling Buffy The Vampire Slayer series (written by Joss Whedon, pencilled by Georges Jeanty, published by Dark Horse).

A three piece set of Punisher try out pieces penciled by Louis Small Jr. and inked by Punisher Cover artist Tim Bradstreet. Tim stated that he was asked by his editor at marvel a while back to ink some of Louis Small’s pencils when they were considering having him pencil a run on the main Punisher title. All three pieces are drawn on 11 X 17″ comic art boards, and come together as a set. Donated by Tim Bradstreet & Splash Page Comic Art.

Ethan Van Sciver - Batman Spiderman & MJ. This fun commission is penciled & inked by Ethan Van Sciver on 11 X 17″ comic art board. Spidey’s sense tingles as he see’s Batman making a play for MJ. Donated by Mark Hay of Splash Page Comic Art

Paolo Rivera Wolverine sketch This sketch of Wolverine is drawn in pencil by Amazing Spiderman & Mythos artist Paolo Rivera on a piece of 11 X 14″ bristol board.

We’re previewing a selection of the art and will update with links when the auction goes live.

Carla’s brother, Jason McComb, posted an update on their condition in our comments:

I am Carla’s brother. I live in South San Francisco and commute to Orange, CA where the UCI Burn Center is. I just got back from visiting them yesterday, and I am happy to report that they are both out of danger and have begun the hard tasks of rehabilitation from both the smoke inhalation and burns. Burns require daily cleaning and the ‘hydrotherapy’ is taxing and painful. Carla is able to talk and is walking a little, and we hope that Lance is not far behind.

Fortunately, UCI is a top facility and even the nursing staff has decades of burn treatment experience. As far as bad situations go, its the best it can be right now.

So, at this time, anything that can be done to keep their morale up is vastly important. I have been out the comic world since high school (I am 42) so any help from the blogsphere would be most appreciated. Anyone know Stan Lee’s unlisted phone number?

Carla has asked for updates on the following:

Secret Invasion
Dark Reign (Rain?)
Final Crisis

Iron Man
The two new Thor books with Matt Fraction
Man of War
God Sized Thor

If anyone can email me at jasonmccomb @ hotmail.com with news or links on these subjects I would really appreciate it. I fly down again on Saturday and will share any well wishes, news or information that come my way.

Thanks everyone for their prayers and support,

Jason McComb

The Orange County Register has more on Lance and Carla Hoffman and the fire that very nearly killed them:

They are being kept in medically induced comas so doctors can treat their wounds. They’ve both had to undergo surgery to their third-degree burns and will later have multiple skin grafts.

Linda Hoffman said doctors told her it will be months before the couple can go home.

“They’ve had good days and bad days but they are still stable,” she said. “It’s going to be a very long road.”

Over at Blog@Newsarama, JK Parkin reports that some friends are auctioning off some eBay items to raise funds for the couple, who are doubtless going to need much help on their long road to recovery. There’s a blog with information on auctions, and anyone wishing to donate should email Parkin directly.

A few tickets are still available for this Sandman reading/CBLDF benefit:

Veteran voice actor Tom Wayland and others, will read from some of the most politically charged excerpts of THE SANDMAN written by New York Times best-selling author Neil Gaiman, in honor of the 20th Anniversary of THE SANDMAN.

Presented by the CBLDF and Vertigo, Neil Gaiman will be on hand to host this dramatic reading which will be held at the Helen Mills Theater in New York City on Saturday, November 8 at 7:30 pm. Tickets are available for a $50 donation to the CBLDF. Only 100 tickets are available to this special reading event. Reserve your tickets now!

Stories performed include:

Three Septembers & A January, originally published in THE SANDMAN #31 / Trade #6

The story of Joshua Abraham Norton the first, last and only Emperor of the United States of America that incorporates an explanation for his strange career centering on a challenge between Morpheus and Despair.

The Golden Boy, originally published in THE SANDMAN #51-56 / Trade #8

A revival of a 1970s DC character named Prez, it’s the story of the US’s first teenage president that considers how we view our leaders—while they’re in office . . . and once they’re gone.

