HEROES 4 HAITI: An Effort For Community

We admit it. Yes, even we were surprised -- and more than a little proud --  by the facts and figures we shared with you in our first Comics Community blog. To us, the numbers reflected in current Hollywood trends, comics-oriented website hits, and the international convention circuit were more than just impressive indicators of the Community's size -- they were the hallmarks of the growing economic and social clout of the superhero set.  But there's another hallmark we haven't mentioned before, one that in many respects may better define the Community's social and political nature better than any other -- beneficence.

Abbracadabbling became aware only yesterday of the Comics Community's latest to call to arms, Heroes 4 Haiti.  With the same conviction and spirit of Drawing Strength, the effort that mobilized comics writers, artists, and readers to donate their time, talent, and money to assist  victims of Hurricane Katrina in 2005,  the Heroes4Haiti grassroots movement is the comics industry's collective response to last week's disaster in Haiti. 

Though Katrina was a very real American tragedy, the loss of life and destruction from Haiti's January 12th earthquake is on a magnitude far greater than New Orleans -- and so is the need.  Heroes4Haiti's organizer, comics writer and artist Mike Cavallaro, a creator whose subject matter has largely focused on the heroism of humanitarian aid (his Parade with Fireworks was nominated for an Eisner Award in 2008), has done an excellent job by making H4H's scope so comprehensive that anyone can participate and contribute to the cause.

If you're a comics creator,  fan, collector, blogger, or an interested non-comics dabbler, the Springfield Home Office urges you to join all of us by taking part in Heroes 4 Haiti. We'll tell you more about abbracadabbling's efforts after all the info and linkage you'l need to become involved. 

Please join Heroes 4 Haiti in helping our fellow human beings by creating art and auctioning it off for charity by listing it yourself using eBay’s Giving Works program, by bidding in these auctions, by donating to relief organizations, or by volunteering your time to helping rebuild Haiti in the wake of this catastrophe.

How You Can Help:

Heroes 4 Haiti seeks to raise money for victims of the Haitian earthquake. You can help in one of the following ways:

Donate Art — Using your own eBay account, please donate or create art to be listed on eBay with 100% of each auction’s proceeds being donated to the Haitian relief organization of your choice via eBay Giving Works. Right now when you log in at eBay, there’s a link to support Haitian relief that takes you to eBay Giving Works and that gives you the option to sell your art. Please choose the charity you prefer and let us know that you’re doing it so we can list you here as part of the cause. Posting an auction? Please let us know by posting a link to it in the comments section of this post!

Donate Collectibles or Services — Using your own eBay account, please donate collectibles or services to be listed on eBay with 100% of each auction’s proceeds being donated to the Haitian relief organization of your choice via eBay Giving Works. Right now when you log in at eBay, there’s a link to support Haitian relief that takes you to eBay Giving Works and that gives you the option to sell your art. Please choose the charity you prefer and let us know that you’re doing it so we can list you here as part of the cause. Posting an auction? Please let us know by posting a link to it in the comments section of this post!

Bid On These Auctions — Check the thank you section below for links to auctions for art, collectibles, and services connected to Heroes 4 Haiti. See something you like here? Please bid on these items! Check frequently in the days to come as we update with links to art offered for Haitian relief!

Spread The Word! — Feel free to copy this post and email it to your friends or contacts, or please link to this blog! Heroes 4 Haiti isn’t an organization, it’s people helping people. Everyone can help in their own way! Please help us spread the word about these easy ways to support the Haitian people!

Twitter - Please tweet us too! Here are some sample tweets to spread the word:

• Comics creators auctioning art for Haiti relief http://heroes4haiti.com / http://heroes4haiti-fb.com / Please RT!
• Calling all artists! Donate work to auction for Haiti relief http://heroes4haiti.com / http://heroes4haiti-fb.com / Please RT
• Donate art & collectibles to help Haiti relief http://heroes4haiti.com / http://heroes4haiti-fb.com / Please RT!
• Comics community comes together to help Haiti http://heroes4haiti.com / http://heroes4haiti-fb.com / Please RT!

Donate Money — Charity Navigator has a list of organizations working to provide relief in Haiti, please support them with your direct donations.

