For years growing up, I would accompany my brother to Comix Plus Music, where he would get the latest Marvel or DC Comic releases. I would wait outside, watching our bikes, humming a song in an effort to pass the time. One time, I was completely unaware that they could hear me inside, as the shape of the entrance acted like an amplifier. Yup, my brother later informed and made fun of me (as brothers do) on the bike ride home.

The relationship with comics that my brother nurtured over the years, and rubbed off on me, is one of the major influences as to why wiTHIN was created as a graphic novel. Telling a story through images makes reading fun and easy. It also has the ability to depict emotions in a much quicker and relatable way. Often with mental illness, attention span and retention is compromised, making the graphic novel medium just seemed to make sense. I also like to think it makes reading issues that has stigma attached to it a little less threatening and a little more approachable and empathetic.

I was recently in Thunder Bay, ON (home of the Sleeping Giant, Persians, the Hoito, -40' weather, great fishing and more) and stopped by Comix Plus, wiTHIN in hand, as they delightfully agreed to sell our book. A few things had changed since I had last been there... I drove instead of biked down, I was a few inches taller, with a few more years added to my age. Comix Plus, on the other hand, had the same old feeling to it. I wondered to the used CD section to see what 'oldies' where in the oldies section. I riffled through the used record section, I walked passed the VHS's. There were new toys and games, a variety of collectables and rows of comic books, new and old, waiting to be snatched up. I enjoyed the familiarity of our visit, reliving old memories, and now, creating new ones! Thank you Comix Plus for letting wiTHIN find a place in your home! If you find your way in Thunder Bay, check out Comix Plus and pick up a copy, or visit withincomic.com to order one!