Marvel Comic Shows Nurses Are the Real Heroes

Marvel Comics

Extraordinary compassion, tirelessness, and resolve.The uncanny ability to think on one's feet, even as those feet carry into their 11th hour. The adversary — an insidious virus that has wiped out over a quarter million in the United States so far — is formidable, but they're not backing down. They're nurses. 

The stories of the selfless and heroic feats nurses perform every minute of every day could fill volumes. For now, though, they've been captured in a most fitting format — a Marvel Comic Book. Earlier this week, Allegheny Health Network nurses received a surprise delivery of The Vitals: True Nurse Stories, inspired by the glowing testimonials of their colleagues, patients, and family members. 

The comic is made up of three stories and was written by Sean Ryan. Art was provided by José Carlos, Mirko Colak, and Marcio Fiorito with Roberto Poggi.  

"Though the comic book is based on the real-life experiences of eight AHN nurses who work in the Pittsburgh area and Erie, we want to emphasize that this effort is not about any individual nurse," explains Claire Zangerle, DNP, RN, chief nurse executive at AHN. "It is about every AHN nurse, and every AHN employee."

New vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna, and others could prove the proverbial Sonic Gun to COVID-19's Carnage. Until then, up to our frontline workers to help contain this threat and save lives — because, inevitably, the next one is lurking in the shadows.

As the dedication on the final page of Vitals indicates, these selfless individuals prove "superheroes are anything but fiction."

Print copies of the Vitals: True Nurse Stories will be distributed at AHN hospitals and at recruiting events starting on Dec. 30. But you can read the digital edition right now at read.marvel.com