2020 has been a very difficult year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and consequently, it felt like the passing of many of the comics creators, actors and artists who died this year did not fully receive the attention they deserved. Sometimes, saying something is better than saying nothing at all, and afterwards, if you’d like to add something about someone who died in 2020, please feel welcome to share in the comments.
Max von Sydow
Max von Sydow was simply one of the greatest actors of all time: from The Seventh Seal to Star Wars: The Force Awakens, he always lent a quiet dignity to his roles (somehow, even when playing the racist stereotype Ming the Merciless in Flash Gordon). Instantly recognizable thanks to his rich, rumbling voice, and stern demeanor, it always felt like a privilege still seeing von Sydow entertain generations young and old on screen. It feels strange looking back and remembering he died near the start of the year, because his regular appearances in major films, TV series, and even video games made him feel like he was an immortal spirit, blessing everyone with his gravitas — bless you von Sydow. – Christopher Chiu-Tabet
Logan Williams
Logan Williams, who played young Barry Allen on the first season of The Flash, was only 16 when he died of a fentanyl overdose this year. It’s still shocking to think about any child dying, let alone one you saw on a popular TV show less than seven years ago. His mother, Marlyse, stated “”his death is not going to be in vain. He’s going to help a lot of people down the road.” I similarly hope his passing raises more awareness of the issue of opioid addiction, and the pressures of acting at a young age. One thing’s for certain: Flash fans will never forget Logan. – Christopher Chiu-Tabet
Juan Giménez
There are many great writers, artists, colorists, and so on whom you aren’t aware of until their passing. That was the case with Argentinean artist Juan Giménez (“The Metabarons”), whose artwork was absolutely extraordinary — it was mindboggling to discover someone was apparently painting Giger-esque sci-fi art on the regular, yet I’d never seen anyone talk breathlessly about how incredible his work was. One of my New Year’s resolutions will definitely be start reading Giménez’s work, as difficult as it seems to be to find in print — after all, nothing worthwhile is ever easy. – Christopher Chiu-Tabet
Shad Gaspard
Likewise, I was not familiar with wrestler, actor and writer Shad Gaspard when he died this year, aged only 39. He died a hero, saving his son and several others caught in the strong currents at Venice Beach, Los Angeles, on May 17, an act of selflessness that dwarfs anything from a fictitious comic book hero. A comic book fan, Gaspard was clearly inspired by his favorite characters to become larger-than-life in the ring, on screen, and on stage, but he went further than many of us (it wasn’t even his first act of real-life heroism, having foiled an armed robbery in 2016). It’s tragic he’s no longer with us. – Christopher Chiu-Tabet
David Prowse and Jeremy Bulloch
For those of us who grew up with the Original Star Wars Trilogy as one of our cultural touchstones, two actors who never spoke a word defined fear and terror for the children of the 80s and 90s. David Prowse, the man under the Darth Vader mask, and Jeremy Bulloch, the man under Boba Fett’s helmet, presented power and commanded a screen with little more than their physical body language. Much like Pedro Pascal on The Mandalorian, their acting was more about physicality and using a limited set of tools to their greatest advantage.
“A limited set of tools” is not a slight at all; both men were, quite literally, covered head to toe in costuming, and could not rely on facial expressions to convey emotion of any kind. And since the dialogue would not have been recorded and piped into the sound stages, they also could not react to the voices that the audience would one day hear. So all of their acting is predicated on the written word and their own sense of themselves as imposing presences.
Continued belowSay what you want about what was written for them to do, both men did it with gusto, casting in amber the cinematic debuts of the two most iconic villains from the Original Trilogy. An entire generation grew up terrified of these men, both of whom were spoken of by their friends and costars as sweethearts and people who legitimately loved interacting with their fans.
May the Force be with them and their loved ones. – Brian Salvatore
Dennis O’Neil
I wrote in my retrospective of Batman Begins that we would not be speaking about Batman today without Dennis O’Neil, and I meant that: sure, someone other than O’Neil and Neal Adams could’ve restored the Dark Knight to his gothic glory, but they led the way for Frank Miller et al. with their run in the early ’70s. O’Neil’s impact on comics was so large, that he couldn’t remember doing something as significant as christening Optimus Prime (which he did while developing “The Transformers” at Marvel before their debut in 1984): he had plenty of other achievements, from “Green Lantern/Green Arrow,” to “Iron Man,” and “The Question,” as well as every landmark Batman story he oversaw as the line’s editor from 1986 to 2000.
Not everything O’Neil did was great, but he always treated readers as mature and intelligent, and he also arguably paved the way for the modern era with the introduction of Green Lantern John Stewart, and by having James Rhodes don the Iron Man suit. O’Neil was a regular presence on most comic book documentaries, and behind-the-scenes features on the Batman films, so growing up, it became easy to see him as DC’s editor emeritus, and it was always lovely when he came out of retirement to contribute to a new anthology. He will be greatly missed, but his spirit lives on — when you see the diverse new Justice League roster, with Hawkgirl, Naomi, and Black Adam, remember that’s as much O’Neil’s legacy as The Dark Knight is. – Christopher Chiu-Tabet
There are only a handful of people who can claim to have influenced comics as thoroughly or for as long as Denny O’Neil did. If you’ve read a Batman story in the past 40 years, O’Neil guided it. He introduced more serious social issues into comics with “Green Lantern/Green Arrow.” He gave Frank Miller the reigns to write and draw “Daredevil.” He helped shepherd the integration of Charlton, pulp, and Fawcett characters into DC. Very few folks can say they were hired by Stan Lee and gave a job to Joe Quesada.
