Lately, Alberta has been hit by an unusual amount of wicked storms. This storm was actually close to me! The lightning was rippling through the clouds making me wish I had a video camera. What an absolutely stunning evening!

This bolt was cool to watch, as two smaller bolts merged to make the mega bolt that struck the ground. I am particularity partial to the two lightning eyes above the main chain, making a face!

I couldn’t help but notice a minor similarity between Team Canada’s 2012 Olympic uniforms and the costume Sylvia help me make for the Edmonton Pride Parade:

Darren Zenko passed away today at the age of 38 from sinus cancer. Most people know him best as video game reviewer for Vue Magazine, See Magazine, Edmonton Journal, or the Toronto Star. He also had a radio show on CJSR. My younger friends know him as a guy that “do voice overs in of the biggest video game series of all time” (Mass Effect).

Image © Lone Pine Publishing

For me, though, I’ve known him as a classmate, a friend, and much, much more. In high school, we hung out in the art room. He was my first life drawing model. Later on, I ran into him again at a Halloween party where he was dressed as John Constatine. He even bleached his hair blonde to fit the part! Damn, he looked great! After that we watched martial arts movies, played video games (he even gave me a few of his review copies), and just chilled out. Eventually we drifted.

It’s funny. I’ve been down the path of life lost more often than someone my age should. I’ve lost so many people close to me, including my father and my childhood best friend, but I’m taking the death of Darren Zenko pretty damn hard. He meant more to me than I realized.

The Edmonton Journal had a touching article of how his friends pulled together and made him an amazing quilt. The love they poured into it is beyond words. The article also mentions how a comic based on one of his stories is being made. I’ve already had a few people ask me how to get a copy of the comic. I promise, I will look into it. If you’re interested in buying an issue, please email me. Thanks so much.

Darren, thank you for our time together. You’ll always be my John Constantine.

It started with a conversation at Ikea over $1 ice cream. I wanted to go to the Edmonton pride parade as a super-hero, but I didn’t know what to do. Sylvia started to play with the name Marvel. Northstar is getting married to his partner Kyle. “They’re Marvelous!” Then the ears started turning and Sylvia and I got to work!

(By the way, the wedding issue, Astonishing X-Men #51, goes on sale today!)*

Sylvia started making the bodysuit. You can see her making the logo on her blog.

Then a little shopping at West Edmonton Mall, some make-up by Mac Cosmetics and voila!

Ms. Marvelous!

Photos by Samuel Chan, Sylvia Moon, and Maija Plamondon.

Stay tuned! I’ll be posting other photos form Edmonton Pride Week soon!

*Edit: The wedding is in Astonishing X-Men #51. I originally said #50. Thanks to Jay from Happy Harbor Comics for the correction. BTW, that’s his store in the photos with the award winning kids comics section.

July 1, 2010, Edmonton, AB – I took these pictures while kneeling in mud, on a steep slippery slope, with drunken hooligans and beavers milling about.