Pals Marvel At ‘heroes' Honcho

[SeaBreeze]

PALS MARVEL AT ‘HEROES' HONCHO

By SIMON CRITTLE



August 5, 2002 -- Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Joe Quesada worked around the clock to publish the tribute "Heroes" comic book during the aftermath of Sept. 11, although he himself was going through a personal tragedy.

A family friend, firefighter Michael Otten, was missing in the rubble at the World Trade Center.

"He wasn't supposed to be at work that day," Quesada said. "He took somebody's shift because they called in sick."

Otten, 42, a third-generation firefighter from Ladder Co. 35, was never found, but his memory has been immortalized in pen and ink.

Quesada rallied his staff - who have nominated him for The Post's Liberty Awards Leadership Medal - and together they produced "Heroes," a comic book that raised $1 million for the Twin Towers Fund.

The first of its kind, the acclaimed "Heroes" book turned the comic-book genre on its head by uniting artists and writers to work pro bono on a series of images that depicted real life men and women -hero firefighters and cops - rather than make-believe superheroes.

And as days waiting for Otten turned into agonizing weeks, Quesada drew the image of a seated firefighter, which appears on the back cover of "Heroes," as a tribute to his missing friend.

"That firefighter was representative of our family and his family," Quesada said.

Bill Rosemann, Marvel's marketing communications manager, said that despite Quesada's "gut-wrenching" personal reaction to the attack, he responded quickly.


http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/46235.htm