An Exercise In Ethics

I stumbled on to ComicMix republishing the list of folks that donated (through The Hero Initiative) to help Robert Washington III's family in paying his funeral costs.

I remember it being a subject that many commercially successful websites that cover comic books covered. Many have themselves or contributors in that list, but there are some that are conspicuous in their absence.

I share the link above so that, if you're so inclined, you can reference the list versus a site you may have frequented that generated content and hits by covering it, but appear to not have donated a single penny.

The Avengers Movie For Kirby Fans

There's a lot of talk about boycotting The Avengers movie by comic book fans, out of respect for how Jack THE KING Kirby wasn't treated/compensated/credited fairly by Marvel.

Let's all be honest with each other...

Comic book fans are a small subset of the audience for this movie.
Fans that have declared they will boycott are a small subset of that small subset.
Fans that will actually follow through are a small subset of a small subset of that small subset.

How badly will this really punish Marvel? I mean, if you're dedicated to it, I doff my cap to you and admire you. If you're honest, you'll know you're really accomplishing little more than making sure to put your principles in action, which is a worthwhile goal on its own.

Wouldn't it be great, though, if all the people that find it difficult to resist summer blockbuster crack had an option?

Is there no one that can arrange for some sort of donation vehicle that can funnel money directly to the Kirby family? Perhaps a "sin tax" of a few dollars per ticket or DVD bought, which would be more than the average per ticket compensation they'd have seen if Marvel and Stan Lee didn't wrong The King?

Barring that, I'd encourage all those that love Kirby's contributions but can't resist the siren's call of the movies to at least make a donation to The Hero Initiative to help other creators still with us that might not have been compensated properly in their career or, for some other reason, have fallen on hard times now.

Even if you just contribute $2 per ticket and $5 per DVD/Blu-Ray/permanent digital copy, you'd be making a difference and, maybe, help assuage a bit of your feeling dirty.

Booze & Banter W/ Palmiotti, Connor, Johnson, Bradstreet & Jane

Years ago, I bid on the Quesada lunch at NYCC (also for Hero Initiative) just for the splash it would have made. It was not very long after Mr. Anonymous gave me spoilers for Secret Invasion due to being incensed by the "marvel_b0y" viral campaign. I wasn't so much excited about the opportunity to talk with Mr. Quesada as I was interested in it generating some additional attention for the site while donating to an excellent cause.


You know what I'd gladly bid on for the sheer enjoyment of the meeting?

Join funnyman and writer Jimmy Palmiotti along with Amanda Connor, Tom Jane, Tim Bradstreet, and the Rev. Dave Johnson for conversation and cocktails at Long Beach’s Gladstone’s Restaurant, near The Long Beach Convention Center, Friday, October 29, 5 -7pm to help raise money for Hero Initiative.

Amanda Connor of Power Girl and Supergirl, actor Tom Jane of The Punisher, Boogie Nights, Thin Red Line and HBO’s current dark comedy Hung, Eisner Award-nominated illustrator Tim Bradstreet, and one of the finest cover designers ever, The Reverend Dave Johnson, will join Jimmy Palmiotti in one room talking about what drives them in this industry…and what drives them crazy in the industry. Who knows where the conversation will go? This is a private party YOU do not want to miss.

This thing here? If I could make it to Cali and had the slightest amount of scratch to put together, I'd be intent on winning that for the experience. Just Jimmy & Amanda would seem to be a damned interesting hang. Adding the others? An intimidatingly interesting hang (intimidating in as much as there'd be an overload of "interesting"). 


It's kinda odd that they refer to Jimmy as a "funnyman". He's got quite a sense of humor, but I'm used to seeing the term only attached to stand-up comics and the like. Maybe Mr. Palmiotti has been hitting open mic nights at Florida comedy clubs? ;)

Be A Hero

MARK WAID &

THE HERO INITIATIVE

WANT YOU

TO BE A HERO

Help support The Hero Initiative by using your Ralphs, Food4Less, and Cala/Bell rewards card

Comic fans, its your turn to help comic creators!

