David Anthony Kraft, comic-book writer, rock journalist, SF/fantasy publisher, and creator of Comics Interview, has died after a prolonged battle with COVID-related pneumonia. He was 68 years old.
Kraft wrote for several companies, and many remember him best as one of the writers who introduced social issues into his comic-book stories. He had particularly memorable runs on The Defenders and She-Hulk.
Hakusensha’s editorial department and the writer’s official Twitter account have reported that Kentaro Miura, the writer and artist of the manga Berserk, has passed away at the age of 54 of an acute aortic dissection.
Berserk, which started in 1988 and was still ongoing as of Miura’s death has been adapted into several anime series, one in 1997 adapting the Golden Age Arc (which was followed by a trilogy of films adapting that arc), and a later series in the late 2010s picking up where the Golden Age Arc left off (which has run for 3 seasons).
Miura’s work had been credited as influencing various works, from video games like Dragon’s Dogma, Dark Souls, and Monster Hunter and the design of Cloud Strife’s Buster Swordin Final Fantasy VII, to various other anime and manga series like Demon Slayer and Vagabond, as well as the Netflix Castlevania animated series.
As I’m sure most of you know (but we forgot to post), Michael Collins, the member of the historic Apollo 11 crew who did not get to touch the moon, died on April 28, 2021, at the age of 90. He had been suffering from cancer.
The Science Fiction author passed away on November 29 at age 88 of complications from COVID-19. He authored over 120 works of sci-fi, won six Hugo Awards, and has been the president of both the National Space Society as well as the Science Fiction Writers of America.
David Browse, the bodybuilder-turned-actor most famous for being the physical presence of Darth Vader in the original Star Wars films, died November 28 at the age of 85.
Sean Connery, best-known as the first actor to play James Bond on the big screen and a seven-times Bond, has died at ninety. His lengthy career also included an Oscar-winning performance in The Untouchables (1988), and an appearance in the Indiana Jones franchise (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), of course).
Rest in Peace.
Variety is reporting that Chadwick Boseman has died of colon cancer at the age of 43. Most recently he was best known for the role of Black Panther in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, however his earlier film roles including playing the first African-American Supreme Court Justice, Thurgood Marshall, and the first African-American man to break the color barrier and play in the MLB, Jackie Robinson, in bio-pics for both people (Marshall and 42, respectively).
Grant Imahara, robot engineer and builder extraordinaire on Mythbusters has passed away at the way-too-young age of 49.
Grant’s resume reads like a geek’s dream. Worked on the Star Wars prequels (operating R2-D2 no less), competed in BattleBots, built countless robots and gadgets for Mythbusters, and even played Sulu on Star Trek Continues.
Vera Lynn died today at the age of 103. She remained active and inspirational until the end, and, against the background of the COVID-19 pandemic, her Greatest Hits compilation entered Britain’s top 30, making her the oldest artist to chart.
It is being reported that Freeman Dyson has passed away at the age of 96. While pop culture will remember him for popularizing the sphere, he worked with subjects in astrophysics, nuclear engineering, and the origins of life. His famous thought experiments are interesting for any sci-fi fan.