For the 3rd time in this 2021, I received that dreaded call. First it was my wife calling to tell me her father passed, then it was my dad telling me that my brother Pat is gone. Last night it was my business partner calling to tell me that one of our friend/customer Mike is now gone. This one took me by complete surprise.
Mike was a friend and fellow passionate collector who owned a comic shop about a decade ago. He got out of the business but could never shake the collector bug that lived inside of him. His love for all things Kiss, Planet of the Apes, Batman 66, and pretty much anything that tickled his fancy, was apparent…especially if you happened to sneak a peek into one of his 3 garage sized storage lockers choc full of statues, comics, action figures, and other miscellaneous collectibles.
Mike would come down to the shop every other Saturday, where him and my business partner along with a few others would usually go talk shop for hours on end as they grabbed some grub. I know my partner Pete had a closer relationship with him than I did as they spent more time together, but this one still really stings.
It turned out Mike had gotten sick with Covid just about a week earlier. While we don’t know what the actual cause was yet, we are guessing it was Covid related as he had no other underlying health concerns that we were aware of.
Where things get even messier and more depressing is that Mike was taking care of his mother who’s mind is going. He lost his father about 2 years back and has no siblings. As far as we know, he has his dementia suffering mother who unfortunately is in the hospital as we speak for a fall, and some cousins. He didn’t have much in the family department from what we gathered.
He also has 3 gigantic units in a storage facility filled to the brim with a lifetime of collectibles. I bring that up because I don’t know if he had a will or anything planned out incase something like this ever came up. That, is depressing in itself as this stuff was Mike’s absolute life, and I know that the absolute last thing he’d want is for the units to default and his life’s work to go to some random asshole buying his shit for pennies on the dollar. My partner said he’s going to try to get in touch with one of his cousins…to let them know of the hoard of fun or nightmares that awaits them.
His poor mom…I don’t even know if she’s aware of what’s happening. Where is she going to go?!? She can’t take care of herself at this point in her life. What an absolutely deflating situation all around…
I’ll miss Mike coming in to help out on our busy Free Comic Book Days. I’ll miss our near weekly texts and calls where he would let me know excitedly about the new Funko exclusive drop to be ready for. I’ll miss his love and passion for all things nerdy.
Im still in disbelief and shock at this. I hope you are at peace my friend.
Blewitt
