The irony of not being able to afford to buy any comics during their most creative boom in the last 30 years is not lost on me.

I heard the news early this morning. At first the shock was like a kick in the guts. That didn't last too long because then the sadness flooded in. And what sadness it is. It might seem faintly ridiculous to have such depth of feeling for the passing of a man that I have never met, and will now never meet (well, not in this life anyway), but we go back a long way, Mr. Jobs and I…

I was 17 when the first Mac came out in 1984. It was love at first sight for someone like me, whose entire focus was on the visual. I'd been using computers for a while, as I was part of the first generation of kids who had access to a computer specially built for use in the home. From the humble Sinclair ZX81 to the venerable BBC micro, I'd played with the proto-pc for most of my teenage years before Apple launched the Macintosh, but they had never seemed to really click, those pure text interfaces, those dismally primitive graphics.

But the Mac, the mac was a revelation. That Graphical User Interface, that form factor, that mouse. It spoke to me in a way that a mere machine shouldn't really be able to do, but has happened periodically ever since - usually when Apple brings out something new and paradigm-changing.

I lusted after the mac from then on, a white-hot longing that has never abated. When I finally did get hold of the object of my desire, it didn't disappoint. It empowered me.

From that first moment in 1984, I was hooked, an Apple fanboy before there really was such a thing. Then, as now, I lived and breathed Apple and celebrated its successes and lamented its failures in much the same way as my other passions, The Arsenal football club and the Comics artform.

When Steve Jobs was ousted from the Apple board, and the company lost its way under a succession of CEOs who didn't know a world-changing idea from a hole in the ground, I was mortified. When Steve came back in triumph, I was elated. When he drove Apple to the dizzy heights it now resides at, I was ecstatic. More than that, I felt vindicated.

First, the iMac. Then the iPod. The Macbooks and Mac Pros. Then the iPhone and the iPad (one of which I'm writing this on now). Every product has elicited that same awe and excitement from me as the first Mac. I've lusted after every one and thankfully I've owned quite a few. Behind it all was the guiding vision of the prodigal son, Steve Jobs. And I haven't even mentioned Pixar…

And now he's left us. All the poorer for his passing, but immeasurably richer for his being here in the first place. Thank you Steve Jobs for all that you've done, for the many millions of lives you've touched. Godspeed and Rest in Peace.

Postscript: Unlike a lot of people, I don't feel that Apple will lose its way now that its erstwhile leader has passed on. Steve Jobs was a man of vision. If you think that vision didn't include the future for his company after he was gone, you've severely underestimated the man. Apple is in safe hands, and will continue to be a testament to the man who co-founded the company. As it should be.

Update: As I write this, my poorly daughter is lying on the sofa reading. On an iPad.

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