Via PR, news of benefit activity at the next Wizard Show in Texas:

Wizard World Texas will play host to a game show night mixing popular creators and fans like never before, and all for a great cause.

Ethan Van Sciver, Terry Moore, Sean McKeever, Shane Davis, Phil Hester and others will grab their pen and paper and fill in the blanks during a rousing comic-book-tinted version of the classic game show, “Match Game.” These superstar creators have worked on a veritable who’s who of huge characters including Spider-Man, Captain America, Superman and Batman. Trying to match the creators will be numerous lucky fans who will have the chance to get onstage if the ticket they purchased is drawn. All proceeds from ticket and admission sales go to benefit the Hero Initiative and the lucky winners will receive original artwork and other memorabilia donated by the contestants and other top name creators.

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Via PR:

The time has come again to nominate the best and brightest for the Lulu Board of Directors! We need our members to nominate dedicated people to keep up the good work, changes and new adventures for Friends of Lulu that has been the hallmark of 2008.

Nominating and voting individuals to the National Board is one of the privileges enjoyed by members of Friends of Lulu; if you are a member please visit our online nomination page at http://www.friends-lulu.org/basicNomForm.php and submit your nominations!

Comics professionals and members are welcome to run for the board; self-nominations are also accepted and encouraged! We are looking for a few dedicated souls to volunteer their time and energy for a year as we go about bringing women and comics together. Being part of the national board can be very rewarding, enjoyable, and you will make a huge difference in the FoL organization.

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Via an ad for mattress giant Sleepy’s, which somehow involves a benefit for the American Cancer Society:

If Dr. Bruce Banner gets a bad night’s sleep, he’ll get angry…and you know what happens next. Luckily, a starred-and-striped hero in nightshirt and cap—the whimsical mascot of Sleepy’s, The Mattress Professionals—is there to calm the bad-tempered Hulk with a super-comfortable mattress. That’s how the artists of famed Marvel Comics tell it in a comic book produced exclusively for Sleepy’s. The comic, available at nearly 700 Sleepy’s stores across the Northeast, is a result of a partnership that began with this summer’s blockbuster hit The Incredible Hulk.

Sleepy’s is donating one hundred percent of the proceeds from comic sales to the American Cancer Society (ACS).

What is the Rhino doing in there, anyway?

Andy Mangels sends us a novel-length press release on Wonder Woman Day, a day of benefits for domestic violence shelters & crisis lines. It will be held in Portland, OR and Flemington, NJ. Adam Hughes, Allison Sohn, Gail Simone, and others will be appearing at the Portland benefit, while Neil Vokes, James Fiorentino, Rob Kramer, and Chris Muller will be in NJ:

One of the most recognizable female icons in the world, Wonder Woman debuted in American comic books during World War II, and was the super-heroic star of a popular television series in the 1970s. Now, for the third year in a row, the heroine brandishes her Amazon bracelets and golden lasso as a star-spangled symbol for a charity benefit for Portland’s most protective domestic violence shelters - Raphael House and Bradley-Angle House - and the Portland Women’s Crisis Line. Excalibur Comics will host “Wonder Woman Day” on Sunday, October 26th from 12noon to 6pm. The free all-ages event will include a quartet of comic book creators signing Wonder Woman comics and special art prints, as well as a silent art auction with over 150 of the world’s top artists contributing original art, plus costumed super-heroes on-site, raffles and prizes, rare memorabilia, and more!

Additionally, a second “Wonder Woman Day” benefit will take place on Sunday, October 26th, in Flemington, NJ, at Comic Fusion, as part of their “Super-Hero Weekend.” This East Coast event will benefit Safe in Hunterdon, a domestic violence shelter in New Jersey.

