Elena Salcedo, Top Cow’s VP of Operations, passed away on Thursday night. Top Cow announced the news on their social media.

 

I first met Elena many years ago at a post-SDCC gathering in Los Angeles. I think she had just moved to LA from New York and was getting started in comics. Over the years we’d say hi at conventions and then, somehow – it wasn’t hard with Elena – we became friends. But not just con friends. Actual friends. Friends where when you needed a break from the hurly burly of a show and you wanted to talk to someone about real things, and share real feelings, Elena was there. I had so many wonderful moments with Elena and her partner, Dan over the years. I can’t believe I won’t have more.

Elena was brutally honest, unforgettably funny, and unwaveringly loyal and kind. As all the memories of her show, she was one of a kind, a real one, the hardest worker, the person who cared the most. She was the heart and soul of Top Cow, running behind the scenes and editing many of their books, including the most recent Witchblade. But as much as she’ll be missed behind the scenes, she’ll be missed the most as a friend we all loved. Quite honestly, it’s having friends like Elena that make being in this business worth staying in and worth fighting for.

She was far, far too young to lose. And as many of the memories below suggest: make sure you reach out to the people you care about. That’s why we’re all here for this short, precious thing called life.

Here are some of the memories of Elena (and if you click through you’ll see many wonderful photos that show her warmth and joy.). My sincerest condolences to Dan, her family, her Top Cow family and everyone who loved her.

Marc Silvestri: It’s true that Elena Salcedo worked at Top Cow, but to me she was much more than the type of tireless, dedicated and loyal employee any business owner could ever hope for, she was my friend. But in every sense she was even more than that because to me, she was family. And on Thursday evening that part of my family was taken far too soon.

It’s rare to have someone as fiercely loyal in your life as Elena was in mine and for 15 years she always had my back. You see, if you messed with someone close to Elena, you messed with her. And you didn’t want to mess with Elena as she had no time for foolishness. And if you disrespected someone close to her, you were the biggest fool ever born. But her heart was huge and she shared it freely with those lucky enough to know her. And I, along with my wife Bridget, are eternally grateful to the universe to have known her.

Elena had several loves in her life; her partner Dan Petersen (pictured with her above), wrestling, legos, and Cinderella (don’t ask). Oh, and comics. Specifically @topcow comics. Specifically specifically, The Darkness. Extra specifically specific…Jackie Estacado. In fact, as we were gearing up for the relaunch of her favorite character, any artist we considered for the book had to pass the “Elena Jackie test”. If an artist failed to pass the required “hotness threshold” when drawing him, pffft off the list they went. I loved that about her.

A heart breaks when losing someone special but sometimes someone is so special that when they pass, they leave you with a powerful love. And that love becomes the glue that will help mend the broken heart. Rest In Peace dear Elena, being part of your life has been an honor, a privilege, and a joy. @petersen_daniel @topcow

Matt Hawkins: In 2010 during the messy chaos I caused with my first divorce I distinctly remember Elena coming to me at perhaps the peak of my self-loathing and ask me if I was okay. She may not even remember that, but it meant everything to me at the time.

Some years later at a convention I remember her saying she had a lot of ideas and that I should listen to her. I’d never had someone approach me that way and it was before the whole #visiblewoman movement.

She and I fought at times and some of our arguments are quite memorable, but I did listen…and she was usually right. She changed corporate policy, editorial direction and went from being an intern to a VP and one of the most influential women to ever work in comics.

I hear you, Elena. I always did. You are the most visible woman I’ve ever known. You were one of the few continuities I’ve had in the last two decades. You encouraged my writing, championed me to be guest at so many conventions and even made me begrudgingly entertained by wrestling.

Your impact will always be felt.

John Layman: RIP Elena.

Woke up yesterday to the terrible news a friend died, and the comic community lost a really good one. My Facebook feed is filled with people whose lives were touched by Elena Salcedo. I’m not even sure how I knew her, after 30+ years of going to comic conventions you just sort of accumulate friends, and Elena was always a bright spot of any conventions, either visiting her at the Top Cow booth or hanging out at bar con after hours. Elena was funny, friendly, fierce, ascerbic, sweet and always, always supportive. Just the sort of person you were always happy to be around or spend time with, and the comic scene is going to be greatly diminished with her absence.

This is very sad news and I just know from looking at all the testimonials I saw on my Facebook feed how many people felt the same way about Elena. A great person and I’m gonna miss her tremendously.

Filip Sablik: “The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long, and you have burned so very very brightly.”

Thursday night, we lost Elena Salcedo. It is cosmically unfair to have Elena taken from us so suddenly and unexpectedly. Danielle and I lost a dear, dear friend. The comic industry lost a fierce, brilliant behind-the-scenes executive. Matt, Marc, Bridget, Phil, and the rest of Top Cow (past and present) lost a central member of their family. Dan lost his partner and his heart.

