Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Comics, entertainment

Be A Real Portland Superhero This October, With Excalibur Comics

By Justin Zimmerman

When I moved to Portland, Oregon – almost a decade ago, I can hardly believe it – I had no idea it was fast becoming the comic book capital of the country. Now that I've been writing comics since 2008 and working as the Social Media Coordinator at Portland's oldest and coolest comic book store for the past three years, I feel like I can speak for the collective community when I say:

COMICS MATTER.

They really, really do.

I wrote a story – drawn by the amazing Robbi Rodriguez – for Marc Andreyko's Love Is Love. I watched as Marc, along with Sarah Gaydos at IDW and Jamie Rich at DC, worked tirelessly to gather comic creators across the world to create art for art's sake. For good. To rage against the dying of the light. To make, not for profit or status, but to effect change. Look for it in December, announced by no less than the NY Times here.

Inspiring? You betcha. An anomaly? Hell no. Not with Debbie Smith and Peter Fagnant in my life. Not with Excalibur Comics my destination every Wednesday.

You see, I was a comic book reader long before I worked in this whole crazy and lovely three-stapled mess. I make films for a living. I just kind of squeezed myself – in an almost Mr. Fantastic kind of way – into the Excalibur Comics world. Due solely to Debbie and Peter's commitment to their community.

I filmed their incredible charity events for years. Because they were amazing. Because they showed that anyone could be a superhero. Because they created real change.

See for yourself here:

To my knowledge, they haven't been given any awards for these events. They've just focused on what everyone in the comics community seems to focus on: getting the work done. It's not glamorous. No one will ever understand how much time you put into it. And when it does finally hit the wider world, it's over so fast you can barely believe it.

But the next page of bristol is ready, the yellow pad is blank, the Final Draft cursor is blinking. There's more to be done, and it's not gonna make itself, so…

Let's fix things, let's create, let's build.

Either you love this stuff or you don't. And if you're reading this, dollars to donuts you do.

Last year I donated a run of my all-ages comic OTHER WORLDS: FER KIDZ to the Northeast Emergency Food Program, which kickstarted our partnership. Not to be outdone, Debbie and Peter have since donated thousands upon thousands of comics to the NEFP for kids who need 'em most.

This year I have the honor and privilege of coordinating the Excalibur Comics / Northeast Emergency Food Program charity drive. Throughout the month of October, Excalibur Comics will be accepting targeted donations of food and supplies. In exchange, customers will receive tickets for an October 29^th in-store drawing from 1 – 3PM. Prizes include a signed script by Brian Michael Bendis, original art by Mike Lawrence and Mike Russell, gift certificates and more! We hope to see you throughout October, and we sure hope to see you at the party.

Regardless of your geographical orientation, I hope you can see that comics can create change. Just look at Debbie. And Peter. And Marc. And Sarah. And Jamie. It's easy to tear down. It's harder to build. But to build creates community.

As Peter so beautifully puts in one the videos: "It's a reminder to ourselves and the community that we all have superhero hearts capable of lots of good."

For updates and announcements, please visit here.

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