10 Comic Book Creators Who Died In 2019
Which of these amazing creators who passed in 2019 created a comic book you loved?
Comic books, as an art form and business, have been around for nearly a century, and since the first modern comic book was printed in 1933, the world has lost some giants from the industry. Some of the greatest creators in the industry have passed recently, though most don't receive the attention of giants like Stan "The Man" Lee.
For most creators, they live their lives, give the world a gift in the form of their artwork and storytelling abilities, and they pass. Life moves on, as it always does, but that doesn't mean the people who create a medium we all love aren't going to be missed.
2019 was a great year for comic books and its associated media on the silver screen, but it wasn't all wonderful. Throughout the year, several important figures in the industry passed away, and while they are no longer with us, their work continues to live on as a lasting legacy.
These ten amazing creators worked in one of the most expressive and beloved forms of artwork and literature, and each one will be missed by their family, their peers in the industry, and their fans.
10. Ron Smith - January 10, 2019
British comic book artist Ronald "Ron" George Smith passed away in early January at the age of 90. Ron was a veteran comic book artist, whose work spanned nearly half-a-century, primarily as a comic strip creator for DC Thomson, IPC Magazines, 2000 AD, and the Daily Star.
Smith's professional career was interrupted shortly after finishing school, thanks to the outbreak of WWII. He enlisted as a pilot with the Empire Flying Training Programme, which put him in a Mark 19 Spitfire, where he flew photo-reconnaissance missions for the Allied war effort. Following the conflict, he joined the Gaumont British animation studio.
When the studio's parent company went bust in 1949, Smith began working on Knockout, where he drew humor strips like Young Joey and Deed-a-Day Danny. He continued working on strips for the next three decades, until 1979 when he began drawing Judge Dredd for IPC's 2000 AD.
While working on Judge Dredd, he became the most prolific artist to draw the character into the mid-1980s. He also created Otto Smith, Mega-City One's ugliest man, and his work for IPC continued into the '90s with work on Eagle, Wildcat, Toxic Crusaders, and M.A.S.K. Throughout his decades-long career, Smith, worked on 519 issues covering hundreds of characters and storylines.