Love Rocket Raccoon? Please consider donating to writer Bill Mantlo’s ongoing care!

rocket-raccoon

UPDATE: Mike Mantlo, Bill’s brother, sent along his thanks and this beautiful photo of Bill and Mike’s wife Liz. Your donations absolutely help improve Bill’s quality of life — please read on and keep ’em coming!

Bill Mantlo and his sister-in-law Liz, August 10, 2013. Courtesy of Bill's brother Mike Mantlo.

Bill Mantlo and his sister-in-law Liz, August 10, 2013. Courtesy of Bill’s brother Mike Mantlo.

If you love Rocket Raccoon — or Rom or the Hulk or the Micronauts or Cloak and Dagger or any of the incredible characters Bill Mantlo wrote during his prolific career — please consider clicking the button below to send your donation to Bill’s brother Mike for Bill’s ongoing care.

 

UPDATE: In a February Bleeding Cool article, Bill’s brother Mike said, “Bill was treated in an exceptionally fair manner by Marvel/Disney” and that Marvel “has made incredibly generous gestures,” which is fantastic. But the cost of Bill’s care remains enormous and any donations you care make will be greatly appreciated by the family.

Bill Mantlo has had a huge influence on me as a writer and reader. His “Micronauts” stories blew my mind as a kid and his “Incredible Hulk” run laid the groundwork for the themes I explored my five-and-a-half year run with the character. In the afterward to “Incredible Hulk” #635, I dedicated my run to Mantlo, and a while back devoted my Newsarama column to singing his praises and letting folks know how to donate to his ongoing care.

Thank you so much, Bill Coffin and LifeHealthPro, for shining a light on someone who brought so much joy to so many people.

And here’s a note from Bill’s brother Mike, reprinted from that Newsarama column:

First off, I send out a big THANK YOU to everyone that has helped support Bill over these past 19 years (!). Every donation, no matter how big or small, and every card or letter is greatly appreciated. Bill’s condition remains the same (he suffers severe cognitive impairments, anger, and depression), and these factors keep him very much isolated from “the outside world.” Aside from my visits, and the kindness of my beautiful wife and some of the attendants at the nursing home/rehabilitation facility he resides in, his contact with other human beings is virtually non-existent. But the support and encouragement of fans, and industry professionals like yourself, helps to bring a little ray of sunlight into his dark and dreary days. When I (or my wife) engage Bill in conversation, his spirit emerges and is as strong and pure as it ever was! So, once again, I can’t thank ALL of you enough!! I strongly believe in the power of practicing random acts of kindness, and with that belief I hope that ALL of your kindnesses will be returned to you many, many times over!

Cards, letters or donations to Bill Mantlo can be sent to:
Mike Mantlo
26364 East Pintail Road
Long Neck, DE 19966
Please make out any checks to “Michael Mantlo” — Bill’s legal guardian.

Give to Oklahoma relief, get “Code Monkey Save World” stickers


By Greg Pak
I’ve been horrified by the news coming out of Oklahoma. So here’s a little something in hopes of encouraging folks to donate to relief efforts for the people suffering in the wake of the tornadoes.
If you give to the Red Cross or other relief organization of your choosing to help the folks in Oklahoma, I’ll send some “Code Monkey Save World” stickers to your US mailing address. A very easy way to donate is to text REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.
We’re working on the honor system here, friends. So just make your donation, then send your US mailing address to codemonkey at pakbuzz dot com and I’ll hook you up. If you let me know how much you donated, I’ll keep a running tally that might help inspire others to donate as well.
Many thanks and all the best!

Please help Peter David by buying his books


Photo credit: 5of7 on Flickr
The great writer Peter David suffered a stroke over the holidays and is now the beginning stages of recovery. His wonderful wife Kathleen has been posting updates at www.peterdavid.net, and her latest note touches on the financial strain that this event will have on the family.
The quickest way for folks like us to help out is to buy Peter’s books, especially those published by Crazy 8 Books, which pay the most royalties the most quickly to Peter and his family.
Peter is a fantastic storyteller whose legendary Hulk work made a big impression on me and who has always been a fun companion at conventions and signings over the years. So of course I’m buying all these books as soon as I finish this post. Here are some quick links you can use to buy them yourself:
Pulling Up Stakes, Part 1
Pulling Up Stakes, Part 2
The Camelot Papers
Darkness of the Light
Heights of the Depths
All the best and thanks for your consideration!

Donate to the family of subway victim Ki Suk Han and get a signed Greg Pak comic book

By Greg Pak
The amazing people at Korean Community Services have established a fund for the family of Ki Suk Han, the man who was murdered in the New York City subway last week.
In hopes of encouraging donations, I will send a signed comic book from any series I’ve written to anyone who donates more than $25 to the fund. We’ll work on the honor system here — send an email to vm at pakbuzz dot com answering the following questions and I’ll hook you up:

1. Please include your Twitter handle if you’d like a shout out online for the donation. And please tell me how much you donated so I can keep track and inspire others to contribute.
2. Please specify a character or comic book series that I’ve written that you like so I can pick a good comic to send you. UPDATE: If there is a specific issue I’ve written that you’re missing, let me know what it is and I’ll see what I can do.
3. Please confirm that you’re 18 or older.
4. Please include a US mailing address. (Sorry for not being able to ship overseas!)

Here’s how to donate:

DONATIONS for the Han family can be sent to: Korean Community Services (KCS), 35-56 159th St., Flushing, N.Y. 11358. Checks should be made payable to “Korean Community Services” with the memo: “Community Fund for Mr. Han.”

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Or you can donate ONLINE to the fund.
Linda Lee, Executive Director of Korean Community Services, tells me that donations by check may be preferable because there are no deductions by the credit card companies, etc. But if the online system works best for you, please go for it!
Please note that the offer is first come, first served, so please donate early!

