You could be Heroes…

…just with one eBay purchase!

It’s–time to support Hero Initiative in their latest round of auctions. As always, the Hero Initiative is a wonderful project all comic fans and creators should support. When comics creators find themselves in dire straits through health issues or other problems, Hero Initiative is there to figure out a way to  best help the creator. In order to do so though, Hero Initiative needs money. To this end they run many auctions throughout the year and ask comics creators to contribute their artwork.

The latest round of auctions is for Hero Initiative X-Men 100 Project. The auctions have been going on for a while, but this time–my cover is on the list! I have so thoughtfully decided to give you the moment you should have had in the latest X-Men movie but did not get–Future Beast and Past Beast beasting all over each other!

Click the image to be taken to the auction link and for your chance to bid:

T

Ty the Guy OUT!!

 

Waking Up and Drawing

Too busy for anything but WorkWorkWork but I wanted to show off what I did for WAKE UP AND DRAW. So I’m going to write this Hemingway style.

Last week for WAKE UP AND DRAW, I woke up and drew. On the wrong sheet of paper.

Here’s my drawing:

Then I drew again on the official Hero Initiative page.

Here’s my drawing:

I was at FanExpo 2013 two weeks ago and gave a lecture on HOW TO PLOT YOUR STORY IN AN HOUR. Matt, of The Broken Couch, recorded it and put it up on YouTube.

Here’s a link to the video:

My WRITING FOR COMICS PART ONE workshop starts next week (I think there’s one space left, so let us know asap if you want it!). Click HERE to read about the class and the other two I will be teaching this fall, DRAWING THE HUMAN FIGURE FROM YOUR HEAD, and COMIC BOOK BOOTCAMP PART ONE.

Today’s Bonus Hemingway Moment:

 

It’s from artist Tom Gauld, but I couldn’t find a link to it on his own site so go check out his Tumblr  YOU’RE ALL JUST JEALOUS OF MY JETPACK.*

The Walking Dead 100 Project

Hero Initiative has been blasting through it’s collection of one hundred sketch covers of THE WALKING DEAD. The cover I did for them is up for auction this week. Click through, take a look, bid if you can…and check out some of the other covers up this week.

When the auction is finished, there will be a limited edition hardcover book gathering up all one hundred copies–if you don’t win an online auction, consider buying one and helping to support a good and worthwhile organisation. And, as always, you can donate at any time on their homepage, by using PayPal or a credit card. All donations are helpful and welcome.

Ty the Guy OUT!

Supporting HERO INITIATIVE

I’ve mentioned many times on this blog, on my Facebook and anywhere I can, how impressed I am with the HERO INITIATIVE and the work they do. Here in Canadaland, I live with universal healthcare and although Canadians might complain about how long they wait in Emergency Rooms (longest wait times in the First World, apparently), and how long they wait for a specialist, the truth is that we wait that long because EVERYONE in the country gets to be in that line…not just the ones who can afford insurance.

I had to wait in one of those lineups recently, when I spent the night in an ER with a kidney stone…within twenty minutes of entering the hospital, I was hooked-up to an IV drip with some morphine, and going from the worst pain of my life to happy sleepland. When I was finally back awake and able to form coherent thoughts, I mentioned to my wife repeatedly how lucky we are to be Canadians, that we don’t even have to think about it…  I was in pain, she asked me if I wanted to go to the hospital, we went…and I was treated and sent home eight hours later, recovering and happy. And it only cost us the gas it took to drive the car there, and the fee for parking in a hospital parking lot.

Which always leaves me leaves me thinking about American creators who don’t automatically have the same access to health care, which I have. If you’re not familiar with the organisation, Hero

“…is the first federally recognized not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping comic book creators, writers and artists in need. Founded in late 2000 by a consortium of comic book and trade publishers, including Marvel Comics, Image Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Wizard Entertainment, CrossGen Comics and Dynamic Forces Inc., the 501(c)(3)charity aims to assist comic creators with health, medical, and quality-of-life assistance.”

