My weekend...

Unfortunately my father passed away on August 19th, just the day after my last post. 

He didn't even get to the clinic and I am so sorry because I know he suffered in the emergency room.

But I didn't have time to mourn him because same day I had 24 hours to organize his funeral for the following day, the 20th. Crazy, but in Italy if you die on a Friday in the hospital, the funeral cannot be held on Sunday, and the following Monday is too late ( a hospital does not keep the body for three days in the funeral home ).

The same day I had to open his mobile phone and manage his facebook account where I found many messages of condolence. I made a status for him. The last one.

I collected a fundraiser from relatives and friends ( me included of course) to pay the funeral deposit, and I brought his clothes ironed and ready, I did it all by myself.

The next day I saw my father in private for 40 minutes and I talked to him about many things, then there was the funeral.

Unfortunately, on Sunday ( yesterday) I wanted to rest and take a day of reflection but in the morning I fell out of bed. I don't remember if it was because I tripped or dizzy or was still sleeping, but I felt a "crack" in the wrist of my right hand which I held on to not hurt myself.

So I went to the emergency room in the morning, to have an X-ray taken, because it hurt so badly, they put ice on me and made me wait 6 hours for the X-ray... because on Sundays there are few staff and a lot of people getting hurt ...

I have no fractures but a contusion and sprain and I got tendonitis.

As we say in Italy "it always rains in the wet" so I can't draw for a few days. But anyway I have other chores to attend to, because Dad was cremated, so in a few days I will have to collect the urn of his ashes and pay the rest of the funeral, help my mom with the paperwork, for example even cancel his telephone subscription. ..

His ashes will then be scattered in a place he loved very much.

My father is the person who introduced me to comics when I was born and thanks to that I am a comic artist.

His absolute favorite comic was TEX, the story of a cowboy married with a Native American woman, the publisher is Sergio Bonelli, maybe you know it, it is very famous. Dad had all the numbers, a mountain, so many that we didn't know where to put them anymore!

His second favorite comic was Carl Barks' Uncle Scrooge ( and Donald Duck). He had a real obsession with Carl Barks, he only bought comics of him, and then he bought ( and loved really much) the D.U.C.K. saga by Don Rosa, Barks' heir.

Dad's third favorite comic was Asterix, the French / Belgian comic from the author duo René Goscinny (story) and Albert Uderzo (drawings). He had all the volumes and I read them all several times when I was very little. 

It can be said that I learned to read with my father's comics, when I was in kindergarten. Yes gentlemen, in first grade I had already learned to read and write in block letters and I was reading all my father's comics by myself  :)

Then there were the collections of comic strips: the Penuts, Andy Capp, B.C. (by Johnny Hart) and an Italian character named Lupo Alberto by Silver.

I received this inheritance from my father, most of them are comics for boys ... my father also introduced me to Superman who in Italy was called Nembo Kid (!) Flash Gordon, Popeye ... then as a teenager I bought myself manga ! And he obviously didn't understand them LOL.

I'm still dazed and confused, plus my wrist hurts, it took me a long time to write this text ( and I don't know how I found the strength because I have zero ) but it was my duty to praise my father, because if I draw comics it's "his fault". 

So thank you dad.

Ciao papà.

Vanessa