Read about Bill Mantlo’s tragedy; donate to his ongoing care

By Greg Pak
LifeHealthPro’s Bill Coffin has written a tremendously moving article about the great comic book writer Bill Mantlo, who was struck by a hit-and-run driver in 1992 and suffered traumatic brain injury. Please, go read the article, then click the button below to send your donation to Bill’s brother Mike for Bill’s ongoing care.

Bill Mantlo has had a huge influence on me as a writer and reader. His “Micronauts” stories blew my mind as a kid and his “Incredible Hulk” run laid the groundwork for the themes I explored my five-and-a-half year run with the character. In the afterward to “Incredible Hulk” #635, I dedicated my run to Mantlo, and a couple of months ago devoted my Newsarama column to singing his praises and letting folks know how to donate to his ongoing care.
Thank you so much, Bill Coffin and LifeHealthPro, for shining a light on someone who brought so much joy to so many people.
And here’s a note from Bill’s brother Mike, reprinted from that Newsarama column:

First off, I send out a big THANK YOU to everyone that has helped support Bill over these past 19 years (!). Every donation, no matter how big or small, and every card or letter is greatly appreciated. Bill’s condition remains the same (he suffers severe cognitive impairments, anger, and depression), and these factors keep him very much isolated from “the outside world.” Aside from my visits, and the kindness of my beautiful wife and some of the attendants at the nursing home/rehabilitation facility he resides in, his contact with other human beings is virtually non-existent. But the support and encouragement of fans, and industry professionals like yourself, helps to bring a little ray of sunlight into his dark and dreary days. When I (or my wife) engage Bill in conversation, his spirit emerges and is as strong and pure as it ever was! So, once again, I can’t thank ALL of you enough!! I strongly believe in the power of practicing random acts of kindness, and with that belief I hope that ALL of your kindnesses will be returned to you many, many times over!
Cards, letters or donations to Bill Mantlo can be sent to:
Mike Mantlo
26364 East Pintail Road
Long Neck, DE 19966
Please make out any checks to “Michael Mantlo” — Bill’s legal guardian.

Donate $20 to Japan relief charity of your choice, get “Vision Machine” trade!

UPDATE 4/1/11 4:15 PM: The tally is now $4011 for Japanese relief. I’ll keep sending “Vision Machine” trades for a while yet, so keep on donating!
UPDATE: Final Japan relief report: the original goal was $1000. We raised $3142. You are all amazing. I’m still giving out free trades to folks who donate, so keep it coming!
UPDATE: Friday, 10:31 am. We just hit $1786. Love you guys. New goal: $2500 by midnight. I DON’T THINK YOU CAN DO IT! PROVE ME WRONG!
UPDATE 5: Friday, 1 am – and we’ve hit $1502! New goal – $1750 by the end of Friday!
UPDATE 4: It’s Thursday night and you’ve blown way past the $1250 goal — we’re up to $1417! Let’s make a new goal of $1500 by the end of Friday!
UPDATE 3: You guys are amazing. We hit $1037 Thursday morning. New goal: $1250 by the end of Friday!
UPDATE 2: Up to $827!
UPDATE 1: We’ve raised $707 so far — let’s see if we can hit $1000 by the end of Friday!
By Greg Pak
After a few days of trying to figure out how to help raise some dollars for Japan, I’ve come up with what I hope is a simple plan. Here’s how it works:
Donate $20 to any charity doing relief work in Japan.
Then send an email with your US mailing address to japan at pakbuzz dot com. In your email, tell me what charity you donated to and confirm that you are 18 or over. (And sorry for limiting it to US mailing addresses — little to complicated for me to mail large numbers of packages overseas right now.)
And I’ll send you a free “Vision Machine” trade paperback!
The charity is your choice. $20 minimum donation. If you tell me you donated, I’ll believe you and send you a trade – honor system, folks!
Finally, please include your Twitter handle in your email if you’d like a shout out online!
Many thanks, all the best and happy donating!

Support Pakistan flood relief by buying signed Greg Pak comics!


By Greg Pak
According to the Daily Herald, the UN says the Pakistan flood is the largest humanitarian crisis ever.
Now you can help support Pakistan flood relief — and get some signed comics! I’m auctioning off twenty grab bags of signed comics via eBay’s Giving Works program for just $29.99 a pop. All proceeds go to Doctors Without Borders for Pakistan flood relief. You get five comics in each grab bag.
Please feel free to buy one today!

Donate to Pakistan flood relief, get free signed comic book

By Greg Pak
The Pakistan floods have killed thousands and put millions in danger. According to UNICEF, 3.5 million kids are in desperate need in Pakistan. Meanwhile, donations for Pakistan flood relief have totaled less than a third of what was raised for Haiti – for a crisis with ten times as many victims.
It’s incredibly easy to help. If you have a cellphone, just text “FLOODS” to 864233 to donate $10. The money goes to UNICEF.
As an added incentive, once you’ve donated, just email pakistanhelp@pakbuzz.com with your mailing address and I’ll send you a free signed comic book. (You must be 18 or over and I can only ship to the US.)
C’mon, superheroes. Let’s see what you can do.

“Incredible Hercules” artist Reilly Brown auctions original art for Haiti

The fantastic Reilly Brown, fan favorite penciller of the “Incredible Thorcules” storyline that ran in “Incredible Hercules” #132, 134, and 136, is auctioning off some original art as part of the Heroes4Haiti initiative to benefit the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund.
The auctions include the first appearance of Thorcules (Herc dressed as Thor, natch) from “Incredible Hercules” #132 and page 20 from “Cable & Deadpool” #50.
Click here to bid on the Hercules page.
Click here to bid on the Deadpool page.
And Reilly? You’re awesome.