circlecomics.com

Haven’t done a Search Term Roundup in a while and looking through the list… hoo-boy, it’s time. Just a reminder, these are actual search terms that show up in my stats on the administrative end of circlecomics.com. It’s a way for me to see what words and phrases people are using to find my site. Some of them make sense like “Daniel Larson Comic.” Others are indirectly correct like the classic “stupid people in New Hampshire.” This is some examples of the rest of the pack.

compressive explosive fracture vertebra – Pg. 1, 6th Result. Nice! I’m on the first page! Before I fell out of the handsome tree and hit every branch on the way down back on January 17^th, this might have been a strange result. But now, my brothers and sisters in traumatic back injury will be able to find me and my story. Hopefully it will allow them to fight through their pain, take pride in themselves, stand a little taller… yikes. Too soon.

mike zeck wolverine – Pg. 1, 1st Result. Excellent. This is what I like to see. I put up a post and it immediately starts driving traffic to me. I am honored just to be associated with Mike Zeck in any way.

stick man through pillow – Pg. 1, 5th Result. Hmmm. I have to assume this is supposed to be Stick-Man THROW pillow. Through pillow just doesn’t make any sense, unless… could there be a comic about a stick-man character going through a pillow? I suppose. I’m not writing it. Or maybe I am. Stick-Man Through Pillow is ©2010 circlecomics.

where do prostitutes hang out in manches – C’mon peole, my Mom reads this! I’m assuming the system cut this off before the searcher finished typing it in although it’s possible that they were stopped in the middle of the act, hurriedly hitting the Enter key before someone discovered their deviant behavior. I can’t even begin to wonder why this search found me. I don’t think the word prostitute has ever been used on this site (‘til now). Whatever they were looking for, I’m certain they were disappointed when they found circlecomics.com. Nothing kills the mood like Stick-Man and Super Joe talking to each other on the phone. But now it’s got me wondering… this isn’t necessarily a search with the intent to be complicit in an illegal activity, maybe it was a search BY a prostitute new to the area just trying to find other people like them. Like a prostitute community center or something. Now I feel bad. I hope they found the hang out.

terminal velocity of a cat – Pg. 3, Result 7. This one’s easy. It’s 2x the mass of the cat x acceleration due to gravity (-9.81m/s squared) divided by the density of the fluid the object is falling through (in this case, the atmosphere) multiplied by the projected area of the object times the drag coefficient. Of course that’s for a cat that is free-falling by itself and not riding me (Daniel Larson) to the ground.

broken back-brace – A little confusion here as I’m not sure if the person is searching for a brace for a broken back or a back brace that happens to be broken. If their looking to buy, I will gladly make the necessary modifications to mine if the price is right.

villain taunts – Pg. 1, 5th Result. I’ve never though of circlecomics as a hub of villain taunts. Come to think of it, I don’t know that any of the villains have ever taunted on this site. I don’t even really know who qualifies as a villain at this point. Surely, Kilorax is a villain in the oft-delayed Weekly comic, but that guy doesn’t even speak, so taunting is open for interpretation. In the Daily… you could make the argument that Dan is the villain to Stick-Man’s hero, but you could go the other way to. Neither one of them is really evil, though but they both do a fair amount of taunting. Ah, taking a look at the page that it actually found it’s from the Summer Comics Workshop script that I wrote up. Still surprised with the whole internets to choose from that circlecomics is on page 1.

daniel larsson the karate kid – Pg. 1, 2nd Result What can I say about this? I *am* the Karate Kid despite what Jackie Chan and Baby Will Smith think. You can remake the movie but you can’t replace “Daniel-san” or “wax on, wax off” in our popular culture lexicon. The mantle of “Daniel-san” is proudly carried by all Dans and Daniels just like “Dan the Man” or “Dan, Dan the Umbrella Man.”

i’m tired of stick figure comics – Pg. 2, 2nd Result. Help me out here, is this irony or just coincidence?

