Today the comics community at large mourns the passing of legendary artist Carlos Ezquerra whose work co-creating Judge Dredd for 2000 AD defined that magazine through over 40 years of publishing and coalesced the modern British comics movement.
RIP Russ Heath
The classic DC war comics artist was 91.
Goodbye Gord Downie 1964-2017
To my friend. xo J pic.twitter.com/95VO2yxkxi — Jeff Lemire (@JeffLemire) October 18, 2017 Gord Downie, the lead singer of The Tragically Hip, passed away on Wednesday, October 18th. Downie had an aggressive and incurable form of brain cancer he discovered in December 2015. Him and his band did a final Canadian tour and bid farewell […]
RIP Skip Williamson
We’ve lost yet another legendary cartoonist, underground pioneers Skip Williamson, 73, whose Snappy Sammy Smoot was the best known of his creations. Patrick Rozenkrantz, the Boswell of the underground movement has the detailed obituary and appreciation:: Williamson’s underground style, steeped in Art Deco flatness and crammed with calculatedly unhip scatology (“Holy cow! Some elephant doody!”), […]
RIP Dan Spiegle
Mark Evanier reports on the death at age 96 of artist Dan Spiegle. The two were collaborators on Crossfire, a delightful Superhero meets Hollywood Babylon series from the 80s, but Spiegle was a prolific artist on Blackhawk, Star Trek, Scooby Doo and about a million other comics. He could and did draw anything with a solid, lively style.
RIP Jimmy Snuka
Wrestling legend Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka died at age 73 after suffering from stomach cancer. He had a controversial life – which may or may not have included killing his girlfriend – but he was great in the ring. And now both the participants in this classic wrestling moment have left us. Heidi MacDonaldHeidi MacDonald is […]
RIP Richard Kyle, inventor of the term “graphic novel”
Alan Brennert reports on FB that comics retail founding father Richard Kyle has passed away at age 87. Kyle had been in ill-health for a long time. As the owner of Richard Kyle Books (and the earlier) Graphic Story Bookshop in Long Beach, Kyle was not only a pioneer in selling comics, but the inventor […]
RIP religious tract cartoonist Jack T. Chick
Jack T. Chick, whose religious tract comics inspired revulsion and mirth– along with some faith, I’m sure — passed away over the wekeend at age 92, as his company FB page revealed: Many might have been surprised to find out the reclusive artist was still alive. As noted by Steve Bissette, Chick may have been […]
RIP Preacher co-creator Steve Dillon
Sad to confirm the death of Steve, my big brother and my hero. He passed away in the city he loved (NYC). He will be sorely missed. Cheers x — glyn dillon (@glyn_dillon) October 22, 2016 I’ve never been so devastated to write a post here at The Beat. Confirmed by his brother, artist Steve […]
RIP: Caliber Comics publisher Gary Reed
As seen on Facebook this morning, and confirmed by Newsarama, former Caliber publisher Gary Reed has passed away suddenly after suffering a heart attack. As recently as this weekend, Reed attended the Monroe Comic Con and posted about it happily. Reed was one of the foundational publishers of indie comics, with Caliber, launched in 1989, […]
