Order Soon Van
Creativity starves insanity
Heroes Reborn and Heroes Return were the last comics I remember Marvel soliciting with "Heroes" in the title.
Heroes Reborn was the name given to the series of comics following an event caused by Onslaught that wiped out the mainstays of the Marvelverse; Fantastic Four, Iron Man, The Avengers and Captain America. The run of the revamped comics had me collecting two thirds of the four. They were great, Marvel heroes done in the style of the big names of Image. Then there was the matter about bringing those characters back into the normal Marvel universe. That's where Heroes Return came in. The name given to a four part series of comics pencilled by Salvador Larroca, inked by Art Thibert and helmed by Peter David. On the inside of each cover of the series would stock an impressive list of names of contributors to the reintroduction of these classic characters. That was over two years ago.
Then there were these crazy idiots with box cutters in planes on September 11, 2001.
Just over a month out and the Marvel relief poster-styled book—something of a vision between Joe Quesada and Diamond Comics Distributors in an effort to raise even more funds for the victims—lands in my standing order box. Front to back, nothing but high quality drawings and notes by some of the most influential and talented artists and writers of the comicbook industry. One name I spotted with surprise was that of Todd McFarlane, a strong opponent of the company that gave him a chance and swore to never working for again. But this is for charity and it didn't really count as renegging on his oath. The main thing about this from other poster books churned out over the years by other companies is the fact that the fictional superheroes such as Spider-Man and Captain America take a back seat to the images of the real heroes, the firefighters, police officers and medics of New York.
I'm tempted to buy two more just so I can rip out the other two to hang up all over the barely there walls of my corridor. Having been exposed for comics for such a short time—a mere and trifle four years of regularity—it was only on the rare occasion that I would have to look for the signature or turn to the index to work out the artist on the pages. There are words, just in prose, something to add to the impact of the images. Being the size that it is there won't be a place for it among the standard 7x10s, and it's not one I can hold for more than a few seconds as the pages are horrendously disformed from the intense heat that only manages to emerge when I'm reading a comicbook.
Soon Van - Saturday, 3 November 2001 - 04:05
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