Dave Simons Memorial Service

I have just received the following e-mail from Dave's sister, Bette Simons.

Dave's memorial service is scheduled for Sunday July 19th at 12:30pm. It will be held at The Church of Scientology 227 W. 46th St. Manhattan, NY 10036. Phone 212-921-1210.

Another reason for this email is that I would like, in lieu of flowers, donations to be made to the organizations that meant the most to Dave. At the top of the list is Hero Initiative.

Respectfully,
Bette

Dave remains one of the best people I've met on this planet. I urge fans and friends if at all possible to attend this service. Dig deep and donate in his name. Even in his worst hours Dave still made time for charities. Let's honor him and his memory by doing the same. Love ya Dave, catch you on the flip side.

You helped Dave Simons

Back in February at New York Comic Con was the last time I saw Dave Simons face to face. He was already battling the cancer that the doctors termed incurable and was far skinnier than the last time I had seen him. The fact that he was sick did not stop Dave from interacting with fans and walking around the con stopping by to visit old friends. He was weak, but Dave had no time for that. He was in his element, among his colleagues, and among his friends.

Dave's sense of humor always came through when he talked and I remember laughing my head off at a couple of the drawing Dave had done at the time. He would just sit there with that huge smile of his and say that's the reaction I was looking for. He would then stretch out his drawing arm trying to loosen it up so he could get back to what he loved, drawing.

The strange thing about the cancer was that while it had landed square in the one part of his body that provided his living and his joy, it did not hurt (as much) when he was drawing. He was thankful for that (thankful!) and drew as much as he could, when his health allowed him to. It was his passion and his love. It showed in his illustrations and the life that he brought to them.

The Help Dave Simons auctions by that time were also in full swing. The response was amazing. We received artwork from noted industry vets as well as from independent new comers. I received e-mails from across the country and artwork from around the globe. Dave was stunned and couldn't believe the response.

Contributing artists included Mike Mignola, Walter Simonson, Fred Hembeck, Brian Postman, Paul Ryan, Mike Pascale, JM DeMatties, Frank Brunner, John Romita Sr, Bob Almond, Scott Ambruson, Kris Carter, Andy Brown, Craig Rousseau, Herb Trimpe, Kevin West, Keith Tucker and more. Many of Dave's fans also contributed, including Jerry Livengood, Steve Kriozere, Stacey Aragon, myself, and many who contributed anonymously. Dave being Dave even contibuted to his own cause.

Dave was a big contibuter to charities including the Hero Initiative and the March of Dimes. The March of Dimes cards were done while Dave was going through radiation and having a tough go of it. He just could not let anyone down, his heart was so big.

During a conversation a couple of months ago. Dave opened up and told me that he had questioned his career choice at times. Whether or not, he had made a difference in the industry and if anyone would remember him. After the overwhelming response from the auctions and the well wishes Dave received on Facebook and through his own website, he knew that his answer was "YES."

Thank you to all that donated, bid, won, e-mailed, IM'd, or have expressed their thoughts on Dave. Take solace in the fact that YOU helped his last days on this earth be happy ones. Through the letters of support, expressions of adoration for his art, and simply by just being there. Dave indeed knew that he was loved and inheritably notable within his profession/passion.

From all of us at Comic Art House and the Inkwell Awards. THANK YOU!

Dave Simons commissions OPEN!

Dave is very close to finishing his current list of commissions. With that being said, NOW, YES NOW, is the time for you to get that commission of your dreams from the one and only Dave Simons. Dave's health issues have been public knowledge and they did cause us to shut down the list for a while. HOWEVER, Dave is drawing, working, climbing the walls, wanting to create something special for someone's collection. That person could be you. hit the link, pull the trigger, you won't regret it.

http://www.comicarthouse.com/simonscomm.html

Boston Comic Con this weekend!

