cover: Alex Ross

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  • HEROES
    		• HEROES #1
    Dec 01
    $3.50
    Marvel Comics

    Comic (64 pages)
    writer: Brian Michael Bendis/Kurt Busiek/Joe Casey/Garth Ennis/Neil Gaiman/Geoff Johns/Stan Lee/Gail Simone/Kevin Smith/Alan Moore/various
    pencilers: Neal Adams/Kaare Andrews/Chuck Austen/Mark Bagley/Tim Bradstreet/J. Scott Campbell/John Cassaday/Sean Chen/Richard Corben/Alan Davis/Tom Derenick/Mike Deodato, Jr./Steve Dillon/Evan Dorkin/Lee Ferguson/Dave Gibbons/Michael Golden/Mike Grell/Phil Hester/Greg & Tim Hildebrandt/Kyle Hotz/Stuart Immonen/Georges Jeanty/Dan Jurgens/Sam Keith/Igor Kordey/Jim Krueger/Adam Kubert/Joe Kubert/Jae Lee/David Mack/Mike McKone/Frank Miller/Scott Morse/Nelson/George Pérez (1 page)/Paul Pope/Alberto Porticelli/Joe Quesada/Humberto Ramos/John Romita, Sr./Alex Ross/Steve Rude/Ethan Van Sciver/Bill Sienkiewicz/Brian Stelfreeze/Bruce Timm/Sal Velluto/Doug Wheatley/J.H. Williams III/Phil Winslade/various
    inkers: Pierre Andre/Todd McFarlane/Peter Pachoumis/Robin Riggs/George Pérez (1 page)/Mike Allred/various
    colors: Tom Smith/Patt Prentice/Hi-Fi/Laura Allred/various

    Comic book released on 17 October 2001. Retailers who ordered this comic book a week after it was announced for orders will get their copies on 24 October 2001. There is a Dynamic Forces Signed edition, a second printing, and a third (and final) printing. The book is an over-sized poster book, measuring 11x8 inches.
    See also: HEROES #1 (DF) and HEROES #1 (Second Signed Version) (DF).

     March 11, 2003 | Alessi Interview at Hero Realm
    From Hero Realm

    Hero Realm Presents
    Mark Alessi: MegaCon Aftermath
    posted March 09, 2003 10:34 PM
    by Alex Hamby

    (excerpt)

    Alex: Let’s go to Call to Duty.
    Mark: OK.

  • HEROES #1
    • Alex: You called that one – I believe the word was “disgusting”.
    Mark: I believe it is disgusting. I thought Heroes was a tremendously positive effort on their part, I wish they would have invited some CrossGen artists to participate but they never did, which was disappointing. Other than George Perez, who considers himself a CrossGen artist – not a Marvel or DC artist – I think Heroes was tremendous. I bought copies myself. I advised my people to. I am very supportive of any project, whether it be Heroes to help folks who were impacted by that terrible tragedy or ACTOR to promote gathering monies for Silver and Golden Age creators. I’m behind that.

    If you say that our objective is to promote real world heroes and you do that before 9-11, I applaud you. If you wait until all of the positive publicity about Heroes, which you did as a gesture of public support and courtesy, and then come out with multiple lines of comics, promoting every day heroes who traditionally don’t get comic books, publicize the heck out of it in light of the September 11th tragedy and then offer, for all intents and purposes a no-overprint policy putting retailers in a position of not being able to gauge the ethics of the product. I think you do the retailer a disservice and I think you insult the people involved in the tragedy.

    ...

    Alex: You’re never going to move an artist based on the fact that they might be better suited to something else?
    Mark: If you think that was the reason he was moved, good for you. Anyone who has moved here has moved by their own desire. Well, it didn’t sound to me like that was his desire. It sounded to me like he was basically told, “This is your job. Do what you’re told or you’re gone.” It sounded to me like he didn’t want to leave the X-Book. And from looking at his art style I don’t see how he’s a Manga artist at all but maybe I’m confused. After looking at thousands of Manga books I probably don’t have a very good grasp of what it is.

    Let me ask you this: They fire people at Marvel who don’t meet deadlines. Do they fire big names who don’t meet deadlines? I don’t think so.

    I generate equal punishment and reward systems, if that’s how you want to look at it at CrossGen. I do this evenhandedly. Doesn’t matter whether you’re George Perez or Carl Moline, everybody works under the same parameters.

    These things come into question because the biggest and the best in the industry should set the standard, if that’s what they are, should set the standard for the type of industry we are. If you set standards that, in my opinion, are inappropriate for the leadership position I will call you on it. I would do it if I were in technology. I will do it in comics.

