Help Save the House where Superman was born! Join the Siegel and Shuster Society!
Here's the straight scoop, direct from organizer/creator Brad Meltzer, who spent a ton of time and his own resources to make his vision a reality.
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What's this all about again? Today is the official launch of The Siegel & Shuster Society, with a celebrity charity auction that'll raise money to preserve the home of Jerry Siegel, creator of Superman. When you go to Brad Meltzer's charitable website www.OrdinaryPeopleChangeTheWorld.com, you can: - bid online for original Superman and comic book art and items by top writers and artists - buy a Siegel & Shuster Society t-shirt (designed by the legendary graphic designer Chip Kidd) - or just donate to the good cause. The best way to show it is here:Save the Superman House All proceeds go to the restoration of the Siegel house.
Who's involved in the auction? This is a coming together of an entire community. The full list includes: Stephen Colbert, Jim Lee, Brian Michael Bendis, Brad Meltzer, Geoff Johns, Richard Donner, Joe Quesada, Neil Gaiman, Alex Ross, Dave Gibbons, Jeph Loeb, Murphy Anderson, Ed Brubaker, John Cassaday, Gene Ha, Greg Rucka, George Perez, Michael Turner, Adam Kubert, Andy Kubert, Judd Winick, Frank Cho, Eric Powell, Tim Sale, Walt Simonson, Joe Staton, Eric Wight, Dave Mandel, Mike Mignola, Rags Morales, Bill Morrison, Ivan Reis, John Romita Jr., Jason Palmer, Amanda Conner, Geoff Darrow, Ron Garney, Renato Guedes, Heroes, Dave Johnson, Chris Bachalo, Mike Bair, Allen Bellman, Dan Brereton, Ernie Chan, Travis Charest, and Ian Churchill, YOU, and even Jerry Siegel (see below).
How did this come about? While researching his new novel, The Book of Lies, Brad Meltzer visited the boyhood home of Jerry Siegel in Cleveland, Ohio, where Superman was created. As Meltzer says, "The house where Google was founded is preserved. The garage where Hewlett Packard was founded is protected. But the house where Superman was born? I was in shock." After contacting dozens of comic book creators -- and thanks to the hard work of many in the city of Cleveland -- The Siegel & Shuster Society was created and is dedicated to commemorating and celebrating the creation of Superman in Cleveland by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. "I think sometimes people take things like this for granted because it started in cartoon form, but this is a house were modern mythology was created," Brain Michael Bendis adds. "Mythology that will never die away or disappear. There is no difference, to me, between this house and Mark Twain's house. We have to honor and exalt such creation."
What are the items in the auction? You can win a walk-on part on Heroes, VIP seats to the Colbert Report, original Superman art (go see the art!), have your name in Bendis or Brubaker or Rucka's comic, or Meltzer's next novel. There's a rare original pre-Superman movie script from Geoff Johns, signed by Richard Donner. And Joanne Siegel told Meltzer that before Jerry Siegel died, he signed six Superman t-shirts that no one ever knew existed -- and then told her that if their family ever needed money, she should sell the shirts. Instead, she donated one of them to be auctioned off here. The signature is on a Superman: Quest For Peace(!) t-shirt. C'mon, baby, it's Jerry Siegel on a Quest for Peace shirt!
What can you do? Forward the video ( Save the Superman House ). Go buy a Siegel & Shuster Society t-shirt. They're cool. They're designed by Chip Kidd. They can't be bought anywhere else. Bid on some of the auctions and spread the word by sharing the video, sigs, and www.OrdinaryPeopleChangeTheWorld.com auction with your facebook, myspace, and live-breathing friends.
How much is the Siegel And Shuster Foundation trying to raise? Depends on how successful we are. Phase 1 involves working on the exterior of the house: securing the roof, making sure the paint isn't rotting, doing the concrete work. That will hopefully protect the place from the outside. Joe Shuster's house (a few blocks away) was in such disrepair, it was torn down. The first goal is to collect $50,000 to deal with the outside. If we do that, then we'll go and tackle the much-needed-repairs on the inside.
Who lives there now? The house is located in one of the tougher neighborhoods of Cleveland and is currently occupied by an African-American couple who have lived there for approximately 20 years, who have put up with all of us who have come visiting, but who don't have the money to do these repairs. Rather than kick anyone out on the street, the goal is to repair this place for them. Why? It's the right thing to do. In return, The Siegel & Shuster Society has the right to buy the house when it eventually goes up for sale.
