Thought Balloons by Don MacPherson "An unfortunate harvest" I've been away from my reporter's desk at work in recent weeks, filling in as the newspaper's money editor. Basically, I go to work at 5 a.m. and paginate the business section and some other pages every day. A significant number of the stories and columns I've been placing on those pages have dealt with how a lot of businesses and people have lost money in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States. More still have delved into how folks can protect their investment dollars in these tumultuous economic times, and even profit from them. It's not as though people want to profit from death, war and destruction. We have to live our lives, and that means adapting, surviving and even thriving. The comic-book industry has adapted to the new reality of Sept. 11, and it's done so surprisingly quickly. One could argue it's even begun to thrive as a result. People who rarely read comics other than those in their daily paper walked into comics shops in September looking for a copy of the Superman comic -- Adventures of Superman #596 -- that depicted two smoldering towers in a fictional city, as well as average people doing their part to rebuild. The image was drawn months before, but it didn't reach the general public until the day after the world changed. New customers walked into comics shops. That's important for the industry. Marvel Comics has reaped a fair deal of mainstream-media attention as a result of the creative decisions it has made in the past month. J. Michael Straczynski and John Romita Jr.'s upcoming Amazing Spider-Man #36 -- in which Marvel super-heroes deal with the aftermath of the destruction of the World Trade Center twin towers -- could draw readers from outside the small niche market of comics enthusiasts that have kept the industry going through the lean times. New customers could see comics as being more than just for kids. That's important for the industry. In November, Oni Press will release Queen and Country #5, in which writer Greg Rucka pits his protagonists against the Taliban. Never has interest in the current ruling regime in Afghanistan been higher, and never has the world needed to know more about it. I'd say there's a strong chance that the mainstream media could pick up on this story in the coming weeks. New customers could show up in comics stores and discover a different kind of comic book than they remember... a black-and-white book that has nothing to do with super-heroes, howling commandoes or time travellers. Again, that's important. And then, of course, there's all the positive PR that companies and creators are getting and will get from the publication of benefit projects like Marvel's Heroes and 9-11: Emergency Relief from Alternative Comics. Are they doing it for enhanced images? Unlikely, and even if it does factor into their thinking, there's no travesty in it. These are businesses we're talking about; they have bottom lines to consider. Even so, when it comes right down to it, their primary purpose with these projects and stories seem to be to help, and that's what matters. However, in an industry that's just barely scraped by in recent years, we can't ignore the benefits that have arisen or could come about in the coming weeks and months. Those benefits are the result of events that are almost unimaginable, yes, but there's nothing wrong with availing oneself of such an opportunity... as long as it's tempered with sensitivity. There's never been a worse time to bury one's head in the proverbial sand. Don MacPherson lives in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. Email Don MacPherson comments about this column, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board.