Peterson_Wolvierine.jpgMedia Release -- In the last two years, The Hero Initiative, the charity dedicated to helping older comic creators in medical or financial need, has enlisted the aid of 100 top-flight artists to create The Ultimate Spider-Man #100 Project and The Hulk 100 Project, collections of 100 original covers featuring great Marvel characters. This year, Hero reprises the program with Marvel's most popular mutant.

Marvel Comics has generously donated 100 blank-covered cardstock copies of the new Wolverine: Weapon X #1 to Hero. The call has gone out to create The Wolverine 100 Project, and dozens of artists are putting pen to paper. Artists involved include well-known stars such as Neal Adams, J. Scott Campbell, Frank Cho, Gene Colan, Ron Garney, Dale Keown, Adam Kubert, Leinil Yu, and John Romita Sr. and Jr.

"Fasten your seat belts. From what I've seen, this is the craziest 100 project to date," said Hero Initiative Board member Brian Pulido. "The artists are very good at what they do and what they do is very awesome! They are pulling out all stops to deliver the goods on Marvel's marauding mutant. You won't be disappointed."

"Marvel fully supports the Hero Initiative and its mission, and is proud to offer one of our premier characters in Wolverine to help their efforts," said Marvel Publisher Dan Buckley. "The amazing outpouring of support and creativity we see from the artists in this is a wonder to behold as well."

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All 100 original Wolverine covers will be published in a book slated for release in November 2009, and a public viewing of all covers will be scheduled as well.

In conjunction with the official announcement of The Wolverine 100 Project, Marvel.com is also hosting a 5-minute informational video on the Hero Initiative. The video can be viewed at http://www.marvel.com/news/comicstories.9025 .

About Hero Initiative

The Hero Initiative is the first-ever federally chartered not-for-profit corporation dedicated strictly to helping comic book creators in need. Hero creates a financial safety net for yesterday's creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. It's a chance for all of us to give back something to the people who have given us so much enjoyment.

Since its inception, The Hero Initiative has had the good fortune to grant over $400,000 to the comic book veterans who have paved the way for those in the industry today. For more information, visit www.heroinitiative.org or call 626-676-6354.

About Marvel Entertainment, Inc.

Marvel Entertainment, Inc. is one of the world's most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of over 5,000 characters featured in a variety of media over seventy years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in licensing, entertainment (via Marvel Studios and Marvel Animation) and publishing (via Marvel Comics). Marvel's strategy is to leverage its franchises in a growing array of opportunities around the world, including feature films, consumer products, toys, video games, animated television, direct-to-DVD and online. For more information visit www.marvel.com.