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]
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