Happy Birthday, Seth

Roughly fifteen years ago, I became friends with a quirky and talented man, Seth Fisher. We met in Tokyo in the mid-90's, and became friends when we both lived in Shimane Prefecture. Tragically, Seth passed away several years ago. What can I say about Seth? He was a talented man, primarily known as a comic book artist. I remember walking into a comic book store and seeing his art for the first time and just being so very proud of him. Here is some of his work, which I think might give you a sense of his unique perspective.

But even though I was in awe of his skills as an artist, I most remember Seth for his aggressively innocent view of life. He was constantly reinventing himself and constantly challenging himself to do new and different things. He never seemed to settle (which certainly brought him troubles later in life), but I think he was probably the only person I've ever known who truly tried to live life without regrets (and not at other people's expense) and without fear. I wish I could describe how unique he was, but I think very few people could understand without knowing him. I could tell you stories about how he liked to re-arrange the furniture in his house every couple of months in order to break up his mental inertia, or how he designed a cut-out paper doll of himself to be used as an "official" work photo, or how he randomly started a hobby of spear-fishing, or how he took my normal-looking birthday cake and re-worked it to look like Mt. Fuji. These are stories that can't really capture Seth, and sadly nothing but his art and the memories of those who knew and loved Seth are all that remain. So perhaps it's enough to say:

Happy Birthday, Seth, and thank you for the inspiration you provided, and continue to provide. You are missed.