Being a comic book creator may allow you to work in the greatest story telling medium ever created, but the industry is not particularly known for supporting its creators. Freelance creators are aren’t part of a corporate health care plan and have to arrange such things for themselves. It is all to often that we hear about a legendary creator who has fallen ill and is having problems with their health care bills.

This is why ventures like the Hero Initiative have been set up. It’s a charity set-up to provide a safety-net for work-for-hire comic book creators. Their president Jim McLauchlin told Tales of Wonder that

we’ve literally paid back rent when people were 48 hours from being evicted, paid electric bills when people were 24 hours from having utilities shut off, and paid for desperately needed operations that weren’t covered by medical insurance.

People they’ve helped include William Messner-Loebs (the creator of Wonder Woman’s Artemis and the man who gave Wally West his modern personality) and Steve Gerber (the creator of Howard the Duck) – these are people whose work you will have read and in many cases enjoyed.

The Hero Initiative are pretty smart as they know that geeks like to collect stuff so they produce cool stuff that geeks want to collect – special print runs, sketches, art collections, etc. Their latest fund-raising effort is a Justice League project in collaboration with DC Comics (this is the first time that DC has formally worked with them). Fifty blank JLA #50 covers were sent out to 50 leading artists to sketch upon. The end results will be put on public display and collected in a special book published later this year.

The full press release is:

First Ever DC Comics and Hero Initiative Collaboration:
Justice League of America #50
A collection of 100 Covers from Top artists around the world!

LOS ANGELES, CA (February 1, 2011) – The Hero Initiative, a charity dedicated to helping comic creators in medical or financial need, most proudly announces their new partnership in the Justice League Of America #50 project with DC Comics. This is the first collaboration with DC comics ever and Hero is chomping at the bit to pull the collection together. The call has gone out and dozens of artists are putting pen to paper. DC has generously donated 100 blank-covered cardstock copies of Justice League Of America #50 to Hero, and work is being created by well-known stars such as Jim Lee, Alex Ross, George Perez, Jason Bone, Jim Valentino, and many many more.

“It’s an honor to participate, not only because this is the first time DC Comics is collaborating with Hero Initiative, but because Hero Initiative is such an important organization to our community” said Jim Lee, artist and Co-Publisher of DC Comics.

“We’re thrilled to be working in new ways with DC Comics, and showcasing some of the greatest artists and greatest characters in the world,” said Hero Initiative President Jim McLauchlin. “And of course, sales of the covers and the collected book will go toward helping many other comic creators in need.”

All 100 original Justice League Of America covers will be published in a book slated for release in 2011, and a public viewing of all covers will be scheduled as well.

About Hero Initiative
The Hero Initiative is the first-ever federally chartered not-for-profit corporation dedicated strictly to helping comic book creators in need. Hero creates a financial safety net for yesterday’s creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. It’s a chance for all of us to give back something to the people who have given us so much enjoyment.

Since its inception, The Hero Initiative has had the good fortune to grant over $400,000 to the comic book veterans who have paved the way for those in the industry today. For more information, visit www.heroinitiative.org or call 626-676-6354.

The cover by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez is shown above. The press release was also occpanied by works by Alex Ross and Tony Parker which are shown below.