Obituaries

Batman artist, creator rights activist and creator of the Joker Jerry Robinson passed away in his sleep last night. He was 89. Like many Golden Agers, Robinson started young: At age 17 he became an assistant in Bob Kane's Batman shop where he co-created Robin. He also provided the majority of visuals and background for The Joker. Eventually moving into editorial cartooning, Robinson had a long, distinguished career as an artist and educator. In the 70s he helped spearhead the movement to get Siegel and Shuster compensation for creating Superman; he also traveled to Uruguay and the Soviet Union to help free jailed cartoonists. He was President of both the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists (AAEC) and the National Cartoonists Society (NCS).

First woman to win a Hugo Award (1968, for “Weyr Search”)
First woman to win a Nebula Award (1969, for “Dragonrider”)
First with a science fiction title on the New York Times Bestseller List (1978, The White Dragon)
Named Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America (2005)
Joined Science Fiction Hall of Fame (June 2006)

As you have probably heard by now, cartoonists Tom Hart and Leela Corman have experienced the unimaginable tragedy of losing their young daughter, Rosalie Lightning, at the age of two. The couple had recently moved to Gainesville, FL to start a new life and open a school for cartoonists. Tom and Leela are two of the best people in this comics world, and to know they must endure this is heartbreaking.

As usual, Mark Evanier has word of the passing of writer Alvin Schwartz at age 95, a prolific writer for DC in the '40s and '50s who invented many elements of the Superman canon:

Marvelman creator Mick Anglo died last week at age 96, Bleeding Cool reports. Although best known as the actual creator of Marvelman-- later Miracleman-- whose resurrection by Alan Moore and Garry Leach led to one of the most bizarre rights battles in comics history, Anglo had a long career as a writer (sometimes under the name Jonny Dekker) and artist, from 1940 onwards. Although involved in at least one legal wrangle for his character in recent years, Anglo settled up his end of things, and Marvel has recently been reprinting his early Marvelman/Miracleman adventures.

Via Jeff Keane's Facebook page, word has come that Bil Keane, creator of the iconic Family Circus comic strip, has died. He was 89.

Mark Evanier reports the death of Del Connell, the sadly obscure creator of a kajillion comic book stories, including Super Goof and Space Family Robinson. Connell recently won the Finger Award at San Diego but was too ill to attend the ceremony:

Artist Gene Colan, whose mastery of expression and action alike made him a giant of the Silver Age and beyond, passed away tonight, longtime friend and helper Clifford Meth reports. Colan had been in a coma following a fall and in general ill health from ongoing liver problems.

Golden Age artist Lew Sayre Schwartz, best known as one of Bob Kane's ghosts of the Batman comic, died over the weekend of complications from a fall, according to his son Andrew. A memorial service is planned for July.

Musician Larry "Wild Man" Fischer died on June 16th at age 66. Challenged by severe mental illness his whole life, he was one of the earliest known examples of Outsider Music with his tuneless, shouted ditties that somehow still tapped into the joy of music and performance.

The war between cars and wrestlers has claimed another victim. Randall "Randy Savage" Poffo, who thrilled the wrestling world with his hysterical rumblings and grumblings as Macho Man, died in a car crash this morning at age 58. He reportedly suffered a heart attack while behind the wheel, and veered across traffic into a tree. His wife of one year was also in the vehicle but was not seriously injured.

Jeffrey Catherine Jones, the fantasy artist who helped introduce fine art and illustration influences to comics in the '70s and beyond, has died of complications from emphysema and bronchitis, according to numerous reports. She was 67.