The comic book world lost a figure of global influence this week. Jack Chick, the prolific creator of those rectangular extremist comics often found in public places, and the deranged conspiracy Crusader Comic Books, died October 23. Chick’s often surreal comic-book rants against everything from evolution to role-playing games created controversy even among evangelical Christians and became ironic must-reads among many hip consumers of comix culture. Over the years, Chick claimed the Catholic Church created Islam and assassinated JFK, warned against the corrupting influence of rock ‘n’ roll, Bewitched and Family Guy (well…), and established much of the groundwork for the 1980s/90s “Satanic Panic.”

Pity he couldn’t have held out a bit and died next Monday. Chick freakin’ hated Halloween.

Continue reading →

Gene Wilder, well known as Willy Wonka and Young Frankenstein, died at his home due to complications from Alzheimer’s disease. His long and diverse career included many comedic roles.

Rest in peace.

Kenny Baker, best-known as the animating spirit in one of cinema’s most famous machines, died at 81 after a lengthy illness. Baker had a number of genre credits to his name, including Time Bandits and Labyrinth. He will be missed.

Jerry Doyle, best-remembered for his role as Garibaldi on Babylon Five, has died at the age of 60 at his Las Vegas home. An autopsy is pending.

The influential cartoonist and artist Jack Davis, best-known for his work in Mad Magazine (and EC’s earlier titles), has passed at the age of 91.

In addition to his long association with Mad, Davis also created a wide range of commercial art, including memorable album covers for a bewildering range of musical artists.

Noel Neill, an actress whose career intertwined with the Man of Steel’s, died July 3 at the age of 95.

Neill was the first actress to play Lois Lane in a live action film, the 1948 Superman serial. She reprised the role in Atom Man vs Superman, and later took over the role from Phyllis Coates after the first season of The Adventures of Superman. She also made cameo appearances in Superman (1978) (as Lois’s mother), the late 80s / early 90s Superboy series, and Superman Returns (2006). She also had small roles in a couple of Hollywood classics, most notably Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), and in at least one other TV show with “genre” connections, The Lone Ranger. Although she mostly retired after The Adventures of Superman, her role as Lois kept her in fandom’s eye.

The 2010 tribute is courtesy of CapedWonderJim:

Darwyn Cooke, the Eisner-winning writer and artist of comics, is dead at 53. Cooke is best-remembered for his work with DC, including the brilliant retro-series, The New Frontier.

Donations may be made to the Canadian Cancer Society and the Hero Initiative.

The literary world lost two significant figures today, Nelle Harper Lee, 89 and Umberto Eco, 84. While neither were authors of SF or fantasy per se, both influenced writers in all fields, and Eco’s fiction crossed boundaries of reality and his non-fiction examined (among many other topics) the cultural implications of superheroes.