On Facebook and the Bernie Wrightson website it was announced yesterday that
he is retiring due to health issues:
Dear Fans and Friends,
I apologize for our silence for the past few months. Last November Bernie began falling again, and having obvious problems with perception. He had to undergo yet another brain surgery to relieve bleeding, and then spend several weeks undergoing in-patient rehabilitation. Unfortunately, it appears that he has lasting damage: he has extremely limited function on his left side, and is unable to walk or reliably use his left hand, among other limitations.
We have had to come to the sad conclusion that he is now effectively retired: he will produce no new art, and he is unable to attend conventions. Should this situation change I will happily announce it here.
He can still sign his name (in fact he was signing Kickstarter prints in the hospital!), and is otherwise pretty healthy and has good cognition. We expect to continue releasing signed prints, and offering occasional pieces of art for sale from the collection that remains. We both thank all of you for your continuing support and good wishes!
All our best,
Liz and Bernie Wrightson
Wrightson, 69, has been suffering from brain cancer for several years and a series of strokes added to his struggles.
As an artist, Wrightson was quite prolific, and thought it is sad that he will not be drawing again for the foreseeable future, he leaves a legacy of amazing art. Those who know Bernie know he’s a hell of a guy as well (and a hell of a pool player, too, as I once witnessed). He broke into the scene as part of The Studio, a group of artists comprising Wrightson, Jeff Jones, Barry Windsor-Smith and Michael Kaluta. It’s hard to imagine four more talented artists in one studio. They also had quite the fashion sense.
Anyway here’s some Wrightson art to enjoy, and I’m sure you’ll join me in sending Bernie well wishes.
I wish him well, and hope that he’ll soon be able to do things, enjoy life, have a creative outlet… Meanwhile, I’ll take my Frankenstein and The Studio book off the shelf and have a browse for good old times!
Heidi, Bernie was famous (in comics) well before The Studio was established with his work on Swamp Thing, etc. In fact, all four of them were. And all four had just quite comics because of the crappy creative conditions: no art wasn’t returned, royalties weren’t even whispered about yet and the pay per page was rock bottom (maybe $35 to $45) and going lower because of the influx of Phillippean artists who were working for even less. Best, Charles
Most sorry to hear this. I crashed a room at a con with Bernie and several others, the year Ring World won the Hugo awards, and Bernie et al were gentlemen and scholars. Which is saying a lot, since I was a seventeen year old girl, and not everyone would have been so,,,, polite.
A sweet man and terrific artist.
My best wishes to him and his family.
That “Secrets of the Haunted House” was one of my favorites. Loved the cover and the story.
So sorry to hear. I hope the best for him and his comfort in these trying times.
Hey Charles Vess, did you mean Philippines?
Comments are closed.