One of the many great things that happened at Comic-Con was the debut of The Sakai Project, a new book celebrating the work of our friend Stan Sakai. That's reason enough to do this book but there was an added purpose. The book is a fund-raiser to help out the Sakai family with bills relating to the illness of Stan's wife. Sharon Sakai, a lovely and wonderful woman, has an inoperable brain tumor. It has left her blind and deaf and while the Sakais do have health insurance, it does not cover every expense related to this horrible, horrible condition.
The book was a hit at the con…so much so that it kept selling out and more copies had to be FedExed in each day. And why shouldn't it be a hit? It's a beautiful book containing 262 artists, including most of the best ones working in comics today. Fred Patten gave it a very nice review and he reminds you that it will sell out soon and become quite a collector's item.
If you live in or around Los Angeles, you have a great opportunity to not only get the book but to get it autographed by quite a few of those artists plus the clown who did the foreword. I haven't seen it announced anywhere but this coming Saturday, August 16, a bevy of us will be appearing at Meltdown Comics up on Sunset to write our names in the copies you purchase. I'm not sure exactly who'll be there but I'll be there and Sergio Aragonés will be there and I bet Scott Shaw! and Bill Morrison and Tone Rodriguez and Stan Sakai himself will be there and I hear quite a few others will be present, as well.
It all happens from 4 PM to 6 PM. If you're in the area, there will never be a better time to buy one of these…and not just to help out the Sakais. You'll be doing yourself a favor at the same time.