10 Comic Book Creators Who Died In 2019

Veteran comic strip writer and illustrator of Tumbleweeds, Tom K. Ryan, passed away in March at the age of 92. Ryan's life in cartoons extended for 42 years, from 1965 until 2007, with the long-running cartoon strip, Tumbleweeds. Ryan was an innovative creator who inspired others to work in the field.

Jim Davis, the man who created Garfield, worked as Ryan's assistant between 1969 and 1978. Davis left to create his own strip, and Ryan's influence can be seen in his work. Ryan showed an early childhood interest in drawing, though he attended Notre Dame University and the University of Cincinnati on basketball scholarships.

After a few jobs outside the field, he began working in commercial art, where he designed football helmets, editorials, and sports cartoons for the local newspapers. During this time, he began working on his gag-a-day western spoof, Tumbleweeds, which would occupy his professional life for more than 40 years.

Tumbleweeds expressed its creator's dark humor through a large cast of characters. When he decided it was time to retire from working, Ryan opted to close out his long-running comic instead of allowing it to become a "zombie strip" outside his influence. Tumbleweeds ended on December 30, 2007.