There’s a lot of great comic book covers out there. This list is my personal All-Time Top 10. Before I get to the list, it’s important to note the criteria I used to determine this list:

#1. It’s MY Top 10. This list is limited to covers that *I* have seen. That immediately rules out hundreds of thousands of covers. I’m not trying to make the Top 10 List of Greatest Covers EVER… just MY Top 10. If I haven’t seen it, it can’t make the list. At the same time, it’s covers that I have ALREADY seen. I didn’t want to spend days exposing myself (gross) to thousands of different covers. There’s just too many out there.

#2: If the covers really are THAT great… I should remember them outright. So, there’s a lot of amazing covers that I have seen, but if I couldn’t think of them off the top of my head… they didn’t make the list. I didn’t think it was necessary to even go through my boxes of comics. I should be able to remember the Top 10 without looking them up.

After putting my 10 covers together, I realized that there was absolutely no way I could actually put them in order from 10 to 1. All of the covers are so important to my history as a reader of comics that there just isn’t a way to determine the importance of one over the other based solely on the cover alone. I did, however, recognize that there were 2 distinct tiers: The Top 3 and The Other 7. What makes The Top 3 different? I’ll talk about that after we get through The Other 7.

The Other 7 (in no particular order)

G.I.Joe #46 April, 1986 by Mike Zeck

This cover has 4 elements that put it in my Top 10 Covers: it was illustrated by Mike Zeck, it features Snake Eyes in his V2 uniform, it’s G.I.Joe and it came out in 1986. Those 4 elements will come up again on several other covers.

The Punisher #3 March, 1986 by Mike Zeck

Mike Zeck cover with The Punisher (my favorite character at the time) in front of a bleeding, paper, shooting range target. I didn’t understand it then and I don’t really understand it now. Was someone standing behind it? I didn’t care then and I don’t care now. It’s just a testament to how badass The Punisher is.

Uncanny X-Men #211 November, 1986 by John Romita, Jr.

Another common element in my Top 10 Covers is Wolverine. He manages to make a record setting *6* of the Top 10 with 4 of them as the solitary character (yes, I’m counting this one). The juxtaposition of the Wolverine mask against the secret identity of Logan (not that he ever tried to keep it a secret) was inherently compelling.

Web of Spider-Man #32 November, 1987 by Mike Zeck

Mike Zeck cover featuring Spider-Man in the black suit rising from a grave? Sold.

The next 3 covers are practically the same cover but they are all independently fantastic.

Uncanny X-Men #207 July, 1986 by John Romita, Jr.

This is one of those covers where I’ve seen it so many times and it was such a striking image the first time I saw it that it has transcended the physical piece of art that it is. I can’t even look at it and see it for what it really is. If I had to do a college art class type of critique I would probably think it was terrible. But for me, this cover just IS comics and it takes me back to the moment I first saw it on the spinner rack. When I was learning to draw this was one of the covers I brutalized by overlaying a piece of tracing paper trying desperately to understand John Romita, Jr.’s lines.

Uncanny X-Men #234 September, 1988 by Marc Silvestri

Man, these 10 covers are so important to me and carry such a deep emotional resonance that I find it difficult to really describe WHY they are in my Top 10. They just ARE. Wolverine in the spotlight half-transformed into a Brood? Yes, I’ll take it! It’s striking, it’s compelling, the colors hurt my eyes, Marc Silvestri on the X-Men is the main reason I read comics for so long.

Uncanny X-Men #251 November, 1989 by Marc Silvestri

To be honest, I don’t remember the stories of most of these books. Is that weird? The point of the cover is to sell the book, and regardless of the story inside, I bought these books. Some of them several times over. I LOVE these books. But the stories didn’t really stick with me. In fact, at this point of the X-storyline, I don’t think I really liked the story at all. But this cover… man, there’s no better way to sum up the angst of late ‘80’s early ‘90’s Uncanny X-Men.

