Buy a Comic, Help a Brother Out

By Scott Smith in Arts & Entertainment on Sep 15, 2006 2:33PM

Chicagoist loves itself some comics, whether they feature the heroics of the Big Blue Boy Scout or the tales of a little girl growing up in Iran. We’re still kicking ourselves over how long it’s taking us to get through the stack of goodies that Short Pants Press sent us a while back. *

So it follows that we also love comic creators and by the transitive property would also love The Hero Initiative (formerly the A.C.T.O.R. Comic Fund), the first federally recognized non-profit organized to assist comic book industry veterans, which helps to provide medical aid, financial assistance and employment for the guys that formed the bedrock of the comic industry.

This weekend, the first Heroes Helping Legends convention will be held at the Mercury Café as a benefit for The Hero Initiative. For a mere five bucks, you’ll be able to browse lots of cheap comics (five for a buck!) and listen to live music from a bunch of hardscrabble local bands like Daemon Familiar, Recent Photo, The Dead Superhero Orchestra and The Wanderers. Phat beats will be on-hand courtesy of DJ James Van Osdol, who’ll be taking a break from finishing up that book on Chicago 90s rock that we’re dying to read.

Whether you’re into underground stuff or the DC/Marvel universes, there’ll be something there for you, including hidden prizes in select issues, artists doing sketches and a collectible art auction. It’s an event that’s fan-created so expect a laid-back time. Ladies looking to score some nerd love are highly encouraged to attend. Check their MySpace page for the full schedule or this interview with organizer Michael Nameche for some background.

The Heroes Helping Legends event goes down at the Mercury Café (1505 Chicago Ave.) this Saturday (11 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and Sunday (11 a.m. to 5 p.m.). A suggested donation of $5 is encouraged unless you want the guy who used to ink The Incredible Hulk to go without a kidney, you cheap bastard.

* But until we do, get yourself over to their website or Quimby’s and throw down a few bucks for Why We Call Them Robots or Sucker Punch #1. Robots will win you over faster than an eight-year-old who wants to be pushed on the swings, and Sucker Punch will make you chuckle as you remember all the weirdos you hung out with in the first year after college.