Artist Sam Kieth is making a major donation of original art to benefit both ACTOR (A Commitment To Our Roots) and the CBDLF (Comic Book Legal Defense Fund).  Each charity will receive all the original art from two books of Kieth's current 4-issue Wolverine/Hulk mini-series done for Marvel Comics.  ACTOR is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping older comic creators in need, while the CBDLF spends most of its time, money, and effort defending comic book retailers against the efforts of local prosecutors to censor comics and fine and/or imprison retailers.  Kieth has instructed his usual art agent, Albert Moy Original Art, to turn the artwork into money, and the amount raised should be considerable given Kieth's artistic skills and the popularity of Wolverine and the Incredible Hulk.  Marvel Editor Joe Quesada, noted that Kieth's artwork for the Heroes book that was auctioned for the Twin Towers Fund 'was so popular that three other people commissioned an identical piece from Sam, and I was one of them. I'm sure this sale will raise a lot of money for ACTOR (and the CBDLF).'

 

Kieth talked very cogently about the reasoning behind this very substantial donation, 'I've always thought there are four pillars of the comic book industry: the publishers, distributors, retailers, and creators.  The publishers and distributors are often large organizations with considerable resources, but retailers and creators stand by themselves on the front lines. By making this donation to ACTOR and the CBDLF, I hope I can help support the creative and retail pillars.'