"The terrorist attacks in New York, Washington DC, and Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001 touched people worldwide," said Alternative Comics Publisher Jeff Mason, "and cartoonists have turned to art to express their grief and support."

9-11: Emergency Relief is a comic book project to benefit the American Red Cross featuring some of the comic world's leading talents. From legendary creators such as Will Eisner and Harvey Pekar to new talents on the cutting edge of the comics medium such as James Kochalka and cover artist Frank Cho, over 80 cartoonists from all areas of the cartooning world have joined together in this community effort. Released January 9, 2002 from Alternative Comics, 9-11: Emergency Relief is a collection of these cartoonists' personal non-fiction accounts of their experiences related to the tragedy. At $14.95 and at 208 pages, all profits from the 9-11 Emergency Relief trade paperback will be donated to the American Red Cross.

Details of the confirmed 9-11: Emergency Relief Signing Tour stops:
Thursday January 17, 5pm - 7pm
Midtown Comics
200 West 40th Street (and 7th Avenue), 2nd Floor
New York, New York 10018.
Telephone: 212-302-8192.
E-Mail: [email protected] (Gerry Gladston)
Web: http://www.midtowncomics.com/
No admission cost.
With: Michael Avon Oeming, Josh Neufeld, Dean Haspiel, Jessica Abel, Tom Hart, Ted Rall, Alex Robinson, Nick Bertozzi, Evan Forsch, Peter Kuper and others (all New Yorkers).

Saturday January 19, 1pm - 4pm
Beyond Comics
3060 M Street NW
Washington, DC (Georgetown) 20007.
Telephone: 202-333-8651.
E-Mail: [email protected] (Jon Cohen)
Web: http://www.beyondcomics.com/
No admission cost.
With: A. David Lewis, Chris Pitzer, K. Thor Jensen, Ellen Lindner, Danny Donovan, Neil Vokes, Sam Hester, Robert Ullman, and others.

Saturday January 19, 1:30pm - 6:30pm
FLUKE
Tasty World (http://www.tastyworld.net)
312 East Broad Street (at the corner of Jackson and Broad Streets just next to the campus of the University of Georgia)
Athens, Georgia
Telephone: 706-543-0797
E-Mail: [email protected] (Todd Bak)
With: Steve Stegelin, Jeff Mason, and others. More details to be released.

Wednesday January 22 - February 7
Heroes Among Us - Comic Book Art Exhibit
New York City Fire Museum (http://www.nycfiremuseum.org)
278 Spring Street
New York, NY 10013.
Telephone: 212-691-1303
Press contact: Sean Lough, The New York City Comic Book Museum, phone: 917-710-2779; [email protected].
The New York City Comic Book Museum (http://www.nyccomicbookmuseum.org/) is exhibiting artwork from Marvel's Heroes, Alternative Comics' 9-11: Emergency Relief, and other benefit comic books at the New York City Fire Museum starting on Tuesday, January 22. The exhibit is open for three weeks and may be viewed during 10am to 5pm Tuesdays through Saturdays and 10am to 4pm Sundays. A $4 donation to visit the Museum is suggested.

January 24 - 27
Angouleme Comic Book Festival
Angouleme, France
E-Mail: [email protected]
Web: http://www.bdangouleme.com/
With: Mark Wheatley, Tom Hart, Jeff Smith, Metaphrog, and others.

Saturday January 26, Noon - 4pm
Richmond Comix
8523 Midlothian Turnpike
Richmond, Virginia 23235.
Telephone: 804-330-3460.
E-Mail: [email protected] (Frank Miller)
Web: http://www.richmondcomix.com/
No admission cost.
With: Chris Pitzer, Robert Ullman, Jennifer Sorensen, Eric Wolfe Hanson, Danny Donovan, Renee French, and others.

Saturday January 26, 3pm - 5pm
Meltdown Comics
7522 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, California 90046.
Telephone: 323-851-7223 or 823-851-0393.
E-Mail: [email protected] (Patty DeFrank)
Web: http://www.meltcomics.com/
No admission cost.
With: Tony Millionaire, Scott Morse, Fly, Graham Annable, Laurenn McCubbin, Andy Ristaino and others.

