My goals for the new BBDO Diversity Council were to positively affect our Clients (work), Culture (employees), and Community (New York City). So when an idea was floated to speak directly to the kids of NYC about character and inclusion, I offered a plan to work with MARVEL to create an original series of books, which we could offer to schools.
MARVEL's response was incredible. Their Director of Custom Publishing connected us with the lead architect of the MARVEL brand, Brian Michael Bendis (creator of Miles Morales as SpiderMan). Over a 10 year period 4 books were written and illustrated, culminating in Avengers: Heroes Welcome, a book which features a diverse group of gifted individuals focused on making the world better.
Coincidence led us to furter partner with The Police Athletic league, and my partner and I spent the summer visiting PAL centers in every NYC borough, personally presenting the comic and its message (through our interactive presentation) to over 500 children, and offering the work to the entire world for free through MARVEL's online comic site.