DC heroes battle hunger

By James Chambers – Back in the mid-’80s, when benefit concerts began bringing together musicians from around the world to aid famine-relief efforts, Jim Starlin and Bernie Wrightson thought it would be a good idea for the comics industry to pitch in too. They spearheaded the efforts of dozens of writers and artists to produce two benefit comics. Heroes For Hope, starring the X-Men and published by Marvel Comics, and this book, published by DC. Both are remarkable for their attempt to unite comic book creators, readers, and publishers in a effort to relieve hunger in Africa by dedicating all proceeds toward that goal, but Heroes Against Hunger is also notable because of its unbelievable list of contributors. Everyone from Jim Aparo to George Pérez worked on this book, making it an incredible collection of writing and art.

Starlin plotted the tale, which pits Batman and Super­man against the Master, an alien menace who is depleting African soil of nutrients vital to agriculture. But while the Master is an enemy who can be confronted, battled, and defeated, the heroes face a much larger threat—hunger—which cannot be vanquished by superpowers. Desperate for some way to undo the Master’s lethal work, the world’s finest team calls upon one of their oldest foes to lend a helping hand—scientific genius Lex Luthor. Only Luthor’s plant growth formula might restore the African desert to its once-fertile state. Through Starlin, we witness mortal enemies become allies to combat a tragedy which dwarfs them all. Each one in his pride and self-confidence underestimates the true depth of the problem, and the heroes must learn a hard lesson as the power and tragedy of the famine humbles them.

Roughly 50 artists, handling two pages each, bring the book to life. Part of the fun is trying to guess who drew what without looking at the credits. It’s also cool to check out the combined efforts of pencilers and inkers who have never worked together anywhere else. This is truly one of the most visually dynamic comics I’ve ever seen.

Heroes Against Hunger is a wonderful book, but not only for its admirable goals and its unbelievable all-star cast of creators. A comic like this reminds us what heroes are all about, and that even the most powerful among us are ultimately only human.