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Press Release - August 8, 2014

Bill Watterson Pearls Before Swine Comic Art, Auctioned For Parkinson’s Research, Brings $74,090

Pearls Before SwineDALLAS — The original artwork for the recent three comic strip collaboration between Bill Watterson , the reclusive genius behind the much-lovedcomic strip, andcartoonist Stephan Pastis — taking place in a three day run in June 2014 in sold at Heritage Auctions on Aug. 8, 2014 , for a total of $74,090, with proceeds from the sale benefitting The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.Heritage is waiving the seller's fee on the artwork and will also contribute half of the Buyer's Premium."Watterson's collaboration with Stephan Pastis was an unexpected treat for his millions of fans," said Todd Hignite, Vice President at Heritage Auctions. "Now, thanks to this auction, it's an incredible treat for a few lucky collectors who get to take the original art home while raising money for a great cause."The artwork was sold to three different collectors, all of who did not wish to be identified. The first strip of the collaboration brought $16,730, while the second strip brought the highest price of the three, finishing with a $35,850 price realized, while the third strip brought $21,510, all prices well beyond the original $10,000+ pre-auction estimates for each.At Watterson's request, the artwork was sold on behalf ofa non-profit charity established by editor/designer Chris Sparks on behalf ofcartoonist Richard Thompson, who is battling Parkinson's Disease — a piece of artwork done by Watterson depicting one of Thompson'scharacters sold in 2012 as part of a charity auction to benefit— and the profits from the sale of the original art will be donated to theThe trajectory of the three strip arc follows Pastis' comic strip alter-ego as he turns the drawing of the comic over to a precocious second-grader named Libby for three days. The results are both wickedly funny and uniquely Watterson, while remaining true to the sharp humor that defines thestrip.