“Wake Up and Draw” and Kirby4Heroes events planned
The Hero Initiative, the charitable organization dedicated to helping veteran comic creators in medical or financial need, is celebrating the 97th birthday of Jack “King” Kirby on August 28 with a lot of help and love from Jillian Kirby and her parents, Connie and Neal Kirby.
Jillian Kirby, Jack’s granddaughter, has spearheaded the “Kirby4Heroes” campaign, which celebrates the King’s birthday all across the globe with a variety of great events that benefit Hero! Events include:
• ON TWITTER AND INSTAGRAM: Hero has recruited over 40 artists to get up on the morning of August 28, 2014 to simply “Wake Up and Draw.” Search the hashtag: #WakeUpAndDraw to see all the great drawings as they happen live! All drawings will be featured in a special gallery at ComicArtFans.com, and fans can bid on them in an eBay auction at a later date!
• MORE TWITTER: Because he is 17 shades of both wonderful and crazy, artist Phil Hester will do 97 drawings for Jack Kirby’s 97th birthday! Follow @PhilHester on Twitter to see the divine madness and for information on how YOU can buy the drawings!
• TORONTO, ONTARIO: Hero is at Fan Expo Canada on August 28, where artists including Kaare Andrews, Greg Land, Joe Prado, Ty Templeton, Jill Thompson, Richard Zajac and more will Wake Up and Draw!
• TORONTO, ONTARIO: Artist Ken Lashley appears at Paradise Comics at 11 a.m.!
• BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA: Max Fiumara, Sebastian Fiumara, Jorge Lucas, Rubèn Meriggi, Mariano Epelbaum, Wally Gomez, Rodolfo Migliari and more will be drawing live at the Moebius Liceo bookstore and art gallery!
• SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY: The party starts early on Aug. 23 as artists create a jam piece at Comic Depot!
• BALLSTON SPA, NY: The jam piece continues at Excellent Adventures on Saturday, August 30 as the store donates a portion of its sales for the day to Hero!
• NEW YORK, NY: Artist Chris Giarrusso draws in the storefront studio space at the mighty Carmine Street Comics at noon!
• CHICAGO, IL: Artist Tim Seeley appears at Graham Crackers Comics’ Edgewater location at 5:30 p.m.!
• PHOENIX, AZ: Artists including Ryan Cody, Brian Pulido, Ben Glendenning, Tony Parker, Javier Pina and more appear at Samurai Comics’ Camelback Rd. location!
• NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CA: Artist Tone Rodriguez appears at Blastoff Comics!
• SAN FRANCISCO, CA: Artist Paolo Rivera appears at the Cartoon Art Museum at 11 a.m.!
• MANILA, PHILIPPINES: Multiple artists will be appearing at the Comic Odyssey Fort branch from Aug. 28-30 along with a three-day sale and a portion of proceeds donated to Hero Initiative!
Even MORE stores are donating a percentage of their sales on August 28, auctioning off original artwork, or proving a collection point for donations fans may wish to make. Please make sure and visit:
Alakazam Comics, Irvine, CA
Alternate Reality Comics, Las Vegas, NV
Arcadian Comics and Games, Newport, KY
Aw Yeah Comics, Skokie, IL
Beyond Comics, Frederick, MD (hosting artist Dave Waugh for day-long live drawing)
Borderlands Comics and Games, Greenville, SC
Carol and John’s Comic Book Shop, Cleveland, OH
Earth-2 Comics, Los Angeles, CA
The Fallout Shelter: Comics, Games & Collectibles, Highland Park, NJ
Flying Colors Comics, Concord, CA
Hero Complex Games and Entertainment, Wichita, KS
Jesse James Comics, Glendale, AZ
Lee’s Comics, Mountain View, CA
Mission: Comics and Art, San Francisco, CA
Nix Comics, an online store donating a percentage of sales to Hero
The Piranha Shop, South Seattle, WA (with over 40 local artists creating original Kirby-themed art)
“I founded the Kirby4Heroes campaign when I was 16 years old in June 2012 as a way of honoring the legacy of my grandfather, comic book artist and creator Jack Kirby, who unfortunately died the year before I was born,” said Jillian Kirby. “Over the past two years my campaign has been fortunate enough to raise over $5,000 in 2012 and $10,000 in 2013. This year my goal is to raise $15,000! My Kirby4Heroes fundraising campaign just seems to be expanding and blossoming with new creative ideas continually contributed by many Jack Kirby fans. Watching everything come together has been very rewarding, and I look forward to the culmination of a fantastic show of support on August 28th!”
Fans can visit the official Kirby4Heroes campaign Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/kirby4heroes and donate via the PayPal link at www.HeroInitiative.org. Please type in “Kirby4Heroes” in the special instructions box. You can also check out the official Kirby4Heroes Website.
About The Hero Initiative
The Hero Initiative 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 yesterday’s creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. It’s a chance for all of us to give back something to the people who have given us so much enjoyment.
Since its inception, The Hero Initiative has had the good fortune to grant over $700,000 to the comic book veterans who have paved the way for those in the industry today. For more information, visit www.heroinitiative.org or call 626-676-6354.
For more information, please visit us at www.heroinitiative.org.