In Memory of Tom Spurgeon
by Rey ArmenterosI never met Tom Spurgeon, but I felt like I had. He was one of the editors of the legendary Comics Journal in the 1990s, but what I knew him from was his own news website, Comics Reporter. Occasionally, he would show up on a comics podcast as a guest, casually proffering his understanding of the art form of comics along with practical thoughts on the industry. His friendly demeanor gave you that feeling that you already knew him.
He was from my generation. He knew the comics I read growing up, and he knew a lot more than that. Like many of the writers of reviews and articles dealing with comics, he had a vast knowledge that touched on every facet of the medium. His Comics Reporter was a place I used to go to everyday. There, I would find the latest on a new LGBTQ comic, which Marvel or DC character was getting a facelift, or what old newspaper comic strip was being released in a handsome reprint. He would also report on the passing of grand old creators, and I remember that sinking feeling when I discovered I would never get to meet Moebius or Joe Kubert.
I don’t know why, but I always thought I would meet Tom Spurgeon. He gave you the feeling that he was graciously accessible, and he was in fact so online. In Comics Reporter, he would have an ongoing feature that connected all the people that reported on a certain comics-related event. If you had written or exhibited photos of a recent convention in your blog, you could write to him, and he would provide a link to your site for others to see. On the couple of occasions that I reached out to him, he would do just that, but he would also have something to say about what I had to say, responding to my piece. I have a feeling he did this for many people, which to my eye made this comics journalist very generous with his time.
As a guest in podcasts, he was friendly and unassuming, but he was someone who knew his stuff, and he commented on the art and the creators on a deeper level, bringing up sharp thoughts on the sensibilities that creators might take toward their craft. He struck me as an aficionado that went about the reading of comics with a rare finesse.
It was inevitable, but the Comics Reporter announcements of the deaths of comics creators and other notables in the industry was the main reason I stopped going to his site a couple of years ago — I just didn’t want to be privy to the deaths of some of my old beloved creators.
I would still hear from Tom Spurgeon in other places, when he was a guest speaker on a random video or when he was interviewed for a book he co-authored. I started following him on social media, and instead of promoting his site or his writing work, he would fire off tidbits several times a day — just thoughts on the industry. They were coming from a fan’s perspective. He was using the social media venue as a way to spout pithy pieces of humor, and it felt as if he were doing this for no other reason than to express himself.
One day, our paths would cross; that was what I felt. I would meet him at an event the same way I have met favorite comics artists at a convention. I always felt that besides comics, we would have a good number of other things in common. Who knows, now that this chance meeting won’t ever happen? The one thing I do know is that he had the same love for this art form that I had, and because of that, I see myself in him, and that is when his untimely death comes home.