Full Event Details:

Wonder Woman Day III (Portland)
Sunday, October 26, 2008 - 12noon-6pm, FREE
Excalibur Comics, 2444 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, Oregon
An ALL AGES benefit and celebration for Domestic Violence shelters and Crisis Line!
Proceeds Of The Event To Benefit:
Raphael House Of Portland * Bradley-Angle House * Portland Women’s Crisis Line
A Part Of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Wonder Woman Day III (New Jersey)
Sunday, October 26, 2007 - 12noon-5pm, FREE
Comic Fusion, 42 Main St., Flemington, New Jersey
Proceeds Of The Event To Benefit:
Safe In Hunterdon Of Hunterdon County, New Jersey

The Hero Initiative has released the final cover of their collection of Stan’s Soapbox and announced a very limited edition hardcover (below), and an even more exclusive signed hardcover.

Stan’s Soapbox: The Collection, our 144-page tome collecting ALL Stan Lee’s kickass “Soapboxes” from 1967-1980, will be in stores on November 19. It’s available in softcover at $14.99.

Or, if you’re more of a hardcover nature, please be advised: A special limited edition hardcover will be available at $35 as well. The hardcover is limited to ONLY 250 copies, so we suggest you preorder NOW at Atomic Comics. Or if ya like your books signed, a mere 100 of the 250 hardcovers will be available autographed by Stan the Man himself at $99 per.

As they did with Kevin O’Neill last year, ComicsPRO, the retailer organization is hosting another tour this year, this time for the legendary PREACHER artist Steve Dillon, with benefits for The Hero Initiative planned for each stop.

Acclaimed artist Steve Dillon (Preacher, Wolverine, Punisher) will be hosted by a number of ComicsPRO member stores from September 22–October 1, 2008. Dillon’s tour is done in conjunction with The Hero Initiative, and Hero benefit events will be featured at each stop. ComicsPRO is the trade association for comics specialty retailers, and The Hero Initiative is the charitable organization dedicated to helping comic creators in financial need.

The tour coincides with the artist’s visit to the United States for the Baltimore Comic-Con on September 27-28. Store stops include:

Monday, September 22nd 4PM-7PM
MAIN STREET COMICS
157 Dolson Ave
Middletown, NY
http://www.mainstreetcomics.com/
Event: Auction of variant covers, promo items and more

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Novelist Brad Meltzer has a new book out — Book of Lies – which uses the murder of Jerry Siegel’s father when the Superman co-creator was only a teen as a plot element. Apparently the research for the book led Meltzer to discover that the house where Siegel grew up is in bad shape, and he’s started an auction to raise money to pay for some repairs. The auction can be found here. The house is the one where Siegel and Shuster brainstormed their new character…Superman.

“I visited the house for the first time when I was researching the book, and went with [Cleveland Plain Dealer reporter and regular Newsarama contributor] Mike Sangiacomo,” Meltzer tells Newsarama. “My goal was to physically see the room where this kid shot up in bed in the middle of the night and had this idea for a bulletproof man. I went there expecting that I would find a nice little piece of Americana, and it would look like a Norman Rockwell painting, and maybe there would be a flag and an apple pie.”

What Meltzer did find was a rundown house in one of the city’s rougher neighborhoods, a place where adjacent boarded up houses have signs on them that say ‘NO COPPER PIPING INSIDE – PVC ONLY’ in order to prevent people from breaking in a literally tearing the buildings apart while looking for copper pipe to sell at the scrap yards.

UPDATE: Here’s a link to the video of the house. Also, Meltzer has sent out a FAQ, which we’ve reproduced under the cut.

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As The Beat wanders each week through a cramped Gristedes, pushing a tiny, child- or midget-sized cart through narrow, stacked-up aisles, hoping against hope to find a fresh pepper or garlic clove in the bedraggled produce area, our thoughts often return to the wonders of Ralphs, the California-based chain which has — let’s be honest here — far superior greens than any Gormenghast-like NYC grocery store. Now we have another reason to wish to live near a Ralphs — shopping there can directly benefit the Hero Initiative:

One supercool thing about Ralphs is the Ralphs Rewards card. It’s your standard grocery store “club card” that gets you discounts and whatnot. But you can ALSO register it with a Ralphs-approved charity, and EVERY time you shop and use the card, Ralphs will kick in a small percentage to the charity of your choice. It costs you, the consumer, NOTHING. It’s just Ralphs kicking in a couple bucks to good causes. See where I’m going with this?

