THE MARK, "WHAT GOES AROUND", PAGE 3

I gave myself Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in February 1987, while storyboarding on the "Spiral Zone" animated TV series for Atlantic Kirshner-Locke. My condition necessitating my going on Disability. I spent the next year searching for a modality that could lead to a cure or amelioration of symptoms. I never seriously considered surgery; I reasoned that I would simply re-injure myself at a later date if I didn’t examine my basic method of working. An animation peer recommended a chiropractic solution, so I investigated that. Eventually, I settled on a more holistic approach. I could only work an 8-hour day with short breaks every 20 minutes to stretch or exercise. I had to make my time count, knowing that I wouldn’t be able to make it up on the back end; I’d have to put in the pencil mileage whether I liked what I was producing or not, just do it. I found, to my surprise, that most of my work was useable. In fact, my best work lay ahead of me: I had breakthroughs in creativity and drawing chops on the ALF and Alf Tails animated series (1987), and again on the Batman animated series (1991-92). I found that, not only could I draw what was in my head, but that it would be better than what was in my head; ideas would come to me as I drew.

This is page #3 from Dark Horse Comics #15, “The Mark: What Goes Around”, written by Mike Barr, drawn by Brad Rader, published in December, 1993.