From press release posted at Graphic Policy:

April 26, 2011 –Northwest Press, a publisher of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender graphic novels and comics, is raising funds on the website Kickstarter to produce an anti-bullying comic book for youth and teachers’ groups. The Power Within tells the story of a junior high schooler who imagines himself as a superhero to deal with his constant harassment at school. The project is written by Charles “Zan” Christensen and drawn by Mark Brill, and features bonus material by Dan Parent (creator of Archie Comics’ first openly gay character, Kevin Keller), Phil Jimenez (Wonder Woman, New X-Men), Gail Simone (Secret Six, Wonder Woman), Carla Speed McNeil (Finder), Andy Mangels (Gay Comics), Donna Barr (The Desert Peach), and others.

The project was conceived in October 2010 for 24 Hour Comics Day, an international event where comics creators attempt to produce a complete comic book in a single day. The previous month, there were numerous, high-profile news reports of gay teen suicides all over the U.S., prompting a public outcry and the creation of the It Gets Better Project to combat LGBT teen isolation and bullying. Christensen and Brill decided to tackle the topic in their book and by the end of the event, they had completed a rough version of the story.

Brill continued to polish the artwork, and the book was completed and published in a limited run in March 2011, selling at comic book conventions in Seattle and Chicago. In order to mass-produce the book and provide free copies to gay-straight alliances and other youth groups, Christensen sought the participation of some high profile artists and writers for bonus features and began a fundraising effort to cover printing and shipping costs. In six days, the project reached a third of its funding goal; The Power Within must receive a minimum of $3000 in pledges on Kickstarter by March 20th in order to be funded.

(More information about the book, donation incentives, and contact information at Graphic Policy.)

A note from the Comic Book Collecting Association:

Sharpen your pencils!

It’s time for the Second Annual CBCA Amateur Art Competition.

The Comic Book Collecting Association (CBCA) is pleased to announce the Second Annual CBCA Amateur Art Competition. The competition allows amateur artists to showcase their finest work, with the winning submissions determined by voting by the comic collecting community.

There will be two categories of competition: adults and minors (under age 14). For the adults, a $100 grand prize will be awarded to the winner with $25 awards to two runner ups. For the minors, a $25 grand prize will be awarded to the winner with $10 awards to two runner ups.

Entries will be accepted now though May 20. Entries will be posted online for voting the week of May 23. The format and length of the voting is contingent upon the number of entries received, and will be announced at the commencement of voting.

Who is eligible?

The spirit of the contest is to host a competition among those generally considered to be amateur illustrators. Anyone may enter with the exception of: individuals who regularly receive income from illustration, and/or individuals who are widely recognized as a professional illustrator, past or present. (Aspiring artists who occasionally receive income for illustration are eligible to compete.) CBCA membership is not required to enter.

CBCA Directors and Officers may enter the competition, however they are not eligible for the cash award. If a CBCA Director or Officer is a finalist, the cash award will go to the entrant with the next highest amount of votes.

The CBCA reserves the right to deny eligibility to any participant at their discretion.

Who can vote?

Anyone can vote one time in the online poll. The link to the poll will be posted when voting commences.

Submission guidelines

Submissions must be an original piece of artwork. There are no limitations on the type of format – entries may be a single character, group, splash style page, a paneled page, pinup style pose, strip art, color, black and white… whatever format you think best showcases your work.

Reproductions of artwork originally created by other persons are not permitted. For example, an illustration that is an homage to the cover of Fantastic Four #1 is acceptable, however a nearly identical reproduction of the cover of Fantastic Four #1 is not. Submissions should be tasteful and suitable for all ages. The CBCA reserves the right to deny any submission at their discretion.

Because submissions will be posted anonymously, be sure your signature is not an integral part of the artwork – it will be digitally obscured.

Submissions should be sent as a .jpg, .png or .gif file to art@comiccollecting.org no later than May 20, 2011. Be sure to include your name, address and phone number with your submission. Please send in a size large enough to showcase the detail of your work, but very large images may be resized by the CBCA to an appropriate screen size.

Questions?

Contact the Comic Book Collecting Association at info@comiccollecting.org or visit the CBCA forum at www.comiccollecting.org/forum/index.php.