Comix 4 Sight steps up to help John Ostrander
Brian Eison ;)
John Ostrander has helped to tell the stories and shape the histories of many of the most memorable characters in comics. His work at DC has been showcased in titles like Justice League, Batman, the Spectre, Suicide Squad and many others. You might remember him as the man who first helped to reshape Barbara Gordon from her injuries at the hands of the Joker and past as Batgirl into her rebirth as Oracle.
A writer in the industry since 1983, his work is not limited to his memorable work with DC. In the 80’s with Timothy Truman he co-created the character Grimjack for First Comics. Ostrander has also been one of the main writers for Star Wars: Republic and Star Wars: Legacy for Dark Horse Comics. During his long career he has also written for publishers like Valiant, Chaos, Eclipse, and Marvel. But this listing of career statistics is not simply about the volume or length of service as he has also been nominated for numerous industry awards including the Comics Buyer’s Guide Award for Fan Favorite Writer 4 straight years.
At this point you might be asking why the brief career bio on John Ostrander? Well, John has been battling glaucoma for years and has recently gone thru some expensive surgeries in an effort to save his sight. So far these procedures have been successful but they and the treatment’s surrounding them, are also much more expensive than his medical insurance would cover. A group of his friends and fellow comic creators decided to see if there was something they could do to help. A charity auction was held last Saturday at the Chicago Comic Con and with the group’s efforts both online and at the convention reportedly $30,000 has been raised so far.
;)
The giving does not have to end with the auction at this year’s Chicago Comic Con. There will be additional items for an online auction at comix4sight.com and if you’d just like to donate what you can to the cause there is info on the site for that as well. So if you’ve enjoyed his work, or if you just love comics, check out the page and see if you might be able to help.
Reader Comments (2)
An update: http://www.newsarama.com/comics/080912-Ostrander-Update.html
And another update from Gail Simone over at Newsarama...
http://www.newsarama.com/comics/090922-gail-bendis-ostrander.html