Hey Kids! This weekend we'll be at the Boston Comic Con (http://www.bostoncomiccon.com/) along with fellow Comic Art Housers Craig Rousseau, Bob Almond, Norman Lee, Trevor Von Eeden, Scott Wegener, Jack Purcell (with new sketchbook in tow) and Roger Andrews. All artists will be bringing artwork, accepting commissions and having a geeky good time.

Besides these fine artists, Mike Allred, While Portacio, Jimmy Cheung, Dick Ayers, Paul Gulacy, Brian Kong, Rob Stull, Hannibal King, and a slew of some of the best indy talent on the planet will be there. Up and comers like Kris Carter (Grimm Fairy Tales, Leprecaun), Rob "the Patron Saint of Artist Alley" Reilly, Tj Dort and Joe Haley from The "Underburbs", Amy Fletcher, Cesar Feliciano, Jimmy Tournas, and even the Boston Comics Round Table.

.

Any questions or comments, hit me up!

Wayne Nichols in the House!

We are pleased to announce Wayne Nichols (the thunder from Down Under) has joined Comic Art House. Wayne is currently offering original pages for sale and commissions. Be sure to check out his current project Church of Hell from Berserker Comics (hit the link right on his index page) which is completely kick a$$.

http://www.comicarthouse.com/nichols.html

Shawn McManus in the House!

Shawn McManus is now accepting commission through us. This is the first time that Shawn has offered commissions in quite some time. You will rarely catch Shawn at a convention so this is truly a unique opportunity!

http://www.comicarthouse.com/mcmanus.html

Khoi Pham in the House!

We are please to welcome artist Khoi Pham to Comic Art House. Khoi will be offering pages from his popular run on X-Factor through us. All pages are scanned, priced and ready for new homes! Check out the pages from one of Marvel's Young Guns!

http://www.comicarthouse.com/khoi.html

Chris Moreno in the HOUSE!

Okay, so I'm a little late in posting this, but I come bearing good news. Obviously, we now rep uber cool Chris Moreno, the Original Pimp of artist alley. He thought enough of us to sit down with us at NYCC and didn't kill us afterwards:). The cool book you see pictured above filled with 24 images of Moreno sweet sweet lovin' is now available online. Same price as it was at the NYCC. This is Chris' second sketchbook EVER and is quite the steal at $10. Give a Pimp his due respect, order a commission or buy a book. Hollah!

http://www.comicarthouse.com/moreno.html

NYCC updated!

Hey all,We will be there at booth #2402 (under Jetpack on the map). Wewill have 18 artists sitting with us at different times throughoutthe day.

Scott Wegener, Kris Carter, and Steve Mannion will be bringinghuge amounts of art starting at just $10 each! We will havehundreds of pages available all weekend long and will be acceptingcommissions for all artists all day long, not just at theirscheduled times.

We will have new sketchbooks available from Steve Mannion, JayFife, Louis Small Jr., Chris Moreno (his 1st ever!), Dave Simons(his 1st ever!), Scott Ethan Ambruson, and a new blank sketchcoverfor Scott Wegener's sketchbook.

We will have artists that are just starting to make their mark like Jay Fife, Cesar Feliciano, Jason Baroody, Leo Liebelman, KrisCarter, Rich Woodall, Liza Biggers, Scott Ambruson, and BroadswordComics model, Amy Fletcher.

We will have artists that are well entrenched in their careers such as Hannibal King, Ed Coutts, Louis Small Jr., Roger Andrews,Gerry Acerno, Norman Lee, Steve Mannion, Scott Wegener, ShawnMcManus (his originals are sold through Mitch at GraphicCollectibles), and the ever popular, Dave Simons.

On Saturday from 2-3 we will be hosting a signing by Avenger'sartists Khoi Pham, Billy Tan, and Greg Adams!

We are also authorized for the CGC Signature series. So getyour comic signed, witnessed, and sent off to CGC. CGC costs ofcourse apply.

We are also accepting credit cards at this show. Whew.

Thanksfor reading and hope to see you there!

