Broken Frontier

Update, September 23, 2005: Joe Quesada has sent out a final call for people to bid as waves four and five of Inkwell auctions are about to end:

Well, the first three nights of Inkwell auctions have ended, with two more nights to go. The fan response has been just as staggering as the pros who donated. Thank you all! Tens of thousands of dollars have been raised for the survivors of Katrina, thanks to the generosity of you, the comics community.

But we're not done yet! Waves 4 and 5 of Inkwell are still open for bidding, with wave 4 ending tonight and wave 5 tomorrow. Still on the block are items from Alex Ross, Neal Adams, Richard Corben, Stan Lee, Garth Ennis, Jeph Loeb, etc. The list goes on and on! Check it out, find a favorite item or two, and bid!

Update, September 16, 2005: Joe Quesada has sent out another update as the final round of Inkwell auctions gets underway:

The inkwell auctions enter their last wave tonight, and the response from fan and pro alike has been staggering. Thank you one and all! Those of you following the site closely, we threw a few surprises at you to keep things lively (the unannounced John Romita Jr. Spidey cover, the Alex Ross painted Paradise X cover (just up last night!). There were some great pieces you knew were coming, like Jim Lee's Batman, Greg Horn's Elektra, art from Joe, Andy, AND Adam Kubert just to name a few. Many of the industry's writers representin', too.... scripts from Garth Ennis, Neil Gaiman (the final Sandman script? Too cool!), Allan Heinberg, Frank Tieri; autographed rare and out-of-print books Brian Bendis, Jeph Loeb, and Greg Pak.

And don't forget tonight, besides all the great art and collectibles to come, we will be starting the bidding on The Spider-Man Movie script by Stan "The Man" Lee!!! Few, if any, could claim to have brought comics more into the public eye than Stan. One of the most recognized and celebrated comic creators ever, Stan is to many the face of comics to this day.

This is possibly the most historic item we'll have going out. The only time Stan will make a copy of this script. He'll personalize it to the winner, and just think NO ONE else will have a copy. Just YOU and STAN. If that isn't enough to give you goosebumps, you're not breathing!

Stop by the site, http://www.inkwellrelief.com and click on the auction link to get started. Remember, this auction's proceeds will go to the American Red Cross to assist the survivors of Katrina. The ongoing process of rebuilding the Gulf Coast will be a long and difficult one. But these people WILL bounce back; let's give them a helping hand to speed them on their way.

Update, September 14, 2005: Joe Quesada has sent out the following news about the Inkwell series of auctions:

Thanks everyone for making this auction such a splash! Wave 2 went up last night, and the bidding has been frenzied. I did mention that we had gotten some more donations, so a lot of folks who were checking the items out as they went up got their socks blown off by a couple of surprise items: an Amazing Spider-Man cover courtesy of none other than John Romita, Jr. and the final Sandman script, donated and signed by Neil Gaiman!

There's still a lot of unbelievable stuff to go up; waves 3-5 start 9pm EDT today through Friday. Yet to hit the virtual auction floor is Stan's Spider-Man movie script! If you haven¹t read what Stan has to say about this truly unique item, go to the http://inkwellrelief.com website and click on the picture that says, "A Personal Message from Stan Lee." This is a unique piece of history! When will bidding open on this one? One way to know: check out the auction!

Don¹t forget, all of these great comics creators have donated these items to help do our industry¹s part in helping the survivors of Katrina through the American Red Cross. And the fans have certainly responded! Thanks again, guys!

- Joe Quesada

Original article:

As announced earlier this week, a large number of creators, spearheaded by Marvel Editor-In-Chief Joe Quesada are forming under the Inkwell banner to raise money for the Red Cross in order to hopefully help victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Creators that have already donated artwork and other items, or have agreed to do so are: Trevor Hairsine, John Cassaday, Jimmy Cheung, Adi Granov, Greg Horn, Mike Oeming, Mark Bagley, Adam Kubert, Kaare Andrews, Billy Tan, Jeph Loeb, Joe Quesada and Chris Claremont.

Yesterday, the relief effort’s website, which will be continuously updated, went live at www.inkwellrelief.com.

Inkwell will be holding three eBay auctions beginning Monday, September 12 followed by another round going up on September 13 and a third one on September 14. Below are a few images of the artwork that has been donated (by John Cassaday, Kaare Andrews, Adam Kubert and Michael Avon Oeming respectively):

A complete overview of the artwork, as well as a link to the eBay auction page, can be found at the Inkwell website.

Quesada has stated clearly that, while many of the creators currently listed on the website are Marvel artists, Inkwell is an independent relief effort that wants to unite some of the biggest names in the industry to come to the aid of the Hurricane Katrina victims. He will provide more information on the charity today on his Joey Friday's feature at Newsarama.