Wyakin Warriors Fundraiser

Art by Ed Steckley

I’m headed to Boise, ID today to speak at the the inaugural, black tie Wyakin Warrior Guardian Ball, a fundraiser for the Wyakin Warrior Foundation.

In Native American mythology, a¬¨‚Ć “Wyakin” is a spiritual guide that advises and protects a person throughout life. The Wyakin Warrior Foundation follows in its namesake’s footsteps, providing a college education, mentoring, job-placement networking and other forms of support both financial and personal to wounded veterans of our armed forces. It was founded by Jeff Bacon, a retired Navy captain, cartoonist and creator of the comic Broadside, and the gentlemen responsible (or perhaps to blame) for the National Cartoonists Society getting reacquainted with the USO and going on all those trips to draw for active military personnel in war zones as well as for convalescing wounded warriors around the world.

Naturally, with Jeff being “one of us”, the cartooning community is rallying behind the WW Foundation. This event, to be held on Dec 1st in Boise, will be attended by over a dozen nationally known cartoonists including:

• Ray Alma (MAD Magazine)
• Jeff Bacon (Broadside/Greenside)
• Chad Carpenter (Tundra)
• Todd Clark (Lola)
• Dave Coverly (Speed Bump)
• Bruce Higdon (Punderstatements)
• Jeff Keane (The Family Circus)
• Rick Kirkman (Baby Blues)
• T Lewis (Over the Hedge)
• Mason Mastroianni (B.C.)
• Steve Moore (In the Bleachers)
• Stephan Pastis (Pearls Before Swine)
• Mike Peters (Mother Goose and Grimm/Pulitzer Prize winner)
• Michael Ramirez (Investor’s Business Daily/Pulitzer Prize winner)
• Tom Richmond (MAD Magazine)
• Ed Steckley (MAD Magazine)

Jeff Keane, Kirk Kirkman, Ray Alma and I will be doing a presentation on the USO/NCS cartoonists trips overseas.¬¨‚Ć The evening includes an auction fundraiser with both original art by many of the cartoonists above, an offer to have your name placed in some of the cartoonist’s comic strips, personal caricatures by a few of us, and other goodies. I have donated the following page from MAD #495’s “The Dork Knight” parody:

Clicky to Embiggen…

The ball itself is sold out, but the auction is also online, and will go on for a few days after the ball is over. If you want to bid on this original from MAD, click here, or check out the other auction items here. You can also just donate to the WW Foundation as a sponsor. It’s all for a good cause…helping those who sacrificed so much to defend our freedom get back to civilian life.