Heroes for Hope: Starring the X-Men is a 1985 Marvelcomic book designed to raise awareness about hunger in Africa. Proceeds from the comic went to the American Friends Service Committee, to assist in their work on behalf of Africanfamine relief and recovery. Published in the form of a "comic jam" or exquisite corpse, the book featured an all-star lineup of comics creators as well as authors from outside the comic book industry, such as Stephen King, George R. R. Martin, and Edward Bryant. Stan Lee, co-creator of the X-Men, wrote the new team of X-Men for the first time for Heroes for Hope.[1] It also saw a rare Alan Moore Marvel Comics credit outside his early Marvel UK work.
One night, a few months ago, artist Jim Starlin called me at home to propose an idea that his friend and fellow artist Berni Wrightson had suggested to him — that Marvel Comics publish a special issue of The X-Men, a benefit book for famine relief in Africa. Jim and Berni wanted to do the book as a "jam", with as many artists and writers contributing, which would enable us to bring a small army of outstanding talents together on the project, making it a real event. I thought it was a great idea. The next morning I pitched it to Publisher Mike Hobson and President Jim Galton. . . . Jim and Berni recruited the artists. Chris Claremont . . . quickly volunteered to recruit writers, and to help . . . coordinate the entire project.[4]
Starlin and Wrightson spent two days telephoning to recruit the artists, prioritizing top names in the comics field and people who had never drawn the X-Men before.[1] Though Claremont recruited most of the writers who worked on Heroes for Hope, Stephen King was recruited by Wrightson.[1] In addition to the contributors donating their work for the project, so did logo designer Janet Jackson and Marvel's production staff, while Curtis Circulation Company and all the direct market distributors and comics specialty shops donated their profits.[4]
Ann Nocenti (the editor of both the regular X-Men series and Heroes for Hope), Claremont, Wrightson, and Starlin brainstormed story ideas together, and then Claremont spent several weeks constructing a plot from these ideas.[1] Shooter then made some suggestions to give the story what he called "greater focus".[1]
Though Heroes for Hope was produced to address the East African famine, Shooter pointed out that the story is only peripherally related to the famine: "The theme of the story is more about what one person, or a few people, can do to help the world. I think it will certainly inspire people to realize that one person or a few people can make a difference. I think if a person reads this book, he might be motivated to do something else for the benefit of East African relief programs or some other charitable work."[1]
Proceeds controversy
Marvel originally planned for the proceeds from the comic to go to Oxfam for its work in Africa. After previewing the book, the organization refused to accept the donation. The Oxfam representative found the comic "racist, sexist, and reprehensible," particularly taking issue with the presentation of women in the comic, especially X-Men heroine Storm, who is of African heritage. The representative apparently also believed the comic's logo had been stolen from the singer Janet Jackson (the Jackson family were major supporters of Oxfam) and refused to believe Marvel when they explained that their Janet Jackson was a different person.[5]
Rachel Summers pokes her head out of the X-Mansion to grab the mail, only to see that the mansion has somehow been transported to the middle of a barren desert. After retrieving the comatose mail carrier, Wolverine senses that all is not right, and claws him in the face. The mail carrier and desert both vanish. The X-Men go back to business as usual, but a series of psychic assaults is launched on each member of the team, as they are subjected to their greatest subconscious fears.
First, Colossus is mocked by steely apparitions of his teammates. This is more than he can bear, and he curls up in a fetal position. Kitty Pryde goes to grab something from the refrigerator and a skeletal being in a cloak turns her into an emaciated hag. Nightcrawler finds Kitty, which leads to his own experience, focusing on Christian imagery and moral dilemmas. Kurt is offered the chance to sacrifice himself so that one other person might breath the air and eat the food he would. He declines, and thinks himself a coward. Magneto is offered a glimpse of a world where his dream of mutant supremacy has been realized, and is attacked by the risen corpses of the slain humans. Rachel is swept back to her past, where she is confronted by a horde of Hounds, reminding her of her part in that dystopian future. Wolverine confronts the tension between his human and animal sides. Storm is confronted by a carnival ringmaster, who traps her in a house of mirrors. She is shown various images of her possible self. Ororo gets drawn into the crazy carnival games, and realizes that it is wrong to waste food. Having fended off the psychic attacker by feeding cream pies to starving people, Storm returns to her teammates for discussion of what has transpired.
Courtesy of Rachel's powers, the X-Men track the psychic presence that has been harassing them to the continent of Africa. They fly the Blackbird to the source, where they are met with horrible scenes of deprivation. A fleet of C-130 Hercules transport aircraft arrives, full of supplies, which the X-Men help distribute.
That night, Rogue becomes so frustrated that she has not had her turn of psychic punishment yet that she decides to hunt down the entity herself. She sneaks around the campsite stealing her teammates' powers. Using the psychic powers of Rachel Summers, the Rogue hybrid traces the presence of the X-Men's harasser to a desert hideaway. Upon entering the crypt, Rogue is attacked by the avatar of the psychic being. Storm appears to give aid. The "entity" is revealed to be a primeval god-force that feeds on human despair. One by one, the X-Men awake from their comas and join in the battle.
The X-Men defeat the entity and return to their campsite, where they resume the enormous task of feeding the starving refugees. They realize their battle with the entity was a metaphor for the fight against famine, and indeed any human struggle. Kitty expresses fear that the entity survived the battle and is ready to strike again, but Wolverine comforts her with words of hope.
Heroes for Hope producers Jim Starlin and Bernie Wrightson were co-recipients of the 1986 Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award for their work on the book.[6]
↑ DeFalco, Tom (2008). "1980s". In Gilbert, Laura (ed.). Marvel Chronicle A Year by Year History. Dorling Kindersley. p.223. ISBN978-0756641238. Horrified by the plight of starving children in Africa, writer/artist Jim Starlin and illustrator Bernie Wrightson convinced Marvel to publish Heroes For Hope. It was a 'jam' book...and all of Marvel's profits were donated to famine relief in Africa.
1 2 Shooter, Jim. Afterword, Heroes for Hope: Starring the X-Men (Marvel Comics, 1985).
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