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*In place of my debut article I had originally planned, I was compelled to reflect upon and write about a friend of mine.

It occurred before I got up to read my morning news, which usually required a visit to my LiveJournal's friend list.  Lea Hernandez posted twice that morning, one was in the early a.m., something about a pice of computer equipment she was looking to buy, the other that her house burned down.  I have to admit, Lea posts so often that I am guilty of giving it a quick glance, but this time I was stuck to every word.

Well, Shit

We have had a house fire. Our house.
Girl woke me up and I got both kids out while dialing 911.
By the time the fire department got the water on the fire, our roof was burning.

Typing from a neighbor's computer. At least four of the cats and both dogs died from smoke. The kids are okay. I don't know how much art I've lost.
We lost almost all our books, DVDs, entertainment stuff. NOt important. I lost a pice of art I did fifteen years ago on a beautiful morning when I couldn't sleep.
I have no idea how much or what in my studio is burned or damaged.
We're trying to find some place to stay and some clothes. I am typing in my jammies.

About half the house burned, and the rest is smoke-damaged. Mama dog was in the bedroom, farthest from the fire and still died from the smoke. My sweet Yuki is gone, too, and Sprocket, Mimii, Mocha and Frap.

My initial reaction, as I'm sure was for most, was shock and concern.  I couldn't tell if it was a call for help, an overwhelming urge to write about it or maybe it was the one thing she could accomplish amid a disaster (everything else was up in smoke, at least there one thing that couldn't go wrong).  Having known Lea for a couple of years now, I couldn't believe I never managed to get her number and even though my partner has spoken with her numerous time over the phone, the odds of being able to reach her by phone were totally in the air.  I didn't know if it was a land line or a mobile phone lost in the fire.

Lea had posted the entry from her neighbor's computer and had already received lots of comments but hadn't responded.  It was at this point I started debating whether or not to simply drive down to San Antonio to be with her and take her entire family to run errands or whatever they needed, or the very least, beer.

It was at that time Gail Simone, a DC Comics author, commented how we need to start coordinating donations for Lea.  I think Gail must have had the same issue I did in trying to reach Gail, because by the time I got a response from Lea via email, Gail replied to me that Lea was ok with accepting donations to her PayPal account.  Simple enough, I updated my website to accept donations with a rather obtuse banner on the front page, "Help Lea Hernandez and her family.  Donate to her Paypal account."   Gail Simone took it a small step further.  She issued a press release:

Early this morning, the Texas home of award-winning writer/artist Lea Hernandez, my friend and co-creator of the graphic novel Killer Princesses, caught fire and burned. Half her house is now gone, and the rest is smoke-damaged. In addition, she lost at least six of her family's beloved pets, two dogs and four cats. If you knew Lea, you'd know how devastating that is.

She's lost a great deal of her family's possessions, including irreplaceable art. She doesn't yet know the full accounting of what's been lost at this time.

Most know Lea as the brilliant creator of such works as Rumble Girls and Cathedral Child. She drew the Marvel Mangaverse PUNISHER book, and has drawn for TRANSMETROPOLITAN, among many other accomplishments. She is also the co-founder and original editor for GIRL-A-MATIC, one of the most important venues for female-friendly comics created to date.

She's also my friend, and it's entirely possible I wouldn't have a career in comics if she hadn't asked me to write Killer Princesses for her to draw.

And finally, Lea is one of the last great firebrand hellraisers in comics.

Lea has two (wonderful, amazing) special needs children and right now they need a place to stay and some clothes to wear. More than that, they need some help, and fast, in the form of donations to her paypal account. Lea's a proud person so I?m going to ask FOR her. This is important, and a great chance to do a wonderful thing for a creator who has consistently enriched this industry we all love so much. Please, take a moment and send WHATEVER YOU CAN to Lea's paypal account and help make this time a little bit less painful for someone who would do the same for you if the positions were reversed.

If you're a retailer, I ask that you set up a donations jar. If you're a creator, I ask you to think of how devastating this would be to your career and donate what you can. If you're a reader, I?m asking you to take a moment and hit the paypal link. You'll be doing something heroic and you'll feel great about it, I promise.

Read what Lea had to post on a neighbor's computer while wearing her pajamas at: Livejournal.com/users/divalea

Donate (PLEASE) to her paypal account at:

Finally, if I understand the story correctly (as told to me by Lea?s good friend and current Girl-a-matic editor), it was Lea?s daughter hearing the smoke alarm that allowed the family to get out in time, so for God's sake, do everyone you love a favor and CHECK YOUR SMOKE ALARMS.

Thank you so much for helping. Really, any amount you can send will make a difference. That's all I can say.

Sincerely and gratefully,

Gail Simone

A powerful and compelling plea that got everyone's attention. Gail's press release was posted on Newsarama and other sites.  From there I watched the various comic news forums and communities snowball into a major campaign to spread the word about what happened and how to help.  It was amazing.  By the end of the day, technorati.com reported hundreds of websites talking about Lea and the fire (Daily Kos once got a similar reaction when they asked other blogs to post a statement in protest over the nomination of Alberto Gonzalez, but compared to this, that might as well have been sending a chain email on Chuck Norris jokes).  Obviously, I have no way of knowing how much money was donated to her paypal account nor am I interested, but witnessing the various posts, testaments and condolences I couldn't help but start to tear up.  I'm listened to comic podcasts bring up how their listeners can help.

My intention for this column is to look at the internet and its influence on pop-culture. It's difficult think of how internet doesn't influence pop-culture. And while writing a piece about Web 2.0 technology getting adapted into major markets sounds like the perfect subject for a column called "Nerd Alert," the events of this past month has weighed heavily on me. Our favorite "series of tubes" has made the world a lot smaller, but more importantly, the internet has become an extension of our humanity. With all its crazy trends, social networks, legislation during its half century life span, the internet is just a bunch people learning to communicate better.

So tomorrow, September 30th is a benefit for Lea Hernandez and her family. It is a live art show where all art sold will go to Lea and her family. Lea will be in attendance and I'm sure a lot of people who can not make it will be there in spirit. Everyone has really put in the effort to make this a great event. I put together a website about the event which is less than a week away, called www.capeday.com. If you can attend the event, please do. You will really enjoy it, just be sure to bring your wallet.

Like any tragedy, Lea is learning how to put her life together again. It is something we can all relate to. It impossible to fully relate to any specific tragedy because the experience is personal and the effects are unique. Having suffered through my own loss and sorrow I can try to relate to Lea, and certainly empathize with her. However, unlike me, Lea is unafraid to share her pain. Her day to day struggles have been chronicled and continue to pull me in to read more in the hopes that someday Lea will again blog about her first maquette sculpture since the fire, or her commission art she use to proudly scan and post for us to enjoy.

I'm looking forward to seeing her again. There are a lot of people in Dallas who are really lucky to be a part of this offline experience. The online comic book community can be a very bitchy and petty environment (I'll be writing about that later on) but right now they're saints.

Photos by lea Hernandez and Lisa J. Lea gave me permission, I only assumed that covered Lisa too.

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