Hero does many auctions and fundraising events throughout the year–one of those is going on right now!! I did a cover for Fantastic Four #600 for Hero, and so did 99 other artists! Check out the auction for my cover, check out the auction for all the items currently up for sale by HERO INITIATIVE, and check out their website for more information. You can donate $$ directly to them, through their website, that they can use to help the men and women who have made the comics you love.

Ty the Guy!

Bonus moment–over the years, I’ve contributed other pieces to Hero Initiative. One I really enjoyed was WAKE UP AND DRAW earlier this year, which was done in honour of Jack Kirby:

Woke up and Drew for the King and for HERO

Jack Kirby, controlling the universe with a pencil.

Back on August 28 (Kirby’s Birthday, and inter-galactic holiday) the fine and dandy folks at Hero Initiative worked with Kirby’s family to make the day about raising money to support comics creators in need. Hero asked artists to “wake up and draw” something to do with Jolly Jack, as a birthday card to the King, and as a piece of quickie artwork that can be auctioned off to raise funds for those creators who need Hero Initiative’s help.

I love to throw my two cents into Hero Initiative whenever I can–and when I heard about the campaign, I jumped in with a Kirby drawing of my own.

Here’s my woke-up-and-drew sketch of Bashful Ben sucking back on his beloved cheroot…’cause if you’re paying tribute to Jack, it should at least smell like Cuba’s on fire.

click here to be taken to the auction

The blurry-eyed morning doodle is up for auction on Comicartfans. There are lots and lots of other sketches by lots of wonderful generous creators who rolled out of bed and drew before they’d even properly woken up! Check ’em all out! The bidding ends on Wednesday October 16. Give money to Hero Inititiave and take home a piece of art drawn by one of us in our underwear before our morning coffee.

Ty the Guy OUT!

And here’s your BONUS Kirby Sketch Moment:

The rarely seen Jack Kirby sketch of what Doctor Doom REALLY looked like under the mask. Stan had other ideas, but Jack believed it was a really teeny scar.

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This week’s award-wishing BUN TOONS featured Mr. Kirby, and some flash in the pan painter from Europe. Click here to read it.

Happy 95th Birthday King Kirby

In tribute to the late King of Comics on his birthday, it’s been suggested that those of us who followed in  his footsteps wake up and draw our favourite Kirby Karacter, and donate the sketch to HERO INITIATIVE‘s KIRBY4HEROES campaign.

I’ve never worked on the Fantastic Four, but I DID get to do a few issues of Spider-Man that featured Ben Grimm, and discovered how much I love drawing the blue-eyed idol of millions.   And since it’s a sketch, not appearing in an actual Marvel Comic, I get to give Bashful Benjy back his beloved cheroot.

He still doesn’t seem happy, though.  I think it’s because I was still sleepy…

We love you, Jack.  There’s no possible way to ever give back to the Kirby family the way Jack gave to us, but it’s our duty to at least try on his 95th birthday.

Ty the Guy OUT!

Here now, your BONUS Kirby Karacter Sketch:

My favourite Kirby COSTUME to draw is still Big Barda.  A million years ago, before the Earth fully cooled, Barda was a member of the Justice League when I was pencilling that series in the early 90s, and I discovered how PERFECTLY designed that outfit was to draw from any angle, at any size, and it still held together.

Even a goofball like me could draw the Former Female Fury and keep it recognizable with that iconic ensemble.  I think she stole that hat from Galactus, and drank his milkshake while she was at it.

I’m breaking a rule and mentioning Rob Granito, but it’s for a good cause.

A few months ago, I swore I’d never mention Granito’s name in public again, mostly as a favor to his wife, who got caught up in the mess against her will, and got vilified by fandom when she didn’t deserve it.  I was a part of that, and have personally apologized to her, because the Bunny is nothing if not willing to admit when he’s wrong.  Also:  Not mentioning Rob helped make him go away.

