Dear Michael,
I have distressing news.
Last November, cartoonist S. Clay Wilson suffered a severe brain injury in a fall. He spent a week in intensive care and faces a long recovery. Even with insurance, Wilson’s medical expenses are beyond his ability to pay and have made him and his family paupers.
I’d like your help to raise money for S. Clay Wilson’s medical expenses.
S. Clay Wilson is a major figure in American comics, a founder of the underground comix movement. Wilson is known for aggressively violent and sexually explicit panoramas of "lowlife," often depicting the wild escapades of pirates and bikers. He was an early contributor to Zap Comix, and Wilson's artistic audacity has been cited by R. Crumb as a liberating source of inspiration for Crumb's own work, and I can say as much for myself.
I’d like to give a little back to the bad boy of comics, so I am turning my next 24 hour comic into a benefit for Wilson.
For those of you who may not have heard of it, the premise of the 24 Hour Comic challenge is that an artist attempts to complete 24 pages of comics within 24 hours.
I am soliciting pledges from friends and comics fans for each page I complete, the money to go towards Wilson’s medical expenses.
Contributions are at levels named for S. Clay Wilson characters:
Checkered Demon- $25 a page and over
Star-eyed Stella- $10 - $24.99 a page
Ruby the Dyke- $5- $9.99 a page
Captain Pissgums - Under $5 a page
Your contribution is not tax deductible, but contributors will receive an autographed copy of my completed story.
The 24 Hour Comic Event will be open to the public and will take place at Cosmic Monkey in Portland, Oregon, on Saturday, April 11th from 10 am to 10 am Sunday (which just so happens to be Easter).
Read about the 24 Hour Comic event through this link at Cosmic Monkey Comic website.
Seven other artists will join me in soliciting pledges for their own
24 Hour Comics: Joshua Kemble, Kevin Cross, Neal Skorpen, Mike Getsiv, Tony Morgan, Josh Fitz and Steven Abrams.
Copic Marker has agreed to donate art materials for the event, including manga-ruled paper.
Anyone interested in pledging can reply by e-mail:
davidchelsea(at)comcast(dot)net or write to me:
David Chelsea.
2814 NE 16th avenue
Portland OR 97212
I will contact all sponsors after the event to let them know how many pages I completed and to send them their copies.
Checks can be written to the S. Clay Wilson Special Needs Trust and sent to PO Box 14854 San Francisco CA 94114.
Thank you very much for considering this and helping me celebrate Easter in an inspiring and meaningful way. Please forward this message to anyone who might like to help or simply see what we are up to!
Best wishes,
David Chelsea