Thursday January 31, 7pm - 9pm
Atomic Books
1100 West 36th Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21211.
Telephone: 410-662-4444.
E-Mail: [email protected] (Rachel Whang)
Web: http://www.atomicbooks.com/
No admission cost.
With: Frank Cho, Brian Clopper, Neil Kleid, A. David Lewis, K. Thor Jensen, James Kuhoric, Danny Donovan, Greg LaRoque, and others.

Saturday February 2, 6pm - 9pm
Comic Relief
2138 University Avenue
Berkeley, California 94704.
Telephone: 510-843-5002.
E-Mail: [email protected] (Rory Root)
Web: http://www.comicrelief.net/
No admission cost.
With: Jon "Bean" Hastings, Fly, Daniel Cooney, Laurenn McCubbin, Andy Ristaino, Tom Beland, Sam Hester, Graham Annable, Keith Knight, and others.

Saturday, February 2
21st Century Comics
124 West Commonwealth Ave.
Fullerton, California 92832-1809.
Telephone: 714-992-6649.
No admission cost.
E-Mail: [email protected] (Barry Short)
With: Tony Millionaire
Saturday February 2, 1pm - 3pm
Comicopia
464 Commonwealth Avenue, Kenmore Square
Boston, Massachusetts 02215.
Telephone: 617-266-4266.
E-Mail: [email protected] (Matt Lehman)
Web: http://www.comicopia.com/
No admission cost.
With: Nick Bertozzi, K. Thor Jensen, Ellen Lindner, Tom Hart, Josh Neufeld, Dean Haspiel, James Kochalka, A. David Lewis, Gregory Benton and others.

Saturday February 2, 4pm - 6pm
The Million Year Picnic
99 Mount Auburn St
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138
Telephone: 617-492-6763.
E-Mail: [email protected] (Tony Davis)
Web: http://www.millionyearpicnic.com/
No admission cost.
With: Nick Bertozzi, K. Thor Jensen, Ellen Lindner, Tom Hart, Josh Neufeld, Dean Haspiel, James Kochalka, A. David Lewis, Gregory Benton and others.

Sunday February 3, 1pm - 3pm
That's Entertainment
244 Park Avenue
Worcester, MA 01609.
Telephone: 508-755-4207.
E-Mail: [email protected] (Dave Hartwell)
Web: http://www.thatse.com/
No admission cost.
With: Nick Bertozzi, K. Thor Jensen, Ellen Lindner, Tom Hart, Josh Neufeld, Dean Haspiel, James Kochalka, A. David Lewis, Neil Kleid and others.

Wednesday February 6, 4pm - 6pm
Zanadu Comics
1923 Third Avenue (between Stewart and Virginia)
Seattle, Washington 98101
Telephone: 206-443-1316.
E-Mail: [email protected] (Kevin Halstead)
Web: http://www.zanaducomics.com/
No admission cost.
With: David Lasky, Laurenn McCubbin, Donna Barr, Shannon Wheeler, Sam Hester, and others.

Saturday - Sunday, February 9-10
Alternative Press Expo (APE)
Herbst Pavilion at the Fort Mason Center (http://www.fortmason.org/)
3799 Buchanan Street
San Francisco, California
E-Mail: [email protected]
Web: http://www.comic-con.org/
With: Jeff Smith, Scott Morse, Layla Lawlor, Laurenn McCubbin, Jon "Bean" Hastings, David Lasky, Fly, Tom Beland, Daniel Cooney, Andy Ristaino, Ellen Lindner, Sam Hester, Renee French, Tom Hart, Graham Annable, James Kochalka, Keith Knight, Jeff Mason and others. Alternative Comics is going to have a panel on Saturday from 1pm to 2pm at APE, and a Friday evening event in conjunction with APE pre-registration. More details to be released.