Is there a long-term goal to make a museum? The long-term goal is still being decided, and that's why you're invited to join The Siegel & Shuster Society and help us with those plans. Meetings are held monthly in Cleveland -- when you buy a shirt, they'll have your name. But one of the dreams is that one day, buses full of students will drive from all over Ohio, from Michigan, from any nearby state, and come to the fully-restored house -- covered and decorated with children's artwork inside -- and see where one of the world's greatest dreams was born. Go to www.OrdinaryPeopleChangeTheWorld.com to make it happen.
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Even if you can't donate a dime, please help spread the word. I realize there are many worthwhile causes in this world...I support many of them too but this is just a real shame.
At New York Comic-Con Neil Gaiman and the CBLDF cooked up the start of a special auction they'll be holding towards the end of the year. Can't say too much about their big plans, but I can show you this jam piece I did with Neil...stay tuned...
This is Carla here live blogging for Jim. We arrived at Source comics around 1:15pm to a long line of fans. Over 1000 tickets were given out and by 3:30pm Jim was checking out a fans artwork....she was 227. It may be moving slowly but Jim is determined to get through each and everyone here. What a turn out! I must say, people in Minnesota are very patient :) Everyone here has been great. Best of all, Minneapolis is home to the worlds largest mall- Mall of America! I could go on and on about that place but Im sure youd rather hear more about Jim's signing...or at least see some pictures. Here you go-
STORE SIGNING!!--Minneapolis, MN Saturday, August 2nd
At the Source Comics and Games:
1601 West Larpenteur Ave
Falcon Heights, MN 55113
651 -645-0386
Less than a year ago at the Baltimore Comic Con, I put myself up for auction. Actually, to be more precise--I put up a store appearance by me for sale to the highest bidder with the proceeds going to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF). The CBLDF is a non-profit organization which battles censorship and defends the first amendment rights of comic book professionals and retailers throughout the US and one of my favorite causes to support.
The bidding started off at a fierce pace with owners from Ohio, Texas and Minnesota duking it out for bragging rights...1,000...2,500...3,500...5,000...all the way up to 7,000 dollars! The winner was Nick Postiglione--owner of the Source Comics and Games! What incredible support...truly blew away everyone's expectations!
So to honor my end of the deal, I will be appearing from 1pm to 4pm tomorrow (Saturday) at Source Comics and Games in Minneapolis. Come on by if ya live in the area! Should be an awesome time!
Last photoblog...I wish I had more pics of me in front of Iron Man statues and stuff but I seriously didn't have the time...
Carla's wound left her unable to walk...but she was a real trooper and still attended the con, gimpy with foot a throbbing...between you and me, I think the "accident" was intentional and this was her way of dealing with all the sweaty crowds lining the corridors...
Luckily there were other modes of transportation...
A sketch done for someone helping out at the booth. I think Carla's foot stepped onto this one.
Try walking from the con to the Hyatt like this...
Luckily we got smart and found a pair of crutches and Lost/Fringe creator JJ Abrams at the EW party.
Earlier in the day at the SOE block party where I signed and sketched for fans.
Meeting the SOE extended brood.
Last sketch of the day...John Smedley wouldn't cut in line in front of the fans...a real class act.
At the annual 634 After-Afterparty where the love of comics filled the air.
With Fabio and Andy as I do my--here's the church, here's the steeple, open the doors--bit
Marc and Andy...I'm counting how many kickass artists are in the room...
Apparently it's chock full of the best and brightest in the world of comics...
Oh and here's the piece I did for the annual SDCC art auction which helps pay for services for the handicapped at the con. I drew it over the course of 3 days and it went for $4500. Fifth year in a row I pulled down the top bid allowing me bragging rights for another 365 days!
Earlier in the day at the SOE DCUO MMO panel with Jason Smith, lead character artist on the game. His work rules in ways dimensions can't measure.
Signing at the SOE booth with half the DCUO concept art team--Mike, Oliver and JJ.
The reverse direction as Ty looks on...it was a tight space and crammed beyond belief and Debysue kept reaching in inappropriately but we all had a great time hahaha.
