In case you haven’t figured it out, this is an organized way to help creator Len Wein, whose house was recently gutted by fire, taking much of his personal comics collection with it. Now, thanks to Mark Evanier and others, you can help rebuild that collection:
So did Len’s collection of books and toys and games and artwork and those things we accumulate that help define and enrich our lives. You have stuff. He had stuff. Insurance will fix the house but many things, including his comics, were not covered. Some of us thought it would be grand if his friends and fans pitched in to help him recreate those shelves of the comic books he’s worked on.
Here’s the plan: We’ve compiled a list of the comics Len needs to reacquire. We’re updating it from time to time as comics are pledged or received. You can view or download it from the link at the top of this page. (It’s a PDF file, which means you need to have Adobe Reader.) The list will be updated often.
The url linked to from the image has an extra ” mark tacked on at the end, which prevents the page on Mark’s website from loading properly.
Best of luck with this project. There was no talk of the condition of donated comics. I presume that fair to good condition reading copies would be okay?
Regarding condition, in an update at http://www.newsfromme.com/archives/2009_04_20.html#016992 , Evanier responds to the condition question by saying:
“Folks are writing to ask if condition matters. Well, sort of. If you have a beat-up copy of a book we need, I may ask you to hold onto it for a bit and see if someone else comes up with a better copy.”
It seems that there’s been a great response between Friday and Monday (when the first list was posted and the newer update,) which is great to see.
You know Len built some of the biggest franchise ideas for both Marvel and DC, they should with ease replace his collection. He has given so much already and I am sure received less from them. Mark Evanier seems to be carrying the torch for both writers and artists who were wronged in the past and are getting very little compensation from both publishers. Great work Mark. POVonline always rocked.
Wouldn’t it be nice if we placed importance on the people who are really in need of our help, instead of focusing on replacing someone’s comic book collection? I know there are a lot of starving children around the world. A good organization to help those that are really in need is “Feed My Starving Children.” Let’s maybe, re-prioritize our views of helping others. Doesn’t this seem really trite and silly, in the big picture?
Blackeye, I think the emphasis of this small effort is to repay a creator for all the great work he has done, and all the hours of pleasure his work has given us.
It does not take away from the needs of the underprivileged of the world; it is just a gesture of thanks and help to a comic creator.
Well said, Al.
Dear Heidi (or whomever), Is this credible reporting or are you simply pandering to Mark Evanier? I am in shock that you bought into this.
You have done a great service by publicizing this, however, as I plan to buy an armload of comics and bring them to the cancer center for the kids there to read.
The nice thing about empathy is that it is not a finite resource. One can be alerted to and/or moved by the plight of one person or group without it diminishing one’s ability to feel for any (or even every) other afflicted person or group.
Of course, other resources (whether money, time, donatable comic books, kidneys, or whatever else) are more finite. If hearing about one particular cause impels one to support another (as in, “I don’t think I want to support this guy, but that reminds me that I can support those other guys.”) that’s a good thing too.
If you’d rather give comic books to a cancer ward than a fire victim, that’s great; go do it. Because while trying to quantify good deeds can be an interesting exercise, if one wants to do good in this world, sometimes the important thing is to start doing good somewhere.
And it’s possible to do that without investing too much in criticizing those others whose interests and resources have caused them to choose other causes to support.
I am guessing that Mr. Wein, like any of us who have valuable comics or other collectibles, has insurance on his collection or at least a contents inventory that he provided to his underwriters prior to the loss.
When he collects, do we get reimbursed for the comics we send him?
I like Bender’s idea better. There are those far more deserving of our help in this life than Mr. Wein.