Comic Creators Unite to Benefit Stores

A large group of comic book creators are banding together to help support comic book retailers whose business have been disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Using the Twitter hashtag #Creators4Comics, more than 120 creators will be auctioning comic books, artwork and one-of-a-kind experiences. The auctions will run from Wednesday through Monday and will benefit the Book Industry Charitable Foundation, which is accepting applications from comic book shops and bookstores for emergency relief.

The effort was organized by the comic book writers Sam Humphries and Brian Michael Bendis, along with Kami Garcia, Gwenda Bond and Phil Jimenez. Humphries will be auctioning “How to Break Into Comics by Making Your Own Comics,” which are video-chat sessions with aspiring writers. “It mirrors my own comic book secret origin story,” he said in an email. More information can be found at the Creators 4 Comics website.

These charitable efforts can raise considerable funds. On April 1, Jim Lee, chief creative officer and publisher of DC Comics, began posting a sketch daily to auction in support of comic book stores. One sketch — depicting a vampire version of Batman — sold for $17,300 on April 12.

Another comic book creator, Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez, has been using his superhero, La Borinqueña, in support of a GoFundMe campaign called Masks for America. It has raised about $118,000 so far to manufacture and ship masks for health care workers. It has the support of actors like Mark Ruffalo, who currently plays the Incredible Hulk in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. “The real superheroes are working in hospitals, urgent care, elder care, and they need our help,” he tweeted last month.