St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and award-winning creator platform Tongal (Piece By Piece, Marvel’s Rescue Heroes), which has developed projects for Netflix, Disney and Sony, announced the launch of an animated series Fever Fighter at LA Comic Con — a first-of-its-kind project inspired by artwork from a patient at St. Jude.
Fever Fighter is based on a character created by Ethan Washburn, who first dreamed up the superhero when he was seven years old and being treated by St. Jude for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The character — whose superpower is fighting fevers, which are often present during cancer treatment — has long served as an informal mascot for patients and families.
Now, Tongal is turning Washburn’s vision into an animated series, tapping its global network of creators to develop content based on this artwork. The goal is to make Fever Fighter not just a series, but the basis of a “Feververse” of patient-created superheroes.
“I can’t believe Fever Fighter is going to be a real show!” said Washburn, who is now a college graduate and St. Jude cancer survivor. “I dreamed him up when I was at St. Jude more than a decade ago, and it’s amazing to now see him living an exciting life of his own. I can’t wait to see what’s next as we hand his future over to artists and storytellers everywhere.”
St. Jude and Tongal announced the series during an LA Comic Con panel on September 26, unveiling Fever Fighter’s origin story and teasing a larger Feververse to come. Fans and creators will be invited to submit their own creative concepts and artwork through the Tongal platform to help build Fever Fighter’s universe and choose his adventures.
“Transforming a child’s drawing into a fully animated character like Fever Fighter is more than creative storytelling — it’s a powerful reflection of how we’re evolving the way patient artwork is experienced and shared with the world,” said Samantha Maltin, Chief Marketing and Brand Officer of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. “Art is a vital part of holistic care at St. Jude, and through this unique partnership with Tongal and its generous community, we’re able to position patient stories in ways that connect and inspire.”
“Through our collaboration with St. Jude, we’re focused on connecting with people of all ages on a deeply emotional level through storytelling,” said James DeJulio, CEO and co-founder of Tongal. “Fever Fighter was born out of Ethan’s imagination, and I believe it can spark an entirely new future of fundraising. We can use creativity to develop meaningful engagement that mobilizes creators, fans, and donors worldwide. The future of fundraising is through content and there’s no better way to build it than by empowering our global community of creators to bring Ethan’s Fever Fighter to life.”
A documentary-style short chronicling Washburn’s story — created by Manuel Izquierdo, a member of the Tongal creator community— was also premiered at LA Comic-Con. Fever Fighter’s transition from patient artwork to animated universe will continue with more content released later this fall.