Monday, September 27, 2010 - Mark Waid and The Hero Initiative want comic fans to rise up and be a hero! If you live in California, Nevada, Illinois, and Indiana, sign up your Ralphs, Food4Less, Cala Foods or Bell Markets rewards card with the “Community Contributions” program and the next time you shop using your rewards card you'll be helping comic book creators in need of emergency medical aid, financial support, and other necessities. It's never been easier to be a hero!

As part of the “Community Contributions” program, Ralphs, Food4Less, Cala Foods and Bell Markets will make a donation to The Hero Initiative every time you shop with your rewards card. Not only are you saving money but you're saving lives.

Here's how you too can become a hero!:

1) Log onto your www.ralphs.com and sign into your rewards account. If you don't have a Ralphs.com account sign up, it's free and it saves you cash!

2) After signing in, click on the following link:
https://customer.ralphs.com/ManageCommunityRewardsStep1.aspx
or if that doesn't work try the second link blow:
https://customer.ralphs.com/ManageCommunityRewardsStep3.aspx

3) Fill out the information form including The Hero Initiative NPO# and corporate name:
NPO#: 80680
Corporate Name: A Commitment To Our Roots.

4) Start shopping!

If you've already signed up but it's been more than a year, sign up again! Every Sept 1st “Community Contributions” are reset which means if you're not sure your purchasing power is helping The Hero Initiative, now's the time to find out!

So tell your family, friends, comic shop acquaintances, Mark Waid is looking for heroes! Sign up those rewards cards and shop at your local Ralphs, Food4Less, Cala Foods and/or Bell Markets to help The Hero Initiative and uphold a tradition of generosity towards comic creators in need of medical, financial, and moral support.

To find your local Ralphs use the Ralphs Store Locator.

To find your local Food4Less use the Food4Less Store Locator.

About The Hero Initiative
The Hero Initiative (http://www.heroinitiative.org) is the first-ever federally chartered not-for-profit corporation dedicated strictly to helping comic book creators in need. Hero creates a financial safety net for yesterdays' creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work.

About BOOM! Studios
BOOM! Studios (www.boom-studios.com) 2009 "Best Publisher" of the year, generates a wide-ranging catalog of multiple Eisner and Harvey Award-nominated comic books and graphic novels featuring some of the industry’s top talent, including Philip K. Dick's DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP?, 20th Century Fox's 28 DAYS LATER and DIE HARD, The Henson Company's FARSCAPE, and the original Mark Waid series IRREDEEMABLE. This fall sees BOOM! teaming up with the legendary Stan Lee, creator of Marvel Comics’ characters Spider-Man, The Hulk, and The X-Men for a line of original superhero series, the legend’s first new superhero creations in nearly 20 years. BOOM!'s youth imprint, BOOM Kids!, is an undisputed industry leader publishing Disney/Pixar's THE INCREDIBLES, CARS, and TOY STORY, as well as Disney's THE MUPPETS, DONALD DUCK, UNCLE SCROOGE and WALT DISNEY'S COMICS AND STORIES. This year, BOOM! Studios celebrates its fifth anniversary.

No Lunch? No Problem!

I have two questions I'd like to ask Joe Quesada. Two YES/NO questions.

I'll make a donation of $100 to Hero Initiative for each question answered. If both questions are answered, I'll double the donation...making it $400 donated to a great charity. The time and place of the questions is completely up to Marvel.

No One Remembers Second Place

...and, in this case, he doesn't even get to bus the tables so he can see the look on Joe Quesada's face.

I was bid-sniped in the last seconds (literally) by someone who played the eBay game better than I. My only hope is that I helped drive up the price of the charitable auction much more than it would have been without me there (meaning the other bidders wouldn't have bid as furiously, not that my name garnered a response).


Shame. I was going to be a polite and gracious lunch guest. Well...for the most part. The plus side in losing is that now I won't have to sell vital organs to cover the winning bid. ;)

Is There No One Charitable Out There?

Look, I'm all for getting a steal of a deal...but when it is for charity, I don't feel so good about it.

Less than a day of bidding left. A lunch with Quesada is still only $305? That's criminal.

I challenge people out there to make me pay more. Or even try to spare Joe from having lunch with me. Think about that: awkward! ;)

Update: There's someone competing with me now. Might be too rich for my blood at this point, but I'm glad Hero Initiative is going to get more money this way.