As reported by Variety, horror comic book artist Bernie Wrightson has died after a “long battle” with brain cancer. He was 68.
Wrightson is best known as the artist who co-created the iconic DC Comics character Swamp Thing (alongside Len Wein) in the ‘70s, and he also illustrated a 1983 edition of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein that he reportedly worked on for free over the course of seven years. That version of Frankenstein included a foreword by Stephen King, and Wrightson also illustrated the poster for King’s Creepshow film and drew the comic book adaptation of the movie.
This set the stage for a number of collaborations between Wrightson and King, with Wrightson doing cover and interior art for a number of King books like The Stand, From A Buick 8, and Wolves Of The Calla—the fifth book in the long-running Dark Tower series. Outside of the Stephen King connection, Wrightson also did conceptual film work on moves like Serenity, Galaxy Quest, Ghostbusters, and Land Of The Dead.
A number of artists and writers who worked with or admired Wrightson’s work have been posting tributes to him on social media:
His wife has also written a memorial on Wrightson’s personal website.