Hanging out with Lori Petty from Tank Girl...now that's a blast from the past and some gal dressed up as Catwoman. Does it get any more surreal than this?
Oh wait, it did...Jens joins the cast of Tanked Girl.
With Jared from SOE and our new best bud, LP, as we came to affectionately know her...she was incredibly nice and cool and a painter to boot. We traded sketches.
Not a party til someone gets hurt...Someone dropped a glass near Carla's foot, cutting it very badly. It really needed sutures...we opted to dance away the pain...
"Oh I wanna dance with somebody I wanna feel the heat with somebody Yeah I wanna dance with somebody With somebody who loves me..."
Carla and some dude from Jersey...for an awesome poker player, he ain't a bad director.
Carla couldn't put pressure on the cut so I took a free moment to dress up the bandages a bit.
Starting this one with a bit of art...done for the gf of a reporter from MTV at the infamous Sweetwater Saloon...
Dinner with NBC NYC affiliate producer Mike and Soleil man about town Olivier...place look familiar? By that day, I had bonded with the valets...
At the Entertainment Weekly panel, battling off a long term Alzheimer's terrorist attack on my senses with my cohort and partner in crime, John Cassaday.
Doing Gametrailers interview on Spike TV right before the DCU MMO panel...
Conducting an interview while demoing the DCUO for the SOE DCUO website. My eyes are starting to drooooooppppp...
It's only been one day...she can't keep up...kids today...
Drawing and signing on the DCUO banner at the party Friday night right after hanging out with Mark Hamill...my mind is still reeling...Burning Heads "Once in a Lifetime" plays in on the private theater that holds my inner child, hahaha...
Thought for a hot New York second that I was gonna do a minute by minute blog of what I did at the SDCC this year but realized that it would probably take just as much time to write as the actual transpired events. Just know that it was more hectic, more chaotic, and more stressful than last year but at the same time, more exhilarating, more fun, and more crazzzyyy than ever before.
Certainly, the most inspirational experience a geek could endure for a week. For me, SDCC is a celebration of all the things I was embarrassed about as a kid growing up in the midwest and it still blows my mind that comics have come to dominate the pop culture landscape. You can let your nerd flag fly high and proud and you will still be outnerded by the guy next to you in a full on mohair Chewbacca costume, waiting 5 hours in line to get his con pass, boiling in the hot Socal sun...
So what I am going to do is just showcase a random assortment of pics from my con experience with a caption or two. Pictures missing are of course the high level business/editorial sort as it kind as it's sort of a dealmakerbuzzkill when you whip out the Sony T-200 mid-negotiation.
Here's a quick glance at my Tues to Sun schedule--from 10am to 3am. All things blue are meetings/events/panels/PR parties. Green are optional, and red are other personal events on my schedule. Light blue are televised Padres games. Overlapping bars means doublebooked events and the lil gaps are my futile attempts to put in for the very first time, 15 min breaks between events so that I could actually translocate from one area of the convention floor to another. Would work fine if I never ran into anyone I knew or had to eat or hit the head or got stuck behind a battalion of cosplaying Fire Emblem warriors...
One of the first dinners of the con--every year, Will Dennis, Cliff Chiang and Brian Azzarello and I like to meet up and hit the racetrack but it was closed Tuesday so we settled for the excellent sushi at Nobu. With us is good pal and comics retailer John Dolmayan.
At the Sony DC Universe press party to promote the first demonstration of the game to the public. SOE knows games but more importantly, they know how to throw a GREAT party, hahahaha.
First round with the boys from All Access from the G4 network...here's what we shot earlier that day during a marathon 4 hour press junket...
So the San Diego Comic Con starts tomorrow...thoughts on that as the incredibly week happens...hopefully in somewhat real time.
Til then, here's the remaining day's events:
5:45 am, Tuesday, July 15: It's the day of the big event...the first sneak peek of the DC Universe Online game. The flight just touches down...we are shuttled to the parking garage where we grab the Solstice and drive in the pre-dawn darkness to the Omni hotel.
6:36 am, Tuesday, July 15: One last run through of the speech...and I'm off to bed. Have to at the Shrine by 9am.
7:45 am, Tuesday, July 15: Wake up...tired but energized at the same time. It's exciting to be finally showing some of the game to the world! It's also a big deal as this is the only SOE game to be presented during the SCEA presentation...a first since SOE was folded into the SCEA domain.