Volunteer — If you have technical skills in health or engineering, or prior disaster relief experience, you may be able to volunteer your time to help rebuild in Haiti. Information about registering your skills to help in Haiti can be found at the Center for International Disaster Information website.

For the latest developments on Heroes 4 Haiti, please join our Facebook page at http://www.heroes4haiti-fb.com/

Abbracadabbling's very own virtual store, the Present Magic Comics Shop, will have several new comic book auctions listed on eBay by January 20th, with all proceeds from those auctions going to Heroes 4 Haiti. Once we've got all the details, we'll be sure to post those items with links on the comicsblog -- so remember to tell everyone you know to click over to abbracadabbling and check our stuff out. We'll blog any updates to the program to keep everybody up to speed, and between now and then, we'll also be taking a bit of a historical look at the comics industry's history of beneficence. A few more useful links before we're off...

• Haiti - Earthquake Coverage on The New York Times [link]
• Haiti - International Relief Efforts on The New York Times [link]
• Wall Street Journal on American Red Cross efforts [link]
• Charity Navigator [link]
• Center for International Disaster Information [link]
• American Red Cross [link]
• eBay  home page [link]
• NYC Graphic's Interview with creator Mike Cavallaro [link]
• The Life and Times of Savior 28 by JM DeMatteis and Mike Cavallaro [link]
• Parade With Fireworks - read it online [link]

Off the Market: Marvel Entertainment Officially 'The House of Mouse'

The comics industry's biggest headline of the year - if not the decade -- was also the biggest news of the day today. Following a very early meeting this morning, Marvel posted on its corporate website that its shareholders approved an agreement between themselves and The Walt Disney Company, the terms of which provide for Marvel Entertainment to become a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Disney Company. Based on the closing price of Disney’s common stock on December 30, 2009, Marvel predicts that their merger with Disney, which became final after the close of the stock market late this afternoon, has an estimated value of $4.3 billion.

While the news of today's Marvel-Disney merger is, on one hand, a finalization of the process set in motion  August 31st, when Disney first announced its plan to buy Marvel Entertainment, the parent company of Marvel Animation, Marvel Studios, and the Marvel Comics Group. But on the other hand, today also marks the end of the 'Marvel Age'.  Marvel Comics earned its reputation as being the non-corporate, stand-alone and stand-tall comics publisher, the one not afraid to take risks, push the creative envelope, and, ultimately, be answerable to no one other than themselves. The company, much like many of their comic book superheroes, narrowly escaped disaster after entering bankruptcy in 1996.  Down but not defeated - and much to the surprise of even their staunchest supporters -- Marvel went on to not only diversify and grow their publishing line, but to bring their characters to the silver screen and become a Hollywood powerhouse.  After a full and supremely successful decade in motion pictures, the company celebrated it's 75th Anniversary in 2009. 

Ironically, Marvel's 75th Anniversary was also it's final anniversary -- at least as the company that it was. Just as Marvel's 75 years include the company's earlier Atlas and Timely Comics incarnations as well as Marvel - a name which wasn't adopted until 1961 -- in their count, I've got no doubt that the 100th Anniversary of Marvel Comics in  2034 will be some celebration. More than likely, they'll rent out Disneyland. 

Cheap shot? Sorta-kinda? That's the fanboy inside your dauntless Dabbler talking. Seriously, although the Disney deal was announced four months ago, I'll confess that I've yet to come to a conclusion about what this change, this transition, this end of an era, truly signifies -- for the industry at large, and also for me, personally. Checking emotional baggage and taking an objective look can't be this difficult...or is it?

Objectively, the Marvel-Disney merger means a great many things, of course. A strict business stance would reveal that first and foremost, the main stake in the game is the Marvel 5,000-- years of creativity in superhero form, characters sporting names both ubiquitous and iconic like the Fantastic Four, to far-more obscure monikers like Iron Fist, Doctor Strange, or Black Panther.   

