Some real-life superheroics is taking place at a local comic book store this weekend.
Chris Simons, owner of I Like Comics in downtown Vancouver, “Fight Club” author Chuck Palahniuk and members of the comic book industry have teamed up for a fundraiser benefiting struggling comics creators.
The two-day benefit, which began Friday, was put together first and foremost for Rebecca Woods, an illustrator who uses a wheelchair. The Battle Ground resident was born with a degenerative disease leaving her with fragile bones and flimsy joints. The benefit aimed to raise $7,000 to buy her a new, titanium wheelchair.
“Everybody loves Rebecca Woods,” Simons said. “If I say we’re doing a benefit for Rebecca Woods, there’s a lot of people who will say, instantly, ‘I’m in. I don’t need to know any more.’ ”
Friday’s event was headlined by comics artists, such as Woods’ husband, Pete Woods, and others who have illustrated comics heroes for the likes of Marvel Comics, DC Comics and more. Fans traded autographs and art for small donations toward Rebecca Woods’ new wheelchair.
The goal was reached by noon, Simons said, thanks in part to an online fundraising page and some big individual donations. The rest of the weekend’s proceeds will go toward The Hero Initiative, a charity benefiting artists and writers in comics who struggle to make ends meet.
From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today, Palahniuk will have meet-and-greets with customers who pay $30 for the fundraiser, which also lands them a copy of his latest book, “Bait,” a short-story collection and adult-themed coloring book.
“I can’t say enough good things about this man. He’s giving his entire Saturday up, two days after Thanksgiving, to help a woman he’s never ever met,” Simons said.
Illustrator in making
Woods, a native of Roseburg, Ore., has struggled with mobility her entire life. She was born with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which disrupts the body’s collagen production. As a child, she would lie on her stomach to read, she said, and comfortably curled her legs to place her feet near her shoulders.
“It’s a party trick you don’t do as an adult,” said Woods, an effusive redhead.
When she was bedridden after surgeries, she pored over dog-eared copies of MAD Magazine from a bargain bookstore. She loved the artwork, she said. In high school, she discovered a local comic book store and said it felt like home.
Woods sought out a career in illustrating and ended up at an imprint of Image Comics in La Jolla, Calif. There, she did ink work and met her eventual husband, Pete, with whom she has two children.
During the signing Friday, Pete Woods said he was surprised by the benefit.
“We knew this wheelchair would stop working for her after a while, and he wanted to help out,” he said. “We have some great friends. The comics industry is full of great people. People are really generous. It really caught us off-guard.”
I Like Comics
But it isn’t just Rebecca Woods’ event. I Like Comics, at 1715 Broadway St., is celebrating its sixth anniversary, a milestone Simons never expected.
Before opening the comics store, Simons was a manager with international shipping company DHL. The company famously withdrew from working in the United States during the economic downturn and cut nearly 10,000 jobs, including Simons’.
Simons was relegated to applying for jobs, such as assistant manager at children’s pizza parlors, until he decided to spend his savings on opening a comic book store on Fourth Plain Boulevard, where it stayed before moving to the location on Broadway.
Looking back, Simons said it doesn’t seem real.
“I feel like I’ve been getting away with something,” he said. “I feel like any minute someone’s going to walk through the door and say ‘You know what, you’ve got to get a real job. This can’t be how you earn your living and feed your family. This is too easy. We caught you. It’s time to go back to work.’ ”
