911: Artists Respond, Volume One

Any American can tell you what today is. Maybe not by its proper name, but by its call numbers: 9-11.

Today is Patriot Day. The day remembering the first attack on American soil since World War II and the ill-conceived Japanese bomb balloons.

September 11 is an annual reminder 2,977 people died at the hands of 19 hijackers. Six-thousand others were wounded. Airline deaths totaled 265 with 2,606 at the World Trade Center and surrounding area and 125 at the Pentagon.

The bulk of deaths were centered in New York, birthplace and still home to the comic book industry. Marvel Comic Books has long used the city that never sleeps as its backdrop. DC Comics have modeled Batman’s denizen after the sprawl of crime and darkness.

911: Artists Respond, Volume One

It was only fitting the comic book industry respond with a publication to raise monies for The World Trade Center Fund, Survivors Fund, September 11^th Fund and the Twin Towers Fund.

9-11: Artists Respond, Volume One was published by Dark Horse Comics, Chaos! Comics and Image Comics. Both volume one and 9-11: The World’s Finest Comic Book Writers & Artists Tell Stories to Remember, Volume Two, feature short stories and single-page work from professionals throughout the industry.

Featured in the title were writer/artists Brian Biggs, Mike Diana, Dylan Horrocks, Roger Langridge, Liniers, R. Sikoryak, Dean Motter, Jon. J. Muth, Dave Cooper, Will Eisner, Batton Lash, Frank Miller, Al Davison, Bryan Talbot, David Alvarez, Layla Lawlor, Tony Millionaire, Mira Friedmann, Mark Crilley, Doug TenNapel, P. Craig Russell, Tommy Lee Edwards, Mitch O’Connell, David Chelsea, Sam Henderson, Ron Boyd, Phil Elliott, Stan Sakai, Jim Mahfood, Paul Chadwick, Darko Macan, Leland Myrick, John Paul Leon, William Stout, March Rosenthal, Enrico Casarosa, Mark Martin, Brian McDonald, Brian O’Connell, Terry Anderson, Becky Cloonan, Eric Drooker, Chris Eliopoulos, Davide Fabbri, Tatiana Gill, Steve Guaraccia, Jim Hill, Eric Kilkenny, Scott Morse, Peter Pachoumis, Nijo Philip, Lark Pien, bill Pressing, Aaron Reiner, Laurie Ross, Paul Slobada, John K. Snyder III and Jim Valentino.

Writers: Alan Moore, Joe Casey, Jeph Loeb, Robert Smigel, Roger Stern, John Ostrander, Trina Robbins, J. Torres, Fabian Nicieza, Mike Carey, Jason Hall, Steve Darnall, Stephen Banes, Art (Ferran) Brooks, Marie Croall, Tom DeFalco, Bob Harris, Anthony Johnston, Dan Jolley, Robert Kirkman, Pablo Maiztegui, John McCrae, Steve Niles, Marti Noxon, Brian Pulido, Jamie S. Rich, Randy Stradley, Stephen Walsh and Walt Whitman.

Artists: Renee French, Dave McKean, Dave Gibbons, Peter Kuper, Paul Lee, Sean Phillips, Mike Collins, Guy Davis, Michael Kupperman, Kevin Nowlan, Humberto Ramos, Jose Luis Agreda, Ale Maleev, Ivan Reis, Hilary Barta, Guy Burwell, Chynna Clugston, Rich Ketcham, Cliff Richards, Joe Pimental, Daniel Acuna, Mike Huddleston, J. Scott Campbell, Anne Timmons, Carols Megila, Melinda Gebbie, Pat Moriarity, Alcatena, Istvan Banyai, Dawn Brown, Will Conrad, Bill Dodge, Mike Gestiv, Rich Hedden, Todd Herman, Francisco Solano Lopez, Mary Mitchell, Tony Moore, Mike Norton, Joe Jorsak, Eric Powell, Steve Rolston, Gregory Ruth, Tsuneo Sanda, Robert Solanovic, Ben Stenback, lee Townsend, Kelly Yates and Leinil Francis Yu.

Other comic books focused or featuring the 9-11 attacks include Amazing Spider-Man (1999) issue 36, The Big Lie, The Boys, The Call of Duty, Cartoonists Remember 9-11, Ex Machina, Heroes, Human Target, A Moment of Silence, The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation, In the Shadow of No Towers and I Love New York.

A bill to make September 11 a national day of mourning was introduced in the U.S. House on Oct. 25, 2001, by Rep. Vito Fossella (R-NY) with 22 co-sponsors. A resolution was made to proclaim Sept. 11, 2002, as the first Patriot Day. From 2009 to 2016, President Barack Obama proclaimed September 11, as Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance. In 2017, President Donald Trump proclaimed Sept. 8-10 as National Days of Prayer and Remembrance and proclaimed September 11 as Patriot Day.

In observance, the flag of the United States is to be flown at half mast at the White House and all U.S. government buildings and establishments worldwide. Americans are encouraged to display flags outside their homes. A moment of silence is to be observed to correspond with the attacks, beginning at 8:46 a.m. (EDT) the time the first plane, American Airlines Flight 11, struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

Patriot Day is not a federal holiday; schools and businesses remain open in observance of the occasion.