Christopher Ivy on how Hero helped him out of homelessness

Hi all. My name is Christopher Ivy and I have a little story to tell about the Hero Initiative and how they helped me when I needed it most.

After several years of a lucrative freelance career working for Marvel, DC, Valiant, Image and Dark Horse, I became one of a number of casualties of the great comic industry implosion of the late ’90s, right after Marvel Comics filed for bankruptcy. After a decade of trying to get regular comic industry work, as well as art-related work in other industries, I slowly spiraled downward into a new world of debt, my own bankruptcy and, eventually, even into homelessness. I happened to see an ad for the Hero Initiative online and, after some pride-swallowing, gave them a call. I was expecting a minimal amount of help from them. I would never have realized some 10 years ago, how mistaken I was.

In the first year alone, they helped me get out of a homeless shelter and into an apartment again, pay back a seemingly insurmountable amount of debt, and even secure some regular freelance work. But that wasn’t the end of the story, nor was it the best part. The whole experience triggered a need for me to help out, even in the smallest of ways, as I was helped.

I’ve witnessed so many similar stories of the Hero Initiative helping other industry pros over the last decade that I’ve dealt with them and I hope, with your help as well as mine, that they keep giving back to the comic industry like no one else has for decades to come.

Christopher Ivy

Christopher Ivy

Christopher Ivy