O’Neil was one of the cornerstones of comics for decades, and seemed to relish the role. He was a frequent talking head on comic documentaries and TV specials, acting as an ambassador for comics. He did this not just through personal appearances, but also by writing for comic book TV, long before it was one of the most successful genres of television, but introducing kids to comics through Superboy and Batman: The Animated Series. O’Neil helped move comics out of the 60s and into the 21st century, and sites like Multiversity may not exist without his contributions. – Brian Salvatore
John Lewis
Congressman John Lewis was a hero, who almost gave his life multiple times for justice and equality, but he was instead blessed with a long life, and in turn blessed us with the “March” graphic novel trilogy, co-written by Andrew Aydin with art by Nate Powell. Lewis had written a prose autobiography with Mike D’Orso before, so it was incredibly generous of him to share his memories again, especially for younger readers, and disabled ones like myself who prefer the graphic medium as a result. In an essay published after his death, Lewis wrote about how young he was when he marched for civil rights, and of how much hope the current generation of activists gave him: let’s continue to give him hope, even after his death. – Christopher Chiu-Tabet
Seb Patrick
Seb Patrick, writer, podcaster, and editor of the official Red Dwarf website, died very suddenly from a suspected heart attack on August 2, leaving behind his wife and their very young daughter. In a year full of unfair deaths, his passing felt particularly cruel, but it was a testament to the positive impact he had that the GoFundMe for his family raised over three times the intended target. I only knew Patrick from following and occasionally speaking to him on Twitter, but you could just tell he was a very kind hearted, and warm person, as well as a proud Liverpudlian: if more geeks were like him, the world would be a better place. – Christopher Chiu-Tabet
Continued belowChadwick Boseman
Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman‘s passing on August 28 was truly shocking. I imagine many of us wished we knew he was battling colon cancer, and felt terribly that we didn’t realize what he was going through after the dramatic weight loss he had during the last years of his life. I suppose that was Boseman though: humble and gracious, and unwilling to burden his colleagues and fans with that knowledge, qualities that made him perfect for the noble King T’Challa. His performances, in and outside the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as well as the decision to not recast T’Challa for the foreseeable future, means Boseman will live on in viewers’ hearts forever. – Christopher Chiu-Tabet
Diana Rigg
Dame Diana Rigg was Emma Peel in the British Avengers TV series; Tracy di Vicenzo in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service; and Olenna Tyrell in Game of Thrones. She was also an incredibly influential figure in comics, her outfits and hair styles inspiring the look of characters including Wonder Woman, Black Widow, Emma Frost, and even recent ones like Kate Bishop. She paved the way for virtually every TV action heroine after her, and remained a spirited actress even in her late seventies — she will be dearly missed. – Christopher Chiu-Tabet
Quino
Something I increasingly dwell on when I hear about people in their eighties and nineties is how the number of people who remember the Second World War is becoming increasingly fewer, and that’s similarly the case with Quino, the Argentinean cartoonist who created Mafalda. Quino, full name Joaquín Salvador Lavado Tejón, lived through all the revolutions and revolts that plagued his country from 1955 to 1983: how many people alive today also remember those events? It feels harder to prevent history repeating if we don’t have people with firsthand experience of authoritarianism. Rest in peace Quino: may your cartoons continue to provide a balm in dark times. – Christopher Chiu-Tabet
Izumi Matsumoto
“Kimagure Orange Road” creator Izumi Matsumoto‘s life was cut depressingly short by a car accident he had when he was three, which resulted in cerebrospinal fluid leakage, preventing him from finishing any projects for the last two decades of his life. I can’t stop thinking about how one moment of thoughtlessness caused years of agony for one man, and stopped him from doing more of what he loved. You’ve probably heard this plenty of times this year, but remember to be kind, to be considerate, and to always be patient: rest in peace Matsumoto. – Christopher Chiu-Tabet
Joe Ruby and Ken Spears
Joe Ruby and Ken Spears did something magical when they created Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? in 1969: by adding a talking dog to their Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew-esque mystery show, they created a lasting formula, with follow-ups as tonally diverse as A Pup Named Scooby-Doo and Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island. Ruby and Spears weren’t adverse to copying their own formula, creating/developing some of the Hanna-Barbera clones that followed like Josie and the Pussycats, Dynomutt, Dog Wonder, Jabberjaw, and Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels. They never recaptured lightning in a bottle, but they provided generations with hours of unforgettable entertainment, and one of the 20th century’s most iconic quintets. – Christopher Chiu-Tabet
Norm Spencer, David Hemblen, and Kirby Morrow
2020 saw the passing of three actors who starred in the animated X-Men series I grew up watching: Norm Spencer, who voiced Cyclops in the original 1992-1997 series; David Hemblen, who played Magneto on that show; and Kirby Morrow, who voiced the teenage Cyclops on X-Men: Evolution. Spencer and Hemblen helped bring weight to what could’ve just been a kid’s show, with Spencer’s performance conveying the introvert lurking beneath Scott Summers’s commanding bearing.
Spencer and Morrow both died too young: Spencer was 62, and Morrow was only 47. In his performances on Gundam Wing, Dragon Ball Z, X-Men, and Kong: The Animated Series, Morrow always combined a dashing heroism with a youthful vulnerability, and it became clear from his brother Casey that he struggled with this confidence he exuded, leading to his battle with substance abuse. Casey said, “I ask you all to look at it as Kirby would have. Let everyone do what they need and support each other. Be there for each other. If you see a friend or family struggling be there for them no matter how tough it is.” – Christopher Chiu-Tabet
