The Hero Initiative
Encyclopedia
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
creators, writers and artists in need. Founded in late 2000 by a consortium of comic book and trade publishers including Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
, Image Comics
Image Comics
Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
, Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
, Wizard Entertainment
Wizard (magazine)
Wizard or Wizard: The Magazine of Comics, Entertainment and Pop Culture was a magazine about comic books, published monthly in the United States by Wizard Entertainment from July 1991 to January 2011...
, CrossGen Comics and Dynamic Forces Inc., the 501(c)(3) charity
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
aims to assist comic creators with health, medical, and quality-of-life assistance.
Eligibility
Many early comic creators, whose work laid the foundation of entire fictional universeFictional universe
A fictional universe is a self-consistent fictional setting with elements that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed or fictional realm ....
s that proved to be highly lucrative for the publishers that profit from them, were often paid little for their work, and were not allowed to keep their creations. According to the Hero Initiative, "to be eligible for financial assistance from Hero, an applicant must have been a working comic book writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, penciler, inker
Inker
The inker is one of the two line artists in a traditional comic book or graphic novel. After a pencilled drawing is given to the inker, the inker uses black ink to produce refined outlines over the pencil lines...
, colorist
Colorist
In comics, a colorist is responsible for adding color to black-and-white line art. For most of the 20th century this was done using brushes and dyes which were then used as guides to produce the printing plates...
or letterer
Letterer
A letterer is a member of a team of comic book creators responsible for drawing the comic book's text. The letterer's use of typefaces, calligraphy, letter size, and layout all contribute to the impact of the comic. The letterer crafts the comic's "display lettering": the story title lettering and...
on a work-for-hire basis for no less than 10 years since January 1, 1934."
Anyone who meets the eligibility requirements may apply for aid, which could vary from medical assistance, paying rent, or finding employment (in or out of the comics industry). Hero's benefits are not meant to be a permanent crutch for needy creators, but assistance for those in debt, or who have trouble paying bills. Any granted aid is kept confidential.
Board of directors
The Hero Initiative has two boards of directorsBoard of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
: the Executive Board and the Fund Disbursement Board.
The Executive Board, which handles fund raising and handles operations, comprises Hero Initiative President Jim McLauchlin, former editor-in-chief of Top Cow Comics; comics creator Brian Pulido
Brian Pulido
Brian Pulido is a creator, writer and producer of comic books and films.-Early life:Growing up in Long Branch, New Jersey, Pulido first developed an interest in the horror genre after the release of Night of the Living Dead when he was a child.-Comic book career:Pulido has created, written or...
; and Joe Quesada
Joe Quesada
Joseph "Joe" Quesada is an American comic book editor, writer and artist. He became known in the 1990s for his work on various Valiant Comics books, such as Ninjak and Solar, Man of the Atom...
, editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. The board members are Steve Borock, president of the Comics Guaranty Corporation
Comic Guaranty LLC
Comics Guaranty LLC, also known as CGC, is a Sarasota, Florida comic book grading service. CGC is an independent member of the Certified Collectibles Group of companies. It is the first independent and impartial third party grading service for comic books...
; industry retailer Mike Malve; film-maker Guillermo del Toro
Guillermo del Toro
Guillermo del Toro is a Mexican director, producer, screenwriter, novelist and designer. He is mostly known for his acclaimed films, Blade II, Pan's Labyrinth and the Hellboy film franchise. He is a frequent collaborator with Ron Perlman, Federico Luppi and Doug Jones...
; and Beth Widera, owner of comic book convention MegaCon
MegaCon
MegaCon, short for Mega Convention, is a large convention that caters to the comic book, sci-fi, anime, fantasy, gaming, and multi-genre community, occurring between late February and early March at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, USA.An attendee will find over of exhibit...
. Former board members include founders Pat McCallum, editor-in-chief of Wizard Magazine; and Mike Richardson
Mike Richardson (publisher)
Mike Richardson is an American writer, film producer and the founder of Dark Horse Comics, a comic book publication company based in Milwaukie, Oregon.-Career:...
, publisher and founder of Dark Horse Comics.
The Fund Disbursement Board, who hear cases for aid and make all final decisions on who to aid, act independent of the Executive Board, and is made up entirely of comics creators, writers, artists, and editors. They are (co-chair) George Pérez
George Pérez
George Pérez is a Puerto Rican-American writer and illustrator of comic books, known for his work on various titles, including Avengers, Teen Titans and Wonder Woman.-Biography:...
, (co-chair) Roy Thomas
Roy Thomas
Roy William Thomas, Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E...
, (board secretary) Charlie Novinskie, Dennis O'Neil
Dennis O'Neil
Dennis J. "Denny" O'Neil is an American comic book writer and editor, principally for Marvel Comics and DC Comics in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, and Group Editor for the Batman family of books until his retirement....
, John Romita Sr., and Jim Valentino
Jim Valentino
Jim Valentino is an American writer, penciler, editor and publisher of comic books.-1970s - 1992:Valentino began his career in the late 1970s creating small press and mostly autobiographical comics. The early-mid 1980s saw normalman which first appeared as a back-up story in Aardvark-Vanaheim's...
.
The charity is currently supported by Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
, Dynamic Forces, Image Comics
Image Comics
Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
, Marvel Entertainment
Marvel Entertainment
Marvel Entertainment, LLC , formerly Marvel Enterprises and Toy Biz, Inc., is an American entertainment company formed from the merger of Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc. and Toy Biz, Inc....
, Top Cow Productions
Top Cow Productions
Top Cow Productions is an American comics publisher, a partner studio of Image Comics founded by Marc Silvestri in 1992.-History:...
, and Wizard Entertainment
Wizard Entertainment
Wizard Entertainment, formerly known as Wizard Press, was a New York-based publisher of Wizard and ToyFare magazines, along with various special issues for each magazine and the annual Toy Wishes holiday guide....
.
Fundraising
The Hero Initiative utilizes many methods of fundraising. Foremost is their annual art auctionAuction
An auction is a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder...
, auctioning donated original comics art-work at fan convention
Fan convention
A fan convention, or con , is an event in which fans of a particular film, television series, comic book, actor, or an entire genre of entertainment such as science fiction or anime and manga, gather to participate and hold programs and other events, and to meet experts, famous personalities, and...
s. Year-long they sell donated art and special edition comics at conventions and through the Dynamic Forces website. Artists, writers, and publishers are invited to donate work, and fans are invited to donate money directly to the fund. ACTOR also sells a green Excelsior!
Stan Lee
Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
wrist-band similar in design to the Live Strong band.
Name
The Hero Initiative was formerly known as A Commitment to Our Roots, or ACTOR, from its founding until September 2006. While the original name of the organization reflected the charity's goal, the acronym that resulted, ACTOR, more often confused people unfamiliar with the organization. In an effort to expand the marketability and fund-raising ability of the charity, the executive board decided to change the name to something more associated with comic books, thus the new name, Hero, named after the common and recognizable comic industry word SuperheroSuperhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
.
External links
- The Hero Initiative comic fund website
- ACTOR store at DynamicForces.com
- April 2007 Interview with Jim McLauchlin for Sequential Tart Webzine