Tuesday, February 12, 4pm - 7pm
Dr. Volts
2023 East 3300 South
Salt Lake City, Utah 84109
Telephone: 801-485-6114
E-Mail: [email protected] (Jon Bray)
Web: http://www.drvolts.com
No admission cost.
With: Alex Robinson

Wednesday, February 13 - Evening
Moving Pictures - Literary Event
New York City Fire Museum (http://www.nycfiremuseum.org)
278 Spring Street
New York, NY 10013.
Telephone: 212-691-1303
E-Mail: [email protected] (Neil Kleid)
Alternative Comics will join Marvel Comics for "Moving Pictures" an event to showcase the collective benefit projects to the public -- Many dozens of cartoonists will attend with selected readings, discussions, and slide shows from the benefit books. More details to be released.

Friday - Sunday, February 22-24
MegaCon
Orange County Convention Center (http://www.orlandoconvention.com/)
9800 International Drive
Orlando, Florida
Phone: 813-891-1702.
E-Mail: [email protected]
Web: http://www.megaconvention.com/>
With: David Lasky, Chris Pitzer, Ande Parks, James Kochalka, Phil Hester, Jennifer Sorensen, Danny Donovan, Mike Avon Oeming, Mark Wheatley, Alex Robinson, Jason Narvaez, Phil Noto, Jim Harrison, Robert Ullman, Jeff Mason and others. There will be a 9-11: Emergency Relief panel at the Orlando MegaCon; and Alternative Comics will sponsor a reception/signing party along with Highwater Books, Top Shelf Productions, Fantagraphics Books, and Oni Press on Saturday February 23. More details to be released.

Biographies of cartoonists confirmed on Signing Tour:

Jessica Abel

Cartoonist and Illustrator Jessica Abel (Chicago, 1969) is best known for her comic-book series of short fiction, Artbabe, and her journalistic comics, such as Radio: An illustrated Guide. Her most recent book, a serialized thriller set in Mexico City, is titled La Perdida, and is published by Fantagraphics. She lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband, Matt Madden. www.artbabe.com.

Graham Annable

Graham Annable was classically trained as an animator at Sheridan College in Toronto, graduating in 1992, and has worked as an animator ever since, including work on British children´s TV, story boards for Chuck Jones Enterprises, Disney´s A Goofy Movie, and since 1994 an extended string of computer game projects for LucasArts such as Full Throttle, The Dig, Afterlife, Outlaws, and The Curse of Monkey Island. Annable was the Lead Animator for the LucasArts video game Star Wars: Obi-Wan. His projects have won numerous animation and graphics awards including the ASIFA Annie Award, animation´s highest honor, in 1998 for "Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Interactive Program." Graham currently resides in the Bay Area, California where he creates his Grickle series of books for Alternative Comics. www.indyworld.com/grickle; [email protected]

Donna Barr

Donna Barr has been a respected presence in Drawn Books since 1986. Her award-winning, ground-breaking, mind-twisting books, including Desert Peach and Stinz. www.stinz.com; [email protected]

Tom Beland

Tom Beland is a cartoonist from Napa Valley, California now living in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico with his wife, Lily Garcia. His strip, True Story, Swear to God is available on-line at www.yunque.net/tom; [email protected]

Gregory Benton

Artist/Writer Gregory Benton was born and lives in New York City. www.gregorybenton.com; [email protected].

Nick Bertozzi

Nick Bertozzi lives in Brooklyn, NY with his wife and daughter. He is the author of Boswash (Luxurious Comics), a map-comic, and The Masochists (Alternative Comics), and he is working on a new series for Alternative Comics. www.indyworld.com/bertozzi; [email protected].

Frank Cho

Frank Cho´s comic books sell out, issue after issue with early issues now in later printings. His college comic strip collection, University2, The Angry Years is soon to enter its 8th printing. He has won the Charles Schulz Plaque for Excellence in Cartooning, the Scripps-Howard Award for Best College Cartoonist and the Ignatz Awards for Outstanding Artist and Outstanding Comic for Liberty Meadows. He was born Duk Hyun Cho in 1971 in Seoul, South Korea. At the age of six he and his parents came to live in the United States. In college he created University2. Upon graduation from the University of Maryland in 1996 with a degree in Nursing, he signed with Creators Syndicate, Inc. for a continuation of University2 as Liberty Meadows. He was married in April of 1999 and lives in the Baltimore area with his wife Cari and his wiener dog, Truman. www.InsightStudiosGroup.com; Insight Studios, 7844 Saint Thomas Drive, Baltimore MD 21236.

