How Comic Books Have Tackled the Anniversary of 9/11

Alex Ross It has been twenty five years since the September 11th, 2001 attacks, yet for any American old enough to remember, it feels like it was just a few years ago. However, it has been over a generation since we witnessed the attacks. For many of today’s comic book readers, it’s just all history to them. They weren’t alive when it happened, and some had parents that hadn’t even met 20+ years ago. When the event was still raw, amid the painful aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, comic book artists and writers were among the first in the artistic community to respond creatively. The many moving stories they drew and wrote prompted both mainstream and alternative comic book publishers to produce anthologies of visually compelling work. Like all Americans, comic publishers like Marvel and DC, whose offices were in New York City at the time, were shocked at what happened. Marvel, perhaps far more than DC, turned to the characters that had brought entertainment and joy so many times over the year, Marvel sought to utilize them to honor the real life heroes of the attacks and the weeks that followed, and to bring hope to its readers. Full-page art from Marvel’s H...