MOUNT AIRY - Superheroes and villains live in Danny Donovan’s head. He imagines their adventures and secret powers and how they might relate to each other in crisis situations.

When he walks around Mount Airy he wonders: What would that guy be like if he wore a cape and were bulletproof? “Stories filter through my mind all the time,” Donovan said.

On Sept 11th, reality blacked out the fantastice world that occupies most of his time and thoughts. Spider-man could wait. Donovan had to find out whether his friends, fellow cartoonists Neil Klied of Manhattan, and A. David Lewis of Washington were OK.

Once he made contact with them on his computer, the three began thinking of ways to help the victims of the terrorist strikes.

“It was a time when you felt like you had to do something, even though its never enough,” he said. “We’re not good at a lot of things so we said, ‘Let’s do what we can.’”

The result is 9-11: Emergency Relief, a compilation of stories and illustrations from some of the most well-known cartoonists of the business. Including Will Eisner and Frank Cho, two legends in the comic book world, and Greensboro resident Rob Ullman.

The book, which is published by Alternative Comics, has gained national recognition in such publications as Time and Entertainment Weekly and has resulted in a wave of publicity for Donovan, who has spent much of the last few weeks promoting the book along the East Coast. Proceeds from the book will go to the American Red Cross.

The stories in the book are autobiographical tales about what it was like to live through Sept. 11. That mode of storytelling is a departure for many of the writers, including Donovan who is accustomed to concoting fantastic adventures for his characters.

At first, Donovan resisted the Idea of making the stories persona.

“But the thought was it would be less offensive than making it fiction,” he said “It made more sense to document this moment in history.”

Donovan’s contribution “Fiction Is Better Than Reality,” is based on his attempts to find Klied and Lewis.

About 80 cartoonists signed on for the project, which quickly snowballed from a small book to one that is 208 pages. The book was put together in about a month, Donovan said.

“We asked people to leap into it and give us their best and greatest stuff, and they did,” He said.

Some of the cartoonists contributed stories while others submitted just a page. Eisner’s illustration, titled “Reality 9/11” shows a man watching a TV news coverage of the World Trade Centers. A river of blood drips out of the cracked TV screen and into the man’s living room.

Donovan, 21, recently attended the opening of an exhibit at the New York City Fire Museum he has also promoted the book at signings in Richmond and Washington.

Donovan grew up in Portsmouth, VA as a kid, he devoured Disney comics and then became a “mostly super-heroes guy.”

“There’s a voice in my head that tells me things,” he said with a laugh. “You’re inspired by everything around you.”

When he was 18, he started writing a super-hero comedy that appeared on the web.

He has made what he believes are strong contacts at Marvel and DC Comics and is pitching a story idea to Marvel based on The New Warriors.

The characters already exist, but he wants to chronicle their adventures in college.

That pitch, Donovan said, is creating a buzz among comic-book fans.

The field can be tough to break into, Donovan said.

“It’s an insulated field you have people who have done this for years who are supremely talented and have never made it in,” Donovan said.

He works one day a week at Pages Books and Magazines in Mount Airy. Conveniently, he works on Wednesdays when the new comic books are shipped. (Pages is carrying 9-11: Emergency Relief).