The Hero Initiative, the first-ever federally chartered not-for-profit corporation dedicated strictly to helping comic book creators in need, has teamed with Marvel Comics and the industry's top talent to create 100 covers for Ultimate Spider-Man #100.

More than 80 talented artists were tapped to do a sketch on the blank cover of Ultimate Spider-Man #100 created specifically for The Hero Initiative. Reaction from the artistic community was so overwhelming that some artists insisted on doing two covers.

"The artists have created some amazing pieces of work for this fundraiser," said Jim McLauchlin, President of The Hero Initiative. "It's great to see some of the industry's top talent participating, and I'm sure comic fans will love the covers as much as we do."

Proceeds from auctions will continue to support Hero's effort of providing a financial safety net for yesterdays' creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work.

To best showcase the work, the fundraiser has been split in four different parts: a gallery showing at Secret Headquarters in Los Angeles on February 3 that will start the ball rolling by auctioning off one book; a showing and auction at MegaCon, in which 20 more of the books will be auctioned off; and the remaining 79 covers to be shown at the New York Comic-Con, with 20 more auctions taking place. The then-remaining 59 covers, including some of the prize pieces, will be auctioned off on eBay in March.

February 3 from 8-10 pm in Los Angeles
A gallery showing of all 100 covers will kick off the worldwide tour at The Secret Headquarters, located at 3817 W. Sunset Boulevard in the Silverlake area of Los Angeles. This special event will be the only showing of all 100 covers, as one masterpiece will be auctioned off on site by one of the local artists in attendance!

February 16-18 at Orlando MegaCon
The remaining 99 covers will be showcased at MegaCon, with 20 covers auctioned off on February 18. Don't miss bidding on one of the following amazing pieces:
1 Chris Bachalo
2 Joe Benitez
3 Mike Deodato
4 Derec Donovan
5 Dick Giordano
6 Staz Johnson
7 Leonard Kirk
8 Ed McGuinness
9 Luke Ross
10 Joe and Tim Vigil
11 Billy Tan
12 Sergio Aragones
13 Jim Hanna
14 Andy Kuhn
15 Tim Seeley
16 Alex Saviuk
17 Mike Wieringo
18 Marie Severin
19 Jim Starlin
20 Mike Vosburg

February 23-25 at New York Comic-Con
79 covers will be showcased at New York Comic-Con with the following 20 covers going up for auction on February 25.
1 Alan Davis
2 Kyle Baker
3 Joe Bennett
4 Ron Frenz
5 Ron Garney
6 Michael Golden
7 Fred Hembeck
8 Scott Kolins
9 Larry Lieber
10 Joseph Michael Linsner
11 John McCrea
12 Al Milgrom
13 James Owen
14 Joe Quesada
15 Frank Quitely
16 John Romita Sr.
17 Arthur Suydam
18 Jim Valentino
19 Alan Weiss
20 Mark Buckingham

The remaining 59 will be auctioned off via eBay.com in the beginning of March. Remaining covers will include such artistic talent as J. Scott Campbell, Jim Cheung, Frank Cho, Greg Land, Michael Lark, Jae Lee, Todd McFarlane, Terry Moore, and Bill Morrison. Even writers and ace doodlers such as Guillermo del Toro and Neil Gaiman have joined in with covers of their own.

The "Ultimate 100," as it's come to be called, was largely the brainchild of Hero Board Member Brian Pulido and Marvel Publisher Dan Buckley. Pulido, an innovator of exotic variant covers (including Chromium, leather, velvet, and die-cut), conceived the initial concept. "What's cooler than an edition limited to 100, featuring 100 custom drawings of an A-list character?," Pulido asked. "Each one is a unique edition." Marvel's Buckley approved the project and shepherded it through Marvel.

"Half the fun in this was tracking down some of the great Spidey artists of the past," said McLauchlin. "Tom Lyle is now teaching at the Savannah College of Art and Design, and Frank Springer is enjoying semi-retirement in Maine. Both guys thought the comic world have forgotten them, but we certainly remembered."

"This is project is an amazingly unique opportunity and nothing like it has ever been achieved and most certainly will never be again. One hundred, let me repeat that, ONE HUNDRED, custom hand drawn Spider-Man covers on a seminal issue of Ultimate Spider-Man, drawn by the very finest artist working in the field today and some of the most legendary past greats who have ever grace a comic's page. It's a sight worth seeing and bidding on and to make it even better, it's all for an incredible cause," noted Hero Board Member and Marvel Editor In Chief Joe Quesada.

The Hero Initiative would like to thank Mike Malve, Beth Widera, Joe Prado, Mike Conroy, Lee Parker, Adam Rosenblum and Brian Pulido for their help in managing this fundraising venture. Dan Buckley and Joe Quesada at Marvel are also to be thanked for lending their considerable powers and talents to the project.

For more on The Hero Initiative, visit www.HeroInitiative.org or call 310-909-7809.