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If Cliff Biggers can do it....
Cliff Biggers is nothing if not a splendid inspiration. From his biography at Comic Shop News:
Cliff Biggers has been an avid comics fan since 1959, when his parents bribed him with a stack of comics in order to convince him that a tonsillectomy wouldn't necessarily be a Bad Thing (it was, but the comics were still pretty nifty). In the 1960s and 1970s, he was involved with a number of comic book and science fiction fanzines; from 1975 to 1979, he and Susan, his wife, co-published an award-winning fanzine, Future Retrospective. In 1978, he took charge of the comics section of Dr. No's, which he and Ward Batty acquired in 1981. In 1985, he began producing a store newsletter that eventually paved the way for his and Ward's launch of Comic Shop News in 1987. Cliff did some comics work for Boffo Laffs, co-created the comic After Apocalypse with Mark Bagley, and co-created, with Brett Brooks and Dave Johnson, "The Earth Boys," an offbeat adventure series that appeared in Dark Horse Presents. He also writes for The Comics Buyer's Guide. In his spare time, he teaches high school, hoping to turn the youth of today into the comics fans of tomorrow. His reviews and commentary also appear regularly at Newsarama.
I've known Cliff peripherally since the comics convention days of the mid 1970's. I've also had occasion to engage in some discussions with him on the web (forums, newsgroups, etc...) over the last 10 or so years. Though our paths have been elusive of late, my memories of every encounter with him left me with a sense of grace. Cliff is thoughtful, insightful warm and respectful. In truth, while there have been times when most of the comics community displayed an estrangement at my nearby presence, this was never the case with Cliff Biggers. He transcends the industry small talk and relates to people and issues individually - based on his own personal encounter - and not the community buzz syndrome which appears to affect so many. This grace he bestows on his environment, I hold to his evident virtues.
Cliff also maintains a personal blog, Not Much'a Nothin' (presently sporting a wonderful and sentimental item about window exposure in the modern home). I discovered it recently, noticing he'd written an entry titled It's a Big World After All... commenting on a Flaming Sword item about Neal Adams' science project . Well recommended reading, as is his entire blog, due to the insight felt in everything he touches. While few in the comics give serious consideration to Neal's science work, Cliff weighs in with his impression without qualifying an acceptance or rejection of it. He simply comments on how such work appears to be affecting the presentation of modern science theory. By simply giving it a valid place amongst other ideas, Cliff moves far ahead of many who reject it flippantly because it rubs the grain of convention.
Cliff Bigger's blog profile, however, is the major thought provoker there:
I discovered comics when I was 4; discovered the Beatles when I was 10; discovered fanzines when I was 12; met Susan when I was 15; got married when I was 17; began teaching when I was 21; died when I was 46 (but I got better!). While the choppy pacing and lead-in to having died at 46 resonates of the type of profile humor that's very common on the web, it didn't seem appropriate for the more level-spirited Cliff whom I'd come to know. Cliff is certainly not lacking of a sense of humor, but rather simply possessing a more intellectual ability in expressing it. The direct shock value writing style in this profile doesn't match any other writings of his. This little issue nudged at me persistently during my recent visits to his blog.
So, while skimming the archives today (and enjoying every moment of it) I came upon an entry, I Know What It's Like to Be Dead... Yes, of course, I soon realized the reason for my previous perplexity. Cliff wouldn't lightly jest about something as serious as having died. We now learn that he had suffered a heart attack six years ago and in reality, clinically departed from amongst us for as long as Seven entire minutes, at least...
...And then Cliff Biggers RETURNED TO LIFE!
Yes, dear readers, our very own Comic Shop News messenger extraordinaire is a resurrected man of wonder! No less, perhaps than the Man of Steel himself at the hands of DC marketing shenanigans, or Ra's Al-Ghul through his legendary Lazarus Pit. Everything now falls into place and this long overdue item, six years in the waiting, can now brandish the title above and tell this remarkable story.
You are indeed a big inspiration, Cliff. Your next post In My Time of Dying... left no doubt as to the effect this experience has on you and how it alleviates any concerns you have about death. It's the way we should all live our lives, actually, if we're to live fully. As if we have no concern or thought of death awaiting us at any time around the corner.
So, when the wiseguys and scoffers chuckle in ridicule at my slowly-materializing ambition to raise an army through a world-wide-media-socio-political-movement, with which to battle the Tyrants of Faith and Oppression... and when they snicker at my claim that I'll give myself in to a public execution at the hands of the Pope himself - and when they squirm in disbelief at my knowledge that I'll survive it by returning to life after 3 days... well, when the scoffers scoff, I can now be on even more certain footing with my answer to them:
If Cliff Biggers can do it....
It's nicer than ever to have you with us, Cliff - splendors of gratitude for the devotion and inspiration.
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Posted: 10:49 PM EST
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