     March 9, 2003 | CrossGen Vs Marvel
    From Silver Bullet Comics

    ALL THE RAGE
    Immune To Criticism
    By Alan Donald

    (excerpt)

    CrossGen Vs. Marvel

    I got a bit of a surprise this week reading Mark Alessi's comments regarding Marvel Comics at MegaCon. I wasn't so much surprised by the comments, so much as the fact Mr. Alessi was making them publicly. Many people have known Mr. Alessi's feelings on the House of Ideas but they've been asked to keep quiet on the subject.

    ...

    The next section has caused a bit of controversy:

    If you have the interest as a publisher to make a comic book about real heroes - firemen, paramedics, police officers - God bless you. They do things that protect us everyday all over this country. If you come out with that series after 9-11, you're using one of the greatest tragedies in American history as a marketing ploy. I'm sorry. I salute you if you do it before 9-11, you disgust me if you do it after 9-11. Thousands of people died, and we (Marvel) promoted comic books. Not only did we promote comic books, we hyped the heck out of it so retailers bought them by the droves, and now they're sitting back there with a ton of Valiant comics. And pretty soon, they'll be in the penny box and we'll shred these things so we can send stuffed toys from China with them.

    CrossGen sent an email to HeroRealm.com requesting clarification on this point. Bill Rosemann had this to say on the subject:

    He was talking about CALL TO DUTY. He knows HEROES was a tribute done to raise money for the Twin Towers Fund, and totally respects that. In fact, George Perez was allowed to contribute to it even though he was exclusive to CrossGen at the time. So Mark has no problem at all with HEROES... during his panel he mentioned CALL TO DUTY by name, but perhaps that wasn't reported in the panel highlights.

    Topic: CrossGen Clears Something Up...
    posted March 03, 2003 03:33 PM
    written by HeroRealmAlex

    CrossGen sent an email to HeroRealm.com requesting clarification on one point that might not have been made clear in the Bill Jemas responses. During the panel Mark Alessi was not speaking about Heroes but rather was talking about Call to Duty. Bill Rosemann had this to say on the subject:

    "He was talking about CALL TO DUTY. He knows HEROES was a tribute done to raise money for the Twin Towers Fund, and totally respects that. In fact, George Perez was allowed to contribute to it even though he was exclusive to CrossGen at the time. So Mark has no problem at all with HEROES... during his panel he mentioned CALL TO DUTY by name, but perhaps that wasn't reported in the panel highlights."

    Note: Pulse will be running an interview with Mark at some point either today or tomorrow. Go by and check it out. I will be doing a follow-up interview with Mark on Wednesday that should be posted either Thursday or Friday evening. Check back for that as it promises to be of interest.

     January 17, 2002
    From Marvel Comics
    Excerpt from back cover:
    Comic book universes are populated by colorful characters that possess fantastic powers.

    But on September 11th, 2001, an untold number of real men and women amazed the world with their phenomenal acts of bravery.

    When others ran away, they charged forward. When others reached out for safety, they offered a helping hand. When others cried out, they responded with a soothing voice.

    And, tragically, many of them died...but in doing so taught us all how to live.

    They can't stick to walls.
    They can't summon thunder.
    They can't fly.

    They're just HEROES.

     January 11, 2002 | Heroes on the Block
    From Wizard (as previously mentioned, see related)
    HEROES ON THE BLOCK
    January 10, 2002

    Marvel Comics is helping take Heroes one step further.

    Marvel has already sold over 300,000 copies of Heroes, the tribute book benefiting the Twin Towers Fund in the wake of Sept. 11's terrorist attacks. Now, Marvel is putting much of the original art from that book up for auction.

    Club 101, located at 101 Park Ave. in New York City, will play host to an auction on Thursday, Jan. 17 at 6 PM. Live attendees of the auction will be charged a $250 donation to the Twin Towers Fund, and the auction will be run simultaneously by All-Star Auctions at www.allstarauc.com. Kevin Smith will serve as live auctioneer.

    Art from Neal Adams, J. Scott Campbell, Richard Corben, Mike Deodato Jr., Gene Ha, Sam Kieth, Adam Kubert, Joe Kubert, Jae Lee, Jim Lee, Frank Miller, Dave Gibbons, Tom Palmer Sr., George Pérez, Joe Quesada and Todd McFarlane, John Romita Jr. and Sr., Alex Ross, Steve Rude, Bill Sienkiewicz, Brian Stelfreeze and more will be available.

     January 9, 2002 | Heroes 3rd Printing
    From Diamond

    HEROES THIRD PRINTING
    Consumer News - Week of 1/7/02

    Four months after the September 11 terrorist attacks on America, Marvel Comics and comics' top creators continue to help readers contribute to the ongoing relief efforts via the third -- and final -- printing of its sold-out Heroes (NOV015021, SRP: $3.50) and the debut of the anthology A Moment of Silence (NOV011799, SRP: $3.50), both of which ship this week.

