Legendary and Eisner award-winning comic artist Tim Sale passed away yesterday. Earlier this week DC Comics Publisher/CCO Jim Lee shared on social media that Sale had been admitted to the hospital with severe health issues.

Sale’s official Twitter account indicated he “passed with the love of his life beside him, and loves all of you very much.”

As news spread of Sale’s passing over the last 24 hours, tributes came in from across social media. They’re too numerous to collect all of them but here’s just a few from those who worked with, knew, and loved him:

https://twitter.com/RichStarkings/status/1537500022077628417?s=20&t=pBJHecr1cfl4PxUwpjiWBw

https://twitter.com/GregCapullo/status/1537516311558881282?s=20&t=xBjEBmmgJK5gzKul2Nlg3Q

https://twitter.com/TerryMooreArt/status/1537562589101801473?s=20&t=xBjEBmmgJK5gzKul2Nlg3Q

https://twitter.com/GailSimone/status/1537560183945109504?s=20&t=DXu1AiW4u1NgRWGXtLUxbA

A graduate of the School of Visual Arts, Tim Sale made a splash in the comics industry with his iconic and distinct art style. He is arguably best known for his acclaimed collaborations with writer Jeph Loeb that include Batman: The Long Halloween, Superman for All Seasons, and Catwoman: When in Rome. The story and art of Long Halloween not only greatly influenced both filmmakers Christopher Nolan and Matt Reeves for their Batman films but was adapted into an animated film released last year. For Marvel, Sale and Loeb teamed up to produce their self-styled “color” books such as Daredevil: Yellow, Spider-Man: Blue, Hulk Gray, and Captain America: White. Sale’s artwork also graced the television show Heroes, where his frequent collaborator Jeph Loeb served as a writer and producer.

The death of Tim Sale comes on the heels of the tragic passings of Neal Adams and George Pérez in the last two months. It’s been a tough year for the comic book community, marked by the loss of yet another incredible talent. Everyone here at The Beat offers our condolences to Sale’s family and friends; he will be sorely missed.

2 COMMENTS

  1. I think I discovered Tim’s work in the early 90s with BILLI 99 — his work just completely sucked me into the story.

    After that, I made a point of looking around for anything he worked on; and I was not disappointed. SUPERMAN FOR ALL SEASONS was probably my favorite, but there’s so much good work he did. Also, he was a local Seattle artist; and there were a number of signed prints and comics whenever I went into my local shop, Zanadu.

    He will be missed.

  2. Have the Thieves’ World volumes from Donning/Starblaze gone into the memory hole? that’s where I first noticed Sale

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