The fabric of life is woven into relationships. Almost everything we do, in some way or another, involves other people. The contact doesn't have to be physical but many of your social relationships are likely to be with casual acquaintances. The people you meet every day. But who you don't ever really get to know. Close friends too are usually those you've met in person, gathering them to you at each stage of your life. And of course, there is your family, who have most likely been with you from the start.

The fabric of life is woven into relationships. But sometimes that fabric is made up of less - or more - then physical contact. As a generation (or two, now) of internet users can attest: some of the best relationships are available online. Losing a friend you've never physically come into contact with can be as heart breaking as losing a family member.

And let's face it, we feel so strongly about our relationships, about our communications with other people, that some of our best friends are movie stars.

James Dean, Heath Ledger, Brittany Murphy.

Jonathan Brandis. Kurt Cobain.

Who will ever forget John Candy?

I was 17 when River Phoenix passed away. I had stayed up all night drawing comics. I had the Today show playing in the background and 10 minutes before my best friend and my girlfriend arrived - I heard the news. River Phoenix; who I had never met, had never spoken to, had never even lived on the continent as; was dead. All us teens mourned that day and drowned our sorrows. The first time I ever drank a case of beer.

Dead Rebels is a tribute site; a shout out to those cultural icons that live and breathe alongside us - whether they are dead or not. When Heath Ledger died a few years ago, I stopped working on this site. It seemed a trifle ghoulish. It seemed like I was trying to create something that he would have hated. Another media magnet spouting nonsense.

But you only need a quick perusal of you tube, or flickr, or amazon or even ebay - to see that living breathing people are mourning their friends. Those friends are friends they never met, sure, but they FEEL them everyday.

This is a tribute site. A tribute to our icons, may they always feel like friends.