To Friends, Family and Everyone Affected by Sandy

Georgia Horesh
Operations Manager

With all that has happened in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, we wanted to take a moment to send our condolences to those who have lost family or friends in the wake of the storm. We also send our most heartfelt wishes for a safe and fast recovery to those who have lost homes and businesses to the wrath of the hurricane. We also hope those without heat, water, gas or power soon receive the help and aid they need.

When doing a comic book like American Dark Age where the fantasy of the idea of all power and electronics being gone, it is easy to sit in your chair in your home, warm and comfortable and spin tales and episodes. The reality, while not hard to imagine, is still kept at arm's length. Even if the power goes out for a few days (as it did for our writer Jean last year) there is less fear and worry and more frustration and anger that the power company is not fixing it faster. We live in a world where television shows have horrible things happen at the end of an episode, but next week all they need is a caption saying ‘two months later’ and everything is back to normal. Even when making a comic book, you can write ‘two years later’ and the time passes in a snap – we get on with our lives and move forward. All the nitty-gritty is glossed over.

Unfortunately, in the real world, that isn’t the case, as is being made apparent by images of the destruction Sandy left behind.
 
Most of the Megabrain staff reside in New York state and have been dealing with the aftermath of the storm. Luckily, the majority of that has involved losing power or water for a period of time and trying to get access to gas. I am extremely thankful that they and their families were spared some of the worse that Sandy had to offer.

I live in the mid-west, so most people would think that what happened, outside of worry for my friends, wouldn’t bother me. They’d be wrong of course. I lived most of my life and grew up on the Jersey Shore. I have family there and friends. Again, I am very lucky they got through it alive.

But there won’t be a caption to jump cut over to the rebuilt houses and businesses. There won’t be a quick cut to things being set right again.

Photo courtesy of NAB (Not A Benny)

Whole towns are gone. Neighborhoods are destroyed. Landmarks are wiped away. This is the reality.

My cousin has ten families staying with her because 95% of her neighborhood was destroyed. My sister-in-law will be gone from her family for another month or more since being deployed before the storm hit to help New York to recover. Mike, (Megabrain Editor-in-Chief), and his wife Mandy (Megabrain Officer of Creative Development) are organizing and helping with donations and aid to those in need. People are on long lines waiting for gas to either be able to get to work or heat their homes. Some are in their homes waking up freezing while waiting for the power companies to get their house back on the grid. Aid is having difficulty getting some places because there are no more roads. Families are still in shelters because they have nowhere else to go and the insurance companies haven’t gotten to them yet. The list could go on...

And there will be places that never recover. Having grown up on the Jersey Shore, I have seen the pictures of the devastation and it is heart breaking. This is where I grew up. This is where I spent my days. There were businesses we knew. The familiar sights are washed away. It is hard to fathom that they are simply… gone.

But as written in American Dark Age, there will be new life after this storm. New York will recover as it does in the face of adversity: Its people determined to get on with things as Sandy becomes just another notch in the belt of trauma that the city and state has dealt with. New Jersey will rebuild its shoreline. No, it won’t be the same, but they will rebuild and they will continue to have the same attitude of fortitude they always had. Nothing will keep them down.

So, I suppose that I just wanted everyone to know that here at Megabrain, to all those out there… We know. We know what you are facing and we are sending our support and aid in what ways that we can.

We are also hoping that you are doing what you can as well. Check out some sites that provide help and aid to those who need it. Find the Red Cross site to see what you can do. If you are far away from the East Coast and want to help, organize care package shipping to send needed items. Below are some sites with links to organizations.

http://www.wnyc.org/articles/wnyc-news/2012/oct/30/how-help-hurricane-sandy/

http://gothamist.com/2012/10/30/heres_how_to_volunteer_time_money_t.php

http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/30/us/iyw-how-to-help-after-sandy/index.html

As we go through the nitty-gritty, we have to remember, we are all in this together and with support, patience and understanding, we can rebuild and move forward.

--Sincerely
Georgia Horesh
Megabrain Comics Operations Manager