ironmog

Some of you may know, some may not. But I recently had my fight with cancer. I over came it thankfully, but still it scared the hell out of me. And some of you may also know about Mike Turner passing away today. The guy was my hero.

When I was first diagnosed, being the comic geek I am, I immediately thought of Mike Turner. I'd known about his own fight and how well he'd done. And I'd heard about it having come back. So I took his example to heart, began seeing him as a great example of a cancer patient. He kept working, he always smiled, and he never let it get him too down. He became more of a hero to me once I actually started treatments and I began to see what it was really like, what I'd be up against for the next nine months or so. The owner of the comic shop I frequent, Chris Rupp, was a close friend of Mike's. So during my treatments he and I would stop and talk about how I was doing and how Mike was doing, what kind of treatments he was under going, what he was doing to stay positive. And I'd of course pass on my own advice and suggestions, it was uplifting to hear how well Mike had been doing. Once I finished I'd pretty much set my mind on it to seek Mike out at a con and share my story and ask him for a personal favor, a sketch I could turn into a cancer survivor tattoo.

I'll never get that chance now. I'll never get to say: "Hey man thanks for helping me get through the tough times. Thanks for being a good example of how this stuff can't get ya down. Oh and thanks for all the awesome art over the years too." It still hasn't sunk in totally. Chris is pretty upset (understandably) and I guess I am too. I loved the guy's work. But I loved who he was even more. Catch ya around the bend Mike.



-JC