Rest in Peace David Atchison and Patricia Smith

I met David nearly 30 years ago on the now-defunct Gaijin Studios message board.

From the start, David struck me as razor-sharp, funny, and endlessly energetic. He was the kind of person who powered a group. One moment he'd be hyping you up, and the next he'd be stirring up some playful argument just to keep everyone entertained. We all loved him for it.

David was also one of the most talented writers in the business, a fact made evident by the many tributes and accolades that followed his passing. Years ago, he gave me an early look at his OCT comic while he, Tony Shasteen, and Rosario were finalizing the deal. I was immediately hooked. I wrote back, "This is amazing. I can't wait to see it published."

Not long after, he asked if I would draw a backup story.

I thought about it and replied, "For you, yes."

Never mind that I hadn't drawn a comic page in nearly a decade by that point. More than two decades have passed since then, but I was willing to dust off my pencils for David. He had a way of persuading people.

In recent years, David's health declined significantly, culminating in a stroke. When he stopped responding to my Facebook messages as quickly as he once had, I understood why. More than anything, I wanted to see him recover and regain his strength. I hadn't heard about his most recent setback and learned of his passing on October 11 along with everyone else. He was the second member of that old message board community that we've lost in recent years.

That brings me to Patricia.

This is a more difficult story to tell because I don't come out looking very good.

Patricia, better known online as Smugbug, was a young artist I met on the board around the same time I met David. Over the years, she occasionally reached out for career advice, and I always felt we had a positive relationship. Eventually, she grew far beyond the role of "young artist asking for advice" and became an accomplished professional with a thriving career of her own.

Then we had a falling out.

To put it simply, I teased her publicly, she didn't appreciate it, and she stopped speaking to me. Looking back, I wish I had been wiser and never put her in that position. I apologized immediately and hoped that, given enough time, we would reconnect.

We never did.

Patricia passed away from cancer last year.

I never had the opportunity to tell her how sorry I truly was or how much I missed her friendship. I wish that hadn't been our final exchange. Maybe she was simply tired of putting up with me. Maybe I'm carrying more regret about it than she ever did. What I do know is that there was no road left for us to travel together, and I deeply regret that.

This post is the only place I have left to express those feelings.

What I've learned from losing friends is this: always check in. Always be supportive. Always be there when they need you. Don't judge, and don't assume people understand that your words are "just words." Sometimes words matter more than we realize.

It's a mistake I won't make again.

There are moments in life I wish I could have back. This is one of them.

Most of all, I've learned to tell the people you care about that you love them while you still can.

Patricia and David were extraordinarily talented people. They enriched my life in ways I can never fully measure, and I can never check in on them again. Because of that, my world is smaller, and I am poorer for their absence.