As we move into the new year, we take a moment to remember the comic writers, artists and editors we lost in 2024.
José María Del Bó, known professionally as José Delbo, passed away at the age of 90 in February. The Argentine comics artist was known for his work on Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen, World’s Finest, Batman Family and Wonder Woman in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as Transformers, ThunderCats, Captain Planet and the Planeteers and NFL SuperPro at Marvel.
Paul Neary, the former Marvel UK editor-in-chief and artist of Captain America, Excalibur, The Ultimates and more, passed away at the age of 74. Neary died of a long illness on Feb. 10.
Ramona Fradon, co-creator of Metamorpho and Aqualad, passed away in February at the age of 97 — a little more than a month after officially retiring from drawing comics. Fradon’s long career included issues of The Brave and the Bold, Adventure Comics, Plastic Man, Freedom Fighters, Super Friends, The Cat and more.
Italian comics creator Alfredo Castelli, creator of Martin Mystère for Sergio Bonelli Editore, passed away on Feb. 7 at the age of 76.
Akira Toriyama, the creator of Dragon Ball and other popular manga, passed away at the age of 68 in March.
Ed Piskor, the creator of Hip Hop Family Tree and X-Men: Grand Design, passed away at the age of 41 in April.
Mark “M.D.” Bright, an artist whose resume included drawing iconic runs on Iron Man and Green Lantern, as well as co-creating the Valiant Comics series Quantum and Woody and the Milestone Media series Icon, also passed away in April.
Trina Robbins, a comics creator, historian, advocate and pioneering figure in the underground comix movement — and the “Trina” Joni Mitchell sang about in the song “Ladies of the Canyon” — passed away in April at the age of 85.
Don Perlin, the veteran comics artist who co-created Moon Knight and Bloodshot, passed away May 14 at the age of 94.
Peter B. Gillis, the writer of Strikeforce Morituri, Shatter, Doctor Strange, The Defenders and more, passed away in June after battling health issues for a couple of years.
Michael Zulli, the creator of Puma Blues and artist on Sandman, Alice Cooper: The Last Temptation and many more beautifully drawn comics, passed away in July at the age of 71.
Bernie Mireault, creator of The Jam, Mackenzie Queen and Dr. Robot, and the artist of Matt Wagner’s Grendel: The Devil Inside, passed away at the age of 63 in September.
John Cassaday, the co-creator and artist of Planetary, passed away in September at the age of 52. Cassaday’s work included Desperadoes, Astonishing X-Men, Hellboy Weird Tales, Captain America, Star Wars and more.
Karl Moline, the artist known for his work on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, for CrossGen and more, passed away at the age of 51 in September.
Underground cartoonist Larry Todd, known for creating Dr. Atomic, passed away from cancer in September.
Kazuo Umezu, creator of The Drifting Classroom, Cat-Eyed Boy and other horror manga, passed away from cancer in October. He was 88.
Greg Hildebrandt, one-half of the Brothers Hildebrandt with his twin brother Tim, passed away on Halloween. The duo is best known for their fantasy and science fiction artwork for Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and more, as well as for the Superman: The Last God of Krypton graphic novel and the Marvel Masterpieces card set in the 1990s.
Comic colorist Clydene Lee, a longtime volunteer of the San Diego Comic Con who helped organize Artist’s Alley, passed away in November. She did coloring work for Wildstorm and Todd McFarlane, helping to create the black and red coloring scheme used on Spawn.