Darwyn Cooke Passes Away

The Industry Loses A Modern Comics Legend

♦Yesterday we reported that Darwyn Cooke (DC The New Frontier, The Spirit, The Twilight Children) has been received palliative care for an aggressive cancer…

Sadly, we have to report that over at his blog darwyncooke.blogspot.co.uk, and confirmed by wikipedia, they have just announced that Cooke has lost his battle with cancer and passed away yesterday.

Cooke came to comics late, starting his illustration career working for Warner Bros. Animation. The first comic project that brought him to people’s attention was DC’s Batman: Ego, a prestige format oneshot published in 2000. He went on to redesign DC’s Catwoman on a run with writer Ed Brubaker. He wrote and drew The New Frontier, a series that celebrated the legacy of DC’s most iconic superheroes like Batman, Superman, Green Lantern and Wonder Woman. He also did a stint on Wildstorm’s The Spirit, featuring Will Eisner’s famous creation. Back in 2012-2013, he wrote and drew Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre for DC. He also adapted a number of Richard Stark’s Parker novels, which were published by IDW. His most recent work was as artist on Vertigo’s The Twilight Children, written by Gilbert Hernandez. Earlier this year, DC published Graphic Ink: The DC Comics Art of Darwyn Cooke, a lavish harddcover of Cooke’s work for the company.

Cooke had a career than included a number of pivotal issues of DC’s Jonah Hex and All-Star Western and countless covers for many books. He leaves a legacy that casts a huge shadow over American comics. He was influenced by the likes of Alex Toth and Hugh Pratt and he truly understood the essence of the characters he worked on. Our paths have crossed a few times over the years, most recently at the Lakes International Comics Art Festival. His absence will be greatly felt in the comics industry.

Cooke was between 53 and 54 years old. Cooke leaves his wife, Marsha.

Cooke obituary www.tripwiremagazine.co.uk