Brian Clopper

Brian Clopper, 5th grade teacher, children´s book author and cartoonist, is the creator of The Heebie-Jeebies, Monster Pals, Norton The Vampire, Graham The Gargoyle, and Cartoonists in the Classroom. www.brianclopper.com; [email protected].

Daniel Cooney

Daniel Cooney, 31, is a graphic designer by day and aspiring comic book illustrator by night. There´s no sleep for this aging hipster who is the artist/writer of Valentine: Assassin For Hire, published by Red Eye Press. [email protected]; www.valentine4hire.com

Danny Donovan

Born in Portsmouth Virginia, Danny Donovan traveled extensively, just seeing what he could see. He spent three years living in North Yorkshire, England and recently coming back to the states in 1998 where he presently lives in the mountains of North Carolina with plans to head back to his place of birth soon. He began his career in 1998 with his web comic Hardcore and working for other small press companies along the way. Currently he works for Committed Comics and Marvel Comics. www.dannydonovan.com; [email protected].

Fly

Fly has been living and squatting in the lower East side of Manhattan since 1990. Mostly she paints and draws comix and illustrations. Her work has appeared in the New York Press, Village Voice, San Francisco Bay Guardian, The Comics Journal, The Bradleys (Fantagraphics Books), Raygun, World War 3 Illustrated, Maximumrocknroll, and numerous others. Fly´s first book - CHRON!IC!RIOTS!PA!SM! was published by Brooklyn-based Autonomedia in 1999. She is currently working on a collection of portraits and stories called Peops which will be published by Soft Skull in the fall of 2002. www.bway.net/~fly; [email protected]; PO Box 1318, Cooper Station, New York, NY 10276.

Evan Forsch

Evan Forsch is a tall, quiet and mysterious man, except that he´s not all that tall nor mysterious. Five days a week Evan is a corporate drone, sitting in front of a computer and pretending to work while daydreaming of peace on earth in a world where everyone reads his comics. Evan Forsch's story for 9-11: Emergency Relief details his escape from the 89th floor of WTC 1 after the first plane hit on September 11. [email protected]

Renée French

Renée French has been writing and illustrating comic books since 1991. She´s the creator of the Fantagraphics Books series Grit Bath, the Dark Horse graphic novels, The Ninth Gland and Corny´s Fetish, the Oni Press book, Marbles in My Underpants: The Renée French Collection, and the recently released picture book, The Soap Lady, published by Top Shelf Publications. She lives in New Jersey with her husband and a hermit crab. www.reneefrench.com; [email protected].

Eric Wolfe Hanson

Eric Wolfe Hanson has illustrated G.I.Joe and Tellos: Sons & Moons for Image Comics. Hanson lives in Richmond, Virginia with his lovely wife, Trish, and their three cats. [email protected].

Jim Harrison

Jim Harrison is a noted graphic designer and illustrator with DECA Design in Gainesville, Florida. His comics work includes various freelance assignments as well as 4 issues of his creation Humongous Man, with partner Dan Stepp. [email protected].

Tom Hart

Many of Tom Hart´s comics feature the confrontational pariah, Hutch Owen, squaring off within and against the forces of multi-nationalism and corporate hegemony. His stories, often examine issues with an uncommon objectivity and emotional depth. Tom Hart was born in upstate New York and lived in Seattle, Texas, Morocco, Florida and Boston before settling in New York City. www.newhatstories.com; [email protected]

Dean Haspiel

Dean Haspiel is the author of semi-autobiographical comix and super-psychedelic romances. Haspiel´s aggro-moxie appears regularly in The Billy Dogma experience (Top Shelf); heart-charming tales about the last romantic anti-hero, and Opposable Thumbs (Alternative Comics); episodic tales about a native New Yorker. www.DeanHaspiel.com; [email protected].

