Hero Initiative Celebrates Jack Kirby’s 100th Birthday on August 28 with Kirby4Heroes

Press Release:

The Hero Initiative, the charitable organization dedicated to helping veteran comic creators in medical or financial need, is celebrating the 100^th birthday of Jack “King” Kirby on August 28 with a little help from Jillian Kirby, founder of the Kirby4Heroes campaign.

More than 50 artists will get up on the morning of August 28, 2016 to simply “Wake Up and Draw.” All drawings will be featured in a special gallery at ComicArtFans.com, and fans can follow the action through the day on Twitter searching hashtag: #WakeUpAndDraw. All drawings will be auctioned to benefit Hero Initiative starting September 5, 2017!

Artist Phil Hester will reach the end of a long road. Four years ago, in conjunction with Kirby’s 97^th birthday, Hester drew 97 Kirby characters. He upped the ante to 98 and 99 the last two years, and will close out in classic fashion with 100 Kirbys this year! Phil’s drawing marathon will take place at Krypton Comics in Omaha, Nebraska, and will be livestreamed as well!

And the baton is passed! Get to The Source Comics in Games in Roseville, Minn. On August 28, where artist Brent Schoonover will be doing Kirby drawings all day as well!

Jillian Kirby, Jack’s youngest granddaughter, has spearheaded the “Kirby4Heroes” campaign since 2012. Jillian has recruited a number of comic stores to donate a percentage of their sales to Hero on this special day. Individual fans can visit the official Kirby4Heroes campaign Facebook page and donate via the PayPal link at www.HeroInitiative.org. Please type in “Kirby4Heroes” in the special instructions box.

“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 five years my campaign has been fortunate enough to raise over $80,000 for the Hero Initiative, and this year my goal is to push it well over $100,000! 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!”

Participating stores include:
Alakazam Comics, Irvine, CA
All About Books & Comics, Phoenix, AZ
Arcadian Comics, Newport, KY
Aw Yeah Comics, Skokie, IL
Bedrock City Comics, five locations in Houston, TX
Blastoff Comics, North Hollywood, CA
Borderlands Comics, Greenville, SC
Captain Blue Hen Comics, Newark, DE
Carmine St. Comics, New York, NY
Carol & John’s Comic Shop, Cleveland, OH
Challengers Comics, Chicago, IL
Collector’s Paradise, two locations in Los Angeles, CA
Collectors Corner, Parkville, MD
Comics & Collectibles, Memphis, TN
Comix City Too, Madison, TN
Comix Experience, two locations in San Francisco, CA
Cosmic Comics, Las Vegas, NV
Cosmic Comics & Toys, Cantonsville, MD
Destiny City Comics, Tacoma, WA
Dragon’s Lair Comics, Austin, TX
Earth-2 Comics, two locations in Los Angeles, CA
Escape Pod Comics, Huntington, NY
Flying Colors Comics, Concord, CA
Geoffrey’s Comics/Hi De Ho Comics, two locations in Los Angeles, CA
Green Brain Comics, Dearborn, MI
Heroes Comics, Fresno, CA
I Want More Comics, Northglenn, CO
Jesse James Comics, Glendale, AZ
Joy’s Japanimation, Greensburg, PA
Lee’s Comics, Mountain View, CA
Lost Legion Games & Comics, three locations in Charleston, WV
Mission Comics and Art, San Francisco
Nans Games and Comics, Houston, TX
Phantom of the Attic Comics, two locations in Pittsburgh, PA
Queen City Comics, two locations in Cincinnati, OH
Samurai Comics, three locations in Phoenix, AZ
The Source Comics & Games, Roseville, MN
The Comic Book Shop, Wilmington, DE
World’s Best Comics, Sacramento, CA

Wake Up & Draw Pieces Now Up for Auction

The Hero Initiative has listed the auctions for this year’s Wake Up and Draw, an annual event created in tribute to Jack “The King” Kirby on his birthday! There is plenty of great artwork to bid on including pieces by Alan Davis (see above), Bart Sears, Chris Moreno, Cully Hamner, Darick Robertson, Fred Hembeck, Gene Ha, Grace Allison, and many more! Get some fantastic art and contribute to charity all at once! Click the link to Comic Art Fans auction page to bid!

Wake Up and Draw for the King’s Birthday

Press Release:

The Hero Initiative, the charitable organization dedicated to helping veteran comic creators in medical or financial need, celebrates the birthday of Jack “King” Kirby on August 28 with a little help from The King’s family.

Hero has recruited 100 artists to get up on the morning of August 28, 2012 to simply “Wake Up and Draw.” This new event is a way for artists to limber up, get the creative juices flowing, and celebrate the day by drawing and sending a “birthday card to Jack.” All 100 drawings will be featured in a special gallery on Comic Art Fans, and fans can follow the action through the day on Twitter searching hashtag: #WakeUpAndDraw. All drawings will be auctioned to benefit Hero Initiative at a later date! Neal Kirby, son of Jack, and artist Tim Seeley are featured in a special YouTube video on the event. EDIT: Gallery is now up at Comic Art Fans!

And Jillian Kirby, Jack’s granddaughter, has spearheaded the “Kirby4Heroes” campaign. Jillian has recruited a number of comic stores to donate a percentage of their sales to Hero on August 28, and encourage their customers to make donations as well. Fans can donate via the PayPal link at www.HeroInitiative.org, and type in “Kirby4Heroes” in the special instructions box. Jillian has teamed up with Seth Laderman, head of production from the Nerdist Channel, to produce a video spotlighting the campaign. Check out Jillian’s YouTube video on the event.

“Though my grandfather Jack unfortunately died the year before I was born, I am surrounded by books, artwork, and of course family stories and anecdotes so much that I feel like I’ve known him my whole life,” said Jillian Kirby. “Even though I never had the opportunity to know him personally, I have learned my grandfather was a very giving and charitable man. I know my grandfather would have been the first to lend the Hero Initiative his support.”

Neal Kirby adds, “By supporting the Hero Initiative through the ‘Kirby4Heroes’ campaign and ‘Wake Up and Draw,’ comic book fans can honor my father on his 95th birthday in the same manner that he would have.”