Comics / Press Releases

Artists for Masks In Every Community Fundraising Art Auction

By The Editor
June 8, 2020 - 20:40

VIO Volunteers, the same non-profit organization that located 22.9 million masks for Ontario hospitals, will host an online art auction featuring works from more than 25 prominent Canadian cartoonists, illustrators and comic book artists. Funds raised will go towards purchasing life-saving PPE for the province’s northern, remote and Indigenous communities.
 
The pieces up for auction contain characters from the world of Marvel, DC, LEGO, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, the beloved Canadian comic strip For Better or For Worse, and many more. Among the contributing artists are:
 
Lynn Johnston
The creator and cartoonist behind For Better or For Worse. Lynn was the first woman and first Canadian to win a Reuben Award in 1985 for Cartoonist of the Year by the National Cartoonists Society. Her comic strip has appeared in over 2,000 newspapers in 23 countries. She’s been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, has received the Order of Canada and has her own star on Canada's Walk of Fame.
 
Joe Ollmann
Joe began his career contributing cartoons to The Hamilton Spectator and penning a strip for Exclaim! He began self-publishing short comic stories in a series called Wag! For his third collection of short stories, This Will All End in Tears, Joe was awarded the Doug Wright Award for Best Book in 2007. His first graphic novel, Mid-Life (published by Drawn and Quarterly in 2011), was nominated for the same award.
 
Dean Motter
Dean is a designer, illustrator, writer and art director and the creator of the 1980s comic book sensation Mister X, which was recognized by Rolling Stone as one of “The 50 Best Non-Superhero Graphic Novels” in 2015. He wrote the award-winning noir Elseworlds graphic novel Batman: Nine Lives for DC Comics and later went to work as creative services art director for Time Warner/DC Comics.
 
David Ross
An accomplished comic book artist, writer and illustrator, David has worked with Marvel Comics, DC Comics and Dark Horse Comics on characters and character development for some of the best-known superhero franchises including Captain America, Spider-man, Batgirl, Daredevil, and more.
 
The bidding will take place on the VIO Volunteers website. All works will be posted on Monday, June 8 with the auction beginning at 9 a.m. EST and running through Sunday, June 14 at 11:59 p.m. Visitors to the site will be able to browse and place offers on items. To stay updated on auction details, please visit our Facebook event page.
 
About VIO Volunteers
 
VIO Volunteers is a nonprofit organization that began as a public Facebook group and volunteer initiative founded by Matt Drouillard on March 21, 2020. After locating 22.9 million masks for Ontario hospitals we have set our sights north. Our latest initiative, Masks in Every Community, is raising funds to supply Ontario’s northern, remote and Indigenous communities with life-saving Personal Protective Equipment. On May 4, 2020, we registered VIO Volunteers as a nonprofit under the Canada Not-For-Profit Corporations Act to provide another layer of accountability and transparency.

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12