Jon "Bean" Hastings

Jon "Bean" Hastings is the creator of Smith Brown Jones: Alien Accountant and Mad Science. His Lovely wife Terry is a former fire fighter and he spent most of 9/11 thinking what it would be like to lose her. He didn´t like it at all. This was the hardest story he´s ever had to write. www.beantoons.com; [email protected]

Sam Hester

Sam Hester has been picturing her life as a comic strip for as long as she can remember, so she was very glad to be able to contribute to this project. Sam is a Calgary-based artist, and her autobiographical comic strip can be found at www.thedrawingbook.com; [email protected]

K. Thor Jensen

K. Thor Jensen, 25, is a New York resident currently traveling around America gathering material for his next book, Red Eye, Black Eye. www.shortandhappy.com; [email protected]; PO Box 250593, New York, NY 10025.

Neil Kleid

A Detroit native, Neil Kleid moved to Manhattan in 1999, where he created "Stand Up Comics" – forums designed to elevate awareness of the comics medium. He co-founded the Third Eye Publishing Anthology and writes Bit City for Committed Comics, as well as features for the on-line PopImage.com. Kleid is working on perfecting the art of "rant" comics with Singles Night, his upcoming autobiographic novel. http://www.neilkleid.addr.com/; [email protected]

Keith Knight

Keith Knight is a cartoonist, rapper, teacher and media activist. His two comic strips, "(th)ink" and "the k chronicles" can be found in various newspapers, magazines, and websites around the world. His hip-hop/garage band, The Marginal Prophets, isn´t very popular at all. [email protected]; PO Box 591794, San Francisco, CA 94159-1794.

James Kochalka

James Kochalka has been keeping a daily diary in comic strip form since October of 1998. His contribution to this book consists of his diary entries from September 11 and the days immediately following the tragedy. They vary in tone from being heartfelt to being snotty and flippant, but they accurately reflect the range of emotions that he, and many others (one presumes), went through that week. Kochalka's diary strips are being collected by Top Shelf Productions and published in a series titled The Sketchbook Diaries. The first volume is currently available from www.topshelfcomix.com. www.indyworld.com/kochalka; [email protected].

James Anthony Kuhoric

James Anthony Kuhoric is a seven-year professional in the comic book industry with a degree in psychology and sociology from the University of Maryland. He has written over two-dozen comics including the sci-fi mainstays Battlestar Galactica and First Wave. Currently he is writing the upcoming series Roger Corman´s Black Scorpion with artist Greg LaRocque and is developing a creator owned series with artist Neil Vokes. His most important role in life is being the father of two very special boys – James "Jay" Anthony and Zachary Allen Kuhoric. [email protected].

Peter Kuper

Peter Kuper´s work has appeared in, among others, TIME, Newsweek, The New York Times, and Mad, where he illustrates "Spy vs. Spy." In 1979, Kuper co-founded the political comix magazine World War 3 Illustrated and is currently co-editing issue #32. His comics have been translated into German, Italian, Portuguese, Swedish, Spanish and Greek and his artwork has been exhibited around the world. His most recent book Speechless is a coffee table art book covering his career to date published by Top Shelf Productions. www.peterkuper.com; [email protected].

Greg LaRocque

Greg LaRocque is a twenty plus year veteran of comics. His career began in 1980 and has included stints with both DC Comics and Marvel Comics on titles including Legion of Superheroes, Marvel Team Up, The Avengers, and Web of Spider-Man. His kinetic storytelling style was epitomized in the classic Flash story arc "Return of Barry Allen." Through Exiled Studios Greg was able to unleash his creator-owned projects Crybaby and The Exiled. [email protected].

