But I Always Thought that I'd See You Again ...

My Friend John

Greetings,

I’ve been pretty reflective as of late, thinking about where I’ve been and where I’m going … in turn I’ve also been pondering those same directions for Cosmic Times & PalmCon. The impetus for all this soul searching comes from a recent loss. My long time friend and competitor John Ulloa recently passed away - last weekend we said our final goodbyes. John was, at the same time a simple and complex man, I know that’s a strange and contrary description … but apt.

I first met John in 2010 at MegaCon in Orlando, it was my second appearance at that show (not counting the one-off Mini-MegaCon) and the first one where I finally felt things were starting to open up for Cosmic Times. On one side of me was comic creator and friend Austin Janowsky and on the other was Creature Entertainment - John’s new comic company. I say new because John had been in the game before, back in the 1990s with High Impact Studios, there is a lot that can be said about High Impact … but I’ll save that for another day.

What struck me about John and his partner Juan Navarro at that MegaCon was their ability to sell comics. John had a way with customers, if they approached his booth at least 70% of them would walk away with a purchase, where I was averaging maybe 25% at best (more like 10% these days). I had to know more, I had to figure out how these guys were doing it, so I struck up a conversation and instantly we became friends.

Over the years we grew closer, traveling to conventions all over the country, always pushing each other to do better. John would often push me out of my comfort zone, if not for him - I never would have discovered my love for New York City Pizza or my distain for Chicago style, I never would have walked down to Pike Place and left my gum on that nasty wall, nor would I have had so many laughs as we traveled to Heroes Con or all those crazy nights at SuperCon back in the day.

John had no fear … that was sometimes a double edged sword, he would often rush into things without thinking, dragging others along with him. For all the laughs, there was also some huge fights. But the thing about my friendship with John - I would be yelling at him about this or that, then 10 minutes later we were hugging and laughing again. He was unique in that way, nothing ever stuck, except our love for each other.

Over the last few years we had gone our separate ways, he wasn’t really making comics and I was, he had stopped going to conventions … but as many readers of these Cosmic Updates know I never stopped (I just love conventions so much). John reached out around the first of the year saying he wanted to make comics again, and he wanted to make them with me. This wasn’t the first time we talked about teaming up, in the past there were projects like ARTIE and Black, Beans, & Crackers (a script we wrote together at a friends wedding), but nothing ever materialized. This call seemed desperate, he really wanted to get back into comics and with his partner Juan now living in Texas, he wanted someone to take that journey with him.

We met a while later at a place he called “white people food” - Cracker Barrel, we sat for hours reminiscing about the old days and talking about what we could do together in the future. We also talked about his family and how much they meant to him … through all of his crazy antics … John was a family man at heart. We also talked about his relationship with Juan and how it was strained … but that he still considered him a brother and was looking forward to one day working with him again.

We made plans to start to develop a few projects together and to start attending shows again - he was interested in coming with me to Heroes Con to get back into the game. We hugged and said that we loved each other and … … … that was the last time I ever saw my friend.

Two weeks ago the phone rang - it was our mutual friend Anthony, I could tell something was wrong right away. At first I thought he was in trouble and needed help … but then through a cracked voice … he told me that John was gone. It hit me like a ton of bricks … took me days to process the news, I just couldn’t fathom a world where John wasn’t in it. I later learned that it was his heart and it was quick, he felt no pain, that really helped - because the thought of him suffering would have been too much to bear.

Last Friday was the service, seeing him laying there lifeless … that wasn’t the John I knew. Anthony put it best while speaking at the service when he said “John’s not in that box he’s inside all of us”. Looking around the room, I saw John’s family and friends all tied together in sadness and love for this larger than life creator of comic books. So many faces from the comic book community gathered together - who only knew each other because of John. He was a linchpin in the south Florida comic book community … I didn’t realize how important he was to so many - until he was gone.

My friend John … he was a mentor, a competitor, and a person I loved very much and I do like to believe that there IS part of him inside me. In these reflective moments after his passing … I am left inspired by him. Moving forward I’ll do my best to tap into that fearless nature John had and to continue to embrace comics with both arms as he did … more importantly I hope I can be as good of friend to others as he was to me.

Goodbye John,

Martin