For Disney, the top-tier heroes responsible for Marvel's success at the box office are also responsible for  putting Marvel on Disney's shopping list. However, Marvel's top franchises were contracted elsewhere long before the merger, and Disney is constrained from reaping most of the financial rewards that properties like Spider-Man, Iron Man, X-Men, and Avengers are sure to bring for years to come. In fact, to further secure their hold on these characters, the studios holding Marvel contracts -- Sony Pictures, 20th Century Fox, and Paramount Pictures -- reacted quite defensively after the August 31st merger announcement, and were quick to initiate new development plans for the future of their respective properties. Nonetheless, Marvel's collective film slate all-but-guarantees handsome royalties for The Walt Disney Company. And much like Marvel did with their successful development of B-list hero Iron Man, Disney's gambling that they'll turn the many lesser-known heroes still waiting in the wings into similar cinematic sensations. 

As for Marvel, Disney's marketing and retail relationships will ensure that Marvel's products and characters reach a much broader international market. Moreover, as Disney grooms characters like Iron Fist, Doctor Strange, and the Black Panther along with other B-List heroes from the 'Marvel 5,000',  they'll test their mettle first in less risky waters.  It's almost a given: over the next 2-5 years, we'll see Marvel heroes on Direct DVD, cable, and network television like never before.

Those certainties, along with many of the other changes brought about by the Disney-Marvel merger, almost assure that the popularity of comic book superheroes will continue to increase well into the future.  And for the Comics Community, a subculture proud of its expanding ranks and greater validation from sources outside the subculture, we have to ask: isn't that a good thing?

And we will....next year! Stay with us, as we continue our rant and report in Disney - Marvel, Part II. 

Barometers Of The Comics Community: Strength In Numbers

Nationwide, comic book readers, collectors, and fans of all things Super have forged a unique and formidable community.  Not only does the Comics Community represent a sizable population,  its a population with considerable spending power and growing economic influence.  

Our earlier blog of next year's Coming Attractions  is but one indicator of influence comics fans wield; with twenty-three or more films on their way catering to America's comics and sci-fi hungry populace, films from these kind  out-number those of  many other genre, including comedy, romance,  and horror.  Of course, several of the films we listed, such as Twilight: Eclipse, Legion, and the remake of Red Dawn could fall into  standard categorizations   like horror or action  as well as our broader context as 'Comic Book Movies'.  DC Comics' western hero Jonah Hex is first a comic book movie, although it fits as a square second into the western genre.  Regardless the extent of this cross-pollination, there can be little doubt that film makers are relying on their movies' appeal to the broader comics fanbase to make box office bank.  One needs look no further than Christopher Nolan's Inception to prove this point.

A closer examination of our trust list reveals that eight (8) of the 23 movies we listed are specifically based on original comic book or animation properties. And our list isn't yet complete; films like Solomon Kane, an upcoming supernatural thriller, is a comics-realm character based on the pulp-era fiction of writer Robert E. Howard. (Howard, you might recall, also created the bare-chested hero that put Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on the map --  Conan The Barbarian.)  Solomon Kane has already premiered in France, and is scheduled for 2010 release here in the United States, although no specific date has been given.  Similarly, comic book writer Warren Ellis' graphic novel Red is currently moving into production, and is expected to premiere in October or November 2010.  

So take heart, dabblers - especially those of you newbies venturing into the comics scene for perhaps the first time. We know many of our frequent dabblers are pretty new to comics, and we know that whether you're in a big city or a far smaller community like our Springfield,  it does sometimes feel like you're the only person out there who enjoys reading comics.  A review of next year's films is just first step towards knowing that you're not alone.

An even better second step is taking just a quick peek at  our nation's largest comic book conventions.  Abbracadabbling will explore these conventions in greater depth down the comicsblog road; for now, our focus briefly falls to just three of the most popular annual comics gatherings and the sheer number of fans these conventions represent.

Far and away the biggest of all comics conventions is the San Diego Comic-Con International, held annually each  July.  From its relative obscurity years ago, Comic-Con has become today's  mecca for not just comics, but the entertainment community, gaming community, and the broad collectors' market as well.  The event maintains an active online presence, and has even begun publishing quarterly magazines with news and features about the summertime event.  While both of those actions are contribute greatly to building the Comics Community, nothing is as telling as Comic-Con's attendance. The convention sells out completely each year, and 2009's attendance topped-out at a whopping 125,000 comics loyalists. [To read Comic-Con Magazine's Fall 2009 issue, you can go HERE to download it as a Free PDF!!] 

