Darwyn Cooke has died. He was 53 years old.
The Boston Globe reports that Cooke established a career as an award-winning comics creator. He became well-known for adapting Richard Stark’s Parker novels, working on several Batman comics, and creating the artwork for the fifth issue of the Solo series. He also served as a storyboard artist for two popular comics-based television shows: Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series.
In a statement posted on the DC Comcis blog, co-publisher Dan DiDio: “Darwyn Cooke lived life like a character from a Mickey Spillane novel, a throwback to a bygone era that was, more than occasionally, reflected in his work. He was both compassionate and combative, approaching everything he did with a tenaciousness and temerity that is now unheard of in a world afraid to offend. This is an industry-wide loss that I feel personally, but the sadness is mitigated in the knowing that the beauty and grace of his art will forever stand the test of time and be a monument to all that is great about comics.” (via The Denver Post)