Jeph, I've been struggling with what to say here. I know I want to say something, but what I don't know is You. It's an awkward position to be in - every weekday for the last five or six years, I've read this comic. I've watched your artistic talent evolve, I've watched old characters change, I've watched new characters spring up. The strips have mostly made me laugh; a few have made me tear up; a few have hit really close to home on one issue or another. It's a story about people who aren't real, but they're certainly realistic, so it's easy to become attached to them. But I don't know You beyond what I see on my screen.
We all get a little window to your soul, I think, in reading, but it's only a window and not a door, and it only goes one way. Like many artists, I assume your comic is an outlet for you - you have things floating around in your brain that you just have to form into physical reality. And you've chosen to share that with whoever is willing to read it - certainly to our benefit! But while it's easy for us to get attached to the story you present to us, and to feel like we "get" you and can peer into your mind, I'm sure that there are very few of us who actually know you on a more personal level. I know I don't, not at all. When we get the occasional tiny glimpse into your personal life, though, and I hear that you're struggling, I still feel heartsick for you. I want to say the right thing, or be able to help in some way, just as I would for somebody that I'm close to. From what I've seen here, there are many others who feel the same way. Maybe that's silly or overly sentimental; you may even think that since we don't know you, we can't possibly care that much. But in contemplating WHY we actually do care, it occurred to me that when someone opens a window to the world for that long, people who have been peering in are bound to form an emotional bond of some sort - even if it only goes one way, even if they know nothing else about the person.
What I'm getting at is... I'm not sure if I speak for everyone here, but probably enough of them, when I say that these aren't just pleasantries that we're spouting. I felt like I'd been punched in the stomach when I saw your post this morning. I give a shit whether you're okay, even though we've never met, even though you haven't the faintest idea that I exist. You've chosen to share your soul with us, and that's what I give in return - a little bit of mine.
Take time off and recharge. You don't owe anyone anything; do what you need to in order to heal yourself physically and emotionally. And please keep this in mind - you don't know me, and I don't know you, but I really do mean it when I say that if there's anything I (we) can do to help, all you have to do is just say the word.
Becky
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Topic: Well Wishes and Support (Read 23020 times)