This is gonna sound stupid.
As some of you know, I started my fancomic in the Sonichu subforum about a year ago today. Originally it was started as a bet between me and a friend who wanted to see if I could even attempt to do a comic based on Chris' characters, drawn entirely on copy paper and using magic marker and the bare minimum of Photoshop. At this point, I was in a huge creative slump, having not even sketched anything for at least two years. Chris got me out of that slump and I have done more illustrations in the last year than I have in the last five years combined.
There is something about Chris' work that honestly fascinated me. It wasn't good by any conceivable notion. The writing was terrible, the coloring was slipshod, and character designs and the mere concept of continuity was dragged behind a barn and shot. And yet, the reason it continued to fascinate me and even does today. It's a beautiful trainwreck but it has inspired me to get back on the horse and get my own shit together. And it's not a "Oh, I have to be better than Chris" thing, but rather, it was his drive to create despite all common sense and artistic limitations that inspires me. If I ever get around to making a graphic novel or a widely published novel or some other high-flying dream, sure as shit, I'm gonna dedicate it to Chris.
Happy birthday, Chris. They broke the mold after they made you.