A Word From The Director

This week the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund sent a $10,000 retainer check to Jesus Castillo’s legal counsel to pay for the first stage of his Supreme Court appeal. We were able to do this thanks to the generous contributions raised in auctions initiated by Jim Lee, Comicon.com, and Mile High Comics.

Since starting in mid-November, the Comicon.com auction has raised over $8,000 for the CBLDF, and it’s not over yet. Spearheaded by Comicon.com founders Rick Veitch and Steve Conley, artists from across the industry have donated work to this auction to benefit the Fund. There’s still a week to go, with original and rare work by David Lloyd, Gilbert Shelton, Neil Gaiman, Alan Moore, Eddie Campbell, Bill Sienkiewicz, Bryan Talbot, Paul Mounts, Marc Hempel, George Walker, Judd Winick, Brian Wood and others on the block. This auction aims to generate enough income for the Fund to pay off the rest of this year’s legal bills.

Last week, the Fund also auctioned off the Perfect 10.0 Edition of Thor #156, donated by Mile High Comics founder Chuck Rozanski. The book sold on Sunday to a supporter for $5,000. Rozanski has been the Fund’s most ardent supporter this season. He won the Jim Lee Benefit Signing auction for $6,700 and followed that up by running the Fund’s Mid-Ohio Con auction, where he raised over $2,000. His donation of the rare, historic Thor comic from the Mile High 2 collection is a sacrifice that demonstrates his firm commitment to the Fund’s mission, and it’s a commitment for which we’re grateful.

The donations these auctions have generated and the steady flow of memberships and other contributions that you’ve made are helping the Fund through one of our most expensive years in recent memory. Because of this support, we’ve been able to tackle the latest crisis in the Castillo battle.

Unfortunately, the bigger war is not won. The Fund still has to raise another $20,000 to pay off the rest of this year’s legal bills, which include fees for our retained counsel and bills from Stu Helm’s battle with Kraft. With your continued support during the last week of the Comicon.com Auction, we can come close to that. And if you’ve been meaning to join or renew your membership doing so now will help us get even closer.

It’s not a secret that the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund depends on the support of the comics community so that we can defend our industry’s own. The community’s response to the immediate crisis of the Castillo Supreme Court appeal demonstrates that comics people care about their own. If you’ve been among the individuals who supported that motion, you should know that your dollars truly have made a difference.

As we close the year, keep an eye on cbldf.org for info about the last offerings of the Comicon.com Benefit Auction. There’s some excellent one-of-a-kind pieces that will make great gifts for your favorite comics fan, or a nice reward for yourself. If your payment is received by December 19, we can still turn it around in the continental U.S. for Rush Christmas delivery. Best of all, you’ll be giving a gift that matters by supporting the Fund’s efforts on behalf of the comics community.

All of us at the Fund thank you sincerely for your support of our work in 2002. With your continued support, we can make 2003 a better tomorrow for comics.