It’s been over a month since Marvel Comics artist Herb Trimpe, the master of groovy teeth*, died suddenly while out jogging, which is probably how I’ll go, eventually. Herb was a top-notch comic book artist, with a distinctive style and as good an ability to design a page and tell a story clearly as any artist. He was noted for his long run on the Hulk, during which he co-created Wolverine, a character that has been very good for Hugh Jackman’s bank account.
After a stint in the Air Force, Herb was a Marvel mainstay for almost 30 years, until 1996, when Marvel stopped giving work to its veteran artists, in favor of younger talent. (Joe Sinnott retired from full-time artistic duties in 1994.) A few years later, Herb wrote an op-ed about his struggles in The New York Times that received a lot of attention. He kept going by teaching, doing commissions, and drawing sketches at conventions, like the one I embedded above. Herb was a great guy to know, and he is missed personally, as well as professionally.
*Inside joke with Denro