But today, there’s a good reason to mention the “He Who Is Nameless”, and it’s all for the HERO INITIATIVE.

At a convention a few months back, I was presented with a Granito Hockey Jersey as a gift by Kevin Boyd-convention organizer and all around good guy.  The thought was that I could do what I wanted with it, perhaps as some sort of catharsis or something, as Kevin didn’t want it any more.  My first idea was to put it in a toilet and let convention-goers pee on it for five bucks each and give the money to HERO, but that would have excluded women from participating in the fun, as I wasn’t going to fish it out of one toilet and transport it to another.

But a much better idea was offered up (I think it was my wife’s idea, or Ethan Van Sciver’s, and she’ll correct me if I’m wrong)…”why not let all the guests at this convention do sketches on the shirt, and have them, in true Granito fashion, sign EACH OTHER’S WORK?” and then auction it off on ebay.

Richard Pace. Writer and/or artist for Pitt Crew, New Warriors, and other stuff, sketches on the back and signs on the front. I signed his sketch.

So…the list of illustrations, and signings of work we didn’t do goes as follows…

Scarlet Witch by Khoi Pham (signed by Chris Sprouse)
Hulk by Ethan van Sciver (signed by Khoi Pham)
Wonder Woman by Agnes Garbowska (signed by Leonard Kirk)
Evil Ernie by Dale Keown (signed by Richard Pace)
Spider-Man by Ty Templeton (signed by Agnes Garbowska
Sandman by Richard Pace (signed by Ty Templeton)
Gorilla-Man by Leonard Kirk (signed by Ethan van Sciver)
Tom Strong by Chris Sprouse (signed by Dale Keown)
…and a hearty “Sit the @#?!!@ down!” by Ethan van Sciver (this one properly attributed!)

Ethan (Sit the #$@)(#@ down) Van Sciver does his part for charity.

The shirt was donated to HERO, and the ebay auction started up today.  There’s no better souvenir of the whole meshuga  than this shirt, and you get some pretty cool artists’ work to boot.

Even mine.

Remember, HERO is the organization that aids aging comic book creators in need.  This group helps with medical expenses for the people that made our childhood dreams come true,  and it’s one of my favorite charities, and should be yours.

Pull together and give back to the biz that gave so much to us, toss in a bid, and maybe win one of the more interesting collectibles you’ll ever find.

Ty the Guy OUT!

If you haven’t figured out the links yet…the auction is HERE.

Here now, your BONUS HERO INITIATIVE MOMENT

This hardcover collection (one of ten copies for sale of only five hundred printed) is ALSO on auction for HERO at ebay.  This collection is probably the best set of covers ever done for Hero, and well worth having.  Ignore that I’m here, you HAVE to see the Steve Epting cover, the John Byrne cover, and so many others…

Roy Thomas and the Avengers raise money for Hero Initiative! YAY!

I’ve mentioned this a few times in the last weeks…Roy Thomas penciled a cover for an issue of Avengers, and I got to ink it, and we auctioned off the artwork to raise money for THE HERO INITIATIVE, a very worthy cause.

…and as the auction ended, the cover raised $635 for retired cartoonists with medical bills and no way to pay ’em (which is a big part of what HERO does).   What a lovely way to end the alarmingly busy, but pleasant month of May.  Tra la!

There’s plenty of covers left to auction off from this AVENGERS 100 set…here’s a few on the block right now!

The always lovely and talented TERRY DODSON

Click on the image to be taken to the auction

and the lovely and very Canadian Stuart Immonen.

Click on the image to be taken to the auction

It’s always a great cause, and some of these Avengers covers are the best sketches I’ve ever seen….(see below)

Ty the Guy

Here now, your BONUS Hero Avengers cover moment:

Click on the image and be taken to Steve Epting's Sketchblog!

Isn’t THAT pretty?