shadowen:

stickthisbig:

royalfan:

benito-cereno:

calamityjon:

The Avengers opens in theaters in the US on May 4th, and it’s going to do blockbuster business. The individual films featuring these characters have already  grossed more than $2.2 billion dollars - that’s greater than the Gross National Product of almost half the countries on Earth - and it’s not unlikely that The Avengers will earn a hundred million dollars on its opening day alone.

This represents a pretty big payday to a lot of people - the actors, obviously, will take home pretty big paychecks. The director and the writers are well-compensated, and certainly the executives who greenlighted this project get to sit back and rake in large bonuses and healthy salaries.

Well, you know where this is going; shamefully, the people who aren’t making a big profit from these movies are the people (and the families of the people) who did the essential work of creating them in the first place. It’s not just Jack Kirby, either, or (Black Widow and Hawkeye co-creator) Don Heck, but also Steve Engelhart, Peter David, Herb Trimpe, Jim Steranko, Roy Thomas and dozens more - the artists and writers who refined and defined the characters appearing in this movie, who fleshed out the original creations and molded them into the figures we cheer for when we see them on the screen.

Some very sensible people are calling for a boycott of this film on those grounds, but I think it’s fairly obvious that a boycott of idealistic comic fans isn’t going to accomplish much - it’s not only comic book fans who’ll be dropping a collective billion dollars over the next eight weeks to see this movie, it’s going to be a lot of movie-goers who haven’t read a comic since they were kids, much less know anything of the controversy.

Plus, of course, you - the collective “you”, representing comic book fans all over the world - want to see this movie. And you’re going to, most likely, right? Even though you know of the morally shady practices of Marvel towards its creators, they’ve got you hooked. Don’t be ashamed, they’ve had you hooked for years. It’s what they do.

So how about this: You’re probably going to go see The Avengers and, judging by the early reviews, you’ll probably enjoy it. How about - as a thank you to the creators who brought you these characters in the first place, who gave you something to enjoy so much - you match your ticket price as a donation to The Hero Initiative? 

THI is a charity which provides essential financial assistance to comic book professionals who have fallen on hard times; for decades, the comic industry provided no financial safety net to its employees, most of whom it regarded only as freelancers and journeymen, meaning they were offered no health insurance, no unemployment insurance, no retirement plans - none of the financial support most of us enjoy from our jobs and careers. A small donation will help this agency provide a valuable safety net in times of need to these beloved entertainers.

I don’t plan on seeing The Avengers, but I’ve donated $15 - the price of a 3-D ticket - to Hero. If every concerned comic fan - every superhero aficionado who learned to live by the lessons of altruism and sacrifice taught by these comics - donated the price of their ticket, well, it may not hit a billion dollars but it’ll bring in a lot of money for a good and relevant cause.

One last note: Remember what Spider-Man always says? “With great power comes great responsibility”. The lesson in that is that everyone has great power. Spider-Man’s great power is being able to lift a bus. Your great power is the ability to help good causes do good work for good reasons - so why not go be a superhero instead of just watching them on the screen…

(PS: “Liking” this post is nice, thank you, but reblogging/retweeting it helps get the message out and would be even more appreciated)

Fully endorsed.

Not going to lie, I don’t know much about this issue but I wanted to reblog this so people in the fandom can check it out for themselves.

This is something to keep in mind- and something that I, admittedly, don’t. This has been going on since, uh, Siegel and Shuster, and it absolutely hasn’t gotten better with age.

If you want to support THI and like fancy things, they also have a partnership with BPAL: the profits from Heroine, Sachs and Violens go to them (and let me note that Sachs is my favorite scent ever, and that, at least last year at D*C, if you bought the set they would go find Peter David and George Perez and have them sign it for you, and yes, I FLIPPED MY SHIT). I’d also like to put in a PSA for the CBLDF, another important organization for comics creators that could use your support.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled Jeremy Renner gifs.

THI also has two TPBs out featuring collections of short comics from different creators. The books are good and proceeds benefit THI.

I chose shadowen’s reblog specifically for the ‘Buy Cool Stuff and Do Good At the Same Time! angle. Hi, tumblr stranger! Thanks for adding more helpful info to this post.

For convenience, all the links from above grouped together & annotated:

• The Hero Initiative, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization devoted to helping comics creators in need due to the lack of health and disability insurance availability/affordability in the comics industry;
• Heroine, Sachs and Violens, 3 perfume-oil blends created by Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, with proceeds to benefit THI;
• the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, providing legal assistance to readers, retailers and creators of comics facing comics-related prosecution, and educating law enforcement and the public about the legal status of comics art;
• and finally, Graham Crackers Comics, THI’s official retail partner, lists a few dozen TPBs, individual issues and related merchandise whose sales benefit THI (though I couldn’t identify the specific TPBs shadowen was referring to).

After a few days of my darling dearest growling about how making the very good point that many appeals for grass-roots donations seem to cluster and/or increase in frequency at the end of the month, precisely when many of the poorest Americans can least afford to donate, I decided to schedule my reblog for the beginning of the month, even though it’s still the 29th as I write this. ;·)

Also, for those of us to whom it makes a difference: The majority of the comics creators who The Hero Initiative has helped found themselves in dire financial straits due to unforeseen physical disability — and, as most PWDs know (at least here in the States), getting financial and medical aid in situations like that takes so long we’re typically ruined by the time the help comes through… and, even then, what help we get is based on politicians’ guesses and compromises about how much help people ‘should’ need, rather than how much anyone actually needs. THI keeps roofs over creators’ heads and food on their tables in addition to ensuring they can pay for whatever medical care they need, and doesn’t make them wade through months of paperwork first.

[image description: a promotional image for the Avengers film, showing, from left to right, Scarlett Johannson as Agent Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow; Samuel L. Jackson as Director Nick Fury; Robert Downey, Jr. (unseen inside costume) as Tony Stark, aka Iron Man; Mark Ruffalo as Dr. Bruce Banner, depicted in Hulk form (Hulk voiced by Lou Ferrigno); Chris Evans as Steve Rogers, aka Captain America; Chris Hemsworth as Thor; and Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye.]