Post by Crimebuster on Oct 3, 2022 16:22:32 GMT -5
I just read that publisher Drew Ford has passed away.
For many years, Ford has been putting together projects that reprint and revive classic comics. Sometimes both. For me, the most exciting of his projects was the collecting and concluding of Sam Glanzman's Private War of Willy Schultz; the book was to not just collect all the classic Charlton issues, but also pay to have the series' original writer create a concluding chapter to the unfinished saga. And he did the same for a number of other classic and unfinished comic series.
Unfortunately, Ford ran into a lot of financial issues that delayed many of his Kickstarter projects; the Willy Shultz book was supposed to be delivered in 2019 and still hasn't come out, though he recently announced that he was working with Dark Horse to get it published. These delays earned him a lot of enmity from fans and backers -- as a backer and Kickstarter creator, I certainly haven't been happy about not receiving the book -- but the work he was doing was important to preserving and celebrating comics history, and I think he just got in over his head trying to make too many cool comics.
He also left behind a young widow in significant financial distress. Ford was just 48; he collapsed on the street due to heart failure from COVID pneumonia, and had no insurance. He was pronounced brain dead, and his organs are being donated. His wife has set up a Go Fund Me to help try and pay the bills. It's a terrible situation for her, and it's not helped by some fans I have already seen complaining that they won't get their overdue books now.
Just a sad situation, and as I know many of you have bought or backed his previous projects, I thought I should share.
Here's an article about his passing, including a link to the GoFundMe, which has a very difficult and moving message from his wife:
bleedingcool.com/comics/drew-ford-founder-of-its-alive-press-has-died-from-coronavirus/
For many years, Ford has been putting together projects that reprint and revive classic comics. Sometimes both. For me, the most exciting of his projects was the collecting and concluding of Sam Glanzman's Private War of Willy Schultz; the book was to not just collect all the classic Charlton issues, but also pay to have the series' original writer create a concluding chapter to the unfinished saga. And he did the same for a number of other classic and unfinished comic series.
Unfortunately, Ford ran into a lot of financial issues that delayed many of his Kickstarter projects; the Willy Shultz book was supposed to be delivered in 2019 and still hasn't come out, though he recently announced that he was working with Dark Horse to get it published. These delays earned him a lot of enmity from fans and backers -- as a backer and Kickstarter creator, I certainly haven't been happy about not receiving the book -- but the work he was doing was important to preserving and celebrating comics history, and I think he just got in over his head trying to make too many cool comics.
He also left behind a young widow in significant financial distress. Ford was just 48; he collapsed on the street due to heart failure from COVID pneumonia, and had no insurance. He was pronounced brain dead, and his organs are being donated. His wife has set up a Go Fund Me to help try and pay the bills. It's a terrible situation for her, and it's not helped by some fans I have already seen complaining that they won't get their overdue books now.
Just a sad situation, and as I know many of you have bought or backed his previous projects, I thought I should share.
Here's an article about his passing, including a link to the GoFundMe, which has a very difficult and moving message from his wife:
bleedingcool.com/comics/drew-ford-founder-of-its-alive-press-has-died-from-coronavirus/
