Broken Frontier

Five years since its inception, ACTOR, short for A Commitment To Our Roots, decided it was time for a little shake up. So, the charity organisation changed its name to Hero, or The Hero Initiative in full, to better brand itself in and out of the comic book industry.

BF briefly spoke to ACTOR/Hero founder Jim McLauchlin about the organisation’s history and what led to the name change.

BROKEN FRONTIER: Jim, let's start by looking back at ACTOR's first five years. For starters, do you recall what led you to form the charity?

JIM MCLAUCHLIN: Organizations such as ACTOR/Hero are notoriously common in other fields. I'm a sportswriter, and Major League Baseball has a similar fund called BAT-Baseball Assistance Team-that did similar [things]. They realized that players even into the early 1970s might only have been making $10,000 a year, and many of those old players who built baseball into what it is today might have needs. Now that salaries are much higher in baseball, they're taking care of their own. Things like this here, there, and everywhere exist. The local plumbers union in your town probably has one for retired plumbers. But there's never been one in comics before.

BF: And when did things start to get off the ground?

JM: Things got off the ground in summer, 2000. Mark Alessi of then-CrossGen Comics is a big baseball fan as well, and I talked to Mark a few times about BAT, and how I thought it was a crying shame that something similar didn't exist in comics. I told him that it was always in the back of my head to start something like that for comics. Mark mentioned that he had lawyers on retainer already at CrossGen. He offered to get them working on framing a corporation and filling out the paperwork. He helped considerably in coming up with a structure, and visualizing what the organization would be.

BF: Has the charity had to experience many bumps in the road, or was each year a big success?

JM: I think the first year was the biggest fundraising year. It was very "new" then, and hopefully a bit of a name change and fresh coat of paint might lead to bigger and better things in the here-and-now.

BF: This year's Marvel vs. DC softball game in San Diego is still fresh in everybody's minds. Overall, though, what are some of the most memorable fundraising events to date?

JM: The art auctions we've done at the Orlando MegaCon have been great fundraisers and were a lot of fun. We did "Silent Bob Speaks: A Night With Kevin Smith" at the Writer's Guild Theatre in Los Angeles, which was also a great experience.

BF: At the other hand of the spectrum, what are some concrete examples of what ACTOR has done with the money raised?

JM: We've kept people alive. There was a moment at the San Diego con in 2004 that was surreal. An artist that we benefited came up to me to thank me for the help we had given him. He was shaking my hand, with tears streaming down his cheeks. He had been living on about $90 a week, and was eating one meal a day. He didn't know what to do, or where to turn, and he was ready to take his own life. He had literally written the suicide note when he stumbled upon us. We were able to get him back on his feet, and he's alive today, doing much better.

We've literally paid back rent when people were 48 hours from being evicted, paid electric bills when people were 24 hours from having utilities shut off, and paid for desperately needed operations that weren't covered by medical insurance as well.

BF: What led to the decision to rename ACTOR to HERO? And how long has this been in the works?

JM: About a year. It could be easily argued that the old name didn't quite "fit" the mission. People knew us very well in the comics biz, but sometimes when we'd venture outside the village of comics, people would get confused, as the mission just didn't compute with the name.

It serves the mission of "mainstreaming" the cause and broadening the field. My ultimate goal is not to just circulate money within the comic industry, but to bring it in from outside. Right now, we're getting contributions from places such as Ralphs, a huge grocery store chain in the West, and Microsoft. I like the idea of taking Bill Gates' money! With all the movies and media and whatever else surrounding comic characters, there are people eating Superman Life cereal and seeing X-Men movies who might be only peripherally aware of comics, or of us. They, and the companies that produce breakfast cereal and movies, can and should also participate in taking care of the people who spawned the industry they now enjoy.

BF: Does the change in name also imply a readjusting of the Initiative's focus?

JM: Nope, the mission remains the same: The Hero Initiative is the first-ever federally chartered not-for-profit corporation dedicated strictly to helping comic book creators in need. We create a financial safety net for yesterday's creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and entrée back into paying work. To date, we've disbursed over $200,000 to folks who have really needed it.

BF: What's on the Hero Initiative's plate for the rest of the year and early 2007? A website redesign seems to be in order, too, I'm sure…

JM: Absolutely, the new website will be up in the next couple of days. The BIG event I'm really looking forward to is "Marvel Then and Now" with Stan Lee and Joe Quesada at UCLA in December.

BF: Lastly, where do you keep finding the fire to run the HERO Initiative?

JM: I come from a very public service/egalitarian/populist background, having grown up a political liberal in Minnesota. That's just the way we are in Minnesota. People care about community, and helping other folks out. It's just that, I guess.

###

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 yesterdays' 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. For more information, visit www.heroinitiative.org or call 310-909-7809.