James Mielke is an outspoken, unapologetic, abrasive asshole.

And for that, the enthusiast press has lost an invaluable asset that will be impossible to replace.

As many of you already know, James “Milkman” Mielke has made the successful leap from former 1UP.com editor and the final editor-in-chief of EGM to producer of an as-of-yet unnamed project for Q? Entertainment under the watchful eye of Tetsuya Mizuguchi. It was a transition that was a long time coming, but three months after leaving the US for Japan with a pregnant fiancée in tow, I find myself strangely missing his larger-than-life personality that bled through to all of his work.

I was first introduced to Mr. Mielke back in 2006 through the magic of the 1UP Show. One of their earliest episodes was billed “A Day in the Life of Milkman,” in which the video team interns were forced to follow a raucous, unruly Asian man with a propensity for violence and profanity after a recent trip to Konami Entertainment Japan and a lengthy interview with Hideo Kojima in Roppongi Hills. Between several threats of bodily harm and an unnecessary introduction to the world of Hard Gay (Google it!), he managed to squeeze some rather choice cuts of information about Metal Gear Solid 4, which left me impressed, entertained, and a little disturbed.

I decided then and there to open a 1UP account and follow his blog.

In reading his entries, I gained clearer insight into the mind of a madman. It became apparent that he had an unbridled zest for life and no passion burned brighter than that for video games. He sometimes came off as a name-dropping, arrogant know-it-all with an intolerance for stupidity, but considering all his accomplishments and the close industry relationships forged from his years of hard work, I wondered if anyone else could manage NOT to sound supercilious in his shoes and want to call jealous haters dumb-asses.

Fast-forward to 2007, when Mielke found himself live-blogging the StarCraft II announcement in South Korea. Fighting a bout of insomnia, I found myself up at the same hour, leaving live comments on his blog as the event was being reported. By the end of this dialogue, a PM was received that literally made me smile:

Date: 5/19/2007 4:51 AM

Subject: RE: DOOD!!! Don't tempt me, I'm two mouse clicks away from buying a ticket to Seoul!!!

Message: LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOL. "In a very non-Brokeback way..." That was worth its weight in gold. The real reason I'm worried about going outside is that two weeks in Japan and Korea have pummeled not my spirit, but my bank account.

I just wanna check out without the girl at the front desk saying "Uh, your card got declinz0red." But if it matters, I am totally DOWN for coming back and coming back hard. Seriously. On the DL, I may even end up working for Q, which means I may have to come out here like once a frikkin' month.

So, I ain't worried if I don't get to rock this crazyness the first time. Next time, you come too, and I'll just laugh with tears of happiness in my eyes. I'll still go out this time.

But next time, shit, I'm gonna go crazy here. You're a pal. I love it when you comment on my blog. I can almost guarantee I'll never call you a retard!

I’ll be honest: my heart skipped a beat after reading this the first time.

And so, over the next two years through email and IM correspondence, what was once a polite respect for each other slowly grew into a genuine friendship that finally culminated into a face-to-face meeting last March at an Italian restaurant across the street from the 1UP home office.

Through the course of the meal, a more human side of the Milkman began to emerge. He had no shortage of accolades for his former co-workers and their talents, and was genuinely dismayed for those lost in the UGO takeover and the closing of EGM. His face beamed with pride as he revealed his hiring at Q? Entertainment, but cursed the Japanese government’s love of bureaucracy in his next breath. Finally, he shared that his fiancée was carrying his child, which I swore to keep a secret under penalty of death, and his plans to wed in NYC sometime in 2010.

Meanwhile, all I could do was nod and consciously think “Don’t say anything stupid, don’t do anything stupid” in between bites of penne ala vodka.

After lunch (which he paid for!), he invited me up to the office to hang out for a while. We shared stories of living in Manhattan, our frustration over Resident Evil 5’s control scheme, and our mutual admiration for Korean women, when his cell phone rang.

It was his mother, asking him for help with the computer he bought his parents for Christmas.

It was at that moment, watching him patiently provide tech support for his mother, that I finally had a complete picture of who James Mielke was: an ordinary guy who worked extraordinarily hard at a career that’s had both dizzying peaks and painful valleys, who truly accomplished all he had set out to do and was now waiting for the next chapter to begin (or in this case, for his visa to go through).

In a profession saturated with talented but sometimes jaded individuals, Milky managed to stand apart from the multitude with panache and style. His brutal honesty and aggressive mind-set has garnered more than his fair share of detractors, but no one can accuse him of not giving 100% to everything he does. It’s the reason I started a subscription to EGM, continue to read his blog at 1UP, and eagerly anticipate his first game at Q? Entertainment.

I just hope there’s no Hard Gay in it.