It is little secret around here that Matt Fraction ain’t just one of my favorite comic book creators. He’s a source of genuine inspiration and resiliency, and I follow his travels in ways that may be “unhealthy” and “borderline obsessive.” Okay. Whatever. So forgive me if this post really doesn’t fit in anywhere (though to be fair This Site is Me and I Am This Site). But I stumbled across this really fucking outstanding diatribe from Fraction detailing him falling into Hawkguy‘s first issue. It’s tremendous. He admits what I was sort of worrying about at the time (his career dying), once again somehow conjures tragedy into art, and continues to generally move me.

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[WEEKEND OPEN BAR: The one-stop ramble-about-anything weekend post at OL. Comment on the topic at hand. Tell us how drunk you are. Describe a comic you bought. This is your chance to bring the party.]

Whether you’re a poet, graffiti artist, basketball player, or accountant, chances’re that you occasionally stumble into a patch of malaise. In these moments of self-doubt, all forward momentum comes to a halt. The verses clench up, the spray-can nozzle snaps off, the free-throw lines extend, and the numbers stop adding up. For a few horrifying instances, it may seem as though all hope is lost.

That is, of course, until we look to our heroes for inspiration.

Heroes are those individuals whose demonstrations of excellence compel us to push ourselves to our own limits. When artists and athletes and scientists redefine the parameters of possibility, they also remind us that we can do great things. Hell, if all your hero does is provide a brief respite of escapism, your day has still been improved.

We all have our heroes, and with good reason. With this truism in tow, let’s show off the hearts on our sleeves. Grab a beer, make some nachos, and join the party in the open bar.

Who are your heroes and what do they do?

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I first heard about Molly Crabapple through the website of my Lord and Demonic Inspiration, Warren Ellis. I’ve followed her a few years on Twitter, and always thought she was pretty fantastic. However, the shit she pulled off this year is nothing short of fantastic. To celebrate her 28th birthday, she locked herself in a hotel room for a week. Covered the walls in paper. And drew. And drew. It was financed by a Kickstarter project whose requested backing was crushed, and this video was produced out of it.

Pretty tremendous stuff, the sort of thing that is simultaneously inspiration and depressing. “Man, this makes me want to create!” followed by “Caff, you lazy useless sack of shit.”

Hit the jump to check it out.

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I came across this today at Robot 6, and it’s pretty awesome. Artist Paolo Rivera recently commented on his blog that he’d finished his work on the Spider-Man storyline, One Moment In Time. Laced throughout it though, was some pretty inspiring words on the dedication to creation, and love.

Paolo Rivera:

I did it! I’m free! After months of monastic dedication, I have finished… 4 books. Whenever I think of the amount of effort required (by me) to produce a single comic book (let alone 4), I am filled with admiration for the creators, past and present, who do it on a monthly basis.

The image above comes from Amazing Spider-Man #33, 1 of 2 Spider-Man comics that happened to be in my household while growing up (thanks, Dad). Of course, it happened to be one of the greatest Spidey stories ever told, but how was I supposed to know? I couldn’t drive, and I spent what allowance I had on toys.

Looking back on the issue now, it’s hard not to draw parallels between Spidey’s dedication and my own work ethic. My adolescent mind was in awe of Spidey’s resolve: he “rested” while being pummeled by Doc Ock’s henchmen in order to gather strength for the final fight. What? Mind: blown.

People ask me how I can sit in my room for months on end (the “Bat Cave” and “Fortress of Solitude” comments are incessant). The answer is very simple: I love my job. It’s extremely challenging, but that’s the point. It makes finishing a project feel just like lifting tons of steel machinery off your back to reach the serum that will save your dying Aunt May. Love can give you power you didn’t know you had.

Props to Robot 6 for posting it as their Quote of the Day, otherwise I wouldn’t have come across the quote, or Rivera’s rather awesome blog.