His writing and art are his business, but Erik Larsen taught me something important

THANK YOU
By Alex Ness
April 10, 2023

I won't go into the whole story, most who know me already know it by heart, and those that don't know me, probably would rather watch paint dry, or unfunny comedians doing marathons. But to start, I'd known Erik Larsen by email, and in person, read his comics, and gave away many of his signed cards through my first web based column, found on RobinGoodfellow.net. I'd sent cards and he signed them.  I really liked his upfront punch in the nose action, I found it reminiscent of Jack Kirby's most fun comics, and I adore Jack Kirby's work. I couldn't keep up but I'd catch up, at one time I was receiving over 200 items for review, so you don't always get time to read for pleasure when you review for a "living". But I did always catch up.

Among the qualities of Erik Larsen I appreciated the most was his responsiveness to interview requests, and his sometimes brutal honesty that I know some folks found bordering on rude, but I found refreshing. Asking a stupid question deserves a sort of response that reminds the person asking questions that his time is being given, for free, for your purposes. I do believe in the fan press, so I am not saying that he'd receive no benefit or more attention paid to his work, but there are times for silly and times for serious.

Before I go further into why I am writing this today, I was very much appreciative of the quality of comics that were published during his time in the publisher seat at Image Comics. They were not let's just punch bad guys, or show nipples through t-shirts. The comics were for all kinds of audiences, the ideas were new. If he wasn't the editor of every book, I can honestly still say, with him being publisher I enjoyed almost everything Image put out during that time. That might be a coincidence. It might also mean that there was a reason for that quality.

He wasn't working from the massive audience of Jim Lee or Todd McFarlane. But he did do Spider-Man and did various other books, for DC, Marvel and Malibu/Image. However, he had ideas and characters that were developed over many years, from his youth to his years at Marvel, he worked on the concepts and settings where his characters would exist. And that was a far greater advantage regarding the quality of writing and the forward progress of his characters, than people with talent who said, oooh that looks cool, lets make him crush his enemies, or have a name that rhymes or has weird powers that no one cares about. Whether you as a reader liked the work, it was original.

You can find most of his work reprinted in large tpbs, or even select tpbs featuring the best of his various story arcs.  I enjoyed his work and allowing his work to be used to tell stories in other comic book universes, or by new talents taking a shot at telling their version of the Savage Dragon with Larsen's guidance as an editor or creative guide. I enjoyed most everything involved in such tales, and recommend them, or buy them if I see them cheap and share them with others readers.

What I like most about Erik Larsen's talents is his willingness to try anything, to pay honest homage to those he appreciates, and tell stories that have characters who are familiar, but stories that are new and often unique. His work with Kurt Busiek on the Defenders was mightily pooped upon, but it was funny, worth reading, with clever humor, fun stories, and paid homage to the original concept of the Defenders which hadn't been sniffed at for decades by other creatives.

Ultimately why I am writing this, isn't that I like Erik Larsen, or his work. Over the course of my writing over 20+ years, I've made that clear. But when I sent an email in January after learning that my personal medical mystery had supposedly been solved, by knowing I had Stage 3 Lymphoma, and that it had, had over 10 months to grow, without my doctors and specialists finding the answer I was in such pain, and I'd symptoms with no answers.  

He wrote to tell me to fight hard and don't give in. Which to a person who believed the time given to cancer would kill me, meant a great deal. Then there was a false reprieve and he like others said way to go. But then it became clear, my oncologist was full of shit. And now it looked like cancer had gained 2 more months on me, without any treatment. He said do me a favor, understand that there are many false diagnoses, and there were indeed those. He seemed to predict the miracle. And then that went to hell too. My doctors had no idea what was going on, and while they do now, I sent a message saying, I think I might die before I write again, so thank you. And he wrote back, do me a favor, and don't give in, don't give up, there are many people on your side you cannot imagine pulling for you to survive.

I only learned as I write this April 7th that my general practice dr. had found a specialist, who found in blood tests evidence of something that is most often found in a certain cancer, and was evidence of other issues, like a swollen spleen and constant sore throats. My dr. and the specialist might have saved my life. And at the moment, and I was able to endure, because of people like Erik Larsen, who made me try to look at the positive and try to stay in the mindset that there was an answer. Another writer Joe Monks was equally important in that, and Mike Baron, another writer sent me materials to read and absorb while recovering.

I can't honestly say Erik and crew saved me, but I can say, they made me want to live. As a person who has tried twice in life to kill myself, and told my wife recently I might just end it all myself rather than wait for a diagnosis that might never come, it was rescue work, or triage. And for all of those named, I can only say thank you, I appreciate the life that I hope to still have when treatment is over.

Find Erik at SAVAGE DRAGON

GETTING REVIEWS?

I can be found on Facebook, Twitter or through email Alexanderness63@gmail.com. I accept hard copies, so when you inquire at any of these places, I'll follow through by telling you my street address.If you send hard copies for review I will try to always review them, but if you prefer to send pdf or ebooks to my email, I will review these at my discretion. I don't share my pdf/ebooks, so you can avoid worry that I'd dispense them for free to others.

My Creative Blogs:


My 5000 poem Blog AlexNessPoetry.Blogspot.Com
 
Cthulhu Alien Horrors CthulhuDarkness.Blogspot.Com

Atlantis & Lost Worlds AlexNessLostWorlds.Blogspot.Com
Published Work  AlexNessPoetry.Blogspot.Com/2007/01/My-Work.html

All images are copyright © their respective owners, use is simply as fair use and no ownership rights asserted.