by A.J. Focht

A benefit in aid of the Aurora shooting victims is being put together by All C’s Collectibles, a local comic shop which is not far from the theater where the tragic event took place. There has been a tremendous outpour of support to help get the event off the ground. It will be held over two days on August 25th and 26th, and will include a silent auction and in store appearances by several fantastic comic creators. Many amazing supporters have stepped up and made donations towards the silent auction, including most of the major comic companies.

DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Image Comics, POW Entertainment, Top Cow Comics and many more have all made contributions. There have been some fantastic donations so far including a signed Amazing Spider-Man movie poster from Stan Lee, and a poster and guitar donated and signed by Scott Ian from Anthrax. Several comic artists have also given original artworks for the auction. These incredible items and more will be auctioned off on Saturday, August 25 at 6:30 PM. The silent auction will be located at a donated space in the Embassy Suites. All the proceeds from the auction will go to the Alex Sullivan Fund and the Aurora Victims Relief Fund.

Many prominent comic writers and artists have agreed to come out for an in-store signing on Sunday, August 26. Comic icon Steve Niles, author of 30 Days of Night, Dark Days, Criminal Macabre, and many more, will be in attendance. Dark Horse Comics legend and creator of Hellboy, Mike Mignola has been confirmed. Writer of the current The Invincible Iron Man run, Matt Fraction will also be joining, as well as All-Star Western artist Mortitat. More writers and artists have been in contact with the benefit and there are more appearances to be announced over the coming weeks.

Aurora Rise has begun to spread far beyond the city limits of Aurora, Colorado. There has been an overwhelming interest across the comic community to extend the event to future conventions and throughout other cities. So far, there is talk of branches at Dragon Con in Chicago, and even in the UK. There will also likely be a second event held in Aurora at a later date, probably mid-September, to accommodate more artists and writers who could not make it out for the first benefit signing. Volunteers associated with Denver Comic Con have set up Aurora Rise on Facebook, Twitter, and with its own website. They are currently working on setting up the infrastructure to expand the charity program through the Community First Foundation.

Related Posts:
Back Row Perspective Part 1: An Aurora Theater Survivor’s Message To The Media
Back Row Perspective Part 2: An Aurora Theater Survivor’s Message To The Politicians
Back Row Perspective Part 3: An Aurora Theater Survivor’s Message To The Online Community

by SG’s Team Agony feat. Jeckyl

Let us answer life’s questions – because great advice is even better when it comes from SuicideGirls.

Q: My girlfriend and I recently moved in together and everything was wonderful. Then, just over a month ago, a close friend of hers passed away. Since then, she has been sending slightly mixed signals that she wants us to some day get engaged and that she loves me and doesn’t want to lose me. However, she is nowhere near as affectionate as she used to be and is very irritable. I have tried talking to her about it, but it gets turned around and made into my fault. Is this the grief she is going through talking? Should I be worried that she is going to leave or that I’m not enough for her anymore?

Scared Lover from South Africa

A: First of all, my deepest condolences. I can’t imagine the pain and confusion you’re both experiencing right now.Grief is a complicated process and, after just a month, I’m afraid to say she’s barely scraped the tip of the iceberg here. You need to be patient. Death is a hard pill to swallow and she really needs you to be strong for her during this time. She is going to be extremely emotionally confused and you just need to go with it. Laugh with her when she’s happy, comfort her when she’s sad, and don’t expect her to make any sense for a while.


Her on-and-off behavior towards you may be just another way that she’s experiencing grieving. She’s realizing how short life is, so she wants to make that commitment. But she’s also experiencing the pain of losing someone so she’s likely terrified of going through it again. This could explain her bouts of coldness. Give her a few months to somewhat heal before having any kind of major relationship-changing discussion with her. She’s really not in any position to be making life-altering decisions right now.


I understand that her grief is taking a strain on you, and my heart really does go out to you, but you need to try and keep it together, for her sake. This really isn’t the best time to be confrontational. They say sometimes you have to put up with the rain in order to truly appreciate the rainbow, take this as a test of the strength of your relationship. If you can make it through this, you can make it through anything. And, honestly, the best thing you can do for her right now is to treat her the same way you always have, let her know she’s loved and that she isn’t alone.


How you proceed after this speed-bump is up to you, but I sincerely hope that your relationship manages to weather this storm intact.

Best of luck to both of you.

Jeckyl

Got Problems? Let SuicideGirls’ team of Agony Aunts provide solutions. Email questions to: gotproblems@suicidegirls.com

by Alex Dueben

“I dislike comedy; never get the jokes. True for TV as well as ancient lit.”
– Anne Carson

Since the publication of her now classic book Eros the Bittersweet a quarter century ago, Anne Carson has become one of the most acclaimed classicists, translators, poets and essayists of her generation. In one of her most acclaimed translations, If Not, Winter, Ms. Carson translated and presented the complete works of Sappho, including the fragments, revealing what has been lost as well as what was written in a way that is striking, showing Sappho’s genius as a poet but also serving as a reminder of what has been lost to time.

Ms. Carson is also a noted poet and essayist who writes about love and desire, longing and despair, heartbreak, what has been lost and how we fill those voids that have been left in our lives. In Autobiography of Red, a novel in verse, she retells the myth of Herakles’ tenth labor where he slays the monster Geryon. In Ms. Carson’s contemporary telling, Herakles steals the boy’s innocence and breaks his heart. In her recent book Nox, she tackled a much more personal subject, her relationship with her late brother and his death, composing a hauntingly beautiful book that certainly stands as one of the great books about grief.

Ms. Carson also achieved pop culture notoriety when in the first episode of The L Word, a discussion of Carson’s work became an elaborate seduction scene. That a book about love in ancient Greek literature could serve as such a catalyst is odd enough, but that Ms. Carson could be mentioned by name makes her the rare writer and public intellectual with a reputation to be so noted. Given all that, it seems in poor taste to note that the characters in The L Word largely misunderstood the book.

Her most recent book is Antigonick. A translation of the classic play by Sophokles, the book, published by New Directions, is one of the best designed books of the year and a unique reading experience. Ms. Carson hand-lettered the text of the play, which isn’t presented like most plays but incorporated within pages of artwork. As is the case with her previous book, Nox, Antigonick is unique and a reading experience that can’t be replicated electronically. Ms. Carson was kind enough to agree to speak with us about the book and her work and we exchanged a series of emails in which she demonstrated that her passion for literature and the Greek classics has not dimmed, but that she is uninterested in discussing personal topics. Despite her lack of interest, she did answer the questions. As she said in response to a different question, “Canadians are dutiful.”

Read our exclusive interview with Anne Carson on SuicideGirls.com.

Polaw Suicide in Deten el Tiempo

• MAKES ME HAPPY: Food, music, photos, rain.
• MAKES ME SAD: Classes.
• I SPEND MOST OF MY FREE TIME: Sleeping and eating.

Get to know Polaw better over at SuicideGirls.com!