Al Williamson, the youngest artist in the acclaimed EC stable of artists, died yesterday after a long illness. Born in 1931, he was raised in Bogotá, Colombia, Williamson was attracted to American comic strips, notably Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon, before relocating to the United States at age 12. As a teen, he attended Burne Hogarth’s…
Tony DiPreta, a cartoonist with a pedigree as long as Joe Palooka’s reach, died on June 2. Best known as the last artist on Joe Palooka (1959 – 1984) and Rex Morgan, M.D. from 1994 until 2000, Tony got his start at the fabled Quality Comics as a letterer in 1940. He assisted Lou Fine,…
Jeanne Robinson, dancer, choreographer, teacher and Hugo and Nebula winning co-author of three science fiction novels known as The Stardance Trilogy with her husband Spider Robinson, died Sunday of bilary tract cancer at the age of 62. Robinson studied dance at the Boston Conservatory, and at the Martha Graham, Alvin Ailey, and Erick Hawkins schools….
Linda Gold, beloved wife of ComicMix editor in chief Mike Gold, mother of assistant editor Adriane Nash, and frequent commenter on this site, died this morning of a heart attack. She was 60 years old. She was the biggest Green Lantern fan I’ve ever known, with a particular fondness for Guy Gardner. She knew more…
Howard “Howie” Post, one of America’s premiere cartoonists, passed away last Friday. At Harvey Comics, Howie worked on Hot Stuff, Casper the Friendly Ghost, Wendy the Good Little Witch, Richie Rich and his own creation, Spooky The Tuff Li’l Ghost. He produced literally hundreds of stories for the company during his tenure. He is best…
According to biographer / publisher Russ Cochran, legendary illustrator and comics artist Frank Frazetta passed away this morning. Perhaps best known for his illustrations on the covers of the 1970s Conan paperbacks for Lancer Books and the 1960s Warren Magazines (Creepy, Eerie, Vampirella, Blazing Combat), Frazetta worked closely with EC artists Al Williamson and Angelo…
Peter O’Donnell, one of the greatest of comics writers, died last night at the age of 90. He is best known for his creation Modesty Blaise, which ran in newspapers from 1963 to 2001, initially drawn by Jim Holdaway. He also created Romeo Brown (again, with Holdaway) and for many years authored the classic time-travelling…
We’ve just gotten word that Lewis “Alan” Coil, a regular commenter here at ComicMix and at many other websites, died last Friday, April 30, 2010 from an apparent heart attack at the age of 55. Paul Shiple posted the notification on Harlan Ellison’s web board. “I wish I could speak more of what a great…
Forgive me if this one gets a little personal. My very long-time friend, comics store pioneer Joe Sarno, died today from a fall that followed a severe, long-standing illness. A long-time science fiction fan dating back to the 1950s, Joe started The Fantasy Collectors of Chicago in 1969, a comics-oriented pop culture club. It was…
Robert B. Parker, the man behind the Spenser, Sunny Randall, and Jesse Stone mystery series, as well as the Appaloosa westerns, died this morning at his writing desk at the age of 77. Parker had written over sixty novels and won the Grand Master Edgar award from the Mystery Writers of America. I’d seen a…
Art Clokey, whose bendable creations became a pop culture phenomenon through countless satires, toys and revivals, has died at age 88. Caretaker Chrisanne Wollett Clokey says Clokey died Friday in Los Osos on California’s Central Coast. Clokey is best known for the creation of Gumby, the green clay character with his horse friend Pokey. Clokey…
Brittany Murphy, the actress who got her start in the sleeper hits Clueless and 8 Mile but best known to comics fans as Shellie in Sin City and Luanne Platter in King Of The Hill, died Sunday in Los Angeles at the age of 32, according to AP reports. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Spokeswoman Sally Stewart…
