R.I.P. Steve Bates Options

[G-Man]

Before I got started on what ended up being a very busy day today I received a phone call from Frank Raynor....about 11:00 a.m this morning...and despite what should have been a very good day....and one that that still turned out rather nice....I couldn't shake the after effects of what Frank told me.

A good friend of ours...who we haven't seen for about four years since he moved to Baltimore died in his sleep last night.

His name was Steve Bates. I had known him for about nine years, Frank knew him longer. Steve used to manage the Bookery Fantasy comic shop in Fairborn Ohio for years doing pretty much most of the same stuff that I did at Main Street Comics and Games when I did the same for Scott Riley. Steve was a great guy, used to write a very fun weekly column about the joys of collecting comics... and he was a fellow comic creator...he wrote the comic The Covenant with two other local artists (Marvin Bean and Justin Wasson)...and I was lucky enough to pick up a copy of this book....two actually. (I now plan to make sure Frank gets my extra copy) But never got a chance to have him sign it for me.

Right before the book went to print, Steve and his family moved to Baltimore. He had taken a job working for Diamond and writing promo spots for their catalog. The first year after moving to Baltimore Steve was supposed to appear at Gem City Comic Con and sign copies of the book...but he had to cancel at the last minute due to the fact the show conflicted with his daughter Maddie's birthday party ( I believe that was the reason...it could have been some kind of school activity Maddie was involved with.)

Steve always put his family first. And they thought the world of him. His wife was a nurse and worked a lot of long hours so Steve could work at the Bookery staying close to his very first love....comics.

Steve was known by more than a few members of the Comic Related family....besides Frank and I he was a good friend of Chris Metzger's, and Chris was one of his favorite customers. Steve was also one of the biggest fans of the art Chris was always bringing into the shop. Steve was sure that Chris was "going to make it big one day" and would be very proud of the attention Chris is getting due to his art here recently. Kevin Adkins another member of the CR family, a member of Twilight Star Studios and a creative partner of Ron Foriter's used to work at the Bookery as well. Steve was Kevin's boss...but he was more than a boss...he was a good friend of Kevin's as well. Kevin Hicks also knew Steve very well and knew him for a number of years. I think that Hicks once worked at the Bookery with Steve as well.

Steve was also good friends with artist Kyle Hotz who worked at Marvel and actually drew the Incredible Hulk during the time Paul Jenkins was writing the book. Kyle is from the Fairborn Ohio area and Steve actually managed to get Kyle at the store one year for Free Comic Book Day.

Steve was a huge supporter of my Jack the Rabbit comic when I attempted to launch it ten years ago.

He was a real class act.

And this morning my best friend told me that Steve had died in his sleep from the results of undiagnosed cancer.

He was younger than me.

R.I.P.

Steve Bates....you will be missed.

This post has been edited by G-Man: Dec 4 2010, 07:24 AM

[G-Man]

-- The family will see visitors at 1pm, Saturday Dec. 11, at Bloomfield Presbyterian Church, located north of New Concord, OH, at the intersection of Route 209 and state Route 83. Memorial services will begin 2pm. Memorial contributions may be made to the Madylin and Sophia Bates Education Fund at Century National Bank, 1 West Main St., New Concord, OH 43762.