And there's no way I can come up with a catchy lede for it. Karl Kesel writes comic books for a living. Karl's the real deal. Who knew The Thing was Jewish?
Kesel has worked in the comics industry for three decades, inking and writing for everything from Superman to Fantastic Four (he wrote the storyline where Thing reveals that he's Jewish).
He and his wife Myrna have just adopted Issac (Zack) an infant that Karl
blogged about last May,
Isaac “Zack” Aiden Kesel was born on May 10, 2012. We were and are still very honored and thrilled that his birth parents, Isabel and Matthew, chose us as his adoptive parents. Isabel is half Native American, naturally beautiful, and sharp as a whip, while Matthew is one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met. Given all that, we’re sure Zack will be a force to be reckoned with. [snip] Due to some medical issues, Zack will be a hospital guest for a few weeks. It’s a rough start, but Zack’s a determined fella (something I’m betting he gets from Isabel) and we have every reason to believe that on the other side of this he’ll be happily healthy, and we’ll be happily harried.
[bolding mine]
Those "medical issues?" Issac was born addicted to heroin and methadone. His first five weeks of life were spent detoxing, which basically means withdrawal. If you've ever seen it in adults, or teens, it ain't pretty.
Follow me below the proposed tattoo for the rest of the story; medical insurance, adoption costs, and the World's Wonderful-est Reason to buy a rare comic book. Oh and credit where credit is due. Hat tip to Little green Footballs (Really!)
From Steve Duin at Oregon Live.
Karl Kesel is selling his back pages, his memories, his stash. The Spideys, 1- thru-100. The Daredevils, the Caps and that sparkling Avengers #4. Just about everything from the ’60s but his Tales to Astonish run.
After 40 years, he is letting the Marvels of his childhood go because, at the golden age of 53, Karl and his wife, Myrna, suddenly have their hands full.
With a 15-week-old baby.
The child of heroin users. [snip]
They aren’t sure which portion of Isaac’s $67,000 medical bill will be picked up by Myrna’s insurance, but the comics are being sold to cover the cost — $25,000 — of the adoption.
The Kesel collection is on sale at
blastoffcomics.com I'm not a collector, but some of these prices look awfully low.
And some of the best ones are already gone. If you're a collector, or there's a collector on your "giftie-list", or even if you're looking for the one comic book that changed your life as a kid (or an adult)
GO NOW AND BUY!
Other ways I'm schnoring for Karl, Myrna and Zack;
(from Steve Duin again)On Sept. 1-2, a number of other local artists will host a benefit at I Like Comics
in Vancouver to help defray the family’s expenses.
From Redditor R.B. Sheldon: we are trying to rally up a few bucks to purchase some of these comics to give back to Karl. Here is the info
Disclaimers and pseudo-legal stuff. I, your humble diarist, have no connection to the Kesels, Issac or his parents. Nor do I have any connection with the adoption industry or (God forbid!) babies. I have no financial interest in anything connected with this post, and I can not in any way vouch for the donation sites, blastoff.com
From Indigogo: "Every child in need should be as lucky as Isaac, and every nerd dad as wonderfully generous as Karl should be rewarded."