Help the Hodges!

On Thursday, January 21, the National Cartoonists Society Foundation (NCSF) launched a fund-raising auction of original art by America's top cartoonists who donated their work to help one of their own in his time of need.

In August of 2009, Matthew Hodge, the teenage son of former Disney and Veggie Tales artist Tim Hodge, was in a car accident involving a train in rural Tennessee placing him into a coma. After the initial stay in the hospital, the Hodge's short-term insurance policy wouldn’t cover Matthew’s long-term recovery at a nursing care facility, calling his coma a "pre-existing" condition.

The cartooning world has rallied around Tim and his family to raise funds needed to help them through their tragedy. Over 100 artists, many of them Animation Guild members, have donated 170 items of original art from comic strips, comic books, children's books, animation, and sculpture that will begin to be listed on eBay on January 21.

Highlights in this fundraiser include:

• A drawing of "Charlie Brown" by Charles Schulz
• A drawing of "Wallace & Gromit" by creator Nick Park
• An illustration by renowned movie poster illustrator Drew Struzan ("Indiana Jones," "Back to the Future")
• A maquette from Disney’s unproduced film “My Peoples”
• A "Simpsons" poster signed by the voice cast and creator Matt Groening
• A drawing by Pixar's Golden Globe winning "Up" director Pete Docter
• An original watercolored strip by "Mutts" cartoonist Patrick McDonnell
• Spider-man art from creator Stan Lee
• Animation art by Disney's Glen Keane
• A group drawing by 21 top cartoonists such as Peter de Sève, Eric Goldberg, Andreas Deja, Chris Sanders, Don Bluth, Mike Mignola and William Stout.
• Several pieces of classic Disney animation art by the 9 Old Men.

With so many generous donations, the artwork will be posted on eBay in thirds. The first grouping will be listed on January 21 beginning at 10am P.S.T., with subsequent listings on January 28 and February 4. All items for sale may be previewed at www.HelpTheHodges.com. Fully tax-deductible donations may be given to Help the Hodges through Paypal on www.HelpTheHodges.com, or by sending a check with "Help the Hodges" written on the subject line to:

The NCS Foundation
341 N. Maitland Ave., #130
Maitland, FL 32751

Thank you for your support!