NIP'ORR

NIP'ORR (2007)
Art by Dave Sim

THE DOUG WRIGHT AWARDS 2007:

The organizers of The Doug Wright Awards, Canada's premier comics and graphic novels awards, are happy to announce that three of the country's best-known cartoonists, Chester Brown, Seth and Dave Sim, have created one-of-a-kind original artwork to be auctioned off during their 2007 fundraising drive. Each an internationally respected cartoonist, Chester Brown (Louis Riel: A Comic Strip Biography, Ed The Happy Clown), Seth (Clyde Fans, Wimbledon Green) and Dave Sim (Cerebus), have agreed to provide The Wrights with their interpretation on a unique theme: the monster comics of Jack "King" Kirby.

The revered artist behind such superhero comics as Captain America, the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, Silver Surfer and the X-Men, Kirby had an illustrious career that stretches back to the early days of comics. Long before he came up with his popular superhero creations, he was honing his skills on Marvel's "monster comics" of the 1950s and early 1960s -- many of which have earned a cult status among cartoonists and comic fans. These pre-superhero Kirby comics featured such unforgettable characters as Fin Fang Foom, Groot!, Goom, Gagoom (Son of Goom), and Korilla, among many others. As an homage to this era, each cartoonist has taken their pen to paper and given us a unique take on a Kirby Monster. Each one-of-a-kind artwork will go up for auction on eBay beginning Monday October 8th 2007, with all of the proceeds going towards the non-profit Wright Awards. Dave Sim (Kitchener, Ontario) offers up "Nip'por" --his humourous interpretation of the work of both Kirby and Canadian cartoonist Doug Wright (who created the popular weekly strip Nipper.)

Nip'orr by Dave Sim:

This highly-detailed and masterfully executed scene imagines Nipper, the child hero of Doug Wright's comic strip, as a rampaging monster in the Kirby vein. Nipper's dad, a stand-in for Wright, looks on in parental bemusement. Ink and paint/wash on art board. The art is on board measuring 11" x 17". The art is titled "NIP'ORR" across the top and is signed "DOUG WRIGHT AWARDS 2007" in the bottom right corner, in a pastiche of Doug Wright's signature. Sim's actual signature -- "Dave Sim 2007" -- is hidden along the middle left edge of the art.