A brief remembrance of Rory
(Likely not the only place this appears).
I’m sure that I can not remember the first time that I met Rory, as Comic Relief booths had been fixtures at SDCC before I set foot in his store in the early nineties. This is an odd thing to say, as he cut quite the figure, even if you never had a moment to speak with him. Big as life was he, or even bigger than that.
We’d spoken many (but still too few) times over the last several years, when I was just toying with self-publishing, but was still trying to fill holes in my comic collection (that SANDMAN: WORLD’S END volume will now be a thornier rose, should I find myself reading it again.) And always, Rory was filled with good humor, but that was tempered by his many years in the business as well as practical experience that some zealous types may find themselves lacking. And when I would speak up with naïve sureness, he was there with a firm “but on the other hand…”, in particular regarding the comic to book-store transformation that is still ongoing in the industry.
When I finally announced my book after interminable delays (some of my own creation, mind you), his reply was along the lines of “When can I order it, and what can I help with?” There was no eye-rolling at another anemic indie publisher or impatience when I revealed that I was skipping serialization altogether. Instead, he replied with kindness, suggestions and ultimately happiness that another book would be out there to connect with readers.
That love of readership informed everything that Rory did. When you step in his store (I know that Todd runs the day-to-day, and has for some time, but it will always be Rory’s store to me), you would see books. Books upon books. Towers of books spined-out on countless shelves, rife with characters both diluted by overexposure and muted with dusty obscurity. It did not matter. BATMAN: DIGITAL JUSTICE could be bought right alongside A JEW IN COMMUNIST PRAGUE. It didn’t matter that one of those might sell in a year. Or ten. Or that a copy of ALIEN: THE ILLUSTRATED STORY (oh wondrous Simonson treasure) could rest on a shelf, just long enough to be spirited away, much to Ian’s chagrin (he was just inches behind).
Though I’m only recently arrived to the chorus, as it were, I’ll miss our conversations at every APE and Wonder-Con. He leaves behind some very large boots (no, really, his feet were huge). I don’t expect that they’ll be filled, but with some luck, others will continue to walk a path not far from the one that Rory set himself upon. Even so, we won’t see his like anytime soon. Perhaps his infectious love of books (illustrated and otherwise) will continue to inspire. We should be so fortunate.