    Heroes' tributes to the brave police officers, firefighters, and rescue workers who gave their lives during the attack on the World Trade Center -- and to those who survived to aid in the long recovery -- recently earned higher praise from the people it honors, relayed via Jeff Koob, a Red Cross Disaster Mental Health Volunteer working in New York, providing support services for the recovery workers at Ground Zero.

    "[Heroes] was well-received by the recovery workers who looked through it," Koob wrote. "As the days pass and the facts sink in, and the sometimes grueling -- sometimes harrowing -- work becomes more routine, the men and women of the NYPD and FDNY need all the support they can get; and in that regard, perhaps the timing and delivery of Heroes was fortuitous. Thanks for putting out Heroes -- great job!"

     December 19, 2001 | Heroes Auction
    From New York City Comic Book Museum

    HEROES AUCTION

    Marvel Comics extends an invitation on behalf of our artists to bid on select pieces of original art from the acclaimed HEROES book.

    All proceeds from this charity aution will go to the victims of the World Trade Center. Please join us as we auction off these original pieces by:

    Neal Adams
    J Scott Campbell
    Richard Corben
    Mike Deodato
    Gene Ha
    Sam Kieth
    Jae Lee/Neil Gaiman
    Jim Lee
    Frank Miller
    Alan Moore/Dave Gibbons
    Tom Palmer
    George Pérez
    Joe Quesada/Todd McFarlane
    John Romita Jr
    John Romita Sr
    Alex Ross
    Steve Rude
    Bill Sienkiewicz
    Brian Stelfreeze
    Additional pieces to be auctioned online
    Thursday, January 17, 2002
    6:00 pm
    Hosted by Kevin Smith
    $250.00 per plate at
    Club 101
    101 Park Avenue
    New York City

    For details, contact Marc Kaye at 646-227-8400
    or Andrew Lis at 917-472-2100

     December 19, 2001 | Heroes Mentioned on NBC
    From Vu

    For about 30 seconds, "Heroes" was mentioned on the national televsion station, NBC, on a segment on September 11th. George Pérez was not mentioned, but it is still kind of nice to see comic books being mentioned on TV.
     December 15, 2001 | Heroes - Third Printing
    From Newsarama
    MARVEL's MOMENT OF SILENCE
    posted 12-14-2001 04:31 PM

    (excerpt)

    In addition to a final, third printing of Heroes on Jan. 9th, a fundraising auction of Heroes artwork on Jan. 17th, Alternative Comics 9-11 Emergency Relief on Jan. 16th, and the two September 11th Volumes by DC, Dark Horse, Image, Chaos! (with assistance from Oni and Top Shelf) scheduled for Jan. 23rd, Marvel’s other fundraising effort, A Moment of Silence, has been given a Jan. 9th release date.

     November 28, 2001 | Heroes Third Printing?
    From Joe Quesada (his website is unavailable at the moment), via Newsarama
    OP/ED: QUESADA'S HOLIDAY EDITORIAL

    (excerpt)

    Okay, now that that's all said and done, here's the latest report on HEROES. As of yesterday it seems that we completely sold out of our second print run. We're looking into back orders to see if the number is significant enough to make a third printing worth doing. Fox News ran a wonderful piece today (Thanksgiving Day) on HEROES and it had some great segments with John Cassaday, Neal Adams and myself. I want to thank everyone who supported this project by purchasing it at their local shop. Keep your eyes open for Moment of Silence, it's really going to be another special book. Speaking of special books, I've been checking out some of the stuff from all the other tribute books on tap and it's truly inspiring stuff. Please make it a point to support these magnificent books as well, there are a lot of wonderful writers, artist, editors and publishers putting their heart and soul into these projects!

    I've been getting tons of e-mail's concerning the art of HEROES and although the news is still vague it looks like the artwork is going to be auctioned off sometime in January. The live auction which is scheduled to take place at a very exclusive and prestigious club in NYC will have 20 or so choice pieces, the rest of the book will most likely be auctioned off simultaneously on Ebay, or so is the plan. More details as we learn 'em!”

     November 5, 2001 | Second Print of HEROES
    From Diamond
    Second Printing copies of Heroes (AUG015059, MSRP: $3.50) are available from retailers, but are selling out rapidly. However, Marvel plans to keep the book in print.
     October 21, 2001
    From Comic Book Resources
     October 20, 2001
    From Vu
     October 17, 2001
    From Marvel's Spotlight on HEROES
     September 28, 2001
    From Ilke Hincer
     September 26, 2001
    From Diamond
     September 22, 2001
    From Comic Book Resources
     September 22, 2001
    From George Pérez
     September 21, 2001
    From CSN