The specialty charity auction of original comic strip art by 34 of the world’s top cartoonists we featured here on downthetubes last month raised $53,384 for victims of deadly hurricanes.
A signed Bill Watterson Calvin and Hobbes print, one of the items we spotlighted, sold for over $10,000 alone.
Heritage Auctions, collaborating with The National Cartoonists Society Foundation and major strip syndicators, launched the inaugural Thanks & Giving Auction benefiting Hurricane Relief, which ran from 23rd – 30th November. The auction launched Thanksgiving Day and many artists incorporated feelings of gratitude, appreciation and empathy to those affected by this year’s natural disasters.
Proceeds from winning bids will go to Direct Relief, benefitting victims of recent natural disasters.
“The auction was completely sold out,” said Jim Halperin, Co-founder of Heritage Auctions. “It was inspiring to see so many talented artists create and then donate collectible original comic strips or personal keepsakes from their personal collection.”
Among the artists whose work was featured in the auction: Patrick McDonnell (Mutts), Lynn Johnston (For Better or For Worse), Mort Walker (Beetle Bailey), Cathy Guisewite (Cathy), Jeff Keane (The Family Circus), Al Jaffee (MAD Magazine), Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman (Zits), Rick Kirkman (Baby Blues) and many other well-known creators.
“The results of this auction reflect the spirit of cartoonists and what they do,” Halperin said. “They create work designed to entertain people, and make them laugh and smile. So it’s no surprise that so many great artists were willing to come together to help raise money for people who have been through so much hardship because of natural disasters.
Highlights include:
- Bill Watterson’s Calvin and Hobbes “The Last Sunday” Print signed and dated 12-31-95 (Universal Press Syndicate, 1995): $10,157.50
- Carlos Castellanos and Hector Cantu Baldo Daily Comic Strip Original Art dated 11-23-17 (Andrews McMeel Syndicate, 2017): $896.50
- Patrick McDonnell Mutts Daily Comic Strip Original Art dated 11-23-2017 (King Features Syndicate, 2017): $3,585
- Garry Trudeau Doonesbury Daily Comic Strip Original Art dated 6-13-89 (Universal Press Syndicate, 1989): $2,629
- Brian Diskin – Christmas Duck Illustration Original Art (2009): $1,314.50
- George Booth “An Old Old Story” Unpublished Single Panel Cartoon Original Art Illustration dated 9-2015 (2015): $1,135.25
- Mo Willems – Elephant and Piggy Poster Illustration Original Art (2015): $1,045.63
- Mike Peters – Editorial Comic Strip (2017): $956
- Al Jaffee MAD Magazine #548 Mad Fold-In Inside Back Cover Painting Original Art, Prints, and Magazines Group of 5 (EC, 2017): $896.25
- Carlos Castellanos and Hector Cantu Baldo Daily Comic Strip Original Art dated 11-23-17 (Andrews McMeel Syndicate, 2017): $896.25
- Dan Piraro Bizarro Single Panel Comic Strip dated 3-28-2004 Original Art (King Features, 2004): $776.75
Heritage Auctions is the largest fine art and collectibles auction house founded in the United States, and the world’s largest collectibles auctioneer. Heritage maintains offices in New York, Dallas, Beverly Hills, San Francisco, Chicago, Palm Beach, London, Paris, Geneva, Amsterdam and Hong Kong.
The Internet’s most popular auction-house website, HA.com, has over one million registered bidder-members, and searchable free archives of four million past auction records with prices realized, descriptions and enlargeable photos.
• Official Site: HA.com
• The National Cartoonists Society
John Freeman
The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Star Trek Explorer (previously known as Star Trek Magazine) and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War and “Dan Dare”. He’s the writer of "Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies" for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: Art and Illustration, Auctions, Comic Art, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Events
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