Heroes For Hope Starring The X-Men
Heroes For Hope was a benefit book for famine relief in Africa conceived by Berni Wrightson and Jim Starlin, who took the idea to DC and produced a similar book starring Superman and Batman a year later. It is told in “jam” fashion, with 21 sets of writers and artists each telling two or three page segments of a story of the X-Men battling a creature that feeds of fears and pain, especially those created by starving Africans. Ellison’s segment deals with the X-Men character Wolverine facing his bestial nature.
Other non-comics writers whose work appears in the book along with Ellison are Stephen King (in a segment with beautiful art by Bernie Wrightson inked by Jeff Jones), Ed Bryant, and George Martin.
Ellison once told the story of how he got to own the original pencil art by Miller for this project. The story goes that when he received the original art to script over he was so in love with it that he had high quality stat’s made to hang in his home. However, somehow as the art made it’s way back to Marvel it was lost. So Marvel bought the stats from Ellison. Later though the art reappeared. So now Ellison owns the original art and was paid by Marvel for the privilege. [anecdotal, personal remembrance]