Marvel & Actor Comic Fund Team Up

MARVEL & ACTOR COMIC FUND TEAM UP TO PRESENT SPIDER-MAN & THE INCREDIBLE HULK
All Proceeds To Benefit ACTOR, The Non Profit That Serves The Comic Book Community

Check your calendars! New Year’s Eve is fast approaching and we all know you want to get in one last good deed to benefit mankind before 2004 is here. So before you head off to celebrate the New Year, make plans to stop at your nearest comic book store and pick up ACTOR PRESENTS SPIDER-MAN AND THE INCREDIBLE HULK!

ACTOR PRESENTS SPIDER-MAN AND THE INCREDIBLE HULK is a special December shipping 32-page one-shot featuring these two beloved Super Heroes doing what they do best – fighting the bad guys with tons of action packed excitement. This joint benefit venture marks the first for Marvel and ACTOR Comic Fund, and is published through Marvel’s EPIC Comics imprint.

Proceeds from the book will help ACTOR continue to provide financial support to the comic book veterans of yesteryear as well as create new programs to help meet the needs of contemporary industry professionals.

“Marvel Comics and EPIC are glad to be able to help with ACTOR’s critical mission while at the same time providing readers with a fun, exciting new comic book starring two of our biggest stars,” said EPIC editor Stephanie Moore. “Whatever your reasons for picking this book up – entertainment or altruism – comic fans will know they’ll be lending some folks in need a helping hand and having a great time doing it.”

“I’m very excited to be involved in the creative process of an ACTOR fund raiser,” said ACTOR board member Charlie Novinskie. “To be working on an honest-to-goodness Marvel Comics project is like a dream come true for this long-time Marvel Zombie! Not only am I able to contribute my time to a worthwhile cause, but I’m also getting to once again work with many talented people that I had the pleasure of knowing while at Topps Comics.”

Both stories embody themes that embrace humanity. The Spider-Man story is written by Ron Marz, penciled by Dan Jurgens (THOR) and inked by Al Vey. The Hulk story is written by William Messner-Loebs (with Troy Hickman), penciled by Dave Simons and inked by Armando Gil. The cover is by Joseph Michael Linsner.

“Nobody in this industry should forget that we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us — not only the Stan Lees, the Jack Kirbys and the Steve Ditkos, but hundreds and hundreds of others who served in the trenches of this business we all love”, commented Ron Marz. “I jumped at the chance to give back, even a little, to those men and women through ACTOR and this story. And Spider-Man, the most ‘everyman’ of heroes, seemed like the perfect choice.”

ACTOR PRESENTS SPIDER-MAN AND THE INCREDIBLE HULK is solicited (copy follows) in the December, 2003 issue of MARVEL PREVIEWS (#2, in stores 9/24) and goes on sale December 31st with a cover price of $2.50. Each 11-page story is packaged by ACTOR under Marvel’s Epic imprint. Readers, ask your local comic book retailer to reserve you a copy of this special project.

ACTOR PRESENTS SPIDER-MAN & THE INCREDIBLE HULK #1 (One-Shot)
Written by BILL MESSNER-LOEBS, RON MARZ
Penciled by DAVE SIMONS, DAN JURGENS
Cover by JOSEPH MICHAEL LINSNER
Marvel’s EPIC Comics and ACTOR team up to bring you two stories about Marvel’s most popular characters in this special one-shot benefit book for the holiday season.
Proceeds from this book benefit ACTOR, the charitable organization dedicated to providing financial assistance to disadvantaged comic book creators.
32 PGS./MARVEL PSR…$2.50
UPC: 5960605494-00111

A Commitment To Our Roots (ACTOR) Comic Fund is the first-ever federally chartered not-for-profit corporation dedicated strictly to helping comic book creators in need. ACTOR creates a financial safety net for yesterdays’ creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and entrée back into paying work. For more information, visit www.ACTORComicFund.org or call 310-286-0758 x440.

With a library of over 4,700 proprietary characters, Marvel Enterprises, Inc. is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies. Marvel’s operations are focused in three areas: entertainment (Marvel Studios) and licensing, comic book publishing and toys (Toy Biz). Marvel facilitates the creation of entertainment projects, including feature films, DVD/home video, video games and television based on its characters and also licenses its characters for use in a wide range of consumer products and services including apparel, collectibles, snack foods and promotions. Marvel’s characters and plot lines are created by its comic book division which continues to expand its leadership position in the U.S. and worldwide while also serving as an invaluable source of intellectual property.

TM & * 2003 MARVEL