Soccer it to me

For a few years, my wife has been following the research into brain injuries that can be caused by bouncing soccer balls off of the head, that has resulted in the push to end the practice in schools, or have a requirement for helmets. The photo at this link to the local paper is from a couple of days ago.

These two high school girls are butting heads, with the soccer ball providing some relief from the impact, but if there’s a case for wearing helmets while playing soccer, this is it. One of the girls must have a knee injury, because if you click the link to the article you can see that she’s wearing a brace. So it’s doubtful she should have been in the game at all.

Bad break for Joe Sinnott

Heard some bad news on my birthday. Yesterday, Mark Sinnott posted a message on the site he runs for his dad, the legendary Marvel Comics artist Joe Sinnott:

On Thursday, Sept. 9th, my dad received some bad news from his doctor that he has a broken hip and would need hip replacement surgery, Friday Sept. 17th. For the past 6 weeks, Joe has had severe pain in his left leg. 2 x-rays taken a week apart revealed a “slight” crack in the bone. For the past week Joe has been using a walker to get around. An MRI taken on Wednesday confirmed the broken hip. They say that it appears to be from degenerative bone, as he never fell. After surgery, Joe will have a 4 day stay in the hospital, followed by 1-2 weeks in a rehab center and 2-3 weeks supervised (not left alone). That’s if all goes according to schedule. It could be longer. Joe will still need a walker or cane to get around after all is said and done. If anyone would like to send Joe a get well wish after his surgery, please send them to the address below.

Thank you,
Mark Sinnott, Sept.10,2010
send cards to:
Joe Sinnott
PO Box 406
Saugerties, NY 12477

Here’s an example of Joe’s work, scanned from the original art. In the hands of a master like Joe Sinnott, india ink on paper is a beautiful thing. As you can see, Joe never takes shortcuts, and even when he was busy working full-time to support his family, he never rushed through a job to get it done, just so he could get to the next assignment.

Some years ago, Joe broke the shoulder of his drawing arm while visiting his old pal, writer Mickey Spillane, creator of “Mike Hammer” (Spillane died in 2006), but he came back from that injury to do work that’s as great as ever. Joe was scheduled to be in Boston for a comic book show in October. Dennis and I were really looking forward to seeing Joe and Mark, and now it’s very doubtful we’ll get to do that. But that doesn’t matter, because what we want is for Joe to get through the surgery and get well. You’re the greatest, Joe!

Joe Sinnott and Mickey Spillane