Stop by, say hello, or just marvel at the organized chaos that ourbooth promises to be

.Peace,Bob and Kimhttp://www.comicarthouse.com/

*Due to scheduling conflict, Dave Bancroft and Pop Mhan will be unable to make the NYCC. HOWEVER, we will have art from bothartists available for sale.

*PLEASE visit our other artists in artist alley! Greg Larocque, RobReilly, GW Fisher, Jay Leisten, Craig Rousseau, Bob Almond, MarkMcKenna, Jim Calafiore, Dave hoover, Christopher Jones, Mike Lilly,Brian Kong, Jack Purcell, David Quiles, Craig Hamilton (set up with Anthony Snyder) and Billy Tan (Billy'soriginals will be available with Spencer Beck at the show).

Help Dave Simons

Stolen from Daniel Best's blog:).

Anyone who read Marvel comics back in the late ‘70s through the mid ‘80s should know the name Dave Simons. He was one of the best inkers that the company had and his work over Bob Budiansky on the title Ghost Rider is still regarded as being a benchmark for the character, even now, over twenty years since it first appeared. While at Marvel Dave inked many of the industry’s top names, including John Buscema, Walter Simonson, Michael Golden, Frank Miller, Rick Leonardi and many more. His work over Gene Colan was recently described, by Colan no less, as being ‘exquisite’. Without being asked Gene also went on to say, “Do you know how few artists have ever been able to ink my very complex and often inscrutable pencils? I've yet to see anything Dave has done that I haven't loved! Artists and inkers have come and gone but Dave remains today still at the top of his form!” That’s high praise indeed and richly deserved as Dave’s fine line and attention to detail was often imitated but rarely equalled. Dave was an un-sung hero at Marvel, never wanting to draw attention to himself but allowing the work to speak for him. He kept this attitude up when he left Marvel and worked at DC and plunged into the animation field, where he again excelled both as an artist and also as a creator and director.

Not many people know this but a fair while back artist Dave was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer. Throughout the entire ordeal Dave kept working as best he could and was his usual bright and cheerful self. Such is the measure of the man that he didn’t tell all that many people but he didn’t shy away from it either. Most people around him knew about his medical condition and knew that he had good days and bad days. If you spoke to Dave, or interacted with him at a convention, then you’d probably not been aware of his condition from the way he presented himself. Dave isn’t one for wanting people to treat him differently because of what he was going through, nor did he want sympathy – all he wanted was good friends, good conversations and to keep working as long and as hard as he could. He underwent a series of treatments, including chemotherapy, and came through the other side apparently cured. The treatments took their toll though, both physically and financially. One of the reasons why I set up a web-site for Dave was to give him an on-line presence where he could sell his art and put himself out there for commissions. As with all my sites, I’ve never asked Dave to pay, nor will I. It’s the least I can do for the guy. Slowly but surely Dave pulled himself back up off the ropes and managed to secure commissions – and you’ll not find anyone who’d complain about Dave’s work there – and also comic book work, his greatest love, as he was assigned a semi-regular stint with the title Army Of Darkness, along with sketching various Red Sonja covers for Dynamic Forces to use as one-off variants and drawing over 1,500 trading cards for various Rittenhouse trading card sets. With the latter, Dave’s true nature came to the fore when he began to recommend artists that he knew to Rittenhouse so that they could also find some steady, paying work.

Recently Dave and I have been talking, via the internet, on an almost daily basis. Over the past few weeks he’d been complaining, quietly, about an occurrence of bursitis which was restricting his ability to draw for long periods of time. During one of his check ups he mentioned it and got it looked at. The news wasn’t good. In fact the worst kind – what Dave thought was bursitis is actually a tumour. The cancer has also spread to other parts of his body and the diagnosis is grim. “The doctors tell me that now I'm officially "incurable",” says Dave, “The silver lining is that they can keep me alive for some time to come. I'll have to go thru a much heavier regimen of radiation and chemotherapy than was originally thought and will have to have a port installed.”