One of the greatest gifts for anyone in a position of leadership is being lucky enough to spot talent. I met Elena when she volunteered with a friend at the Top Cow booth at New York Comic-Con right after I started working for the company. She ran circles around every other volunteer with her dedication and efficiency. She was so spectacular that very quickly we started flying her to other shows to help us run the booth. I told her if she ever found herself out in LA, I would find a way to hire her. And because Elena rarely did things in half measure, she moved out to LA and before long I hired her to run Top Cow’s webstore. At the end of the day, it’s hard to describe what Elena did for Top Cow and what her role was there, because over time the honest answer was – everything. From unpaid volunteer to Vice President of the company, Elena was the living embodiment of what you can accomplish with passion, hard work , and ingenuity.

As a teammate Elena was amazing, but it paled in comparison to her loyalty and generosity if you were lucky enough to call her friend. She was honest and real, and gave the absolute best hugs. She was always there when you needed her. Her laugh was magic. She was tiny, but full of more life and fight and love than almost anyone I’ve ever met. Truly she was one of a kind.

I’m so grateful to Dan for reaching me and giving me the gift of sharing some final precious moments with Elena. Elena and I both thought we had more time together. We’d make plans to make plans and then life would get in the way. Please, don’t defer time with the people you love. Tell them you love them loudly and unapologetically. Make time and space for them today rather than tomorrow. Because none of our time on Earth is promised.

Stephen Christy: Can’t believe the news that Elena Salcedo has left us. I’m in shock. Elena was one of my first friends in the LA comic book community. We met in 2009. We were all kids so happy to be in an industry we loved while figuring out adulthood in Los Angeles. No one cared about the LA geek community as much as Elena did. She was a firecracker with the biggest heart in the world. We hadn’t seen each other as much as we got older but every year like clockwork I would seek each other out at Comicon and give each other the biggest hug and catch up. I missed her at this year’s Comicon and had no idea her health had gone downhill.

Elena did every job in comics, from executive to editor to publisher to convention planner. She did it with energy and attitude and joy and a ton of love for everyone around her. She’d spent the past decade helping to run Top Cow. I loved seeing her name in books and knowing how much work she put in to the books, the company, and the people.

My love to her partner Dan, to the entire Top Cow Productions, Inc. family, and to everyone who knew her and loved her. She was a beautiful person. Reach out to people you haven’t seen or talked to in awhile because you never know what could happen. Love you, Elena.

Emily Lazar: Elena Salcedo was an incredible human being. When I first joined up with the Top Cow Productions, Inc.fam she was one of the first to welcome me with open arms. We worked closely on those first SM books together and the kickstarter that she relentlessly championed for us and the team … she was a beautiful soul and will still resonate around us all no doubt … that sort of energy never is destroyed it just changes forms. We love u Elena.

Jeremy Haun: We lost a dear friend this week.

I’m going to be honest…I’m not good at this.

I’ve started and stopped this more times than I can count over the last several days.

But I need to say something. Because Elena was wonderful and comics aren’t going to shine quite as bright without her.

I met Elena Salcedo when I first started working for Top Cow. She was volunteering at the time. I was new to the company and figuring things out. She came up with this warm smile and immediately made me feel at home. From then on, we were pals.

Elena did this thing– when you were one of her people, she fought hard for you. When I was out of my depth at a MASSIVE signing for BERSERKER, she was right there and made everything run just a bit smoother. It was the little things– a joke, a smile.

Elena was also wonderful to my boys. She and her partner Dan would come by and we’d all talk about the Lego sets we were building– which ones we were wanting to buy– how we were running out of space for all of them.

Elena went from being a volunteer at Top Cow to the Vice President of the company. She was the embodiment of working hard for the thing you love. And that’s the thing– she was the damned heart of the company.

I’m going to miss seeing Elena at conventions. I’m going to miss catching up. I’m going to miss her amazing laugh and those truly warm, genuine hugs.

I’m so very grateful that, thanks to my good friend Filip, I had the opportunity to Facetime with Elena before she was gone.

I got to tell her that I love her. Even then I didn’t get to tell her everything that she meant to me.

I didn’t say goodbye. I couldn’t.

Moments before I hung up, and absolutely lost it, I said “Talk to you soon.”

I don’t really know what that means.

But I couldn’t say goodbye.

We lost Elena Salcedo Thursday night. She was taken so very quickly and far too soon.

She’s free of all this. But we are so much poorer for it.

Hold those that you love close, my friends. Tell them how much they mean to you.

Think I’m going to go do just that right now.

Henry Barajas: The comic book industry lost one of its biggest supporters and workers. I got to work with Elena for six years. She was the toughest, kindest, fiercest, and most loyal person. I will miss my friend as long as I will live. The only way to properly honor her is to quote a song from her favorite series of movies Fast & Furious: Fast 7.

It’s been a long day without you, my friend
And I’ll tell you all about it when I see you again
We’ve come a long way from where we began
Oh, I’ll tell you all about it when I see you again
When I see you again