It’s Women of Wonder Weekend!
In October 2006-2010, five annual Wonder Woman Day events raised over $110,000 for Domestic Violence programs in Portland, Oregon and Flemington, NJ. The five-year combination of auctions of over 1,100 original art pieces, plus collectibles, autograph signings, and photo opportunities garnered spectacular turnouts and four Portland Mayoral Proclamations.
This year, the event will take on a new name and an expanded mission! On October 30, 2011, the new Women of Wonder Day — again as a part of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month — will take place, returning to Excalibur Books in Portland, Oregon, and Comic Fusion in Flemington, New Jersey, as well as at Heroes and Fantasies in San Antonio, Texas.
This year’s contributions for auction include not only artwork featuring heroines from the world of comics — Wonder Woman, She-Hulk, Storm, Michonne from The Walking Dead, Leetah from ElfQuest — but also from the world of media as well, including Lisbeth Salander, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Hermione Granger, and others. Plus, TV series such as Glee, Nikita, The Big Bang Theory, Castle, and Chuck have donated special items as well.
The all-ages events will include artists and writers signing autographs at each event, as well as costumed characters with whom you can take photos. And in Portland, white-hot writer Brian Michael Bendis is auctioning off a role in one of his upcoming comics. Other contributors include Lar DeSouza, Dan Parent, David Lloyd, Gilbert Hernandez, Nicola Scott, Wendy Pini, Yldiray Cinar, David Mack, Ethan Van Sciver, Jamal Igle, Katie Cook, Michael Golden, Neil Vokes, Terry Moore, Ben Dunn, Billy Tucci, Bob Layton, Charlie Adlard, Don Kramer, Doug Mahnke, Humberto Ramos, Jeff Moy, Joe Benitez, Phil Hester, Scott McDaniel, Stephane Roux, Patton Oswalt, Robin Williams, Rick Riordan, and of course, Lynda Carter.
Details about the three events follow:
Excalibur Comics, 2444 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, Oregon
Sunday, October 30, 2011 – noon-6pm, FREE
An ALL AGES celebration and benefit for domestic violence prevention-intervention agencies! Proceeds of the event will benefit Bradley Angle, one of Portland’s leading domestic violence agencies. The free all-ages event will include local and national artists signing comics and special edition prints, as well as a silent auction of original art and collectibles. There will be costumed super-heroes, pirates, and science fiction characters on-site, raffles and prizes, and more.
Comic Fusion, 42 Main St., Flemington, New Jersey
Saturday and Sunday, October 29-30, 2011 – noon-5pm, FREE
An ALL AGES celebration and benefit for a domestic violence shelter will take place on Saturday and Sunday, October 29th and 30th, in Flemington, NJ, at Comic Fusion, as part of their “Super-Hero Weekend.” Proceeds of the event will benefit Safe in Hunterdon, a domestic violence shelter in New Jersey. Comic creators will sign and sketch, and costumed characters will be available for photos.
Stacy Korn is chairing the New Jersey event with Beth Delaney. Korn says, “From our first small event, this has grown into a Super Event our community loves! Super Heroes, Super Artists and Super Volunteers are all ready to put some smiles on faces. We look forward to raising money for such a worthy cause as SAFE in Hunterdon!”
Heroes and Fantasies, 4945 NW Loop 410, San Antonio, Texas
Sunday, October 30, 2011 — noon-5pm — FREE
An ALL AGES benefit and celebration for Domestic Violence programs at Family Violence Prevention Services of San Antonio! The free all-ages event will include local and national artists signing comics and sketching art, as well as a silent auction of original art and collectibles. There will be costumed characters on-site, raffles and prizes, and more.
Fred Bronaugh is chairing the Texas event with Adam Conley. This is the inaugural year for the Texas event.