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Hi boys and Girls! Welcome to a long overdue commentary! While considering sitting down with the Myth Master, I decided I wanted to talk with all of you straight forward and tell you exactly why I am leaving the company and what I foresee for The JayZoMon Dark Myth Company. This has been a thirty-year journey for me, starting all of this in 1992. In that time, we have seen many hills and valleys, memories made, relations formed, children born, and loved ones dying. There are so many thoughts and memories that I could rehash, but this is not the forum for that; this is a reflection of 2017 to 2022 (our current era). In 2017, I got the legal rights to use the name Dark Myth, and at that moment, I knew that I was going to restart the magazine. I took almost two years off after my wife passed away to focus on me as a person as a whole. I rebuilt myself, and by the time we reached Christmas Eve of that year, with issue #56, I knew I was ready to return and rebuild what I loved. In 2018, we relaunched the JayZoModcast Podcast Network and began producing daily podcasts. In addition, I published Stephanie's book Eternally Bound for the first time since 2014. While all this was happening, I continued to hit the gym every day for at least three hours per session. As a result, I was still in very good health. Moving into 2019, I merged MythWurks and JayZoMon and created The JayZoMon Dark Myth Company. That was the year that I started writing The Missing Unicorn and the Land of the Zombie Fairies, held our very first Open Contract Challenge, and began plotting JayZoMonCon which would later be renamed JayZoMon's Pop Culture Expo, our first live event. Again, I should narrate that I was still taking good care of my health and could balance health and business. 2020 was when everything changed, not only for me but for life as we know it, but before the Corona Virus hit, we published three books and held our first Expo and Live Wrestling before the second week of February even hit! Come March; we started becoming trapped in our own homes. That was the start of my not going to the gym. Instead, I tried to thrive in Lock Down, create, write more, and spread the word of our existence—and that we did. The company was growing, and I could invest and grow the coffers with the money from the first PCE. At the same time produced more products and even bought the rights to a publishing company—I knew it was time to grow the company bigger. But, I should add that I began to struggle with new issues that landed me in the hospital because of my heart. Despite my best efforts, I was tackled with severe depression in June and July, then relapsed from November into January. In 2021, because of the pandemic, I decided to return to healthcare that January to do my part in the battle against COVID. It was a very memorable time in my life as I got to witness what was happening with my own eyes, a lot of people that I worked side by side with during that turbulent time are no longer there, and it's a lot sadder place with all of you. In mid-January, I brought back the Board of Directors and assigned new management to help me with each company division while I ran corporate and worked at the hospital. In February, to the newly assembled Board of Directors, and as I hoped, we started to make headway with things getting done and new ideas forming out of the board. Like Myth Mart coming back to life, Dark Myth Comics reforming legs since Mario Martinez was Editor in Chief in the early to mid-2000s. Then we started to work on PCE:2021, AKA ScareFaire. With the demand of what was being booked, and wanting to cover all our bills, not only for the event, I continuously worked and put any and all extra money into the coffers—well, until that May, when my heart decided to stop just long enough for me to pass out, but the upside I was in a hospital at the time, so I got immediate attention. But, once I was out a week later, I was back on my feet and running, and I worked to meet that growing overhead, and not fall on my face in massive debt. So, I would do that until October, we worked to produce the very best of events, but by the end of the day, something happened that I truly do not believe I have recovered from. Now, I understand that the risk of business is always there, and for some losing thousands and thousands of dollars may not be a big deal, but I could have paid for 25% of a new home upfront with the money I lost. The following day, I believe, I had a nervous breakdown and wound up being placed on a mood stabilizer, which I am still on as I write this. 2022 opened, and I was faced with how the hell I was going to keep the business afloat. I worked out a basic budget and would take money once again out of my personal pocket and pay for everything that needed to be paid for this year. But, if I am truly being honest, I really don't remember much of January, but we kept pushing forward with the fourth annual Open Contract Challenge, a new book published and released almost once a month, every month with the magazine and staff coming and going. Then we hit a severe roadblock that, honestly, I was hoping to outrun and have PCE: 2022 before it crashed, and that was a Recession—now, before anyone says anything about anything, I am talking about a non-political recession, one that is based on the drop of the dollar and the rise of consumer cost. We witnessed my first major failure as the CEO of this company. I failed to bring ScareFaire: Texarkana and PCE: 2022 to fruition. Plus, with the general inflation of the U.S. Dollar, sales at Myth Mart dropped in the fourth quarter to almost nonexistent. But, I continued to do my best because of how much I love this company, even to the point of working on this at 10:38 PM to have it ready for launch. So, I guess what I am trying to say in a very long and drawn-out way was that I did my best, and in doing so, I sacrificed my health, and now it is time for me to rebuild myself—if I am broke, how can I expect to rebuild the company. That is why I am so thankful for my team, and I don't just mean Steph, Alan, Walter, Kevin, Jai, Gary, and Henry. I mean all of you too. We all work as a team, the readers, the writers, the artists, and don't kid yourself, if you think I don't realize how lucky I am to have all of you on my team! In time, all of you will realize that I am no longer in the picture. I know Steph said that I would be around to help and answer the question, but when those questions end, I will slowly slip away and let the people I love and trust maintain and keep this boat on course. With that in mind, please be patient with us as we move into this time of transition. There will likely be missed deadlines and possibly projects postponed, but I trust the new people as much as I do. They need to find their legs on this vessel. Once they all do, it will be back into smooth waters—so please, be patient, or if you are willing to help in some way, let Steph know, she would be ever so grateful. All right, gang, that is it for me. It is time for me to go get healthy. In closing, I thank all of you for the support you have given me and my forever-growing dream. I sincerely love you all! With respect to you all!
David K. Montoya
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