Fandom Obituaries

[josemas]

I just heard that Bill Blackbeard, one of the greats in comic strip preservation, passed away last month.

http://www.tcj.com/bill-blackbeard-1926-2011/

Sad news.

Joe

[jfglade]

 We do owe a hell of a debt to Blackbeard. I've got a copy of the Smithsonian Collection myself, and the local library has two text which he edited. This is frivilous, but I always assumed he was bearded, and I was suprised by the image that accompanied his photograph.

[narfstar]

Don Marksten just passed away from info elsewhere.

[Yoc]

Very, very sad news.
Thanks for letting us know Narf.

[jfglade]

Don Marksten just passed away from info elsewhere.

 Found this in my messages on Facebook, which I don't check often enough. It is from GiGi Dane, Don Markstein's widow: "Donald David Markstein, -- 1947 - 2012 comic book writer and www.toonopedia creator, died of respitory failure after a prolonged illness. His family can be contacted through toonopedia@yahoo.com" The message was dated March 11.

  Don's death is quite a loss to the comics community.

[Yoc]

Thanks for passing that along Jon.

[Yoc]

I recently learned that Don Ensign, the owner of the Blue Boy Blog, passed away on  March 19, 2014.
I never knew Don but all I've read about him he sounds like he was a good soul.

James E. Babcock posted an incredibility warm message about his friendship with Don here -
http://www.christiancomicarts.com/profiles/blogs/the-final-thoughts-on-don-ensign

[Yoc]

I've heard today that voice actor, artist, comics and cartoon historian, art spotter HAMES WARE (Aug.20, 1943 - Sept. 5, 2018) has passed away.

http://www.dailycartoonist.com/index.php/2018/09/06/hames-ware-rip/

Thankfully his notes had been passed along for posterity to Columbia University.

-Yoc

https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2018/sep/21/remembering-hames-ware-20180921/

[Yoc]

Hello everyone,
I've just learned some very sad news from Roygbiv666 and confirmed by Darrin Wiltshire that Richard David Boucher (Mr_Goldenage) passed away April, 15, 2018 at the age of 62.

https://missouri.funeral.com/2018/04/25/richard-boucher/?fbclid=IwAR1_c1yOsrBjLgB68XfcO-9pjykl5dmUSuPkS-h-g71_t9mxzRIW8_bapEI

Richard was co-owner along with Darrin Wiltshire of one of the first GA comic sites I ever found 'Good Guys and Gals of the Golden-age.' Richard's love and knowledge of GA comics was one of the inspirations for sites like DCM and CB+. He will be missed.

Here is a pic he shared from his FB page.

-Yoc

[erwin-k]

I did not know Richard Boucher, not even on-line. But I did enjoy the Good Guys/Gals site. He was one of the pioneers as Yoc said, that started the ball rolling towards DCM, and to an extent the Grand Comics Database that exist today.

Rest in Peace, Richard. And thanks.

[paw broon]

Despite being a continent and ocean apart, Richard and I got to know each other quite well on-line. Richard's fascination with more obscure superheroes and Masked Mystery Men and Women, was a fascination we shared. His thirst for knowledge made me feel lazy and his research into the history of European, and especially Italian, MMM yielded lots of new information and comics.
Very sad news, and his passing leaves a big gap in our lives.

[Yoc]

Here is a link to Richard and Darrin's 'Good Guys and Gals of the Goldenage' site with all 22 issues.
Shared by Darrin in Richard's memory.  The site was a labour of love for both of them.

http://www.temporalcomics.com/good_guys_gals/

-Yoc

[Yoc]

Hi Gang,
I thought perhaps it was time to create a new topic just for those that were a big part of comics fandom but not a good fit in the 'Professional Obituaries' topic.

+++

We learn of the sad passing of Mike Voiles, the curator behind one of the essential databases for comics fans and historians - “Mike’s Amazing World of Comics.”   I've read it started in 1997 and he averaged 40-50 hours a week working on it for 20+ years.  Incredible.

We never had any direct contact with Mike but were big fans of 'Amazing'.  His site along with the Grand Comics Database, were the go-to sites for the serious collectors.  We used his site all the time for reference.

It looks like he might have also gotten into podcasting a few years back if it's the same Mike.
https://archive.org/search?query=creator%3A%22Two+True+Freaks%21%22

Thankfully Mike made arrangements for his wonderful site to live on after him.  For those that haven't seen it, the 'newsstand' feature is a extra nice way to see what was on the stands for any particular month.

Here's the post on his passing on his site: http://www.mikesamazingworld.com/main/farewell.php

Our condolences go out to his family.


Other mentions on Mike's passing:
https://13thdimension.com/historian-mike-voiles-of-mikes-amazing-world-of-comics-has-died/

https://eternalhonoring.com/mike-voiles-obituary-learn-more-about-mike-voiles-death/

[Yoc]

Roger Hill (10.14.1948 - 12.06.2023)
Famed EC collector, comics historian, author, publisher, Roger passed after battling cancer at age 75.
Roger wrote books on Reed Crandall, Mac Raboy and Matt Fox as well as producing 5 issues of his EC Fan-Addict fanzine.

I was just reading his MacRaboy book this past week.

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/roger-hill-obituary?id=53784802&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=obitsharebeta

[Yoc]

I've recently learned about the passing of Bob Beerbohm (June 17, 1952 - Mar. 27, 2024).

Bob was a long time dealer/collector in the Bay Area.  His Facebook posts often generated controversy.  One hopes his history notes and interviews are preserved in some way.

https://scoop.previewsworld.com/Home/4/1/73/1012?articleID=273733
https://www.tcj.com/a-footnote-to-an-obit/

-Yoc