Department H

Via Robot 6, we’ve got news of a grassroots artist effort to raise money for the victims of the January 12th 7.0 quake in Haiti. Heroes 4 Haiti is a central clearinghouse for artists to publicize their independent efforts to raise funds through eBay auctions of their original art, collectibles, or other memorabilia. You can also follow Heroes 4 Haiti’s progress on Facebook, if you’ve got an FB account.

Meanwhile, in individual efforts, this gorgeous piece of Local art from series penciller Ryan Kelly sold for $100 earlier today. Kelly intends to donate the funds to CARE. If you’re interested in making your own individual contribution to Haiti relief efforts, check out Charity Navigator’s list of organizations and consider donating.

I reviewed it yesterday, so now’s a good time to mention that Greg Hyatt over at NerderyBlog thinks there’s cause for concern about the longevity of Marvel’s S.W.O.R.D. He’s rallying fans to show their support by mailing a special flyer to Marvel headquarters, presumably on the theory that a minor mail avalanche will have a greater impact than yelling about the book on the Internet. (It’s a good theory! I approve!)

ICv2′s the December ’09 Top 300 Actual numbers show S.W.O.R.D.‘s second issue firmly lodged at #141 with 15,113 copies sold– ahead of a number of critically well-received titles like Criminal: The Sinners, Chew, and Scalped. However, that’s still a 31% sales drop from the 21,988 copies the premiere issue sold in November, and the fluctuating state of Marvel’s publishing slate means we can’t really know if the title will be dropped in the near future. (Does anyone know what’s going on with Incredible Hercules, while we’re on that topic?)

The closest thing S.W.O.R.D. fans have to an official statement comes from writer Kieron Gillen, who says he hasn’t heard anything one way or the other. However, Gillen does cite the sales charts as the impetus for Greg’s fan movement– so if you’re feeling the Beast and Brand love, you might want to print up Greg’s premade PDF, add your own polite note of support, and mail it off to Marvel HQ.

(Also, if you’d like a full-size version of that adorable Beast and Brand pic, grab it here.)