Comics News

Creators Respond To The Passing Of Artist Sam Kieth

Published

5 months ago

March 22, 2026

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Remembering A Truly Memorable Comics Figure

After the very sad news of Sam Kieth’s passing, a number of comic industry figures have responded to his death…

Kieth’s close friend and veteran comics editor Scott Dunbier said this about losing Kieth:

Fellow Sandman artist Mike Dringenberg had this to say:

For artists, creativity isn’t an act of magic; it’s hard work, and we’re often dissatisfied with it, seeing only mistakes where others seem to find miracles. This even applied to Michelangelo, and he was one of the greatest artists who ever lived… He once wrote a poem about how much he hated the Sistine Chapel; he tried to destroy the Pieta Bandini rather than finish it, and made bonfires of his drawings. Sam certainly felt that impulse. He never felt his work was good enough, and now- sadly- I’ll never have another opportunity to convince him otherwise.

Former Sandman editor Karen Berger offered her own tribute today on Bluesky

Terrible news to hear that Sam Kieth has passed. Such a talented artist and a very nice guy. He was integral in creating the look of Sandman and establishing the visual tone of the series’ early issues. He had a beautiful sense of design and detail. This is one of my favorite pages. RIP Sam

DC’s chief creative officer and one of the founders of Image Comics put this up on his wall on Facebook:

Back in the early 90’s—when Image was trying to pull creators into the fold—l reached out to Sam Kieth who was not just a big name coming off his sensational run on Marvel Comics Presents, but a friend who also loved talking about the psychological underpinnings of our favorite characters.

My pitch to Sam back then was simple: come do whatever you want. Total creative freedom. Own it all. Take it wherever you want-or nowhere at all.

And Sam ran with it and launched his creation ‘the Maxx’ through our anthology series Darker Image #1, promptly selling over a million copies.

The Maxx wasn’t just a comic though-it was something raw, psychological, and completely unlike anything else out there. It was pure Sam ‘i before e’ Kieth. Even the way he spelled his name was out of the ordinary.

Most of all—Sam was kind, sweet, and deeply self-effacing. ‘I could never do what you guys do’ referring to us, the Image founders. Back then, pre-Internet-hyping and self-promotion was the name of the game if you wanted to compete with the Big Two.

Well, he did, but in his own way. A true original. Fearless in his work, never chasing trends-just following his own path.

I remember feeling proud of him…and to be 100% honest, a bit jealous too…seeing him break through in a big way-even making it onto MTV!

When he stepped away from comics, I figured he was just done with the grind.

‘Good for him’ I remember thinking when I read the headline.

Again—a bit jealous. I didn’t know how much he was dealing with. What a tragic loss. May peace be with you, Sam. 💔

Grendel creator Matt Wagner, who also worked with Kieth on Mage many years ago, had this to say:

Hey gang…I’m very saddened to hear of Sam Kieth’s passing. I can’t say Sam and I were particularly close but were certainly friendly and he was such a seminal part of my early career as the inker on MAGE: THE HERO DISCOVERED. After which, of course, Sam went on to a very illustrious career as a creator all on his own. In honor of his life and legacy, I thought I’d share this piece of his original art that I’ve owned for years–a rejected cover for THE INCREDIBLE HULK. It was rejected because you can’t see The Hulk’s face…as if there could be any confusion over who’s busting through that wall. We both agreed that this dynamic piece was a million times better than the one Marvel eventually approved. When he showed me this piece at a con and realized that I felt the same way he did about it…he gave me the piece, saying he wanted it have an appreciative home. That’s the kind of guy Sam was.

Savage Dragon creator Erik Larsen posted this: