The organizers of The Doug Wright Awards, Canada's premier comics and graphic novels awards, are happy to announce that three of the country's best-known cartoonists, Chester Brown, Seth and Dave Sim, have created one-of-a-kind original artwork to be auctioned off during their 2007 fundraising drive.

Each an internationally respected cartoonist, Chester Brown (Louis Riel: AComicStripBiography, Ed TheHappy Clown), Seth (Clyde Fans, Wimbledon Green ) and Dave Sim (Cerebus), have agreed to provide The Wrights with their interpretation on a unique theme: the monster comics of Jack"King" Kirby.

The revered artist behind such superhero comics as Captain America, the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, Silver Surfer and the X-Men, Kirby had an illustrious career that stretches back to the early days of comics. Long before he came up with his popular superhero creations, he was honing his skills on Marvel's "monster comics" of the 1950s and early 1960s -- many of which have earned a cult status among cartoonists and comic fans.

These pre-superhero Kirby comics featured such unforgettable characters as Fin Fang Foom, Groot!, Goom, Gagoom (Son of Goom), and Korilla, among many others. As an homage to this era, each cartoonist has taken their pen to paper and given us a unique take on a Kirby Monster.

Each one-of-a-kind artwork will go up for auction on eBay beginning Monday October 8th 2007, with all of the proceeds going towards the non-profit Wright Awards.

Labels: auctions, awards, events

Bell had discovered the comics while searching an estate sale for antiques and collectibles suitable for his shop, Affordable 2nd Thoughts. Bell believes that the deceased owner of the items had once owned a bookstore, but he wouldn't give any other information about the man.

When he opened the box of comic books, he was so amazed by their pristine condition he thought they might be reproductions. When he realized the comic books were originals - they had been meticulously stored between newspapers and left untouched since 1955 - he felt his heart race.

"I made them an offer and that was only after seeing the first few books on the stack," says Bell. "I was beside myself because you don't normally see this type of quality materialize. ... I made an offer of whatever I had on me, which was just over $3,000. [The sellers] were absolutely ecstatic, and pretty much thinking I was insane, because that is still a lot of money for a box of comic books."

Labels: auctions, comics retailers, international