The Top 3 (in no particular order)

What’s the difference between The Top 3 and The Other 7? I will buy these 3 comic books each and every time I see them whether it’s a yard sale, flea market, comic shop back issue blowout sale, private collection… I love these 3 covers so much that I literally get the thrill of the first time I bought them EVERY time I buy them. And, as has happened in the past, if something should happen to one of them, I always have backups.

Now just give me a minute to try to put them in some kind of order because I can’t possibly weight the importance of one over the others…

Captain America Annual #8 1986 by Mike Zeck

Mike Zeck, Wolverine (one of my favorite characters in1986), Captain America (one of my favorite characters in 1986 and my current favorite), and an amazing action shot that shoots energy off the page. Unlike the forgettable stories I mentioned earlier, this story did stick with me and has been the default relationship for Cap and Wolverine ever since.

Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #1 May, 1984 by Mike Zeck

All my favorite heroes on one cover illustrated by Mike Zeck! I don’t care where they’re going or what they’re about to do, I have to have this book. I have to have several copies of it in fact. A 2 t-shirts AND a poster by Alex Ross.

G.I.Joe Yearbook #2 March, 1986 by Michael Golden

In 1986 G.I.Joe was bigger than Jesus playing bass for the Beatles (for 10 year-old boys anyway). Looking back on it now, G.I.Joe certainly peaked with the introduction of Snake Eyes’ V2 costume (the one with the visor, sword and wolf). Nothing related to G.I.Joe has ever topped or even come close to the amazingly bad-assed-ness of that suit. My 3 favorite G.I.Joe characters (that is to say, members of the Joes, so excluding Cobra characters) were Snake Eyes, Ripcord and Torpedo. To have all of them on a single cover that reeks of American patriotism illustrated in the hyper-detailed-but-slightly-cartoonish style of (uncredited) Michael Golden is a childhood dream come true.

As an artist I have been chasing this cover since the day I saw it. I hope to one day be able to render weapons, gear, clothing and gestures with the same kind of accuracy and energy that Golden does. To this day I am dumbfounded as to why Torpedo and Ripcord would feature so prominently on a cover for any reason other than to appease ME. It never happened before this cover and hasn’t since. All I can say is: Thank you Hasbro, Marvel and Michael Golden!

Some stats to roundup this Top 10:

- 5 Zeck, 2 Silvestri, 2 Romita, Jr., 1 Golden

- 6 covers with Wolverine

- 8 Covers depict events that either certainly did or most likely did happen in that book (the exceptions being Punisher #3 and X-Men #207)

- All 10 are between 1984 and 1989 (6 from 1986).

I find it astounding that I’ve been reading and collecting comics for at least 25 years and all 10 of my Top 10 covers came from 4 artists at 1 company over a 5 year period that ended 21 years ago. Every cover I have seen since 1989 has been measured against these 10 images.

Furthermore these covers have been so important to me as a lover of comics for so long that I can’t imagine any cover will ever breaking into that Top 10. No cover will ever be able to deliver the same kind of wide-eyed discovery that those covers did. No cover will be able to inspire that same sense of wonder and excitement. I’ve read so many comics and seen so many covers that there just aren’t any surprises anymore.

Of course there have been lots of covers since 1989 that I have liked, lots of covers that I think are amazingly composed, fantastically illustrated and striking images. Heck, if you asked me I would tell you that Art Adams is my favorite artist and that Alex Ross is one of the greatest comic artists EVER… but neither one of them made the Top 10. For all the great artists and covers that have come along since 1989 they will never have the power of being my first encounter with those characters or concepts. Everything else will just be a variation or imitation of those 10 covers.

See, from 1984 to 1989 I was still naive with respect to the craft of comics, the way the images are made and the REASON the images are made. At that age, I didn’t even realize that there were different artists on different books. All I saw were the characters. Mike Zeck, John Romita, Jr., it didn’t matter, all I saw were Wolverine and Snake Eyes. Once the curtain was pulled back and I saw how things worked, once I started to take apart the lines and figure out how to put them back together, how to create my OWN lines… I lost that first-time reader innocence. I can’t just appreciate that they exist, I have to know how and why.