David Lasky

Originally from the Virginia suburbs, David Lasky moved to Seattle in 1992, where he joined the ranks of a new wave of young "alternative cartoonists." He has since produced a number of experimental comic books, including a nine page adaptation of Joyce´s Ulysses. Urban Hipster, his collaboration with Greg Stump, was nominated for a Harvey Award in 1999. www.indyworld.com/uh; [email protected]

Metaphrog

Metaphrog are a Franco-Scottish duo comprising Sandra Marrs, art, and John Chalmers, words and lettering. Their publications include The Maze, Vermin, Strange Weather Lately and the Louis´ series. The scary cute Louis – Red Letter Day received multiple Eisner and Ignatz Award nominations. www.metaphrog.com.

Tony Millionaire

Tony Millionaire lives in Los Angeles. His comic strip MAAKIES can be seen in weeklies across the country, with collections published by Fantagraphics Books. His comic book Sock Monkey is published by Dark Horse Comics and Sock Monkey – A Children´s Book is available in book stores now. www.maakies.com; [email protected].

Scott Morse

Scott Morse is the Eisner and Ignatz Award nominated creator of Soulwind, Visitations, and Volcanic Revolver. His comics work also includes The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror, Star Wars Tales, and the comic book companion to the Jim Jarmusch film Ghost Dog. His current work includes the series Magic Pickle for Oni Press, and Ancient Joe for Dark Horse. In animation, Morse has worked as an art director and storyboard artist for Universal and Cartoon Network, most notably on the Emmy Award nominated Cow and Chicken. www.crazyfish.net; [email protected].

Phil Noto

Phil Noto is the cover artist for DC Comics´ Birds Of Prey and the artist for the upcoming miniseries Beautiful Killer from Black Bull. He is also currently an assistant animator at Disney, where his credits include Lion King, Pocahontas, Hunchback, Tarzan, Mulan and the upcoming film Lilo and Stitch. www.notoart.com; [email protected]

Chris Pitzer

Chris Pitzer´s first memory of comics was a House of Mystery, which had a monster breaking out of a box in the attic. Pitzer has worked at Eclipse Comics (as their Art Director), and Wildstorm and IDW in the capacity of freelance designer and colorist. Currently, Pitzer likes to publish minis every now and then. In addition to contributing a story to 9-11: Emergency Relief, he also did the graphic design. Chris Pitzer lives in Richmond, Virginia. [email protected].

Layla Lawlor

A graphic artist, illustrator, minicomic creator and former Alaskan hippie-child now living in Illinois, Layla Lawlor self-publishes Raven´s Children, a graphic novel serialized in chapters. She also write for the comics webzine Sequential Tart and has been known to refer to herself in the third person. www.ravenschildren.com; [email protected]; Shadowgrass Design, PO Box 3283, Champaign, IL 61826-3283.

A. David Lewis

A. David Lewis hails from Boston, a graduate of Brandeis University. Now at Georgetown University, Dave has presented conference papers on comic books across the continent and is working with Committed Comics, The Third Eye Group, and other collaborators on upcoming projects. He thanks his loved ones for their support. http://www.serious-about-comics.com/; [email protected].

Ellen Lindner

Ellen Lindner is an emerging wit in the New York City comix scene. In her zine/comix compilation little white bird/MEGACOM, comix Beatnik Love and The Egg Mysterious, Ellen explores the malaise of relationships, rubbernecking boys through the dual lens: patriarchy and pleasure. Her brazenly introspective humor, rock-fashion edge and graphic styling meld subversive context with romantic content while revealing the mystery of female orgasm. She´s a sista. [email protected]

Jeff Mason

Jeff Mason is the publisher of Alternative Comics, a company billed as "publishers of cool comic books." When Jeff is not working on Alternative Comics´ latest release, he is working diligently to protect everyone´s rights as a criminal defense lawyer in Gainesville, Florida. www.indyworld.com/comics; [email protected].

