Bernie Albert Wrightson (27 October 1948 - 18 March 2017; USA)
A fan of the EC comics of the 1950s, Bernie Wrightson (aka Berni) started his comic career in 1969. His early work was for DC on such titles as Nightmaster and House of Secrets. While working at DC, along with Len Wein he created the hugely popular Swamp Thing.

Wrightson began his career as an illustrator for The Baltimore Sun newspaper in 1966. In 1968, he was hired by DC Comics and was a regular artist on the House of Mystery and House of Secrets horror titles. Wrightson and writer Len Wein created Swamp Thing in House of Secrets #92 (July 1971). The character soon received its own monthly series, for which Wrightson drew the first ten issues.

Although an award winning comic creation in 1974 he left DC to work for Warren on Creepy and Eerie magazines, where his black and white atmospheric pencils and inks were seen at their best.

In 1975 he joined Barry Windsor-Smith, Mike Kaluta and Jeff Jones in The Studio where they produced and published their own lithographs and portfolios, culminating in the release of the book The Studio.

In 1977/78 he produced his most stunning work, a series of black & white illustrations for the Mary Shelley classic novel Frankenstein. This was followed by illustrations for Stephen King's Cycle of the Werewolf and Creepshow. More recently he has returned to comics on Batman and his own creation Captain Stern. The book A Look Back is still the best book ever produced on the career of a comic artist.

The "Captain Sternn" segment of the animated film Heavy Metal is based on a character created by Wrightson (first appearing in the June 1980 issue of Heavy Metal magazine). The Freakshow graphic novel, written by Bruce Jones and illustrated (via pen, brush, and ink with watercolors) by Wrightson, was published in Spain in 1982 and serialized in Heavy Metal magazine in the early 1980s.

In 1982 Bernie Wrightson illustrated the comic book adaptation of the Stephen King-penned horror film Creepshow. This led to several other collaborations with King, including illustrations for the novella "Cycle of the Werewolf", the restored edition of King's apocalyptic horror epic, The Stand, and Wolves of the Calla, the fifth installment of King's Dark Tower series. He would later illustrate the cover for TV Guide magazine's April 26 – May 2, 1997, issue, illustrating the TV miniseries of King's The Shining.

During production on the 1984 film Ghostbusters, Wrightson was among the artists hired by associate producer Michael C. Gross to provide concept art envisioning the ghosts and other psychic phenomena encountered by that film's characters. The artwork he contributed included images of the "escapees" from the Ghostbusters' electrically-powered ghost storage facility, which run amok after the facility's electricity is turned off.

Jim Starlin and Wrightson produced Heroes for Hope, a 1985 one-shot designed to raise money for African famine relief and recovery. Published in the form of a "comic jam", the book featured an all-star lineup of comics creators as well as a few notable authors from outside the comic book industry, such as Stephen King, George R. R. Martin, Harlan Ellison, and Edward Bryant. In 1986, Wrightson and writer Susan K. Putney collaborated on the Spider-Man: Hooky graphic novel. That same year saw Wrightson and Starlin produce a second benefit comic, Heroes Against Hunger featuring Superman and Batman which was published by DC and like the earlier Marvel project featured many top comics creators. Starlin and Wrightson collaborated on two miniseries in 1988, The Weird and Batman: The Cult, as well as Marvel Graphic Novel #29 (featuring the Hulk and the Thing) and Punisher P.O.V. for Marvel.

Wrightson brought back his Captain Sternn character in 1993 for the Captain Sternn: Running Out of Time miniseries, published by Kitchen Sink Press. In 1997, Wrightson and Ron Marz collaborated on Batman/Aliens, a crossover between the Batman and Aliens franchises. Wrightson again worked with Punisher for the Punisher: Purgatory limited series from 1998 to 1999. The series was unusual for incorporating supernatural elements in a Punisher story.

He illustrated and contributed album covers for a number of bands and musical artists, including Meat Loaf. Wrightson did concept art for film and television, working on productions including The Faculty, Galaxy Quest, Spider-Man, The Mist, Land of the Dead, and Serenity. In 2012, Wrightson collaborated with Steve Niles on Frankenstein Alive, Alive! published by IDW Publishing, for which he won a National Cartoonists Society's award.

Wrightson's first wife Michele Wrightson was involved in underground comix, contributing stories to such publications as It Ain't Me, Babe, Wimmen's Comix, and Arcade. She died in 2015. Wrightson and Michelle had two sons together, John and Jeffrey. Wrightson lived with his second wife Liz Wrightson and his stepson Thomas Adamson in Austin, Texas.

Wrightson and his wife announced in January 2017 that he was retiring due to having limited body function after multiple brain surgeries. He died on March 18, 2017, at the age of 68. The next day, Liz Wrightson confirmed that his death followed a long diagnosis with brain cancer. "The First Day of the Rest of Your Life", the April 2, 2017, season 7 finale of the TV series The Walking Dead, was dedicated to Wrightson's memory.
Source: Illustration Art Gallery; Wikipedia