Darwyn Cooke, the influential comics artist, writer and illustrator, has died. He was 53.
The man behind the highly-acclaimed DC: New Frontier miniseries had been fighting cancer.
"We regret to inform you that Darwyn lost his battle with cancer early this morning [May 14] at 1:30am ET," read a family statement posted to his website.
"We read all of your messages of support to him throughout the day yesterday.
"He was filled with your love and surrounded by friends and family at his home in Florida... Please continue to respect our privacy as we go through this very difficult time."
Cooke made his comics debut in 1985, and drew some of DC's most iconic characters including Batman, Superman and Catwoman during his lengthy career.
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A multi-award winner, he also worked for Marvel on X-Force, and contributed to DC's Before Watchmen project, writing and drawing Before Watchmen: Minutemen.
His illustrated adaptations of Richard Stark's Parker novels won him a trio of Eisner Awards, and in 2014, he created a special Batman Beyond short to celebrate Bruce Wayne's 75th anniversary.
You can donate in memory of Cooke to the Canadian Cancer Society or Hero Initiative.
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