Released just five weeks after 9/11, Marvel gathered the best of its artists to pay tribute to victims and heroes alike in its poster book Heroes. All images © Marvel Comics.

In the year since September 11, Marvel Comics has produced three tribute comic books and three new comic book series, under the group title The Call of Duty, inspired by the heroes of the Twin Towers tragedy. Marvel’s publication of these tribute comics, namely Heroes, A Moment of Silence, and The Amazing Spider-man #36, has garnered hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Twin Towers Fund. While the aforementioned tribute books have raised relief funds for the families of victims, The Call of Duty provides emotional relief to thousands of youths each week while reminding them of the honor and dedication of our nation’s emergency personnel. All covers to Marvel tribute books and comics featuring superheroes in New York City also bear an emblem featuring the Twin Towers with the American ribbon wrapped above them.

September 11 has been the most significant event of the 21st century. It was a globally unifying tragedy whose ripples were felt throughout all walks of American life. It seems that no one, even in the remotest corners of our nation, escaped unscathed without knowing someone or being somehow connected with at least one person who suffered from the carnage that took place on that day. September 11 pierced the emotional fabric of our country in such a way that the effects are inevitably visible within the various sub-genres of the entertainment industry.

Spider-man surveys the ruins of the Twin Towers in The Amazing Spider-man #36.

New York City is a world capital and the comic book industry has been integrally tied to the Big Apple since the days of R. F. Outcault’s Yellow Kid in The New York World all the way back in 1894. More recently, New York City is the headquarters for comic book industry leaders Marvel and DC. Unlike DC Comics’ characters who reside in fictitious cities like Metropolis, Blüdhaven and Gotham City, most of Marvel’s characters dwell in real world locations. Manhattan has been home to a host of comic book superheroes in the Marvel Universe including Spider-man, The Fantastic Four, The Avengers, and Daredevil. Thus, of all the facets of the entertainment industry, perhaps Marvel Comics was uniquely poised to respond to last year’s tragic events. In the words of Marvel’s editor-in-chief, Joe Quesada: “It would have been callous and irresponsible for [Marvel Comics] not to respond to the attacks.”