9-11: Emergency Relief

Easily the best of the comics industry's myriad responses to the tragedy of September 11th, this book gets down into the nitty-gritty of human experiences and reactions to tragedy. No superheroes. No larger-than-life expostulation. Just real people - talented artists - telling amazing stories. Higlights include Gregory Benton's "Treasure," an untitled Hutch Owen story by Tom Hart that manages to toe the fine line between rage and sentiment and "Citadel Of The Night" by K. Thor Jensen and Chris Knowle. Honestly, though, the book is so full of great material that nobody should be without it.

After the September 11th terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers, the Pentagon, and in the skies over Pennsylvania, some 50 graphic novelists and cartoonist ranging from such legendary names as Will Eisner and Harvey Pekar, to newer talents such as Frank Cho and James Kochalka, came together in a very special project as a way of expressing their grief, patriotism, and support of the American people in the face of naked, lethal, ideologically driven aggression. The result is 9-11: Emergency Relief, a powerful graphic novel. The proceeds will go to benefit the American Red Cross. Simply put, every school and every community library in the country should acquire a copy of 9-11: Emergency Relief for the edification of their students and their patrons.

9-11: Emergency Relief puts a unique perspective on a shared tragedy. Taking the events out of the cold realism of news photography and video and into the pen and ink world of the comix artist lets the reader share the emotions of another individual on a highly personalized level. Do not let the genre keep you from reading this book! Even if you are not a comix afficionado, the images and storytelling technique of each artist/author are fascinating and deeply moving. Like any good book, it is well structured. Stories lead up to the event, there are on-site accounts, the aftermath, and the realization that we're living in a changed world. For people having trouble coming to terms with the events of 9-11 -- regardless of their age -- this book provides comfort and insight. We all have stories to tell about 9-11 and most readers have probably wished they could express their own feelings so well. Fortuntely, this group of artists says it for us.

Everyone has a dark side--it's that frightening part of our personalities that drives you to root for something to blow up and hurt James Bond. It's what makes us "root for the bad guy" at Mel Gibson films. It's what drove us to watch with rapt attention on September 11, as the Civilized World crumbled before our eyes. This, happily, is not the part of us that forces us onward through "9-11," a graphic novel that tells nearly fifty stories by respected creators from the comic-book industry about the terrorist attacks and their implications. "9-11" is, with rare exception like Ashley Wood's obscenity-laden two page monologue, a labor of profound love. Here, comics legend Will Eisner--who literally invented the concept of "sequential art," the name by which the academic community now refers to comics--joins virtually ever major creator in the comics industry in donating his time, money, energy and artwork to charities benefiting the victims of the September 11 terror attacks. Marvel Comics lead the pack, their magazine-format "Heroes" book being the first released (in late October) and best-promoted of all benefit books. The first week in January, they followed up with "Moment of Silence," another comics-for-charity project to which Hollywood director and comics guru Kevin Smith contributed a story. "9-11" was released on January 9 by Alternative Comics, a small, independent publisher. It contains mostly works done by small-press of self-published comics creators who are not under contract to a major publisher. Contributors include Phil Hester of DC Comics' best-selling "Green Arrow," Michael Avon Oeming of "Powers" and "Bluntman and Chronic" fame, Eisner and "Bone" scribe Jeff Smith. Sixty-two stories featuring more than 75 creators are collected in the 200-page book, which costs [price]. All profits from the sale of "9-11" go to the American Red Cross. Especially notable in the "9-11" tribute book are several pieces by non-legends, who have been largely overlooked even in the comics press due to names like Harvey Pekar, Will Eisner and Tony Millionaire being attached to the project. A. David Lewis' 11-page "Alabaster Cities" details his exploits on the morning of September 11, which are refreshingly non-dynamic. Rather than depicting himself running out the door to help, as is the temptation when writing a story about your personal reaction to great tragedy, Lewis and many other creators in the book simply paint a picture of desperate phone calls, frantic e-mails and great personal reflection and fear. Despite a medical condition that precludes him from Armed Services duty, Lewis confesses to ever-so-briefly worrying about being drafted on September 11--a thought that surely crossed the mind of every young male in the country in the hours following the attacks on America. John "Bean" Hastings has a short but poignant story about the importance of art and popular culture in troubled times--it's clear that he put a lot of himself in a small am

This book is really moving -- from dozens of different perspectives -- it reality for sure, and one of the best books about 9/11 so far. The book uses sequential comic art, an American original artform, to address the thoughts and feelings of people in a way that can't be done with words or pictures alone. The book is cathartic and absolutely genuine. This book will resonate even more as time goes on as a historical document.