Life and Death

2026 has not gone as expected.

I’m going to talk about some sad stuff here so if you want to skip it I get it. I’ll catch you on the next one:)

I didn’t intend to write this much about it but it poured out so here you go…

I want to start off by saying. I’m OK:)

2026 has thrown some massive life challenges right out of the gate. It’s weird to focus on my own life here when you notice all the other horrors happening around the world. It almost makes me feel that my challenges aren’t so grand.

My mother Connie, passed away last week due to an aggressive lung Cancer. She was 84. Connie was an amazing woman and mother and she lived a great life. She was a superstar of a mom and an amazing wife. She raised some awesome kids in my sister and I (OK Fine, I might be bias:) and got to help raise her incredible grandkids. Instilling us and them with all the warmth and love she would share with everyone she met. She was definitely my high bar for being a good human on this giant rock hurling through space.

My mother spent the last few months in the hospital and it was brutal for all of us to say the least. The hardest thing I’ve ever had to endure and a fraction of what she endured with incredible courage. Her strength helped me so much. I’m fortunate that I lived close and could make daily/nightly visits to the hospital. It was a challenge to balance work and life at this time. I realized early on that when someone is dying of cancer the grieving process can start really early. That can be both a blessing and a curse. I think I was better for it in the end. I had a lot of time to grieve and grieve I did! I had a lot of time to talk with my mother and say goodbye on multiple occasions. I’m thankful for that. I’m also thankful to my amazing family. My father and my sister who were the rocks of the family. Having a tight family unit made this whole horrible ordeal a lot more manageable. Valerie my incredible wife who was there for me and our kids through this entire thing and continues to be. She’s the best. My best friend Darren who knew what I was going through and supported me every step of the way. Not an easy thing to navigate but when you have good pals around you it helps a lot. Shout out to you, Dustin as well!

I want to thank Skottie Young and our IHF editor Eric Harburn. Skottie would often call and text to check up on me and just be a shoulder to lean on. It meant a lot. The team was so supportive during this whole time and helped me manage my workload to the best of my abilities to keep us on our publishing deadlines. Poor Jean, our amazing colourist, had to crunch a lot because of me falling behind. Everyone really helped me through this. Comics helped me get through this. Having something to distract from the situation was so helpful. I’m glad I had work to focus on when I could muster the will to do it.

Drawing IHF #50 bedside at the hospital.

For the last 2 months I felt like life was on pause. It had to be. My family needed me… I needed them. Everything else had to be set aside. My heart goes out to you if you are going through or have dealt with similar challenges. Sometimes you find yourself in a tornado, unable to move out of it… but know that the storm passes eventually.

Thanks for reading.