At 33 years, I can see the strings. I can see how the art is made, how the attempts to manipulate the buyer are crafted, heck, I put these methods into practice as an artist and crafter of commercial imagery myself. But it hasn’t stopped me from reading and collecting comics. It’s merely changed the way that I look at them and what I appreciate about them. There are probably a lot of covers that have come along in the last 21 years that would have made this list were I encountering them as a first time reader of comics.

And now I’m curious. Now I want to know how the Top 10 SINCE 1989 differ from the Top 10. Now I have to go put together my Top 10 Covers SINCE 1989 list.

Stay tuned…

2010 was going pretty well, I mean, I had successfully posted *16* Dailies in a row! My fiancee Kate and I had just returned from an auction in East Greenwhich, RI where I had acquired this gem for $15:

And just as I started to find a spot for it, I was informed that my cat Wesker (shown here):

had somehow gotten himself stuck in a tree in the backyard.

Now, I’ve had Wesker for several years (the photo above is from 2003 and is being used in an attempt to make him out to be a more sympathetic character for this story) and he has definitely proven to be a tree climber, but I live in New Hampshire and the trees in the backyard are really, really tall pine trees. And in all the time I have owned cats (25 years), I have never known one to attempt to climb something so tall. I have to assume that something sent him up there. Either losing track of how high he was while consumed by the thrill of the the chase as our yard is inhabited by all sorts of birds and squirrels or, perhaps, he was fleeing from something like that stupid dog that shows up in the yard every-so-often and eats out of the garbage cans.

Either way, I didn’t feel like this was a job for the fire department. Especially not at 7:00 on a Sunday night when the precipitation was beginning to fall. I figured, get the 30′ ladder, carefully climb up check the scene out, maybe lure him down and come down easily. As long as I’m careful about how I choose my steps, everything should be fine. I’ve been climbing trees since I was a kid, granted not with the same frequency as when I was a kid, but… regardless.

Kate’s uncle and I hoisted the ladder into place and, as the darkness of night engulfed the scene I began to climb.

With Kate and her uncle shining the way with flashlights from the ground below I made my way to the top of the ladder. The closer I got, the louder Wesker wailed. Once I got to the top I was dismayed to find that he was actually stuck higher than the reach of the ladder (the 30′ ladder). With great trepidation, I left the security of the ladder and ventured up into the mass of braches.

Once I got to Wesker’s position, I became VERY concerned. At the time, under the increasingly stormy and dark conditions, he looked like he was impaled. His legs were hanging limply below him and he had that crazy “help me” look in his eyes. Call me a sucker, I couldn’t just climb down and call the fire department. I was confident about my footing and my hold on the branches, I grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and pulled him toward me.

Of course, once he was within arms reach, he latched onto me pretty tightly and I started to think “maybe he’s not hurt after all.” Regardless, I figured I was just a few steps from the ladder and we’d be down soon enough.

Well, I was right about that last part.

With Wesker latched onto my chest I set my left foot on what I THOUGHT was a pretty sturdy branch. I made sure I had my foot as close to the trunk of the tree so as to prevent any flexing of the branch so that it WOULDN’T break. I reached out to the ladder with my right foot and that’s when everything went into slow motion.

I heard the snap of the branch, and felt it, and then I felt the sensation of falling. From here on, I totally lost track of Wesker. I know he made the trip down with me, I just down know where or how he landed.

It was a really weird sensation, the fall that is. As I had been standing upright, I instinctively reached out with my feet knowing the ground was on it’s way toward me. But the sensation was strange because the ground just wasn’t there. And it seemed like forever before my feet actually made contact with something.

Kate’s uncle would describe my landing similar to that of someone who had parachuted. I landed on my feet, but instinctively collapsed into a sort of crouch to absorb the impact and then kind of bounced back up a bit before finally settling on the ground lying face down.

