<description>&lt;p&gt;I never thought I’d be making this episode.Not this soon.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This past week—March 15th—we found out that comic creator and artist &lt;strong&gt;Sam Kieth&lt;/strong&gt; passed away.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;He was 63.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;And yeah… that’s young. That’s &lt;em&gt;too&lt;/em&gt; young.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;And I’m not going to sit here and pretend I can talk about him in some detached, objective way. I can’t. His work didn’t just influence me—it &lt;strong&gt;changed my life&lt;/strong&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Straight up.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Let me take you back.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Mid-90s. I want to say ’94, ’95.I’m in Miami, in an art magnet program. I’ve already decided I’m going to be a painter. That’s the path. Fine art. Canvas. Beret. The whole cliché.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Also—I didn’t have cable.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;So I’m already cut off from a lot of stuff. And my girlfriend at the time tells me:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;“Have you ever seen this show… &lt;em&gt;The Maxx&lt;/em&gt;?”&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I hadn’t.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;So she records it for me. Hands me the tapes.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I go home, put it on…&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;…and it hit me like lightning.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I didn’t just like it. I didn’t just think it was cool.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It felt like something I had been &lt;strong&gt;looking for without knowing it existed&lt;/strong&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;And here’s the thing—at that point?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I was done with comics.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Burned out. Completely.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The industry was collapsing. Shops closing. My local spot—gone. Everything felt dead. I had checked out.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;And then I find &lt;em&gt;The Maxx&lt;/em&gt; again—this time in a record store, on a busted spinner rack. Bent comics, half-wrecked copies… and there it was.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I flip through it.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;And I’m like—&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;“This is it.”&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I bought it. I think I grabbed &lt;em&gt;Spawn&lt;/em&gt; too, just out of habit.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;But that was the moment.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I was back.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;From there, it was everything.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Hunting comics wherever I could find them.Digging through shops across cities.Finding new voices, new styles, new ways to tell stories.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;But at the center of it?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Sam Kieth.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Because what he did… it wasn’t just drawing.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It was permission.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Permission to be weird.To be messy.To mix mediums.To let the story feel like a fever dream and still hit harder than anything clean and polished.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;And that changed my path.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I didn’t go to a traditional art school.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I chose &lt;strong&gt;sequential art&lt;/strong&gt;. Comics.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I started making comics again.Creating characters.Building worlds.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;That’s where things like &lt;strong&gt;Meathook&lt;/strong&gt; started.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;That whole direction?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;That comes back to him.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I’ve been doing this for over 20 years now.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Publishing. Drawing. Writing. Grinding.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;And yeah—financially? It’s always a fight.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;But creatively?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Worth it. Every second.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;And I can trace that back to one moment:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Watching &lt;em&gt;The Maxx&lt;/em&gt; on a VHS tape in my room.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;There’s this idea in stories—like a “nexus point.”One thing that, if it didn’t happen, your whole life goes a different way.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;For me?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Sam Kieth was that.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;And the thing that hits me now… is I never got to meet him.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;All the conventions. All the years.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I met so many people I looked up to.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;But not him.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;And that… that stings.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;From everything I’ve heard, he was a private guy. Humble. Almost dismissive of his own work.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;But man—&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;You don’t always get to see what your work does to people.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;And his?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It mattered.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It mattered to me.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It gave a 16-year-old kid direction.It showed me what comics could be.It gave me a path I’m still walking.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;And yeah… it hurts knowing there won’t be more.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;But I’ve also seen the outpouring. The artists. The work. The influence.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;That energy?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It didn’t disappear.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It spread.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;So if you’ve never read his work—&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Go find it.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Maxx.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;Zero Girl.&lt;/em&gt;Anything.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Sit with it.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="https://www.google.com/search?q=sam+kieth+comics&amp;#38;oq=SAM+KIETH+COMICS&amp;#38;gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqDQgAEAAYgwEYsQMYgAQyDQgAEAAYgwEYsQMYgAQyCAgBEAAYFhgeMggIAhAAGBYYHjIICAMQABgWGB4yCAgEEAAYFhgeMggIBRAAGBYYHjIICAYQABgWGB4yBggHEEUYQdIBCDQ2ODRqMGo3qAIAsAIA&amp;#38;sourceid=chrome&amp;#38;ie=UTF-8"&gt;Let it hit you.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Sam—&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Thank you.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;For the work.For the permission.For the path.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;And to everyone listening—&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;If something moves you like that?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Follow it.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Because sometimes…&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;that’s the thing that changes everything.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Be good.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Get full access to FWACATA’s Newsletter at &lt;a href="https://fwacata.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&amp;#38;utm_campaign=CTA_4"&gt;fwacata.substack.com/subscribe&lt;/a&gt;</description>