Laurenn McCubbin

Laurenn McCubbin has done a little bit of everything. She´s been a retail slave, an office drone, a stripper, a teacher, a successful graphic designer and a broke art student. A California native, she moved to Chicago to attend the School of the Art Institute on a scholarship, then scurried back to her beloved Bay Area as soon as she graduated. She and Nikki Coffman began collaborating as students in Chicago, and on moving to San Francisco they resumed their collaboration in XXX Live Nude Girls. She continues doing freelance design, lettering translations of Japanese comics and silk-screening postcards and prints. www.xxxlivenudegirls.com; [email protected]

Jason Narvaez

Raised in the Bronx, Jason Narvaez would lose himself in his comic collection for hours, if not days, at a time. He attended the High School of Art & Design and mostly credits any lessons learned to other students. In the early to mid-1990s, he visited the offices of DC Comics and received invaluable advice on how he could improve his artwork. Narvaez currently manages the graphics department for a top consulting company and has continued to pursue his life-long passion of drawing comics. http://home.earthlink.net/~bidexx; [email protected].

Josh Neufeld

Josh Neufeld has been drawing comics since he was four years old. With writer R. Walker, Josh has recently published Titans of Finance (Alternative Comics), a satire comic of the financial world featuring true tales of money & business. Josh also co-created Keyhole, where he does stories about his travel experiences in Southeast Asia and Central Europe. He has contributed artwork to Harvey Pekar´s American Splendor, the SPX anthologies, and many other comics. Josh resides in Brooklyn and makes a living mixing freelance illustration with web design. www.josh.neufeld.com; [email protected].

Mike Avon Oeming

Mike Avon Oeming began his career inking for Innovation Comics at the age of 14. He has inked Daredevil, Avengers and various titles for Marvel Comics, pencils/inks on Judge Dredd and the Big Books at DC Comics. After stumbling into Foot Soldiers at Dark Horse, Mike and writer/partner Bryan J.L. Glass, created Ship of Fools as a six issue mini-series originally published by Caliber Press. He is co creator of Eisner Award winning book Powers with Brian Bendis and currently creates his Hammer of the Gods comic book series with Mark Wheatley and Insight Studios. Mike lives in New Jersey with his wife and son. [email protected].

Ande Parks

Ande Parks has been employed in the glamorous world of comic book inking for over a decade, working on such titles as Superman, Wonder Woman and Catwoman. He has often been teamed with his long-time friend, Phil Hester. The duo has won acclaim for their bold, graphic style. Parks has also created his own characters, Uncle Slam and Fire Dog. He is currently continuing his work on Green Arrow, and writing a gangster graphic novel. He lives in Kansas with his lovely wife and daughter. www.uncleslam.com; [email protected].

Ted Rall

Ted Rall, 38, is an editorial and social-commentary cartoonist for Universal Press Syndicate. A Pulitzer Prize finalist and two-time RFK Journalism Award winner, Rall is the author of seven books, including the graphic novels My War With Brian and 2024, as well as the Gen X manifesto Revenge of the Latchkey Kids. www.rall.com.

Andy Ristaino

Andy Ristaino is a freelance animator/illustrator from Massachusetts. Ristaino is currently working on the two titles Life of a Fetus and The Babysitter for Slave Labor Graphics. [email protected]

Alex Robinson

Alex Robinson´s graphic novel Box Office Poison was released by Top Shelf Productions in 2001, and he is hard at work at his second book, tentatively titled Sophomore Slump. He is a little over six feet tall and he lives with his girlfriend Kristen in New York City. http://members.aol.com/ComicBookAlex; [email protected].

Jeff Smith

Born and raised in the American mid-west, Jeff Smith learned about cartooning from comic strips, comic books, and watching animation on TV. After four years of drawing comic strips for Ohio State´s student newspaper, Smith co-founded the Character Builders animation studio in 1986. In 1991, he launched a company called Cartoon Books to publish his independent comic book Bone, a comedy/adventure about three lost cousins from Boneville. Against all odds, the small company flourished, building a reputation for quality stories and artwork. Word of mouth, critical acclaim, and a string of major awards, which continues to this day, helped propel Cartoon Books and Bone to the forefront of the comic book industry - an industry not known for its openness to non-action heroes. In the American comic book direct market (the largest system of comic book retail stores) Bone has risen to the #1 spot for humor. Jeff Smith´s work is published in thirteen languages and has won the highest awards in Germany, France, Italy and at home. Jeff Smith currently works and resides in Columbus, Ohio. www.boneville.com; PO Box 16973, Columbus, OH 43216

