From Comic Book Resources:
MIKE DEODATO RELEASES STIRRING IMAGE INSPIRED BY TRAGEDY
by Jonah Weiland, Executive Producer
The tributes keep coming in the wake of events earlier this week in New York City, Washington DC and Pittsburgh. Brazilian artist Mike Deodato, Jr. has been wowing fans with impromptu black and white sketches featuring fans favorite characters for weeks. Today Deodato released an image that will wow fans in a completely different way. The image speaks for itself and doesn't need an introduction. Included with the image Deodato issued a statement sharing his feelings, which we reprint in its entirety.
In this highly-insular "comic book world" in which we live and work, we sometimes forget that in the horrific fantasies we create -- Galactus coming to Earth, the Skrulls invading, Dr. Doom taking total control of the Baxter Building -- characters rarely die. The tragedies that do occur are overshadowed by sound and fury and bombast as heroic figures fight the battle for truth, justice, and (often) the American Way. And, of course, the chronicled events are merely born of imagination and ink and paper.
This month, the terrorist attack on America brings foremost to our minds how real the horror can be -- how easily the stuff of comic books and action movies becomes life, how thousands of innocent human beings can die in a matter of moments even in the boldest, safest, most respected nation in the world.
Where were the super-heroes when the human tragedy struck? Not just in the comic books; they were right there on the spot, decked out in their colorful heroic uniforms. They were and are the firefighters, and police, and rescue teams who put themselves through risk and pain and death to rescue everyone they could. Weary and frightened themselves, they continue their efforts right now. So, too, do the FBI, CIA, the doctors and nurses. They are all the real heroes.
Those of us who care, we do what we can. Some give blood; some make donations; some contribute to causes (such as a Tribute comic book to raise money). We know it's not enough -- nothing could be enough -- but we must start somewhere.
This, then, is our tribute to the real heroes -- and to those both brave and innocent who did not survive.
-- Mike Deodato & David Campiti
GLASS HOUSE GRAPHICS
September 2001
