The Hero Initiative has announced today that, for the first time in decades, the critically acclaimed JLA/Avengers crossover is being reprinted. The charity is dedicated to helping comic book creators who are in medical or financial need, and this news comes shortly after we learned that legendary artist George Pérez had been diagnosed with stage III pancreatic cancer.
Only 7000 copies are being printed, with Hero Initiative honouring one of Pérez's seminal bodies of work and his long-time support of Hero. The 228-page paperback features the original 2003 four-issue co-publishing venture between DC Comics and Marvel, written by Kurt Busiek with art by Pérez.
The collection will also feature 64 pages of companion content and will reprint introductions by original Avengers writer/editor Stan Lee and Justice League of America editor Julius Schwartz. A bonus in the Hero Initiative edition is a new afterword by Busiek. Pérez is a founding member of Hero Initiative’s board of directors and has served as chair of its Disbursement Committee.
Pérez is, of course, also known for his phenomenal work on titles like The New Teen Titans, Fantastic Four, Crisis on Infinite Earths, and Infinity Gauntlet.
For those of you who haven't read the series, it's definitely worth checking out, as the story features iconic moments like Captain America squaring off with Batman, The Flash racing Quicksilver, and Superman wielding Mjolnir. We won't say any more, but this is a classic and you can see the cover below!