FWACATA

FWACATA

ODE TO SAM

MAR 25, 202615 MIN
FWACATA

ODE TO SAM

MAR 25, 202615 MIN

Description

<p>I never thought I’d be making this episode.Not this soon.</p><p>This past week—March 15th—we found out that comic creator and artist <strong>Sam Kieth</strong> passed away.</p><p>He was 63.</p><p>And yeah… that’s young. That’s <em>too</em> young.</p><p>And I’m not going to sit here and pretend I can talk about him in some detached, objective way. I can’t. His work didn’t just influence me—it <strong>changed my life</strong>.</p><p>Straight up.</p><p>Let me take you back.</p><p>Mid-90s. I want to say ’94, ’95.I’m in Miami, in an art magnet program. I’ve already decided I’m going to be a painter. That’s the path. Fine art. Canvas. Beret. The whole cliché.</p><p>Also—I didn’t have cable.</p><p>So I’m already cut off from a lot of stuff. And my girlfriend at the time tells me:</p><p>“Have you ever seen this show… <em>The Maxx</em>?”</p><p>I hadn’t.</p><p>So she records it for me. Hands me the tapes.</p><p>I go home, put it on…</p><p>…and it hit me like lightning.</p><p>I didn’t just like it. I didn’t just think it was cool.</p><p>It felt like something I had been <strong>looking for without knowing it existed</strong>.</p><p>And here’s the thing—at that point?</p><p>I was done with comics.</p><p>Burned out. Completely.</p><p>The industry was collapsing. Shops closing. My local spot—gone. Everything felt dead. I had checked out.</p><p>And then I find <em>The Maxx</em> again—this time in a record store, on a busted spinner rack. Bent comics, half-wrecked copies… and there it was.</p><p>I flip through it.</p><p>And I’m like—</p><p><strong>“This is it.”</strong></p><p>I bought it. I think I grabbed <em>Spawn</em> too, just out of habit.</p><p>But that was the moment.</p><p>I was back.</p><p>From there, it was everything.</p><p>Hunting comics wherever I could find them.Digging through shops across cities.Finding new voices, new styles, new ways to tell stories.</p><p>But at the center of it?</p><p><strong>Sam Kieth.</strong></p><p>Because what he did… it wasn’t just drawing.</p><p>It was permission.</p><p>Permission to be weird.To be messy.To mix mediums.To let the story feel like a fever dream and still hit harder than anything clean and polished.</p><p>And that changed my path.</p><p>I didn’t go to a traditional art school.</p><p>I chose <strong>sequential art</strong>. Comics.</p><p>I started making comics again.Creating characters.Building worlds.</p><p>That’s where things like <strong>Meathook</strong> started.</p><p>That whole direction?</p><p>That comes back to him.</p><p>I’ve been doing this for over 20 years now.</p><p>Publishing. Drawing. Writing. Grinding.</p><p>And yeah—financially? It’s always a fight.</p><p>But creatively?</p><p><strong>Worth it. Every second.</strong></p><p>And I can trace that back to one moment:</p><p>Watching <em>The Maxx</em> on a VHS tape in my room.</p><p>There’s this idea in stories—like a “nexus point.”One thing that, if it didn’t happen, your whole life goes a different way.</p><p>For me?</p><p>Sam Kieth was that.</p><p>And the thing that hits me now… is I never got to meet him.</p><p>All the conventions. All the years.</p><p>I met so many people I looked up to.</p><p>But not him.</p><p>And that… that stings.</p><p></p><p>From everything I’ve heard, he was a private guy. Humble. Almost dismissive of his own work.</p><p>But man—</p><p>You don’t always get to see what your work does to people.</p><p>And his?</p><p>It mattered.</p><p>It mattered to me.</p><p>It gave a 16-year-old kid direction.It showed me what comics could be.It gave me a path I’m still walking.</p><p>And yeah… it hurts knowing there won’t be more.</p><p>But I’ve also seen the outpouring. The artists. The work. The influence.</p><p>That energy?</p><p>It didn’t disappear.</p><p>It spread.</p><p>So if you’ve never read his work—</p><p>Go find it.</p><p><em>The Maxx.</em><em>Zero Girl.</em>Anything.</p><p>Sit with it.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.google.com/search?q=sam+kieth+comics&#38;oq=SAM+KIETH+COMICS&#38;gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqDQgAEAAYgwEYsQMYgAQyDQgAEAAYgwEYsQMYgAQyCAgBEAAYFhgeMggIAhAAGBYYHjIICAMQABgWGB4yCAgEEAAYFhgeMggIBRAAGBYYHjIICAYQABgWGB4yBggHEEUYQdIBCDQ2ODRqMGo3qAIAsAIA&#38;sourceid=chrome&#38;ie=UTF-8">Let it hit you.</a></p><p></p><p>Sam—</p><p>Thank you.</p><p>For the work.For the permission.For the path.</p><p>And to everyone listening—</p><p>If something moves you like that?</p><p>Follow it.</p><p>Because sometimes…</p><p>that’s the thing that changes everything.</p><p><strong>Be good.</strong></p><p></p><p></p> <br/><br/>Get full access to FWACATA’s Newsletter at <a href="https://fwacata.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_4">fwacata.substack.com/subscribe</a>