Fred Gallagher

a self portrait of Fred with some elements added (Fredart)

What makes someone special, how can one person affect your life more than any other? In short: what makes a hero? Is it simple heroics? A feat of acrobatics, strength and skill? Or is it more, the ability to reach out to people and change their lives. I hope I can explain how my Hero has affected my life, because even though he hasn't met me, and probably never will, his actions have done a lot.

The author and artist of Megatokyo is an interesting person who has really worked hard to get where he is today. He's been working at his art for many years and it's finally paying off. I doubt if you met him you'd describe him as "amazing", where his talent truly lies is simply in caring; caring enough to keep writing even when he should be sleeping, eating or living. But more importantly he actually cares about his fans. Not only as a fan base but also as individuals. He recognizes that his readers are people who have their own lives and are very real. This is what I believe has done the most to keep people reading and loving his work.

The story he has written is a love story, an action, a coming to age comedy. It deals with characters that feel very real. It's also, by Fred's admission, a chance for him to relive his youth as an idolized version of himself; he's still nerdy and he has his flaws but he gets to do many of the things that he never had the courage to do. This story draws you in with laughs and light humour but it keeps you coming because it's touching and easy to relate to. It's helped me to realize that not everything has to be perfect for you to be happy. After all the worst and most insane situations imaginable are placed on the lead and he still pulls through, hopefully with at least the trace of a smile on his face.

The story always holds an element of happiness and an element of sadness. Nothing is ever perfect and never does everything go wrong. The singular reason Fred Gahllager is my hero is because of what he has put into this story: life, his life. He has toiled endlessly. There is so much emotion packed into the characters he's created and it's obviously very draining to put so much effort into work of any kind. He reached an audience and he showed them the story that plays out in his mind. He had the courage to give strangers a tour of his world, his dreams, and his imagination. I don't know if I would be able to do that, but seeing what he's done makes me want to try.

Megatokyo was never supposed to happen, it was something Fred started one day under popular request and for fun. It has now continued to over 1000 comic strips. In the beginning it was a comedic story with a punch line in every comic. However now there are emotional attachments: these characters have become more than simply a medium for telling jokes. The characters draw out emotions, and that is what a story is supposed to do. This story and its characters help me cope with hard times, they makes me happy, distract me. They even allow me to sometimes realize that things aren’t that bad and perhaps the world isn't crashing down around my ears. This story has even changed some of my personal beliefs by showing me the most extreme of situations, by showing me that sometimes something can go too far. In example: sometimes it's better not to try, and you have to pick your battles because you can't win them all. If you are always trying and working you'll never be able to rest and reassess things, so sometimes it's much better to just slowdown. I was swamped with life, and learning that it was ok to rest and stop trying to accomplish every little thing truly helped.