8:44 am, Tuesday, July 15: Meet the President of SOE John Smedley (Smed) and Russell Shanks (Russ), SVP and COO of SOE along with Courtney in front where we climb into the limo. Everyone's in their Sunday finest...all we need is a good slathering of Skin Bracer by Mennen and it would bring back memories for me of hitting the local Methodist church. Smed and Russ whip out their new iPhones...ARGHHH...Smed did it the right way. He just paid a guy at the front of the line for his spot hahaha. Which explains why I draw comics and he runs a vast business. They are generous enough to let me hold em...Smed has a crapload of apps on his phone. I never had time to upload 2.0 on my first gen iPhone so it's all new, shiny and mesmerizing...
9:15 am, Tuesday, July 15: Arrive at the Shrine in a daze. This is the real rehearsal which impresses the heck out of me in that the President and CEO of SCEA, Jack Tretton, is blasting through his presentation, improvising and changing on the fly and keeping it all on track. He's a pro at it. I bet he has a new iPhone too...
10:23 am Tuesday, July 15: I do my final rehearsal and decide to just do it from memory. It's just too distracting having to keep scanning back for the teleprompters. I then go wait in the green room where they have bagels and juice and water and a small TV which is tuned to the presentation. I learn the presentation is going to be broadcast live on G4. I get to meet Jack and Kaz Hirai, President and CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. backstage as the countdown begins to the presentation.
The waiting is getting to me...I'm fine as long as I don't think about what I am doing but having nothing to do but wait is aggravating. At the same time, I feel strangely at peace because I know it's gonna be over soon and all this hard work the past 3 years by all the incredible talented folk at SOE-Austin and WildStorm will finally be displayed.
11:40 am Tuesday, July 15: The presentation starts. I watch Jack begin and he's pretty funny. Talks about the history of the Shrine Auditorium, how it hosted the Oscars for many, many years and how it was also the site where Jack Palance did his memorable one handed pushups after he won his Academy Award.
11:43 am Tuesday, July 15: We're all chuckling in the backroom, talking about Jack Palance and I decide then to do one-handed pushups at the beginning of my presentation, thinking it will break the ice with the assembled reporters. Smed, Russ and Courtney are looking at me like I'm jabbering in Korean which after all the traveling I was doing might just have been the case. Carla looks at me in relief that I didn't suggest spinning on my head (inside joke).
It's been years since I have done one so to illustrate what I am thinking of doing, I crank out a couple of one-handers on the floor of the green room in front of all the other presenters waiting their turn. I'm sure, the letters--W..T..F--were going through their heads haha.
I decide on doing 3 even tho I could do more as the joke will be gotten by that point and I don't want to be out of breath and sweating as I segue into my presentation. I look at Courtney and ask...think I should? She smiles in agreement.
We move forward with the last minute change and I alter my opening remarks to say I am literally pumped to be here vs I am thrilled to be here. It's super cheesy but those in attendance following the presentation from the start should get it and be in on the joke. And it will get my blood a flowing which is good when yer out there in front of 2000 people staring you down...
12:02 pm, Tuesday, July 15: Watching the TV in the backroom is making me edgy...conceptually, it weirds me out thinking I will soon be in that lil box, pixelated and transmitted through cable fibers. I pace outside as Carla comes out to make small talk. The makeup artist dusts me down some more to reduce any glare on my face...
12:42 pm, Tuesday, July 15: I'm ready for my closeup as the backstage manager gives me the silent 5 count. He tells me which actors use different tricks to get ready to go out on the stage...which stars had to be literally pushed out in front of the audience but once they got their, their talent and instincts kicked in and did well. I nod...it's all surreal at this point and I don't remember a single thing after stepping out into the lights other than kneeling over and getting ready to do pushups and thinking...Oh my God, what the hell am I doing?!
12:46 pm, Tuesday, July 15: And just like that, I'm done...Russ and Smed and Courtne are smiling so it must have gone over well. Seriously, the only other time I have been in a trance like that is when I jumped out of plane over 15 years ago. It was in Ferris, CA, and I took the 4 hour instructional class which allowed you the right to jump out of the plane on your own...after which the instructors would find you, grab onto your sides to stabilize you, after which point, you pulll your own rip cord and then control the chute to guide it to the landing zone on your own. I figure if I could do that, this was a walk in the park.