If you're getting a better feel for the Comics Community, then we're doing our job pretty well. We're also not done by a long shot. The comics convention closest to our heart is Wonder Con, also sponsored by the same folks responsible for San Diego's aforementioned show.  Wonder Con belongs to San Francisco, however, and for The Dabbler, there couldn't be a better show to network, shop, and meet fellow fans and comic creators alike. Wonder Con's attendance is considerably smaller than its parent Comic-Con, but it's nothing to sneeze at, either. Last year's figures exceeded 34,000 - and filled San Francisco's Moscone Center to the hilt.  The 2010 convention will happen this coming April 2nd through the 4th, and more information can be found HERE.

Dabblers on the East Coast have no reason to even think they're among the few and the proud; they're among a proud legion of comics fans, if the relatively new New York Comic Con has anything to say about it.  Not more than five years old, the NYCC has always been an early Spring event as well, although next year's convention will take place over the weekend of October 8- 10th. The 2009 NYCC boasted an attendance in excess of 77,000, up 15% from 2008.  Chances are, someone you knew was there, and the chances that they - and you - will be in attendance come October is even better. If you want more NYCC info, check it HERE. 

Of course, not everybody who reads, borrows, collects, or creates comic books can attend a comic book convention. They're not cheap, and the crowds are be considerable.  Thus,  even the Convention scene and its astronomical attendance don't give us abbracadabblers the best idea of just how large our Comics Community really is. 

Abbracadabbling, being the intrepid comicsblog that we are, did a little digging closer to home. And by 'home' we don't mean Springfield; nope, we mean the world wide web, because the busiest places on the planet these days happen to exist in a virtual world. 

On the internet, comics fans find as well as build community in a variety of places, including: online bulletin boards, chat rooms and forums; fan-driven blogs like abbracadabbling as well as blogs run by comics creators and industry insiders; the home pages of publishers large and small; and, at the top of the list, comics industry news sites, many of which feature their own array of blogs to boot.  It's from these latter sites that the size of the Comics Community comes even clearer.  (Granted, while the 2003 census reported that sixty-two million households - or 55% of American homes - had internet access, 45% still weren't online at that time. Given the historic increases in those numbers, though, today's numbers are likely closer to 75% or 80%. And as the demographics closely match those of the comic book reading public, we believe these internet figures  provide us the best and most accurate snapshot available.)

With the research assistance of fellow comic book blogger Kevin Huxford and his blog Schwapp Online, abbracadabbling chose 17 of the top or  most-recognizable comics-related news providers on the internet and ranked them below according to the number of visitors each site received for the month of November 2009.  (Links to all of the websites below can be found on our blog's Pull List.)

CBR - or Comic Book Resources - leads the bunch, with 303,000 November visitors. The number two site, Newsarama, is right behind them with  nearly 270,000 comic book clickers dropping by. While this is just November '09 data, we should note that historical data trends reveal that  Newsarama and CBR generally alternate the top position almost monthly. Both web sites also feature their own blogging community; Newsarama's collectively known as Blog@Newsarama and CBR's as Robot 6.  Blog-wise, Newsarama draws nearly 30,000 more readers per month than Robot 6, but when added to their parent sites totals, both websites show impressive readership. 

We were a little surprised that MTV's comics-centered Splash Page didn't rank a little higher than it does, coming in on our ruler at 12th overall.  They're a great source of information, and often grab their own exclusives.  Splash Page is just one part of the overall MTV site, however, and its possible this has affected their visitor count. It's also possible that MTV, and other sites with impressive content like Bleeding Cool are also relatively new on the comics scene, with readership numbers yet to reach a plateau.  

Whatever the case, our intention isn't to speculate on the performance of the fantastic comics news providers above; our focus is simply to show that they perform - and perform big.  Together with the thousands of people who attend comic book conventions each year, belong to the untold number of internet comics forums, collect action figures, show up for the latest superhero movie at the corner ten-plex, tune-in weekly to shows like NBC's Heroes or Marvel's Super Hero Squad on Saturday mornings, and regularly pay visits to their local comics shops, the truth is out there: comic book fans are everywhere.

And we're Super -- in every way that counts.