Thankfully the bulk of Dave’s medical costs are covered due to Dave having being part of the Coast Guard in his youth and he receives excellent medical care from the Veteran's Administration Hospital. However the day to day costs, his bills such as utilities, phone, internet and rent, are a struggle and won’t become any easier as Dave’s condition worsens. Dave won’t ask for help, he’s not that kind of a guy. So I’ll ask, not on behalf of him, but for him. Dave’s bills will be increasing – he hasn’t got a regular comic book gig and, unlike the artists of today, he didn’t work on a title that made him millions of dollars. The immediate concern is taking care of Dave’s day to day needs, and that means paying his bills so he can concentrate on improving the quality of his life. How can this be done?

Three ways – you can donate cash to Dave directly via PayPal. No amount is too small, no amount is too big. If you want to remain anonymous, you can PayPal Dave's art rep, Bob Shaw, and we’ll get the cash to Dave, every cent of it.

The second way is to donate items for a series of on-going auctions designed to benefit Dave. This can be pages of original art, sketches, comic books, signed items such as prints or books, anything that people might have lying around that could be of value then feel free to send it to Dave’s art rep, Bob Shaw. We’ve established an eBay account solely to assist Dave; auctions will be going up as items come in and all the money will be going directly to Dave. Items can be sent directly to Bob at the following address:

The Dave Simons Appeal

PO Box 650

Derry, NH

03038

USA

The third way is to contact Dave and commission him to draw you something and pay him. This way Dave remains active and you get a damn fine piece of art in return.

If you have any questions then feel free to email me or Bob and we’ll answer them as best we can. If you want to send Dave a message then again, email and I’ll make sure Dave gets it, otherwise, if you’re on Facebook, join the Dave Simons Appreciation Society and send your thoughts to Dave directly. Let’s all chip in and help Dave, as a way of saying thanks for all the joy he’s brought over the decades via his art. Dave is a guy who gives so much and asks for very little, now let’s all dig deep and give Dave his due. Spread the word.

Craig Hamilton joins Comic Art House!

In the words of Michael Netzer...

It is rare to encounter creativity, craftsmanship, integrity, humanity, and bravery in expression, all in relatively high dosage, and within one artist. Facebook has introduced me of late to one so remarkable a man. A friend in most esteem honor and camaraderie.

Craig Archimedes Hamilton is a rare breed indeed. Possessor of creative will which seems to know no bounds. Freed consciousness contending with nearly every anomaly of being.

A lifetime honing craftsmanship to a fine sharp edge. Indisputable understanding of form and design embellished with perception of wonder to the clearest degree.

An integrity of art and artist. Fearless of criticism. Certain in righteousness of being. Of purpose.

Brave in expression of that swept under carpets. Revealing humanity's darkest crevices as wonder filled harmony.

Humanitarian. Humane. Human. Devoted to humanity.

http://www.comicarthouse.com/hamilton.html

Andres Ponce joins Comic Art House!

We are pleased to welcome artist Andres Ponce to CAH. Andres has work on such titles as Heist, Firbirds, and TMNT. Pages from several titles are now scanned and ready for purchase. Andres is also accepting commissions!

http://www.comicarthouse.com/aponce.html

PLEASE NOTE CHANGES TO NYCC SCHEDULE!

Due to professional commitments, Pop Mhan will be unable to attend this year's NYCC. Also, Shawn McManus will not be taking any more NYCC pre-orders due to his professional schedule. THANKS!

Alan Kupperberg joins Comic Art House!

We are pleased to welcome artist Alan Kupperberg to the site. Alan has a long comics resume including work on such titles as Amazing Spider-Man, Justice League of America, Red Sonja, and Captain America, just to name a few. Alan will be offering commissions through the website and we suggest you check out the cover re-creations gallery as he has really done some fantastic work for his customers!

http://www.comicarthouse.com/kupperberg.html