Hi, everyone. Kyle here. I feel like what Gabe wrote about Ricky sums it up so beautifully that I almost don’t want to add anything of my own, but I wanted to say a few things. Ricky helped me out a lot both by bringing me on board to do Strawberry here and recommending me for storyboarding jobs. I appreciated that and that was already Ricky going the extra mile for me, but I feel like what’s more important is what only Ricky could’ve done. Ricky challenged me. Ricky challenged me to be a better, more interesting writer. Ricky kept me thinking about what my personal voice is and how to express it. I think the first part of that sentence is the important part: Ricky kept me thinking. His influence made me stop and go “Well, is this genuinely how I feel, or is this the knee-jerk, nerd rage reaction my misspent geeky boyhood has brought me?”
I am a better human being because of Ricky Garduno. It makes me sad that he won’t get to continue seeing where I was headed, because I think he’d enjoy the hell out of it… and then help me improve more.
Aron has made a lovely tribute of her own which you can find at http://aronjshay.tumblr.com/post/13945953188/missyouricky
John Berry found it more suitable to make his own 1930s Nightmare Theatre comic which you can find here: http://fav.me/d4ihezj Is it in questionable taste? Maybe. But then, whenever I wondered if we were crossing a line (like during the convention strips), I’d turn to Ricky to see what he thought, and he always laughed and told us to go for it. Also, I find the double meaning to the title “Too Soon” clever and heartfelt in its own right.
One final thing; I’ve noticed a lot of people speculating on the cause of death. Please know that Ricky sought help and friends sought to help him.
Back to our regular story next week. Be safe, everyone.
I think Ricky would have approved of that comic 110%.
I can’t stop crying… we were close friends and I tried to help him.. why Ricky..? Why???
I’m not going to reveal why he did it but my god, I did all I could to show him he had a life beyond this pain..!
He was loved and he knew it…
About the John Berry strip, I think It’s a little harsh to associate the worst nihilism of 1930 NT with Ricky’s life an passing. Even if that’s what he wanted to exteriorize, we got to remember that there was a man behind it. A man made of flesh and history. A loving man, a caring man, a wounded man.
But yeah, Kimbo totally deserved that. He was a jerk.
And not only that, but I did see sentiments of the man behind it in, say, the strip where Vespula is discussing sunflower seeds and the other Kimbo/Vespula romance strips.
The only way I know of this fellow was through his comics on this site. Even so, I can say that reading the news post made my heart sink a little. His work showed more than a sense of humor – it showed a deep mind. The world is worse off for his passing.
That said, I think the guest strip was perfect. It isn’t the content of the strip that shows the respect for Ricky; it’s how true it stays to his style. If he ever laughed at his own comics, I think he would laugh at that one even knowing the context.
My heart goes out to the people who knew him personally.
I think Ricky would have loved it! Great work to both John and Kyle!
made me smile.
Great work to the both of you. Honestly, a controversial comic is probably something that Ricky would’ve gotten a kick out of anyway, judging by the content of his comic. Normally I would say it’s ‘too soon’… but with Ricky, he seemed to like to push the envelope anyway.
I’m sorry for your loss… I didn’t know him, but will certainly miss his creative ideas that he shared with the world.
I still miss him and I still can’t believe what happen. I just though those jokes on suicide in his comics was just of a form of dark comedy I don’t know if this was a clue if he was planning to do (if he did). If I could, I would go back in time and help Ricky, telling him there is so much to live for, heck, he could help me out on a movie (I’m working on a screenplay for a Sonic the Hedgehog movie BTW), anything that would make him continue to live. But really, we don’t know if he killed himself or if it was an accidental death. What matters is that he’s in peace now and I pray he’s in Heaven and is happy. I’m goinna miss you Ricky. :(
I think Ricky would have gotten a kick out of the comic :)
I’ve never posted on dummcomics before, even though I’ve been reading it daily since the original line up. My favorite period was when Ricky had the Monday – Wednesday – Friday slots, because I always enjoyed his work So Damn Much! I used to frequent his blog multiple times a day, and we were even friends on facebook. We never chatted much, but he would comment if I posted an article on facebook and he liked it. On my birthday this year, he and I even had a brief conversation and he wished me happy birthday. I’m just now learning about his passing, and I desperately want it to be not true. I hope he had some idea of how liked he was, and how many people admired him.
Where can I find what Gabe wrote about Ricky?
Cercona– go to dumm’s main page and scroll down. Or just click here http://dummcomics.com/2011/12/07/ricky/
Lovely tributes. The Too Soon comic is such poor taste that I imagine Ricky would laugh his ass off at it.
You didn’t put much thought into this piece of shit.
Also, it smells bad and its mom is fat.
That, my dear sir, or something not unlike, is what you could have said to me, had you the smallest leaven of letters or wit; but of wit, O most pitiable of objects made by God, you never had a rudiment, and of letters, you have just those that are needed to spell “fool!”
John, I wish you drew the tribute instead, since you actually know how to draw.
And the very same can be said about your reply.