Yes, The Hero Initiative is one of those Ralphs-approved charities, and since Ralphs just switched over from Ralphs Club cards to Ralphs Rewards, we need YOU to re-register your card for Hero, which is easy as pie (tho’ not quite as tasty):

Hit the link for instructions, and enjoy some nice fresh arugula.

Cory Doctorow Meets DJ Spooky: A CBLDF Benefit Mashup!

Sadly, we’ll be out of town, or we’d be there in a flash.

Via PR, Blake Bell is following up his Steve Ditko book with one on Bill Everett, creator of the Sub-Mariner, and donating 10 percent of his royalties for the book to the Hero Initiative. Bill Everett: Fire and Water is due in 2009.
More PR below:

Bell has announced that he will be donating 10% of his royalties from the project to The Hero Initiative in Bill Everett’s name, continuing the legacy of contributing to the well being of comic creators by the Everett family.

Says Jim McLauchlin, executive for The Hero Initiative’s Fund Raising Board, “Hero is honored to be selected for what is sure to be an amazing addition to the Bill Everett legacy.”

Bill Everett: Fire and Water, published by Fantagraphics Books, will be a welcomed addition to the 70th anniversary celebration of the release of Marvel Comics #1, the first comic produced by Marvel Comics, which features the late Bill Everett’s signature creation, the Sub-Mariner. Everett invented comics’ first anti-hero; an angry half-breed (half-man, half sea-creature humanoid) that terrorized humankind until uniting with the Allied Forces to conquer fascism’s march across Europe. The Sub-Mariner character has endured for 70 years, having also been optioned as a major motion picture.

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ITEM! You won’t believe your eyes, True Believer! Hero Initiative is collecting Stan Lee’s “Soapboxes” from classic Marvel comics! In this one scintillating volume, you’ll see how comic book hype was born and learn techniques that are still being mined today! Here’s the ever-lovin’ hype (note cover not final!):

The wit and wisdom of the caliph of comics is on display for all to see in one mighty volume!

For the first time ever, ALL of Stan Lee’s groundbreaking, legendary “Stan’s Soapbox” columns from 1967 to 1980 are collected in one edition, published by The Hero Initiative. Stan’s Soapbox: The Collection will be available in both comic stores and bookstores everywhere in November, 2008.

The Soapbox columns will even be presented in a historical context, so you can immerse yourself in the flavor of the day, and get a sense what was happening right outside Stan’s window when he penned ‘em. Some are poignant, some informative, some touching, and some funny. But they’re all memorable! In addition, a bountiful bevy of celebs also write about their most memorable columns, including:
• Marvel Editor in Chief Joe Quesada

• Marvel Studios President of Production Kevin Feige

• Former Marvel Editor in Chief and comics historian Roy Thomas

• And a vast variety of great names from the fields of comics, literature, politics and academia

“Wow! What a kick it is for me to see all my old Soapbox columns printed in one great volume!,” said Stan Lee. “Reading them now is like taking a trip back through the history of Marvel in those great ol’ days when the fans and I would rap about how our batty Bullpen was exploding with new heroes, new villains and more far-out, fun-filled, fantastic new ideas than you could shake a radioactive spider at! And, best of all, every Stan’s Soapbox book sold means more money for the great Hero Initiative cause. No wonder I’m so proud of this book and the cause that it serves! Heck, I might even buy two copies!”

Coming in at an amazing 144 pages, this full color trade paperback will retail for $14.99.

As usual, The Hero Initiative will have a spectacular lineup of events and guests at the big show, inlcuding the Marvel vs DC softball game. Much more below the cut.

BOOTH SCHEDULE
WED., 23 JUL (con hours 6:00-9:00)
6:30-7:30: Scott Koblish

THUR, 24 JUL (con hours 9:30-7:00)
12:00-1:00: Gordon Purcell
1:00-2:00: Whilce Portacio
2:00-3:00: Marv Wolfman

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