Goodbye, dear friend.
Mar. 10th, 2017 02:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thomaskdyeIn 1997, I was beginning to discover the internet. My comic "Newshounds" had been taken up by an "indie" syndicate, and my comics were displayed online for all to see. I was so fascinated by all the comics and material available on the net, I began to use search engines to explore "funny animals." That led me to a site called the Squeaky Clean Furry Archive (later Yerf). I spent many an hour at the El Cerrito Library's internet terminal looking through the art.
One character who everyone seemed to want to draw was Gene Catlow, a pleasant looking anthropomorphic cat who got along with everybody. I discovered he was the creation of Albert Temple, and his pictures of his character interacting with other characters were similarly genial. I decided to overcome my built-in shyness and write an email to him (from my then-aol account!) He lived nearby in Concord, and he said he thought my work was good too. Somehow the topic came around to meeting up in real life. Again, I was extraordinarily shy, but he seemed like such an awesome guy I went for it.
I remember vividly taking BART to the Concord station. I told him I would be wearing my Roger Rabbit shirt, and he said he'd be wearing his Felix the Cat shirt. As I stood outside the station, I saw a tall gentleman with a Felix shirt on underneath a jacket. Since I was wearing a jacket too, I opened it to reveal Roger, and he opened his to reveal Felix, as if to say, "Yeah, it's me!" We had a great time; we went to a nearby restaurant and just talked comics and art, and drew quick pictures of each others' characters.
We continued drawing pics of each others' characters until I eventually got my own computer, signed up for the SCFA and set up the Newshounds website once and for all. Over time I got to know so many more cool people on the internet, but Gene was always the first and the anchor. He was the guy at the gate of the fandom, saying "Come on in! It's not so bad!" He even drew what might have been a metaphorical picture of Alistair, standing scared of the ocean while Gene jumps right in. (Actually, here it is: https://yerf.metafur.org/tempalbe/alstgene.gif )
In 2000, he kindly credited me with inspiring him to create the Gene Catlow comic on Keenspot, which he kept up for 17 years, never missing an update, as far as I remember.
We continued to meet at cons, occasionally making art exchanges, always having an encouraging word for each other's work. Anyone he met was taken by his charm and his smile, and his sometimes gently wry take on the craziness of life. Gene was the idea person, full of vigorous ideas and enthusiasm for his own as well as others' work. He was playful, he was intelligent, he was the kind of guy who illuminated your day just by being in your general area.
The last words he said to me were in an email he sent in the middle of February: "Stay awesome YOURSELF, sir!!"
It's going to be very difficult without him. I feel his loss so deeply I can't even voice it. We've lost a beautifully creative soul with a lot of heart and more joie de vivre than you could shake a stick at.
We miss you, Albert. And we will never forget you.
One character who everyone seemed to want to draw was Gene Catlow, a pleasant looking anthropomorphic cat who got along with everybody. I discovered he was the creation of Albert Temple, and his pictures of his character interacting with other characters were similarly genial. I decided to overcome my built-in shyness and write an email to him (from my then-aol account!) He lived nearby in Concord, and he said he thought my work was good too. Somehow the topic came around to meeting up in real life. Again, I was extraordinarily shy, but he seemed like such an awesome guy I went for it.
I remember vividly taking BART to the Concord station. I told him I would be wearing my Roger Rabbit shirt, and he said he'd be wearing his Felix the Cat shirt. As I stood outside the station, I saw a tall gentleman with a Felix shirt on underneath a jacket. Since I was wearing a jacket too, I opened it to reveal Roger, and he opened his to reveal Felix, as if to say, "Yeah, it's me!" We had a great time; we went to a nearby restaurant and just talked comics and art, and drew quick pictures of each others' characters.
We continued drawing pics of each others' characters until I eventually got my own computer, signed up for the SCFA and set up the Newshounds website once and for all. Over time I got to know so many more cool people on the internet, but Gene was always the first and the anchor. He was the guy at the gate of the fandom, saying "Come on in! It's not so bad!" He even drew what might have been a metaphorical picture of Alistair, standing scared of the ocean while Gene jumps right in. (Actually, here it is: https://yerf.metafur.org/tempalbe/alstgene.gif )
In 2000, he kindly credited me with inspiring him to create the Gene Catlow comic on Keenspot, which he kept up for 17 years, never missing an update, as far as I remember.
We continued to meet at cons, occasionally making art exchanges, always having an encouraging word for each other's work. Anyone he met was taken by his charm and his smile, and his sometimes gently wry take on the craziness of life. Gene was the idea person, full of vigorous ideas and enthusiasm for his own as well as others' work. He was playful, he was intelligent, he was the kind of guy who illuminated your day just by being in your general area.
The last words he said to me were in an email he sent in the middle of February: "Stay awesome YOURSELF, sir!!"
It's going to be very difficult without him. I feel his loss so deeply I can't even voice it. We've lost a beautifully creative soul with a lot of heart and more joie de vivre than you could shake a stick at.
We miss you, Albert. And we will never forget you.