In the end, I knew if this was Youtube-ed and taken out of context, it would look ridiculous or at the very best, very odd, if I did the pushups but at the end of the day, I wanted to do what I could to make people sit up and take notice and I think it accomplished that.
Oh, almost forgot...at the end of the presentation, I hesitated longer than I did in rehearsal as I wanted to build up the the final line with a bit more drama but that resulted in the director cutting me off to go to the clip...it was one last line but that's what you get when you do something different every time you step out on that stage.
1:08 pm, Tuesday, July 15: I'm waiting backstage to be interviewed by Mike Snider of USA Today. He does an interview but it's going to be embargoed until the following Tuesday, July 22, in advance of the San Diego Comic Con. I'm stoked as the other two times I was covered in USA Today (X-Men1 launch and Wildcats/Image comics launch--good things followed!). This will be a significantly longer feature, all arranged by Courtney and it's been a long week waiting for it to come out. I bought my copy earlier today and was majorly stoked. Great article and couldn't ask for better placement as USA Today goes EVERYWHERE!
2:12 pm, Tuesday, July 15: We head over to the LA Convention Center to go to the SOE presentation lounge where Hal from SOE-Seattle gives us a guided tour of the other cool SOE MMO game, the Agency. It looks killer and being a big 007 fan, I'm eager to join the beta. Run into Matt Wilson and tell him how awesome the game looks and more importantly, how fun it looks to play. I'm already leaning towards UNITE, the faction that seems most like the Man from Uncle which was one of my fave TV shows as a kid.
3:14 pm, Tuesday, July 15: I wrap up a few more interviews and then head back down the 405 to San Diego. I get to see my three kids this evening and as much fun as the traveling and all the cool events have been, there's nothing like just kicking back and hanging out, eating some pizza and just watching a classic movie. Tonight--Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark!
10:21 pm, Tuesday, July 15: I'm reading all the real-time blogs people posted about the Sony E3 presentation. Seems most of the people attending got the jokes. Some thought I was serious in parts where I was shooting for self-deprecating while others wanted to pummel me to get me to get off the stage so they could see the footage of the game faster hahaha. I got to be on gizmodo.com tho...which is a treat as I check that site many times a day as they are bigger iPhonephiles than even me. I pass out thinking about when I am going to the local Apple store...
Next Installment...back to real time antics as I divulge my SDCC plans and schedule!
Here's the original text for the E3 DCUO presentation:
Hello everybody, my name is Jim Lee. I can't begin to express how thrilled I am to be here today to show you the very first sneak peek of the DC Universe Online game. My concept crew at WildStorm and I have been working with the incredible team at SOE for three years now, building this world up from scratch and I have to admit, I am terribly anxious and at the same time so excited to be finally unveiling just a snippet of what we have achieved so far. For me, this is a dream project and in many ways, I feel I've spent my entire life training for this opportunity. When I was a kid, my parents wanted me to become a doctor, to follow in my father's footsteps. But all I wanted to do as when I was 12 was read comic books and play video games. As an adult, I got to realize one of my childhood dreams by becoming the artist on Batman and Superman and by starting my own comics publishing line called WildStorm Productions. As far as my other obsession, I remain an "avid gamer" today and by "avid gamer" I mean that I am seriously hooked on MMOs—I played Everquest from its launch date, got to level 50 by that summer and ended up being the first Paladin on my server to obtain the Fiery Avenger from the Plane of Sky after an arduous 20 hour camp.
It sounded really, really cool at the time.
Trust me...
Today, I finally get to merge my two passions in what has to be the coolest, most unique project I've ever worked on to date: the DC Universe Online. Imagine how cool it would be to create your very own unique superhero or supervillain and enter the DC Universe to fight alongside or against the world's most powerful and well known characters… Imagine as a hero, helping Batman take down the Joker or defending Metropolis against Brainiac's diabolical armies… Imagine as a villain, freeing the inmates at Arkham Asylum and attacking the Batcave or conspiring with Lex Luthor to defeat Superman… Imagine being free to brave the dark, gothic streets of Gotham City or fly high above the sparkling art deco skyscrapers of Metropolis… …It's certainly a project that would have made my 12 year old brain EXPLODE with excitement. But stop imagining! Because you can see it now for yourself…for the very first time.
