2018 - CBLDF Auction "March"

“March” is a three volume graphic novel written by Congressman John Lewis (with Andrew Aydin) and illustrated and lettered by Nate Powell. John Lewis is the only person to have spoken at the 1963 March on Washington that is still alive. When the book first came out, Congressman Lewis went to the SD Comic-Con and had hundreds of people lined up to get his signature. The novel follows his life as a crusader for the civil rights movement, and it’s just wonderful.

Congressman Lewis was the commencement speaker at my daughter’s law school graduation this year. He is a moving speaker with a focus on standing up for things that he just believes are wrong. He’s been arrested over 50 times in his career, and as he told the audience, even at age 78, he’s pretty sure he’s going to get arrested again.

I met Nate Powell at SD this year and had him sign some copies of the graphic novels. I told him that I was the high bidder on a piece he put in an auction to benefit the Boston Comic Arts Foundation. He told me that he had let a few pages from the graphic novel go early on, but really regretted it. As a result, he’s keeping everything else, and trying to get a show pulling it all together in one place. He also told me that he had only completed three pieces for charity auctions. I had one, and there was another in the CBLDF auction. That’s all I needed to know. I zoomed over to the CBLDF booth to work out the logistics of a remote bid.