I’m wrapping up the shipping of the various perks that were offered by some very generous individuals and companies. I’d like to take a moment and recognize them for their generosity. I approached a few individuals personally but the majority came to me offering their help.
In alphabetical order, I give huge thanks to…
Abrams Books for Young Readers passed along the new Diary of A Wimpy Kid paper gift products (journals, magnetic pads, and large and mini notebooks).
Andertoons creator Mark Anderson emailed me early in the campaign with a unique offer. Part of his “How to Draw” series, he drew a robot and then built it out of Legos. He offered the robot and the original sketch as a combo incentive. I honestly did not know how to price it – but at $75 it went quickly.
Keith Brown offered limited edition copies of his first Wages of Sin collection. If you haven’t had a chance to read his strip, you can find it over at GoComics.com.
Pickles creator Brian Crane, he offered up a copy of his latest book, Oh, Sure! Blame It on the Dog!: A Pickles Collection and a personalized sketch. The person who claimed that perk lives in the same city as Brian. Shipping on that one may be in person.
Nathan J. DiPerri does the delightful comic My Guardian Grandpa. Nathan offered up several copies of his first and second collections My Guardian Grandpa and When He Was My Age which you can find on his website.
Speaking of in-person deliveries – Australian Cartoonist of the Year Anton Edmin offered up an original sketch. It was claimed by Economist cartoonist “KAL” – who coincidently made sure he was on world tour and swinging through Sydney for the Economist. The two managed to get together for a drink and pose for the picture below. I’m hoping they were sober enough to remember to exchange the actual art. I can’t afford to send KAL down there or fly Anton up here for another in-person delivery.
Jan Eliot is the talented creator of Stone Soup and routinely kicks my arse in Words with Friends. She offered up five original strips and offered for more when those sold out. She’s so generous, I just couldn’t ask for more.
James Francis is a South African cartoonist who generously provided holiday and office stock art. Perfect for newsletters, web sites and illustrations. He does great work. Check out his stuff on his site.
Universal Uclick President John Glynn did not hesitate when I asked for assistance. He offered up GoComic Pro subscriptions to any and all donors and then sent eight (very heavy, very large) boxes of books and calendars to my door step. Not just any books – but some of the latest and greatest from Andrews McMeel publishing: Celebrating Peanuts, The Complete Calvin and Hobbes, The Complete Farside, Reheating Lio (Lio), The Fuzzy Bunch (Get Fuzzy), The Mighty Alice (Cul de Sac) and the 2014 Argyle Sweater Calendar. It drove my kids nuts having piles of books and not be able to read them.
Allan Holtz (AKA Strippers guide) donated a brand new copy of the gorgeous Little Sammy Sneeze book.
Tom Heintjes, who produces the great Hogan’s Alley magazine, offered copies of the last 10 issues. Tom produces a great magazine with interviews, photos and historical information that’s invaluable.
Michael Jantze offered up a signed copy of one of his Norm books and a sketch. I know Michael has been busy lately trying to get his Knocked Out Loaded book out the door, so I’m grateful for him taking time out to tweet and ship.
Jeff Kersten donated Volume’s 8
and 9 of IDW’s The Complete Chester Gould’s DICK TRACY.
Amy Lago over at The Washington Post was quick to send me books from Darrin Bell, Brian Crane and Brian Basset.
Tiki Carol Leach offered up her original art from her submission to “Team Cul de Sac: Cartoonists Draw the Line at Parkinson’s”
Two original Jeff MacNelly Shoe strips were offered to me to give away. The first Shoe original was claimed for the equivalent of a song. Despite that, Susie MacNelly offered to let me give away a second Shoe which I doubled the donation level value to $1000 and it was claimed within three minutes. Susie is one of two now left to carry on Jeff’s great strip. You can read Shoe Shoecomics.com
Mark Parisi, creator of Off The Mark is also a Words with Friends competitor and my official drinking buddy when I’m in Boston. He generously offered up two of his originals. Next time in Boston, Mark, drinks are on me. So are the parking tickets.
Michael Pohrer donated autographed copy of Best Editorial Cartoons Of The Year 2010, a full color print of his cartoon that ran in 2010 BECY as well as an autographed original Pinhead sketch.
Tom Racine not only gave me valuable advice on running one of these crowd-funded campaigns before I launched mine, but he also generously offered to dedicate a 30 minute Tall Tale Radio podcast to a donor. That podcast is scheduled for later next year.
Maria Scriven is the talented cartoonist behind Half Full. She offered an original strip which was claimed by… let’s just say someone with a big name in comics who has great taste in art.
Claudia Smith over at King Features made sure I had DailyInk subscriptions to offer as well as calendars. She also let me in on their new plans for Comics Kingdom and promised me an exclusive peak.
Smith Micro is a leader in software – especially for cartoonists. Anime Studio Pro, Motion Artist and Manga Studio 5 are three titles you ought to check out. You can spend hundreds of dollars for animation software and then realize you need to spend more for classes to use the software effectively, or you can get one of the aforementioned software titles for most of your web animation needs at a fraction of the cost. Three cartoonists have claimed these three software titles. I’ll be watching to see what they do with them.
Jeff Payden offered up an original Biff & Riley. Biff and Riley are two canine brothers “who are clearly at opposite ends of the personality spectrum.” Check it out on GoComics.com.
New Yorker cartoonist Mick Stevens offered up an original comic illustration that he did for Yahoo! Magazine. The illustration featured a large man with a tattoo, “Born to be online.” Some cartoons are timeless.
And lastly Rick Tuma not only was a financial contributor to the campaign, but also kicked the campaign into high gear when he offered one of his original Jeff MacNelly Shoe from his personal collection as an incentive. Misled a bit by its value (Not by Rick! We both share a deep respect for Jeff’s work), I set the value on this piece low and it was snapped up in short order for $550. Someone out there is getting a very nice Christmas gift and I couldn’t be more happy knowing who it is. Of course I can’t name names or I’d be ruining someone’s Christmas.
Congrats again Alan and thanks to all the donors for making it happen.