More Info On Helping Dylan Williams & Sparkplug Comic Books

The state of Dylan's health is really starting to freak me out. I can't say I know him extremely well, but we do know each other. It's a long story; I know a guy named Jason from college, who knew a guy named Tim, who I became friends with. Tim is the guy who did the art on my first mini-comic, The Mercy Killing. Tim is very close with Dylan, they started The Bad Apple together in Portland. I'd been reviewing Sparkplug Comics long before I actually met Dylan, so we knew of each other long before we actually met. One day we actually did meet, we kept in touch, he put me on the Sparkplug Comics comp list, and the rest, as they say, is history. We mostly kept in touch by linking to each other's work online and seeing each other at SDCC every year. This post is already starting to sound rambly, but I guess that's ok.

Sean T. Collins, a blogger whose work I enjoy, the man responsible for turning me on to Game of Thrones at HBO, and eventually the novels by George R. R. Martin, recently posted a message over at Robot 6, similar to Rob Clough's earlier post I previously posted about here, with some recommendations on books. That can be found here. The thing about Sean is that he has a way of condensing what I'm feeling into a few articulate phrases. This bit really captured the spirit of what I feel far better than I feel up to expressing at the moment:

"Williams does important work with Sparkplug, putting out work of sparkling intelligence, with visuals that run the risk of not having a built-in audience for them. By publishing what he publishes he seeks to create that audience. That takes guts, putting your money where your mind is like that, and Dylan deserves to be rewarded for it, in sickness or in health. Right now, it’s in sickness, which makes buying his books an even better idea."

The inimitable Floating World Comics in Portland has also organized a Benefit Sale to support Williams and his publishing house. More info can be found here.

Lastly, Rick Bradford and I have also put together our own little brand of support, in the form of a contest over at Poopsheet Foundation. All you have to do is buy some Sparkplug Comic Books online from the publisher, leave a comment about it in the PF forums, and then I'll be selecting a winner to send a free copy of the recent Sparkplug book Gay Genius, Edited by Annie Murphy. I'll send it totally free of charge, a great book at a retail value of $20. It's the absolute least we could do on our shoestring budget at PF.

Best of luck, Dylan. Your friends are all thinking of you and wishing you the best, for who you are as a person, and for the amazing work you've done in this field.