La Strong (Paperback)

The comic book industry pulls together to support fellow creators who lost homes to the tragic 2025 Los Angeles fires with this benefit anthology special.

Winner of the 2025 Clampett Humanitarian Award!

In January 2025, powerful wildfires devastated Los Angeles county, leaving loss and heartbreak in their path. In the aftermath, the team at Mad Cave Studios, like so many around the world, wanted to help the people of Southern California L.A. Strong was born of this desire, bringing together dozens of creators from around the world with the goal of making as much money as possible doing what we do best -- Making comic books! Filled with reflective stories from some of the best and brightest in the comics industry, L.A. Strong is a love letter to the City of Angels, a meditation on home, an invitation to empathy, and so much more. Together, as a community, we stand L.A. Strong!

Like any great Hollywood production, L.A. Strong features cameos from an all-star lineup, including Barbara Kessel, Brian Azzarello, Brian Michael Bendis, Christos Gage, Dan DiDio, Daniel Kibblesmith, Frank Tieri, Greg Pak, Jimmy Palmiotti, Jody Houser, Marv Wolfman, Paul Cornell, Rob DenBleyker, Sina Grace, Stephanie Phillips, Steve Orlando, Alex Cormack, Alison Sampson, Amanda Conner, Christian Ward, Geraldo Borges, Ian Churchill, Michael Avon Oeming, Nico Leon, Rian Gonzales, Salvador Larroca, Sami Kivelä, and many, many more. Don't miss special appearances from comic stars like The Pedestrian, Cyanide and Happiness, and Tectiv, as well as local SoCal comic shops like Golden Apple Comics, Collectors Paradise, and Revenge Of!

100% of the profits will be donated to relief efforts.

Tilly & Susan Bridges are a writing team, currently writing the “Star Trek Voyager: Homecoming” comic for IDW. They wrote for season two of the “Monster High” animated series (for which their "Monster Fest" special won an inaugural Velma Award for LGBTQIA+ representation in children’s media), consulted on season two of “Star Trek Prodigy,” and are writing other as yet unannounced graphic novels. They also wrote and directed a trans sci-fi short film, “Long Away,” which is now playing in film festivals around the world. Tilly’s book “Begin Transmission: The Trans Allegories of The Matrix” is available now, and you can find Tilly’s weekly essays on trans life at TillysTransTuesdays.com.

Amy Chase (she/her) is a writer from Southern California who specializes in horror, fantasy, and lots of puns. Her body of work includes official stories for beloved properties like Dungeons & Dragons, My Little Pony, Archie Horror, and Ghostbusters, in formats ranging from comics and prose to tarot decks. Outside of writing, Amy is an avid tabletop gamer, a frog mom, and a roller derby player by the name of Tuffy the Vampire Skater.

Dan DiDio joined DC in January 2002 as Vice President of Editorial and quickly ascended into the role of Senior Vice President/Executive Editor of DC Comics one year later. In that position, he directed the creative development and helped contemporize the superhero line of titles to bring increased relevancy and diversity to the line. He was also responsible for attracting some of comics’ top talent to DC and locking them into exclusive contracts to ensure quality books for years to come. DiDio was also an accomplished writer at DC Comics, having created and redeveloped several comic series at DC, including Sideways, OMAC, Phantom Stranger, and, Metal Men. In 2010, DiDio was named Publisher of DC Entertainment alongside Jim Lee. As Publisher, he directed and oversaw DC Entertainment’s entire publishing business under its key three imprint—DC, Vertigo, and MAD. Currently, Dan is partnered with comic and media legend, Frank Miller, and together they started their own publishing line, Frank Miller Presents, for which he created and writes the new series, Ancient Enemies.

Rich Douek is an acclaimed comic book writer known for his compelling storytelling and dynamic narratives. Known for harrowing horror tales like Sea of Sorrows, and the Bram Stoker Award finalist, Road of Bones. Beyond his independent work, Rich has contributed to the Eisner-nominated Superman: Red and Blue, Marvel's Wastelanders, and the GLAAD Media Award winning Young Men in Love, among several other acclaimed anthologies. Rich was born and bred in NYC, and lives just outside of it now with his family and two cats. His work has been featured on The Hollywood Reporter, SyfyWire, Nerdist, Rue Morgue Magazine, and elsewhere. Rich is also an award-winning Copywriter and Creative Director, having developed advertising campaigns for clients such as Snickers, FedEx, and Foot Locker.

RICHARD ASHLEY HAMILTON is an award-winning Cuban-American (no, really) writer and creative consultant best known for his storytelling across many DreamWorks Animation franchises including How To Train Your Dragon and Guillermo Del Toro’s Trollhunters. He wrote on the Daytime Emmy-winning first season of Dragons: Race to the Edge and scripted the Lumiere award-winning How To Train Your Dragon: Hidden World Tour VR experience. But in his heart, Richard remains a lifelong comic book fan and has created titles at Dark Horse, Aftershock, Insight, Sandstorm, and more. For Mad Cave Studios’ Maverick imprint, he currently writes two YA graphic novel series, SCOOP and TECTIV—recipient of a Kirkus Starred Review and featured in their list of the Top 100 Indie Books of 2025—with the all-ages adventure, LEO DA VINCI: RENAISSANCE KID, released by Papercutz on April 15, 2026 (Leonardo da Vinci’s actual birthday). Richard’s middle-grade horror story, FEARBOOK CLUB, was also named a Junior Library Guild Official Selection. Richard lives in Glendale, CA, with his wife, their two sons, and a Husky named Lulu.