#dylanwilliams

Mini ramp-sausage sesh at my buddy Mark's house.

Mostly Sid shredding with guest tricks from me and Dylan.

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ADSKJFLSF this is the best thing to happen to me tonight

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Yesterday I woke up to the news that Dylan died on Saturday night. Although it seems cliche and maybe ignorant to say that it came as a complete shock even though I knew he was sick, that he was in the hospital, that he was battling cancer, I cannot think of any other way to describe it. It is very difficult for me to really express how his loss has affected me, but it is safe to say that I am a better person for having known Dylan, and I am so glad that our lives intersected for the brief moment that they did. 

It was hot yesterday and Eric and I hiked up to Lower Twin Lake to go swimming and sit in the sun. It's not very often I get to swim in lakes here in in the northwest, where it is mostly cold. I was nervous about going all the way in, but Eric coaxed me in telling me it wasn't too cold, that it felt great. And eventually, I dove in head first, treading water for awhile and finally lying on my back, floating. I stared at the clouds above my head, felt the water surrounding my body, and thought about how when someone is suddenly nowhere, a place you can't reach or imagine, they also become everywhere. In the water and the sky and the sun. I thought about how bodies are vessels, and sometimes those bodies betray us. I thought about all the memories and thoughts that a person has in their life and wondered where all of those go when the person is no longer around to share them. 

It doesn't seem like long ago (just last year) when Dylan grabbed my camera at the Portland Zine Symposium afterparty and ran around taking weird pictures of everyone there. When we piled into cars and headed out to Alex's river house for a retreat, eating curry, and mapping out bylaws and time tables for the zine symposium. I don't even remember the last time I saw Dylan - either in passing at the IPRC or maybe at a zine meeting early in the year, before he got so sick. He was a truly amazing person, a great human being with the utmost care, respect, and thoughtfulness toward others. 

pzsretreat09 on Flickr.

Dylan Williams is one of the inspiring people I know. For the past three years, I have had the pleasure of organizing the Portland Zine Symposium with Dylan, where I have seen first-hand his willingness to help out wherever he can to support zines, comics, and independent publishing. He is one of the most humble, reasonable, helpful, caring, and thoughtful people I know, going way out of his way to make everyone comfortable and create a supportive environment for collective organizing. I really cannot say enough good things about him. He is one in a million.

As you may know, Dylan has struggled over the past year with his health. A few months ago, he received a cancer diagnosis, and he has been in and out of the hospital for far too long. This just about breaks my heart, and I think of him all the time, wishing there was something I could do to help Dylan and his wife Emily and show them my love and support. 

Fortunately, there is a way to help. Dylan runs Sparkplug Comics in SE Portland, and one of the best ways to help him out is to order comics and zines from his store and/or visit the store and throw down some cash. If you want suggestions on what to get, several folks have created some lists to help you out. 

This Tumblr has been created to help auction off original artwork inspired by Philip K. Dick. 100 percent of the proceeds will go to Dylan. You can either check it out through the Tumblr, or look here and here to see what's up for auction. In addition to original art, there are also special edition graphic novels and art books for sale.