Of course, I knew I was hurt. My first thought was paralysis. I knew enough about a fall like that and the way I landed to be concerned about damaged to my spine. Not to mention the pain that I was having in my lower back. As Kate dialed 911 I lay on the ground moving my fingers and toes as much as possible if for no other reason that to reassure myself that the damage wasn’t too bad, yet. I still had feeling and movement in all of my extremities and, even though my left arm was becoming numb (because I was laying on it) I knew that I had already dodged a pretty substantial bullet (and a bunch of rocks, tree branches, pieces of metal, a small brick wall and other things lying on the ground around the base of the tree).

The paramedics showed up, strapped me to a board and took me to the hospital. I was definitely in shock as I only have a vague recollection of the querstions they asked me on the way. I definitely had a tough time answering them although, to be fair, it was January 17th and if you had asked me what year it was BEFORE the fall I probably would have hesitated a bit.

The next 8 hours or so were a blur. I completely lost track of time and faded in and out of awareness. I was definitely in shock. The only thing I could think about the whole time was: “how much has my life changed? I know I can move my fingers and toes… but am I going to be able to walk? Am I going to be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life? I’m fine with not playing basketball, but am I going to be able to sit at my desk and draw? If I have to use a cane, will Kate let me have one with a sword in it?”

After things settled down at the hospital and there was a quiet moment with the Doc, I was informed that I was being transferred to a hospital in Boston with a much better spinal trauma team (that’s GOOD news… right?). They were fairly certain that I wasn’t going to need surgery, but better to be in the hands of the best spinal trauma team available, just to be sure.

So what’d I break? Take a look at this photo:

The spine has three main sections of vertebrae. Your neck is comprised of the 7 cervical vertebrae, your ribcage/upper back is the 12 thoracic vertebrae and the lower back is the 5 lumbar vertebrae. For me, L1 and L2 were both compression fractured. One of them had a regular vertical hairline running up the side of the bone and the other was described as an “explosive” fracture. That’s good, right?

An explosive fracture is exactly what you think it is. Instead of the bone fracturing lengthwise… it fractured outwardly. Using a pillow and a Sharpie (which I’m sure they’re charging me for) the doctor illustrated what the trauma to my spine looked like and explained that the explosive fracture meant that a piece of the vertebrae had actually broken off from the bone itself and entered the soft, chewy center of the spinal cavity… you know… the one where your spinal cord sits.

Luckily (and I can’t stress that enough) it had not made contact with the cord itself. Otherwise… I don’t know, I’d probably still be in the hospital. Amazingly, I was told that I wouldn’t need surgery because my body was going to do all the work. The piece that broke off from my vertebrae would be reabsorbed back onto the bone and in 6-8 weeks the whole thing should be healed up just fine. All of the treatment was going to be outpatient.

Spinal trauma, explosive fracture, compression fracture, catheter… these are all words that I hoped to never have associated with parts of my body. I am unbelievably thankful that this injury didn’t turn out worse than it could have. On Tuesday, January 19 I was fitted for a back brace and on Wednesday, January 20 I was sent home to begin my recovery. Seriously, 3 days after fracturing 2 vertebrae I was back at home in my own bed.

I want to make sure I thank everyone who has sent positive vibes my way and helped me out. You know who you are.

So that’s where we are right now. Every day a little more range of movement, a little more time upright instead of lying down. The soreness lessens as the strength increases. It’s going to be a few weeks before I can drive a car again, but I should be back at the drawing desk with the next 7 days or so. While I haven’t been able to draw these last 3 weeks, I have been able to write, so there’s plenty of Stick-Man material on the way and I’ll be dealing with this real life episode within the story because if anyone is going to make jokes about me looking like a stormtrooper or having no backbone or failing Superhero Class 101: ‘Cat in tree’… it’s going to be me.

See you soon!