Jen Sorensen

Jen Sorensen is the creator of Slowpoke, a weekly comic strip that appears in several alternative newspapers throughout the US, for which she was nominated twice for the Friends of Lulu Kimberly Yale Award for Best New Talent. Slowpoke, which serves up political and social commentary with an absurdist twist, grew out of a popular daily strip she drew while a student at the University of Virginia. Jen was recently awarded a Xeric Grant to publish Slowpoke: Cafe Pompous. Jen Sorensen´s work has also appeared in several other publications, including The Big Book of the ‘70s (DC/Paradox Press), Action Girl Comics, Dignifying Science, Empty Love Stories, the EXPO anthologies, and will be featured alongside such luminaries as Matt Groening and Tom Tomorrow in Ted Rall´s upcoming book on alternative political cartoonists. Jen Sorensen lives in Charlottesville Virginia, where she also does web design. www.slowpokecomics.com; [email protected].

Steve Stegelin

Steve Stegelin is best known as the creator of the cult comic book Boondoggle, currently running in strip form at www.popimage.com/boondoggle and in various anthologies. He resides in coastal Charleston, South Carolina with his wife and daughter. [email protected].

Robert Ullman

Robert Ullman has been diligently pumping out issues of his mini-comic From the Curve for six years, and his spot illustrations appear weekly in several alternative newspapers on the East coast. A resident of North Carolina, his comics work includes Signifying Nothing, a collection of his best cartoons from 1994 to 1998, Atom-Bomb Bikini, and World´s Apart. The first issue of the all-new, big time From the Curve is slated to debut in 2002 from Alternative Comics. www.lurid.com/chappy; [email protected]

Neil Vokes

Neil Vokes is a middle aged Hammer film fan with a Dr. Pepper addiction who has drawn comic books for 17 years. Vokes has a wife who supports him, a daughter who is the light of his life, and a job that makes him feel young every time he sits at his drawing table. [email protected].

Mark Wheatley

Mark Wheatley is known internationally as an accomplished illustrator, writer, editor, and publisher. He has won the Inkpot, Speakeasy, Gem and Mucker awards and been nominated for the Harvey and Ignatz awards for his comic book and pulp creations that include Breathtaker, Radical Dreamer, MARS and Titanic Tales. His illustration work, chosen for inclusion in the annual Spectrum selection of the best in fantasy and science fiction art, has also appeared in magazines, books, comic books and on games. He has written books, comic books and television shows. Currently he is writing Michael Avon Oeming´s Hammer of the Gods comic book series and acting as publisher for Insight Studios Group. www.InsightStudiosGroup.com; Insight Studios, 7844 Saint Thomas Drive, Baltimore MD 21236.

Shannon Wheeler

Shannon Wheeler was born a while back and went to various schools. None of the schools managed to knock enough sense into him to keep him from becoming a cartoonist. Currently he draws a comic strip called Too Much Coffee Man and contributes his efforts to a magazine of the same name. www.tmcm.com; [email protected]

The American Red Cross name is used with permission of the American Red Cross and does not constitute an endorsement, express or implied, of this book. 100% of the net proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to the American Red Cross to support its lifesaving relief efforts in communities everyday. For more information on this promotion, please contact Heidi Seiffert at [email protected].

About The American Red Cross

The American Red Cross is dedicated to saving lives, easing suffering and restoring hope at home and around the world. Currently operating on a budget of $3.0 billion, the Red Cross annually mobilizes relief to the victims of more than 67,000 disasters nationwide and has been the primary supplier of lifesaving blood and blood products in the United States for more than 50 years. In 2000, the Red Cross also trained almost 12 million people in vital lifesaving skills, provided direct health services to nearly 2.6 million people and delivered more than 21 million locally relevant community services. The organization also assisted international disaster and conflict victims in close to 40 locations around the globe, and its emergency communication centers processed 1.2 million calls in support of U.S. military families.

The website for 9-11: Emergency Relief is: http://www.indyworld.com/relief