"Captain America: A Little Help," is now free to download via the Marvel Comics App for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. The all-new story, which is also featured in this week's I Am An Avenger #5, was written by Dr. Tim Ursiny, PH.D., CBC, RCC and illustrated by Nick Dragotta to raise awareness of suicide prevention and to direct those in need to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

From Marvel Senior Vice-President of Publishing Tom Brevoort:

"Super heroes fight a lot of battles, but there are few more important than combating suicide, that's why we're making Captain America: A Little Help available for free via our digital comics outlets. If even one person calls this number instead of doing something very tragic, we know that means we succeeded."

There've been many superhero stories that have dealt with suicide prevention over the years, several dealing with heroes literally talking someone down from a ledge. "A Little Help" takes a somewhat different approach, however, with almost zero dialogue. The story puts a conflicted protagonist in an encounter where they come to the aid of the costumed crimefighter, and it's a nice change of pace that puts the story's protagonist in a position to discover their own heroism and find the courage to reach out for help rather than simply listening to a lecture.

[Via Marvel]

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