My absence since 2024

Hi all, this is just a message top let you know where I was for the past sharp inhale year and 3/4, feel free to skip.

The short story is that my father passed away on the 8th of May 2026.

I don’t really want to talk about it… but at the same time just writing this is kind of cathartic, in a weird way. You see, Great Y Comics was all making comics and writing books, but was little more than a side project to try and get some more income, as we all do. Fun too. The reason being that for the last 10 years I was my father’s Full Time Carer.

My dad was 50 years old when I was born, and after my mum left, he needed help just generally looking after himself. You see it all the time, he always used a walking stick, then it was a frame, then it became the wheelchair. The chores started out as 80/20 in his favour, I was a right lazy little sod, but over time it increased until I was doing everything, including cooking, dressing, and bathing him.

It was never a burden though. He was such a great guy, just so much fun to be around, could always make you laugh. And always full of energy, he basically raised my siblings and me. Ha, I literally had to take a ten minute break from that last sentence and this one, couldn’t see through tears.

Anyway, so Christmas 2024 rolls up, it’s Dad, myself, and the two dogs, one cosy little household – when Abbey, our black staffie, had to be put to sleep. Cancer. She was already 16 years old, and had been diagnosed earlier in the year, she just couldn’t fight any longer. It hit us all hard, Dad loved his dogs, her twin brother Sammey didn’t understand, and honestly, this was my first ever brush with death from a really personal level. Obviously I knew about death, but it was always like, uncles I never knew, or friends of friends, celebrities we liked, that kind of thing.

So yeah, that happened pretty much the day when I was due to update SnakeByte Blue.

I kept putting off the update for a while after that, spending more time with Dad – who himself was spending every other week in hospital as 2025 went on. I mean he was in his eighties, so anything harder than a cold put him in hospital for a few days, and I’d go up and sit with him, all day, just because he hated the place.

I don’t want to say that I forgot about SnakeByte around then, but it was pretty much at the back of my mind… particularly the adult stuff. I just kept NOT working on basically all of it, maybe dabbled here and there, but nothing major, some days I do a couple of hours work on SnakeByte, most days nothing at all.

August-September 2025, Dad is diagnosed with Cancer. He put on a strong front as always, he always was so freaking strong it was awe inspiring, even being brave when they gave him six months. We went through it all, the radio therapy, the catheter bags, nurses coming around every few weeks to check on him.   

Then we lost Sammey. He was 17 by that point, but his mind had gone, had no idea where he was and what he was doing. With both dogs, dad couldn’t get his wheelchair into the vets, so I had to be there with both when they were put down, and let me tell you, it just doesn’t get easier. Had to pull over on the drive back because I was crying too hard, almost crashed my sister’s car.

So we kept going, Dad kept his joy, his bravery. We didn’t ever get any additional carer’s come in, the fun of the old breaking NHS – it was always just me. Of course, and my siblings, who helped when they could, they had their own lives to live, kids to look after, jobs that couldn’t stop. I did the heavy lifting, and they helped when it was too much.

Then one day last April, Dad caught a cough. And that was it. Pneumonia.

We all stayed with him the entire time he was in hospital, and all through the final night. When he passed it was quick, peaceful, and he was surrounded by loved ones. A very wise woman told me that given the circumstances, it was the best possible way for him to pass – no long drawn out pain, no discomfort, just going to sleep.

Honestly I’ve never been hit that hard ever before. I have no way to describe it, for the first few days I was floating around the house like a ghost, just waiting for Dad to call or appear or say something, even though it would never happen. I was with Dad 24/7, for ten years, and no there’s like this actual hole that nothing I do fills.

Well, almost nothing. The fucked up thing is that now there’s no distractions, I started doing work on SnakeByte and have been making some real progress. I mean, my siblings have been great, we’re a close family, but that’s it – no aunties or uncles, just us three now.

Working on SnakeByte keeps my mind awake, busy… not insane – I don’t know what the word is. And now I can get back into everything. This isn’t a silver lining thing, hell, I don’t doubt for a second that Dad wouldn’t approve of all this, but it makes money. It lets me get better at drawing, writing, and I’m doing… something at least.

So, here I am, back.

And I plan to stay that way this time.